Who are the Malays of Sri Lanka?

by Lakmal Welabada

Like to taste a pinch of Malay pickle with your rice? Or have a bowl of delicious watalappan as desert? A piece of juicy dodol for tea? Or else exclusive batiks that come from Indonesia and Malaysia?

Yes! Have all that at the International Gathering of Malays (Ingam) at 'Padang' (Malay Club Cricket Ground), Jalang Padang, Colombo 2 (adjoining Kew Road next to Slave Island - Magistrate's Courts) on December 3 from 8.00 am onwards. It is organized by the Conference of Sri Lankan Malays (COSLAM).

Malaysia is one of the countries that our Sri Lankans love to tour. And those who have been there may have a lot to tell about that peace loving colourful nation. But a few must be knowing that we, Sri Lankans are also having a few of that friendly community among us.

The real purpose of organising this event of International Gathering of Malays is to bring together as many Malays as possible from all parts of Sri Lanka and delegations of Malays from different parts of 'Dunia Malay' (the malay world) to meet, interact and participate in one full day's programme of camaraderie and fellowship.

The organisers hope that the venture would strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and understanding among Malays themselves and also among all the other Sri Lankans - Sinhalese, Tamils, Moors, Burghers and others. And all the 22 organisations that make up the Sri Lanka Malay Confederation (SLAMAC) and the special invitees from the Malay world (from Malaysia and Indonesia) will be taking part in various ways - in sports, cultural events and commercial stalls.

The morning session of the big Malay event will be declared open by the Indonesian Ambassador and the High Commissioner of Malaysia will be the chief guest of the evening session. The Malays of Sri Lanka welcome all the communities to enjoy with them the Malay's Day.

Malays of Sri Lanka

Who are the Malays of Sri Lanka? How did they come to be a part of this country? What is their role in the present society? These are some of the questions that plague the minds of many Sri Lankans.

Malays form part of the 8 per cent Muslim population among whom the Moors are the majority. The Malays are a distant second and Borahs and Memons form the rest.

Early Malay contacts with Sri Lanka

The study of the origins of the present day Malays of Sri Lanka has to begin with the advent of the Dutch rule in the Island in 1640, as the documentary and other evidence available for such a study date only from that period.

Yet this does not mean that the Malay people have not been in contact with Sri Lanka during the pre colonization period. It is popularly believed that the advent of the first Malays to Sri Lanka took place in the middle of the thirteenth century with the invasion of Chandrabhanu, the Buddhist King of Nakhon Sri Tammarat in the Isthmus of Kra of the Malay Peninsula (Presently Southern Thailand). He landed during the eleventh year of Parakmabahu II (AD1236-1270) and ruled Jaffna for a short while.

Origins of the Present Day Malay Community

The Dutch and the Malays:

The earliest known Malay settlements in Sri Lanka took place during the 1640's when the Dutch took control of the coastal areas of the island. The Dutch expelled their predecessors the Portuguese and managed to take over their possessions and ruled until they themselves were ousted by the British in 1796. It was during these one and a half centuries of Dutch occupation that Malays from the entire Malay and Indonesian region were brought to the island.

The Malays brought to Sri Lanka can be divided into two categories:

1. Indonesian Political exiles, referred to as Staatsbannelingen in the Dutch documents, other deportees banished by the Batavian government.

2. All other categories of Malays, came to the island in order to serve in various fields, especially the military establishment.