The Malays' contribution to Lankan culture

by Muzzamil Sedar

At the very outset Malays of Sri Lanka should be proud of having the Government to have sponsored a Malay Cultural program that was staged on November 4 , 2006 at the John De Silva Memorial Hall. The fact is that, this was the first ever Government sponsored cultural show held in Sri Lanka Malay's history.

Prior to this, the Malay organisations had approached several past Presidents but it was under the UPFA Government the long awaited dream became a reality. That was the day the Malays in Sri Lanka proudly exhibited their cultural performance on a common platform successfully. The then Minister of National Heritage Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana and the then Ministry Secretary G.L.W. Samarasinghe and Cultural Director E.M. Abeyratna extended utmost cooperation in making the event successful even though they are not Malays.

They also arranged an interview with ITN for a media briefing cancelling its pre-planned programs. I was one of the participants in the program where ITN tried to address the entire Malay community in Sri Lanka. Popular singers namely Haroon Lantra and Tony Hassan discussed the Malay folk songs and traditional dances. We were able to perform some of our traditional dances at the same time.

That was a non-profitable service done by the ITN for the Malays. Dr. M.I.M. Mushin the former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Lebanon being a non-Malay gave his unstinted support financially and physically for the best interest of the Malay community in Sri Lanka. the comment is that all the non-Malays understand very well where the Malay identity headed but regret to not e that the Malays who respect the Malay culture, tradition and language highly praised the government while others remain with the opinion that this was a political issue.

VIPs such as Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana, Alavi Moulana the Malaysian High Commissioner and staff Indonesian High Commissioner and were among the dignitaries who witnessed the historical event.

Message

The Malays carried themessage to their relations, friends and family members not only in Sri Lanka but also to those who are living abroad as that was a dream they had for a long time.

Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana said that having such a rich culture why the Malays did not try to preserve it for the future generation. He was thrilled to see the 'Fan Dance' and 'Shawl Dance'.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa invited a group of Malays to Temple Trees in the recent past. That underlines the due consideration is being offered to the Malays as well, as a minority ethnic group living in Sri Lanka.

Confusion

However, Malays have not taken measures to preserve their culture, tradition and Malay language. As a result, people do not know who the Malays and Muslims are. The Sri Lankan population consists of Malays, Moors and Muslims. 'Muslims' are those who profess Islam.

A 'Muslim' can be an Indonesian, Pakistani, Arabian, Bangladeshi or even a Malaysian. However, the Malays and Moors are two different groups. Apart from religion, they have nothing in common with Muslims. The Malays live in Slave island, Kandy, Kirinda, Matale, Hambantota, Wattala, Hunupitiya, Mabola and Enderamulla. There are about 54,782 (Census of 2001) Malays in Sri Lanka.The first Malay Mosque was Wekanda Mosque in Slave island. It was built in 1786 during the British rule at the request of the Malay soldiers. The Malay mosque was not only a place of worship but also a place the Malays could meet and exchange their views.

History

Malay history starts in the 13th century when Prince Chandrabanu from Pattani established his Java Kingdom in Jaffna. He ruled the kingdom from 1235 to 1275 AD. Chandrabanu was a Buddhist Malay ruler in Javapattanam (now Jaffna) during the eleventh year of the reign of King Parakramabahu II for a very short period.

The Malay community originated in the 17th century. The first ever Malay regiment was formed in 1802. The regiment was in existence till 1873.

Thereafter, they joined the Police, Fire Brigade and agriculture fields. When Malays began to marry Sinhalese and Moors, they began to speak Sinhala and Tamil. However, some of them retained from Malay customs.Malays have contributed their share to may fields of activities. The Malays elected to the Legislative Council were Dr. T.B. Jayah (1925) M.K. Saldin (1931-1936) Dr. M.F. Drahman (1956-1960) and Zahir Lye (1960-1965). Brigadier T.S.B. Sally served as Chief of Staff in the Sri Lanka Army and had been the Acting Commander on two occasions under General Sepala Atygala.

Col. Nizam Mutalif was the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Military Intelligence. He was assassinated by the LTTE. The first ever police officer to have been gunned down while on duty was Sergeant Saban.