SAKARAI BANI: THE RECONCILIATION OF

LOCALIZATION AND TA’RIKH

WILLIAM B NOSEWORTHY:

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON

CKS &UNESCO CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND PRESERVATION OF CHAM CULTURE

Thanks to CKS

With added thanks to:

Foreign Language Areas Studies Fellowships (Summer 2009, 2009-2010, Summer 2012)

Vietnamese Advanced Studies Institute (VASI) in partnership with Berkeley University

University of Wisconsin Madison:

Department of History (TA Fall 2011, Spring 2013)Center for Southeast Asian Studies (Fall 2012)

Languages and Cultures of Asia (TA Spring 2012)

Vietnamese Studies Branch: University of Humanities and Social Sciences (UHSS) –UNESCO Center for Research and Preservation of the Cham Culture

Dr. Thành Phần, Inrasara, Sakaya, Dr. Thông Thành Khánh, Đăng Nang Hòa, Quảng Văn Sơn, Sikhara, Dr. A.P.P., Abu Paka and Kiều Maily

SETTING THE SCENE: KHMER-VIET BORDERLANDS

TA’RIKH AND SAKARAI: SETTING UP THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• TA’RIKH: Arabic for ‘History’ – also Malay for ‘Time’ – History is from historea meaning ‘inquiry’ (Robinson, Islamic Historiography, 2003: 6)

• There are two types of Ta’rikh: Annals concerned with events listed by year (ta’rikh ‘ala al-sinin) and history of the Caliphs (ta’rikh al-khulafa) (Robinson : 75). The form of Ta’rikh that is most relevant to Southeast Asia is Ta’rikh ‘ala al-sinin

• SAKARAI: alternatively ‘Sakrai’ or ‘Sakalai’ is defined as the annals, the chronicles or the reigns lists (Aymonier & Cabaton 1906, 470).

• In short at the turn of the century: SAKARAI was the equivalent of Ta’rikh ‘ala al-sinin

• However , Cham scholar Sakaya (2013) used Sakarai not to describe ‘history,’ but rather a ‘mythical’ form of literature as a sub-genre of Dalakal

TA’RIKH AND SAKARAI: RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• Why the difference between Aymonier and Cabaton (1906) and Sakaya (2013)?

• Has the conception of Sakarai changed over the last century in the Cham community?

• Was it simply the case that the French scholars were misinformed? OR, have there been other influences that resulted in the change in usage? Does this reflect contemporary attempts of the Cham in Vietnam to distance themselves from Islamic concepts? OR, are these concepts all interrelated but simply shifting only slightly in articulation?

METHOD

To begin to address these questions I provide:

• 1) A brief Ta’rikh ‘ala al-sinin of Islam in relation to Cham culture (Ilimo Cam)

• 2) A review of Cham manuscripts I have collected to be used for the study of sakarai

• And 3) conclude with some further questions in an attempt to continue to advance scholarly conceptions regarding Ta’rikh in relation to Sakarai Cam with a period focus of the 17th through the 20th century

TA’RIKH ‘ALA AL-SININ OF ISLAM IN RELATION TO ILIMO CAM: 0-1200

• Origins of Contact: 4th -10th century – Archeological evidence from Tra Kiều site: coins with Arabic etched into their surface

• 8th Century: 750 CE Battle of Zab, some Muslims fled to Sanf

• 9th Century:

• Traders who informed the writing of the Akhbar al-Sinwal Hind (850) and IbnKhurdadbih (850) identified Cham polities as Sanfi. By this time Sanfi was famous for its “excellent” and “heavy” aloeswood (C: gahlau).

• 10th Century:

• P’u Ho-San (961)/Abu Hasan (?) OR Po Hasan

• 11th Century

• Manuscripts:

• 1000 – Date Po Ouvlah arrives in Cham polities according to Cham manuscript tradition according to Aymonier

• Gravestones:

• 1039- grave marker of “Ong Abumakil” (11/21/1039)

• 1082- grave marker for “Leran” (1082) – Arabic and Kufi scripts now both present in Cham polities

Above: Gahlau/Aloeswood Burning

during ancestral mbeng muk kei worship

ceremony

TA’RIKH ‘ALA AL-SININ OF ISLAM IN RELATION TO ILIMO CAM : 1200-1700

• Marriages:

• 1285-1307 – reign of Po Jaya Simhavarman III who married a Muslim

“Bia Tasi” from “Jawa” (Java – or – the Cham name for Malaysia)

• 15th century – sister of a Cham Po marries the sovereign of Majapahit and brings Islam to Java

• 1627-1651 – Churu Po Rome marries Awal Bia Thanh Cih – daughter of previous Cham Po Mâh Taha

• Politics and Power

• Dutch Sources tell us that a Cham Po [i.e. Anit] (r. 1603 – 1613) made an official visit with the Sultan of Johor

in 1607

• Po Rome (1627-1651) journeyed to Kelantan to study kabar rap (Malay magic) in 1640

• King Ibrahim: r. 1642-1658; Ramadhipati I; Cau Bana Cand, or “Ram the Apostate” in Khmer chronicles –

relied upon the cam-jvea community in Malaysia

• In Khmer territory the Cam-Jvea community remained prevalent throughout the reign of Paramaraja VIII (r.

1659 – 1672) as individual bearing the Cham title Po and the Malay title Tuan (k: Duon; C: Tuen) appear in the

Khmer chronicles during this time. Also, during the reign of Paramaraja VIII, in 1662, migrations of Chams

established connections in Thai territory and in 1665 during the reign of the Cham Po Thop (Saut) (r. 1660-

1692), who had received the Malay title: Paduka Seri Sultan, the European explorer H. Hainques recorded that

the Cham affinity for their Po was one of religious devotion, and by this point, conversion to Islam had been a

matter of top-down reform

AWAL-AHIÉR: THE DEFINING FEATURE (THE INTELLECTUAL ‘KEY’) TO UNDERSTANDING EASTERN CHAM CULTURE FROM THE 17TH CENTURY ONWARD

Awal Ahiér

First Last

Female/Wife Male/Husband

Moon/Âm/Yoni Sun/Dương/Linga

Ramâwan Katé

Ong Gru Po Basaih

Po Ouwlah Po Yang

Aia Caiy Aia Alak

Ghur Kut

Akhar Bani Akhar Thrah

The Evidence At

Hand?- Gru Hajan (far right) collection: 10,000+ pages

of rare manuscripts written in Akhar Thrah and Akhar Bani

- 5,000+ pages in Akhar Thrah in Ninh Thuậnprovince

- 35,000 + pages in Paris, France: @ EFEO, SA, ME, CHPI and BN most of some of which have been copied for the Koleski Manuskrip MelayuChampa

- Jay Scarborough Collection: 60+ microfilms @ Cornell University: poor condition that can not be loaned out

•Cham Cultural Exhibition Hall. PhanRang, Ninh Thuận. (Right - Summer 2011) at Cham Cultural Center Museum left October 2012

- Smaller Personal Collections:- Inrasara: ?- Sakaya: 40 + Manuscripts- Bố Thuận (1930s-1960s): 200+

Manuscripts

AKHAR CAM: SYSTEMS OF CHAM WRITING

AKHAR CAM: AKHAR BANI VS. AL’ ARABI

MY OWN COLLECTIONS

• English Translations: Ariya Po Pareng (Hợp Ai - 1885), Ariya Cam Bini (19th Century), Ariya Bini Cam (18th Century) – totals 38 pages, available on Inrasara.com

• Forthcoming: English translation, Akhar Trah/Akhar Rumi Transcription, Vietnamese translation and analysis of Dalakal Po Rome in Asian Highlands Perspectives

• Typed Akhar Thrah/Rumi/Vietnamese Translation/English Translation: Dalakal Po Anit, Dalakal Manuis Jiéng Gru Cruwand Dalakal Nao Mâgru – totals 65 pages

• Photographed and Photocopied: Ariya Nyat Bhan (1940s), Akayet Dewa Mano, Akayet Inra Patra, Ariya Tuen Phaow, AriyaPo Phauk The, Adaoh Po Ginuer Mutri, Dalakal Po Kuk, DalakalPo Inâ Nâgar, Darai di Ong Maduen Gru, Kitap di Palei Rem, Sakawi di Palei Rem, Tapuk Krân Ka Po Lithan di Palei HamuCraok (1975), Sanau Gai di Ja Tu Hamu Craok – totals roughly 500 - 1000 pages

Manuscript/Text Date Author/Scholar(s) Date In Reference To/Content

Akayet Inra Patra 15th – 16th

century?/Chamber-Loir, 1988, 95-106; Al-Ahmadi, 1988, 107-116, Inrasara, 2006, 50; Sakaya, 2010

Local version of Ramayana & Mahabharata, has a Malay parallel text; Hikayat Inderaputra and Hikayat Devamandu

Akayet Dewa Mano 15th – 16th

century?/-same as above --same as above

Akayet Um Marup 16th – 17th

century?/ Shahada: First pillar the five pillars of Islam: translation: “There is

no god but Allah and Mohammed is his messenger” (rasulu in Arabic or rasuluk in Cham); Po Nabi: spirit of the earth/ also an incarnation of the Prophet Mohammed; Po Ali: spirit of the sea: also an incarnation of Ali; Po Ouwlah: the path of Allah; or Islam –in a deified form; Po Debita thought to originate from the Sanskrit devatas or Qur’anic Deborah depending on the version of the text

CM 7 (Middle Cham) 1727 ? Religious Bani text, dated in reference to the Prophet Mohammed; begins “Rasula su Po Lukana…” and ends “tuka miryaabih tamma” and includes the passage “After the birth of the Prophet Mohammed (570) until today count 1157

AKAYETaky@TOng Kathar sings from a memorized AkharThrah manuscript for Katé ceremonies and a Mâk Pajau channels yang Bầu Trúc/PaleiHamu Craok, Ninh Thuận, October 2012

Manuscript/Text Date Author/Scholar(s) Date In Reference To/Content

Ariya Bini Cam (Akayet Nai Mai Mâng Mâkah)

17th 18th ? / current version first by Tian Tiong(1903), then Inrasara (1994) and P0oet. al. (2000)

17th – 18th century (1692-1771) Cham society, divided amongst Chams and Banis, a separated lover text, with elements that make it appear as a travelogue, parallels in form to pre-Arabic Qasidic literature and contemporaneous with Thai literature of the same genre; also might be compared to The Butterfly Lovers (Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai 9th century Tang dynasty origins) and Laila and Majnun; “Yah ai gop tvak tian, Padong asulam kalaadei gop” or “If you love me convert to Islam.”

Ariya Tuen Phaow 19th century ? Malay Tuan, who bears the title of ‘Po Gahlau’ moves from Malaysia to Panduranga; his construction of a palace at Kayaon; revolt against the Vietnamese with Khmer and ; injury; then request that the Cham call to the French for assistance –contemporary with Tuen Asmet in Thbaung Khmum, Kampong Cham

Ariya Po Phauk and Ariya GlengAnâk

1832 and 1835 Po (1987) and Inrasara (2006) The ‘final conquest’ of Panduranga ; contemporary with Tuen Set Asmet of Thbaung Khmum, Kampong Cham

ARIYAThe Butterfly Lovers, Ningbo China

Laila and Majnun, c. 1725 Watercolorar{y%

Ariya to ‘Modern’ Scholarship

Manuscripts/Texts

Dates Author (s)/Scholar (s)

Contents

CM 29 1830s (1835?)

Son of Cai Tổng 1830s, a Malay Tuan travelled to Cham lands and brought this text for this young scholar to discuss, it records the forced instruction of Vietnamese, the forced ‘wearing of pants’ and contains Bani religious material

CM 38; CM 39; 5more manuscriptsin total

1843-1844;1867-1868; and to 1885

Brah Mbalat/ Nicholas Weber (2011); wrote in Khmerized Akhar Thrah

Describing the life of the prophet (Po Rasuluk); Cham forced movement to Tây Ninh and Châu Đốc from Cambodia; French conquest 1858 to 1867; works with Aymonier (?)

Ariya Po Pareng; Dâmnuy Po Romé

Hợp Ai (vis a vis Inrasara2006)

A Proto-ethnography or early ethnography that provides a first hand account of the colonial experience and demonstrates that some Cham were forced to work with the French, records the mode of life of northern Vietnamese and highland peoples; The narrative records a rapidly changing landscape of foreigners and dockworkers, of disease, and of new farms

1880s-1900s

12 Scholars as per LaFontet. a. (1977) Inrasara(2006)

Proto-ethnographic accounts and travelogues

BT 1 - 215 1931,1932, active through the 1950s

Bố Thuận series; and Po Car Baih Va, Po Car Nai, and Jun Bya Tuk

First Cham to have his own coded collection (?); some of which are more than 100 pages long; referenced the Qur’an – adat literature; the book of Nosirvan; of invocations of Allah; such as in the case of protecting an individual from wild tigers, a formulas used to prevent a women from engaging in conjugal encounters with her husband, general passages on teachings, and rites used to accompany the construction of a house [which is often a metaphor for marriage ceremonies]; Ariya Po Para (ng)

BANI AND RAMÂWAN: TODAY

*Ghur sites linked to the heritage of BiaThanh Cih: the Awal wife of Po Romé

- Ghur Kanduk (Palei Pamblap Klak& Biruw)- Ghur Kalang (Palei Rem)

*Threatened Ghur sites:- Ghur Raineh (Mỹ Tường)- Ghur Kanduk (right)- Ghur Kacaong (lost?)- Ghur Baong (below)

POTENTIAL CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER QUESTIONS

• The Bani community from the 17th century through the 20th century is generally recorded through its connection to the Malaya-Muslim world

• Is it the case that in the twentieth century objection to Islamic influence (particularly 1960s and after) strengthens Awal-Ahier relationship (?)

• How has the role of modern/contemporary states shifted the historical memory and religious practices of the Cham-Bani community?

• How have contemporary scholarly discussion about ‘syncretism’ created misconceptions about the Baniof Vietnam?

• Why has sakarai cam been regulated to ‘Israelyat’?