C. Skinner
The dating of the civil war in Kelantan referred to in the Kesah Pelayaran Abdullah
In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 121 (1965), no: 4, Leiden, 433-437
This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl
THE DATING OF THE CIVIL WAR IN
KELANTAN REFERRED TO IN THE
KESAH PELAYARAN ABDULLAH
n his interesting article on the Kesah Pelayaran Abdullah Mohd.
Taib Osman tackles the problem of dating various events in the
history of Kelantan during the late 1830's.1 Taib's conclusions are as
follows: Sultan Muhammad I died in 1835 and was succeeded (in the
same year) by his brother — Raja Zainal. Raja Zainal reigned until
1837 when (as the result of the civil war described by Munshi Abdullah
in the Kesah) he was driven out and succeeded by his nephew, Senik
(later known as Sultan Muhammad II).
The main source supporting 1835 as the year of Sultan Muhammad
I's death is apparently Haji Abdullah's fragment (compiled in 1868)
on the history of Trengganu and Kelantan 2 where it is stated that
the death occurred on 27 Safar 1251.3 It is apparently this date that
has been accepted by Rentse (working, it would appear, largely upon
evidence furnished by Dato' Nik Mahmud),4 by Saad Shukri,5 and
even by present-day members of the Kelantan royal family.6 Vella
too, with the Thai sources available to him, chooses to follow Rentse
and accepts 1835 as the date of Muhammad I's death.7
In doing so however Vella ignores the Thai Annals of Kelantan
which relate that "Sultan Muhammad died in the year of the Dog,
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Mohd. Taib Osman: KES. Although the article gives his name as 'Mohd.
Taib Ustnan', I have reason to believe that he prefers the spelling 'Mohd. Taib
Osman'. I shall refer to him below simply as 'Taib'.
Abdullah: TRE, p. 12. In his introduction, Marriot (the editor of the fragment)
says that it was written "in about 1878", but the text shows that it was copied
in 1876 from a compilation made in 1868.
24/25 June 1835.
Rentse: KEL (c.f. also Rentse and Mahmud: SAL). Dato' Haji Nik Mahmud
was the author of the Rengkasan Chetera Kelantan mentioned by Taib, and
also the owner of the manuscript of the Hikayat Seri Kelantan.
Saad Shukri: KEL, (c.f. also Saad Shukri: SEJ, apparently a revised version
of the former).
Assuming that their approval was obtained for the 1961 Coronation Souvenir.
Vella: RAM, p. 70.
434
C. SKINNER.
the 10th year of the cycle",8 i.e. in the year beginning in April, 1837.
Taib himself, although quoting Graham in another context, does not
mention that Graham says that Muhammad I's death occurred "about
the year 1837" and also states that Senik and his adherents seized
power in 1838.9 It is significant that Graham's account of events is
corroborated by the Shair Musoh Kelantan, a contemporary source
which, although giving no dates, is far more reliable for the events
of the late 1830's than is the Hikayat Seri Kelantan.
The most convincing argument for taking 1837 and not 1835 as the
date of Muhammad I's death is supplied by a collection, of letters
written by Senik (Muhammad II) and his contemporaries in the
year 1839.10 Senik's seal (as Raja of Kelantan) reads:
"He who trusts in God — the Raja of Kelantan — may God
preserve his dominion, his good works and his merits — son of
the late A Luang Tan — A.H. 1254." "
The seal of Long Ahmad (a cousin — and an opponent — of Senik)
who had been appointed 'Raja Muda' by Raja Zainal runs as follows:
"He who trusts in Almighty God — the Raja Muda of Kelantan —
son of the late Yusuf — may God preserve his dominion and his
good works — A.H. 1253." ™
And finally the seal of Muhammad (the "Raja Kampong Laut" met
by Munshi Abdullah),i3 who was appointed 'Perdana Menteri' by Raja
Zainal, runs as follows:
"He who trusts in Almighty God — Muhammad, Prime Minister
of Kelantan — son of the late Ismail —, may God preserve his
dominion and his good works — A.H. 1253." 14
In other words, the seals of office of the men appointed by Raja Zainal
upon succeeding Muhammad I, both date from A.H. 1253 (7 April
1837-26 March 1838) while Senik's seal as Ruler of Kelantan (in
8
Phongsawadan Muang Kelantan, p. 133. Due to its bias against Raja Zainal
and his adherents, this source is not always reliable as to events, but most of
its dates appear to be accurate.
9
Graham: KEL, p. 44-46.
10
These letters are in the Wachirayan National Library, Bangkok (Catalogued
as 'Section 3' - Nos. 281-288, 290-293, 295, 297-308). For full details, see my
forthcoming The Civil War in Kelantan in 1839.
11
See Cat. Nos. 284-286, 288, 290, 293, 295.
12
Cat. No. 301.
™ Abdullah: KES, p. 78-81.
14
Cat. Nos. 299, 302, 305, 307.
THE DATING OF THE CIVIL WAR IN KELANTAN.
4 3 5 .,
succession to Raja Zainal) dates only from A.H. 1254 (27 March
1838 - 16 March 1839).
Turning now to the date of Munshi Abdullah's visit to Kelantan,
any doubt could have been resolved by reference to the most obvious
of contemporary sources — the newspapers of the day. In 1837, when
Singapore boasted two newspapers,15 no mention can be found in their
files of any mission to Kelantan. In 1838 however issues of the weekly
Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser during the months
of March, April and May show that Abdullah's mission left Singapore
between Monday 26 March and Wednesday 28 March, arrived off the
Kelantan river on 12 April, and returned to Singapore on the night
of Tuesday 24 April.16 Abdullah was thus correct when he wrote
that he left Singapore at midnight on the 1 Muharram (27/28 March)
and arrived back there on the night of 29 Muharram A.H. 1254
(24 April 1838)."
As Abdullah arrived in Kelantan while Raja Zainal was still holding
out (albeit with difficulty), Senik's party could not have gained the
upper hand until after April 1838. The usually reliable Shair Musoh
Kelantan states that the Kelantanese mission to Bangkok (which was
bringing back to Kelantan Siamese recognition of Senik's seizure of
power) had reached Nakhon Si Thammarat when news was received
there of the Kedah rising.18 As the Kedah rising broke out at the
beginning of August, we can assume that Senik's expulsion of Raja
Zainal had occurred a month or two earlier, in May or June, and that
Siamese recognition of Senik as Ruler of Kelantan had been granted
to him probably in July 1838.
We may sum up as follows: Long Muhammad (later styled 'Sultan
Muhammad I') died (some time in or after April — perhaps June?) 19
15
16
17
18
18
The Singapore Chronicle and Commercial Register and the Singapore Free
Press and Mercantile Advertiser. The 'Chronicle' died on 30 September, 1837.
(See Gibson-Hill: CHR.)
See Singapore Free Press, especially issues for 29 March, 26 April and
3 May 1838.
Although of course he (or a copyist) erred in writing "A.H. 1253" as the
year of his departure, and "Sabtu" as the eve of his return. (Abdullah: KES,
p. 25, p. 121).
Shair Musoh Kelantan, p. 36-37.
A.H. 1253 began on 7 April 1837. It is just possible that the "27 Safar A.H.
1251" mentioned by Haji Abdullah (see above) is correct as to the day and
month but not the year. If it were "27 Safar A.H. 1253" this would be
equivalent to 2/3 June 1837. It is perhaps worthy of note that the Shair
Musoh Kelantan, p. 12 says that Raja Zainal had been in power "about a
year" when the disturbances broke out that led to his expulsion.
436
C. SKINNER.
in 1837. He was succeeded in the same year by his brother Raja Zainal
(also known as 'Raja Banggul', up to that time Bendahara of Kelantan).
Raja Zainal was soon involved in a civil war with his nephews, in
particular with Raja Penambang (whom Zainal had appointed 'Bendahara') and Raja Penambang's brother Senik (later to be styled 'Sultan
Muhammad IF) whom Zainal had appointed 'Temenggong'. This civil
war was still going on when Munshi Abdullah's mission visited Kelantan
in April 1838. Raja Zainal was driven out of Kelantan in May or June
and Senik was recognized by the Siamese in July 1838.
One final point. From the genealogical table on p. 359 of Taib's
article, it might be supposed that Senik was the elder and Raja Penambang the younger brother. In fact, all but one of the sources indicate
that the reverse was the case.20 This is to some extent confirmed by
the appointment made by Raja Zainal, for one would expect that the
(far more senior) office of 'Bendahara' would go to the elder and not
to the younger brother (for whom the title of 'Temenggong' would
suffice). Again, the fact that the Siamese, after recognising Senik, the
younger brother, as 'Sultan Kelantan Phaya Kelantan', felt compelled
to award to Raja Penambang the (unusually high) titles of 'Sultan
Dewa Phaya Changwang',21 would appear to indicate that Bangkok
felt Penambang to be of a seniority such as to warrant him being placed
virtually on the same footing as his younger brother, whom events had
made the ruler of Kelantan.
C. SKINNER
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abdullah (Haji)
TRE:
A Fragment of the History of Trengganu and Kelantan,
lated by H . Marriot, J S B R A S 72 (1916) p. 3-23.
ed. and trans-
Abdullah, (Munshi, b. Munshi Abdul Kadir)
K E S : Kisah Pelayaran Abdullah, ed. Kassim Ahmad, 2nd. (revised) edition,
Kuala Lumpur, 1962.
20
21
Only Rentse: K E L , p. 60 has it that Raja Penambang was the younger brother
of Senik. Abdullah: T R E , p. 12, Hikayat Seri Kelantan p. I l l (ms. p. 61),
Phongsawadan Muang Kelantan p. 132, and Rentse and Mahmud: SAL,
p. 306a, all indicate that Penambang was the elder and Senik the younger.
T a i b : K E S , p. 346 says that Raja Penambang's Thai title was ' P h ( a ) y a Che
Puan', but this is the result of his reading [ch-p-w-a-n]. The correct reading
is [ch-ng-w-a-n] which is the (Kelantan) Malay pronunciation of the Thai
[ca: n g w a : ng] - "Deputy". 'Phaya Changwang' means something like 'Deputy
Ruler*. The grant of this title to Raja Penambang is recorded in the Phongsawadan Muang Kelantan, p. 132.
THE DATING OF THE CIVIL WAR IN KELANTAN.
437
Gibson-Hill (C. A.)
CHR: The Singapore Chronicle (1824-37), JMBRAS 26(1), 19S3, p. 175-189.
Graham (W. A.)
KEL: Kelantan, A State of the Malay Peninsula, Glasgow, 1908.
Hikayat Seri Kelantan
Hikayat Seri Kelantan, edited by Mohd. Taib bin Osman, (unpublished)
M.A. thesis, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 1961.
Mohd. Taib (bin Osman)
K E S : A Note on Abdullah's Account of the Kelantan Civil War in his Kesah
Pelayaran Abdullah, BKI 120 (1964) p. 342-349.
Phongsawadan Muang Kelantan
[Phongsa: wada: n Muang Kalantan] p. 131-148 in Prachum Phongsawadan [Prachum Phongsa: wada: n] part 2, 2nd. edition, Bangkok, 1933.
Rentse (A.)
KEL: History of Kelantan, JMBRAS, 12(2), 1934, p. 44-62.
Rentse (A.) and Mahmud (Dato' Nik)
SAL: Salsilah Raja* Kelantan, JMBRAS, 14(3), 1936, facing p. 306.
Saad Shukri (bin Haji Muda)
KEL: Kilatan atau Riwayat Kelantan, serialized in the magazine 'Kenchana',
Kota Bharu, 1930-31.
SEJ: Sejarah Kelantan, Kota Bharu, 1962 (here the author's name is given
as (As c ad Shukri Haji Muda).
Shair Musoh Kelantan
Shair Musoh Kelantan, edited by Kassim bin Ahmad, (unpublished) M.A.
thesis, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 1961.
Singapore Free Press
Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser, (weekly) Singapore.
National Library Archives, Singapore.
Souvenir
Souvenir (of the) Coronation Celebrations of H. H. Tuanku Yahya Petra
ibni almarhom Sultan Ibrahim, Kota Bharu, 1961.
Vella (W. F.)
RAM: Siam under Rama HI, New York, 19S7.
Dl. 121
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