Vietnam-Champa
Relations and the Malay-Islam Regional Network in the 17th–19th Centuries
Danny
Wong Tze Ken
Historical
relations between Vietnam and the kingdom of Champa was a very long- standing
affair characterized by the gradual rise of the Vietnamese and the decline of
the Chams. The relationship began as early as the second century CE, when the
Chams started a kingdom called Lin-yi, covering the area between the land of
the Viet people in the north and Nanchao in the south. The historical
consciousness of both peoples includes wars and conflicts between the two over
a period of fifteen centuries before the kingdom of Champa was incorporated
under Vietnamese rule in 1693. Thereafter, the lands of the Chams were settled
by Vietnamese through a series of land settlement programs introduced by the
Vietnamese ruling houses.
Subjugation
of the former land of Champa was incomplete, however, as Cham resistance –
often armed – became the central theme of the relationship after 1693.
Resistance was based on the desire to be free of Vietnamese rule and to
reinstate the kingdom of Champa. Contributing to this desire was the friction
that existed between Vietnamese and Chams, often at the expense of Cham rights
and well being. It was not until 1835 that Cham resistance was finally broken.
This
essay traces the history of Vietnam-Champa relations between 1693 and 1835,
with emphasis on the Vietnamization process and the existence of a Malay-Islam
regional network in Southeast Asia, based mainly in the Malay Peninsula, that
contributed to Cham resistance. The last part of the essay discusses the
correlation between historical and present-day Cham-Malay relations.
The
Vietnamese Victory over Champa in 1693
Before
1692, Champa was trying to strengthen its position against the Vietnamese
through dealings with other regional powers. The Vietnamese were represented by
the Nguyen family, which had ruled southern Vietnam since 1558. Although Champa
was then still an independent state, Nguyen sources such as the Tien Bien had
used the term “rebellion” for all Champa military action against them since
1629 – revealing that the Nguyen perceived Champa as a tributary vassal.
In
1682, the French priest at the court of Ayudhya reported that the king of
Champa had submitted voluntarily to the king of Siam.[1] While no other
information is available, the event suggests an attempt by the Chams to forge
an alliance with Siam with the ultimate aim of resisting the Nguyen. During a
stop at Pulo Ubi near the Gulf of Siam on 13 May 1687, William Dampier, the
English traveller, met a vessel of Champa origin anchored on the eastern side
of the island. The vessel carried rice and lacquer and was on its way to
Malacca. All forty crew members were Chams. They carried broad swords, lances,
and some guns. Dampier wrote that the Chams were actively involved in trade
with the Dutch at Malacca.[2]
In
1692, the Chams were feeling confident enough to challenge the Vietnamese. In
September, Po Saut, the king of Champa[3] at Panduranga (Pho Hai-Phan Rang-Phan
Ri region), began building fortifications and had his men attack the region of
Dien Khanh (Dien Ninh prefecture and Binh Khang garrison).[4] The campaign
ended with the defeat of the Chams in the first month of 1693. Po Saut and his
followers were captured seven months later; meanwhile, the Cham court was
renamed Thuan Thanh Tran and occupied by Nguyen garrisons whose mission was to
prevent attacks from the remnants of Cham forces.[5]
The
conquest of Champa should be understood in the context of Nam Tien (southward
movement). Chinese scholar Yang Baoyun considers Champa a victim of the
Nguyen’s deliberate policy of subjugation, which stemmed from the principle of
“maintaining good relations with countries of distance, and attacking the
neighboring countries.”[6] Title-inscriptions found on a cannon cast in 1670 by
Joao da Cruz (Jean de la Croix), the Portuguese gun founder in the service of
the Nguyen, sheds light on the matter. The title-inscription on the cannon
reads, “for the King and grand Lord of Cochinchina, Champa and of Cambodia.”[7]
A
series of battles between the Chams and the Vietnamese in 1693-94 left the area
in severe famine and led to the outbreak of plague.[8] Apart from the
difficulties caused by military clashes, the new Vietnamese administration was
ill-prepared to govern the Chams. The main problem was its inability to
establish an effective military presence. This was partly resolved when the
Nguyen ruler Nguyen Phuc Chu (r. 1691-1725) appointed Po Saut’s lieutenant, Po
Saktiraydaputih (or Ke-ba-tu),[9] as the ta do doc (governor) to administer the
region on behalf of the Nguyen.
Po
Saktiraydaputih was given the rank of a kham-ly (civil official) in the Nguyen
bureaucracy. His three sons were given the military appointments of de-doc,
de-lanh, and cai-phu. The Chams were also ordered to change their costumes to
those of the Han tradition, which meant the costumes of the Vietnamese.[10]
Thus began a process of Vietnamization in the Cham territories that was to
continue through the eighteenth century.
The
Vietnamization Process
In
1694, Nguyen Phuc Chu made Po Saktiraydaputih the native king (phien vuong) of
Thuan Thanh Tran, and the latter was obliged to pay tribute to the Nguyen. Thus
the tributary relationship was resumed. Nguyen Phuc Chu also returned the royal
seal of Champa together with captured weapons, horses, and population. Thirty
Vietnamese soldiers or Kinh Binh (soldiers of the Imperial City) were sent to
protect the new Cham ruler.[11] At this point the kingdom of Champa no longer
existed as an independent entity, but had been integrated into the Nguyen
domains. The Cham people continued to live in small pockets from the region of
Quang Nam down to the Pho Hai-Phan Rang-Phan Ri region, where the seat of the
Cham court under Po Saktiraydaputih was situated. The ruler’s palace was
situated at Bal Chanar, not far from Phan Ri.[12]
Even
though the Chams continued to refer to their kingdom in the Pho Hai-Phan
Rang-Phan Ri region as Panduranga, it was actually occupied territory.
Vietnamese-Cham relations after 1697 under Nguyen Phuc Chu were based on
central-regional relations; the role of the Cham ruler was more of a cultural
and economic leader than a political one. But it was probably due to such a
relationship that the Cham people were able to co-exist with the Vietnamese
during the southward expansion of the Nguyen up to the early nineteenth
century.
The
Nguyen-Champa tributary relationship provides an insight into the attitude of
the Nguyen with regard to its new status as a suzerain. On the one hand, the
tribute had great economic and practical value to the Nguyen. More significantly,
this self-created tributary relationship was a manifestation of the Nguyen’s
achievement of an independent state ruling over its newly acquired tributary
state, Champa. The Nguyen court was now the center of a system of tributary
states made up of weaker states and uplanders.
However,
the relationship between Po Saktiraydaputih and Nguyen Phuc Chu did not prevent
friction from taking place in day-to-day affairs between the Cham people and
Vietnamese settlers. Chams were also dissatisfied with the Vietnamese
administration of the newly created Binh Khanh prefecture, whose jurisdiction
covered the Cham territories in the Pho Hai-Phan Rang-Phan Ri (Panduranga)
region. Such friction involved the jurisdiction of law enforcement, trade,
trade taxes, slaves and labor contracts, and administrative boundaries.[13] The
Chams were at a disadvantage when dealing with the Vietnamese in these matters.
An
agreement made in 1712 between Nguyen Phuc Chu and Po Saktiraydaputih included
five provisions to regulate or govern Vietnamese-Cham relations in Binh Khang.
Nguyen records mentioned that the agreement was made at the request of Po
Saktiraydaputih and that Nguyen Phuc Chu “granted” a list of rules (not an
agreement).[14] It is difficult to ascertain if Po Saktiraydaputih really
requested such an agreement, but clearly it was important in safeguarding the
interests of the Chams, even though some of the articles were biased against
them:
Anyone
who petitioned at the Royal palace (of Po Saktiraydaputih) has to pay 20 string
of cash (quan) to each of the Left-Right Tra (court official), and 10 string of
cash to each of the Left-Right Phan Dung; Whereas those who petitioned at Dinh
Binh Khanh have to pay 10 string of cash to the Left-Right Tra, and 2 string of
cash to each of the Left-Right Phan Dung.
All
disputes among Han people (Vietnamese) or between Vietnamese and a resident of
Thuan Thanh shall be judged by the Phien Vuong (Cham King) together with a Cai
ba (treasurer) and a Ky Luc (judicial official) (both Vietnamese officials);
Disputes among the people of Thuan Thanh shall be judged by the Cham King.
The
two stations of Kien-kien and O-cam shall be defended more carefully against
spies. The authorities shall have no power to arrest residents of the two
stations.
All
traders who wish to enter the land of the registered barbarians (Man de) must
obtain a pass from the various relevant stations.
All
Chams from Thuan Thanh who drifted to Phien Tran (borders with Cambodia) must
be well treated.
From
the agreement it is apparent that the Cham territories were well penetrated by
Vietnamese settlers and that there was no distinctive demarcation between a
Cham and a Vietnamese area in the Binh Khang Garrison (Thuan Thanh area). The
terms of the agreement also suggest that the Nguyen had conceded a great deal
of administrative authority to their sponsored Cham king. However, the great
influx of foreign culture and people inevitably forced the Chams to accept the
presence of the Viet people and adopt some of their ways, including wearing
Vietnamese costumes and using the Vietnamese language.
Nguyen-Champa
relations between 1697 and 1728 were described by Vietnamese sources as
amicable. In the seventh month of 1714, for instance, after the completion of
the renovation of the Thien Mu Temple in Phu Xuan, Po Saktiraydaputih brought
his three sons to attend a religious celebration hosted by Nguyen Phuc Chu.
Chu, a devout Buddhist, was “very pleased” with their presence. He appointed
each of Po Saktiraydaputih’s sons as hau (noble in charge of a village).[15]
Three
months later, Po Saktiraydaputih requested assistance from the Nguyen for the
establishment of an official court. The Tien Bien recorded how Nguyen Phuc Chu
ordered a plan drawn up for the Cham ruler in which the respective positions of
military and civil officials in the court were specified.[16] Given the nature
of the Nguyen chronicles, it is difficult to be sure if Po Saktiraydaputih had
actually made such a request, or whether the whole system was imposed upon the Chams.
Nevertheless, it represented another step towards the Vietnamization of the
Chams.
Under
Po Saktiraydaputih, the Cham people remained subordinate to Nguyen authority
between 1700 and 1728, a period when the Nguyen were expanding into Cambodian
territories. Even when the Nguyen were preoccupied with the situation in
Cambodia, the Chams did not take the opportunity to free themselves. After the
death of Po Saktiraydaputih in 1728, Nguyen-Champa relations underwent a shift.
In that year, the Chams rose against the Vietnamese, but were swiftly
defeated.[17] This led to further Vietnamization as Vietnam-Champa relations
were downgraded to those of a prefecture and subsequent Cham rulers adopted the
Vietnamese family name of Nguyen.[18]
No
Cham ruler after Po Saktiraydaputih developed a close relationship with an
individual Nguyen ruler such as that between Po Saktiraydaputih and Nguyen Phuc
Chu. The Cham rulers continued to come from the line of Po Saktiraydaputih (of
the Po Rome line), but they conducted their affairs with the prefects of Binh
Khanh and Binh Thuan prefectures and rarely had direct contact with the Nguyen
capital at Phu Xuan. A survey of the Cham Archives of Panduranga provides the
information that post-1728 Nguyen-Champa relations were still governed by the
regulations set by Nguyen Phuc Chu and Po Saktiraydaputih. This represented
continuity with the pre-1728 period, but the process of Vietnamization also
continued. The autonomous Champa ruler as envisaged by Nguyen Phuc Chu became
little more than a local chieftain under the jurisdiction of prefecture
administrators, and the position of the Chams became more and more vulnerable.
Beyond
state-level relations, Champa’s own cultural identity was threatened by the
large number of Vietnamese in its territories. Po Dharma describes the remnant
areas of Champa as spots on a leopard skin.[19] Not only did the Vietnamese
swamp Champa, but they also began to break into the traditional economic
positions of the Chams, taking over their role in the collection of jungle
produce from the highlands. This included the direct collection of calambac
(gaharu) and eaglewood and dealing directly with the uplanders for jungle
produce.[20] According to Po Dharma, many Chams became indebted to the
Vietnamese by borrowing money at the exorbitant interest rate of 150%. This
resulted in Chams losing land, rice fields, slaves, even their children and
parents.[21]
In
this state of losing their homeland and inevitable Vietnamization, the Chams
began to turn towards the Malays of the peninsula for assistance.
The
Chams and the Malays
Like
the Malays, the Chams are categorized as Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian).[22]
They came under Indian cultural and religious influence around the middle of
the fourth century CE. The fusion between local dynamics and this foreign
influence is evident even today in Cham architecture and relics found in the
region between Hue and Quang Nam. The cities of Tra-kieu, Dong Duong, and
My-son are fine examples.
Contrary
to the findings of earlier scholars, the people of Champa were not ethnically
homogenous.[23] In fact, over the centuries, interaction took place between the
Cham and uplanders from the Truong Son (Annamite mountain chain) range. Former
Cham centers in the highlands such as My-son lend support to such an argument.
There are new findings that suggest an incorporation of other Austronesian
tribes such as the Jarai, the Chru, the Ronglais, and the Rhade into Champa. Po
Rome (1627–1651), one of the most popular kings in the history of Champa, was
actually of Chru descent. Po Rome’s son, Po Saut, was of Chru and Rhade
parentage.[24] There is also evidence suggesting the incorporation of
non-Austronesian groups – the Stieng and the Hmong – into the Champa
kingdom.[25]
The
Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) mentions the presence of Chams in Malacca during
the reigns of the Malay sultans. They were known to be political refugees who
had arrived in Malacca after 1471. They were well received by the rulers of
Malacca, who appointed some Cham noblemen to official positions in the court.
In highlighting the Cham presence in Malacca, Marrison draws attention to the
fact that the Chams probably contributed to the racial admixture of the Malays
of the Peninsula and hence some Cham influences may have survived in Malay
cultural tradition.[26]
It
is more important for our purposes to note that Malacca was a destination in
the post-1471 Cham diaspora. The year 1471 marked the sack of Vijaya by the
Vietnamese, the year Henri Maspero suggested as the end of Champa. Was the Cham
decision to go to Malacca prompted by ethno-cultural considerations or by
religion?
It
was probably based more on ethno-cultural factors – as evidenced by the record
of Champa-Malay relations – than on religion While the rulers of Malacca had
converted to Islam in 1414, Islam had not yet made major inroads into Champa.
Islam would later become important, however, in the strong connection between
the Chams and the Malays. By the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries, it would be the main factor in rallying Malay help for the Chams in
resisting Vietnamese domination.
French
scholar Pierre Yves Manguin suggests that the Chams only converted to Islam in
the seventeenth century, almost three centuries after the Malays. But Islam was
introduced into Champa at an earlier, undetermined date. Maspero stated that
some Chams may have converted to Islam as early as the era of Sung dynasty
China. Two Kufic inscriptions found in what was southern Champa are dated
around 1030 CE and there is some indication of a Muslim community in Champa in
the tenth century.[27]
Existing
literature and the present situation in Indochina have probably given rise to
the impression that the Chams were Muslims during the life of Po Rome, who
stayed in Kelantan for several years in the seventeenth century. And many Chams
who had fled the Champa heartlands (central Vietnam) since 1471 and lived in
Cambodia and on the Vietnam-Cambodian border had converted to Islam. The
existence of this group, commonly known as Cham Baruw, also reinforced the
Islamic image of the Cham people.
Po
Rome’s stay in Kelantan, however, should be seen from another angle. While
Kelantan has been known as the serambi Mekah (gateway to Mecca) since the fall
of Malacca in 1511, this title does not necessarily mean that religious
practice was like that of the present day, when religion is paramount in the
lives of the Kelantanese. Po Rome’s presence in Kelantan a few years prior to
his ascension to the throne of Champa was likely an attempt to learn broadly
about Malay culture, including the powerful Malay magic and the new Islamic
religion. Instead of being the main concern of Po Rome, Islam was part of the
wider Malay culture that he and other Chams were hoping to learn about in order
to rekindle their ethnic and cultural links with the Malay world.
People-to-people
relations between the Chams and the Malays were not confined to religious
activities. It is likely that the Chams had been frequenting Kelantan for many
centuries. Several place names there, such as Pengkalan Chepa and Kampung
Chepa, suggest close ties between the two peoples and wide acceptance on the
part of the Malays. There were costume and textile names associated with
Champa, for example, tanjak Chepa (headdress), sutra Chepa (silk), and kain
Chepa (cloth). Chepa is used to describe one type of keris (dagger). There was
padi Chepa (Champa paddy) and sanggul Chepa (a hair decoration). It is believed
that a mosque in Kampung Laut was built by Cham sailors who frequented
Kelantan.[28] And according to the Hikayat Kelantan (Kelantan Annals), the
ancestors of Long Yunus, the founder of the present-day Kelantan sultanate,
originated in a state known as Kebayat Negara or Kembayat Negara, which is
believed to be Champa.[29]
Cham
movement to the Malay Peninsula seemed to be frequent and even lasting. As
early as the late fifteenth century, a Cham colony was established at Malacca.[30]
While most of the colony’s inhabitants were merchants, it began as a sanctuary
for Cham refugees. In 1594, the king of Champa sent a military force to assist
the Sultan of Johore to fight against the Portuguese in Malacca.[31] While no
explanation was given for the Cham king’s action, it is likely that it was
influenced by the common Malay identity and possibly common Islamic faith of
the rulers of Champa and their Malay counterparts.
According
to the Babad Kelantan (Kelantan Annals), a Cham prince arrived in Kelantan in
the mid-seventeenth century who was known as Nik Mustafa. After residing in
Kelantan for many years, he returned to Champa and was made king, reigning with
the title of Sultan Abdul Hamid.[32] Another Cham ruler who is believed to have
been Muslim was Po Rome’s son, Po Saut (1660–1692), the last ruler of
independent Champa. He used the Malay title “Paduka Seri Sultan” in a letter he
sent to the Dutch governor at Batavia in 1680. In 1685, he requested a copy of
the Quran from Father Ferret, a French missionary serving in Champa.[33]
The
Cham classic entitled Nai Mai Mang Makah (The Princess from Kelantan) tells the
story of a princess from Kelantan who was trying to convert the Cham king to
Islam. The event was not dated. Po Dharma and Gerard Moussay are of the opinion
that the event took place between the 1693 fall of Champa and the 1771 Tayson
rebellion.[34] Manguin suggests that Malay migration into Champa played its
part in influencing the people to convert to Islam. Accordingly, the Chams were
also influenced by the Malays to adhere to the Sunni Shafie sect and, like the
Malays, they also kept traces of Shi’ite devotion.[35] However, Manguin also
believed that Malay migration to Champa was much more restricted, especially
after Champa was absorbed by Vietnam.
Cham
Resistance and the Malay-Islamic Regional Network
French
missionary sources mention that during the thirty years prior to the fall of
Champa to the Nguyen in 1693, there were many Malay scribes and missionaries in
the court of Champa. Their main task was to propagate the Islam faith to the
Chams. It is likely that these Malays became involved in the Cham struggle
against Vietnamese encroachment into Cham territories, resulting in several
anti-Vietnamese movements.[36] In this regard, the Chams clearly invoked their
Malay-Islamic identity in trying to enlist help against the Vietnamese.
Between
the establishment of Nguyen rule over Champa in 1693 and the final annihilation
of the Cham political entity in 1835, the Chams made many attempts to break
away from Vietnamese rule. These normally took the form of armed revolts. Among
the major Cham revolts were those of 1693, 1728, 1796, and 1832-34.
In
the case of the 1728 revolt, Po Dharma suggests that the main cause was Cham
dissatisfaction with their socio-economic situation.[37] It was through these
revolts that the Chams began to rekindle their ties with the Malays and seek
their help in resisting the Vietnamese.
The
Cham resistance of 1796 control was led by a Malay nobleman named Tuan Phaow.
He is believed to have been from Kelantan, as he told his Cham followers that
he was from Mecca (Kelantan). His followers consisted mainly of Chams from Binh
Thuan and from Cambodia (giving rise to the suggestion that he was from
Cambodia), as well as Malays.[38] Tuan Phaow’s resistance had a religious
dimension. In order to legitimize his actions, Tuan Phaow claimed to have been
sent by God to help the Chams resist the Vietnamese. Tuan Phaow’s forces were
up against Nguyen Anh (Gia Long, founder of the Nguyen Dynasty). Despite
putting up strong resistance for almost two years, Tuan Phaow’s forces were
cornered and defeated by the Nguyen army working in league with a pro-Nguyen
Cham ruler. Tuan Phaow reportedly escaped to Mecca. This resistance movement
was the first clear indication that Cham resistance had a strong Malay
connection. It also shows the Islamic religious dimension becoming a common
rallying call.
The
1832 Cham revolt took place as a reaction against Emperor Ming Mang’s harsh
oppression of the Chams in reprisal for their support of Ming Mang’s viceroys
in Gia Dinh in the south. Viceroy Le Van Duyet had refused to accept orders
from Hue since 1728. After Duyet passed away in 1832, he was succeeded by his
adopted son, Le Van Khoi, who continued to resist the Nguyen court. Ming Mang’s
army carried out a series of oppressive activities against the Cham population
in Binh Thuan to punish them for supporting Le Van Duyet and Le Van Khoi. In
this conflict, the Malay-Cham connection is again evident in the form of Malay
leadership. The Chams were led by a Islamic clergyman from Cambodia named Katip
(Khatib) Sumat, who had spent many years studying Islam in Kelantan.
Apparently, upon hearing that Champa was under attack by the Nguyen army, Katip
Sumat immediately returned. Arriving in Binh Thuan in 1833, he was accompanied
by a large force of Malays and Chams from Kelantan. Katip Sumat led the Chams
in a series of guerrilla attacks against the Nguyen army. Apart from fighting
for the survival of Champa, Katip Sumat invoked the Islamic bond in rallying
Malay and Cham support for the cause. In some ways this turned the Cham
struggle against the Vietnamese into a form of religious war.[39] The Katip
Sumat-led resistance, however, was defeated by the Nguyen army.
Katip
Sumat’s Malay contingent did not consist only of volunteers. It is believed
that they were sent by Sultan Muhamad I of Kelantan (1800-1837), who raised an
army to accompany Katip Sumat to Champa. According to Po Dharma, the underlying
factors were the Sultan’s acknowledgement that he and the ruler of Champa shared
the same lineage (descendants of Po Rome) and of the need to preserve Islamic
unity.[40]
The
defeat of Katip Sumat and other Malay-Cham resistance against the Vietnamese in
1835 marked the end of Champa as an independent or autonomous political entity.
However, resistance up to that time demonstrates that the Malay-Cham
relationship was very old and based first on their common Malay identity and,
increasingly since the sixteenth century, on their common adherence to the
Islamic faith. Malay-Cham relations continued after 1835 as well, mainly
culturally and religiously.
The
Twentieth-Century Legacy of Cham-Malay Linkages
The
final annihilation of Champa by the Vietnamese Emperor’s troops in 1835
effectively marked the end of almost two millennia of continuous Champa
existence. Since then, the last strips of Champa territories, known as
Panduranga to the Chams, were fully incorporated into the Vietnamese realm. The
end of the Cham royal house also effectively ended the little protection
afforded the Cham population between 1693 and 1835. Unlike the previous
arrangement, wherein the Chams were subjects of the Cham rulers and governed by
Cham regulations and laws, the post-1835 Cham population came under direct
Vietnamese rule. The provincial administrators were the highest authority, and
Cham notables served as middlemen between the population and the Vietnamese
rulers.
With
the end of 1835 revolt, Cham links with the external world were also
considerably reduced. This situation persisted until the second half of the
nineteenth century, when Binh Thuan and five other provinces in the south were
ceded to the French by the Nguyen at the end of the Franco-Vietnamese War of
1858-1861. The advent of French colonization of Vietnam actually ended Nguyen
attempts to wipe out the Chams. The breakdown of the Nguyen administrative
apparatus in the face of greater French control over the provinces saw the
rekindling of ancient Cham aspirations to exert Cham identity. Efforts to
re-establish traditional external linkages, including those with the Malay
states, played an important role. This is evident from reports of religious
teachers (ulama) from the Malay Peninsula who frequented the former land of
Champa during the final years of the nineteenth century and the early decades
of the twentieth. Like their predecessors, many of these visitors stayed for
long durations in the former Champa as well as among the Chams in Cambodia.
They married local Cham women and had children. Several of these families
remained in the former Champa and in Cambodia, cementing relationships
established in earlier centuries.
During
the twentieth century, exchanges of visits between the Chams and the Malays
became more frequent and were often family visits, though the religious factor
remained strong. Until recently, Malay missionaries visited southern Vietnam to
spread the Islamic faith among the Chams.[41] In the annual international
Quranic recital competition in Kuala Lumpur, representatives from Vietnam (Binh
Thuan) continued to take part until the escalated Vietnam War made it
impossible for them to attend.
From
the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 until 1993, the Malaysian government took in
no fewer than 7,000 Muslim Cham refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia, making them
the only group out of the tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees who passed
through Malaysia to be accepted and settled.[42] Though the official
explanation was based on humanitarian considerations, the truth lies with
Malay-Cham connections based on common Malay and Islamic identity.
Danny
Wong Tze Ken is associate professor in the Department of History, University of
Malaya. This project was funded by a SEASREP-Toyota Foundation Regional
Collaboration Grant.
[1]
“Father Duchesue to Directors of the Seminary in Paris,” 13 November 1682,
AMEP: Siam, Vol. 878, f. 202.
[2]
William Dampier, A New Voyage Round the World (London: 1697. This edition, The
Argonaut Press, 1927), p. 272.
[3]
Po Sau (1660–1692) or Ba-tranh as mentioned in the Vietnamese (Nguyen) sources.
See Po Dharma, Le Panduranga (Campa) 1802-1835, p. 67.
[4]
Dai Nam Thuc Luc Tien Bien (hereafter Tien Bien), Vol. 7, p. 4.
[5]
Tien Bien, Vol. 7, p. 5b.
[6]
Yang Baoyun, Contribution a l’histoire de la principaute des Nguyen au Vietnam
meridional (1600–1775) (Geneva: Editions Olizane, 1992), p. 151.
[7]
Pierre Yves Manguin, Les Portugais sur les Cotes du Vietnam et du Champa
(Paris: EFEO, 1972), pp. 206-207.
[8]
Tien Bien, Vol. 7, p. 9a.
[9]
Like the name of Po Saut, Po Saktiraydaputih was used in the Cham Chronicles of
Panduranga, whereas Vietnamese sources used the name Ke-Ba-tu. See Po Dharma,
Le Panduranga (Campa), 1802-1835, p. 68.
[10]
Tien Bien, Vol. 7, p. 5b-6a.
[11]
Dai Nam Chinh Bien Liet Truyen, So Tap (Biographical Records of the Eminent
People of Dai Nam), Vol. I (hereafter DNCBLT), Chapter 33, p. 22b. See
Inventaire des Archives du Panduranga: du fonds de la Societe Asiatique de
Paris (Paris: Centre d’Histoire et Civilizations de la Peninsule Indochine,
1984), p. 75. See “Governor of Binh Thuan to the King of Champa,” 1738,
Collections Cam, Societe Asiatique de Paris, piece No. 6.
[12]
It was from here that he gave audience to officers of the French East India
Company ship, La Galatee in 1720. See Le Thanh Khoi, Viet-Nam Un Histoire
(Paris: Sudestasie, 1981), pp. 264-265.
[13]
Both the Tien Bien and PBTL are silent on the problems faced by the two peoples
residing at Dinh Binh Khanh. However, later correspondence (1702-1810) from the
Cham Archives of Panduranga (Societe Asiatique Collections) gives an idea of
the nature of the friction. See also Inventaire des Archives du Panduranga: du
font de la Societe Asiatique de Paris (Paris: Centre d’Histoire et
Civilizations de la Peninsule Indochinoise, 1984). See also Yoshiaki Ishizawa,
Les Archives Cam Redigees en Caracteres Chinois au Finds de la Societe
Asiatique avec Annotation Analyse (Kagoshima: Historical Science Reports, Vol.
29, Kagoshima University, 1980).
[14]
Tien Bien, Vol. 8, p. 14a.
[15]
Tien Bien, Vol. 8, p. 18b.
[16]
Tien Bien, Vol. 8, p. 20b.
[17]
This revolt is not found in other sources; see “De Flory to another Priest,”
1728, AMEP: Cochinchine, Vol. 739, f. 600.
[18]
It is not known when the first Champa ruler adopted or was given the family
name of Nguyen. When Emperor Gia Long established his dynasty, he appointed
Nguyen Van Hau, a chieftain from Thuan Thanh as phien vuong (native king), and
the successors of Nguyen Van Hau used the name of Nguyen until 1835. See Dai
Nam Nhat Thong Chi, Vol. 10: Binh Thuan, p. 19.
[19]
Po Dharma, “Les Frontieres du Campa (derbier etat des recherches),” in Les
Frontieres du Vietnam, ed. P. B. Lafont (Paris: L’Hamattan, 1989), p. 134.
[20]
Gerald Hickey, Sons of the Mountains: Ethnohistory of the Vietnamese Central
Highland to 1954 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1982), p. 160.
[21]
Po Dharma, Le Panduranga (Campa) 1802-1835, p. 71.
[22]
Eric Christal, “Champa and the Study of Southeast Asia,” in Le Campa et Le
Monde Malais: Acts de la Conference Internationale sur le Campa et le Monde
Malais (Paris: Centre d’Histoire et Civilizations de la Peninsule Indochinoise,
1991), p. 66; see also Frank M. Lebra, Gerard C. Hickey and John K. Musgrave,
Ethnic Groups of Mainland Southeast Asia (New Haven: Human Relations Area Files
Press, 1964), p. 245.
[23]
For many years, scholars were influenced by Maspero’s view that the Chams were
homogenous. See Georges Maspero, Le Royaume de Campa (Paris: editions G.
Vanoest, 1928).
[24]
Gerald Hickey, Sons of the Mountains, p. 56.
[25]
For some recent studies that took up this line of argument, see Benard Gay,
“Une Nouvelle sur le Composition Ethnique du Campa” in Actes du Seminaire sur
le Campa organise a l’Universitaire de Copenhagen (Paris: Centre d’Histoire et
Civilizations de la Peninsule Indochinoise, 1988), pp. 49-56; Po Dharma, Le
Panduranga (Campa) 1802–1835, Ses Rapports avec Vietnam, Vol. I (Paris: Ecole
Francaise d’Extreme-Orient, 1987); and Pierre-Bernard Lafont, “Les Grandes
Dates de l’Histoire du Campa,” in Le Campa et la Monde Malais (Paris: Centre
d’Histoire et Civilizations de la Peninsule Indochinoise, 1991), pp. 6-25.
[26]
G. E. Marrison, “The Chams of Malacca,” JMBRAS Vol. XXIV, Part 1, 1951, pp.
90-98.
[27]
Pierre Yves Manguin, “The Introduction of Islam into Champa,” JMBRAS, Vol.
LVIII, Part 1, 1985, p. 1; see also G. E. Marrison, “The Chams and their
Literature,” JMBRAS, Vol. LVIII, Part 2, 1985, p. 55.
[28]
Abdul Rahman Al-Ahmadi, Sejarah Mesjid Kampong Laut (Kuala Lumpur: Kementerian
Kebudayaan, Belia dan Sukan, 1978), pp. 112-113; see also J. Dumarcy, “La
Mosquee de Kampung Laut (Kelantan): Etude Architectural,” Archipel, No. 44,
1992, pp. 115-122.
[29]
“Negara Melayu Campa” by Abdullah Mohamed (Nakula), in Utusan Zaman, 31 October
1963.
[30]
See G. E. Marrison, “The Chams of Malacca,” JMBRAS, Vol. XXIV, Part 1, 1951,
pp. 90-98.
[31]
Manguin, “The Introduction of Islam into Campa,” p. 12.
[32]
Ibid., Abdullah Mohamad (Nakula) suggests that the prince was Po Rome.
[33]
Adrien Launay, Histoire de la Mission de Cochinchine, Vol. I: 1658-1728 (Paris:
Ancient Maisons Charles Douniol et Retaux, 1923), p. 352.
[34]
Po Dharma, G. Moussay and Abdul Karim, eds., Nai Mai Mang Makah (Tuan Puteri
dari Kelantan) (Kuala Lumpur: Ecole Francaise d’Extreme-Orient and Ministry of
Culture, Arts and Tourism Malaysia, 2000), pp. 29-30.
[35]
Manguin, “The Introduction of Islam into Campa,” p. 13.
[36]
Several French missionaries wrote accounts regarding the presence of the Malay
missionaries and their role in spreading Islam. See the letters of De
Courtaulin, Mahot found in Archives des Missions Etrangeres de Paris (AMEP),
Vol. 734, and letters by the Bishop of Heliopolis, AMEP, Vol. 735, pp. 198-200.
[37]
Po Dharma, Le Panduranga (Campa), p. 71.
[38]
There are five Cham texts regarding the exploits of Tuan Phaow, I am indebted
to Nicolas Weber for translating for me the Manuscript Cam 58 (3).
[39]
For details of the Katip Sumat struggle against the Vietnamese, see Po Dharma,
Le Panduranga (Campa) 1802-1835, Vol. I, pp. 141-147.
[40]
Po Dharma, “Peranan Kelantan dalam Pergerakan Islam di Campa 1833–1834,”
Warisan Kelantan, Vol. VIII, 1989, pp. 85-86.
[41]
Abdullah Mohamed (Nakula) listed 25 male and seven female missionaries from
Kelantan who went to Champa and Cambodia from the end of 16th century to recent
times.
[42]
Cerut Robinson, “Southeast Asian Refugees: Critical Mess?,” Indochina Issues,
No. 77, December 1987, p. 5.
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