Abstract
Compared to Aceh Dar al-Salam which was ruled by four female rulers during the second half of the seventeenth century, the Malay states have never witnessed similar political ascendency of women. Court and aristocratic women, due to
Keywords: Aristocratic womenadatpatriarchypolitical spherestrade
Introduction
In Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia, historians face considerable difficulty in undertaking research on women due to a variety of factors including the lack of primary sources. Traditionally, history relies on written records with women less likely to be its authors. As these documents always referred to men the history of women was marginalised or omitted through prejudice or neglect. As a result, the development of human society is told largely through the male perspective.
Problem Statement
Scholars have differed as to the effect of religion on the status of women. Karim, (1992) shows Malay
Research Questions
The main research question is to what extent the constraint of
Purpose of the Study
This essay examines how aristocratic women amidst the constraints of
Research Methods
The research involves qualitative analysis method through careful scrutiny of Malay traditional texts like the
Findings
Women’s Status in Society
Traditional Malay society is categorised generally into two classes, the ruling class and the subject (
Interestingly, the Malay royalty freely had accepted those of Arab descent as they were considered descendants of the Prophet (pbuh). This group used the prefix '
Other than political instrument to tame an enemy who intend to usurp the throne aristocratic women did not have any particular role to play in the palace. However, there were much evidence of smart aristocratic women who manipulated their positions to ensure their side gained power. Suffice to say that aristocratic women always had the opportunity not only in the political aspect but also in the economic field if they were smart enough to seize whatever opportunities that came their way. As the wife of the sultan or chief she was given access and wealth even though the husband had other wives. Their status also depended on their husbands' social hierarchy which left an impact on women who were not in the same class, particularly palace servants and slaves. The status of the sultan's slaves was much higher than those of a chief. Anyone disturbing the royal slaves would get the mandatory death penalty while anyone who kidnapped a slave would have to pay fourteen time the value of the slave (Maxwell, 1890). Palace servants and slaves including debt bondsmen had commercial values as they could increase the wealth of their masters. Gullick (1988) writes about female slaves and debt-bondsmen working throughout the day but prostituting themselves at night. Their masters pocketed part of the earnings while the balance was used to feed the entire household and other slaves. It was the slaves’ commercial value that caused the murder of the Perak Resident J.W.W. Birch in 1875 after he gave shelter to women slaves who had run away from their masters.
In Pekan, Pahang Hugh Clifford witnessed an uproar when Tengku Indut kidnapped four palace dancers who were his father's favourites. His father was then out of town with another favourite concubine. The female dancers were being trained to be palace dancers. Indut's action angered his stepsister, Tengku Aminah. Clad as a warrior and suitably armed with a kris and a smaller dagger called ‘pepper-crusher’ Tengku Aminah marched to Tengku Indut’s house at midnight. She was backed by some three hundred women who were armed with spears, daggers, old swords, kitchen knives, axes, choppers, and sticks. The women surrounded Indut's residence demanding him to surrender the four dancers but the latter ignored the demand. Aminah refused to give in but a shout from Indut, ‘Awang! Bring me my sword’, was all that was required to disperse them. The dancers were only surrendered after the sultan had returned to the palace (Clifford, 1897; Ahmad, 2016). This episode shows meddling with the palace household was not a trivial matter. In this case, a palace woman had challenged her stepbrother so as to protect her mother who had brought up the dancers. Clifford found this of considerable interest that he included it in his book under the title “the battle of the women.” Clifford (1897) found Aminah and her “army” extraordinary in contrast with most Malay women who were modest and submissive.
Women Involvement in the Political Spheres
Western scholars like Gullick (1988) view Malay aristocratic ladies as without any power or political influence. They never took part in any political discussions and never held any important positions although a few had court titles. Yet they were still a political factor – as personalities and as a media of affinal ties. This view would not stand if we refer to the role of court ladies in palace politic. Kheng (1993) in his discussion of queens and court ladies had introduced the phrase ‘behind the throne’ as physical space, an extremely strategic position and only held by closest royal family members like the sultan’s mother, his Consort, his other wives, even ladies-in-waiting and chambermaids (
Hashim (2003) fine-tuned Kheng's hypothesis. Using Malay traditional court narratives, Hashim (2003) found the notion that women were side-lined as inaccurate. Instead she categorized women into the silent, the consenting or the dissenting women. Through these three categories Hashim (2003) examined how women ‘unsettle their patriarchal principles which purportedly govern their lives’. For example, women who appeared in the
While women’s silence could be a symbol of powerlessness, it could be used as a stratagem as the case of Tengku Tengah who was the daughter of Sultan Abdul Jalil of Johor. The
On the other hand, the
The Malay court narratives include examples of women voices which were not in consonant with patriarchal idea of the weak women as highlighted by the case of Tun Fatimah. Tun Fatimah was the daughter of the 15th century
Tun Fatimah succeeded not only in her revenge but also to redeem her family by promoting the family status to the level of a ruler. This took place during the Portuguese attack on Melaka in 1511. Sultan Ahmad who was ruling Melaka during that time had fled to Pahang and then to Bentan, accompanied by his father, Sultan Mahmud. However, his conduct of not showing respect to his senior officers and chiefs offended Sultan Mahmud who had him murdered and retook the throne. At the same time, Sultan Mahmud designated his son Raja Muzaffar Shah as his successor. The new administration was located in Bentan. Tun Fatimah then gave birth to a boy whom Sultan Mahmud named Raja Alauddin Shah. When the prince was 40 days old, Sultan Mahmud named him successor thereby displacing Raja Muzaffar Shah (Brown, 1952). Sultan Alauddin later became the first ruler of the Johor kingdom.
In this context, the role of the Queen Mother was decisive in the succession struggle. In selecting the
Elsewhere in Johor the
In Perlis and Kedah women in the royal household were still involved in palace politics in the following centuries. In the Perlis royal household, the role of Wan Fatimah in the installation of her son Syed Hussein as Raja of Perlis was a case in point. Between 1821-42 Kedah and Perlis were under Siamese rule. Although Siam governed Kedah directly there were opposition from the Malays who wanted to restore the Kedah Sultanate. To end the political stalemate, the Siamese king Rama III decided in 1839 to install Tunku Anum as Governor of Kedah. This news was conveyed to Wan Fatimah by a Kedah dignitary Muhammad Arshad (father-in-law of Syed Hussein). Wan Fatimah then asked Muhammad Arshad to gather all Perlis chiefs to have an audience with her. She also asked him to write a letter to the Raja of Ligor asking him to appoint Syed Hussein Jamalullail as Raja Kayang (Perlis) to succeed a son of Tunku Dhiauddin who had died in Melaka. In the letter it was mentioned that Syed Hussein was Tunku Dhiauddin's grandson. The Arau district was awarded by the Kedah ruler to Syed Harun Jamalullail (father of Syed Hussein) and his descendants. In fact, when Syed Harun died, Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin appointed Syed Hussein as successor. The effort succeeded as in 1841/42 Siam installed Syed Hussein as the first Raja of Perlis (Tang, 2002).
In Kedah the role of Wan Hajar (first wife) and Wan Jah (second wife) in promoting their sons to the throne after the death of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin III (r. 1854-1879) should not be viewed as trivial. Wan Jah's son was installed as Sultan Zainal Rashid II (r. 1880-1881) because Wan Hajar's son at the time was only 12 years old. Soon after Wan Hajar's son was installed as Sultan Abdul Hamid (r. 1881-1943). Wan Hajar, known as Mak Wan Besar was involved in running the state administration because the sultan was mentally unstable and prone to extravagant spending. When the state was experiencing financial crisis in 1905, Wan Hajar wrote to Prince Damrong who was the Siamese Home Minister, expressing her anxiety about Kedah's political and economic development (Mahani, 2015).
The above cases had shown that women were not hiding behind the throne as depicted in the court narratives. Neither were their actions circumscribed by
Aristocratic Women as Traders and Agriculturalist
Royal connections allowed women more opportunities to be actively involved in trade although success depends on individual skill. Che Manjalara, one of Sultan Abdul Hamid's wives, was a smart woman. She used her status to enrich herself. Che Manjalara owned a house in Bangkok which was bequeath by her father. In Alor Setar she had another house and a piece of land which was presented by the sultan and houses for rent. She was a smart business woman and had the foresight to cultivate good relationship with the British to develop Kedah.
Before 1909 Alor Setar was just a big village surrounded by jungle. At the time, Alor Setar had gravel road linking the northern part with the south. Realising its importance Che Manjalara built many roads in Alor Setar. She built a road through her properties which was later named Jalan Baharu. Today the road is still a busy one in Alor Setar. She also built shop houses in this area. She even owned a market. The shop houses and market was testimony of her business acumen in accumulating wealth (Miller, 1982). Stalls in the market were rented out and she personally collected the monthly rental (Soong, 2002). Che Manjalara had made use of the opportunities as a royal to strengthen her economic status and the status of her descendants. She was 61 years old when she died on 23 April 1941. Her wealth from various sources at the time of her death totalled $59,649.00 (SO 120/60 Estate Yang Teramat Mulia Che Manjalara bt. Long Nara).
The freedom to do business outside the home was also evident in Perak. Wife of aristocrats who usually depended on their husbands' wealth were equally active in accumulating wealth themselves. One example was Toh Puan Halimah who was the daughter of the Datuk Laksamana and the leading chief of Lower Perak in the 1860s and early 1870s. Later she became the principal wife of the Tengku Menteri Ngah Ibrahim who controlled the mining district of Larut. When her father and husband were stripped of their titles and subsequently exiled to the Seychelles following their involvement in the Birch murder of 1875, Toh Puan Halimah and the second wife of the Tengku Menteri refused to follow their husband but continued to display enmity towards the British government and its officers. She was smarter than the second wife and ensure all her husband's wealth were transferred to her. She was also the largest single investor in debt-bondsmen. As an investor, Toh Puan Halimah had the right to use her debt-bondsmen for whatever tasks she decided. When debt-bondage was abolished in Perak in 1883, she received compensation from the state government for the unpaid debts of the bondsmen. She was also involved in
Conclusion
The above discussion had clearly shown that although life in a patriarchal system was a limiting factor, smarter and courageous aristocratic women would utilise any available opportunity to improve their lives and the lives of their descendants.
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23 September 2019
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Cite this article as:
Musa*, M. (2019). Aristocratic Women In The Political And Economic Spheres In Malaya Before 1941. In N. S. Mat Akhir, J. Sulong, M. A. Wan Harun, S. Muhammad, A. L. Wei Lin, N. F. Low Abdullah, & M. Pourya Asl (Eds.), Role(s) and Relevance of Humanities for Sustainable Development, vol 68. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pp. 419-427). Future Academy. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2019.09.47