Tracking The 'Heritage' Of Jawi Scripts [... in the former land of Champa currently occupied by the Vietcong]

CHAU PHONG (VIETNAM), Sept 12 (Bernama) -- "Apa khabar? Dari Malaysia? (How are you? From Malaysia?).

That was a greeting from 45-year-old Imran Abu Bakar at the Muslim village of Chau Phong in Vietnam.

Bernama recently had the opportunity to join the Jejak Warisan Jawi II (JWJW2) expedition tracing the heritage of Jawi scripts in seven nations.

Some residents in Chau Phong can speak Malay, including Imran, who is a teacher at Madrasah Mahmudiyah, a religious school here.

Imran said almost 100 people out of some 2,000 residents in Kampung Masjid Nikmah can speak Malay.

CHAMPA MALAYS

Conversing with Imran in Bahasa Melayu makes a Malaysian visitor feel at home. It is almost possible to forget that this is foreign soil -- Vietnam and not Malaysia.

People in this village dress similarly to the way Malays dress in Malaysia.

The women wear baju kurung and kain batik, as well as the tudung (head clothing), while men wear the sarung pelikat and white skull cap.

According to Imran, the forefathers of the villagers were from the Champa Malays community. However, under the country's previous rulers, many of the Champa Malays had to flee to Cambodia.

Hence there were not many Champa Malays who stayed in the village.

The previous regime practised ethnic cleansing, which is one of the reasons why the newer generation of the Champa Malays do not know how to communicate in Bahasa Melayu, said Imran.

HISTORY AND TRIVIA

According to history, there was a Malay empire under the Champa rulers in Vietnam from Hue all the way south to An Giang.

But when the kingdom was attacked, its king and people fled to Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, before reaching Kelantan and Terengganu.

The fleeing Champa Malays set up the first Malay kingdom in Cambodia, centered in Kampung Cham, in an area close to 10,000 square km.

"The withdrawal by Champa Malays began around 1,300 A.D., after they were defeated and suffered at the hands of the Khmers," explained Zaid Muhammad Mohd Rai, the director of JWJ2.

"Their withdrawal took hundreds of years. At that time there was no single Malay kingdom, as there were several small ones spread all over the place," said Muhammad Mohd Rai.

An interesting bit of trivia, according to Zaid, is that Angkor Wat in Cambodia was the battle ground between the Champa Malays and Khmers.

"It was said that Wali Songo came from the Champa Malay kingdom when Sheikh Jamalludin Kubra married a Cambodian princess who was Champa Malay."

He said that the time of the arrival of Islam is not clear, and it is not known whether the Champa Malays already had embraced the faith when the wars erupted in ancient times.

MALAY LANGUAGE IN EDUCATION

Despite Malay being the language of merchants during ancient times, the use of Jawi scripts has greatly depreciated worldwide, including in Malaysia, previously known as the Malay States.

Among those who still use the language are people in Malaysia and South Thailand, but only for daily communication.

It is surprising to learn that people in Kampung Masjid Nikmah also use the language in their educational system.

"Not many can speak Malay here, only about 100 people," said Ghazali Ahmad, head of the village's Madrasah Azhar. "Most of us can speak the language because of religious classes that they take or teach."

Ghazali Ahmad said that religious books written in Jawi scripts are used in the lessons.

"There are about 300 to 400 books, most of them written by Sheikh Al-Fatani and others. Indirectly, taking lessons in Jawi has helped us to speak Malay," he said.

Among the Jawi-scripted books used are "Sabilil Muhtadin", "Faridatul Faraid," "Hidayatus Salikin" and "Furu'il Masail".

RIGHT TO MALAYSIA

The desire to learn more about the religion has brought some of the villagers to Malaysia.

Ghazali came to Malaysia and stayed for five years. After furthering his knowledge of Islam, he went back to his homeland in order to impart his knowledge of the religion to the younger generations.

This tradition is still being practiced today.

"You are from Kuala Lumpur, yes?" exclaimed Zakarigia Gojali, 22, a student at Kolej Universiti Insaniah in Kedah. "I have just returned home for the semester holiday."

The young man said four or five of his fellow villagers also study in Malaysia.

"There are those in pondok school, university or college, mostly located in Kedah and Kelantan," Zakariqia said in fluent Malay.

His way of speaking Malay is no different from that of Malays of Malaysia.

"I learn Bahasa Melayu over there (Malaysia), while in college. There are many friends (who help out)," said Zakariqia, who has been in Malaysia for three years.

Learning Malay is not difficult, as there are similarities with the Arabic language, he added.