Archipel

A Note on the Orang Yunnan in Terengganu Tan Chee-Beng

Citer ce document / Cite this document :

Chee-Beng Tan. A Note on the Orang Yunnan in Terengganu. In: Archipel, volume 42, 1991. pp. 93-120;

doi : https://doi.org/10.3406/arch.1991.2750

https://www.persee.fr/doc/arch_0044-8613_1991_num_42_1_2750

Fichier pdf généré le 21/04/2018 TAN Chee-Beng

A Note on the Orang Yunnan in Terengganu

They«ChinesecapitalpopulationpercentonepredominantlyCommunistMuslims,IslamcameRoad.wentwithKazak,from(Canton),turatedphysicallyinmainlandknownAsia,Malay NewPanthay TaiwanThisTheAlthough percent of Fuzhou,theyChinaMuslimsconcentrationthe toareto thereentered of Byarchipelago oftheRelatives as MuslimsUzbek,andChinapaper Muslimsarethe Arab 13,7 theas not the are«comprisingChinese» (9). government evenHawwereopposedChineseports while ofTerengganu ,few Chinesemilliontenthnot Chinabywhotraders deals Inthenon-Muslimetc. in» arelandbiologically » differentChinese some Burma,of bythose(n). (10). cameMuslimsChina Chinesein century,still withatuniquetowho China.persons theC7).whoMuslims convertsthe firstAdmiralthe early Quanzhou, hadbear in fromToday, stateaare MalayswereMuslims wentthenorthwest otherform smallbyThailand in(mostlyHan PopulationIslamusedassimilated more areTurkiccontacts almost a inseaHuiChina who calledZheng tocountry by there the Turkic-AltaictheChinesegroupMalaysW.the inwas Islam,Muslimsand seawho from originated converts) « eastthe Thefeaturesallterm and(i.e.where HuiareHantoHeYangzhoubetweenalso (4).where ofthroughnon-Muslimsoriginated seventh whothe coastChina group(5).oftenMuslims settledYunnaneseof Huito Chinese» introduced from Chinese.theport referHowever inare (8).fifty-fourMuslimoffrom or knowncame themhadMalaysiaMing intermarriage centurypeople have PeninsularWesterninThosecitiesMuslims Huimin intoMuslims from Kualadifferent itsdifferent « (3).There beenChineseto anddynasty, language the astolilçe since originpercent such Muslims settle whenIn Yunnan numbersSaudaraChina in (2)Chinese-speakingtheandTerengganu,much Guangzhou fact areMalaysia.in contrastthe andas parts inpeopleMuslims)Terengganu.ArabsoCentralinfor alsogroupsofvia the more a1950'sthatdescendedthirty-twoareSoutheast the example,lessfew Baruof theHuimintradersUygur, toinTheseChinacalled accul- thanAsia » Silk theare (6).or 94 was known to be a Muslim. So was Ma Huan who accompanied Zheng He in three of his expeditions to the South Seas. Ma Huan was the author of Yingya Shenglan (1433) (The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores) which gave us much information on the various regions in the South Seas. In Malaysia, we know very little about the Chinese Muslims who might have come to the region in the earlier part of the history. Today there are a few families of China-born Chinese Muslim and their descendants scattered in different parts of Malaysia, but their history of settlement, as far as we know, is not long. For example, the late Haji Ibrahim T.Y. Ma alias Ma Tianying was a well-known China-born Chinese Muslim (12\ As far as we know, the Chinese Muslim in Terengganu was the only « community » of Hui- origin Chinese Muslims in Malaysia in the modern period of history. The Chinese Muslims in Kuala Terengganu or more specifically, the descendants of the Hui Hui contrast to the converts, have been known in Malay as Orang Yunnan or « the Yunnanese ». Actually, as stressed by my informant, they are not Yunnanese. The early settlers who spoke the Guangzhou dialect were Muslims from Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. The label Orang Yunnan came into use as a result of the settlers referring to the Yunnanese to explain their original Muslims status to the Malays, for it was/is known to the Malays that there were/are Muslims in Yunnan. In fact Admiral Zheng He was a native of Yunnan, born to a Muslim family under the family name of Ma. His expeditions to the Malay archipelago including several visits to Melaka (13) must have impressed the Malays about the Muslims in Yunnan (14). Furthermore, most Chinese in Malaysia trace their origin to ancestors in Southeastern China (Fujian and Guangdong) and these Chinese that the Malays meet are not Muslims. Even among the Chinese Malaysians themselves, few know that there were/are Muslims in Fujian and Guangdong so that the Chinese in Kuala Terengganu (mainly Hokkien) also regard the Hui Hui there as people who came from Yunnan. Thus, the label « Yunnan » has become a convenient label for the Hui Hui themselves whenever there is a need to explain their identity to both the Malays and the non-Muslim Chinese. In fact, the signboard of my informant's hardware shop at Jalan Kota at Kuala Terengganu bears the label « Ali Alyunani », Ali being the first settler of this family who opened the shop. This must be the signboard originally used by Pak Ali. The Chinese characters below « Ali Alyunani » read « Hui Hui Ya- li » (see Plate 1). Ya-li is of course the Chinese version of the name Ali. What is striking here is that Pak Ali is described as Hui Hui in Chinese, and this is the only public document which indicates the Hui Hui identity of the « Yunnanese ». It shows clearly that « Alyunani » is used in Malay for Hui Hui, that is, the adoption of the « Yunnanese » identity in place of the « Hui Hui » identity. My informant explained that the label « Yunani » or « Yunnan » is used to stress to the Malays that the Hui Hui are Islam asli which in Malay means « original Muslims ». In Mandarin, the informant explained the label « Yunani » by using the words yuanzhuang de Huijiaotu (sic) (see Chinese characters, 1) by which he meant « original Muslims ». The Arabic prefix « al » in « Alyunani » is equivalent to « the » in English. Thus we may conclude that the label NO 21. KG.DAIK.K. TRENGGANU

becomePlate 1. «The Alyunani signboard » in ofMalay, Pak Yusof's(cf. p. 34)(Z.Y. Zhang's) shop. The Chinese label « Hui Hui » has

Plate 2. « Yunnanese » at home in Kuala Trengganu (6.6. 1987) 96

« Yunnan » is used to stress the original Islamic status of the Hui Hui and to draw a boundary between themselves and the non-Muslim Chinese as well as between themselves and the Chinese converts. While this provides the Hui Hui a status intelligible and acceptable to both the Malays and the Chinese at large, it has confused the original ethnic status of the Hui Hui. Nevertheless, the younger generations of the Hui Hui descendants do not emphasize the Chinese status. It is rather sensitive to enquire of their ethnic status. I have kept the label « Orang Yunnan » or Yunnanese as it is the accepted label by both the people themselves and the local Malays and Chinese. This paper seeks to provide an account of the history and the identity of the « Yunnanese » in Terengganu based largely on intensive interviews with a knowledgeable « Yunnanese » who has direct link with the original settlers (15). The interviews were conducted in Mandarin at his home and his shop in Kuala Terengganu during the period of 6 June 1987 and 14 June 1987. There is no previous study on this community except an academic exercise by Mansor bin Embong written in 1976 (16). However, Mansor had problem getting data on the history of the community. He therefore relied on an unnamed « historian » for information. He regarded the people as « Yunnanese » and assumed that the people were keen to be assimilated to the Malay society. Nevertheless his data on the distribution of the people, education, and matters pertaining to Islam are useful and more reliable. According to him, there were 120 Orang Yunnan in Kuala Terengganu, distributed as follows : Jalan Air Jernih (39), Simpang Tok Ku (28), Batu Buruk (6), Jalan Bang- gol (16), Kampung China (24), and Gong Kapas (7). Mansor's estimate of the population was provided by an informant (17). Since much of the study is based on the intensive interview of one informant, it is useful to describe briefly about him as a point of reference. Known as Pak Haji Yusof , his is Zhang Zhaoyun. As Yusoff is also the name of another « Yunnanese » who I will discuss, I shall refer to my informant as Z.Y. Zhang <18). Z.Y. Zhang was born in Kuala Terengganu in 1908 or 1909. His parents had migrated from Guangzhou to Terengganu although it is not known when this took place. At the age of three, the whole family returned to Guangzhou. It was in Minguo 16 or 1927 when Z.Y. Zhang was 19 years old that the family came back to Terengganu. Z.Y. Zhang told me (in 1987) that both he and his wife were eight years old (19\ At the time of interview, Mr. Zhang looked quite fît. His regular practice of a form of Chinese martial art called baduanjin and a glass of fresh milk every morning kept him healthy. Mr. and Mrs Zhang as well as the daughters who live with them speak the Guangzhou dialect at home. Some of them can speak Mandarin too and they all can speak Malay. Mr. Zhang reads Chinese newspapers. He can also read Arabic. Since most Chinese in Kuala Terengganu are Hokkien, Mr. Zhang as a businessman can speak Hokkien too. He had done a number of jobs like selling kitchenware and mirrors, etc. before operating his parents' hardware shop. He was married at the age of twenty-one, that is around 1929, about three years after returning from China. 97

From China to Malaysia 1. What the genealogies may tell us : a case study We can get some ideas about the ancestors of the Hui Hui who came to Malaya through the descriptions in a genealogical book kept by Z.Y. Zhang. The book is entitled Jiangnan Zhang Bairen Tang Guangdong Zhipu (See Chinese characters, 2) or The Guangdong Branch Genealogy of the Zhang Hall of Great Tolerance in Jiangnan (2°). The preface by Z.Y. Zhang's cousin (FBS) in China, Zhaoping indicates that the genealogical record was compiled in 1936. The genealogy comprises a very brief description of most of the ancestors and their wives over a period of three hundred years or so. The information given is generally on Chinese dates of birth and death, names of children and in some cases the place of burial. In many cases, only the months and days of birth and death are indicated and so we do not know the year. The genealogy shows that Z.Y. Zhang belongs to the tenth generation from the founding branch ancestor (shizu) Shijie (1632-1713). Shijie had five brothers and their father Quantai was considered the remote ancestor (yuanzu) of the branch. The genealogy provides only the months and the days of birth and death of Quantai. However, it records that Zhang Shijie was born in 1632 (Chongzhen 5) and passed away in 1713 (Kangxi 52), and the location of his grave was at Niumian Gang (« Sleeping Cow Hill ») in Zhaoqing. The genealogy ends with the twelth generation, namely the three sons of Yiwei (see below), the youngest of whom was born in 1935. The genealogy proper is preceded by the preface, a « Note on the Fourth Founding Ancestor Chaogang » (Si Shizu Chaogang Gong Shilile, (see Chinese characters, 3) by the tenth generation descendant Shaotao, a « Biographical Note on Madam Ma » (Xianci Mashi Anren Shilue, (see Chinese Characters, 4) by Shaotao's sons Yiwei and Sanwei, and a « postscript » (Fuyuan) on the description and classifications of the genealogy by Yiwei. There is a chart on the overall genealogy of the clan, and another one on the clan graves in Guangzhou (close to Wakkâs' holy tomb). The later chart indicates that many of the graves have stone inscriptions. In fact Muslim tombs are seen as important to the Hui identity in China. As Gladney concludes, « Although tombs may not be relevant to all Hui and will be interpreted differently, they continue to serve as powerful frameworks for personal identity and social action that distinguish Hui communities from one another and provide important charters for their corporate identity » (21). In the case of the Zhang lineage here, the family grave was at the Osmanthus Hill (Guihua Gang) in the northern outskirts of Guangzhou. As shown in Figure 1, the first mention of an ancestor being buried at Guihua Gang is Chaoming, brother of Chao- . gang. Some of the ancestor of the eight generation and later were buried at the neighbouring hill called Ziyu Gang. The « Postscript » by Yiwei the eleventh generation descendant mentions that the word bairen or « great tolerance » is adopted as the name of the Zhang lineageancestors' (tanghao) success as through shown tolerance,in the title that of theis, Zhanggenealogy Gong to bairen reflect chengjia the Zhang (see Chinese characters, 5). Note Four of the « Postscript » mentions the generation names (22) and fixes fourteen characters as generation names for the next Plate 3. Portion of a map from the Zhang genealogical book showing the location of the graves at Guihua Gang and Ziyu Gang at the northern outskirts of Guangzhou. Fig. 2 DESCENDANTS OF PAK ALI

QUANTAI

GENERATION 1 SHIJIE (1632-1713) GUOCAI (1665—7)

38-1734?)'ENGUANG

ÂCHAOGANG 1ACHAOMING . ^(?-1783)

YINGXIU vYINGSHAN \YINGXING

DAOYUN \JINGXIONG

Ajiufang \SHIXIANG

.DINGYANG JIALI \JIABANG

LIANFA LIANFU tfU'AN .DIAN'AN (1848-1920)

10 ZHAOHE ZHAOPING ZHAOCHU, ZHAOYUN .SHAOWEI ^SHAOTAO (1869-?) ^SANWEI \YIWEI (1907- ) (1903-) 12

INDICATES THAT THE GRAVE IS AT GUIHUA GANG IN GUANGZHOU Fig. 1 SIMPLIFIED GENEOLOGY OF THE ZHANG 100 fourteen generations from the eleventh generation onwards (see Chinese characters, 6). However, this instruction on the use of the generation name is of no significance to the descendants in Malaysia as more and more of them are assimilated by the Malays. The Postscript also mentions in Note Six that the clan belongs to the « orthodox school » of Hui Hui (Hui Hui zhengzong), regards Adam as the original ancestor (bizu) and Muhammad as the last Messenger of Allah, and that the clan members must observe religious rules, etc <23). Note Seven further specifies the duties of clan members to one another, that the rich should help the poor, and the old be respected and looked after and the young loved, the orphaned and the widows should he helped too. The members should also contribute to one another's weddings and funerals as well as repairing tombs (24). In « Note on the Life of the Fourth Founding Ancestor Chaogang », it is mentioned that the founding ancestor Shijie was originally from Nanjing (Jiangsu Province). In 1645 (Chongzhen 18) (25), he held a post in the military in Liuzhou (Guangxi Province). Because of the political instability of the time, he did not return to Nanjing (26\ Instead he settled in the country of Zhaoqing in Guangdong. Many of his descendants took up an official career. The fourth generation ancestor Chaogang was a rich businessman in Zhaoqing. He was charitable to all people, Muslims and non-Muslims. The text stresses that Muslims (Mumin) should extend charity to non-Muslims. It also uses the labels Hui Hui and Huimin (Hui people) to refer to the Muslims in contrast to the non-Muslim Han people (27\ In « Biographical Note on Madam Ma » we are given some information on a descendant doing business in Southeast Asia. This note was written by Yiwei and Sanwei about their mother Madam Ma (1870-1924) who at the age of « twenty-one » married Shaotao. She was the second daughter of Ma Han- fang of Zhaoqing. Other than the two sons Yiwei and Sanwei, she also had three daughters. Yiwei and Sanwei mention that their grandfather Dian'an was a military commandant (Wude qiwei), and he had frequent missions between the capital (jing) and Guangdong (Yue). However, the family's fortune turned bad after the properties were destroyed by fire and both Dian'an and Yiwei's uncle Shaowei were burned to death. Yiwei and Sanwei's father Shaotao was impoverished and was forced to leave his gentry status to become a merchant. He went to Southeast Asia (Singapore etc) to do business, taking up a few years on each trip and leaving his wife to work hard at home in China (28\ She was born in 1870 (Tongzhi 9) and died at the age of fifty-five according to the Chinese system of calculation. The genealogy on Madam Ma mentions that she passed away in Minguo 13, that is 1924; and that she was buried at Ziyu gang in Guangzhou. The biographical note was written in 1938 in the Air Force Command in Guangdong, indicating that either or both Yiwei and Sanwei were with the Air Force. I should like to point out that the Zhang genealogy book was most probably compiled by Yiwei, as it was he who wrote the « Postscript ». In the last note (Note Eight) of the Postscript, he mentioned that the genealogy book would be distributed to the elders of all the lineage branches (fang), and urged them to keep it carefully and to add the names of babies born to the lineage, and to inform each other of this development. Thus, it is not surprising that 4 fe.il

■«- ! . (

4

-h

Plate 4. Two pages from the Zhang genealogical book : a) data on the branch ancestor Shijie (1632-1713); b) data on the ninth generation descendant Lianfu (i.e. Pak Ali) as follows : Alias Ruiqi, travelled to various parts in Nanyang to do business; sons : Zhaoyun, Zhaochu; daughters : the eldest one married Mr. Yang, the second married Ma Zhichao 102

a biography of Madam Ma was written by Yiwei and his brother Sanwei, and included in the genealogy book : Madam Ma was their mother. Similarly, the « Note on the Life of the Fourth Founding Ancestor Chaogang » written by Shaotao, father of Yiwei and Sanwei, was included in the genealogy book too. The biography on Madam Ma and the note on Chaogang are very useful to this study for the former tells us something about trading in Southeast Asia, while the eighteenth-century Chaogang was also important to my informant in Malaysia, Mr. Z.Y. Zhang. Chaogang had three sons, namely Yingxing, Yingshan, and Yingxiu, giving rise to three branches (fang) of the lineage. My informant Z.Y. Zhang belongs to the Yingxiu branch, while Yiwei and Sanwei trace their descent to Yingxing, the eldest son of Chaogang. In the genealogy chart, Sanwei is shown to be the son of Shaowei, although Sanwei and Yiwei are brothers. This is because Sanwei was adopted (chengsi) as the son of Shaowei at his death, who as we have seen, died at the conflagration. Shaowei himself was actually brother of Shaotao, but chusi or given in adoption to Yu'an (1848-1920) who had died without a son of his own. Interestingly, Yu'an and Dian'an were sons of Jiabang, but Yu'an was adopted by Jiali, brother of Jiabang. The genealogy book mentions that Jiali's son died young. Thus the genalogy book mentions that Jiali's died young. Thus the genealogical records shows the importance of adopting a brother's son when one had no issue, either at death or before death, in order to ensure the continuity of the patrilineal line. The genealogy shows very clearly that the Zhang people were/are Muslims who refer to themselves as Hui Hui or Huimin. The founding branch ancestor migrated from Nanjing to Guangdong. By the nineteenth century, some Zhang members came to trade in Southeast Asia in search of better fortune as we have seen in the case of Shaotao of the tenth generation. My informant mentions that other than his father Lianfu (ninth generation), two of his father's seven brothers namely Lianfa and Lianshen also came to trade in Southeast Asia. However they did not settle down here.

2. The Making of a Terengganu Chinese Muslim Community as Told by the Son of an Immigrant The « Yunnanese » in Kuala Terengganu are descended from six surnames, namely Dong, Li, Zhang, Liu, Fu and Xiao (29). The first three surnames were the earliest to come to Terengannu. The three men were Pak Abdullah (more popularly known as Pak Do) (30\ Pak Musa and Pak Ali. They were also known as Pak Do Yunnan, Pak Musa Yunnan and Pak Ali Yunnan. Pak Ali brought his wife along. Pak Do (Mr. Dong), Pak Musa (Mr. Li) and Pak Ali (Mr. Zhang) all came from Guangzhou. They left China separately for Hongkong and then to Singapore. It was in the later city that they met each other and together they decided to try their fortune in Kuala Terengganu (31). Once settled in Terengganu, they opened a Chinese medical shop called Renji Tang. Pak Ali was a Chinese physician and to this day the people in Kuala Terengganu, both Malays and Chinese, still remember him as a good Chinese physician. Although the medical shop is no more in existence, C.Y. Zhang, a son of Pak Ali, still sells in his hardware shop a popular children's medical 103 lotion (32) prepared from Pak Ali's formula. Pak Do whose Chinese name was Dong Shengquan later tried his luck in the tin-mining business in Kuala Brang in Ulu Terengganu but it was a failure. Around the time of the first World War he sold rice. Later he opened a bookshop which is still in existence at Jalan Bandar in Kuala Terengganu with the signboard « Toko Abdullah Alyunani ». Pak Do stayed in Kuala Terengganu for about ten years before returning to China. He came back to Kuala Terengganu with his wife who was in China and his elder brother, Daud alias Lexian. In Terengganu Daud earned his living as a grocery merchant selling tin food etc. He married a Chinese Muslim in Terengganu (33\ According to Mr. Z.Y. Zhang, he was still small when Pak Daud came to Terengganu. This means that Pak Daud most probably came towards the end of the first decade of the twentieth century. Mr. Zhang also remembers that he and his wife together with Pak Do went to Mecca when he was forty years old. This means that it was around 1947, not long after the Second World War (34). Pak Do died in Mecca. Acording to Mr. Zhang, Pak Do was seventy-four years old then. We can therefore estimate that Pak Do was born in China around 1873. Pak Musa's full Chinese name was Li Wuchu. Apparently his father was a military officer (shoubei). Pak Musa did not have an easy life in Kuala Terengganu. After the initial joint venture in the Chinese medical shop, he peddled medicines. His wife never came to Terengganu and passed away in China. In Terengganu Pak Musa married a Malay woman (35). He died at the age of eighty-four. Pak Ali whose Chinese name was Zhang Lianfu, alias Zhang Ruiqi, left China for Malaya at the age of twenty-four. He passed away in Kuala Terengganu on 15 January 1974. 1 was told that he was then one hundred years old. This means that he came to Singapore and Terengganu around 1898. Mr. Z.Y. Zhang, his son, further mentions that Pak Ali came during the reign of Sultan Zainal Abidin, the father of Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah. This must be Sultan Zainal Abidin III who reigned between the years 1881-1918 <36). Thus even though we cannot be sure if Pak Ali really lived to one hundred years old, it is fairly safe to say that he came to Terengganu around the turn of the twentieth century. Mr. Liu and Mr. Fu came to Terengganu much later. Mr. Liu alias Hassan came to Terengganu together with Pak Musa's son-in-law who was a cook in China - then Mr. Z.Y. Zhang was still in China. In other words, Pak Hassan came to Terengganu in the second or third decade of the century before 1927. According to another informant, Hassan himself was a well-known cook and was known as Hassan Sifu (i.e. Hassan the Master Cook). The title Sifu is derived from the Chinese term shifu which means « master ». Pak Ibrahim alias Fu Shouzhi came even later for when he arrived in Terengganu, my informant already had children. Most probably he arrived in the 1930's. He earned his living on a small business (xiao maimai). He was younger than Z.Y. Zhang by two years but died « three years » ago. Mr. Xiao alias Pak Yusoff was a relative (biaoqin) of Z.Y. Zhang who was twenty-five years old when Mr. Xiao came to Terengganu. This means that Mr. Xiao arrived around 1932. He earned his living selling cloth and cosme- 104 tics (yanghuo). Although no one can tell us when the Hui Hui first came to Terengganu, through cross-checking the informant's various statements, we can conclude that the first settler came at the turn of the twentieth century or at the earliest at the end of the nineteenth century. The informant's mention of the reign of Sultan Zainal Abidin III further validates our judgment (37). Both the genealogy and my interviews confirm that the Chinese Muslims in Kuala Terengganu did not come from Yunnan. They were from Guangdong and more specifically Guangzhou, the capital city. Both the genealogy and the interviews also confirm that the ancestors of the Zhang family originated in the coastal part of China. My informant mentions that his remote ancestors in Nanjing originated from the Arab traders. Although there is no written record to confirm his claims, we do know that Chinese Muslims originated from people who came from the Middle-East and there were already Arab traders at various port cities of China in the Tang dynasty. Guangzhou was one of the earliest places in China visited by Arab traders. In fact, Huisheng Si, the mosque in Guangzhou, is believed to be the oldest in China (38).

Some Features of the Present Community in Kuala Terengganu The present « Yunnanese » are children (now the old generation), grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the first settlers. Pak Do (Mr. Dong) and his first wife left five sons (two of whom had passed away) and two daughters. He and his second wife, a Malay, had one daughter. Pak Musa (Mr. Li) had two sons (one of whom had passed away) and five daughters. Pak AH (Mr. Zhang) left two sons and a daughter in Terengganu. Pak Hassan (Mr. Liu) left four sons and a daughter. Pak Ibrahim (Mr. Fu) had six sons (one of whom had since died) and three daughters, and his wife was still alive at the time of his research. Pak Yusof (Mr. Xiao) and his wife had passed away, leaving three sons and a daughter. Pak Daud had four sons and four daughters. Most of the descendants still live in the district of Kuala Terengganu, both in the town and its outskirts. The two sons of Pak Ali live in the town at Jalan Cherung Lanjut. The children of Pak Hassan live in Kuala Terengganu too and one of his sons is at Jalan Banggol. In Batu Buruk there are four families comprising three sons of Pak Do and my informant's eldest sister (together with her grandson). In Chabang Tiga there is the family of Pak Ibrahim. Another son of Pak Do lives in Bukit Besar, while in Rusila there is a daughter of Z.Y. Zhang. Of the children of Mr. Xiao, one son is with the police in Kuala Terengganu, a son and a daughter are in Kemaman in the district of Kema- man, while another son is in Kuala Lumpur (39). Let's have a look at the descendants of Pak Ali whose wife Madam Cao was a Muslim from Hubei Province in China. Figure 2 shows that they (A and B) had three sons and two daughters but only two sons (F and G) and a daughter (C) are still alive and live in Kuala Terengganu. F is my informant Zhaoyun and G his younger brother Zhaochu whose Muslim name is Mohammad Hassan. Pak Mohammad Hassan has five sons and four daughters (4°), most of whom are very successful in their career. The daughter E and her MR. ZHANG MADAM CAO

\

^H

^ MALE, DECEIVED 0 FEMALE, DECEIVED M, ^N

Fig. 2 DESCENDANTS OF PAK ALI MR ZHANG MADAM DONG FA

610 69 a 68 ^7 À6 91 q 9 oA i2 9

ÔÔÔÀÀ ÀÀ ÀÀÀÀ Ô À

Rg. 3 C. Y. ZHANG'S FAMILY 107 husband who were married in Guangzhou had passed away. The husband of C died in Hongkong. One of her children, J, married K who is her parallel cousin (MZS). M married a Malay woman and both of them together with their two daughters now live in Batu Buruk. Thus of the children of Pak Ali, other than F and G, C and E also contribute partially to the number of descendants in Malaysia. Figure 3 shows that F, one of the two surviving sons of Pak Ali, has three sons and five daughters, not counting a son who died while small and a daughter who had also passed away. The eldest daughter married a Taiwanese. A widow now, she lives with her father. The eldest son also married a Taiwanese and they now live in Sydney, Australia. He is an imam (Muslim leader of prayer in the mosque) there. Another son (n° 5) married a Malay woman (whose father is Chinese (41) and mother a Malay), and two of their children can speak Mandarin, havingt tended Chinese primary schools in Kuala Lumpur. The youngest son (n° 6) married an Indonesian woman who is a teacher. In the case of n° 8, she married a Malay and lives in Rusila. With the exception of the eldest son and the youngest son, all the children of F live in Terengganu. F's own family now comprising himself, his wife, the eldest daughter and the other unmarried daughters still maintains a full Chinese identity. They speak the Guangzhou dialect and use chopsticks at meals. At least, two of the daughters can speak Mandarin as well. In the case of those « Yunnanese » who intermarry Malays, their own children tend to be assimilated by the latter. F mentions that most of the « Yunnanese » in Terengganu are in the process of being assimilated by the Malays. This is reflected in the fact that while the Guangzhou dialect is still spoken by some of the older people, it is largely lost to the grandchildren. The assimilation is reflected not only in the loss of the Chinese language but also in no giving Chinese names to the younger generation (42). Figures 2 and 3 help give some impression on the size of the « Yunnanese » descendants and the process of cultural and ethnic change mainly through intermarriage. The Terengganu « Yunnanese » kinship has two major features, that is, marriage among relatives and intermarriage with the Malay Muslims. Being a small community, marrying within the community meant marrying among the six surnames - the Chinese surnames exogamy was observed in the first and second generation settlers but with the drop of Chinese names and increasing cases of marriages with Malays as well as increasing incorporation into the Malay society, the question of surnames exogamy has become less and less relevant. The children of the first settlers, when they married within the community, of course married one of the sons or daughters of the other settlers. For example, Z.Y. Zhang married a daughter of Pak Do while Pak Ibrahim married Pak Do's other daughter. Z.Y. Zhang's younger brother's wife is the daughter of Pak Daud. Another daughter of Pak Daud married Pak Yusof (Mr. Xiao). From the very beginning, it was necessary for some of the local born « Yunnanese » in Terengganu to marry outside the group due to the small size of the community and the lack of other Chinese Muslims. Since the other Chi- 108 nese in Terengganu are not Muslims while the Malays are Muslims, it was/is natural that the « Yunnanese » intermarry with the Malays. In the case of Pak Do, for example, we have seen that the daughters were able to marry fellow Hui, but all the three surviving sons married Malay women. There were just not enough women within the group. As we have seen, the first seven settlers had altogether 24 surviving sons and 17 daughters. Other than number, being Muslim living in the dominant environment of the Malays who are also Muslims inevitably result in greater interaction with the Malays and greater intermarriage too. In the case of Pak Musa and Pak Yusof (Mr. Xiao), all their children married Malays. Thus if we take the first settlers as belonging to the first generation, there was already significant intermarriage with the Malays in the second generation (i.e. first generation local-born Hui). In the second generation which make up the younger group today (from around 20 to around 50 years old), there is even more widespread intermarriage with the Malays - accelerated by the earlier generation of intermarriage and increasing acculturation and assimilation by the Malays. By the fourth generation, the assimilation is almost complete. As the present population of the « Yunnanese » range from the second generation, which still has some « pure » Hui Hui who can still identify as both Muslims and Chinese, to the fourth generation whose numbers will soon make up the main adult population, we are witnessing the whole process of assimilation. The present population of the descendants of the original Hui-Hui settlers number around two hundred persons, both the old and the young. It is difficult to say how many still identify as Chinese Muslims for there are many in the second and third generations who are physically Chinese but are highly acculturated by the Malays (e.g. speaking Malay rather than the Guangzhou dialect). Both Islam and acculturation have pushed themselves towards identification with the Malays, yet they still know that they are of Chinese origin. These people find ethnic identification in a rather ethnic conscious environment difficult, and so they emphasize their Muslim identity and if an ethnic label is necessary, « Yunnanese ». Anyway, as my informant mentioned so many times, the « Hui Hui » descendants now are « rather mixed » (cancan le) and have « all changed » (dou Man le). He gave the example that all his grandchildren (fourth generation) speak Malay rather than Chinese, except the two in Australia who can speak Mandarin. Despite the high level of acculturation and assimilation, the « Yunnanese » still somewhat form a community, held together by kinship and the recognition of common origin. During the Hari Raya (a major Muslim festival following a month of fast), there is mutual visit within the community after attending the mosque congregation on the first day of the celebration, thus preserving some sense of belonging to a community. It is kinship and history albeit a vague one which bring the group together. But the increasing assimilation by the Malays is fast breaking down the boundary. We may now note briefly some other socio-cultural aspects not properly discussed above. Appearance : Those I have met look physically Chinese. The men wear modern 109 clothes while sarong may be used at home, as do many Chinese Malaysians. The girls and women wear like the Malays, both the modern dress and the traditional Malay dress. The houses in town are modern ones while those in the outskirts are of Malay style. Islamic scripts at the main entrance distinguish their modern houses from the Chinese. In the case of my informant, there are a number of Islamic calligraphic works on the walls of the living room. In eating, fork and spoon have replaced the chopsticks while fingers may be used too. Language : We have noted that Guangzhou hua or standard Cantonese is the original language. A few like my informant and his brother can speak Mandarin and read Chinese newspapers. However, Malay is now replacing the Guangzhou language. They are also familiar with the Arabic script which is used in reading the Quran. Social Organization : We have seen that surname exogamy was observed but this has become irrelevant due to the drop of Chinese names and increasing assimilation by the Malays. Properties are divided according to Islamic rules. The people do not have any association or political party of their own, nor do they join any Chinese organization. Mansor (43) reports of a number of them joining the Women's Association and the ruling Malay party called United Malays National Organization (UMNO). Customs : The people, especially those of the first generation, follow the Hanafi school in the matter of Islamic jurisprudence, and no Chinese custom is observed. For example, on the seventh day or even later after the birth of a son, two goats are slaughtered (zai yang) to celebrate and to give thanks to Allah. In the case of a daughter, only one goat is slaughtered (aqiqah). The meat is distributed to the poor as well as to relatives and friends. The hair of the child may be shaved. The shorn hair of the child is also called aqiqah, and Islamic Law recommends to the faithful to spend not less than the weight of this hair in silver or gold in almsgiving. The « Yunnanese » are very serious about giving prescribed religious alms (zakat) as well as other forms of voluntary donation (sedekah) to the poor. Before the Department of Religious Affairs took over the administration of zakat, especially after 1955, the donations were given directly to the poor. Pak Ali, for example, was well-known in Kuala Terengganu for his generosity in giving zakat and other donations to the needy. In the case of wedding, the Malay custom is adopted although, I was told, there was no berdanding ceremony (the Malay ceremony of groom and bride sitting together) when the marriage was among the « Yunnanese » themselves. The funeral rites are according to Islamic practices and are similar to those of the Malays. The major festivals are Hari Raya and Hari Raya Haji, both the festivals of the Muslims which the Malays observe too. As we have noted, the annual gathering during the Hari Raya keeps alive the spirit of the fast disappepar- ing community. During the Hari Raya Haji which is a « Day of Sacrifice » (44), seven persons share to slaughter a bull (zai niu). The families of my informant, his brother and eldest sister, for instance, contribute three bulls for slaughter on each Hari Raya Haji. The meat is distributed to the poors, rela- 110 tives and friends. Chinese New Year is not observed. However, my informant said that the Hui Hui in Guangzhou did celebrate Chinese New Year in a small scale by slaughtering fowls (zaiji zaiya) and getting a few things to eat (45). Education : Islamic education is emphasized from small. Adults go to the mosque or a surau (a small mosque) in the evening to listen to religious teachings. As for formal education there is a preference for Sekolah Arab or « Arabic schools ». Very few persons attend Chinese schools. A daughter of my informant had attended the Chinese evening classes (yixue) organized by the Hok- kien Association. A grandson of this informant attended a Chinese primary school in Kuala Lumpur before going to the secondary Sekolah Arab. Man- sor (46) reports of six children who attended the Chong Hwa Chinese primary school in Kuala Terengganu. He also reports of the preference for Sekolah Arab and many attended the Sultan Zainal Abidin Secondary School which is a Sekolah Arab. Since 1970 Malay has been introduced in stages in all government schools (except Chinese primary schools). Nevertheless, the original Arabic schools are still referred to as Sekolah Arab and preferred. Economic Activities : As we have seen, the original Hui Hui settlers were businessmen. Now, as a result of education, many of the descendants are teachers and other government employees. The small community has produced a number of Islamic specialists. For example, there is one who teaches in the Islamic College in Terengganu while his younger brother is a university lecturer in Islamic Studies. Ethnic Status : The people were originally « pure » Hui Hui who considered themselves both Muslims and Chinese. Today the trend is towards relinquishing the Chinese identity. The incorporation into the bumiputra (indigenous) category has been facilitated especially by intermarriage. As to the identification, the people stress the Muslims status. As noted earlier the ambivalent feeling about the Chinese label has made it very necessary to stress the Muslim identity. Yet ethnic identification is often socially insisted on in Malaysia and this can be rather inconvenient to those « Yunnanese » who still look Chinese and are not yet fully assimilated by the Malays. To them, the question is best not raised.

Islam and Integration In this paper I have tried to outline the history and identification of the « Yunnanese » in Kuala Terengganu as well as to some extent, illustrate the process of ethnic change. The « Yunnanese » case turns out to be interesting in that it illustrates the situation of Muslim Chinese rather than non-Muslim Chinese adjusting to the dominant Muslim Malay environment. Their identification with the Malays is not merely because of the small size of the community. Other factors, especially religion and intermarriage are important. For the « Yunnanese » in Terengganu, marrying outside the community means marrying the Malays. This ensures their acculturation (such as adoption of Malay language at the expense of the Guangzhou language) and even assimilation (adoption of Malay identity). As my informant explains, there are few Chinese Muslims around in Kuala Ill

Terengganu and so the « Yunnanese » have to intermarry with the Malays. He describes the situation as « can't be helped » (mei banfa). For the « Yunnanese » to maintain their distinct Chinese Muslim identity, they must have sufficient Chinese Muslim mates to marry. Being a rather small minority in Terengganu, the Chinese, especially the urban ones in Kuala Terengganu, guard their own ethnicity jealously and disapprove conversion to Islam. The few converts to be found are mostly in rural areas, and some of them are in fact converts as a result of wanting to marry Malays. Having discussed the social consequences of intermarriage, we should also deal with the overall context of social interaction. Sharing the same religion and having intermarriage with the Malays mean greater social interaction with the Malays than with the other Chinese. There is neither religious nor kinship link with the Chinese in Terengganu. Due to the superficial interaction, the Chinese know very little about the « Yunnanese », the small size of the community, the sharing of religion with the Malays, the intermarriage and the increasing acculturation due to greater interaction and increasing identification with the Malays, facilitate their assimilation. However, whether all the « Yunnanese » descendants will be totally assimilated or not depends also on whether there is full acceptance on the part of the Malays. A minority even if highly acculturated cannot assimilate fully into the majority group as long as, for instance, individuals of the minority are made to feel discriminated or not accepted fully. It may be noted that the Malays accept the « Yunnanese » into their fold much more easily than they do to the Chinese converts (especially those who do not marry Malays). This is because the Malays regard the « Yunnanese » as different from the other Chinese and even different from the converts as the Hui Hui are « original » Muslims. Furthermore the small « Yunnanese » population does not pose a threat at all to the Malays whether economically or politically. The larger Chinese population, however, is perceived as a threat to the Malays in socio-economic competition and in matters concerning Malay identity. Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia and the President of Perkim (a Muslim missionary organization very much involved in attracting Chinese converts) called upon the Malays not to be afraid that converts would deprive them of their rights. He suggested that the non-Malays who have embraced Islam be given the same privileges as that accorded to Malays (47\ The difference in the level of acceptance by the Malays of the Hui Hui and the Chinese converts illustrates the socio-economic nature of group relations between the Malays and the Chinese. Lastly, the « Yunnanese » case shows that ethnic identity is shaped by the larger forces of socio-cultural adaptation, to the extent that an ethnic label can be changed and a new identity adopted. A myth of origin is perpetuated to legitimize the new identity and a status. The descendants of the Hui Chinese have become « Orang Yunnan », and they are in the process of incorporating into the Malay society. We should note that the adoption of the « Yunnanese » identity by the Hui Hui descendants in Terengganu is brought about not just by the claim of the people concerned but also by the recognition of the local Malays and Chinese. Thus, an ethnic identity exists and persists not just by the subjective identifications or claim of the people, but also by the recognition of others. 112

Conclusion This paper shows that religion is an important variable which affects the change and persistence of Chinese culture and identity. Professor G. William Skinner's work (48) on the Chinese minorities in Southeast Asia has already illustrated this. As he has pointed out, religion was no barrier to Chinese assimilation in Buddhist Thailand. Unlike Theravada Buddhism and traditional Chinese religion, Islam and the Chinese religion are not compatible and in this sense Islam is a barrier for Chinese assimilation in Indonesia. My own works (49) on the Malay-speaking Chinese in Melaka called Baba also show that religion is a crucial factor to note in the discussion of Baba acculturation and assimilation. The persistence of the traditional Chinese religion draws a clear boundary between the Malay acculturated Baba minority and the Malays who are the majority people. Ethnically, the Baba can only identify with the Chinese and not the Malays despite the fact that they have adopted a version of Malay as their mother-tongue. In the case of the « Yunnanese » discussed here, the absence of religious boundary ensures their greater interaction and eventual identification with the Malays who are Muslims too. What makes religion an important variable in the acculturation and assimilation of a « small minority » is its social consequences on inter-ethnic interaction. The most intense and intimate form of inter-ethnic interaction is inter- ethnic marriage, but the extent which mtermarriage can occur depends among other factors, on the presence or absence of religious barrier. In Thailand, there is hardly any religious barrier between the Chinese and the Thai and this allows intermarriage freely. Consequently the offspring of this kind of union are highly acculturated and even assimilated by the Thai. In Java and Melaka, Islam does not allow Muslims to intermarry freely with Chinese unless the latter are converted. However in the past (pre-twentieth century) when the Islamic bureaucracy was not yet so political, it was possible for some of the early Chinese settlers to marry Malay women and bring them into the Chinese community. The intermarriage then was crucial in bringing about a group of Malay-speaking local-born Chinese. However the Chinese Perana- kan (Baba) also married non-Muslim natives such as the Balinese (5°) and by the later half of the nineteenth century they were able to find many spouses among the Chinese immigrants. Today the intermarriage with the main-stream Chinese have contributed to the incorporation of the Baba into the mainstream Chinese society. Religion and intermarriage is thus an important theme for the study of ethnic change and social integration involving minorities. It helps us to understand how small minorities adjust to the larger society and the consequences of the adjustment on ethnic identification. We have seen that this theme is crucial for our understanding of the socio-cultural adjustment of Chinese minority groups in Southeast, in particular, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia where the major religions are Buddhism and Islam. The significance of religion and intermarriage to the socio-cultural adjustment of Chinese minorities is also evident in other societies, such as in the Philippines where the major religion is Catholicism. In the case of the Philippines, the best example is that of the Chinese mes- 113 tizo who were originally descendants of Chinese-indio parents, indio being the indigenous Filipinos (51). The Spanish colonial government recognized the Chinese mestizo as a group of people distinct from both the Chinese at large and the indigenous people. This legal distinction of the Chinese mestizo was eventually abolished in the late nineteenth century (52). With the abolition of the separate legal status, and as the Chinese mestizo were local-oriented, Catholics by religion, and intermarried freely with the indigenous people, they eventually merged with the Catholic Filipino population at large (53), although today we can still know which prominent Filipino (such as President Corazon Cojuanco Aquino) comes from the Chinese mestizo background. This paper on the « Yunnanese » Chinese adds another illustration to the study of ethnic change and socio-cultural integration of the Chinese minorities in Southeast Asia. It is interesting in that the « Yunnanese » are Chinese and Muslims, and the process of adjustment to both the Malay and non-Muslim Chinese majorities result in them identifiying with the Malays. This is a nice contrast to the Baba, as we have seen. It is also interesting to compare the experience of the « Yunnanese » Chinese to the Chinese Muslims in those parts of China where the non-Muslim form the overwhelming majority, in particular Guangzhou where the first « Yunnanese » Chinese came from. In China, the Muslims have to adjust to the majority Muslim Chinese. As a result, they are acculturated by the non-Muslim Chinese and many Hui Hui are even assimilated. The acculturation of the Hui people in Guangzhou has been described by Yang Shao- quan (54), himself a Muslim. He shows that the Hui people have adopted the customs of the Han Chinese, and in some cases even not observing certain Muslim practices, such as many parents not sending their children for circumcision. In a recent correspondence dated 24 August 1990, Dr. Claudine Salmon, quoting a professor (himself a Muslim from Anhui) who has taught at Zhong- shan University in Guangzhou for about forty years, mentions that there is now « no genuine Muslim Chinese community in Canton; the present Muslim Chinese community is mainly composed of newcomers » (55\ In other words, the original Muslim community has become fully « sinicized » but at the cost of losing their Hui Hui Muslim identity. In the case of the « Yunnanese » Chinese who are descendants of Hui Hui immigrants from Guangzhou, they are being incorporated to the Malay society - their Muslim identity reinforced but losing their Chinese identity. It is hoped that this preliminary work on the « Yunnanese » will lead to more intensive study not only on the « Yunnanese » but also on the descendants of other Hui Hui elsewhere in Malaysia and Singapore, and indeed throughout Southeast Asia. In the case of Indonesia, Denys Lombard and Claudine Salmon, for example have done some work (56). There is obviously still much to explore, especially in Malaysia and Singapore. Comparative research should also be done on the original Hui Hui communities in China. 114

NOTES This paper is based on the revision of my research report for the « Ethnic Relations Project » of the Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Malaya. I wish to register my thanks to the University of Malaya which sponsors the research. 1. For accounts on Chinese Muslims (converts) in Malaysia, see Judith Nagata, « The Chinese Muslims of Malaysia : New Associates ? A Problem of Religion and Ethnicity », in The Past in Southeast Asia's Present, éd., Gordon P. Means, Ottawa, Canadian Society for Asian Studies, 1978; and Lim Hin Fui, Kajian Tentang Identiti dan PeHubuhan-Pertubuhan Pemeluk- Pemeluk Agama Islam di Pulau Pinang (A Study on the Identity and the Organizations of Muslim Converts in Penang), M.A. Thesis, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 1983. 2. However,Asli (aborigines « Malays in Peninsular» in the census Malaysia) include and such other minority « Malay groups race like », thesome Indonesians, of whom are Orang not Muslims. 3. See 1980 Population and Housing Census of Malaysia : General Report of the Population Census, Volume 1, Kuala Lumpur, Department of Statistics Malaysia, 1983, p. 17. 4. 1980 Population and Housing Census of Malaysia : General Report of the Population Census, Volume 2, Kuala Lumpur, Department of Statistics Malaysia, 1983, Table 2, 8. 5. For an etymology of the labels Hui Hui, Huimin etc., see Jin Jitang, Zhongguo Huijiaoshi Yanjiu (Studies on the History of Islam in China) Taipei, Cathay Publishing Co. Ltd., 1971 (prefaced in 1935); and Wang Riwei, « Huizu, Huijiao Bian » (On Huizu and Huijiao), in Huizu, Huijiao, Huimin Lunji (Papers on Huizu, Huijiao and Huimin), eds. Bai Shouyi, Jin Jitang et al, Hongkong, Zhongshan Tushu Gongsi, 1974. 6. Dru C. Gladney, « Muslims Tombs and Ethnic Folklore : Charters for Hui Identity ». The Journal of Asian Studies 46 (3) August 1987, p. 495. 7. See Bai Shouyi et al, Hui Minzu de Lishi he Xianzhuang (The History and Present Situation of the Hui Hui People), Beijing, Minzu Chubanshe, 1957, p. 5; Jin Jitang, op. cit., p. 57; Raphael Israeli, Muslims in China : A Study of Cultural Confrontation, Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies Monograph Series n° 29, London, Curzon Press, 1978; and L. J. Newby, « The Pure and True Religion in China », Third World Quarterly 10 (2) April 1988. Recently Ma Qicheng writes of the conversion of the Turkic Kara Khanate in Western Xinjiang to Islam as early as the end of the tenth century. Ma, using mainly Chinese sources, provides much information on the spread of Islam in China via the sea ports and the western parts of China. See Ma Qicheng, « A Brief Account of the Early Spread of Islam in China », Social Sciences in China 4 (4) Dec. 1983, pp. 97-113. 8. There are no reliable statistics on the Muslims in China. The estimates range from ten million to seventy million (cf. Barbara Linne Kroll Pillsbury, Cohesion and Cleavage in a Chinese Muslim Minority, Ph. D. Thesis, Columbia University, 1973, p. 9). A recent publication from China mentions a low figure of ten million Muslims in the early 1950's. (Life in Modern China, China spotlight series, Beijing, New World Press, 1984, p. 74). The 1982 census gives the population figures for the ten Muslim groups (Hui, Uygur, Kazakh, Dongxiang, Kirghiz, Salar, Tadzhik, Uzbek, Baoan, and Tartar) as 14, 598, 654. See Beijing Review 26 (21), 23 May 1983, pp. 19-20, quoted in L.J. Newby, op. cit., p. 928. 9. See Barbara L.K. Pillsbury, « Pig and Policy : Maintenance of Boundaries between Han and Muslim Chinese », Ethnic Groups 1 (2) 1976, p. 155. 10. See Mashe Yegar, « The Panthay (Chinese Muslims) of Burma and Yunnan », Journal of Southeast Asian History 7 (1) 1966 : and F.W. Mote, « The Rural 'Haw' (Yunnanese Chinese) of northern Thailand », in Southeast Asian Tribes, Minorities and Nations, vol. 2., éd., Peter Kunstadter, pp. 487-524, Princeton University Press, 1967. 11. There are now some works on the early Chinese Muslims in Java. The Malay Annals of Sema- rang and Cirebon edited by Ir. Mangaradja Onggang Parlindungan under the title Peranan Orang-Orang Tionghwa/Islam/Hanafi didalam Perkembangan Agama Islam di Pulau Djawa, mi-156U (The role played by Hanafite Muslim Chinese in the flourishing of Islam in Java, 1411-1564) indicated the early presence of Chinese Muslims in Java, even though the work may have exaggerated the role of Chinese Muslims and the development of Chinese Muslim community in Java. See Chinese Muslims in Java in the 15th and 16th centuries : the Malay 115

Annals ofSemarang and Cerbon, translated and provided with comments by H. J. de Graaf and Th.G.Th. Pigeaud, edited by M.C. Ricklefs, Monash Papers on Southeast Asia, n° 12, 1984. For another source on the Chinese Muslims in Java, see Denys Lombard & Claudine Salmon, « Islam et Sinité », Archipel 30 (1985), pp. 73-94. 12. Haji Ibrahim Ma first came to Malaya in 1948 as China's consul to Perak. After the communist government came to power in China, he settled down in Malaya. He passed away in 1982 [cf. Malaixiya Mingrenlu (Who's Who in Malaysian Chinese Community), éd., Ye Guanshi, Kuala Lumpur : Budayamas Sdn. Bhd., 1984, p. 236]. According to his daughter (personal communication), Datin Munira, Haji Ibrahim Ma was originally from Shandong before moving to live in Beijing, and eventually migrated to Malaya. He was active in the Muslim missionary work among the Chinese in Malaysia. Well-versed in both Chinese culture and Islam, Haji Ibrahim Ma had written several books in Chinese and English, such as Weishenme Musilin Buchi Zhurou ? (Why Muslims do not eat Pork ?), Kuala Lumpur, The Embassy of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, 1978; Yisilanjiao Wen-da (Questions and Answers on Islam), bilingual in Chinese and English, Kuala Lumpur, All Malaya Muslim Welfare Organization, 1963; Muslims in China, Kuala Lumpur, Muslim Welfare Organization Malaysia, n.d.; and Yisilan Jiaoyu yuZhonghua Chuantong Sixiang (The Teaching of Islam and the Chinese Traditional Thinking), Kuala Lumpur, 1984. 13. Cf. Hsû Yûn-Ts'iao, «Notes Relating to Admiral Cheng Ho's Expeditions ». Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 49 (299), part 1, 1976, p. 137. 14. Furthermore, the « Malay Annals » of Semarang and Cirebon mentions the early Chinese Muslims in Java as of Yunnanese origin and following the Hanafi School of Islam, although we do not know the accuracy of this report. We do know that Muslims in Yunnan were politically influential during the Yuan Dynasty, and in 1274, Saiyid Ajall, a Muslim, was appointed governor. Cf. Ann L. Kumar, « Islam, the Chinese, and Indonesian Historiography - A Review Article », The Journal ofAsian Studies 46 (3) August 1987, p. 610; and L. J. Newby, op. cit., p. 926. 15. I thank Mr. Tay Boon Beng of Kuala Terengganu for introducing me to this informant. 16. Mansor bin Embong, Integrasi dan Assimilasi Orang-Orang Yunnan di Terengganu he Dalam Masyarakat Melayu (Integration and Assimilation of the Yunnanese in Terengganu to Malay Society), B.A. Academic Exercise in Anthropology and Sociology, Universiti Malaya, 1976r 17. Ibid., p. 29. 18. I wish to thank Mr. Zhang for his co-operation and patience throughout the long interviews. 19. If Mr. Zhang follows the traditional Chinese system, he was actually 79 years old according to exact calculation from the date of birth. However, compared to the earlier information that he was 19 in 1927, there is a discrepancy of one year if his year of birth is calculated. 20. Jiangnan refers to the region south of the Yangtze River. 21. Dru C. Gladney, op. cit., p. 517. For another reference on Muslim tombs in China, see Chen Dasheng and Claudine Salmon, « Rapport préliminaire sur la découverte de tombes musulmanes dans l'île de Hainan », Archipel 38 (1989), pp. 75-106. 22. Each character indicates a generation and so patrilateral relatives of the same generation share the same generation names. In the case of the informant Zhang Zhaoyun, Zhao is the generation name which his brother also bears. Zhang is of course the surname. 23. The full note is as follows : Our clan belongs to the orthodox school of Hui Hui. Adam was our original ancestor, and Muhammad is the last Messenger of Allah (Zhisheng, highest sage). Our clansmen must observe the rules of the religion, and observe the five pillars regularly. They must value filial piety and brotherly love, loyalty and truthfulness, incorruptibility, and honesty. In doing things tread cautiously. (See list of Chinese characters, 7). 24. The note is as follows : there is nos distinction of relationship (whether close or distant) among clansmen, but there are the rich and the poor. The clansmen must help each other, the rich help the poor and the have help the have-not. They should respect the old and love the young ones. They should have compassion on the orphans and the widowed. They should also help to finance weddings and funerals, and help each other to repair graves, (see list of Chinese characters, 8). 25. Hongzhen was the title of the last Ming dynasty. The last year of his rule was Hongzhen the seventeenth year of 1644 which was also the beginning of the Qing (Manchu) rule under Emperor Shunzhi. It is interesting that the Ming title was used for the year 1645 which should actually be the second year of Shunzhi. There may be an inconsistency here for the genealogy says that Shijie was born in 1632 which means that in 1645 he was only thirteen years 116

old. How could he have served in the military ? 26. This was still the beginning of the Qing dynasty which was still trying to consolidate control and suppress Ming loyalists. 27. For instance, it is mentioned that the Hui people are a very small minority in relation to the Han people. (See Chinese characters, 9). 28. We do not know when this happened. However, Shaotao must be already a young man when the conflagration occurred for the text mentions that a year later he married Madam Ma at the command of his grandmother. As he was born in 1869, it must be towards the last decade or so of the nineteenth century when he became a merchant and travelled to Southeast Asia. See list of Chinese characters, 10 for the description in Chinese about Shaotao becoming a merchant and travelling to Southeast Asia. 29. These are common Han Chinese surnames. According to Jin Jitang (op. cit., 1971, pp. 26-37) there are three categories of surnames used by the Hui Hui. The first category comprises surnames that were originally Han surnames which have become more common among the Hui Hui than among the Han Chinese. For example the surname Ma is generally associated with Chinese Muslims. It was originally derived from the Muslim names Muhammad, Mah- mood, etc. The third category comprises Han surnames, that is, the early ancestors of these Hui Hui adopted the surnames of the Han people. Obviously the Hui Hui surnames found in Terengganu belong to the third category. 30. Do is the abbreviation of Dollah which in turn is the short form of Abdullah. In Terengganu Pak is pronounced as Pok, hence Pok Ali, Pok Musa, etc. My Chinese informants in Terengganu, including the Hui Hui informant himself, pronounce Pak Do as Pok Do. 31. According to the informant, it cost $ 6.00 (Straits) to go by sea from Hongkong to Singapore and another $ 2.00 from Singapore to Terengganu, a state where the population was overwhelming Malay and the Chinese were and still are truly a small minority. Nevertheless, we can note that there was already a Chinese settlement in Kuala Terengganu. In fact, the famous Malay scholar Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir Munshi, in his travel to Kelantan in 1838, had stopped at Kuala Terengganu. He mentioned that there were small shops at Kam- pung China of Kuala Terengganu, all owned by the Chinese. He visited the Kapitan China. He also mentioned that there was a rich Chinese called Ah Cheng Koh, who had embraced Islam. His Muslim name was Saleh and he was a very rich man. [See KesahPelayaranAbduUah Munshi (The Voyages of Abdullah Munshi), éd., A.H. Edrus, Singapore : Qalam, I960]. The « Yunnanese », however, came later in the century. One wonders if there were some other Chinese Muslim contacts in Singapore, or the Hui Hui immigrants knew some traders in Kuala Terengganu. 32. Called caogenyou it is said to be good for the treatment of stomach, ache and cuts, etc. It is sold at two Malaysian dollars per small bottle (about 20 ml.). 33. I have no information on the identity of this Chinese woman. 34. According to Mr. Zhang, the earliest settlers were all Haji except Pak Musa who had not been to Mecca. 35. Nevertheless, I was told that at least one of his daughters could speak the Guangzhou dialect. 36. Cf. Haji Muhammad Saleh bin Haji Awang, Terengganu Dari Bentuk Sejarah Hingga Tahun 1918 M (1337). (The History of Terengganu until A.D. 1918), Kuala Lumpur, Utusan Publications Distributors, 1978, p. 187. 37. The informant also mentions of the good relationship between the Hui Hui and the Sultan. 38. Jin Jitang, ibid., p. 52, cf. Ma Qicheng, op. cit., pp. 104-105. See also Zhong Yuanxiu, Ma Jianzhao, and Ma Fengda, Guangzhou de Yisilanjiao Guji Yanjiu (The Study on the Islamic Historic Sites in Guangzhou), Ninxia Renming Chubanshe, 1989. 39. Cf. Mansor (op. cit., p. 29) for a distribution of the Hui Hui descendants. 40. Actually Mohammad Hassan had seven sons and five daughters, but two of the sons and a daughter had passed away. 41. He is a Chinese Muslim who came from China (not Guangzhou) to Kuala Lumpur and his surname is Mei. 42. In the case of F, his children still have Chinese names although they are known by their Muslim names. 43. op. cit., p. 59. 44. This is celebrated on the tenth day of Zulhijjah (Muslim calendar) in conjunction with the 117

day Muslims perform their pilgrimage (haj) at Mecca. 45. According to Yang Shaoquan, the Hui people in Guangzhou do observe the various festivals of the Han Chinese such as the Chinese New Year, the Fifth-moon Festival (Duanwu), the Mid-autumn Festival (Zhonqqiu) etc. However, in the preparation of food for the celebration, pork is replaced by beef. See Yang Shaoquan, Jin Banshiji Guangzhou Huizu Xisu de Cunfei (The Continuity and Discontinuity of Guangzhou's Hui people's Customs in the recent Half Century), in Guangdong Fengginglu (Descriptions on Guangdong), Guangdong Renming Chubanshe, 1987, p. 96. 46. op. cit., pp. 44-45. 47. See « Tunku : Privileges for Converts too », The Star, 28-9-1987, p. 2. 48. G. William Skinner, « Change and Persistence in Chinese Culture Overseas : A Comparison of Thailand and Java », Journal of the South Seas Society 16 (1&2), 1960, pp. 86-100. 49. See my papers, « Acculturation and the Chinese in Melaka : the Expression of Baba identity Today », in The Chinese in Southeast Asia (Volume 2 : Identity, Culture & Politics), eds., L.A. Peter Gosling & Linda Y.C. Lim, pp. 56-78, Singapore, Maruzen Asia, 1983, p. 72; and « Acculturation, Assimilation and Integration : The Case of the Chinese », in Ethnicity, Class and Development .'Malaysia, éd., S. Husin Ali, pp. 189-211, Kuala Lumpur, Persatuan Sains Sosial, 1984, p. 200. In the later article, p. 200, 1 have referred to the « Yunnanese » in Tereng- ganu. My first brief contact with a Terengganu « Yunnanese » was on 16 November 1980 when I stopped over in Kuala Terengganu while on my way back to Kuala Lumpur from my fieldwork in Kelantan. I talked to him in Malay and was told that his people were Yunnanese. Since then I have been interested in learning more about these people. 50. Cf. Tan Chee Beng, The Baba ofMelaka : Culture and Identity of a Chinese Peranakan Community in Malaysia, Petaling Jaya (Malaysia), Pelanduk Publications 1988, p. 41. 51. For a good description on the Chinese Mestizo, see Edgar Wickberg, The Chinese in Philippine Life 1850-1898, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1965. 52. Edgar Wickberg, « The Chinese Mestizo in Philippine History », Journal ofSoutheast Asian History, 6 (1) 1964, p. 95. 53. I have discussed this more fully in my paper, « Acculturation, Ethnicity and the People of Chinese Descent », paper presented at the Conference Lucky Come Hawai : The Chinese in Hawai, organized by the Institute of Culture and Communication, East- West Center, Honolulu, Hawai, 18-20, July, 1988. 54. Op. cit., see f.n. 45. 55. My informant Z.Y. Zhang mentions that he still has Hui Hui relatives in Guangzhou. I do not know whether they still retain full Hui Hui identity. Obviously, more research is needed. Researchers should also, however, note the extent of migration of the Hui Hui from Guangzhou to such places like Hong Kong and Southeast Asia as in the case of the « Yunnanese » Chinese here. 56. See note 11. LIST OF CHINESE CHARACTERS

baduanTi in / Fuyuan

Bai Shouyi /o & Gui hua Gang AS- biaoQ in A 4L Goucai cancan le Huaishengsi

Cao Hui Hui

caofienvou Huimin

Chaogang -jfj i^ Jiabang Chaoming Jiali chengsi Jin Jit ang chusi Jingxiong J2~A3 " \ \• Daoyun Jiuf ang

Dian 'an Lexian

Dingy ang *j£ Li

Dong -*• Li Wuchu

Dong Shengquan Lianf a don bian le Lianfu

Enguang Lianshen

fang Liu

Fu Liuzhou

Fu Shouzhi Ha Ma Fengda Yang Ma Hanfang Yang Shaoquan yanghuo Ma Huan 'fa & Ma Jianzhao Ye Guanshi

Ma Tianying Yingshan Ma Zhichao Yingxing Mei Yingxiu pei banfa Yingya Shenglan

Mumin ilfi\ Yiwei Niumian Gang yjxue %'t Quantai yuanzu Renji Tang Yu'an Sanwei zai j x zaiya

Shaotao zai niu Shaowei zai yang

Shifu Zhang IK Shijie Zhang Zhaoyun

Shixiang Zhang Ruiqi Zheng He -kkfà. nhoubei Zhaochu Zhaohe

Wang Riwei Zhaoping Wude qiwei Zhaoqing %. <& M f i Xiao Zhong Yuanxiu

Ziyu Gang c' #, f

is/is je.

% * *

ik

t

f * ->