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    Barnard Celates Rakyat Laut Pirates Orang Laut Melayu Malay

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    -IMBRAS, VOL. 8D, Par 2 (2007), p, 32-48 Celates, Rayat-Laut, Pirates: The Orang Laut and Their Decline in History TimoTHy P. BARNARD ‘The Orang Laut, or ‘Sea Peoples’, of the southern Melaka Straits are a heterogeneous group that played a vital role inthe rise and fall of states in the region for over a millennium. This article surveys their role in Supporting their patrons through their knowledge of the sea, its current, ‘and surrounding rivers. Their importance in securing a tuer’s positon began to decine in the eighteenth century when new migrant groups, both European and Southeast Asian, displaced the Orang Laut in the region, While changes in technology also played a role, iis argued that the Shattering of the ink between ruler and ruled was the fst step in their ‘decline as a substantial force. ORANG LAUT, literally men of the sea, or sea people. Ths isthe most Frequent name given by the Malays to the rude class oftheir own nation whose permanent diselling is their boats, without any fexed habitation on shore. They are also called rayat-laut, or abridged rayet: literally ‘sea subjects,".. the phrase meaning the sea subjects of the kings of Malacca and Jehor: .. The native locality of this people, for it cannot well be called count: is the straits or narrow seas of the many islands between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, towards the eastern end of the Straits of Malacca,' With this account, published in 1856 in one of the first European encyclopedias on Southeast Asia, John Crawfurd describes a group of people that have gone by a varioty of names in accounts of the region, and were facing rapidly changing economic and social systems in which technology and new migrants were making their skills redundant, while their traditional patrons, the Malay rulers, were losing ‘control over their teritories. The sea peoples of the southern Melaka Straits had played an important role in the rise and fall of trading states in the region for centuries, ifnot millennia. By the nineteenth century, however, they were to become : 4 group that was easily overwhelmed by both Europeans and Southeast Asians who ‘surpassed them in power on the seas and movement over it. This was a period from which the Orang Laut would never recover. They were to become a ‘rude class, as CCrawfurd depicts them, a marginalized group, which was to become an object of ‘governmental scom and anthropological enquty. This tale of transition reflects how quickly a group that had dominated the seas for a millennium in the most important trade channel in Southeast Asia could be ‘quickly surpassed. The Orang Laut were @ complex, vial, and vibrant force that were ‘the key to power prior to the nineteenth century in a region of sea, shoals, islands, and Ceawiva (1971: 314). 3 ART 2, 2007 ‘swamps. Power in the Melaka Straits may have been based in a trading culture, but the Orang Laut provided much of the support for the Malay rulers who oversaw this structure. While Malay rulers usually sat in their courts at the mouths of rivers, oF slightly upstream, it was the Orang Laut who patrolled the seas, “guiding” ships into port and helping to punish recalcitrant allies. They were the key to much of the pre-modem history ofthe region, a fact that seems difficult to comprehend today. Our knowledge of their importance comes from a mixture of sources, archival reports of trading companies, oral tales from the region, and written chronicles of various Southeast Asian polities, and each reflects the interweaving of power, authority, and the sea in early Southeast Asia ‘The sea is a vibrant component in Southeast Asian societies. In an essay that examines the role of the seas in Malay literature and thoueht, Henk Maier relates how the sea touched the islands and shores and provided links to other worlds. It was where heroes sailed secking prosperity and adventure. Throughout traditional texts, the sea was a positive force, the road to infinite possibilities. The importance ofthese images and ideas was solidified in the trope of the ship as one of the common discursive functions in Southeast Asia as the “boat of life’, ‘the ship of state’, and farther reflected in textiles, houses, and graves.2 While scholars such as O. W, Wolters hhave deseribed the sca as ‘a vast zone of neutral water’ the Orang Laut appropriated its neutrality and allowed rulers in the Strats region to control trade and access to ‘goods.} The Straits were a highway in which the Orang Laut were the tll collectors. Within these metaphors, it was the Orang Laut who manned the ships, patrolled the ‘waters, and provided guidance through the dangerous shoals and reefs of not only the sea but rivalries, rade, and power. While there have been people who mainly live on boats throughout Southeast Asia for centuries, the peoples who lived in boats in the southem portion of the Melaka Straits, the Riau-Lingga Archipelago, and in the Pulau Tujuh region are the focus of this article. Whether they were known as Celates (a variation of “Sela” or “strat” in Malay)—Orang Laut, literally ‘sea people'—or even pirates, these sea peoples consisted of numerous subgroups. Although the title Orang Laut suggests a certain amount of homogeneity, i is a relatively antiicial designation:* However, it will be used inthis article to signify the various sea peoples who assisted the rulers in the Straits of Melaka region prior to the ninetcenth century. Individual groups served ‘Malay ruters indifferent ways, or at times not at all. Thus, while they all made th living by gathering sea products for trade, some would alse transport envoys and mi sives, while others were rowers forthe ruler or important members of his fighting forces; others lived outside the orbit of Malay royal power and were rarely, if ever, called upon. The skills that made all Orang Laut groups unique revolved around theit ‘knowledge and command of the currents, reefs, and river bores inthe region. It was on this sea frontier between river-based Malay states that the Orang Laut made their presence felt. They could extend the flexible boundaries of a polity into new regions. 2 Mie (1992: 1-26. 3 Wolters (1982: 39), 4 Chlospor Virb (2002 143-66). a4 IMBRAS, VOL. 29 Without thei assistance, a Malay state remained a closed entity, tied tothe coast and port Hanging over any discussion of the Orang Laut in a historical context is the ‘question of piracy. As Joseph a Campo discussed in a recent article in the Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, tne discourse on piracy and sea people shifted in the early ‘and mid-nineteenth century as the British and Dutch began to enforce their control ‘over the sea lanes within their expanding colonies. Within this discourse, piracy’ was either economic or politcal and either condemned as criminal or explained away as a cultural practice. European observers of this era wrote that raids were duc to an “unwillingness to perform useful labour" or, from a more sympathetic perspective, were a form of ‘interethnic cooperation. 6 This form of inter-ethnic cooperation in the late eighteenth century was between Malay princes and Hanun raiders, who originated in the ‘Sulu Zoe" and who had arrived in the Melaka Strats region in the 1760s. The appearance of these lanun, the pirates, was an important step in the decline of the Orang Laut in a historical perspective. As Campo descr after the late-eighteenth century came to be deseribed as either predatory or parasitic, ‘The Hlanun were prodato's, oversesing vicious raids that crippled commerce and teatened political powers in the region; the Orang Laut came to be described 2s parasites, a sad remnant of a past glory that was a disease rotting away on the ‘margins of society to be depicted with pity. While raiding and piracy were never as dichotomous as described in such a theoretical perspective, as the Orang Laut historically would raid ships for both profit and in service to their patrons, itis with such concepts in mind that this article ‘will examine the role that the sea peoples of the Melaka Strats played in the history (of the states that bordered this important trade route and the easons for their decline in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. While much emphasis has been placed fon the role of advancing Westemization, whieh was linked with tochnology that ‘would allow control over he seas and played a vital role in the decline ofthe Orang Laut, as well as the arrival ofthe Hanun, 1 will suggest thatthe decline began with intemal events in the Malay states that were competing for their traditional suppor. ‘While changes in technology certainly played a role, it was the shattering ofthe link between ruler and ruled which was te first step in their decline asa substantial force. But, before these events canbe discussed, | would first like to provide a survey of the role the Orang Laut played in pre-modern Malay polities and the accounts of this role, Early Accounts of the Orang Laut and the Rise of Melaka One of the first Western ascounts of the Orang Laut appears in the Suma Oriental, written by Tome Pires, a sixteenth-century apothecary who lived in Portuguese Melaka, Pres described the sea peoples of the Straits as Celares, “who are corsirs in sinall ght craft... they are men who go out pillaging in their boats and fish, and are 5 Wotes (1982: 28-30) © Campo (2003: 202-3). The quote is rom Hernan W. Muninghe, who wrote report in 818 on ‘ad that Raja Ai of Sik was supervising in the eon 35 PART 2, 2007 sometimes on land and scmetimes at sea, of whom there are a lange number now in ‘our time’.” In addition to this description of the Orang Laut as raiders operating in the Straits, Pires goes on io point out the relationship that they had with the ruler of Melaka: “They are obedicat to Malacca. They make Bintan their headquarters. These mmen serve as rowers when they are required by the King of Malacca, without payment, just for food, and the governor of Bintan brings them when they have to serve for certain months ofthe year.”S While the use of the Orang Laut as rowers in the rule's fleet points towards traditional patron-client ties, the relationship between the sea nomads and the Melaka ruler was greater than most in Southeast Asia. This remarkable and long-lasting relationship is described in another of the earliest published accounts of the Orang Laut, which was written by Joao de Barros and published as Decadas da Asia in 1553, Barros reflects sixteenth-century understand- ing ofthe Melakan-Orang Laut relationship, along with Portuguese attitudes towards the Orang Laut, when he writes, although the Colates folk were a low, vile people Paramisora {the founder of Melaka) and his son Xaquem Darxa found them loyal fiends in their deeds, o: rather, in the evils which they committed with their blessings. Chiefly, in ordor to make use of them in the set particularly Malacea, they gave them nobility, marrying them with the most noble of the Javan ‘whom they had brought from Java."? It was with such loyalty that the ruler of Melaka ‘vas able to achieve his grertness, and build on the trading pattems that hed developed in ts predecessor, Srivijaya, Both Pires and Banos realized that the patron-client relationship between Malay rulers and certain Orang Laut groups could be traced back to pre-Melakan history and the movement of Malay sovereignty and leadership From Palembang (an ‘early trope for the Srivijaye Empire) to Melaka, as well as based inthe patron-client ties that in many ways were based on Orang Laut leaders receiving benefits from Malay rulers. Srivijaya had developed many of the patterns for Malay stateeraft, Key to its rise was the ability ofits rulers to command the respect of not only the peoples Of the forest, but the sea peoples off the coast of Sumatra. The rulers of Stivijaya were able to direct Orang Laut raiding capabilities towards the devefopment of a trade-based state. Tis raiding was one ofthe keys to Orang Laut power, and it made them a vital component of the Malay states that would rise to dominate the Stats Raiding was a way to direct trade to ports where Orang Laut patrons lived. It allowed fora ‘policing’ of the Straits. While it was an activity that was labelled as piracy by ceven eatly Chinese visitor to the region, it was a cormmon practice in the Malay World.!9 Such raiding assured that trade goods, and ther interlinked prestige, lowed through an allied port. If mids were not necessary, the Orang Laut could serve the ruler, and enter trade networks, by supplying produce from the sea, such as trepang (ea slugs) or turtle shells, which were highly desired in the marketplace. The ability of the Srivjaya ruler to gain some control over Orang Laut raiding as well as their 7 Contesao (1990: 23). 8 pid: 264, > Dion (1970). "0 Wolters (1967: 187) Tglaczzo (2000: 70-100), 36 ——ie IMERAS, VOL produce, nd directing t for his purpo th is purposes, over thousand years ago was besinning ofthe ink between Maley power and ade 8 "8° Phe stein TPM Been the Malay Flr and his Orang Laut flowers oy {claka when a charismatic leader moved from. Palembang to the Riaw te ¢'Brdis, wing in 1613, Paces ome Org rae the se roman Melk, whee thy tuned the sae ete? of the future trading power. According to Eredia, ‘before the foundation ofthe the lac was inhabited by a fisher fl, the “Sete.” they wer eg ee {ach ini he cost of onan in te sou se one i ny Perna) Even hoe of sir Nica Sore ae told Pacamesvara ofa great and this dtcmined the lanes ating port! This sory a + Pots sue et {atcnth and seventh cet. For examples Bars es hea the area above Malacca spacious and well suppl ious and well supplied Arians, and set word a isto Paras a Settlement to the new site at Malacca’ 3 Not only do Portuguese sources th fruit tees, particularly fur, who subsequently moved his suppor the notion tat Orang Laut who vent te ie f ela bth a wala Saati, which betes toon the Sgerah Melayu, a history ofthe rales of Melaka ‘camped ee ee entry. In oe variant ofthese as, Plenbang pines noes see which can be ead sanothir name for Pataca ‘that are commanded by the Orang Laut yards ares} a Queen oF Bintan when he atives inthe Riau Actplagn ST Dims qihy mares daughter of te Ge eae [exalt of the various Orang Laut groups inthe region. This becomes import OW pure move to Singapore and then Melaka. According toa tevonstuenon by {olters, local sources explain this loyalty directed towards Sri Tri Buans as & ‘Raul of his undergoing a ceremony, in which ‘a consecration rite was performed and Gag pinicl by the prince’s assumption of « new name, identifying him with « aaa que refuse prince called on minor rulers inthe area in a eifort to ean capper fr his altempr to revive the greatness of Srivjaya. The only one willing to Endorse him was the ruler of Bintan, who believed in the effecivensre of the ‘ceremony. The rulers followers transferred theit loyally t0 S1i Tei Buona aed he 1 erin 1997: 16, 22 Cores (1850: 23), 13 Bacros (1777: 6-5, Brown (1970: 18-19), Wolters (1970: 124, 3 Ee ER NO A CR Eee PART 2, 2007 descendants. This reconstruction suggests that loyalty to the daulat, or sovereignty, ‘originally invoked in an ancient ceremony continued to be associated with Melakan rulers and their Johor successors until the seventeenth century.'© While the loyalty was assured by the performance of such ceremonies, the pattern of Orang Laut supporting a ruler who provides both material and spiritual benefits had already {developed earlier in Srivijaya, The intimate link between Orang Laut capabilities and Malay power and control over trade had already been set, and would continue to be ‘important well into the early modem era ‘The loyalty that some Orang, Laut felt towards the ruler, however, was quite ‘complex. On one hand they have been described as extremely loyal tothe ruler, while ‘onthe other hand they were free to roam and raid on their own. While this may reflect subtle shifts inthe relationships with individual rulers and states over many centuries, there was also often an interlinking economic and political dependency, which allowed Orang Laut groups to remain in their own ecological niche, exercising their ‘unique expertise while also receiving favours from an often distant Malay patron iit benefited them.!7 Only a small numnber of Orang Laut actually worked and lived near the ruler, forming an elite that could appeal to both worlds that of the Malay ruler and the sea nomads necessary for the maintenance of a pre-modern trading state. This dichotomy of being both loyal and free may also be explained in the various sources that desribe the movements ofthe Orang Laut from Bintan to Melaka. According to the literary Sulalat us-Salacin, 400 Orang Laut greeted Sri Tri Buana upon his arival in Bintan; however, only 18 individuals accompanied him to Melaka, where they initiated communication with the Orang Laut group that lived in that area, As the Orang Laut consisted of numerous subgroups, the stall group that followed Paramaswera most likely became the core of his suppor, 2 localized form of jjnissaries, serving the ruler and receiving the lion's share of honorifics, access to ‘wade goods, and marriago alliances with the ruling family. It was from this smaller group, which could form links to the wider Orang Laut world, that much of the loyalty was perceived, and for this loyalty they rose to postions such as Laksanaa (Admiral) in Melaka, Other subgroups continued to live in their own territories, to be called occasionally to provide a service to the larger Malay state, but also floating Away in the outer circles ofthe state whose fluctuating power limited its ability to control, and appeal, to peoples on its peripheries. The Seas and Orang Laut Support for Melaka/Johor ‘White the Orang Laut were described in both European and Malay texts as having key role in the founding of Melaka, it was their ability to function on the seas inthe Melaka Straits that made them valuable clients for their patrons. The seas that make up the Melaka Strats and the Riau Archipelago are a complex series of islands straits, ‘and reefs that are influenced by the unique land formations that border them, as well ids 125-6; L.¥. Andaya (1975: 42-4, 17 Chuteepom (2002), 38 | j | : LMBRAS, VOL. 80 as the monsoonal winds that push trade towards them. Its a region protected fiom the southwest monsoon by Sumira andthe nohsast monsoon by the Malay Peninsula, thus making it navigable in both directions throughout the year'® The Melaka Sits no nly fmol for ade Between Iii and Chin, tt aso lunigue ecological zone that contributed to the development of sea peoples and their ability to prosper inthe region. The water dep rarely exceeds 60 mts, and is usually much less, Like most of the Sunda Shelf, tsa ‘losed sea’, which has led to various factors that contribute to an abundant supply of marine fauna and flora. For example, the salinity is comparatively low due to the heavy rains, discharge of ‘humerous rivers, shallowness, and cloud cover reducing evaporation, Combined with 2@ high uniform temperature of 27-30°C, there is an abundance of phytoplankton, the basi food supply for marine fish populations. 19 " Fish were caught on such a massive scale off the east Sumatran coast that one ‘observer said the region was a “kingdom of fish and shrimp’.29 Although over 2,000 different species of fish are present in these seas, a single species represents the Fiches that came from these waters which the Orang Laut groups were able to exploit This species was the ferubuk (Alasa toll. Although common throughout the Melaka Straits, ferubut only contained roe while swimming through the Bengkalis Strait, an area ideal forthe spawning of fish due to its warmth, shallowness, and high oxygen content. Combined with mangrove leaf litter, there were ample amounts of food for the spawn, Terubuk were about a metre and a half in length when eaught, and more ‘han one third of their body was nothing but roe, a highly desired delicacy. They were caught in water 7-10 metres in depth along mud banks during neap tides at the time ofthe full and new moons, especially between September and January:2! In the pre-colonial era, most fishermen who caught ferubuk were Orang Laut. Hundreds of fishing boats were present in these waters throughout the year, while ‘during spawning periods the numbers would rise to as many as 2,000 vessels. Eredia ‘even points to it as key in the development of Melaka as a great trading centre According to his account, based on tales collected in Melaka in the early seventeenth century, Parameswara “developed his new state by establishing commerce and trafic with the surrounding peoples who all came to the port for the shad-fishery, since the rors or “turubos” pickled in brine formed a highly esteemed dish’ 2? The terubuk ‘were taken back tothe trading ports of Bengkalis and onward to Melaka, where they ‘were traded towards the Straits as well a the interior, and were as highly desired as, «delicacy, ‘as good as Russian caviar’? The trade in terubuk eggs was So extensive 18 Whyte and the Editors (1982: 74). 19 Sopher (1977: 22-33). SET date cane af tne Bers rn ‘ay Bateher (2004: 82) * a aaa ste Batavia, 24 October 1687, f. 8774; Moor (1968; 99). ~ 30 PART 2, 2007 most te ion of emht fh wer trown ava in Bengali yingin pat tcp nd exile ect pou tha nt hn. Whe ond a oe cams the ence snl walled predic and te web orcas eins paths polo cl aces thom ine ata Seep sure, Wie sone Orang Lat sages ay ave se el SRS MaREe tae yal eld rove nets hough rade sah Hem dann tee tde gods om China nd Inia send he ak ou ny scr for the alr om he nd he cone tad got the Orn Lat povided numa oe serie oh Se a Me chat eee he det fe vats SESE se Ot any of ese cx vcs mere documented in He nn eh pon ty fn prvi May ae ong pes of Sin Poeun Oang at fom Baan were mvs ie ot yale wien ofthe Mel ar thy ste aed the inf or tr wk war inet oats fare ls tanto Nake Those om Calan ond ter nan manly worked "et in rs he ees om ng we xt iing el sect eee woul see the ry sting now lets 225 ine mans sn eine snow caps as ees Whe Ere aplenty the Koy por a os of hese lands inthe MEEingen archipelago. These sec, and th selon fm whe ey cans ements ela loth Petupse n11 Whe hs Fa eet th enigosExopsm presen: n Southeast May SAS Gta tin he oven ys siting bso pover tote Kn rg an oT Maar eve otc ae aha r kt mos eat Oan Lat soprano snny bsame aan of Johor mic cold tase pay eck tough Mela 0 “Fn Mek oii er as posi ou support tte Orang Lt snc trl an over were unr he seing il eof Pace ins sie th of th oar up telpd te leben some sexe of soe a ee Tuugh te eal shied bev the Jor Rive, inn and the ene Be Sen Sum th May alse sae thay er em sang an cme En tet ol a ead ah ne since ppt el the geass of Nel, For camps ar te etc A here fe een coat tan 186 oe Peo ble ine han oo colt al of te pole vg can aay te trepon semble ad phe oor ae na ccapital.26 Even the key texts written down during this period to ensure conti “ ing sar ote uch fia Hng Took, plas eat emphasis on tele 24 Roggewin (1744: 298) 25 LV: Angaya (1975: 4450; Sopher (1977) Matheson (1986: $38) 26 Bown (1970: 191); L.¥.Andaya (1975: 48). 40 IMBRAS, VOL, 80 (Orang Laut played in the continuation of Johor sovereignty. The iconic hero of these tales, Hang Tuah, whose loyalty to the ruler was a symbol of what was expected from followers throughout the region, was made /aksamana, who also acted as a commander ofthe Orang Laut navies. While his origins are obscure, deliberately dene 0 that all groups ean claim him as one of their own, in some versions Hang Tuah is Orang Laut With such support, Johor was able to establish itself once again as a power in the region following its assistance in helping the VOC gain control over Mela, Once again, this was done with Orang Laut assistance. When Melaka fll to the Dutch in 1641, it was due in part to the support of Orang Laut troops working under the ‘command of the Malay rule. In his history of Johor during this period, Leonard ‘Andaya peppers his accounts with frequent references to the Orang Laut carrying eut attacks on Johor’ rivals as they returned to a period of renewed glory in the Stats ‘of Melaka. For example, during the series of wars between Johor and Jambi in tie 1660s and 1670s, the Orang Laut continually harassed shipping towards Jambi, thas helping Johor gain the upper hand in the region.27 Much of this was done under te jpuidance of the Paduka Raja Abdul Jamil, who was the laksamana of Johor. While the Orang Laut helped Johor retum to a level of prosperity in the mid and late seventecnth century that had not been experienced since the fall of Melaka, much of the gains Johor had made would come crashing down when the basic patron-client relationship was forever shattered in 1699, ‘The first step in the decline of the role the Orang Laut have played in Malay history occurred when Sultan Mahmud Syah Il, the ruler of Johor, was murdered Sultan Mahmud was quite young at the time of his death, having recently emerged from a period of tutelage under the Bendahara, Tun Habib Abdul Hajib. Following the ath of the Bendahara in 1697, the state of affis in Johor began to deteriorate as trade, and the power it allowed, went into decline, Foreign merchants were reluctant ‘o stop in Johor, as the ruler might confiscate cargo or crew, and his actions became increasingly unpredictable. This led to a deterioration in the ability of the court 10 reward its followers. VOC complaints of Orang Laut-led raids of shipping in the southem Straits in 1698 are a reflection of the inability of the sate at that time 10 attract followers. While the Orang Laut had raided ships ia a ‘parasitic’ fashion throughout Malay history, the decline it represented was to become permanent the neat year when the sultan was murdered by 2 group of Orang Kaya and dragged through the marketplace. ‘The cighteenth-century history ofthe Malay World bogan in August 1699, asthe death of the childless eultan ended a line of sovereignty that stretched fiom Jolt through Melake and even to Srivijaya, In its aftermath, the rulers of Johor had © contend with groups in eastern Sumatra and the Riau Islands tht resulted in changes in cultures, societies, and political leadership which still influence the region today. ‘The death of Sultan Mahmud, thus, can be considered to be one of the key events it ‘Malay history, and Orang Laut history, as it began a process in which other ethn 271. ¥, Andaya (1975). 4a PART 2, 2007 groups, particularly Minangkabau and Bugis, began to stake a claim to rule states along the Melaka Straits. The Orang Laut, who previously had been the strongest supporters ofthe Malay ruler, owed no loyalty to these migrants The role the Orang Laut played in maintaining a traditional Malay state became

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