Page:Jstraitsrsa31-33.pdf/66

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2

‫ترومباكلوا‬

‫سلسيله كهوتن‬

Sal-silah ka-hutan ,
Tromba ka-loak.


The Genealogies belong to the Sakais
But the written account of them to the Malays.


This is a very curious expression , Sal-silah is distinctly Arabic, and one is forced to imagine that Malays taught by Arab traders in the olden times invented the saying by way of flattering the Sakais.

The tradition is that the "Undang yang ampat" i.e. the four principal Lawgivers or Penghulus of the Negri Sembilan, are descendants of a Malay chief who settled on the Moar river and married one or more Sakai princesses, and by that means came into the possession of a good slice of the Peninsula, including the present Negri Seinbilan, Sungei Ujong, Klang, parts of Pahang, Nanning, Moar, and Jelebu. The Penghulus of Johol and Ulu Moar are the only two left of the "Undang yang ampat" whose jurisdiction still to some extent follows the ancient customs; when new Penghulus of Johol and Ulu Moar are appointed, the Bating or Sakai chiefs have a strong voice in the matter, as they are supposed to be the people who know most about the legitimate descent; reciprocally the Penghulus confirm newly appointed Batins.

3


‫يغامقوث‬

‫کاوغ كونوغ‬

‫بوكيت باكو‬

‫واریس دان فغهولو‬

Gaung guntong, bukit bakau,
Waris dan Penghulu yang ampunya-nya.


The stream heads and narrow valleys,
The hills and the surrounding plains
Are the property of the chief and people of the Waris tribe. (i. e . Bidwanda).