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Outline of a Malay history of Riau

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Outline of a Malay history of Riau

R.O. Winstedt’s 1933 “Outline of a Malay history of Riau” presents a condensed narrative of the political history of the Riau sultanate, drawn from the Malay manuscript Sadjarah Radja-Radja Riouw I (van Ronkel catalogue no. CCCLVIII, Batavian Society collection). The article covers the period from the reign of Raja Kechil through the Bugis-Malay succession crises, Dutch intervention, and the consolidation of Marhum Janggut’s rule, extending to approximately 1166 A.H. (c. 1753 CE). Winstedt’s purpose is to make accessible the content of a key primary source on Riau’s early modern political history, which had been largely unavailable to English-speaking scholars.

Summary

The manuscript narrates the turbulent political history of Riau from the late seventeenth century through the mid-eighteenth, centring on the rivalry between the Bugis and Malay factions for control of the throne. The narrative opens with the defeat of Raja Ismail in the Straits and his flight to Dungun, where he married into the Trengganu royal house, setting in motion a chain of alliances and enmities that would define Riau’s politics for generations. The core drama involves the repeated attempts by the Bendahara (Tun Husain) to seize the throne, the Bugis refusal to crown him (“a coconut-palm must succeed a coconut-palm and a betel-palm a betel-palm”), and the escalating violence that followed, including the massacre at Johor in which the Yamtuan Muda killed his own wives and children before being killed himself (p. 157).

The middle section of the manuscript traces the succession through the reigns of Marhum Besar (Sultan Sulaiman), Marhum di-Kota, and Marhum Janggut, highlighting the persistent role of Trengganu as an external power broker and the Dutch as an intervening force. The Dutch intervention at Linggi, prompted by the Yang di-pertuan of Selangor, and the subsequent Dutch claim of $77,754 for the campaign, mark a turning point in Riau’s relationship with European powers (p. 158). The narrative also records the internal fracturing of the Bugis-Malay alliance, with the Yamtuan Muda’s removal to Linggi in 1166 A.H. and the Yamtuan Besar’s death representing the final dissolution of the old compact (p. 160).

Winstedt’s outline is deliberately compressed, preserving the manuscript’s sequence of events and key genealogical details without extensive commentary. The text functions as a guide to the manuscript’s contents rather than a critical analysis, though Winstedt’s parenthetical identifications (e.g., “Daeng Berani = Purani R.O.W.”) reveal his own scholarly engagement with the source.

Key Findings

  • The Dutch claimed $77,754 for the Linggi campaign, a debt that Marhum Janggut agreed to defray in exchange for the Bendahara Muda handing over Riau to him (p. 158).
  • Sultan Sulaiman was installed as ruler of Johor and Pahang in 1103 A.H. (c. 1691 CE); Tun Abbas was made Bendahara Sri Maharaja and Klana Putra became Raja Muda (p. 159).
  • Klana Putra died in 1141 A.H. and was buried at Sungai Baru; Raja Tua died in 1147 A.H. and was likewise buried at Sungai Baru (p. 159).
  • The oath between Bugis and Malays was formally renewed in 1161 A.H., with the Yamtuan Besar, Yamtuan Muda, and Engku Raja Indrabongsu as parties; in the same year Indrabongsu was created Bendahara Sri Maharaja on 28 Rejab 1161 A.H. (p. 159).
  • In 1166 A.H. the Yamtuan Muda removed to Linggi and sent a message to Riau asking whether the Bugis-Malay oath still held; the Yamtuan Besar subsequently died, and his son also died, with the body taken by Suliwatang to Linggi (p. 160).
  • The manuscript records that the Bendahara of Pahang sent letters annually to the Dutch, Bengal, Madras, and Batavia requesting help against the Bugis at Riau, indicating the international dimensions of the local succession dispute (p. 159).

Conclusion

Winstedt’s outline confirms that the Sadjarah Radja-Radja Riouw I is an indispensable primary source for understanding the Bugis-Malay political compact at Riau and its progressive breakdown in the early eighteenth century. The manuscript’s value lies in its detailed genealogical record and its preservation of the internal Bugis and Malay perspectives on events that European sources record only fragmentarily, particularly the Dutch intervention at Linggi and the succession of Marhum Janggut.

Context

  • Winstedt was the first Malay scholar of the Straits Settlements and a senior colonial administrator; his summary reflects the early twentieth-century colonial scholarly practice of rendering Malay manuscripts accessible to the English-speaking academic community.
  • The primary source is held in the collection of the Batavian Society (now Leiden University Library), catalogue no. CCCLVIII in van Ronkel’s list; the article represents one of the earliest English-language engagements with this manuscript.

References