The cultural significance of the Pengkalan Kempas megaliths
C. (Chandran Jeshurun) Jeshurun’s 1973 article in the Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society re-examines the megalithic stone alignments at Pengkalan Kempas, Negeri Sembilan, arguing that they should be understood as part of a broader Peninsular megalithic tradition rather than being interpreted primarily through their association with the adjacent Muslim grave. The author identifies typological and positional parallels between the Pengkalan Kempas monuments and the better-known stone alignments of the Kuala Pilah and Alor Gajah districts, and uses new photographic evidence to propose Hindu-influenced decorative motifs on the carved stones.
Summary
Jeshurun’s intervention addresses a persistent gap in the study of Peninsular megaliths: the overwhelming scholarly focus on the Pengkalan Kempas site has been directed at the relationship between the three principal granite monuments and the nearby Muslim grave (inscribed 1467 A.D.), to the near-total neglect of the megalithic character of the stones themselves. Only Sheppard (1962) had previously drawn attention to the obvious megalithic associations of the site. Jeshurun’s central contribution is to demonstrate that the group of three monuments at Pengkalan Kempas, when considered in its full configuration including a smaller granite stone positioned across a laterite platform opposite the undecorated central stone, forms a pair that is typologically and dimensionally consistent with the stone alignments of the Kuala Pilah and Alor Gajah districts. The taller stone in the pair exhibits the same inclination toward its smaller counterpart, and the spacing between the two matches the average recorded by Sheppard for Kuala Pilah (pp. 95–96).
The author then turns to the decorative programme on the two outer, carved megaliths. Building on Evans’ 1919 descriptions and a new series of photographs taken in 1973 (including close-ups made with powerful lighting during a Filem Negara Malaysia filming visit), Jeshurun identifies what he considers to be a frontal elephant face with descending trunk and stylised tusks on the larger decorated stone, and a distinct elephant-trunk form along the upper edge of the smaller one. Combined with Evans’ earlier identification of a serpent and a kala-makara-like figure, these motifs provide, in Jeshurun’s view, stronger grounds for speculating about Hindu influence than the purely negative arguments for animism or Hinduism that had previously prevailed (pp. 98–99).
A fundamental unresolved problem remains: if the word “Allah” was carved by the same hands as the decorative motifs, then the makers of the monuments must have already been Islamised while retaining elements of earlier religious iconography. Jeshurun notes that the main megalithic areas of the Peninsula have been settled for centuries by people of Minangkabau descent from Sumatra, and suggests that comparative study of Minangkabau cultural traditions, conducted alongside proper excavations, would be the most productive path forward (p. 99).
Key Findings
- Evans’ 1919 excavation at Pengkalan Kempas yielded early Ming celadon (translucent apple-green, crackled glaze, incised foliate decoration), blue-and-white ware, four small button-shaped blue glass objects, a small unidentifiable silver coin, rough non-Chinese pottery, and the remains of three sharpened and fire-hardened posts embedded three feet below ground level (p. 90).
- Before Evans re-erected the three principal megaliths in 1919, at least fifteen additional granite stones existed at the site, several of them ornamented; their original positions cannot now be verified (p. 89).
- The smaller granite stone positioned across the laterite platform opposite the undecorated central megalith forms a pair whose height, inclination, and inter-stone distance match the average dimensions recorded by Sheppard for the Kuala Pilah district alignments (p. 95).
- The orientation of the Pengkalan Kempas pair is northwest-southeast, differing from the north-south orientation characteristic of the Kuala Pilah and Alor Gajah alignments (p. 95).
- New 1973 photography revealed an elephant-trunk motif along the upper edge of the smaller decorated stone and a frontal elephant face with descending trunk and stylised tusks on the larger decorated stone, features not clearly visible in Evans’ 1920–22 photographs (pp. 98–99).
- The Muslim grave inscription at the site is dated 1467 A.D.; the non-Arabic writing on the site has yet to be convincingly interpreted (p. 89).
Conclusion
Jeshurun’s definitive takeaway is that the Pengkalan Kempas megaliths cannot be adequately understood in isolation or through their association with the Muslim grave alone. The typological evidence links them to a wider Peninsular megalithic tradition, and the decorative motifs—particularly the elephant imagery—point toward Hindu cultural influence that predates or coexists with Islamic presence. The author calls for a systematic, excavation-based study of the entire Peninsular megalithic occurrence, including the Kuala Pilah and Alor Gajah districts, as a prerequisite for any firmer conclusions about the cultural and chronological context of these monuments.
Context
- The article draws on Evans’ 1919 excavation report in the Journal of the F.M.S. Museums (Vol. IX, 1920–22), Sheppard’s 1962 survey, and Winstedt’s early twentieth-century publications on the advent of Islam in the Malay Peninsula.
- The study contributes to the historiography of early Islam in Malaysia by challenging the assumption that the Pengkalan Kempas site is primarily an Islamic monument, and by situating the megaliths within a comparative Southeast Asian megalithic framework informed by recent work in Sarawak and Sabah (Harrisson & O’Connor 1970; Harrisson & Harrisson 1971).