Bujang Valley: Earliest civilisation in S-E Asia

Bujang Valley, one of several Indianised kingdoms in Southeast Asia, existed long before neighbouring empires such as Majapahit (1200 AD) and Sri Vijaya (700 AD).


The early Bujang Valley civilisation between the first and the fifth century (earlier than previously thought) was probably based on animism before coming under Hindu and Buddhist influence from the fifth to the fourteenth century.

Now, here’s the strange thing: most Malaysians and visitors know about Malacca and Penang as historical sites, but few have even heard of the Bujang Valley. (Today is actually George Town World Heritage City Day, a holiday in Penang from this year.) In fact, very few residents of Penang and Kedah know about the fascinating archaeological museum amidst reconstructed Hindu and Buddhist temple foundations, discovered in the valley and relocated to the museum grounds, near a gurgling stream on a lush hill-slope in Merbok in Kedah. The museum is worth visiting if you are interested in the Hindu and Buddhist figurines and other artefacts discovered during excavation.

Archaeological interest covers sites spanning a thousand square kilometre region from Merbok in the north to Bukit Mertajam on mainland Penang in the south. Gunung Jerai, at 1,200 metres the highest peak in Kedah, was the most visible landmark for sea farers heading to the region.

Time to re-write our school history text books, don’t you think?

More information on Bujang Valley in Wikipedia.

Article from http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=49019

Bujang valley continues to amaze historians
By: by Himanshu Bhatt (Mon, 05 Jul 2010)

International historians observe archaeological excavations at the site of the 2,000 year old Bujang Valley civilisation in Sungai Batu, Kedah. They have described the man-made structures – the oldest thus far recorded in South-east Asia – as the most pivotal find in the region in the last few decades.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 5, 2010): The Bujang Valley in Kedah, where the oldest recorded man-made buildings in South-East Asia have been discovered, continues to be a source of amazement to historians and achaelogists.

Some of the world’s top historians converged at the archaeological site over the weekend to survey excavation works for the 2,000-year old civilisation which has been hailed in the last few decades as “the most important civilisational find in the region.”

The civilisation there is now known to have existed long before neighbouring empires like Sri Vijaya (700AD) and Majapahit (1200AD).

theSun had reported on March 28 that Malaysian archaeologists had unearthed a 1,900-year-old monument, scientifically dated to 110 AD, built with detailed geometrical precision in Sungai Batu, Kedah.

The monument, which faces the Gunung Jerai mountain, the highest peak in northern Malaysia, is believed to be have been used for ritualistic purposes.

The monument was found surrounded by remnants of advanced iron smelting facilities equipped with furnaces as well as brick jetties built along a river bank.

Dr Stephen Oppenheimer of Oxford University’s school of anthropology described it as “the earliest monumental site” that showed an important role as an industrial and trading centre.

“This is one of the most important finds in South-east Asia for the last couple of decades,” he said.

India’s Gujarat State Archaeology Department director Yadubirsingh Rawat said there was now indisputable evidence that international trading activities had taken place here in that period.

“The settlers here had full knowledge of iron smelting and jetty construction. This means they must have been connected to other places in the world,” he said.

“The discovery shows that the Bujang valley contributed significantly to maritime trade in the region,” he added.

Also found with the monument were various pottery and a Buddhist tablet with Pallava-Sanskrit inscriptions likely to have been made in the 5th century AD.

The discovery, by the Centre for Global Archaeological Research (CGAR) of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), was made within a three sq km area where a total of 97 mounds have been found. Thus far only 10 have been excavated.

Dr R. Nagaswamy, former director of the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department said the western coast of peninsular Malaysia was likely a central point in the sea route of international trade in that period.

“From this we not only gain a deeper understanding of the country, but also of world history,” he said.

He also noted that Kedah had attracted rulers from South India, such as the Chola kings, to send their armies there in the 11th century.

The experts are in Malaysia for a conference on the Bujang Valley.

CGAR had announced last week that it had recently uncovered a new site in Jeriang, Kedah, comprising seven ancient furnaces once used for smelting of iron.

New estimates now show that the Bujang Valley settlement covered an area of about 1,000 sq km, mostly around Gunung Jerai, and not just 400 sqkm as previously believed.

Dated 110 AD, the newly discovered Sungai Batu monument in the Bujang Valley is the oldest recorded man-made building in South-east Asia.
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7 July 2010 at 12.40pm | Tags: Bujang Valley, earliest civilisation, kedah, Merbok | Category: Malaysian history | Printable version |
28 comments to Bujang Valley: Earliest civilisation in S-E Asia
Sean
7 July 2010 at 12.54pm · Reply
This is really great news – I’ve often wondered how Malaysia can be so devoid of historical monuments when the rest of South East Asia is brim-full. How nice would it be to attract proper tourists with the prospect of seeing something really interesting? I can’t see Tourism Malaysia commissioning the “Visit Malaysia – Ancient Indian Kingdom” video just yet though, can you?
jonh
7 July 2010 at 1.07pm · Reply
The fact that it was Hindu & Buddhist, it existence will be covered up from the public.
It was in our history books 70′s together with Ganganegara in Bruas.

Sad indeed.

Asmarada
8 July 2010 at 1.11pm · Reply
Malaysia only acknowledge its history from Kesultanan Melaka. That’s explain the sieged-mentality as expounded in Tun M’s classic The Malay Dilemma.
semuanya OK kot
7 July 2010 at 1.37pm · Reply
This was discoverd by the British in 1950s or earlier. No suppression, only benign neglect. No funds etc. Faham sahalah.
jonh
7 July 2010 at 2.36pm · Reply
Dear semua OK Kot,
If thats the case, can you explain why Lembah Bujang and Ganganegara were in our history test book but not anymore now?
Why is the site not accorded national heritage status but the single batu bersurat dari Terengganu has been given all the coverage?

Jonh
ksl
7 July 2010 at 4.43pm · Reply
i was surprised to see in my own eyes such existence within out doorsteps. we read this in passing in our history books in the 70s but the reality says it all. i first visited a few years ago and then went again two years back. my observation is that the treatment is an eyewash for such an important part of our history. being such an important site there is very little information and publicity of this heritage. i have asked around many do not know its existence! thankfully the early discovery had kept and preserved the artefacts. if it were a recent find i am very sure they will treat it as hard core for some road or building foudation work! sadly i think majority of malaysians would not be able to associate with the civilization after being brainwashed and conditoned by our so called leaders.
SamG
7 July 2010 at 4.47pm · Reply
Jonh,
Malayan History has been re-written over the last 40 years. What I learnt in the 1960s is totally opposite to what my children are fed in school today.
I do not wish to state why in print or openly, as I know why, but, by doing so, I could end up being charged for Sedition or related offences.
When I was in Tamil Nadu and going thru’ some of the History of SEA, may of the texts are also the same as the History as we were taught, and even more.
KM
7 July 2010 at 5.41pm · Reply
This is historical facts that exists for long long time which was not being ‘amplified’ may be due to some political reasons.

Go visit the place if you can you will be amazed with the ‘technology’ that mankind used to have in the past.

The early settlement was (most of it) on the hill that can be served as a guide “light house” for ships arriving from Indian Ocean then.

Let’s the history prevail not due to any political interest we are in.
nasri
7 July 2010 at 6.22pm · Reply
This is situated between Borobudor and Angkor Watt.
There is no reason not to believe in a Tamadun Manusia in this part of the world long before Parameswara set foot in Temasik.

Tourism Malaysia should promote it as a new tourist attraction. Imagine how much revenue to bring to the people in Jerai and Gurun in Kedah.

However, BN will (probably) cover up this dicovery to protect the ‘interest’ … Need not say more.

In the meantime, not sure what our Profesor Sejarah Khoo KK would say on this.

Ferdtan
7 July 2010 at 7.09pm · Reply
History Professor Khoo KK will only (probably) say politically correct history, connected with Umno is history.The rest are not history.As the late Judge who infamously loved to say-irrelevant ,irrelevant and irrelevant.

nasri
8 July 2010 at 1.06pm · Reply
I heard the History Prof … is now being cold-storaged… Must be the bad karma for twisting the history to suit the agenda of umnoputera.
Salak
7 July 2010 at 6.34pm · Reply
Strange the whole thing just decayed like that. Maybe there was a bigger tsunami last time – a remote but real possibility

Or maybe the ET aliens took their cousins back home, exasperated at the not-so-boleh response!

But maybe there was a big epidemic, a disease. Who knows? Between 1300-1450 there was a bad plague in Europe. Same thing could happen elsewhere. Muslim scholars like Khaldun lost part of his family because of that.

In Sarawak TB is back. It was eliminated in late 80′s or early 90′s. Our porous borders are as bad as our porous pockets. During the construction of the Bakun Dam there was an outbreak of some HFM or its mutated strains whick took a number of infant lives.

If we can’t kill the corruption in Malaysia these diseases are gonna come back! And they will not be after our pockets!
wandererAUS
7 July 2010 at 6.52pm · Reply
Aiyaaa Anil, see what you have done? You have given credibility to Tun M… to claim another feather to his cap!
I have just questioned, “Was there a malay race” after reading the modern history of Malaysia backed with facts…where Chinese remains were found in the Eastern coast of the Peninsular….
wandererAUS
7 July 2010 at 6.58pm · Reply
This article may make interesting reading…..

The Truth Revealed (with evidence)!

In June 1998, the government of Malaysia had hired a team of experts from all over the world to be gathered here in Malaysia for a research project to compliment the history studies that we undertook in our secondary school.

http://cforum6.cari.com.my/archiver/?tid-642283.html
donplaypuks
7 July 2010 at 7.38pm · Reply
I have visited the Bujang Valley site and museum near Sg. Petani. It was actually mentioned more than a hundred years ago in 1864 by British Administrator Colonel James Low who also translated the Kedah Annals in english!! Later in the 1930′s Prof Quaritch Wales did much of the excavations assisted by Prof Nilakanta Shastri from India.

Note than whenever there is a press release on Bujang Valley, great pains are taken by our “authorities” not to mention the definitive evidence of Indian Hindus/Buddhists . You will only read about ‘some” Sankrit inscriptions and “Chandis”. These Indians had settled in Bujang Valley as early as about 100 AD. This makes sense as Indonesian records show the presence in Java of King Aji Saka from India in 78 AD!!

The truth that Bujang Valley is the ancient site of Indian Hindus/Buddhists is indisputable and it was they who built all those temples and iron ore smelting facilities.

But what can we expect when yesterday the Governor of Melaka challenged whether Admiral Cheng Ho and his fleets ever actuall visited Melaka when extensive Ming records are available for inspection and research to any lay historian?

In fact, it was these Ming records that internationally renown M’sian Prof Wang Gangwu relied upon in proving the existence of the non-Muslim Parameswara and his numerous visits to China between 1405-1414, which resulted in our history books having to be corrected!

We have some dangerous history revisionists in our midst.

dpp
we are all of 1 race, the Human Race

tunglang
7 July 2010 at 9.31pm · Reply
Same goes for Hang Tuah, gone incognito! The truth is harder to stomach for some racist quarters who can’t see the truth other than Ketuanan.
Ganesh
7 July 2010 at 9.39pm · Reply
Anil, what about the Johor discovery? How come no news on that?

I hear it is even older.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kota_Gelanggi

Asmarada
8 July 2010 at 1.09pm · Reply
Johor discovery has been depicted in the movie ‘Puteri Gunung Ledang’. See the movie and find it out yourself.
donplaypuks
8 July 2010 at 2.10am · Reply
Kota Gelanggi, if it’s remnants exist in Johor, is likely to be from the Chola era of 1,000 AD and not older than Bujang Valley.

dpp
hoh
8 July 2010 at 1.20pm · Reply
hoh, kids these days still learn about lembah bujang in their history book.

These civilization was populated by Indinized local population which was the Kedahan. You all know rite that b4 islam, malays were hindu or buddhist? Just becoz that civilization were hindu, that doesnt mean they were indians. China was and still buddhist but that doesnt mean they are indian since buddhism came from india.
hoh
8 July 2010 at 1.26pm · Reply
to add sumting up :

It is quite ironic why indian want to claim this civilization as theirs when they themselves destroy them. Yes, the Chola destroy most of the city during their Srivijaya conquest. And they proudly tell this in their temple in tamil nadu on how they capture the king of Kadaram (kedah) and stole the city’s wealth.
donplaypuks
8 July 2010 at 7.41pm · Reply
“It is quite ironic why indian want to claim this civilization as theirs when they themselves destroy them. Yes, the Chola destroy most of the city during their Srivijaya conquest. And they proudly tell this in their temple in tamil nadu on how they capture the king of Kadaram (kedah) and stole the city’s wealth.” Hoh.

We are talking about 2 different time lines.

Bujang Valley goes back to 100 AD or thereabouts.

The Chola invasion of Kedah and possibly Perak and Johor led by Rajaraja Chola (Raja Chulan) took place circa 1000 AD as recorded in the temple inscriptions at Tanjavur (Tanjore) in S.India.

dpp
we are all of 1 race, the Human Race

hoh
8 July 2010 at 11.29pm · Reply
ok, then why must the india (chola) destroys sumting that thair ‘ancestor’ built? Weird huh? So obviously the population at that time was predominantly malayan not indian. Indianized but not indian.. same thing goes to the khmer empire.

donplaypuks
9 July 2010 at 12.07pm · Reply
Bujang Valley is not the site of some great Chola or any other invasion; there’s no evidence of that. Why these 1st century Indian settlers eventually left is not known; pehaps they found better fortunes in Cambodia and Indonesia where they built the Angkor Wat and Borobudur.

Some 900 years later, Rajaraja Chola and his son Rajendra Chola began their forays into SEA around 1000 AD. by which time Hinduism and Buddhism was extant in Burma and Thailand. Northern parts of Malaya were under the control of Thai Rulers as evidenced by the 1st 9 kings of Kedah who all had Hindu/Thai names.

Evidence of pockets of large trading and religious families (as much as 500) in SEA are known to have existed.

Hinduized kingdoms did not spring out of native inspiration or 1 or 2 travelling monks. There had to have been a very strong presence of original Indians from India for such kindoms to have lasted until the 15th century, (including the founder of Melaka) to have influenced culture, religion and language.

dpp
we are all of 1 race, the Human Race

hoh
9 July 2010 at 3.47pm · Reply
dear dpp.. from 900ad > kedah was part of Srivijaya not Thailand. Plus, thailand (Ayutthaya) only exist in 1350++. The reason why those kings of kedah got hindu name bcoz their religion was hindu/buddha. Since those religion originated in India, so by nature, it is ok to adopt Indian name.. the same thing oso happen when islam was introduced. they adopt arabic name as islam originated from arabia. But this thing only happen in malaysia not indonesia where some of the people still retain their hindu name.

I guess, the way those old ‘malay’ people perceived the indian is the same on how malay view the arabs today.
Salak
9 July 2010 at 12.33am · Reply
“…Arabisation is the word. “
How is that nasri?

Arabs were more terrible before Islam.

It’s interesting to note that the bleak parts of Asia sent the Mongols, the Turks and the Tartars down to better pasture. The bleak desert sent the Arabs out to greener pastures, too. The urban cowboys of Sarawak went for the thicker foliage in the Sarawak jungles, almost making the Penans extinct (remaining number dwindled down to some 20,000).

We might just have to settle for blunt economic reasons why old people did this or that. And we’re now getting better at cheating – with ponzi finance!
K. P. VARAN
15 July 2010 at 10.06pm · Reply
Certain political ‘Historians’ like to hide their heads in the sand like Ostriches. They want our children to do the same too. They re write History books but have not been able to re write Geography books and the history books of other Nations. Our children these days are smart enough to read about the past through the IT

We do not need ‘trained’ teachers to bull… them about our historical background. It only make our children to call their teachers ‘dopes’ at their backs. The amount of comments you hear from children about the ignorance of their teachers on various factors is mind staggering. After all, a school is there only to teach you how to LEARN. After that the students are faster in learning all that they want to know….
nasri
8 July 2010 at 1.07pm · Reply
Arabisation is the word.