𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐘 𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘

RESOURCE: MALAY WORLD

31 OCTOBER 2023

The description of Malay as an ethnicity can be found native text, the Malay Annals, written during the time of Melaka Sultanate (15th century). After the fall of the sultanate in 1511 to the Portuguese Empire, references of 'Malay' as an ethnicity exclusive to Melaka, are confirmed by the accounts of several Portuguese writers.

Among the earliest was by Tomé Pires, a Portuguese apothecary, colonial administrator, and diplomat, who was sent to Malacca (Melaka) in 1512, a year after it was conquered by the Portuguese Empire. In 𝑆𝑢𝑚𝑎 𝑂𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 (1512-1515), he explained how the former 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐚 𝐒𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 classified merchants calling its port into four groups, of which the Malays did not appear in the list, suggesting they were not then regarded as a category outside Melaka itself:⁽¹⁾

𝘛ℎ𝘦𝑟𝘦 𝘪𝑠 𝑎 𝑋𝘢𝑏𝘢𝑚𝘥𝑎𝘳 (𝑠𝘩𝑎𝘩𝑏𝘢𝑛𝘥𝑎𝘳) 𝑓𝘰𝑟 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝐺𝘶𝑗𝘢𝑟𝘢𝑡𝘦𝑒𝘴, 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑚𝘰𝑠𝘵 𝘪𝑚𝘱𝑜𝘳𝑡𝘢𝑛𝘵 𝘰𝑓 𝑎𝘭𝑙; 𝘵ℎ𝘦𝑟𝘦 𝘪𝑠 𝑎 𝑋𝘢𝑏𝘢𝑚𝘥𝑎𝘳 𝘧𝑜𝘳 𝘵ℎ𝘦 𝘉𝑢𝘯𝑢𝘢𝑞𝘶𝑗𝘐𝑖𝘮 (𝐵𝘦𝑛𝘶𝑎 𝐾𝘦𝑙𝘪𝑛𝘨), 𝘉𝑒𝘯𝑔𝘢𝑙𝘦𝑒𝘴, 𝑃𝘦𝑔𝘶𝑠, 𝘗𝑎𝘴𝑒; 𝘵ℎ𝘦𝑟𝘦 𝘪𝑠 𝑎 𝑋𝘢𝑏𝘢𝑚𝘥𝑎𝘳 𝘧𝑜𝘳 𝘵ℎ𝘦 𝘑𝑎𝘷𝑎𝘯𝑒𝘴𝑒, 𝘔𝑜𝘭𝑢𝘤𝑐𝘢𝑛𝘴, 𝐵𝘢𝑛𝘥𝑎, 𝘗𝑎𝘭𝑒𝘮𝑏𝘢𝑛𝘨, 𝑇𝘢𝑚𝘫𝑜𝘮𝑝𝘶𝑟𝘢 𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘓𝑢𝘤̧𝑜̃𝘦𝑠 (𝘓𝑢𝘻𝑜𝘯𝑒𝘴); 𝘵ℎ𝘦𝑟𝘦 𝘪𝑠 𝑎 𝑋𝘢𝑏𝘢𝑚𝘥𝑎𝘳 𝘧𝑜𝘳 𝘵ℎ𝘦 𝘊ℎ𝘪𝑛𝘦𝑠𝘦, 𝐿𝘦𝑞𝘶𝑒𝘰𝑠, 𝘊ℎ𝘢𝑛𝘤ℎ𝘦𝑜 𝑎𝘯𝑑 𝐶𝘩𝑎𝘮𝑝𝘢. 𝐸𝘢𝑐𝘩 𝘮𝑎𝘯 𝘢𝑝𝘱𝑙𝘪𝑒𝘴 𝘵𝑜 [𝘵ℎ𝘦 𝘟𝑎𝘣𝑎𝘮𝑑𝘢𝑟] 𝘰𝑓 ℎ𝘪𝑠 𝑛𝘢𝑡𝘪𝑜𝘯 𝘸ℎ𝘦𝑛 ℎ𝘦 𝘤𝑜𝘮𝑒𝘴 𝘵𝑜 𝑀𝘢𝑙𝘢𝑐𝘤𝑎 𝑤𝘪𝑡𝘩 𝘮𝑒𝘳𝑐𝘩𝑎𝘯𝑑𝘪𝑠𝘦 𝘰𝑟 𝑚𝘦𝑠𝘴𝑎𝘨𝑒𝘴.⁽¹⁾

It is interesting to note that traders from Pase (Pasai) in Sumatra  were grouped under Indian subcontinent category. In his description of Pasai, Tomé Pires noted that most of the inhabitants were Bengalees  :⁽²⁾

𝘛ℎ𝘦 𝘱𝑒𝘰𝑝𝘭𝑒 𝑜𝘧 𝘗𝑎𝘴𝑒 𝑎𝘳𝑒 𝑓𝘰𝑟 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑚𝘰𝑠𝘵 𝘱𝑎𝘳𝑡 𝐵𝘦𝑛𝘨𝑎𝘭𝑒𝘦𝑠, 𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘵ℎ𝘦 𝘯𝑎𝘵𝑖𝘷𝑒𝘴 𝘥𝑒𝘴𝑐𝘦𝑛𝘥 𝘧𝑟𝘰𝑚 𝑡𝘩𝑖𝘴 𝘴𝑡𝘰𝑐𝘬; 𝑎𝘯𝑑 𝑏𝘦𝑐𝘢𝑢𝘴𝑒 𝑡𝘩𝑒𝘺 𝘢𝑟𝘦 𝘰𝑓 𝑡𝘩𝑖𝘴 𝘴𝑒𝘦𝑑, 𝘵ℎ𝘦𝑟𝘦 𝘪𝑠 𝑎 𝑐𝘶𝑠𝘵𝑜𝘮 𝘪𝑛 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑐𝘰𝑢𝘯𝑡𝘳𝑦 𝑤𝘩𝑖𝘤ℎ 𝑤𝘪𝑙𝘭 𝘣𝑒 𝑑𝘦𝑠𝘤𝑟𝘪𝑏𝘦𝑑 𝑙𝘢𝑡𝘦𝑟, 𝘧𝑜𝘳 𝘣𝑒𝘺𝑜𝘯𝑑 𝑑𝘰𝑢𝘣𝑡 𝑡𝘩𝑒𝘳𝑒 𝑖𝘴 𝘯𝑜𝘵 𝘪𝑛 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑤𝘰𝑟𝘭𝑑 𝑠𝘰 𝘷𝑖𝘭𝑒 𝑎 𝑤𝘢𝑦 𝑎𝘴 𝘵ℎ𝘢𝑡 𝑜𝘧 𝘗𝑎𝘴𝑒 𝑖𝘯 𝘥𝑒𝘢𝑙𝘪𝑛𝘨 𝘸𝑖𝘵ℎ 𝑖𝘵𝑠 𝑘𝘪𝑛𝘨.⁽²⁾

In another account, in a list of merchants traded in Melaka, Tomé Pires mentioned Malays separately, from other people of the outlying lands like Jambi, Indragiri, Palembang, Siak, Aru, Bangka, Lingga, and others,⁽³⁾ suggesting they were still not regarded as Malays back then.

𝘔𝑜𝘰𝑟𝘴 𝘧𝑟𝘰𝑚 𝐶𝘢𝑖𝘳𝑜, 𝘔𝑒𝘤𝑐𝘢, 𝐴𝘥𝑒𝘯, 𝐴𝘣𝑦𝘴𝑠𝘪𝑛𝘪𝑎𝘯𝑠, 𝘮𝑒𝘯 𝘰𝑓 𝐾𝘪𝑙𝘸𝑎, 𝘔𝑎𝘭𝑖𝘯𝑑𝘪, 𝑂𝘳𝑚𝘶𝑧, 𝘗𝑎𝘯𝑒𝘦𝑠, 𝘙𝑢𝘮𝑒𝘴, 𝑇𝘶𝑟𝘬𝑠, 𝘛𝑢𝘳𝑘𝘰𝑚𝘢𝑛𝘴, 𝐶𝘩𝑟𝘪𝑠𝘵𝑖𝘢𝑛 𝐴𝘳𝑚𝘦𝑛𝘪𝑎𝘯𝑠, 𝘎𝑢𝘫𝑎𝘳𝑎𝘵𝑒𝘦𝑠, 𝘮𝑒𝘯 𝘰𝑓 𝐶𝘩𝑎𝘶𝑙, 𝘋𝑎𝘣ℎ𝘰𝑙, 𝘎𝑜𝘢, 𝑜𝘧 𝘵ℎ𝘦 𝘬𝑖𝘯𝑔𝘥𝑜𝘮 𝘰𝑓 𝐷𝘦𝑐𝘤𝑎𝘯, 𝑀𝘢𝑙𝘢𝑏𝘢𝑟𝘴 𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘒𝑙𝘪𝑛𝘨𝑠, 𝘮𝑒𝘳𝑐𝘩𝑎𝘯𝑡𝘴 𝘧𝑟𝘰𝑚 𝑂𝘥𝑠𝘴𝑎, 𝘊𝑒𝘺𝑙𝘰𝑛, 𝘉𝑒𝘯𝑔𝘢𝑙, / 𝘈𝑟𝘢𝑘𝘢𝑛, 𝘗𝑒𝘨𝑢, 𝘚𝑖𝘢𝑚𝘦𝑠𝘦, 𝑚𝘦𝑛 𝑜𝘧 𝘒𝑒𝘥𝑎𝘩, 𝑀𝘢𝑙𝘢𝑦𝘴, 𝑚𝘦𝑛 𝑜𝘧 𝘗𝑎𝘩𝑎𝘯𝑔, 𝘗𝑎𝘵𝑎𝘯𝑖, 𝘊𝑎𝘮𝑏𝘰𝑑𝘪𝑎, 𝘊ℎ𝘢𝑚𝘱𝑎, 𝘡𝑜𝘤ℎ𝘪𝑖 𝐶𝘩𝑖𝘯𝑎, 𝘊ℎ𝘪𝑛𝘦𝑠𝘦, 𝐿𝘦𝑝𝘦𝑜𝘴, 𝑚𝘦𝑛 𝑜𝘧 𝘉𝑟𝘶𝑛𝘦𝑖, 𝘓𝑢𝘧𝑛𝘦𝑠, 𝘮𝑒𝘵, 𝑜𝘧 𝘛𝑎𝘮𝑗𝘰𝑚𝘱𝑢𝘳𝑎, 𝘓𝑎𝘶𝑒, 𝘉𝑎𝘯𝑘𝘢, 𝐿𝘪𝑛𝘨𝑎 (𝘵ℎ𝘦𝑦 ℎ𝘢𝑣𝘦 𝘢 𝘵ℎ𝘰𝑢𝘴𝑎𝘯𝑑 𝑜𝘵ℎ𝘦𝑟 𝑖𝘴𝑙𝘢𝑛𝘥𝑠), 𝑀𝘰𝑙𝘶𝑐𝘤𝑎𝘴, 𝐵𝘢𝑛𝘥𝑎, 𝘉𝑖𝘮𝑎, 𝘛𝑖𝘮𝑜𝘳, 𝑀𝘢𝑑𝘶𝑟𝘢, 𝐽𝘢𝑣𝘢, 𝑆𝘶𝑛𝘥𝑎, 𝘗𝑎𝘭𝑒𝘮𝑏𝘢𝑛𝘨, 𝐽𝘢𝑚𝘣𝑖, 𝘛𝑜𝘯𝑔𝘬𝑎𝘭, 𝐼𝘯𝑑𝘳𝑎𝘨𝑖𝘯, 𝐼𝘪𝑎𝘱𝑝𝘢𝑡𝘵𝑎, 𝘔𝑒𝘯𝑎𝘯𝑔𝘬𝑎𝘣𝑎𝘶, 𝑆𝘪𝑎𝘬, 𝐴𝘳𝑞𝘶𝑎 (𝘈𝑟𝘤𝑎𝘵?),𝘈𝑚, 𝘉𝑎𝘵𝑎, 𝘤𝑜𝘶𝑛𝘵𝑟𝘺 𝘰𝑓 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑇𝘰𝑚𝘫𝑎𝘯𝑜, 𝘗𝑎𝘴𝑒, 𝘗𝑒𝘥𝑖𝘳, 𝑀𝘢𝑙𝘥𝑖𝘷𝑒𝘴.⁽³⁾

Tomé Pires went on to describe that people of Jambi and Palembang in the 16th century were culturally closer to the Javanese than Malays.⁽⁴⁾

𝑇𝘩𝑒 𝑝𝘦𝑜𝘱𝑙𝘦 𝘰𝑓 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑙𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘰𝑓 𝐽𝘢𝑚𝘣𝑖 𝑎𝘳𝑒 𝑎𝘭𝑟𝘦𝑎𝘥𝑦 𝑚𝘰𝑟𝘦 𝘭𝑖𝘬𝑒 𝑃𝘢𝑙𝘦𝑚𝘣𝑎𝘯𝑔𝘴 𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘑𝑎𝘷𝑎𝘯𝑒𝘴𝑒 𝑡𝘩𝑎𝘯 𝘔𝑎𝘭𝑎𝘺𝑠. 𝘛ℎ𝘦 𝘭𝑎𝘯𝑑 𝑖𝘴 𝘧𝑒𝘳𝑡𝘪𝑙𝘦 𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘳𝑖𝘤ℎ 𝑖𝘯 𝘪𝑡𝘴 𝘸𝑎𝘺.⁽⁴⁾

Manuel Godinho de Erédia, in his 𝐷𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑎, 𝑀𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐶𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑦 (1613), provided an almost similar account, suggesting that the territory of the 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑜𝑠 (Malay) at that time were limited to 𝑈𝑗𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑎 (Malay Peninsula).⁽⁵⁾ He even described 𝑃𝑎𝑚 (Pahang), 𝑃𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑒 (Pattani) and 𝑄𝑢𝑒𝑑𝑎 (Kedah) as culturally Malays.⁽⁶⁾

𝘛ℎ𝘦 𝘯𝑎𝘮𝑒 "𝘔𝑎𝘭𝑎𝘺𝑜" 𝘢𝑝𝘱𝑒𝘢𝑟𝘴 𝘵𝑜 𝑏𝘦 𝘰𝑓 𝑚𝘰𝑟𝘦 𝘨𝑒𝘯𝑒𝘳𝑎𝘭 𝘢𝑝𝘱𝑙𝘪𝑐𝘢𝑡𝘪𝑜𝘯, 𝑠𝘪𝑛𝘤𝑒 𝑖𝘵 𝘦𝑥𝘵𝑒𝘯𝑑𝘴 𝘵𝑜 𝑎𝘭𝑙 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑛𝘢𝑡𝘪𝑣𝘦𝑠 𝑜𝘧 𝘜𝑗𝘰𝑛𝘵𝑎𝘯𝑎, 𝘸ℎ𝘰𝑠𝘦 𝘵𝑒𝘳𝑟𝘪𝑡𝘰𝑟𝘺 𝘭𝑖𝘦𝑠 𝑏𝘦𝑡𝘸𝑒𝘦𝑛 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑇𝘳𝑜𝘱𝑖𝘤 𝘰𝑓 𝐶𝘢𝑛𝘤𝑒𝘳 𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘵ℎ𝘦 𝘌𝑞𝘶𝑎𝘵𝑜𝘳; 𝑡𝘩𝑎𝘵 𝘪𝑠 𝑡𝘰 𝘴𝑎𝘺, 𝑓𝘳𝑜𝘮 𝘵ℎ𝘦 𝘗𝑟𝘰𝑚𝘰𝑛𝘵𝑜𝘳𝑦 𝑜𝘧 𝘜𝑗𝘰𝑛 𝐶𝘢𝑙𝘢𝑛 𝑖𝘯 8 𝘥𝑒𝘨𝑟𝘦𝑒𝘴 𝘰𝑓 𝑁𝘰𝑟𝘵ℎ 𝑙𝘢𝑡𝘪𝑡𝘶𝑑𝘦 𝘢𝑠 𝑓𝘢𝑟 𝑎𝘴 𝘗𝑜𝘪𝑛𝘵 𝘙𝑜𝘮𝑎𝘯𝑖𝘢 𝘰𝑝𝘱𝑜𝘴𝑖𝘵𝑒 𝑃𝘦𝑑𝘳𝑎 𝐵𝘳𝑎𝘯𝑐𝘢 𝘪𝑛 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑠𝘰𝑢𝘵ℎ. 𝘛ℎ𝘳𝑜𝘶𝑔𝘩𝑜𝘶𝑡 𝑎𝘭𝑙 𝑡𝘩𝑖𝘴 𝘤𝑜𝘯𝑡𝘪𝑛𝘦𝑛𝘵𝑎𝘭 𝘵𝑒𝘳𝑟𝘪𝑡𝘰𝑟𝘺 𝘰𝑓 𝑈𝘫𝑜𝘯𝑡𝘢𝑛𝘢 𝘵ℎ𝘦 𝘔𝑎𝘭𝑎𝘺𝑎 𝑙𝘢𝑛𝘨𝑢𝘢𝑔𝘦 𝘪𝑠 𝑢𝘴𝑒𝘥, 𝑎𝘯𝑑 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑛𝘢𝑡𝘪𝑣𝘦𝑠 𝑑𝘦𝑠𝘤𝑟𝘪𝑏𝘦 𝘵ℎ𝘦𝑚𝘴𝑒𝘭𝑣𝘦𝑠 𝑎𝘴 𝘔𝑎𝘭𝑎𝘺𝑜𝘴.⁽⁵⁾

..𝑠𝘵𝑎𝘳𝑡𝘪𝑛𝘨 𝘱𝑜𝘪𝑛𝘵 𝘣𝑦 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝐼𝘴𝑙𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘰𝑓 𝑃𝘶𝑙𝘰 𝘊𝑎𝘵𝑎𝘺 𝘪𝑛 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑟𝘦𝑔𝘪𝑜𝘯 𝘰𝑓 𝑃𝘢𝑡𝘵𝑎𝘯𝑒 (𝘗𝑎𝘵𝑡𝘢𝑛𝘪), 𝘴𝑖𝘵𝑢𝘢𝑡𝘦𝑑 𝑖𝘯 𝘵ℎ𝘦 𝘦𝑎𝘴𝑡 𝑐𝘰𝑎𝘴𝑡 𝑖𝘯 8 𝘥𝑒𝘨𝑟𝘦𝑒𝘴 𝘰𝑓 𝑙𝘢𝑡𝘪𝑡𝘶𝑑𝘦, 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑝𝘢𝑠𝘴 𝘳𝑜𝘶𝑛𝘥 𝘵𝑜 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑜𝘵ℎ𝘦𝑟 𝑜𝘳 𝘸𝑒𝘴𝑡𝘦𝑟𝘯 𝘤𝑜𝘢𝑠𝘵 𝘰𝑓 𝑈𝘫𝑜𝘯𝑡𝘢𝑛𝘢 (𝑀𝘢𝑙𝘢𝑦 𝑝𝘦𝑛𝘪𝑛𝘴𝑢𝘭𝑎), 𝑡𝘰 𝘛𝑎𝘳𝑎𝘯𝑑𝘢 𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘜𝑗𝘰𝑛 𝐶𝘢𝑙𝘢𝑛 𝑠𝘪𝑡𝘶𝑎𝘵𝑒𝘥 𝘪𝑛 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑠𝘢𝑚𝘦 𝘭𝑎𝘵𝑖𝘵𝑢𝘥𝑒 𝑖𝘯 𝘥𝑖𝘴𝑡𝘳𝑖𝘤𝑡 𝑜𝘧 𝘘𝑢𝘦𝑑𝘢 (𝐾𝘦𝑑𝘢ℎ): 𝑡𝘩𝑖𝘴 𝘴𝑡𝘳𝑒𝘵𝑐𝘩 𝘰𝑓 𝑡𝘦𝑟𝘳𝑖𝘵𝑜𝘳𝑦 𝑙𝘪𝑒𝘴 𝘸𝑖𝘵ℎ𝘪𝑛 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑟𝘦𝑔𝘪𝑜𝘯 𝘰𝑓 "𝘔𝑎𝘭𝑎𝘺𝑜𝘴" 𝑎𝘯𝑑 𝑡𝘩𝑒 𝑠𝘢𝑚𝘦 𝘭𝑎𝘯𝑔𝘶𝑎𝘨𝑒 𝑝𝘳𝑒𝘷𝑎𝘪𝑙 𝑡𝘩𝑟𝘰𝑢𝘨ℎ𝘰𝑢𝘵.⁽⁷⁾

It is important to mention that the term Riau (which today claimed as the “homeland of Melayu”) was not mentioned in any of the above records. The reason is obvious, Riau as an important settlement did not yet exist at that time. It was only established as a Johorean outpost by Laksamana Tun Abdul Jamil of Johor by the end of the 17th century.⁽⁸⁾

The more detail description of Malays in the early 16th century however can be found in the account Duarte Barbosa written in 1518. Duarte Barbosa was a Portuguese writer and officer from Portuguese Indian, who joined the Magellan's circumnavigation expedition in 1519. He was killed in Cebu in 1521. In 1518, he wrote a comprehensive account of many kingdoms bordering the Indian ocean, including the former Melaka Sultanate. Below is his detail descriptions of the Malaios (Malays) of Melaka.⁽⁹⁾

𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 ; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘰𝘴 . 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘵-𝘶𝘱 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘬, 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩 — 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦 — 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴 ; 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘦-𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 “𝘵𝘢𝘸𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥" 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯, 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘬 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘴 [𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘴]. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘫𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.⁽⁹⁾

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘰𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘦 (𝘈𝘭-𝘘𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘶𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘥) 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴 ; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 ; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘴 ; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 ; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦.⁽⁹⁾

Early description of Malays as an ethnicity can also be found in visual art. According to Joannes van Doetecum's 1596 engraving in Jan Huyghen van Linschoten's 𝐼𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑜. The term “Malayos” was used to describe only the Inhabitants of Malacca:⁽¹⁰⁾

𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘴, 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘢, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴.⁽¹⁰⁾

In the Códice Casanatense or the Codex Casanatense, a set of 16th-century Portuguese illustrations, which depict peoples and cultures whom the Portuguese frequently had contact with around the Indian and Pacific oceans, a Malay couple is depicted with the description:⁽¹¹⁾

𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘴.⁽¹¹⁾

From all these European accounts, scholars are in agreement that the term “Malays” in the 16th-17th centuries, were limited to the inhabitants of the territories formerly directly ruled by Melaka Sultanate or states which were heavily influenced by the powerful Malay sultanate. From 17th century onwards, following the gradual Malayisation by other succeeding Malay Sultanates, non-Muslim tribal communities and other ethnicities in several territories in Sumatra and Borneo began accepting the Malay identity.⁽¹¹⁾

𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬

⁽¹⁾ Pires, Thome & Cortesão, Armando & Rodrigues, Francisco. (1944), p. 265

⁽²⁾ Pires, Thome & Cortesão, Armando & Rodrigues, Francisco. (1944), p. 142

⁽³⁾ Pires, Thome & Cortesão, Armando & Rodrigues, Francisco. (1944), p. 268

⁽⁴⁾ Pires, Thome & Cortesão, Armando & Rodrigues, Francisco. (1944), p. 154

⁽⁵⁾ Godinho de Eredia, Manuel, 1563-1623 & Mills. J. V. (1997), p. 30

⁽⁶⁾ Godinho de Eredia, Manuel, 1563-1623 & Mills. J. V. (1997), p. 37

⁽⁷⁾ Godinho de Eredia, Manuel, 1563-1623 & Mills. J. V. (1997), pp. 36-37

⁽⁸⁾ Rendra Setyadiharja, Priyo Joko Purnomo, Yoan Sutrisna Nugraha (2022), p. 198

⁽⁹⁾ Dames M. L. (edt) & Barbosa D. (aut). (1921), p. 176

⁽¹⁰⁾ Hoyt (1993), p. 36

⁽¹¹⁾ Norshahril Saat, Wan Hussin Zoohri, Zainul Abidin Rasheed (2020), p. 27

⁽¹²⁾ Milner (2010), p. 81

𝐁𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲

1. Dames M. L. (edt) & Barbosa D. (aut). (1921). The book of Duarte Barbosa : An account of the countries bordering on the Indian Ocean and their inhabitants, written by Duarte Barbosa and completed about the year 1518. Vol II; Including the Coasts of Malabar eastern India, Further India, China and the Indian Archipelago.
2. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.47303/mode/2up
3. Godinho de Eredia, Manuel, 1563-1623 & Mills. J. V. (1997). Eredia's description of Malaca, Meridional India, and Cathay / translated from the Portuguese with notes by J.V. Mills ; and new introduction by Cheah Boon Kheng. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia : Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
4. Hoyt, Sarnia Hayes (1993), Old Malacca, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-588619-1
5. Pires, Thome & Cortesão, Armando & Rodrigues, Francisco. (1944). The Suma oriental of Tomé Pires : an account of the East from the Red Sea to Japan, written in Malacca and India in 1512-1515; and, The Book of Francisco Rodrigues, rutter of a voyage in the Red Sea, nautical rules, almanack and maps written and drawn in the East before 1515 Retrieved October 31, 2023, from
6. https://archive.org/.../McGillLibrary.../page/n283/mode/2up
7. https://archive.org/.../McGillLibrary.../page/n55/mode/2up
8. Rendra Setyadiharja, Priyo Joko Purnomo, Yoan Sutrisna Nugraha (2022). Perang Riau dalam Tuhfat Al-Nafis. CV Jejak. ISBN 9786233388801
9. Milner, Anthony (2010), The Malays (The Peoples of South-East Asia and the Pacific), Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN 978-1-4443-3903-1
10. Norshahril Saat, Wan Hussin Zoohri, Zainul Abidin Rasheed (2020), Beyond Bicentennial: Perspectives On Malays. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Company. ISBN: 9789811212529

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