The Cherok Tokun inscription (Malay : Batu Bersurat Cherok Tokun) are ancient relic on a rock in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, Malaysia. It is the only ancient megalith in Penang, Malaysia, as recognised by the Malaysian Department of Museum and Antiquities. It is also regarded as the southernmost relic of the ancient civilization of Bujang Valley. [1] The granite megalith is located at the foot of Bukit Mertajam, within the compound of the St Anne Church. [2]
The inscriptions were believed to be in pre-Pallava script and written in Sanskrit. They were attributed to the ancient Kingdom of Kadaaram, which flourished in northern Malaysia in the 5th to 6th centuries. However, according to Laidlay JW, who translated the text in 1848, the inscription was Pali, not Sanskrit. [3] [4] It was discovered in 1845 by James Low. In his log, Low recorded his disappointment of not finding a more spectacular ruin, expecting to find an ancient temple ruin. He documented what he made out to be "a group of seven inscriptions". [5]
Kedah, also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and consists of a mainland portion and the Langkawi islands. The mainland has relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice, while Langkawi is composed of mostly of uninhabited islands.
Sungai Petani is a town in Kuala Muda District, Kedah, Malaysia. Sungai Petani is Kedah's largest city and is located about 55 km south of Alor Setar, the capital of Kedah, and 33 km northeast of George Town, the capital city of the neighbouring state of Penang.
The Bujang Valley is a sprawling historical complex and has an area of approximately 224 square kilometres (86 sq mi) situated near Merbok, Kedah, between Gunung Jerai in the north and Muda River in the south. It is the richest archaeological area in Malaysia.
The Singapore Stone is a fragment of a large sandstone slab which originally stood at the mouth of the Singapore River. The large slab, which is believed to date back to at least the 13th century and possibly as early as the 10th or 11th century, bore an undeciphered inscription. Recent theories suggest that the inscription is either in Old Javanese or in Sanskrit, which suggested a possibility that the island was an extension of the Majapahit civilization in the past.
Seberang Perai is a city in the Malaysian state of Penang. Located on the Malay Peninsula and separated from Penang Island by the Penang Strait, it shares borders with Kedah to the north and east, and Perak to the south. The city spans an area of 748 km2 (289 sq mi) and had a population of 946,092 as of 2020, making it the third largest city in Malaysia.
Bukit Mertajam is a suburb of Seberang Perai in the Malaysian state of Penang. It also serves as the seat of the Central Seberang Perai District. As of 2020, Bukit Mertajam had a population of 12,079.
The Kedah Sultanate is a Muslim dynasty located in the Malay Peninsula. It was originally an independent state, but became a British protectorate in 1909. Its monarchy was abolished after it was added to the Malayan Union but was restored and added to the Malayan Union's successor, the Federation of Malaya.
Terengganu Inscription Stone is a granite stele carrying Classical Malay inscription in Jawi script that was found in Terengganu, Malaysia. The inscription, dated possibly to 702 AH, constituted the earliest evidence of Jawi writing in the Malay world of Southeast Asia, and was one of the oldest testimonies to the advent of Islam as a state religion in the region. It contains the proclamation issued by a ruler of Terengganu known as Seri Paduka Tuan, urging his subjects to extend and uphold Islam and providing 10 basic Sharia laws for their guidance.
Pengkalan Kempas is a hamlet in Port Dickson District, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. The Pengkalan Kempas Historical Complex is located here. It is also called Keramat Ujung Pasir.
The Kuala Muda District is a district in Kedah, Malaysia. Sungai Petani is the administrative center of the district. Kuala Muda district is in close proximity to the border of Kedah and Penang. Apart from Sungai Petani, other major towns in the district include Tikam Batu, Padang Tembusu, Sungai Lalang, Bedong, Bukit Selambau, Sidam, Gurun, Semeling, Merbok, Kota Kuala Muda and Tanjung Dawai. The Mount Jerai is shared with the neighbouring district of Yan while the Muda River is shares the bordering state of Penang. The iconic Jambatan Merdeka connect both Tikam Batu with Bumbung Lima in Penang. Kuala Muda is the second largest and most populous district in Kedah, and it is also the site of some of the earliest civilization site in the country.
Archeological digs suggest a settlement existed on the northern bank of the Merbok River by the 1st millennium CE. The Merbok settlement, Sungai Batu was built near the river's estuary. The early history of Kedah can be traced from various sources, from the prehistoric period, most famously the archaeological site of Bujang Valley, the early maritime trade of India, Persia, and the Arabs to the written works of early Chinese pilgrims and early Chinese records, and later to the partly-historical Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa and the Al-Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah.
The State of Penang, one of the most developed and urbanised Malaysian states, is located at the nation's northwest coast along the Malacca Strait. Unlike most Malaysian states, the history of modern Penang was shaped by British colonialism, beginning with the acquisition of Penang Island from the Sultanate of Kedah by the British East India Company in 1786. Developed into a free port, the city state was subsequently governed as part of the Straits Settlements, together with Singapore and Malacca; the state capital, George Town, briefly became the capital of this political entity between 1826 and 1832. By the end of the 19th century, George Town prospered and became one of the major entrepôts in Southeast Asia.
The North-East District is a district within the Malaysian state of Penang. The district covers the northeastern half of Penang Island, including the centre of George Town, Penang's capital city. It has an area of 122.79 km2 (47.41 sq mi) and a population of 510,996 as of 2010. The district borders the South-West District to the south-west.
The Seberang Perai City Council is the city council which administers Seberang Perai, the mainland half of the Malaysian state of Penang. This agency is under the purview of the Penang state government.
Kedahan Malays or commonly known as Orang Utara ('Northerners'), are a sub-group of Malays native to northern Malay Peninsula in areas of both current and historical area of Kedah. They are among the oldest ethnic groups in the Malay peninsula with a history dating back 2,800 years as proven by the discovery of sites in Bujang Valley and historical documents from India, China and Arabia. Kedahan Malays are one of the largest Malay sub-groups in Malaysia, comprising at least 15% of the total Malaysian Malay population including those with Kedahan ancestry.
Malaysian Indians or Indo-Malaysian are Malaysian citizens of Indian or South Asian ancestry. They now form the third-largest group in Malaysia, after the Malays and the Chinese. Most are descendants of those who migrated from India to British Malaya from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries. Most Malaysian Indians are ethnic Tamils; smaller groups include the Malayalees, Telugus and Punjabis. Malaysian Indians form the fifth-largest community of Overseas Indians in the world. In Malaysia, they represent the third-largest group, constituting 7% of the Malaysian population, after the ethnic Malays and the Chinese. They are usually referred to simply as "Indians" in English, Orang India in Malay, "Yin du ren" in Chinese.
The Greater Penang Conurbation, also known as the George Town Conurbation, is the built-up urban or metropolitan area within and around the Malaysian state of Penang. Encompassing all of Penang, and parts of the neighbouring states of Kedah and Perak, the conurbation was home to over 2.84 million people as of 2020, the second largest in the country after the Klang Valley.
Penangite Chinese are ethnic Chinese Malaysians of full or partial Chinese ancestry who either hail from or live within the State of Penang. As of 2020, 45% of Penang's population belonged to the Chinese ethnic group, making ethnic Chinese the largest ethnic community within the state.
The Mahanavika Buddhagupta stone inscription, is a 5th-century CE Buddhist stone inscription found in the Wellesley Province, Penang, Malaysia. It was discovered in 1834 by Captain James Low, of the East India Company.
Malaysian folklore is the folk culture of Malaysia and other indigenous people of the Malay Archipelago as expressed in its oral traditions, written manuscripts and local wisdoms. Malaysian folklores were traditionally transmitted orally in the absence of writing systems. Oral tradition thrived among the Malays, but continues to survive among Orang Asli and numerous Bornean ethnic groups in Sarawak and Sabah. Nevertheless, Malaysian folklores are closely connected with classical Malay folklore of the region. Even though, Malay folklore tends to have a regional background, with the passing of time, and through the influence of the modern media, large parts of regional Malay folklore have become interwoven with the wider popular Malaysian folklore.