Orang Kaya Indera Perba Jelai

Last updated

Orang Kaya Indera Perba Jelai is a nobility title in Pahang Sultanate and one of the four highest ranking nobles below the monarch. [1] The title traces its origin from the times of the Old Pahang Sultanate, and was historically known as Seri Maharaja Perba. [2] The traditional pegangan ('fief') of the nobility is the land from Tanjung Lindung, the entire Jelai River basin (roughly covering the Cameron Highlands and Kuala Lipis constituencies), to the borders of Perak and Kelantan, excluding the Tembeling. [3] It is the largest fief in size and the farthest in distance from the royal court in Pekan, thus making the Maharaja Perba the most powerful among the four major chiefs.

Contents

During the reign of Raja Bendahara Tun Ali, with the gradual centralisation of the royal court, the title was renamed 'Orang Kaya Indera Maharaja Perba' with the added 'Orang Kaya Indera' prefixes. [4] In modern times, it was again renamed 'Orang Kaya Indera Perba Jelai'. [5]

Role

Historically, the Orang Kaya Indera Perba was part of the Orang Besar Berempat ('four major chiefs') that wielded very wide powers in Pahang. They had the authority to impose taxation and to decide all criminal and civil cases except those which involved capital punishment. In fact, their power was limited only by the capacity of the monarch to restrain them, and it varied according to their proximity to Pekan, the further from the court, the greater their authority. They were obliged to appear at Pekan once a year to menjunjung duli ('pay homage'). They had to pay a form of tribute called banchi to the monarch. Their districts were subject to serahan; the obligation to buy, at exorbitant prices, goods the monopoly for the sale of which, in certain localities the ruler was in the habit of granting to one of his favourites. [6]

In the month of Muharram. they appeared at court with offerings. In the time of war they were required to take the field with men, arms and food. The installation of the monarch was incomplete unless the Orang Besar Berempat assisted thereat. The Pahang constitutional theory was that the Orang Besar Berempat and, to a lesser degree, the other chiefs were the foundation upon which the monarch's authority rested. [7]

During the time of Johor Empire, the four major chiefs gave allegiance to the Bendahara as representing the Sultan, but, in time, the sovereign being to them a nebulous figure, their allegiance tended to become more and more a matter of loyalty to the Bendahara personally. This became formally sealed with the establishment of Pahang Kingdom in the late 18th century. [8]

Succession

The titles of the Orang Besar Berempat were hereditary. When a chief died, his successor, before approval of his appointment, was required to make a ceremonial offering to the monarch. This usually took the shape of gold-hilted kris, but other forms of offering were permissible. If the eldest son of a deceased chief were unfitted for the succession, it was proper to appoint a younger son, a brother, or a nephew to the chieftaincy. [9]

Genealogical tree

There are varying genealogical accounts extant of the powerful family of the Jelai Chiefs. One of which, the oldest, was at one time in the possession of one of the eight nobles, Orang Kaya Maharaja Setia Raja Haji Wan Daud. It lay claim that the Jelai Chiefs family were of Minangkabau origin. [10] Another account, collected by Arthur Furley Worthington from Che Sat of Penjom, attributes the family to Perak origin. [11]

According to another account possessed by the Jelai Chief family itself, [12] which doesn't specify the family's origin, the first Maharaja Perba was said to have purchased from the Sultan of Johor territory in Pahang extending from Tanjong Lindong (above modern day Jerantut) to the boundaries of Perak and Kelantan. The price was a levelled (or full) gantang of gold, a coconut-shaped vessel filled with gold, and an arm-sleeveful of gold. [13] This account is taken as the most faithful so far, since it is corroborated by Pahang tradition emanating from another source, Hikayat Pahang serta Johor. [14] The authenticated descent of the family of Maharaja Perba follows: [15]

Family tree of Orang Kaya Indera Perba Jelai
Seri Maharaja Perba I
1592-1638
Wan Muhammad
Seri Maharaja Perba II
'Maharaja Dalam' or 'Raja Muda'
1663-1688
Wan Ismail
Seri Maharaja Perba III
1688-1699
Wan Muhammad
Seri Maharaja Perba IV
1699-1797
Wan Pahang
Panglima Perang
Wan Idris
Orang Kaya Indera Maharaja Perba Jelai V
1797-1882
Wan Daud
Dato' Maharaja Setia Raja
Wan Bong
Panglima Perang Kiri
Wan Muhammad
Orang Kaya Indera Maharaja Perba Jelai VI
1882-1919
Wan Da
♀ a daughterWan Chik
Orang Kaya Indera Maharaja Perba Jelai VII
1919
Wan Tanjung
Orang Kaya Indera Maharaja Perba Jelai VIII
1919-1935
Wan Ali
Orang Kaya Indera Maharaja Perba Jelai IX
1935-1957
Wan Ibrahim
Orang Kaya Indera Maharaja Perba Jelai IX
1957-1991
Wan Badiuzzaman
Orang Kaya Indera Maharaja Perba Jelai XI
1991-2008
Wan Abdul Rahman
Orang Kaya Indera Maharaja Perba Jelai XII
2008-

See also

Related Research Articles

Pahang State of Malaysia

Pahang, officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific Darul Makmur is a sultanate and a federal state of Malaysia. It is the third largest Malaysian state by area and ninth largest by population. The state occupies the basin of the Pahang River, and a stretch of the east coast as far south as Endau. Geographically located in the East Coast region of the Peninsular Malaysia, the state shares borders with the Malaysian states of Kelantan and Terengganu to the north, Perak, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan to the west, Johor to the south, while South China Sea is to the east. The Titiwangsa mountain range that forms a natural divider between the Peninsula's east and west coasts is spread along the north and south of the state, peaking at Mount Tahan, which is 2,187m high. Although two thirds of the state is covered by dense rain forest, its central plains are intersected by numerous rivers, and along the coast there is a 32-kilometre wide expanse of alluvial soil that includes the deltas and estuarine plains of the Kuantan, Pahang, Rompin, Endau, and Mersing rivers.

Sultan of Pahang

Sultan of Pahang is the title of the hereditary constitutional head of Pahang, Malaysia. The current sultan is Al-Sultan Abdullah ibni Sultan Ahmad Shah. He is the Head of Islam in the state and the source of all titles, honours and dignities in the state. Historically, the title was also used by rulers of the Old Pahang Sultanate.

Sultan Muhammad Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Mansur Shah (1455–1475) was the founder of the old Pahang Sultanate who reigned from 1470 to 1475. A former heir apparent to the Melaka throne, he was banished by his father Mansur Shah for committing murder, following a feud in a Sepak Raga game and went into exile in Pahang, later installed as its first Sultan in 1470.

Sultan Abdul Ghafur Muhiuddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Kadir Alauddin Shah was the 12th Sultan of Pahang who reigned from 1592 to 1614. He was originally appointed as regent for his younger half-brother of a royal mother, Ahmad Shah II after the death of their father in 1590. He subsequently deposed his charge and assumed power two years later.

Sultan Mahmud Shah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Ahmad Al-Mu’azzam Shah is the second modern Sultan of Pahang who ruled from 1914 to 1917. Born as Tun Long Mahmud, he was the second and eldest surviving son of Paduka Sri Baginda Sultan Besar Ahmad Al-Mu’azzam Shah Ibni Al-Marhum Bendahara Sri Maharaja Tun Ali by his second wife, Che’ Ungku Pah Binti Al-Marhum Dato’ Temenggong Sri Maharaja Tun Ibrahim.

The Al-Ghufran Royal Mausoleum is a Royal Mausoleum of Perak located near Ubudiah Mosque at Bukit Chandan in Jalan Istana, Kuala Kangsar, Malaysia. The first Sultan of Perak buried here was Sultan Idris Murshidul Azzam Shah I in 1916.

Paduka Sri Sultan ‘Abdu’l Jalil IV Ri’ayat Shah Zillu’llah fi al-’Alam bin Dato’ Bendahara Sri Maharaja Tun Habib Abdul Majid was the Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Johor and Pahang and their dependencies who reigned from 1699 to 1718.

Sri Paduka Dato' Bendahara Sri Maharaja Tun Ali ibni Almarhum Dato' Bendahara Paduka Raja Tun Koris was the 23rd and the last Bendahara of Johor Empire, and the fourth Raja Bendahara of Pahang who reigned from 1806 to 1857.

Pahang Civil War

The Pahang Civil War, also known as the Brothers War or the Bendahara War was a civil war fought from 1857 to 1863, between forces loyal to the reigning Raja Bendahara Tun Mutahir, and forces loyal to his brother Tun Ahmad, over the succession to the throne of Pahang.

Sultan ʽAbdullah Al-Muʽtassim Billah Shah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Ahmad Al-Muʽazzam Shah was the third modern Sultan of Pahang who ruled from 1917 to 1932.

Pahang Malay people

Pahang Malays are a sub-group of Malay people native to the state of Pahang, in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. With population of approximately 1.08 million people, they constitutes 70% of Pahang state's population, making them the dominant ethnic group in the state. Their language, Pahang Malay is one of many Malayan languages spoken in the region that belong to the Malayo-Polynesian group of Austronesian family.

Pahang Sultanate Old sultanate of Pahang, Malaysia

The Pahang Sultanate also referred as the Old Pahang Sultanate, as opposed to the Modern Pahang Sultanate, was a Malay Muslim state established in the eastern Malay peninsular in 15th century. At the height of its influence, the Sultanate was an important power in Southeast Asian history and controlled the entire Pahang basin, bordering to the north, the Pattani Sultanate, and adjoins to that of Johor Sultanate to the south. To the west, it also extends jurisdiction over part of modern-day Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

Pahang Kingdom

The Pahang Kingdom was a Malay state that existed from 1770 to 1881, and is the immediate predecessor of the modern Malaysian state of Pahang. The kingdom came into existence with the consolidation of power by the Bendahara family in Pahang, following the gradual dismemberment of Johor Empire. A self rule was established in Pahang in the late 18th century, with Tun Abdul Majid declared as the first Raja Bendahara. The area around Pahang formed a part of the hereditary domains attached to this title and administered directly by the Raja Bendahara. The weakening of the Johor sultanate and the disputed succession to the throne was matched by an increasing independence of the great territorial magnates; the Bendahara in Pahang, the Temenggong in Johor and Singapore, and the Yamtuan Muda in Riau.

Bendahara dynasty Late 17th Century Malaysian family tree

The Bendahara dynasty is a Malay dynasty, the line of the Bendahara, or grand viziers of Melaka and Johor Sultanates. Founded by Tun Habib Abdul Majid, the Bendahara of the Old Johor Empire, it is the royal house of several Malay monarchies, and branches currently reign in Pahang through the descendants of Abdul Jalil Shah IV, and in Terengganu through the descendants of Zainal Abidin I.

Raja Bendahara is a Malay title of monarch ruler in Pahang Kingdom that existed from 1770 to 1881. The title is a combination of the Sanskrit word Raja ('king') and 'Bendahara'. The successive Bendaharas of Johor Empire were ruling Pahang as a fief from the late 17th century. By the end of 18th century, the Bendahara emerged as an absolute ruler over the fief, carrying the title 'Raja', following the decentralisation of Sultan's power and the dismemberment of the empire.

Orang Kaya Indera Shahbandar is a nobility title in Pahang Sultanate and one of the four highest-ranking nobles below the monarch — equivalent to Duke in some European peerage. The title traces its origin from the times of the Old Pahang Sultanate, and was historically known simply as Shahbandar ('harbourmaster'). The territory under the jurisdiction of the Shahbandar was the royal capital, Pekan, and its surrounding area stretching from Bebar river to Kuala Lepar, which mostly lies within the Pekan constituency.

Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan is a nobility title in Pahang Sultanate and one of the four highest ranking nobles below the monarch. The title traces its origin from the times of the Old Pahang Sultanate, and was historically known as Maharaja Indera Pahlawan. The territory under his jurisdiction is Chenor, and land between the Bera and Kuala Luit.

Orang Kaya Indera Segara is a nobility title in Pahang Sultanate and one of the four highest-ranking nobles below the monarch. The title traces its origin from the times of the Old Pahang Sultanate, and was historically known as Maharaja Indera Putera. The traditional pegangan ('fief') of the nobility is Temerloh, as well as the entire land between the Triang river basin to the borders of Selangor and Rembau in Negeri Sembilan.

The following is family tree of the Malay monarchs of Pahang, from the establishment of the Old Pahang Sultanate in 1470 until present day.

Few traces remain as to the identity of Terengganu's early rulers. Whats is known is that a trading port was established from as early as the 13th century. Terengganu Inscription Stone attests to the 14th century's first muslim ruler of the state, Raja Mandalika, from the Telanai dynasty. In the late 15th century, the Telanai dynasty came to an end when a Pahang Hulubalang, Sri Akar Diraja, killed Tun Telanai for offending Sultan Ahmad of Pahang. It is believed that Terengganu was later ruled by Sri Akar Diraja's family, before they were eventually replaced by the Megat family.

References

Bibliography