Predominant Practices Of Adat Perpatih Practised By The Malays Of Negeri Sembilan

Abstract

This paper examines the predominant practices of the customary law of adat perpatih that were practised by the Malays of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Extensively as part of the intangible cultural heritage, adat perpatih was practised by the immigrant of the Minangkabau from West Sumatra and brought to the Malay land in the 19th century. Adat perpatih that was available in Negeri Sembilan today is the blended version of the existing adat in the Malay community and the customary law that was brought by the Minangkabau immigrant. However, the practices of adat perpatih in the present have been decreased due to loss of its influence, modernisation and migration of the Malays to the urban area. Thus, this study seeks to examine the predominant practices of adat perpatih in Negeri Sembilan, which is still being practised until today from the perspectives and experiences of the local Malays in Negeri Sembilan. An in-depth interviews and participant observations were conducted on the 12 research participants. Conclusively, this study has successfully indicated several predominant practices of adat perpatih that was known to the local community from the fieldwork research under few categories: the sense of belonging and identity ( suku and berkadim) , place attachment (the customary land), the practice of merantau and muafakat system in decision-making.

Keywords: adat perpatihbelongingcultural heritagecustomary lawidentityintangible cultural heritage

Introduction

The customary law of adat perpatih has been practised by the Malays of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia from the past until the present. Extensively as part of the intangible cultural heritage (ICH), adat perpatih was brought to the Malay land on the 19^th century by the immigrant of the Minangkabau from West Sumatra, Indonesia. Adat perpatih that was available in Negeri Sembilan today is the blended version of the existing adat in the Malay community and also the customary law that was brought by the Minangkabau immigrants. Instead of adat perpatih , which represents the identity of the Malays of Negeri Sembilan in Malaysia, there are other customary laws, which are also known to the Malays and were practised in other parts of the states, namely adat temenggung . These two adat are highly regarded as one of the cultural identities of the Malays in Malaysia as they adhered the adat in every aspect of their lives. Adat perpatih follows the matrilineal system, which is reflecting on its Minangkabau ancestry through the immigration of West Sumatran people to the Malay land; meanwhile, adat temenggong follows the patriarchal system which inherits from the father’s side (Peletz, 1996).

Adat derives from an Arabic word (Minattur, 1964; Sather, 2004) and translated as the ‘custom, law, practice, rule’ of a group of people which involves the right order of things. Adat is widely used in the Southeast Asian region especially across the Malay-Indonesia archipelago (Warren, 2002) in expressing their custom, tradition, practice and others. In addition, adat is inherited from the past and transmitted to the present by the members of the society through customary sayings, practices and others. Adat also involves property rights and access, marriage and inheritance, as well as local administration and the infringement of adat by any members of the society will result in social or supernatural retaliation. Thus, adat is viewed as a legal dimension that needs to be respected and obeyed (Warren, 2002). However, there is no specific term that synonymous to the term ‘ adat ’ in English, but adat is equal to tradition, custom, and the customary law (Peletz, 1988). Sather (2004) pointed out that the term adat of the Iban in Malaysia, for example, is used in the context of maintaining the harmonious relations among community members, as well as the relationship between the livings and the spiritual beings such as the spirits, gods, and also their ancestors. It is, therefore, necessary to observe the adat ; in the life of a human being, doing so is a way to ensure good health, longevity, and material prosperity for members of the community. Having said that, the adat is again not only restricted to the customary law; it also applies to matters relating to social and religious life as well as provides explanation of certain cultural practices, the way they should be carried out, and in some instances, covers personal habits which contain more values and moral ideas as well as standards for meeting the expectations of others (Sather, 2004).

For the Malays, adat is guidance to live and is expressed through the customary sayings. Adat determines right from wrong and what is correct and proper; it also becomes a foundation for creating a stable and knowledgeable society, which is filled with moral values preparing people for eternal life (Selat, 2014). Selat (2014) also highlights that adat is an intellectual culture and a social system that becomes part of the foundation of a society, which covers every aspect of the societal life particularly with specific references in the ceremonial and religious circles (Nagata, 1974), the inheritance of land (particularly customary land), kinsfolk, and promotion of merantau (voluntarily migration) amongst its members, while more generally being a nerve centre or a driving force to the Malays (Selat, 2014).

Adat perpatih , in the first place, came into existence in Negeri Sembilan as results of the immigration of the Minangkabau males from Sumatra (Tan-Wong, 1992; Peletz, 1988; Abdul Khalid, 1992; Mohamed Ibrahim, 1968) in the 1500s or even perhaps even earlier (Peletz, 1988). It was said that the spirit of merantau (voluntary migration) encourages the Minangkabau man to migrate in order to find a better place and life. When this group of Minangkabau immigrants reached Rembau (part of Negeri Sembilan), they had an encounter with an Orang Asli tribe, which is known as the Jakun and falls in love with their women. Myth has it that arranged marriages between the Jakun’s woman and Minangkabau’s man was conducted, and due to that, a symbolic alliances between these two groups were connected especially in relation to intermarriage, trade, warfare and following that, the adat perpatih ’s social and cultural system that was brought in by the Minangkabau was introduced. However, the validity of this myth remains unclear until today (Peletz, 1988). Kling (1992) also mentioned that adat perpatih in Negeri Sembilan exists during the late of 18^th century because the local people (referring to the Malays who resides of Negeri Sembilan during that time) have no ruler. Therefore, they went to Minangkabau and invited the Prince of Minangkabau to be their ruler, and in the end, this prince was installed as the king of Negeri Sembilan with the title of Yamtuan Besar or currently known as Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan.

In 2012, the Ministry of Information and Communication of Malaysia had announced and declared the adat perpatih of Negeri Sembilan as part of the National Heritage List in Malaysia under the category of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) (Bernama, 2012). Hence, the term and concept of ICH has been mentioned in the UNESCO (2003, p.2), Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, where the definition of ICH is referring to,

… practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity…

As can be seen from the above definition, mentioned by the Convention, the ICH is a tool to promote a sense of identity and continuity to the particular community. Thus, through the definition accentuated by the National Heritage Department of Malaysia and the UNESCO on the importance of ICH, adat perpatih in Negeri Sembilan becomes one of the representatives of the Malay communities’ culture and identity in Negeri Sembilan and finally make it one of the contributing multicultural identities of Malaysia. Besides that, the importance of cultural identity has been discussed universally by academic scholars, government, non-governmental organisation which highlighting and stressing the importance of cultural identity of human being. Through ICH, it acts as symbols and values that represent the cultural identities of people, groups and nations (Aikawa, 2007). The notion of ICH is further stressed by Vecco (2010, p.324) who states that the ICH could give, “the immaterial, which has difficulty in becoming part of the western concept of heritage is, however, the nucleus of the definition of identity of some societies such as Japan, where the legislation protecting cultural goods encompasses individuals”.

Meanwhile, Logan (2007, p.35) emphasises the importance of heritage as part of cultural identity at the “national, regional, and local, even … family” levels. This is because heritage leads to a sense of pride that makes us feel the need to preserve and protect it. Logan also says that heritage acts as “reminders of how societies can go wrong; they provide salutary lessons for the present and future generations. Heritage, tangible and intangible provides the basis of humanity’s rich cultural diversity” (Logan, 2007, p.35).

In that sense, ICH plays important roles in the formation of social and personal identity. Besides that, identity is important in helping us to maintain our roots in the changing world. Identity was also formed from the basis of reflexive memory (Assmann & Czaplicka, 1995) with meaning and collective experience. In order to ensure the continuous presence of ICH in the lives of people, a continual interaction with and communication about it are needed, despite the changing natural and social environments, because identity is subjected to change through the process of modification and renewal that depends on time, place and others (Skrzypaszek, 2012). For example, Peletz reveals that most of the Malays in Negeri Sembilan acknowledged with their Minangkabau provenance and had different culture compared to others (Peletz, 1988; Peletz, 1994) and this gives them a feeling of ‘home’, place and reflection of memories (Naguib, 2013). Furthermore, most of the Malays Negeri Sembilan identify themselves through language by speaking the Negeri Sembilan dialect that usually associated with Minangkabau culture ( Awal, Aman, & Jaafar, 2013).

Moreover, a form of identity could also be created through the strong sense of attachment towards the place. A land or place gives people a feeling of attachment and a sense of belonging, which contains contextual and cultural significance. As stated by Campelo, Aitken, Thyne, & Gnoth, (2014), a place gives a special meaning to the one who attached to it. He said that, “… what constitutes a sense of place is primarily determined by the meanings given to it by those whose place it is” (Campelo et al., 2014, p.154) and the meaning comes from the interaction and experiences shared by a group of people (Campelo et al., 2014, p.161). Also, as noted by Schofield and Szymanski (2011, p.4), a place sometimes gives a sense of ownership in the case of those who live there for generations because of the memories attached to it and the stories are woven into its fabric. However, it cannot also be denied that values attached in the place are diverse based on a difference on experiences and stories of various people. Therefore, for the Malays, a great sense of belonging towards the customary land exists since the customary land is one of the identities in the formation of adat perpatih . It is also important to mention that, adat perpatih in nature is a farming society where land becomes an important asset to the community. As land acts as a place to stay, it also provides economic resources to the members and families. With land, it connects the family members and become a point to ensure the sustainability of adat perpatih . Besides that, the members of adat perpatih are usually living in a one-plot land that consists of few houses in it. All the houses have a ‘family-neighbours’ relationship, and they shared the same land to live (Selat, 2014).

In order to sustain the presence of adat perpatih in the Malays community of Negeri Sembilan, the community needs to engage dearly to their custom, tradition and practices. It is important because the community engagement is the right mechanism to ensure the continuity of the ICH in the future as also proposed and encouraged by the UNESCO (2003). Thus, to adat perpatih community in Negeri Sembilan, a continuous process to ensure the continuity of adat is expressed through the customary saying or perbilangan adat and a member’s memory plays an important role in memorising the customary sayings (Yatim, 2007). It is because that adat perpatih was transmitted orally from generation to generation in the form of customary sayings and it includes the rules and regulations, ethics and etiquettes or anything that the followers needed. The customary sayings consider as a book of law that must be followed though it does not exist materially (in written form). For example, the customary sayings sometimes warn the members of adat perpatih in a certain act, and sometimes, it proved a rule of conducts in the world of adat perpatih . It can be expressed, for example, to tell about the leadership hierarchy in the community as below:

Alam beraja (The world has a king)

Luak berpenghulu (The Luak has a penghulu)

Suku bertua (A suku has tua (elders)

Anak buah beribu bapa (A subordinate has leaders)

Orang semenda bertempat semenda (An affine has a marital place) (Kling, 1992, p.15)

Having said that, through oral transmission such as in the form of customary sayings (above), communities could “gain a sense of identity and continuity from these expressions”, hence defining what ICH is from the local’s point of view (Lloyd, 2012, p.147). Thus, to the Malays of Negeri Sembilan, through the transmission of knowledge and practices from their ancestors and elderly, it could give them a sense of identity and belonging and then, could practise it in everyday life.

Problem Statement

In earlier research, too much emphasis is placed on the customary law when discussing the adat perpatih especially in relation to its politics and administration, property and inheritance, marriage and divorce, as well as other ritual and ceremonies such as the installation of the leader and king and bereavement of the chiefs (Parr & Mackray, 1910; Gullick, 2000; Abdul Manaf, 2009; Abdul Manaf, Hussain, Saad, Selvadurai, & Sum, 2013). Peletz (1994) also mentioned that adat perpatih not be always a simple or normal regulation but also includes different practices and activities that associated with kinship, building and architecture, honey gathering, shamanism and traditional medicine as well as manners of everyday life. Therefore, Peletz (1994) has suggested that the notion of adat perpatih that is practised by the Malays of Negeri Sembilan should be re-examined to suit best with the contemporary situation.

Research Questions

This paper seeks to answer the following research question such as what are predetermined practices that were practised by the Malays of Negeri Sembilan in the presence despite concurrent hindrance in the society today.

Purpose of the Study

This study was conducted in order to understand the predominant practices that are still being practised by the Malays of Negeri Sembilan today and how these practices reflected the identity of the Malays in Negeri Sembilan as compared to other Malays in the other states in Malaysia.

Research Methods

The study of adat perpatih was conducted by borrowing an ethnographic principle where a fieldwork study was held in Seri Menanti, Negeri Sembilan. Seri Menanti is a small-scale area and known as the royal town where the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan resided. 12 research participants were participated in this study and were selected based on their cultural connection and historical background that associated with Minangkabau in the past as shown in Table 1 .

Besides that, all the research participants of the study were ranging from 20 years old and above, disregard their gender and age groups. Based on Table 1 , there are three research participants aged between 60 years old up to 80 years and considered as ‘the veterans’ and one research participant aged the late 50s was interviewed. One from the early 20s, six research participants in this study aged between 30 to 39 years and one from early 40s, were also interviewed respectively. Furthermore, all of the research participants have different profession range from professional to non-professional, and they have been informed beforehand and were presented with the consent form before the interview was conducted. Most of the interview was recorded in audio form and photographed.

There are two types of research design that were used in this study which is an in-depth interview and participant observations. The interview is a central source of data in this study to discover the experience (Dutta, 2014) perspectives (Neuman, 2006; Berg, 2007) and the perception (Hammersley, 2012) of the people on the topic. Besides that, the study also used participant observations in observing the act of people in their everyday life. The participant observations were done when the adat perpatih community’s behaviour and activities were observed through direct involvement with them during the fieldwork activities. All the interview data was analysed through thematic analysis; codes and themes were extracted through the process and interpreted though the help of analytical memoing. The use of thematic analysis is important in order to discover the meaning and experiences of the research participants studies lied behind the abstract voice of interviewed. Thus, a thematic analysis suits best with the study as it gave a chance to be reflexive during data collection.

Findings

Conclusion

In conclusion, all the practices that were discussed in the section above show the predominant practices of adat perpatih that is still actively practised in the present by the local Malays of Negeri Sembilan. The study of adat perpatih amongst the Malay community in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia is important for the better future society especially to realise and understand the unique culture that represents the identity of Negeri Sembilan. From perceiving the adat perpatih as part of the intangible cultural heritage and anthropological perspective, this study discovers various sights in understanding the adat perpatih especially in relations to the formation of identity and their sense belonging. Besides that, the study can be used as a scientific reference in the fields of heritage studies and cultural anthropology in comprehending the cultural heritage of Malaysia. Thus, the results of this study may explain to the local Malays on the importance to continue the practices of adat perpatih and suggesting for the future studies to explore more on the relevant mechanisms to sustain the adat perpatih ’s practices.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledged and extend our gratitude to the Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (Malaysia) who funded our research under the Skim Geran Jangka Pendek (SGJP) - (kod: R/SGJP/A02.00/00438A/001/2018/000464).

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