langkasuka_lankasuka

LANGKASUKA ou LANKASUKA (Pattani en Th.)

Le complexe de Yarang

À une quinzaine de kilomètres au sud de Pattani, près du village de Yarang, le département des Beaux-Arts de Thaïlande a recensé 33 vestiges de sanctuaires hindo-bouddhiques sur une superficie de près de 8 km2. Il s’agit en réalité de la plus importante concentration de vestiges indianisés en péninsule malaise. Quatre structures ont pour l’instant fait l’objet de dégagements au moins partiels. Ce complexe comprend également de nombreux cours d’eau et canaux plus ou moins en eau selon les saisons.

Un certain nombre de chercheurs s’accordent à penser que ce complexe n’est autre que la cité-état de Langkasuka qui envoie notamment plusieurs missions diplomatiques en Chine au VIème siècle E.C. Le nom de Langkasuka apparaît encore en Inde dans une inscription du XIème siècle ainsi qu’au milieu du XIVème siècle dans un texte javanais, le Nagarakertagama. Aujourd’hui, les datations proposées pour les sites dégagés s’échelonnent entre le VIème siècle et le IXème siècle E.C.

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/

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Spirit of Wood
The Art of Woodcarving in the Northeast Malay Peninsula
5 Sep 2003 to 30 Nov 2003 | ACM Empress Place

The Northeastern states of the Malay Peninsula represent a unique sub-grouping of the Malay World with its own cultural, artistic and historical heritage. Centred on the city of Pattani and rooted in the ancient Hindu-Buddhist kingdom of Lankasuka, the Northeastern Peninsula was periodically an important crossroads for trade passing across the Isthmus of Kra between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. During these periods of prominence, in particular between the 2nd and 8th centuries as well as the 12th through the 16th centuries, traders, scholars and religious pilgrims from across the region and around the world flocked to Lankasuka and to its successor, the Sultanate of Pattani. As a result the area reflects a characteristic blend of indigenous and foreign influences that is at once unmistakably Southeast Asian and uniquely Lankasukan.

http://www.nhb.gov.sg/ACM/Exhibits/PastExhibitions/SpiritOfWood.htm

Langkasuka (-langkha Sanskrit for "resplendent land" -sukkha of "bliss") was an ancient Hindu kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula. The kingdom along with Old Kedah are probably the earliest kingdom founded on the Malay Peninsula. According to tradition the founding of the kingdom happened in the 2nd century. Malay legends claim that Langkasuka was founded at Kedah, and later moved to Pattani.

The name Langkasuka was also mentioned in Malay and Javanese chronicles, while the Chinese chronicles mention a state Lang-ya-hsiu or Lang-chia-shu, which is usually identified to mean the same polity. In 515 AD King Bhagadatta first established relations with China, with further embassies sent in 523, 531 and 568. In the 12th century Langkasuka was a tributary to the Srivijaya empire, and around the 15th century it was replaced by the Pattani kingdom.

In 1963, Stewart Wavell led a Cambridge Expedition to locate Langkasuka and Tambralinga. The details of this expedition can be read in "The Naga King's Daughter", published by Antara Books.

Langkasuka
The most detailed description of the early Malay kingdom of Langkasuka is found in the Liang-shu, a Chinese history written in the early seventh century. Referred to as Lang-ya-hsiu, Langkasuka's frontiers were described as thirty days' journey from east to west, and twenty from north to south. Its capital was said to be surrounded by walls to form a city with double gates, towers and pavilions.
"When the king goes forth he rides upon an elephant. He is accompanied by banners, fly-whisks, flags and drums and he is shaded with a white parasol. The soldiers of his guard are well-appointed. The inhabitants of the country say that their state was founded more than four hundred years ago. Subsequently the descendants became weaker, but in the king's household there was a man of virtue to whom the populace turned. When the king heard of this he imprisoned this man, but his chains snapped unaccountably. The king took him for a supernatural being and, not daring to injure him, exiled him from the country, where upon he fled to India. The king of India gave him his eldest daughter in marriage. Not long afterwards, when the king of died, the chief ministers welcomed back the exile and made him king."
This account, and that of other Chinese histories, describe a kingdom that began in the second century A.D., located somewhere along the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. The most important piece of evidence as to its location is provided by the Wu-pei-chih, which firmly places a Lang-hsi-chia to the south of Songkla (Singora), up to the Patani River.
Early Malay literature, however, is quite explicit in indicating a location on the west coast. From the Hikayat Marong Mahawangsa (a king who is said to have sailed from India) we can extract the following relevant passages:
Then King Marong Maha-Wangsa asked an old wise man in his ship, who answered, 'That large island, almost touching the mainland, is Pulau Seri, the small one is Pulau Jambul, and further landwards from there is Pulau Lada, my lord'. Then King Marong Mahawangsa said, 'Let us land at the cape of that island'.
King Marong Mahawangsa came upon good land, very beautifully situated. He did not return to his ships, so eager was he to build a fort and a hall, very large and beautiful. When the palace hall was completed, he called it Langkasuka. The city, grew more and more populous from month to month and from year to year . . . One day King Marong Mahawangsa was granting audience to great numbers of ministers, courtiers, commanders, chamberlains, pages and officials, who were all crowded into his palace hall Langkasuka. . . Then King Marong Mahawangsa said to the Roman envoys, 'I have installed my son as King. Now we should give our country a name' . . . 'We shall name this our country Kedah Zamin Duran' . . . King Marong Mahawangsa saw how Pulau Lada had joined the mainland, finally being called Bukit Lada, just as Pulau Jambul was finally called Bukit Jambul. Pulau Seri was almost joined to the mainland and was eventually called Gunong Jerai on account of its height.'
Thereupon King Marong Mahapodisat [son of Mahawangsa] made his son mount the elephant Gemala Johari . . . The elephant raised its head and set off towards the rising sun, accompanied by the ministers, commanders and soldiers. They entered a vast forest; later a plain came into sight. The King, on the elephant Gemala Johari, crossed several hills and mountains. After some time, when they had almost reached the sea, they came upon a great river flowing into the sea. On that plain the elephant Gemala Johari stopped.
The princess-consort said, 'Go back to Kedah, to my royal father, and tell him that this is the country called Patani' . . . Now King Sari Mahawangsa did not wish to stay at Langkasuka as it was very far from the sea. So he ordered his four ministers to gather lime and mussel-shells with which to build a fortress downstream, for the river was big and wide, broadening out and with a very swift current. The ministers carried out the royal command. King Sari Mahawangsa unceasingly visited the downstream area where the moated fortress was to be built. Upstream in that area he built a small palace called Sirukum."
It is clear from these passages that Langkasuka has passed into Malay folklore as a west-coast kingdom, the predecessor of modern Kedah, with its capital at the foot of Gunong Jerai. The evident association of its rulers with Patani "beyond the forests and hills" may suggest a kingdom that spanned the peninsular to the east coast, where most of the Chinese accounts place Langkasuka. It is evident that the fortunes of Langkasuka ebbed and flowed with that of its larger neighbours. It seems to have entered a decline when it was conquered by the Funan Empire of Cambodia between the third and sixth century. It then experienced a resurgence after the fall of Funan, only to succumb to the Sri Vijaya Empire some time in ninth century.
Indian and Javanese texts also suggest a western kingdom. Ilangasoka is named as one of Rajendra Chola's conquests in his expedition against the Srivijaya Empire, described as a kingdom that that was "undaunted in fierce battles". The Majapahit epic of 1365, the Nagarakartagama, described Lengkasuka as a west coast state subject to the overlordship of Majaphit (though it is more likely that, at the time, Langkasuka was part of the territory of Majaphit's arch-enemy Sri Vijaya). Langkasuka then mysteriously disappears from written history - leaving only a legendary name to peasant mythology. The spirit land of Lakawn Suka still features in the mythology of Patani Malays, while Kedah peasant folklore interpret the realm of Alang-kah-suka as the domain of the fairy princess Puteri Sadong, 'who rules over the Little People and wild goats of the limestone hills, and persistently refuses all suitors, be they never so highborn or otherwise eligible".
Finally, when it had been erased from the map of the peninsula after some many centuries, the name 'Langkasuka' again appeared in our history when it was mooted by our founding fathers as a possible name for independent Malaya.

The rise and fall of the Malay kingdom of Patani.

Patani probably rivals Kedah as among the oldest Malay states on the Peninsula. The lost Second Century kingdom of Langkasuka may have spanned the peninsula from Patani on the east coast, to northern Kedah on the west. Wu-pei-chih, certainly firmly places a Lang-hsi-chia to the south of Songkla (Singora), up to the Patani River and the fabled spirit land of Lakawn Suka still features in the mythology of Patani Malays. Patani was probably one of the Sri Vijayan empire's conquests and ' Ilangasoka, undaunted in fierce battles' was certainly recorded as one of Rajendra Cola's conquests in his raids into Southeast Asia into the empire in 1025.
Patani is also probably one of the earliest Malay states to convert to Islam - certainly well before Melaka. The Hikayat Patani tells the story of its king Raja Phya Tu Nakpa who falls gravely ill, with no apparent cure to his ailment in sight. A holy man by the name of Syeikh Said claims he can cure the ruler but only if he promises to convert to Islam as soon as he is healthy. The desperate ruler promises to do so and, as a result, he makes a miraculous recovery. However, he forgets his promise and falls ill, and again seeks the holy man's blessings. This happens three times - but he finally makes good on his promise the third time and becomes a Muslim, calling himself Sultan Ismail Shah.
It is under Sultan Ismail Shah's reign that the state takes on the name 'Patani'. Seeking a location for a new capital, he comes across an ideal spot on the coast and exclaims to his followers 'Pantai Ini!' ('This beach!). Another account says that he finds a farmer's hut at this spot and calls his capital 'Pak Tani' ('farmer'). This capital is thought to be in modern day Kampong Grisek (Kru Se).
Patani was certainly known to the Portuguese, who first visited the port in 1516, with Godinho de Eredia going as far as describing 'Patane' as the first seat of the Malay Empire. The fall of Melaka to the Portuguese in 1511 certainly increased Patani's popularity with India's Muslim traders. Its location on the east coast of the Peninsula gave it the added advantage of being the ideal emporium for goods from China. This economic growth may have strengthened its military power as well. Taking advantage of a massive invasion of Ayutthaya by the Burmese in 1563, Sultan Ismail's successor, Sultan Muzaffar Shah, launched an attack on the Siamese, with 200 ships and thousands of men. He died suddenly during the campaign and is said to be buried at the estuary of the Menam Chao Phraya.
In 1584, Patani entered its golden age with the rule of four successive Queens, Ratu Hijau ('The Green Queen'), Ratu Biru ('The Blue Queen'), Ratu Ungu ('The Violet Queen') and Ratu Kuning ('The Yellow Queen'). Patani expanded its borders to include Kelantan and Trengganu and became the most powerful Malay state after Johor. It was during this time that Patani became renowned for manufacturing cannon, producing three of the largest bombards ever cast in the region - 'Mahalela', 'Seri Negara' and 'Seri Petani'. With each measuring over six metres in length.
Certainly, this technology may have contributed to Patani successfully beating back no less than four Siamese invasions in - at times with the help of Malay forces from Johor and Pahang.
However, by the middle of the 17th Century, during the reign of the last of the Queens, Patani fell into gradual decline. This decline probably prompted her to submit to Siam as a vassal state and send the 'Bunga Mas' to Ayutthya. She died without an heir and the country descended into decades of political chaos and conflict. Fortunately for Patani, Siam was too weak to take advantage of the situation, being too busy driving off crippling Burmese invasions into her territory, culminating in the pillaging and complete destruction of Ayutthaya in 1767.
The Siamese general Phraya Taksin led a war of independence that drove the Burmese out of Siam and his successor Rama I established the Chakri dynasty, which was to rule Siam to this day. A resurgent and much stronger Siam demanded troops and supplies from Patani to face yet another Burmese raid.
When Patani's Sultan Muhammad was reluctant to send troops, Rama I's son, Prince Surasi, attacked Patani in 1786. Sultan Muhammad was slain in battle and his capital was burned to the ground. 4,000 Patani Malays were brought in chains and marched barefoot the 1,300 km to Bangkok. It was said that the captives had to have their ear lobes and legs sewn together with strong rattan to prevent escape. In Bangkok, they became slaves and were made to dig the city's system of canals or 'klongs'.
As the ultimate humiliation, the symbols of Patani's strength and power - the 'Seri Negara' and 'Seri Patani' cannons - were brought in triumph to Bangkok . Both can still be seen today gracing the entrance to Thailand's Ministry of Defence building.
Further rebellions erupted in Patani in 1791 and 1808, following which Patani was partitioned into seven states - Patani, Teluban (Sai), Nongcik, Jalor (Yala), Jambu(Jering), Legeh (Rangae) and Reman - and administered directly by the Raja of Ligor. There were few months of independence when four of the states joined the Kedah Malays in driving the Siamese out of the peninsula - but their success was short-lived and they were re-conquered easily. In 1906, the seven states were reconstituted into a single province. From the mythical Langkasuka to the seat of Malay empire, the province of Patani was now formally annexed as an administrative division of the Kingdom of Thailand.

Sources:
Ibrahim Syukri, Sejarah Kerajaan Melayu Patani, Kota Bharu: Percetakan Pasir Putih, ca. 1961. First published ca. 1950. Translated by Conner Bailey and John N. Miksic, History of the Malay Kingdom of Patani, Ohio University Monographs in International Studies, 1985.
Wheatley, Paul,1961.The Golden Khersonese : Studies in the Historical Geography of the Malay Peninsula before AD 1500.-Kuala Lumpur : University of Malaya Press
Godinho de Eredia 'Desciption of Malaca' Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Reprint 14, 1997

http://www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/early1.htm - www.sabrizain.demon.co.uk/malaya/kedah3.htm