Bintan, Phoenix of the Malay Archipelago

2003

A comprehensive insight into the life and times of Bintan, the ‘phoenix of the Malay Archipelago’, an island playing a pivotal role in the region’s past and present.
 
This book was developed over a period of 3 years of extensive researches, conducted with the publisher Marc Thalmann, and beneficiated from the expertise of many well-known academics in Singapore of course but also in Hawaii and Leiden. It gathers a wealth of essential historical and contemporary information compiled for the first time and presented in an attractive format that will appeal to anybody with an interest for the Malay world and the history of the Dutch presence in Southeast Asia.
 
The perfect travel companion to Bintan and the Riau Archipelago, richly illustrated with over 250 photographs and completed with several maps.

The Gunung and the Malays

The Sultanates and the Europeans

The Prosperous Trading Port and the Bugis

Penyengat and the Mighty Pen

Tanjung Pinang and Urban Growth

Sandy Beaches and Holiday Makers

Rural Bintan and Coastal Life

The Orang Laut and the Realm of Magic

Enduring Traditions in a Changing World

The Old Port and its Future Destination

Introduction

The Gunung and the Malays
The Queen and the Mysterious Prince
Srivijaya and the Early Malay World
Bukit Batu and the Re-telling of History

The Sultanates and the Europeans
The Malacca Sultanate and the Eunuch Admiral
The Ever-shifting Sultanate of Johor-Riau and the Married Mountains
​New Port and Sunken Treasures

The Prosperous Trading Port and the Bugis
The Princess and the Phoenix
The Little King, the Bugis and the Chinese Migrants
Raja Haji and the Seeds of Independence

Penyengat and the Mighty Pen
The Return of the Bugis and the Final Parting
Raja Ali Haji and the Rusydiyah Klab
Miniature Grandeur and Romantic Ruins

Tanjung Pinang and Urban Growth
Colonial Vestiges and Colourful Temples
Country Towns and Modern Activities
Bintan Bukit Batu and the Consequences of World War II
Modern Politics and Leaking Borders

Sandy Beaches and Holiday Makers
The Sacred Tree and the Return of the Lancang Kuning
The Growth Triangle and Pristine Shores
Golf, Seasports, Food, Spas... and Shopping !

Rural Bintan and Coastal Life
Mangrove and Fragrant Fruits
Breezy Coconut Palms and other Plantations
Fishing Nets and Savoury Souvenirs

The Orang Laut and the Realm of Magic
Floating Homes and Sea Spirits
Magic Rings and Medicine Men
Mystical Blades and Legendary Warriors

Enduring Traditions in a Changing World
Colourful Weddings and Little Poems
Breaking Fast and Flavoured Rice
​Forgotten Theatre and New Festivals

The Old Port and its Future Destinations
Conclusion

Chronology and Bibliography

Review


​This book was featured in The Business Times in 2003.
(Article) Entertainment Guide Spotlight: Notes from a small island by Daniel Buenas.

Between Legend and Reality: The Bukit Batu Cemetery of the Island of Bitan, Riau Archipelago

​Gilles Massot and Ludvick Kalus

The many years of work on the island of Bintan and the surrounding Riau Archipelago were concluded in 2012 with the publication of an academic paper in Archipel, the scientific journal of the Ecole Française d'Extrème Orient, Paris, focusing on Southeast Asian topics. The article was an in-depth study of the historical cemetery of Bukit Batu where, according to the local tradition, a number of characters central to the narrative of chapter three in the Sejarah Melayu were buried. 

The article was divided in two parts. The first part contained an archeological survey of the cemetery and its graves, and the deciphering of an arabic inscription, discovered and documented by Gilles Massot and interpreted by Ludvick Kalus. The inscription contained a date corresponding to the 16 April 1470, thus making it the oldest known inscription in Bintan. The second part was an ethnographic transcription of the oral traditions and legends surrounding this cemetery as received in the course of numerous conversations held with Pak Atan, the local wise man and last member of a line of keepers said to have looked after the graves of Bukit Batu for eight generations. His narrative mostly concerned the legendary apparition of Sri Tri Buana in Palembang and his coming to Bintan where the Queen Wan Seri Beni crowned him King of the Malay world. Pak Atan's narrative was then compared to the other two better known versions of the similar story found respectively in C.C. Brown's translation of Raflles MS 18 Sejarah Melayu and Leyden's Malay Annals, the first translation into English of the original 17th century manuscript titled ​Sulalat us-Salatin. 
I AM MA.
As simple as that.
And I work on the space between things.
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