No. 0197
Malaysia's Ancient Buddhist Valley
The Star,

Bujang Valley, Malaysia -- MALAYSIA has a rich historical background. Archaeological research has uncovered finds from many sites. One of these is Lembah Bujang, or Bujang Valley in Kedah. Situated on the southern foothills of Gunung Jerai, sheltered by the tropical rain forest on the slopes above, it is a peaceful place.

The myths are plentiful, but artefacts from the 4th to the 14th centuries indicate that the Bujang Valley was the oldest centre of international and entrepot trade in the country. Sungai Bujang, Sungai Muda and Sungai Merbok played important roles in the growth of commerce here. The es-tuary of Sungai Merbok be-came an important harbour and port. Situated on one of the main transit routes across the Peninsula on the great East–West trade route, this area became a prosperous centre for settlement and trade.

Gunung Jerai (Kedah’s peak) also played an important role as its 1,217m high peak was used by the trading vessels of China, India and Arabia as a landmark to guide them to the harbour in the Bujang Valley. Arab merchants knew of Lembah Valley in the 4th century, but even back in the 2nd century, Tamil poets had written about it. A highly civilised Malay kingdom exis-ted there. The numerous artefacts uncovered at the Bujang Valley support this observation.

More than 50 candis (temples) have been found at this site.

Mention the name Batu Pahat and people think of the town in Johor. However, there is also a place of the same name in the Bujang Valley. Batu Pahat means “chiselled stone’” and is the place where stones were chiselled to build the temples. The stones were used for the pillars, bases, lingas, statues, etc. Made of gra-nite, mudstone or laterite, they were square or cylindrical, with a chiselled hole, which is square, round or triangular. Bricks were manufactured from local clay.

Bujang Valley Archaelo-gical Museum director Zul-kifli Jaafar said the stones came from the river-bed in front of me.

The stones were also used to make the linga and soma-sutra. Linga is the phallus and somasutra is the channel for holy water offered to the gods. They are symbols of fertility and can be seen inside the museum.

The Bujang Valley museum is the first archaeological site museum in Malaysia. The ar-tefacts exhibited here are the result of years of archaeological digs and surveys carried out since 1845. About 1,000 of these artefacts are displayed in the museum, while others are still being studied.

The first item in the museum is a model of the land. It shows the hills, rivers and valleys of this once bustling kingdom. The candi situated at the top of Gunung Jerai was found in 1894 and excavated in 1921. Statues and clay tablets were also found.

Other artefacts found in the area include celedon, porcelain, stoneware, clay, pottery, fragments of glass, beads, Persian ceramics and a statue of Hindu deity Ganesha and a metal trident.

The Kampung Sungai Mas site at Kota Kuala Muda was discovered in 1846 but only excavated in 1974. Archaeo-logists discovered structural ruins, ceramic shards from China and the Middle East, and Middle-Eastern glass and beads. Because of the importance of the Kampung Mas site, it was selected for an Intra-ASEAN project.

The Bujang candis were used by Buddhists and Hin-dus. The Tupah temple was dedicated to Ganesha and built around the 6th century. Gem-stones, weapons, terracotta and bronze Buddha statues have been found here. The ruins of Candi Pendiat have been moved to Bukit Batu Pahat, where the base can be seen in the grounds behind the museum.

The Buddhagupta inscribed stone was written in Sanskrit in the 5th century. It has been translated as “Through ignorance karma is accumulated. The cause of birth is karma. Through knowledge karma is not accumulated. Through ab-sence of karma one is not reborn.”

Inscribed gold and silver discs were found dating to the 8th century. Inscribed stones have also been found in Pe-nang, Gua Kurung Batang, and Bintong in Perlis. At Pulau Bunting, ancient Chinese cera-mic pieces, glassware from an Islamic civilisation and old iron utensils were found. There’s also the structural remains of a temple from the 10th century. The island was also on the East-West trade route.

Commercial activities in the Bujang Valley led to the “Indianisation” of the valley. However, the discovery of certain artefacts proves that the indigenous races of the Bujang Valley had already established a civilisation of their own. Historian Abu Dulaf Misa’r wrote that walls surrounded the state of Old Kedah. It had flourishing gardens and parks, six water supplies, markets and permanent population. The indigenous culture, however, was even-tually adulterated by other cultures.

I-Tsing a Buddhist monk travelling from China to India stopped in the area in 671 and called it Chieh-cha. Historians believe that during the 7th century it became a part of the mighty Sri Vijayan empire and was ruled successively by nine kings. Malay folklores and films remember one of these kings, Raja Bersiong, the ‘fanged’ king.

The kingdom flourished as a port until the 11th century. In 1025 King Chola invaded the empire of Sri Vijaya, which included the kingdom of Bu-jang Valley. But Bujang Valley continued to flourish until the spread of Islam from Malacca, which resulted in the decline of Hinduism–Buddhism. Then the emergence of new ports (Malacca, for instance) caused the decline of the Bujang Valley. After the 13th century, it waned as a port. Another site, down south, in the vici-nity of Sungai Muda, became the new port and the government of the old Kedah kingdom.

Today all that remains of the Hindu–Buddhist culture are the candis and decorated arches. Most of the carvings have been lost over the years, although the temples were not noted for their extravagant carvings like those Borobu-dur.

The Bujang Valley museum was built in 1978 and officially opened in 1980. It looks after the historical sites of the 5th–14th centuries. The Bu-jang Valley archaeological research was initiated by colonial researchers back in 1840. It was only taken over by the locals in 1970.

Behind the museum are some candis. The most signi-ficant and largest is Candi Bukit Batu Pahat. Sadly none of the outside exhibits are labelled, which makes it very difficult to know what one is looking at. There are a few perahus displayed outside. Fortunately, the exhibits in-side the museum are well labelled, both in Bahasa Ma-laysia and English. It is an interesting insight into Ma-laysia’s past.

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