Do you know your family roots?

Last weekend I had the opportunity to spend a night at my late grandfather's old house, located at Limbungan, Melaka. Its not that 'old' actually since the old house has an extension to a new modern look house. A small yet cozy enough for my late grandmother, spending her entire life until she passed away 3 years back.

That nite, my father showed us a book that dictates all the happenings in our family since 1824. I am sure some of you guys have heard of 'Hijrat Keluarga'. It was first written in Jawi. I had a bit of a hard time to read it out loud at first until my father took over. Words were written denoting happenings within the family especially occasions like marriage, birth and death.



The 'book' - Buku Hijrat Beranak, Kematian, Perkahwinan dan lain-lain.



This Hijrat was written on the happenings in 1824 ... It was said the whole Singapore was in fire in 1824... My great great grandfather was just about to crawl when this happened...




This patch was written on my birth....
"12 Rabiulakhir 1387 Hijrah, bersamaan 20 Julai 1967, jam 11.15 pagi, cunda Hamidah Mohd Noah (my mum) telah selamat melahirkan seorang anak perempuan di rumah Jalan Maxwell Kuala Lumpur. Kanak2 itu telah diberi nama Arida Ariffin. Moga2 Allah panjangkan umurnya dan murahkan rezekinya yang Halal."

- Abdul Manan bin Abdul Latif, 30 - 7- 67.


My birth was relatively recorded in that book. So do my other siblings'!

That nite we finally talked about our great grand fathers and our roots. That book clearly stated that my family was originated from Singapore. According to my father, some patches of the stories narrated to him attested that we were connected to Munsyi Abdullah. Unfortunately I must say that there was no written evidence to substantiate this...

I found this about Munsyi Abdullah on the net ....





Munshi Abdullah a.k.a Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir (b. 1797, Kampong Pali, Malacca - d. October 1854, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia), son of Sheikh Abdul Kadir d. 1820 Malacca). With a very strict Muslim upbringing and scholarly education, Abdullah's abilities made him a language teacher and interpreter proficient in Arabic, Tamil, Hindustani, English and Malay.

Sometime after June 1819, Abdullah came to Singapore to make a living as an interpreter. He taught Malay to Indian soldiers, British and American missionaries, and on occasion, was private secretary to Raffles.

Abdullah was the first Malay writer to depart from the traditional Malay literary style by writing in the colloquial language. Unlike courtly writing, it was realistic and lively, incorporating many Malay idioms and proverbs.

Despite Abdullah's obscurities, misrepresentations of fact and occasional solecisms in his books on his literary and pilgrimage to Mecca, Munshi Abdullah became the first local Malay to have his works published, and thus has gained the title of being the "Father of modern Malay Literature", his writings remain an inspiration for modern Malay literature. His diary was brought back by a friend after Abdullah died, and so his last journey was published posthumously. Munshi Abdullah Avenue is named after him.


Actually, whether or not we are related to Munsyi Abdullah is not an issue...
I am proud to have found that book.. at least I know who my ancestors were.
We plan to continue the Hijrat..
Thanks to my late grandfather Abdul Manan Abdul Latif for the effort to document everything in writing... He passed away in early 80s.. and just like Munsyi Abdullah he was not burried here in Malaysia... but in Mecca, instead!