MALAY CONNECTIVITIES AND NETWORKS IN EARLY MODERN EASTERN INDONESIA

The earliest evidence of the involvement of the Malays in international trade comes from the kingdom of Srivijaya, which flourished from the late seventh century to the beginning of the eleventh century. It provided the model and, legends tell us, the founding fathers of the fifteenth century kingdom of Melaka, which today is viewed by Malaysians as the paradigm of Malay polities. As Melaka became the principal entrepot in the Southeast Asian region, its trade, language, religion, and culture extended throughout the archipelago. In the spread of Malay Melakan influence and in the subsequent history of the Malays, there arose two noteworthy tendencies: the flexibility of “Malay” as an identity marker, and the legitimizing role of Melaka/Johor among a number of archipelagic groups. In this paper I examine both tendencies as crucial in the success of the “Malays” in gaining both political and economic leverage in eastern Indonesia between the late sixteenth to the end of the eighteenth centuries. Keyword: malays, political, economic, culture, Southeast Asian Southeast Asia sprawls across the Indian and Pacific Ocean, and until perhaps the sixteenth century the only known sea passage through the region was the Straits of Melaka. Located midway between the major civilizations to the east and the west, the Straits proved an ideal haven for ships because it was protected from the strong monsoon winds by parallel mountain chains along the spines of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. It was the “endpoint” of both the northeast monsoons that blew between January and April and brought traders from the east, and the southwest monsoons of July to November which carried traders from the west. While traders awaited favorable winds to return home, the communities located astride the Straits quickly seized the opportunities the situation provided. They established ports for traders to repair their ships, replenish supplies, obtain local products, and exchange goods with merchants from all parts of the world. Furthermore, the interior of both landforms that bordered the Straits produced valuable forest products, particularly camphor, benzoin, gaharuwood (eaglewood), and dragon’s blood (a kind of kino)—all of which were highly prized in the international marketplace, particularly in China. For more than two thousand years, this narrow waterway brought traders, religious scholars, diplomatic missions, and adventurers to the ports bordering its shores. As a result of the economic opportunities provided by the steady influx of people and goods, communities in the vicinity of this waterway became increasingly involved in international trade. Much has been written about the impact of international and domestic trade in the transformation of Southeast Asian societies, both materially