10.1.2018

Untuk ahli keluargaku 

Right after my appointment, whilst sorting out the next date of appointment, one young man (YM) sitting behind the counter started a conversation.
YM : Puan.. Puan berasal dari mana?
Me: dari Kedah
YM: Ooo..Wan Kedah
Me: Adik orang Kedah jugak ke?
YM: Ya... Saya pun keluarga Wan juga..
Me: Oh, Kat mana dok kat Kedah?

Remembering arwah's pak SOP bila berjumpa dengan ahli keluarga yang baru jumpa, I began with the standard question.
Me: Sapa nama Pak?
YM: Wan Musa
Me: Nama tok?
YM: Wan Dewa
Me:Dok kat mana di Kedah?
YM: Kami tak dok Kedah. Keluarga kami semua kat Cuping ,Perlis

Me: (trying to sound like father) aah.. adik beradik la tu. 

By this time, arwah pak would have done more connections through a chain of questions, which of course I was not able to do.Normally, he would reach a point where the connection begins.
At lost for words for not being able to further probe him, I offered to bring our book of Walasilah keluarga( Family Tree) - Mengenal asal usul Keturunan dan keluarga on my next appointment.

So here I am , poring through the book trying to make sense of the webs of family connection. And it is no easy task. Because generations of the Wan family share common names... repeated and recycled. So to look for Wan Musa bin Wan Dewa is no simple task. I will need to probe more...more questions..at least until the last 5 generations... only then will there be a clearer understanding. 

This book was compiled by arwah Pak with the help of the present generation of Wans... tracing back to 8 generations from 1706 - 1990. Many have passed on since the publication of this book ( the eight generation, that is) . i think now the Wan is into the 9th and 10th generation.

I was given this copy, signed by Pak in 1991. To be honest, I have looked through many times before this, just focussing on my line of ancestry. About time now i look again and perhaps with better knowledge I will be able to share with the young man when i next meet him. 

On that note, that is a need to update the lineage .The early chapters of the book gave a history of Wan Kedah , the role of the Wan family in the early Kedah state governing body , holding the posts of the Bendahara, Temenggong and Laksamana of the Kedah Sultanate.But little was written on the actual contributions and life journey of these Panglimas. In fact all those stories that Pak used to narrate to us during our early days and while he was still alive and well, none of his children actually documented them to be passed on to the next generation. Maybe we were all busy with our family, our career. But we are now in our twilight years,... well almost.. for the first 4 or so..We need to document them to pass on to our children, grandchildren and generations to come of how their ancestors lived their lives. How times have changed. How much time do we give to ourselves to call upon our dearest ones. Arwah Pak always made it a point to connect with his elders whenever he went back to Alor Star. And he never failed to make sure that we know our relatives.. Alas ... fast forward.. We meet up only during festivals or wedding receptions. Questions asked? Does it matter how much of our family tree that we need know? Does that matter ? Well .. sometimes stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we'r here....And knowing who our family was reveals part of who we are...And when we learned about the past, we gather strength for the future...

Here's a tiga rangkap pantun extracted from our Walasilah Keluarga, written by then the eldest living member of the Wan Kedah family.

Bendahara, Temenggong dan Laksamana,
Di Negeri Kedah mereka berbakti,
Itu lah asal usul kita semua,
Keturunan mereka kita warisi.

Hutan ditebang , terusan digali,
Memegang teraju pemerintahan negeri,
Kepada Raja dan Negeri mereka berbakti,
Tak kenal derhaka, pantang undur lari.

Buku disusun mengenal diri,
Agar kita tidak tercari cari,
Yang mana satu nenek sendiri,
Yang mana satu pulak moyang sendiri. 

(Dato' Paduka Haji Wan Ibrahim Wan Soloh, 1990 )

P.S : kpd anak , anak saudara, cousins yg belum baca buku ni, intai intailah walaupun sejenak....