My Journey Tracing my Roots ( Part 2)

(ii) The Family Tree: - The WAN Kedah Family Tree
 
a.     The Big Picture 
 
During my growing up years the only thing that I was aware of was that my mother and father were related, they were cousins but not first cousins, I think.  It was an arranged marriage. My mother became a bride at the age of 17 to my father who was 10 years her senior.  And relatives on both sides of my family, my father’s and mother’s almost all bore the family name Wan. There were of course exceptions of members who did not have the first name Wan. One thing that I was told was that the family name Wan will only be passed down to the children if the male carries that title. And therefore, if a female with the Wan family name marries someone from outside the Wan family, their off springs will be forfeited of the title. Then, I didn’t feel it was a big deal. Of course, when I started school, in my secondary years, during my history lesson, the name Wan Mohd Saman was introduced to us, the man who constructed the irrigation canal in my hometown Alor Star. And that was about it. 

My father worked in the civil service, thus during his tenure ship, he was posted to a few states in the Peninsula.  I noticed that when in the state of Terengganu, an officer in his department also bore the family name Wan. And I met a few too from states of Kelantan and Perak and Selangor.  So, is there a connection between all Wans in the Peninsula? Do we share a common ancestor, a line of decedents?
 
When I was growing up too, I noticed many a times, my late father, when he met any person bearing the familiar WAN, he would always without hesitation ask a string of questions: - 
 
1. Who are your parents, grandparents? 
2. Where do they reside? 
 
And once the questions were picked up by the persons concerned, there will be other questions, until a point where he was able to make a connection between the person and relatives already known to him. And this could be persons from many areas in the state of Kedah. And the excitement of making such discoveries was shared with his closest relatives. One person in his particular was his late cousin Pak Ngah Wan Hanapi bin Wan Long.  In fact, my late father Dato’ Wan Omar bin Wan Hamid, my uncle Pak Ngah Wan Hanapi and Dato’ Wan Annuar (Dato’ Jaya Budiman) bin Wan Ishak  were the 3 main persons in the Wan family of Kedah who collaborated over a period of 30 years researching, compiling notes and information from various sources. I remember my late father making notes after many consultations which he did with the remaining relatives from many families of the Wan clan in Kedah. The highlight of it all is the compilation of all the materials gained and the publication of the big black book entitled “Mengenali Asal Usul dan Keturunan Keluarga”(MAUKK) in 1990. 


Picture 1 : The Front Cover of the Buku Mengenali Asal Usul dan 
Keturunan Keluarga (1990)

 



                                                
                                            Picture 2: The 3 Key Researchers 

My late father who helped compiled all the information was also named as the editor and compiler of the book. I remember my late mother and my sisters helped to put some of the big family charts together.  I am not too sure how many copies were made, but it was distributed to most of the heads of families in the Wan clan. I got a copy too. On several occasions when I met persons with the familiar WAN, I would pass this big black book to that person to enable him to have a read and perhaps to trace some connections. That was as far as I went. But now that I am retired with so much time to spare, I started to seriously look at the contents of the book. The charts were overwhelming! There were so many charts, so much information. Looking at the charts, there were repetitions of similar names, names common in almost all the major family charts! For example, I was trying to trace the lineage of my late grandfather Wan Ismail bin Wan Daud. But I realized that it was not a straightforward feat. I will need to know more since there was more than Wan Ismail!  My father wrote that in order to unravel this intricate web, a system of classification was done in that common names amongst families will have a nickname attached to their names. For example, the name Wan Ibrahim – Wan Ibrahim Besar, Wan Ibrahim Kecik, Wan Ibrahim Lebai, Wan Ibrahim Haji. 

a.     The Book Mengenali Asal Usul dan Keturunan Keluarga 1990

The book Mengenali Asal Usul dan Keturunan Keluarga (MAUKK) 1990, was a collaborative effort that spanned over a period of 30 years. Anchoring were Dato’ Haji Annuar bin Wan Ishak (Dato’ Jaya Budiman, Head of the Kedah Royal Ceremonies), my uncle, the late Wan Hanapi bin Wan Long and my father, Dato’ Wan Omar bin Wan Hamid. There were lots of inputs from surviving family members of the Wan families of Kedah. (The main list is mentioned in the book MAUKK). The draft of the finished writings and family charts were checked by the representatives of each family at a meeting in Alor Star, 1989. It was mentioned in the book that the facts in the book are still not fully authentic and that if any remaining members of any of the family mentioned would like to add or edit the earlier information given to the team, they are more than welcome to do so. One can understand the information collected spanned over an 8-generation timeframe. Some maybe hearsay from the persons who gave the earlier information. But if there are anyone who has adequate information to dispute the earlier information, this can be brought to the attention of the remaining elders in the Wan family. Refer to Persatuan Anak Wan Kedah.  



                                        Picture 3: Notes from various sources 
 


Picture 4: Acknowledgements to all that have contributed towards the 
compilation of family information
 




Picture 5: Wan Kedah’s first gathering in Alor Setar Kedah on 

1St September  1989

As mentioned earlier, 8 generations of the Wan of Kedah family from as early as the 18th century were traced and charted.  It is interesting to note that as far back as the 18th Century, important posts of the Bendahara, Temenggong, Laksamana and Shah Bandar in the Malay Sultanate of Kedah were predominantly held by the Wan family from as early as the 1706. 
 
Institusi atau suku sakat Keluarga Wan di Kedah adalah satu institusi yang tua di Kedah. Keluarga atau keturunan Wan telah memainkan peranan yang penting dan terpengaruh di Kedah. Mereka ada satu keluarga yang berkhidmat dalam berbagai jawatan Kerajaan Melayu dizaman silam. Ada dikalangan mereka dizaman tersebut yang menjawat jawatan Bendahara, Temenggong, Laksamana, Menteri-menteri keempat, Kelapan dan Keenam belas. Mereka mewakili DYMM Sultan memerintah Kawasan-kawasan tertentu. Anak anak perempuan telah berkahwin dengan Raja Raja Pemerintah Negeri Kedah dan dengan demikian mereka mempunyai tali persaudaraan disebelah ibu dengan kerabat-kerabat diRaja Kedah. 
                                    (Datuk Paduka Haji Wan Ibrahim bin Wan Soloh,1990) 
 
The posts were hereditary in nature (MAUKK,1990)
For example, the post Bendahara (Dato’ Seri Maharaja Sura) was first bestowed to Wan Long around the year 1706. After his death, this post was held by his son Wan Johan bin Wan Long and subsequently the last to hold the post was Wan Mat@ Wan Mohd Sidek. Wan Mohd Sidek bin Wan Johan was killed during the battle against the Siamese attack on the Kedah state in 1821. 
 Wan Long -> Wan Johan bin Wan Long -> Wan Mohd Sidek bin Wan Johan
 
After the death of Wan Sidek, the Bendahara post was left vacant. Dato’ Laksamana (name unknown) was also killed in the same battle alongside Bendahara Wan Sidek. The post of Laksamana was not left vacant but was passed on to his son Wan Musa bin Dato’ Laksamana and after his death to Wan Sulaiman bin Wan Musa.
 
  Dato ’Laksamana -> Wan Musa bin Dato’ Laksamana- > Wan Sulaiman bin Wan Musa
 
Below is a chart to give an idea of what is the function of a Bendahara, Temenggong and Laksamana.
 
Pembesar Utama
(Official)
Peranan
(Function)
Bendahara
(Prime Minister)
(Vizier)
Penasihat kanan Raja
(Advisor to the Sultan)
Pemangku Raja dan bertindak sebagai Ketua Hakim semasa ketiadaan Raja.
(In the absence of the Sultan, the Bendahara will act as the chief of Justice)
Pemilih dan Pelantik Raja
(Involved in the choice and installation of the Sultan)
Temenggong
(Minister of Home Affairs)
Ketua dan Pelaksana Undang-Undang
(Head and as well as administrator of the state law)
Ketua Polis Negara
(The chief of police)
Pendakwa bagi kesalahan individu
(Prosecutor in court cases)
Ketua protocol dalam urusan adat istiadat
(Head of the protocol and things related to the ceremonial events)
Laksamana
(Admiral)
Ketua bagi semua pahlawan terutama di laut
(Admiral at sea)
Memikul pedang kerajaan dalam upacara rasmi
(Bearer of the state sword)
Menjadi diplomat dan membawa utusan kerajaan.
(Acts as the diplomat and bearer of state matters)
Chart 1 : The Job Description of the Posts of Bendahara, Laksamana and Temenggong in the Early Malay Sultanate

In the later years the three main posts were no longer held by any of the Wan family of Kedah.  In 1958, 100 years after the posts of Bendahara, Temenggung and Laksamana was abolished, the Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’azam Shah re-established the posts. But the title and functions of the posts were reviewed and bestowed to members of the royal family. 
Thus, the task of tracing and sorting the countless names that spanned 8 generations (1706 – 1915 onwards) of the Wan Kedah families was thought to be best done by categorizing them into 3 main categories. That is by the posts held by their forefathers.  Eventually, five main families were identified as follows: 
 
1.     Bendahara Wan Sidek  
2.     Dato’ Seri Paduka Raja Laksamana 
3.     Wan Musa Temenggung 
4.     Wan Bendahara Anak Bukit
5.     Bendahara Wan Sulaiman     
                                               (MAUKK, 1990)
 
But again, it is interesting to note that intermarriages between the 5 main groups were very much encouraged. Also, to note that the family name WAN is only conferred to the males and sons of the family. Thus, if a male from the WAN family marries all his children will carry the title WAN. But should his daughter marry someone without the title WAN then none of her children will inherit that title. Thus, marriages within the big family of Laksamana, Temenggong, Bendahara and Shah Bandar was encouraged so as to keep the title WAN within the family. 
 
Dizaman lampau, ikatan kekeluargaan tersangatlah erat. Tali ikatan kekeluargaan ini bertambah erat dengan adanya perkahwinan diantara keluarga sebagai satu kebudayaan turun menurun. 
(Datuk Paduka Haji Wan Ibrahim bin Wan Soloh, MAUKK, 1990)   
 
This means that in order to trace my father’s and my mother’s family line,  I not only have to look at one main family group but I have to keep my focus on others too but it is a very intricate web of names that not only are common throughout so much so I have to make sure I am looking at the right grandfather because a times I will stumble upon a person with the same name example. Wan Ismail bin Wan Daud and tracing the name up the line of the family tree chart have often resulted in the wrong Wan Ismail bin Wan Daud. My father wrote
that in order to unravel this intricate web, a system of classification was done in that common names amongst families will have a nickname attached to their names. For example, the name Wan Ibrahim – Wan Ibrahim Besar, Wan Ibrahim Kecik, Wan Ibrahim Lebai, Wan Ibrahim Haji 
(Wan Omar Wan Hamid, MAUKK, 1990).
 

                      Picture 6: Example of Chart with repetitions of names

Eventually, after the trials and errors this is what I discovered on my father’s and mother’s line of heritage! And they were both in the big family of Wan Long Bendahara.
 
Thus, my father is Wan Omar bin Wan Hamid bin Wan Ahmad Kulim bin Wan Awang bin Wan Yusof (Shah Bandar Kuala Kedah) bin Wan Mat @Wan Sidek (Bendahara) bin Wan Johan (Dato ’Bendahara Paduka Seri Maharaja Sura) bin Wan Long (Bendahara).
 
My mother is Wan Zaharah bt Hj Wan Ismail (Dato’ Jaya Perkasa) bin Wan Daud bin Wan Jusoh bin Wan Mohd Taib (ShahBandar) bin Wan Mohd Amin (Dato’ Seri Paduka Raja Laksemana) bin Wan Mohd Sidek (Bendahara) bin Wan Johan (Bendahara) bin Wan Long (Bendahara).  

a.     The 8 Generations of the Wan Kedah family.
 
The year 1706 was significant because this was the year when the three posts of Bendahara, Temenggung and Laksamana were all held by the men of the Wan family.  Before this, there were members of the Wan family who served the Kedah Sultanate in positions such as Menteri Empat, Menteri-menteri Lapan and Menteri Menteri Enam Belas.
 
My father Wan Omar wrote
 
Tetapi apa yang ketara sekali ialah abad kelapan belas bila ketiga-tiga jawatan dalam Menteri Empat dipegang oleh Bendahara, Laksamana dan Temenggung yang berketurunan Wan. Oleh sebab ketiga tiga mereka datang dari satu keluarga maka yang demikian adalah wajar BUKU MAUKK ini dimulai dari zaman mereka bertiga. 


Because of the big numbers of members in the Wan Kedah Family, it was an impossible task to track down everyone of them. Therefore, for the purpose of compilation, the researchers decided that the best starting point would be around the time of the 3 main officials at the helm of the State government. And then slowly trace down the line from 1706 right down to the year of 1915   and later until the year of publication of the book onwards. 
 I think this major task was successfully executed.  About 129 Heads of the Wan Kedah family were traced and listed (Pictures 7-10)
 

Picture 7: Tracing the roots of both my father and mother. 

They both share the same great (x6 )  grandfather. (MAUKK 1990)



Picture 8: Shows  my maternal and paternal grandfather( 1890 -1960) and also my maternal and paternal great grandfather ( 1821-1890) MAUKK 1990

Picture 10 : My father  and the rest of the WAN clan all direct descendants of the Bendahara, Laksamana and Temenggong of the Kedah Sultanate  (MAUKK, 1990)

From these pictures (7 to 10) I was able to trace my father’s and mother’s descendants. My great great great great great grandfather was Wan Long Bendahara.  Bendahara Wan Sidek bin Wan Johan was the common great great great grandfather to both my father and my mother! 

a.     Family tree of Wan Omar bin Wan Hamid and Wan Zaharah bt Wan Ismail.

 

My father wrote 

 

Ada yang berpendapat apa yang hendak dibangga dengan asal keturunan dan apa yang hendak dibangga dengan nama Wan itu. Boleh jadi pendapat ini betul. Tetapi apa yang kita hendak cuba mencari ialah siapakah nenek moyang kita. 

                              Dato’ Wan Omar bin Wan Hamid, MAUKK 1990

 

Who are my ancestors? How much do I know about them? 

 

Yes, I do agree with my father. It is not my intention to glorify the past but more of to understand the journey of the past. My regret is that my inquisitiveness, the zest and enthusiasm came a bit too late! Most of the elders are no longer around to help answer some of the questions that I have in mind. My late father Wan Omar was one person who was very passionate about his roots. 

Picture 11. : My father wrote this on the first page of the book MAUKK that was given to me. ( MAUKK ,1990)

I remember my late father had given some of his manuscripts to the National Archive. There was newspaper cutting of his handing over the scripts and notes he made from his interviews with his late aunt Wan Zaleha, the person who looked after him since he was five. My grandmother Wan Sara died when he was 5 years.

Picture 12: Wan Zaleha bt Wan Omar ( My paternal grand aunt)

d(i) The Family Tree of Dato ’Setia DiRaja Wan Omar bin Wan Hamid.

 

So, it is already established earlier in my writings that my father is Wan Omar bin Wan Hamid bin Wan Ahmad Kulim bin Wan Awang bin Wan Yusof (Shah Bandar Kuala Kedah) bin Wan Mat @Wan Sidek (Bendahara) bin Wan Johan (Dato ’Bendahara Paduka Seri Maharaja Sura) bin Wan Long (Bendahara

Picture 13 : My father’s family tree traced to Bendahara Wan Long who lived in the period 1706 – 1770

(MAUKK, 1990)

His eldest sister Wan Cik was addressed as Tok Wa. Wa is the title that we normally use to address any person who is the eldest in the family. I had no opportunity to know her husband, but she had 2 children whom we addressed as Wa Chiak and Paman. Tok Cik Wan Putih is the second of the 6 siblings. A very small and sweet lady she was. One of her children Abdul Waris was once very close to our family. The youngest Wan Selasih (Tok Su Medan) married Syed from Indonesia and settled in Medan, Indonesia. The longest time she came to Malaysia was when was at the University. She stayed with us at Jalan Selangor, Federal Hill. I met my pretty Indonesian cousins, one of whom was an actress. But I was close to Bik Mastura, she worked at the Malaysian Airlines Office in Jakarta. My last contact with her was about 20 years ago!! 

The other male that is my grand uncle Wan Yusof. Well I think I have never met him before. I don’t remember my father talking about him.

I too never had the opportunity to meet my great grandfather Wan Ahmad Kulim bin Wan Awang. His father Wan Awang bin Wan Yusoff was the Shah Bandar of Kuala Kedah. The tag Kulim was another abbreviation used to differentiate between the others with similar names. Wan Ahmad Kulim was also the Minister for Kulim, a district of Kedah. He had 3 wives: - Wan Teh Wan Yaacob, Wan Halijah bt Wan Ibrahim Kecik and my great grandmother Che Tam bt Mohd Saman.An interesting fact to note. Her father Mohd Saman was the son of En Mohamad, a Punjabi Indian from Pulau Pinang and his mother was Cik Mas bt Abdullah a Chinese from Pulau Pinang.  I am highlighting this fact because in my years of growing up, many a times people will always mistake me for a Chinese Ah Moi! So, it must be the Chinese genes that I have inherited from my Chinese ancestors! And Punjabi genes too.  But this is just the beginning. I still have my mother’s side of ancestors to unveil. 

Picture 14: My paternal Great Great Great Grandparents: En Mohamed was a Punjabi India and Cik Mas bt Abdullah was a Chinese from Pulau Pinang.

( MAUKK, 1990)

 

Now moving up the family tree (Picture 13) is Wan Mat Sidek bin Wan Johan. He was the last to hold the post of Bendahara. When he was killed in 1821 in a battle against the Siamese, the post was left vacant.  About 100 years later it was revived but given to members of the Royal family with the title Tunku Bendahara. 

 

As mentioned earlier too, Wan Johan and Wan Long also held the post of Bendahara in the Kedah Sultanate.

d (ii) Family Tree of Wan Zaharah bt Dato’ Jaya Perkasa Wan Ismail 

 

Picture 15 :Family Tree Wan Zaharah bt Hj Wan Ismail (Dato’ Jaya Perkasa  (MAUKK,1990)

My mother is Wan Zaharah bt Hj Wan Ismail (Dato’ Jaya Perkasa) Wan Daud bin Wan Jusoh bin Wan Mohd Taib (Shah Bandar) bin  Wan Mohd Amin (Dato’ Seri Paduka Raja Laksamana) bin Wan Mohd Sidek (Bendahara) bin Wan Johan( Bendahara)  bin Wan Long (Bendahara). 

 

My mother, Wan Zaharah bt Wan Ismail is the third daughter of Wan Ismail bin Wan Daud and Cik Sophia bt Che Mat.  She was born on the 11^th of February 1936. There were 10 of them, but the first Wan Ahmad bin Wan Ismail died in early childhood. My mother passed away in 2017, about a week before my date of retirement. During the last few years of her life, she was bedridden, she lost touch of her outside world. Her state of dementia deteriorated until the last few years before she passed on, she could not recall our names. She left us on a Friday morning. 

 My mother was a full-time housewife. She married my father at the early age of 17. She had her first child at the age of 18. Her last children, my 9th sibling in the family was born when my mother was about 38 years old. 

 

My maternal grandfather Dato’ Jaya Perkasa Hj Wan Ismail bin Wan Daud also worked in the Kedah Civil service. He was the District Officer for the district of Jitra.He was a man of few words. But he was most attentive to us. Whenever we came back from Kuala Terengganu on a vacation, he would always take us places. Once he drove us, me, my cousin Wan Nita Ferial and Ahmad Zaki up the Gunung Jerai. He took us to visit his mother’s grave in Merbok, the ancient Hindu temple ruins in the Bujang Valley in the district of Merbok. There were many other places: Pantai Merdeka, the Kedah Museum, to name a few. In other words, once we touched the soils of Kedah, he will be our chaperon until we left for Kuala Terengganu. He died in the holy land of Mekah.I was in form six. I remember my late father trying how to best break the news to arwah mak because she was about 10 days in confinement after the birth of our youngest sister in 1974.And she wept quietly upon hearing the news.  We wept with her. I remember his message to me. 

 

’ Kalau nak buat khenduri arwah, tak payah nak tunggu malam Jumaat. Bila bila rasa nak buat, hari apa pun tak pa.  

 

My maternal Che Sofia bt Che Mat was very strict or cenge or garang in Malay. Now. this is where I got my cenge from. Sadly, I don’t have many memories of her.  She died when we were in Kuala Terengganu. We received news about 11 pm. Soon after we all got into the car. Those days, the journey from Kuala Terengganu to Alor Star took very long hours. Normally we would break journey and spend a night in Kuala Lumpur. But this time arwah pak pushed all the way home. I remember arwah Pak was stopped by the police somewhere quite close to Alor Star. It was late. He pleaded to the police to let him continue the journey in order to make it before the burial. But it was not meant to be. By the time we arrived, the burial was already over.

 

Picture 16: My grandfather’s last message to my mother on his flight to Makkah in 1974.  He died in Mekah.

 

But memories of her stayed in the house of Simpang Kuala, my grandfather’s house. My grandmother’s mother, Che Pok lived under the same roof with her son in law and her grandchildren. She lived a long life. She died at a lifelong age of 100+ years.

Picture 17: My maternal Grandmother Cik Sopiah bt Ahmad. Seen in picture wearing the Malay kebaya labuh. My sisters and mother kept a few pieces of her beautiful collections of kebab labuh. 

Knowing who our family was reveals part of who we are.

And when the roots are deep , there is no reason to fear the wind.