My Journey – Tracing my roots. ( Part 1) 

 

 ( I ) A short history on  the origin of the family name WAN 

 

My late father was 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 was 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).  

 

Both my parents were from the northern Peninsular state of Kedah. Both of them were traced to be the seventh generation of Bendahara Wan Long, a court official of the Kedah Sultanate who lived during the years 1706- 1770. The title of Wan was clearly passed down the line of generations. 

 

So, who are we? How did we get the title of Wan? Is it a family name? Is it a title bestowed to the court officials of the Kedah Sultanate? 

 

During the old days, it is a known fact that when a local Malay married someone from the middle east, the offspring from this marriage would bear the family name Syed for the male and Sharifah for the female child. The Malay royal family bears the title Tengku or Raja, the family name Ku and Megat arose from marriage between Tengku and a commoner. This stamping  created a clan of people with identical roots, a common heritage or bond.  

 

There are several versions to the origin of the the family name WAN. In the book entitled Mengenal Asal Usul dan Keturunan, (MAUKK),1990 that co-written and compiled by my late father,  it was concluded that there was  no clear-cut fact about its origin! 

 

A historian by the name of Encik Ismail bin Hj Salleh and a publication from the Warta Darulaman, Kerajaan Kedah were of the opinion that Wan is actually a short form of Warman, a term or salutation used by the kings of Funan. Funan was a Malay a government in the country of Chempaka Tua. The Wans  were said to be descendants of the Funan Kingdom. The Kingdom of Funan was a country of great Peninsula Malay Champa. Among the names of the King at that time were:

1.    Fah-Shih-Man (Wan Sulaiman)

2.    Fan Chah (Wan Cham—Hassan)

3.    Fan Hsun (Wan Sun?)

4.    Fan Hsuing (Wan Husin)

5.    Fan Yi (Wan Yi?)

 

When Islam came to the Malay States, the Fan was eventually changed to Wan. The Funan rule ended in the year 540. 

 

It is also said that the title Wan has been in existence as far back as the year 531 (Hijrah) or 1150 Masehi. Historians say Wan is not a title but a descendant or a tribe. A man named Wan Emas, Dato ’Seraja Wang’s great-grandson, was married to an Arab from the Hijaz named Sharif Aman in Hijrah 1011 (AD 1546) who proved that Wan’s family and descendants already existed at that time.

In Kedah, Wan played an important and influential role in the Istana Raja (palace) holding certain positions such as Bendahara, Laksamana, Temenggong and Maha Menteri etc. There is a theory that says that Wan was derived from the word PAHLAWAN. The word pahlawan was eventually shortened to just WAN by the Sultan. Thus, Pahlawan Sulaiman was shortened as Wan Sulaiman. The Sultan endorsed the right of descent which allowed their descendants to be named Wan. 

This is slightly different to that of the title Wan from the state of Kelantan whereby there the Wans are the descendants of the Kelantan royal family. 

The Sultan of Kedah bestowed this title WAN to the warriors of the Kedah state who defended the state from attacks to its sovereignty. During the reign of Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah, Kedah was attacked by the Siamese. During his reign too, the title WAN was bestowed to The Datuk Bendahara Wan Mohd Sidek and the Datuk Temenggung Wan Musa. Another court official, Datuk Laksamana was also bestowed the title WAN

Diriwayatkan oleh orang tua tua bahawa gelaran Wan adalah asal ciptaan salah seorang Sultan Negeri Kedah dizaman dahulu yang diberikan kepada anak cucu Dato Dato’ yang berkhidmat kepada baginda sebagai mengenang atau mengikhtiraf jasa dan kesetiaan Dato’Dato’ itu kepada Baginda. 

                                          (Dato Hj Annuar, Dato Jaya Budiman, Ketua Istiadat) 

 

 

The history of the WAN family of Kedah was traced as far back as the 18^th century. In 1821, the state of Kedah was attacked by the Siamese. The Sultan of Kedah Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Halim Shah II fled to Penang and then to Melaka. Two warriors who fought against these attackers were killed, Dato’ Bendahara Seri Paduka Maharaja Sura (Wan Mat @ Wan Mohd Sidek) and Dato’ Laksamana ( Name not known) and looking at the chart of the family tree of my late father Wan Omar bin Wan Hamid and my mother Wan Zaharah bt Wan Ismail, Dato’ Bendahara Seri Paduka Maharaja Sura ( Wan Mat@ Wan Mohd Sidek )  was  my father’s and mother’s  great great great grandfather( Chart 1). Thus, both my father and my mother were from same lineage, that is the Bendahara Wan Sidek. But it is not so straight forward as yet! Somewhere along the line there were intermarriages between the Bendahara family and those Wans from the Laksamana and the Temenggung Family.

 

At the end of the day, it can be concluded that the family name Wan is inherited by a group of people through generations by the males of the family. It is neither a race nor an ethnic group.