Depa semua panggil kak cik: My Journey . Tracing My Roots (Part 5)

The third generation of the Omarian family are my grandchildren and Tok Haji Wan Omar and Tok Hajjah Wan Zaharah’ s great grandchildren. If arwah pak and mak were still arrive they would now be addressed as tok nek. Tok haji Wan Omar died before anyone of his great grandchildren was born. 12 of the 20 great children were born before March 2017, the date that Tok hajjah passed away. The eldest of the 20 was born in 2010 and the youngest was born in 2019 ( as of December 2020) Insha Allah the numbers will increase .

I don't know what the future holds. Only Allah swt knows. My hope and prayers is that I be given time by Allah swt to witness their nurturing years for many more years to come. Insha Allah.

My hope is that one day your parents/siblings will show you this blog in the hope that you will know a little bit of your roots. Just a bit of history as a reminder of the journey of your ancestors.

The third generation of the Omarian clan are the 11^thgeneration of your ancestor Wan Long Bendahara. Bendahara is the title of the court official in the Kedah Sultanate who served as the Prime Minister. He was the key advisor to the Sultan. He served the sultan during the years 1706-1770.This post was passed down to his son Wan Johan and then to his grandson Wan Sidek bin Wan Johan. After the death of Wan Sidek, the post was left vacant. 100 years later it was reestablished by the Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’azam Shah. But the title and functions of the posts were reviewed and bestowed to members of the royal family. And also, to note that besides the post of Bendahara, the posts of Laksamana (Admiral) and Temenggong (Minister of Home Affairs) were also held by the Wan family of Kedah. So, if you have a chance to read a copy the book Mengenal Asal Usul dan Salasilah keluarga that was compiled by you late great grandfather, you will discover a very complex web of family trees that are interrelated. I have simplified them by focusing on the lineage of your parents right up to the Wan Long Bendahara.

Your great grandfather 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

It is not his intention nor mine to glorify the past but more of to understand the journey of the past. One day If you take some time to do a bit of reflection of yourself and your journey, perhaps you would like to ponder and maybe discover a bit of your ancestors in yourself. The DNAs that you carry in your blood may still bear some resemblance to that of your ancestors. You may bear some resemblance in the physical aspects or perhaps you may bear some resemblance to that warrior side of your ancestors!!

To Aqil Sidqi bin Mohd Ali Mirza, you are the most senior amongst your cousins! And it is the family tradition that the eldest of the family clan (the third generation of the Omarian clan) has an unwritten duty to look out for the rest of your junior cousins. You may well be the cousin that they will seek for advice and opinions in matters relating to family matters. As you grow into your adulthood, you will notice your parents do have certain rituals/traditions that they do as part of the big family. And when your turn comes to take over, you may want to carry on with those traditions.

And remember, to all the third generation and future generations, being genetically related doesn’t make you family. Love, support , trust, sacrifice, honesty, protection , acceptance, security , compromise, gratitude , respect and loyalty is what makes you family.

Remember, to know is to love.

Table 1: Third generation. Great Grandchildren of Allahyarham Dato Wan Omar and Allahyarhamah Datin Wan Zaharah

Name of great grandson / Granddaughter

Name of Parents