27.02.2021
The Family Trunk
The things one can do with so much time to kill.
Just a week ago my topic on my Instagram was on the trees that we planted many years ago. Their history. The Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia) seedling which my husband brought home from the Gua Musang jungle during one his field trips. Now it is as tall as the street lamp post. The Noni tree(Morinda spp), the Jambu mawar ( Syzgium jambos) , the curry leaves tree( Murraya koenigii), the sireh plants( Piper betel) all have a story behind their existence in our space, on our timeline since 1984 , the year we bought and moved into this present house. They were gifts from loved ones, my mother in law in Lenga, Muar, my uncle in Alor Setar Kedah, my brother in law in Kuantan, to name a few.
Now I am looking at the trunk chest that my late gave to me, about a few weeks before he moved back to his home in Alor Setar. That trunk has travelled the country. From Alor Setar in the early 1960s to Kuala Lumpur ( about 2 years) then to Kuala Terengganu (almost 10 years), then to Johor Baharu ( 3 months) , back to Kuala Lumpur, then to Ipoh (about a year ) and finally Kuala Lumpur once again . Until 1998, when he decided to move back for good to his own home in Alor Setar, Kedah.
Since it came into our household, the trunk serves as a storage for my blankets and curtains. One of the handle is broken. I am not too sure of the original colour of the trunk. If I am not mistaken , it was dark green.. My father had it repainted in gold. The inside of the trunk is still in its original maroon colour. The paper label is half torn, so I am not able to determine the manufacturer. But the metal emblem is still intact. The writing says “Warranted Best Steel Trunks”
The wonders of modern technology! Initially I typed metal trunk. It then took me to steamer trunk. So I narrow the search to just that. After a few failed attempts I stumbled upon a website that had the same emblem staring at me! Eureka!
The website indicated that this trunk was made in the early 1900. Manufactured by Alfred Hughes of Herrick Works in Wolverhampton, England. This trunk was made of steel and served as a travel bag. During those days global travelling was done by the sail ship. Thus the term steamer trunk.
So it got me thinking. How on earth did it come into my late father’s possession? Were they selling such trunks in Malaya in those days? Is this the trunk that my great grandfather used or brought home when he travelled with the Sultan of Kedah’s entourage to England . My late great grandfather ( paternal) was Wan Ahmad Kulim bin Wan Awang ( 1860-1940) Wan Awang great great grandfather was the Shahbandar of Kuala Kedah.
It is not known on what capacity Wan Ahmad Kulim bin Wan Awang was entitled to be part of the Sultan’s entourage. There is no written record to indicate his post in the Kedah’s Sultanate Administration. But records written on paper by my late father indicated that he accompanied the Sultan of Kedah Sultan DYMM Almarhum Tuanku Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin Mukarram Shah ( 26th Sultan of Kedah ) on 14 th May 1911. The entourage sailed to England on board the Sultan’s ship named ‘Good Luck’ to attend the coronation of King George V in 1911.
Sultan Abdul Hamid ruled Kedah from 21st January 1882 till 1943.
If traced from the history of its manufacture and date, this trunk is now about 120 years old! How or when this trunk was passed to my late father is unknown. I can only speculate that upon his death in 1940, the trunk was passed to his son, my grandfather Wan Abdul Hamid bin Wan Ahmad. And later it was passed down to my late father Wan Omar. I wished I had asked about its history when my father was around.
There are a few more items passed down to me. My late grand aunt gave me a brass bed. It must be quite old too. But I did not take it back with me. I am not too sure whether it is still in Alor Setar, in Lorong Menteri. Maybe not. Because it was given to me in the late 1980s.
Anyway, to my children and grandchildren and maybe my big family the Omarian, this is one of our family’s heritage . Should anyone wish to have it after I am gone, please discuss amongst yourselves. If possible, don’t discard the trunk. Now that you know the history of this trunk, perhaps one day you may want to relate it your next generation of grandchildren about the history of this trunk.
The most treasured heirlooms are the sweet memories of our family that we pass down to our children.
I wished I had realised that family history is a perishable commodity. It disappears with time, as memories fade and as loved ones passed on. I wish I had known that the important aspect of family history is preserving a record of the present for the future.
And this is my plan , while I am still capable in my mental and physical faculty.
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