The Malay ethnic groups are considered to be one of the many Austranesian groups according to anthropolists. Their origins are as follows:
The actual original malay natives known as the Sakis predates from the cretan age , in which according to the Out of Africa Theory, several African native tribes migarted out of Africa and dispersed themselves into the various Malay islands of today and inhibited the densely forested and mountainous terrains. The word sakis was a term used by the later Austranesain migrants in reference to the already settled original native indegenious who had no recored history or language . The trem means savages becasue these ethinc groups were very backward and primitve, surving only by hunting and fishing in the wild and half dressed. Today, they inhibit the Cameron highlands.
The Austronesains who came as the later wave of migrants and colonisers intermarried the local natives. There were:
1.Central mogoloids who poured out of te sino-tibetan buramese border or the west Tibeten turkic nomads
2. The Thai bumis who were the Mani people who settled in Siam
3. Chinese minority tribes from Yuanan such as the Dais of kunming and yis aof Yuanan who settled in North vietnam of tonkin and Annam and Cambodia . They later became the Torajans in sulawesi and Dayaks and Bajaus in East Kalimantan and te Aeta people from the hills into the Phillipines
4. the natives from Kasmir and the Amanda Isalnds who sailed from the Bay of Bengal and poured into the ploylnesain Isalnds, New Zealand and across the Trans-pacific into the Philippines , Kalimantan, sumatra and central Java. They bacame the Bataks and varios tribes of Java.
Malaysain and Singapore Malays such as the Orang luats originted from the Thai period in the Diva Patra Empire before the trun of the first century. Thailand was the mother and the ancester of the Malay races when the first Thai written empire was formed and founded by King Magrai the great who expanded his empire at the Mekong delta basin in today's Changrai. As the Mekong was infested by pirate raid activities, Mangrai the great traced the priates's route down south East Asia into Cambodia, Loas and Indonesia , extending trade and Thai influences over to the rest of the Malay arcehpalgo world southwards and downwards, leaving traces of Thai influnces and trade relations till present day of today's Asian Pacific regional relationships.
In the meantime, the Austranesain groups and the Chinese were highly knowledagle in seafaring navigation, traced an ancient trade route by sea from the middle east , Africa and Europe all the way to the Polynesian pacific and the gulf of Carpenteria in today's north Darwin .
Consequently, the local Thai natives and the malay natives intergrated and intermarried in its very early evolution, as accoroding to the Malay Sejarah.
100 BC circa was the time of the Langasuka Kingdom, when gold was discovered in north Kedah . This was the period refered to as the Golden Chesrone by Poltemy. This legendary kingdom of gold was the bedrock of the Malay Malaysain cradle of civilization for discovery of Gold led to trade wtih the neighbouring region of India, China, Arabia and the Middle east. Mixtures of Arabia, Thai , India and China blened into the Malay races when trade expanded into the Gulf of Siam eastwards of today's Pulau Langkawi. Langkawi has ample archelogocal evidences of sophiscated gold crafts and pottery that tell of this rich ancient civilization of Langasuka. Its commercail ties with neighouring regions established the Asean trading relationships of present day.
As according to the Malay Sejarah, Langasuka was ruled by king Wongaksan who was desecended of King Alexandra. This suggests its origins from the lower Greek Dravidain and indo-Aryan ancestroy of the Malay austranesian groups .
A point worth noting is also that the term Malay according to the Maleyu Sejarah originated from Sri Lanka . The Ramananya which described the monkey -god Hamunan's resuce of King Rama's consort, sita from the demon king Ravina, lived in a city of gold in an island in Sri Lanka. this city of gold was called Malayan , supporting the evidence that Malay culture originated from the riches of India when its nation was rich and powerful in gold and spices.
The Indonesian Malay bumi groups on theother hand originated from the Kutai Kingdom of today's east Kalimantan in today's Tenggrong Melayu state, following the Kashmir and Indo-Aryan migration. It was also accompanied by the spread of Brahman Hinduism from Thailand and Kelantan or Pan Pan in the fourtyh century by trade and the latter migrations spreaded themselves into Sumatra and Central Java. There was also the Mingnangkabau or Bufflao poeple migration into central Java, Boneo and eventaully into Negri Sembelan in Malacca. Their bufflao horn architectres and edifaces still remains as evidences of its migrationary diversity.
Malaysia gained its initial independence from Thailand when the 5 states of Malaya prospered as a result of the gold mines and trade in black pepper and spices such as Mace and cardimons from India and Sri Lanka. Retrospectively, historical precedence of the discovery of any rare and precious valuables, be it coffe in Brazil , The Eureka Stockade and the Lambing falt riots of the Victorian gold rushes , would inevitably inspire and lead to avarice, migrant struggles and settlements, bloodshed and political cum economic soical hiest and mayhems of the day. In short a double two-edged sword syndrome.
The sultans of the five Malayan states were no exception. They were the ruling heads of the states of Kedah, Kelantan , Perlis, Perak and Trengganu which originally were under Thai dominance and belonged to Thailand when Mengri the great empire extended into Malaysia and Singapore . Malaysia and Singpore also originally belonged to Thailand. Their newly found wealth , power and prosperity catalysted and spurred them to independence, resulting in the Kedah blockade . The hegemony of these five states subsequently reduced Thai domince only to the recognistion of its suzeraintiy , paying resepct and tribute to Thailand with gestures of the golden orchids or flowers as their state emblem.
This is why Malaysain PMs such as Dr. Mahatir are presented with golden aritifical flowers as insignia during important state ceremonies.
It was much later in the Malay archepalogo history of the 18 centry that Malaysia and Singapore Malays became influenced regionally by the Johore-Rau islands alliances and the Bugis who colonised Malaysia briefly.
Thus the riches of tis heritage this present day.
