Singapore Malay Heritage Center

Malay Heritage Centre

Malay Over Water

The Malay word for “homeland” is conveyed by the term tanah air which means “land” and “water”. The Malay sea-faring life involves making a livelihood from the sea and encompassed island hopping as commonly practiced by the Minangkabau and Bugis. In addition, the Malay word for “trade” – dagang – also connotes “journey”. As a port town, Kampong Gelam had markets near the coastlines such as Clyde Terrace Market or Pasar Besi where wholesale trading was carried out. More importantly, Kampong Gelam was also the hub for the pilgrimage brokerage industry up till the 1970s and the growth of the industry contributed to the development of other trades such as the publishing industry.

 Singapore in the Malay World

The Malay Archipelago or the Nusantara encompassed the larger part of Southeast Asia and comprised a network of approximately 25,000 islands spanning today’s Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, southern Thailand, Philippines and Cambodia. As a result of its extensive coastlines and countless water channels, numerous ports were established throughout the Nusantara. The locations of these ports along international sea routes were significant in connecting west and east Asia and later, Europe and China.

The above mentioned ports, together with the booming trade in spices and gold, enhanced the role played by Nusantara in international trade from the third century CE. Within this maritime network of regional and international trade,Singapore occupies a strategic nodes.

Malay On Land

The Malay word for “homeland” is conveyed by the term tanah air which means “land” and “water”. The Malay community’s life on land is intrinsically linked to the notion of kampong which stands for a settlement or geographic ward. As the site of arrival for new migrants from the region, the early Kampong Gelam was characterized by the concentrations of various ethnic communities in certain quarters as indicated by their street names. These would include the predominantly Javanese Kampong Kaji (today’s Bussorah Mall), Kampong Ceylon (today’s Golden Landmark) and Kampong Bali (along Bali lane). Across the Rochore River, the concentration of the Baweanese community and their traditional communal pondok also gave rise to Kampong Boyan.  A distinguishing feature of Kampong Gelam therefore lies in the fact that different streets were considered, and locally named, as individual kampungs in their own right.