Search

For over three centuries, Malay seals engraved in Arabic script have functioned as symbols of the authority of the sultan and his court. In all parts of maritime Southeast Asia, there is extraordinary uniformity in the inscriptions of these Islamic seals, which generally identify the sealholder by his name and official title, as well as giving his pedigree and place of origin. Over half of all Malay seals recorded are dated, making them important primary sources for the study of Malay history and biography. Strangely enough, seals from Minangkabau in west Sumatra are at odds with the general picture on two counts. Firstly, royal Minangkabau seals do not usually designate an identifiable individual ruler but rather signify the institution of kingship itself. Secondly, there exists an entire genre of seals which can be entitled ‘Minangkabau seals of patronage’, whose inscriptions do not conform to the template for Malay seals described above. In this article both these categories of seals will be explored, in the process shedding new light on how Minangkabau authority was disseminated in therantau, or areas of traditional Minangkabau migration in Malay borderlands, with particular reference to Negeri Sembilan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]