Sunday, February 24, 2008

The "Makam Tuanku Tambusai"

If one cares to look at the signboard after the entering the toll plaza in Seremban, there's a writing which shows "Makam Tuanku Tambusai" amongst the others, on the left hand side of the road leading to the town. The grave site or "makam" of Tuanku Tambusai is situated on a low hill in Rasah about 3 kilometres from the town centre on the way to Port Dickson. Due to the road diversions and the flyovers built near the side road to the "makam", the location is little known, except by visiting groups from our neighbouring country, Indonesia. When the "makam" was officially upgraded with funds contributed by the Provincial government of Riau in Sumatra, and topped up by the Negri Sembilan State government in 2002, it was a pride especially to the descendants of which I am one of them, because he was declared a "National hero" by the Indonesian government in 1996. But today the 'makam' is in a sorry state due to vandals who stole some of the iron-mongery and the marble is blackened by dirt because there's no one who's responsible for the cleanliness and upkeep of the 'makam'. Tuanku Tambusai as he was well known in Indonesia was one of the leaders who fought the colonial invaders during the Padri Wars in 1838 and his contemporaries were Imam Bonjol and Tuanku Rao. His real name is Muhamad Saleh and he was brought up by his father who was the the Chief Kadhi during the rule of the Sultanate of Riau in the 1800's. Today on the 25 February 2008, the Negri Museum invited 10 of our family association members to an event organised by the museum, where a talk on historical events was delivered. I could not make it because only yesterday I was in Seremban paying my last respects to a relative. When I was told that the presenter still talked about our family tree which contains inaccuracies, it just got me upset. It was fortunate that I wasn't there, otherwise I would have just walked out, because I thought this matter had long been settled when there was a written as well as an oral representation was made to the Museum to correct that mistake. It looks like we have to remind them again of the mistake and rectify the error on the family tree of Fakeh Muhamad Saleh or better known as Tuanku Tambusai.

27 comments:

jackfruitty said...

dato halimshah,

my grandfather came from pekanbaru. when i went there, on several occasions, i remembered a number of relations relation with a 'tambusai' family name. they are from rokan hulu (rohul). i checked with my mother about the 'tambusai' in our family and she said he was my great-great grandfather. my graet grandfather's name was abdul halim. i wonder if i am referring also to your 'tambusai'. i have no way of providing any evidence. incidentally, i'll be going to jakarta for my niece's (indonesian side)wedding on this coming june 15. i'll enquire more about the 'tambusai'.

hope to hear more from you about 'tambusai'.
the last time we met you were seated on a bench on second floor of One Utama, opposite the comics shop.

by the way i'm also a government retiree, last post as sec-gen youth and sport.

Kupang said...

Dear Mister Abdul Salim;

I am maintaining a website about the kerajaan2 Indonesia.My webmaster Ing. Ika Festiviana;now living in Bandar Lampung,is also a keturunan Tuanku Tambusai.
Yes,Tuanku Tambusai was Wahabite reformer in Tambusai and also for some time(begins from?)until 1838 Raja of Tambusai.
I am also interested to contact the original raja family of Tambusai,who ruled before 1830 and from 1838-ca. 1946,or later over this little principality.From 1838-ca. 1843 wandering around in the area,where Tambusai was lying.
In 1930 this statelett had ca. 3.200 inhabitants.

Kupang said...

Dear Sir;

My excuses,that I forgot something.My site to be seen at http://kerajaan-indonesia,.blogspot.com Thank you.

Hormat saya:
D.P. Tick gRMK

pusaka.tick@tiscali.nl

Kupang said...

Dear Sir;

My excuses for fault again.
My site is at(correct URL) at:
http://kerajaan-indonesia.blogspot.com

Homrmat saya:
DP Tick

an-nabaat said...

assalamu'alaikum..

salam muhibah..
gembira rasanya terjumpa blog dari keturunan tuanku tambusai, kami juga berasal dari dalu-dalu, tambusai..
kalau mungkin ada yg mengenali datuk kami anak cucu allahyarham datuk laksamana syakroni k.k di malaysia..

http://www.an-nabaat.blogspot.com/

Jari Basurek said...

Is Tuanku Tambusai Rao (Rawa)?

daddy's world said...

Salam to all saudara-mara and keturunan

For those who didnt know, Makam Tuanku Tambusai is just behind my parents house in Seremban, N9, Malaysia. Those who wanted to visit can always email me at nssac9@yahoo.com.


Me
6th generation of Tambusai

daddy's world said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Abu Naim said...

Assalamu'alaikum sir,

I am the fifth descendant of Tuanku Rao.

Alhamdulillah...

Unknown said...

Tuanku Tambusai ialah seorang Pahlawan Keturunan Mandailing .....bukan Rao..

abdulhalimshah said...

Sdr. Nasution,
Semasa saya menemui penulis buku "Tuanku Tambusai" iaitu Bapak Umar Ahmad Tambusai diPekan Baru pada tahun 2008, beliau memberitahu bahawa semasa usaha untuk mengangkatkan Tuanku Tambusai kepada Pemerintah untuk anugerah gelaran Pahlawan Nasional, beberapa seminar telah diadakan. Beberapa suku kaum disebelah Sumatera Utara juga menagku bahawa Tuanku Tambusai adalah daripada keturunan mereka. Secara ringkasnya, beliau dilahirkan diDalu Dalu dalam kecamatan Tambusai yang sekarang terletak diKabupaten Rokan Hulu. Saya telah menziarahi Benteng Tujuh Lapis dan kesan tapak peniggalan perjuangan beliau. Beliau adalah anak Propinsi Riau yang pertama menerima gelaran Pahlawan Nasional.

zaiba said...

Arwah datuk saya Awaludin b Kalam berasal dari Tembusai, nenek saya berasal dari Panai, moyang saya meninggal di kg.batu laut atau dipanggil kundang di selangor. Mengikut ceritanya moyang saya mengamalkan adat temenggong dari suku biduanda. Saya sebenarnya rasa keliru samaada saya ini berasal dari keturunan Tembusai.

Luth Hafidz said...

Salam Melayu... leluhur saya datang dari Rokan Hilir, Bagan Si Api Api... Datuk saya berkata Ayahnya iaitu Moyang saya Takin@Abdul Rahman dtg ke Melaka Bersama Ayahnya dn menetep d lubuk cina Melaka. Kemudian Moyang saya Takin@ Abdul Rahman berhijrah pula ke Sungai Buloh@Paya Jaras Selangor. D Paya Jaras moyang saya tinggal hingga ke akhir hayatny. Datuk berkata Ayahnya Takin@Abdul Rahman berasal dari Rokan Hilir berdarah Raja dr Tambusai. Di Rokan Hilir Moyang saya itu pula Berjiran & Bersahabat dgn Bapa kepada bekas menteri Besar Selangor Dato Harun Idris... Sebelum mereka berhijrah ke Malaya hingga akhir hayat mereka. Adik2 beradik datuk saya susuk tubuh n wajah mereka semua persis muka Arab... Jikalau sesiapa sudi berhubung email saya at luth.hafidz@gmail.com. salam

abdulhalimshah said...

Sdr. Zaiba dan Sdr. Luth,
Mereka yang berasal dpd Tambusai tiada menggunakan sistem suku seperti yang diamalkan oleh mereka dpd Adat Perpatih. Mereka yang berasal dpd Tambusai cuma dikenali sebagai Orang Tambusai.
Rokan Hilir ialah kabupaten yg bersebelahan dgn Rokan Hulu. Tuanku Tambusai bukan keturunan Raja Tambusai, tetapi anak kepada Maulana Kali, iaitu selaku Mufti sahaja.

Op 71 Hafiz Ali said...

I am not sure whether my late grandfather Haji Muhammad@Ahmad@Boyok was the eldest son of tuanku Tambusai who followed him to negeri sembilan after their defeat to the Dutch forces in 1838.
He marriead my late grandmother Rahah in Ampangan, Seremban sometimes in the late 1800 and my father Ali was born in 1921 being the youngest of 5 children. He moved to Bangi around 1923 where he owned quite a large plot of land which is still present until today dustibuted among his grandchildren.
It was a well kept secret that he was a prince of tuanku. Our grandmother would not divulge it even to our father.We knew it from stories from relatives..May be it was to survive from being hunted down by Dutch agents.
He died in Mecca around 1924..
Dr M Hafiz Ali. .0123669010

abdulhalimshah said...

Dear Hafiz Ali,
From the family tree which was prepared by an uncle of mine, Ghazali Amir Hamzah and used as reference by the family association known by as Badan Rumpun Keturunan Tuanku Tambusai or BERKAT for short, I could not find the name of your grandfather, Haji Muhammad@Ahmad@Boyok. The only son of Tuanku Tambusai was named Sulaiman as shown in the chart, and he formed the line of his descendants who settled in Setapak. The daughter of Tuanku Tambusai was Habibah who formed the lineage in Rasah, Seremban.If you need further information on the chart of the family tree, please get in touch with Abdul Rahman Hj Tahir who is the current President of BERKAT at the following address; artramal@yahoo.com or his mobile phone 019 3771437.
Thank You.

Op 71 Hafiz Ali said...

Thank you for your reply. We have still have distant relatives in Ampangan but not Rasah. .
What raised our interests was when my brother Professor Abdul Wahab Ali was visiting in Niemegan University in Holland he nade another Professor from Risu who drew the family tree of tuanku Tambusai with a ? mark on one son who could not be traced. We were just wondering whether Ahmad@Muhammad@Boyok was the one. We thought our late grandfather followed tuanku Tembusai to Seremban and lived incognito as a normal man to escaoe authorities detection.

abdulhalimshah said...

Dear Hafiz,
Your late grandfather could well be related to Tuanku Tambusai, Wallahuwa'lam. My father's relatives are still found in Ampangan and if Prof. Abd. Wahab Ali was once serving in Kementerian Pelajaran in the seventies, I could well have met him. I was in Kementerian Pelajaran from 1973 till 1982 when I served as an administrator in the Perkhidmatan Tadbir and Diplomatik (PTD). My grandfather's father was also by the name of Ahmad. However he was traced to the lineage of Habibah, who was Tuanku Tambusai's only daughter. It would be interesting if you could let me know the name of the Professor from Riau because my cousin who was a Professor in UPM also knew one Professor from Pekanbaru who is knowledgeable about the National hero of Indonesia. Do keep in touch.

Op 71 Hafiz Ali said...

Very interesting. My brother Professor A. Wahab Ali is 72 years old and is still living in Kampung Tengku P.J. He was a teacher who went to university of Malaya and later took up teaching to become Professor in Malay Studies. Before retiring he was made a visiting professors in Holland before taking up a post at University Sultan Idris Tg Malim.
I being the youngest son and 13 years junior to him, all the Tembusai stories was handed down to me by him.
I myself is a non literary or history person.
I am an ENT Surgeon practising in Subang jaya medical Centre since the last 18 years..

abdulhalimshah said...

Dear Hafiz,
Can you let me have your brother's email address and house address so I can do the homework whether he is the same person I knew when he was in Bahagian Sekolah Sekolah in Kementerian Pelajaran. I remember chatting with him and he did mention that he was from Ampangan. I was then in Higher Education Division which later developed to Higher Education Ministry but recently integrated back to Education Ministry.
Quite a number of education officers continued their service in UPSI and one of the education officer whom I met in Pittsburgh while he was doing his Doctorate became the first VC of UPSI. I would like to get in touch with Wahab if he is the person whom I knew before and it would be good to exchange information on Tuanku Tambusai. May Allah S.W.T. bestow His Mercies and Compassion to you.Wasallam.

Shaharuman Shahadan said...

Assalamualaikum semua, terutama sekali pengedali blog ini YBhg Dato Halim Shah.

Alhamdulillah, diketemukan juga saya dengan saudara-saudara semasa berdarah Tambusai dalam alam maya ini. Saya yang beketurunan Tambusai dari Arwah Datuk sebelah emak, selalu mengganggap bangsa Tambusai dari kalangan istimewa apabila dibesarkan dari cerita-cerita lisan yang disampaikan oleh Arwah Datu, Nenek dan Pak Cik-Pak Cik dan Mak Cik-Mak Cik saya.

Nama saya Shaharuman Bin Shahadan, lahir di Kampung Masjid, Pekan Bangi pada tahun 1949. Arwah Datuk saya tersebut ialah Lebai (Imam) Zakaria bin Tendan (meninggal 1972). Mungkin En. Hafiz Ali kenal akan keluarga kami jika beliau berasal dari Bangi. Arwah Nenek saya bernama Habibah Bte Khatib Ma'amor (meninggal 1974).

Lebai Zakaria anak Tambusai yang berhijrah ke Semenanjung di akhir abad ke-19/awal abad 20 (tak siapa yang tahu) dan datang ke Teras Jerenang sebelum berkampung di Bangi. This must have been a rather large migration, kerana kelompok yang datang itu bersebar di Jenderam, Teras Jerenang/Sg. Merab, Bangi, Kg. Balun (Slim River) dan Sempa (Behrang).

Lebai Zakaria menjadi Imam Masjid Bangi dari Tahun 1926 sehingga 1966, bila Arwah digantikan oleh anaknya Arwah Ustaz Ismail (Pak Ngah saya). Lebai Zakaria juga menjadi Ketua Kampung Mukim Bangi dari Tahun 1936-66.

Arwah Datuk saya adalah murid tua Sheikh Abd Wahab Rokan di Babusssalam, Langkat, yang juga adalah bapa saudaranya. Masa saya kecil, ada orang yang dating dari Langkat, Pasir Pengerayan dan Bagan Si-Api Api yang meminta Arwah pulang ke Rokan untuk menjadi guru (?). Masa itu saya rasa Sheikh Tajuddin yang menjadi Sheikh Naksyabbandiah di Tanjung Pura (katanya masih junior Arwah Datuk, wallahu a'alam). Saya ingat masa kecil saya telah di bawa berjumpa beberapa Khalifah-Khalifah Tareqat Naksyabandiah sepaerti di Kg. Sawah (Lukut), di Sg. Chinchin, Gombak, di Kundang (Batu Laut), dan beberapa tempat lagi saya tak ingat. Semua yang kami ketemui seakan menghormati kedatangan Arwah Datuk saya, tapi masa itu saya mana nak faham sangat.

Di Kundang saya masih ingat akan Opah Su Manah, suaminya seorang Ulamak Tareqat (nama saya dah lupa). Anaknya yang saya ingat dua orang sahaja, yang lelaki ada kedai gunting di Pekan Tanjung Sepat (Ramlan?) dan yang perempuan berkahwing dengan Pak Long Kabut dan tinggal di Bukit Changgang (dekat Dengkil). Mungki saudara Zaiba mengenali nama-nama yang saya sebut tadi, dan mungkin kita ada talian persaudaraan.

Berbalik kepada kisah Tambusai tadi, seakan-akan Arwah Datuk dan Nenek berhijrah ke Kolang (Semenanjung) dari Bagan Si-Api Api/Senoboi, bukan dari Ranah Tambusai (Rokan Hulu). Banyak cerita lisan yang saya dengar dari Pak Long Mahmud dan Pak Lang Daud pun semuanya menyebut tentang Bagan Si Api Api, dan Arwah Nenek mengatakan keluarga mereka bernekad mahu ke Kolang kerana tidah mahu dikuburkan dalam air bila mati nanti. (Memang Bagan Si Api Api dan Senonoi tu kawasan rawa dan high water table, membuatkan kuburan semuanya bergenang air.

Penyelidikan saya membuat saya percaya bahawa setelah Tuanku Tambusai dikalahkan oleh Belanda di Dalu-Dalu pada 12 Disember Tahun 1938 dan Baginda pergi ke Negeri Sembila denga beberapa pengikutnya, ramai juga saudara dan keturunan Tambusai yang tinggal setempat atau melarikan diri ke daerah lain, termasuk ke Kuala Sg Rokan (Bagan Si Api Api dan Pulau Senoboi), Pekan Baru, Duri dan seterusnya banyak juga yang dating ke Semenanjung.

Memang sudah sekian lama orang Tambusai sudah biasa dengan Kolang, berniaga dan juga berperang (termasuk menyokong puak Siak dalam Perang Saudara Selangor). The migration to Malaya then was just a final and inadvertent gesture of defiance (and survival) against Dutch persecution (including oppressive laws like Cukai Kepala, etc.) and almost all have taken an oath never to return.

Assalamualaikum WBT.

Shah

abdulhalimshah said...

Waalaykummusalam Sdr Shah,

Dalam Islam, kita semuanya bersaudara. Apa jua jurai keterunun yang dikaji, ianya untuk pengetahuan anak cucu cicit supaya mereka tahu dari mana akar umbi mereka, tidak lebih dari itu. Terima kasih kerana memberikan huraian panjanag lebar tentang taburan Orang dpd Tambusai diSemenanjung, yg sememangnya dalam pengetahuan saya, cuma belum ketemu saja. InshaAllah, suatu hari bila ada kelapangan kita berjumpa dan bercerita dgn lebih terperinci lagi.

abdulhalimshah said...

Waalaykummusalam Sdr Shah,

Dalam Islam, kita semuanya bersaudara. Apa jua jurai keterunun yang dikaji, ianya untuk pengetahuan anak cucu cicit supaya mereka tahu dari mana akar umbi mereka, tidak lebih dari itu. Terima kasih kerana memberikan huraian panjanag lebar tentang taburan Orang dpd Tambusai diSemenanjung, yg sememangnya dalam pengetahuan saya, cuma belum ketemu saja. InshaAllah, suatu hari bila ada kelapangan kita berjumpa dan bercerita dgn lebih terperinci lagi.

gorilla said...

Asm Dato',
Menyusun jari mohon kemaafan sekiranya pertanyaan kita ni menimbulkan perasaan yang kurang menyenangkan. Ingin ditanya 'apakah hubungan Dato' dengan marhum Tuanku Tambusai?. Setahu kita, marhum adalahlah moyang kepada salah seorang dari mamak kita dan ada kemungkinankah kita dr susurgaluh yang sama?

Zul Dato' Tahir

abdulhalimshah said...

Waalaykumsalam gorilla,

Please leave me your full name and email address so that I can respond. My grandfather and grandmother were cousins and descended from the five families that form the lineage traced to Almarhum Fakeh Hj Muhammad Salleh @ Tuanku Tambusai.

Op 71 Hafiz Ali said...

awahabali1941@yahoo.com

abdulhalimshah said...

Dear Hafiz,
Thank you for your response. I will contact him via email.