PERANG : MALAY WARFARE DURING THE MALACCAN SULTANATE

Abstract

Often times, the attention on wars have focussed on the atrocities and the social drama. However, the study of wars may offer greater insight towards an understanding of a society. Although wars are basically political events with economic objectives, it cannot be divorced totally from its sociological influences. Hence, this study aims to expound such an interplay between the traditional concepts of daulat and derhaka and its influence on wars conducted during the Malacca's golden phase in the fifteenth century. By considering such a worldview, it would facilitate a more accurate understanding of the unique features of Malay warfare. The study also represents a documentative effort to outline the political conditions of the period in particular the state of Malacca's foreign affairs. However, not to be undermined are the effects of the system of law and order and the social mindset of the masses that had contributed to Malacca's performance in war. These factors would aid an understanding of Malacca' s rapid rise to dominance and its equally expeditious downfall in the hands of the Portuguese. Unlike the wars before, there is little atrocity to be recounted here but the social and political issues remain central. In conclusion, wars are often swift events that signal rapid winds of change but their memory leaves a greater trail from which we may hope to understand, in this case, about Malays and their social history.