Walaupun tidak sehebat isu 'Raja Melewar dikatakan berasal dari Rao... (ramai yang bertegang leher mengenai isu ini) timbul pula kenyataan 'Tuanku Rao dan Tuanku Tambusai adalah dari keturunan Mandailing...;
HISTORICAL TRANSFORMATION OF INDIGENOUS LEADERSHIP: ISLAMIZATION, MIGRATION AND COLONIALSM
THE IMPACT OF THE PADRI WAR
The coming of Islam to Mandailing brought with it many values of the universal religion and global culture. The Mandailings were first in contact with Muslim traders from the East and West coast of Sumatra. More significantly however, Mandailing society was historically transformed by a radical brand of Islam - Wahabbite Islam brought by Padris in their white garb.
In 1820, the Padris invaded the Mandailing homeland. The socio-economic, political, ecological, environmental and spiritual disruption caused by the war no doubt triggered movements of people within and around Mandailing. Indeed the most important exodus of Mandailing migration from the Mandailing homeland in Sumatra to the west coast of the Peninsula was during and after the Padri War (1816-1833).
The Mandailings served as commanders and troops on both sides of the war. Two famous Padris of Mandailing origin were Tuanku Rao and Tuanku Tambusai, whose nickname was Si Harimau Padri (The Padri Tiger). The anti-Padri and pro-adat faction was led by Patuan Naga dan Raja Gadombang.
For about a decade Mandailing was under Padri domination. Governance was exercised by a Padri appointed kali (originally Qadi, Arabic for 'judge'), many of whom were originally Minangkabau before the Mandailing kali took over. Through these kalis (ulama) some of whom were the namora-mora (plural for rajas) themselves, Islamic value were incorporated into the institution of Namora Natoras.
While Padri domination had 'greatly modified the power structure, there was no tendency for states to consolidate. In many territories power seemed to be almost equally divided between several branches of the ruling lineage'. Many of the namora-mora weathered the storm and when peace was restored, the established clans tried to reassert their rights. Some of the rajas were reinstated.
The Padri episode was one in a series of historical incursions by Minangkabau into the Mandailing homeland, and it was during this time that many Mandailings came to Islam at the point of the sword. As it turn out the interpretation and application of Islam in Mandailing is very different from that of the Minangkabau. The Minangs are matrilineal and adopt a position of custom based on Islamic law (adat basandi syarak), the Mandailings are partilineal and adopt a position of adat on par with Islamic law. This is reflected in the maxim ombar do adat ugamo (adat berdampingan agama), that is the adat in proximity with Islamic law.
The latter understanding is closer to the Madinan tradition (amal of Madina) than to the Shaf'ie madhhab (school of thought) dominant today in the Peninsula and the Indonesia archipelago. In the Madinan tradition, local custom (urf) is regarded as part of public benefit or public good to be encouraged so long as it does not go against Islamic law. The challenge of traditional Mandailing leadership is to retain this historically unique way of maintaining and reconciling their traditional customs with their new found religion in the face of globalized modernist Wahhabite (Arab)-Islam and regional Malay Islam.
MIGRATION & DISPERSION OF MANDAILING POPULATION TO THE PENINSULA
The Mandailings have been going to Klang (pai Kolang) in the west coast of the Peninsula 'berabad-abad lamanya' (for centuries). 'Ompu Kolang' - forefathers from Klang, Selangor are still within memory of the Mandailings in Sumatra. The mass migration of Mandailings to Klang and other parts of the Peninsula preceeded any substantial migration of Mandailings to the east coast of Sumatra in particular Tanah Deli (around Medan today) which only occurred towards the end of the 19th century.
In keeping with the tradition in Sumatra, the Namora Natoras have been know to 'merantau whole clans at the same time under united command', leading a band of followers to a new site. Unlike Chinese arrivals who consisted mainly of single male migrants, many Mandailing migrants brought with them their relations (kahanggi), including womenfolk and children. They migrated not as a single clan but accompanied by the corresponding 'wife-giving' and 'wife-taking' clans. For example, the Nasution clan would migrate jointly with the Lubis and the Rangkuti clans.
Through chain migration, the Mandailing became a recognizable social group in the Peninsula by 1860s, engaging in mining, trading, mercenary activities, and economic and political mediation. The arrival of large groups of Mandailing caused shock waves and changed the political and socio-economic landscape of the Peninsula, the effects of which can be felt to this day.
In 19th century Peninsula, the Mandailings were embroiled in the Rawa War of 1848; the Pahang War (1857-63); the Selangor War better known to the Mandailings as 'Porang Kolang' (1867-73) and the Perak War (1875-6). Inadvertently, the Mandailings in the Peninsula were feared and held with suspicion, gaining a notorious reputation as trouble makers, rebels and insurgents, a stigma inherited by the Mandailings to this day. The distribution of the Mandailing community in the west coast states of the Peninsula can be traced back to their dispersion as a result of these wars.
The Mandailings who found themselves fighting against the proxies of the British in the Pahang and Selangor Wars, made a strategic decision to change sides and became allies of the British in Perak They served as storm troopers and bounty hunters of the British in the 'Perak War'.
Having undergone 30 years of war in the Peninsula, the Mandailing chose the wining side in Perak. They accepted British sovereignty and were rewarded with mines, lands and positions as tax-collectors. In contrast to their previous unsettled existence, they now founded settlements (buka negeri) and became rubber and coffee cultivators. From then on, the Mandailings were incorporated into the British civil service as administrators, policemen, foresters etc. They assimilated into Malayan society, accepting colonial polices of political-economic functions of the various ethnic migrant groups.
What is most striking about the Mandailing migration in the 19th century is the fact that they were largely led by the Namora Natoras, who fled their troubled homeland. Most notable amongst them were Raja Asal, Raja Bilah, Sutan Puasa, Raja Brayun, Barnang, Raja Othman, Raja Ira, Samaripun, Imam Perang Raja Berungun, Imam Peri Seri Handalan, Panglima Raja, Panglima Muda Segara, Imam Perang Sebaghdad, Panglima Muda, Imam Perang Malim, and countless others. Many of the Mandailings in Malaysia today are descended from these earlier migrants; the author being one of them. In the Peninsula, the family of Raja Asal provided leadership to the Mandailing people for more than a century, from 1840 to 1945. Raja Asal was succeeded by his nephew and adopted son, Raja Bilah. In turn, Raja Bilah was succeeded by his son, Raja Ya'qub....
Petikan - http://www.mandailing.org/mandailinge/columns/autonomy.htm
BAGAIMANA PANDANGAN KALIAN, URANG2 RAO ?
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