“how I got captivated with Kelantan”
Kelantan, a place rich with history. It also has cultural links with Patani in Southern Thailand. I felt that it would be a waste to deny the existence of diverse traditional customs - the kite or the wau, language, race and ethnic community or popularly known as Kelantanese, silver and silk weaving, songket, the martial arts of self-defense, ulamas, huge lands surrounded by dusuns and crops, village houses, sacred history, men wearing kupiah, theatrical performances from Thailand or the Menora, the puppet shadow play or wayang kulit and the wakafs which can be seen on most roadsides - (kind of R & R) for us to rest a while after a long journey.
The history of ancient Kelantan monarchy is unique as it goes back to the times of women's ruling by the names of Che Sitti Wan Kembang and Puteri Saadong - fascinates me! They potray Kelantan as symbols of serenity and beauty of women. Kelantan is also known as one of the principal centres of Malay publication in Peninsula. The people is known to be religious and also strong supporters to the local politics.
Todate, this rich culture is still being adopted and well-maintained. Ironically, Kelantan seems to have almost been neglected. As an 'outsider', I strongly feel that - in our hands lie the sentimental responsibilities to sustain the nature of its history and traditional cultures. The subjects must always be discussed and actioned. Only the people of Kelantan themselves, some are well-known to us have done a lot of effort to rediscover the original features and their directions and contribute back to their state. It does not offer us merely its wayang kulit or makyong, in fact, it covers the whole history and sociology.
In next edition, I will be sharing with you my first experience here.
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