In the heart of the lazy town of Merbok in the state of Kedah, Malaysia, hidden amongst the Mountains of Jerai and an hour’s journey by road from Penang, you will be amazed by the wonders of the earliest civilizations unearthed in that country.
Some of the archaeological collections, housed in a reasonably well-maintained museum and its surroundings, which serve as evidence to the existence of a vibrant Indian civilization from the 3rd to the 14th century AD, have been found. Interestingly, Bujang Valley was also known as Nusantara, ‘seat of all felicities’ and was once the bustling centre of a prosperous civilization. The word “Bujang” in modern Malay Language means bachelor but the proper spelling is actually in Sanskrit, “Bhujanga”. Although this Sanskrit word “Bhujanga” actually means Cobra but in Malaysian historical records it is equated to “dragon”, probably drawing from Chinese influence.
Most Malaysians and visitors consider Malacca and Penang as historical sites but few have even heard of Bujang Valley. Malacca/ Penang, which has a history of barely a few centuries, are given their due importance but Bujang Valley, dating to a much earlier era, is completely forgotten or overlooked.
Candi Bukit Batu Pahat (Candi pronounced as ‘Chandi”), one of the largest monuments in Lembah Bujang, now survives only as an assemblage of its ruins.
Candi Bukit Batu Pahat is situated on the west of Sungai Batu Pahat, about 3 km north of Kampung Sungai Merbok. Among the remains of this temple is the Siva Candi with a 66- pillar base of wooden poles. It is believed that this monument was made of wood besides granite stones. However, all the wooden poles and roof have deteriorated over the years and do not exist anymore.
Archaeological research in Lembah Bujang was initiated in 1840 by colonial researchers and was taken over completely by local researchers during the 1970s. In 1864, Colonel James Low started carrying out research in Lembah Bujang. At the start of the 20th century, two quantity surveyors found the remains of a temple at the peak of Gunung Jerai. From 1920 to 1930 I.H.N. Evans carried out research in Lembah Bujang.
H.G.Quaritch Wales and his wife Dorothy discovered 30 Candi sites, 29 situated in Lembah Bujang and one in Seberang Prai during the period of 1938-39. Alastair Lamb excavated and reconstructed Bukit Batu Pahat (Site 8) in the late 1950s. In 1961 Paul Wheatley also carried out research on the historical development of Lembah Bujang. In early 1970s many local archaeologists continued research on these discoveries.
Malaysian archaeologists have further unearthed a 1,900-year-old monument built with detailed geometrical precision, possible for sun-worshipping by a lost civilization of the Bujang Valley.
The astonishing find at a palm oil estate in Sungai Batu, Kedah, is the oldest man-made a structure to be recorded in South East Asia. Made of clay bricks, the monument, which was built before 110 AD, is bound to rewrite current understanding of the region’s early history, as it points to an advanced culture pre-dating many Indianised kingdoms in South East Asia. The precision suggests that the management system of the civilization that lived here was very advanced. With its layers of perfect squares and circles, it appears to be a sundial.
It is be noted that the structure was built to point in the direction of Gunung Jerai (Kedah Peak), the highest mountain in northern Malaysia, where many Bujang valley artefacts, more recent in age, have been found over the last forty years.
The nine other structures already unearthed in Sungai Batu over the period include two ancient jetties and two iron smelting workshops.
Although the monument’s design is distinctive, it suggests cosmological worship similar to what is seen in structures such as Incan Sun temple in Machu Pichu, Peru, the Mayan temples of Central America and Stonehenge in England.
Also found with the monument were various pottery placed ceremoniously around, and a Buddhist tablet with Pallava Sanskrit inscriptions that are likely to have been made later in the 5th century.
All these historical excavations and facts that have come to light, lead to the conclusion that Indians brought Hinduism to this land as early as 1st century AD.
