Dear Blog, (warning: long blog up ahead. it's about my family, so it's totally fine if you don't wanna read it)
Do you know how blessed I feel? To be able to acknowledge your ancestors and to be acquainted with both close and distant relatives?
2 days ago, my family and I were invited by
Uncle Wan Ega to attend a family hi-tea at De Palma Hotel, Shah Alam. I thought it was some kinda small family gathering or party...or whatever. Then I heard from Mommy that our Johor relatives were attending too. It seemed like a big deal. So, after my futsal tournament I rushed straight home, got ready and we were on our way.
On the way to the hotel, Mommy and Uncle E answered some questions that were asked by...well, Jenna, Ritz and me. The questions that came to mind were:
"
What's going on??"
"
What family gathering is this??"
"
Do we have to go??"
...Yes, we had to go.
They answered our questions of course. We were told that it was a family gathering, a small assembly of
Y.M. Al-Marhum Engku Ibrahim Ibni Engku Idris Paduka Tuan's descendants.
"Engku who?"
Turns out, they didn't know too. So, we had to wait and see what all this fuss was about.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by the usual familiar faces, Tok Tun, Aunty Wan Melissa and Aunty Wan Shahirah. Not to mention our Johor relatives and Aunty Oki was waving at us from inside the ballroom hall. Other than that, there were also many UNfamiliar faces. We had to register outside at the registration counter for attendance purposes and was approached to buy a few books - books about our "ancestors", researched by
Tun Suzana Tun Othman - another one of our distant relatives and author of
Ahlul Bait Rasulullah SAW and
Kesultanan Melayu.
We bought the book
Ahlul Bait Rasulullah SAW because Tok Tun said that our ancestors' names are in there. Mommy approached Tun Suzana Tun Othman for an autograph and a picture was taken at the end of the function.
Behind the registration counter was a full list of names, arranged in a flowchart pattern. I took a picture and I made a more...errr...colourful one. I only included the ones that had close relations to my immediate family because if I were to include EVERYONE...it would never fit, trust me. So, I'm sorry if you're spose to be in it but I didn't include you.
The day went on and it got more and more interesting. We were introduced to the big family, here and there, they're everywhere - most of which begin with the title "Wan". (The title ended for my family unfortunately after Tok Mum married Tok Wan, coz he doesn't own a title hehe. But we love him still no matter what!) Most of them were given names similar to some of our ancestors and were pretty much repetitive through-out the generations (names such as Wan Mariam, Wan Fatimah, Wan Ibrahim, etc.).
This family gathering was organized by the
Persatuan Waris Temenggong Muar (PEWARIS), an organization dedicated to
mengeratkan silaturrahim antara all the
pewaris.
For more info, you can visit their official website by clicking
hereI don't really know the family ties, but I guess it's stated there at the website. We're just a lil too far down the line to even know where we actually come from. But it's nice to know that this family originates from a well-respected line of people.
Tok Mum and Mak Lang did tell me a few stories about
Y.M. Wan Mohamad (
Tok Jantan @ Mommy's grandfather).
(I am willing to share this story if you are willing to read)
They told me that when he was still alive, they noticed that
the people of Segamat referred to him as "Engku" and the people acknowledged themselves as "patik" in respect when speaking to him. That only applies to those who know of his background unfortunately.
Tok Jantan's father or Tok Mum's grandfather -
Y.M. Engku Ibrahim @ Wan Hitam was a brave warrior during the Muar power grab. However, he was finally caught and imprisoned. Stories that were told stated that prior to his capture, he had heard music - a very strange, voo-doo-ish tune that was recognized to be of Thai origin. He then felt weak and wasn't able to control his actions and therefore surrendered. He was the first in this family line to call himself a "
Wan", a title that was given to himself after being shamefully imprisoned, even with a royal background. No one knows what happened to him ever since - how he died, where he was buried, etc.
Therefore, starting from
Wan Hitam (Tok Mum's grandfather), our families began passing the title "Wan" for generations and generations when they should've been called "Engku" instead. That title isn't possible to be carried by our family however, for the current royal descendants of Johor are in no relation to us whatsoever.
During the Japanese invasion, Tok Mum was forced to marry one of her distant cousins - Wan Abdul Aziz. This was to avoid unnecessary affairs with the Japanese forces. After that, they divorced because Tok Mum thought it wasn't necessary anymore as soon as the invasion ended. The decision made had disappointed some of her other relatives, though they couldn't do anything about it already.Years later, she worked at an office for the government and she had met with
Ariffin bin Asha'ari - Tok Wan. They fell in love of course, and got married =)
Since she married a man with no title, her children were to be called
Megat (boys) or
Puteri (girls). But she decided against it thinking that the family line is history. So from then on, the descendants of Y.M. Engku Ibrahim on my family's side lived like normal human beings. (So....I could've been
Puteri Farah Lyna Darwin?? Eeeee,
tak sedap langsung).
.a happily ever after ending, l e n a.
p/s: now do you believe it Anwar and Sarah?? I believe, I believe. Got the family-tree scrolls to prove it.
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Getting ready to meet with our beloved, yet garang Supervisor, Dr. Rahana.
