An Armenian Source on Medieval Sumatra/Srivijaya
There aren’t many Eastern Christian sources on ancient Indo-Malaysia/Nusantara, but there’s no reason to neglect them nor to believe that they’re less valuable than Marco Polo. In…
Tag: Malay
An Armenian Source on Medieval Sumatra/Srivijaya
There aren't many Eastern Christian sources on ancient Indo-Malaysia/Nusantara, but there's no reason to neglect them nor to believe that they're less valuable than Marco Polo. In…
An Armenian Source on Medieval Sumatra/Srivijaya
There aren’t many Eastern Christian sources on ancient Indo-Malaysia/Nusantara, but there’s no reason to neglect them nor to believe that they’re less valuable than Marco Polo. In…
Ralph Fitch on Malays
Ralph Fitch was one of the first English people to visit Melaka in the late sixteenth century. His plan had been to voyage further east by sea,…
Ralph Fitch on Malays
Ralph Fitch was one of the first English people to visit Melaka in the late sixteenth century. His plan had been to voyage further east by sea,…
Ralph Fitch on Malays
Ralph Fitch was one of the first English people to visit Melaka in the late sixteenth century. His plan had been to voyage further east by sea,…
Artillery in Melaka, 1511 CE
In 1511, a Portuguese force under Afonso de Albuquerque successfully invaded the city-state of Melaka on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. At the time, Melaka…
Artillery in Melaka, 1511 CE
In 1511, a Portuguese force under Afonso de Albuquerque successfully invaded the city-state of Melaka on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. At the time, Melaka…
Artillery in Melaka, 1511 CE
In 1511, a Portuguese force under Afonso de Albuquerque successfully invaded the city-state of Melaka on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. At the time, Melaka…
‘Lamori’ & ‘Lamuri’
A short while ago, I wrote that Odoric of Pordenone’s name for the north of Sumatra, Lamori, came from the Arabic al-Rāmnī, a name commonly given to…
‘Lamori’ & ‘Lamuri’
A short while ago, I wrote that Odoric of Pordenone's name for the north of Sumatra, Lamori, came from the Arabic al-Rāmnī, a name commonly given to…
‘Lamori’ & ‘Lamuri’
A short while ago, I wrote that Odoric of Pordenone’s name for the north of Sumatra, Lamori, came from the Arabic al-Rāmnī, a name commonly given to…
Polo & Odoric on the Pole Star
One of the many marvels noted by both Odoric of Pordenone and Marco Polo is the disappearance of the north star, presumably Polaris (α Ursae Minoris), when…
Polo & Odoric on the Pole Star
One of the many marvels noted by both Odoric of Pordenone and Marco Polo is the disappearance of the north star, presumably Polaris (α Ursae Minoris), when…
Polo & Odoric on the Pole Star
One of the many marvels noted by both Odoric of Pordenone and Marco Polo is the disappearance of the north star, presumably Polaris (α Ursae Minoris), when…
De’ Conti on the Durian
Yesterday I said that Niccolo de' Conti was perhaps the first European to write about the durian (Durio sp.), a fruit native to the Malay Archipelago and…
Niccolò de’ Conti on Malays
Niccolò de' Conti was a fifteenth-century Italian traveller who visited parts of what is now Indonesia, including, apparently, Badan, probably meaning 'Banda', the small archipelago …
The way value inheres: Yolŋu riŋgitj and its relationship to Malay ‘ringgit’
Munggurrawuy Yunupingu, Port of Macassar, 1947. There are many loan words from Malay and other Austronesian languages in the Yolŋu languages of east Arnhem Land (see…
The way value inheres: Yolŋu riŋgitj and its relationship to Malay ‘ringgit’
Munggurrawuy Yunupingu, Port of Macassar, 1947. There are many loan words from Malay and other Austronesian languages in the Yolŋu languages of east Arnhem Land (see…
‘Colloquial Malay’
I bought Colloquial Malay, the book I'm using to study Jawi, for £3 at a second-hand bookshop in Oxford. I want to say a few words about it…
Jawi Script
I'm learning classical Malay (that is to say, the language used in Melaka and the Malay world at the time of the Portuguese conquest) and I'm starting with…