Carang: Not a Zombie of History
Historians are not tasked with reviving historical corpses like mindless Zombies, wandering aimlessly, devouring thoughts without reason. Historians are not Voodoo priests, raising the dead to stagger grotesquely, faces torn, an eerie blend of horror and absurdity. If history were merely such, let it remain buried, for it would never deserve a place in today’s civilization. The critical point is this: Zombies have no will of their own—they are always under the control of the Necromancer.
In The Mummy Returns, High Priest Imhotep is resurrected from his sarcophagus after an incantation from the Book of the Dead is recited. Initially nothing but bandaged bones, he transforms into a full-bodied figure, even mightier than when he lived in 1290 BCE. If history could be revived as perfectly as Imhotep, then let us rejoice.
But, sadly, what we read today is merely fragmented, subjective recollections—an anthology of royal glorifications, recorded by “state-sponsored poets” of the past. From this alone, history is exposed as a biased mosaic, perhaps because the struggles of the common people were deemed unworthy of remembrance.
Historical texts should not be proclaimed as pars pro toto—small fragments taken to represent the whole. But whatever the case, the historical manuscripts we have must be embraced, for they are the only means to traverse the corridors of time. Through them, we gain perspectives on the past.
History cannot stand alone—it must walk hand in hand with philosophy. History is empirical textual memory—at least when its writers resist contaminating it with imagination, myths, or personal ego—whereas philosophy dictates logical, analytical thought. Together, these two disciplines form a powerful synergy for solving contemporary issues.
We look to the past to explain and even justify the present. History helps trace the roots of identity and provides a compass for the future. This expectation is part of history’s social function: organizing the past in service of the present.
Philosophy, in turn, injects critical thinking at every historical juncture, urging reflection within the relevant context. This ensures that history remains a source of living wisdom, not just a relic of the past.
The word “philosophy” stems from philo (love) and sophos (wisdom). Thus, it literally means the love of wisdom. In Arabic, falsafah originates from the Greek philosophia, denoting a deep passion for knowledge and truth. A philosopher actively places knowledge and wisdom at the center of their pursuits.
Meanwhile, the Arabic word for history, tarikh, means tree—an apt analogy. Just as a tree grows from a tiny seed into a vast, interconnected organism, civilization follows a similar trajectory. To grasp history’s deeper messages, one must learn to interpret its unseen layers.
From another perspective, the philosophy of history seeks to integrate various fields of knowledge with human experience. The focus here is not merely research methodology, as in analytical philosophy, but rather the synthesis of knowledge to extract a comprehensive understanding of life’s essential meaning.
Sungai Carang is a legacy worthy of celebration. It demands reverence, tracing its path with a primordial pulse that cannot be denied. It belongs in the same league as the great rivers of ancient civilization—the Euphrates and Tigris of Mesopotamia, the Nile of Egypt, the Indus of South Asia, and the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers of China.
Ancient civilizations flourished along rivers, drawing strength from their waters to build agrarian societies. Carang, however, was more than just agrarian—it was also maritime. It married agriculture with seafaring trade, sailing across the world, admired by all.
Three centuries ago, Sultan Abdul Jalil Syah III envisioned Sungai Carang as a satellite city of the Johor-Riau Sultanate. Yet, Laksamana Tun Abdul Jamil surpassed the royal expectations—Carang became a bustling international port, so influential that the seat of power shifted to Hulu Riau.
It was as if Carang sought to reclaim the golden age of Bintan, the heart of the Bentan kingdom, which predated the Sang Sapurba dynasty by over 300 years. Pulau Biram Dewa then emerged as the pinnacle of Malay civilization.
Now, 300 years later, Carang lies silent, wounded by bauxite exploitation. Its history, once vibrant, has faded into urban legend, myth, bedtime story, or even the sarcastic laughter of skeptics.
History often reaches an empirical dead-end, but philosophy refuses to remain at the surface. Philosophy digs beneath the layers, uncovering truths beyond mere verification. It embraces theology, metaphysics, cosmology, and psychology to reconstruct a deeper narrative.
One local genius, Rida K Liamsi, deserves recognition for initiating the Festival Sungai Carang. This marks a crucial starting point in reconstructing Carang’s legacy—ushering in its third phase of glory. In this future vision, Carang must flourish for all, ensuring equal opportunity, even affirmative action, so that the marginalized are no longer mere footnotes in history.
We must stand at the crossroads of Carang’s destruction, shaped by the tides of the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca. Without a philosophical lens that examines causality, we risk repeating the same cycle of destruction—even as we attempt to rebuild its historical replica from nothing.
One must acknowledge that Carang’s pride was once a cosmic dance of royal bloodlines entwined with imperialism—a kingdom levying taxes while allowing colonial powers to oppress its people. Resistance only arose when colonialism revealed its true nature: a parasitic force that broke its promises.
Imperialism and neoliberalism will always sink their claws into history, seducing the nation’s elite in exchange for concessions. Thus, we must abandon our permissive mindset, our excessive politeness that blinds us to our own past subjugation. It is time to reject superficial, fragmented, and oversimplified historical discussions that fail to plant new, stronger trees under which all can find refuge.
If, in the end, Carang’s future is reduced to a playground for Singaporean yachts—a mere maritime capitalism zone that marginalizes the people—then the history we resurrect is nothing more than a mindless Zombie, devouring thoughts without meaning. ~
By Muhammad Natsir Tahar
From Ontology of the Echoing Bells of Sungai Carang
Published by Yayasan Jembia Emas
