Monday June 22, 2009
A look at the colourful history of racial slurs in our multi-ethnic society.
THE High Court’s recent dismissal of an Indian Muslim association’s appeal to remove the word keling from the Kamus Dewan has stirred up strong sentiments over the issue.
The Selangor and Federal Territory Angkatan Pelapor India Muslim (Apim) chairman Ramli Abdullah holding up the fourth edition of the Kamus Dewan which no longer states that the word ‘keling’ was an impolite word to describe those from south India. Apim will continue their bid to have the word ‘keling’ removed from the dictionary.
Ramli Abdullah, chairman of the Selangor and Federal Territory Angkatan Pelapor India Muslim, reiterated the importance of removing the “derogatory, humilating and insulting” word from the Malay dictionary.
So how did such a “bad” word find its way into the local lingo?
When asked the origin of the word keling, some people surprisingly came up with this common belief: “The cowherds back then were Indians and you could hear the cattle approaching because of the bell on the cows’ necks making the ‘clink, clink’ sound. And that’s how the word came to be synonymous with Indians.”
There’s also another undocumented version of how Indian girls, especially dancers, wore anklets which produced the clinking sound and this eventually became identified with that particular community.
Academic and historical references to the origins of keling point to the Kalinga kingdom in India. Malay historical annals in the 15th century made references to the people of Kalinga which exerted cultural and economic influence over South-East Asia. The term keling later evolved to include anyone originating from the South of India.
It is very likely then that keling is the localised term for people from Kalinga. An innocent enough genesis and nothing anyone of Indian origin ought to be upset over, one may suppose. But at some point, the term keling degenerated into a racial slur and took on an offensive edge, with some people even claiming that the word now has an additional connotation – “coarse”, as in coarse in looks and character!
It did not help that uncomplimentary phrases spun around the word found their way into the Malay language. Metaphors like janji keling (empty promises or lies), lidah keling (penchant for twisting facts) and akal keling (deceptive) are enough to upset any community that is implicated.
As with any multiracial society, racial inferences are likely to crop up. So it is not surprising that local terms such as kenal-kenal Cina (implying shallow acquaintance) and Cina buta (a man whom a thrice-divorced Muslim woman must marry then divorce, before she can remarry the first husband) can be found in the Kamus Dewan.
Other unflattering terms for the Chinese include mata sepet (slit eyes) and apek (Hokkien for old man).
For some reason both communities are perceived to be a noisy lot, hence the terms keling karam and cina karam which means a person who makes unnecessary noise. Where that came from is anybody’s guess.
Chinks in the armour
Racism being universal, no group is spared.
China referring to itself as the “Middle Kingdom” since its early civilisation indicates an arrogant attitude, in that China was the centre of civilisation and all territories beyond its borders were populated by barbarians. Hence the moniker gwei (devil) for foreigners, as in hong moh kwei (Cantonese for red-haired devil, in reference to Caucasians) or hak gwei (black devil, referring to the blacks).
Illustration of a man, with the caption ‘A Kling’, from The Golden Chersonese And The Way Thither (1883) by Isabella L. Bird Bishop. Golden Chersonese is the ancient name for the Malay Peninsula.
The Tamils have their own terms, such as natakaran (people of the country) for the Malays, and sadaiyan (pigtail, alluding to the Qing Dynasty hairstyle sported by men who arrived here from China in the early 20th century) for the Chinese.
Eurasians of Portuguese heritage are on the receiving end of the racial epithet grago, which refers to a small shrimp and connotes that the person alluded to is insignificant. Others think it refers to the Portuguese being small-time fishermen who are unworthy of respect.
The Sikhs have to contend with the pejorative bayee. The word originated from the Punjabi/Hindi word bhai, meaning brother, and is used by people from Northern India when greeting one another.
The Sikhs are offended when they are hailed as bhai because they do not like the tone and manner in which the word is used. But what really gets their goat is when they are commonly and erroneously referred to as Benggalis. A Benggali is one who hails from the state of Bengal in East India or Bangladesh, whereas Sikhs come from Punjab in West India or Pakistan.
In Sabah and Sarawak the various communities there seem to integrate much better than anywhere else in Malaysia; little wonder that they are not impressed by the racial relations track record of the Peninsula and disdainfully refer to the people across the South China Sea as orang Malaya (Malayans). Then again, this term could be an old reference dating back to the time before Sabah and Sarawak joined Malaya to form Malaysia in 1963.
But even in these relatively harmonious states there exist racist undertones. In Sarawak there is the very derogatory term la kia (Hokkien for barbaric child though some claim it means native) to refer to the Dayaks.
And there are groups from the Peninsula who equate Dayak as a disparaging term. But the Dayak (which means people) themselves are proud of the term. So they were furious when one of their own, Rural and Regional Development Deputy Minister Joseph Entulu Belaun recently allegedly suggested that the term be dropped due to its supposed negative connotation. Entulu later claimed he was misquoted.
Sabahans are vexed over the large number of illegal immigrants in the state and are upset that many even have ICs, but it’s the Filipino groups from Mindanao that raise their ire. Their derogatory term for them is pilak (which is the currency of the Suluk tribe of the Sulu Achipelago).
As the term has become overused, a newer one has emerged – kumpit in reference to a boat that resembles the ones that bring the illegals to the shores of Sabah.
There are also derogatory terms like dogo (Kadazan) and pakkampong (Bajau) but their meaning and origins are unclear.
And for those who think they are above racial insults, look at how the orang asli are being viewed. Have you not heard Jakun or sakai being used to disparage someone who is regarded as backward and uncivilised?
So there you are. However innocent a word may appear, as long as it is used offensively by groups and with regularity, there is no defence for its usage. So be kind with your words.
Information sourced from various websites, blogs and forums.
Source: Click HERE
Related entries: Wikipedia
Picture: North African Dish Chicken with Green Olives
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