KELANTAN HISTORY

Kelantan

Traces of hunting and gathering activities in rock shelters dating back to what archaeologists refer to as the ´Hoabinhian´ period have been discovered at Gua Cha and Gua Musang in inland Kelantan. These caves were occupied by Hoabinhians between about 10,000 and 3,000 B.C. The Hoabinhian are named after cave sites in northern Vietnam. In later times, Kelantan came under the sway of the first great power in Southeast Asian history - the Empire of Funan. Farming methods used in Kelantan today are believed to have their origins in Funan, as do the ever-popular Wayang Kulit shadow play and local weaving techniques. Kelantan was at this time variously referred to as "Ho - Lo - Tan", "Chih - Tu" and "Tan - Tan". By the mid-7th Century a new maritime power, Srivijaya, had emerged, and Kelantan soon became a vassal of this Sumatran empire. Upon the demise of this power, it paid homage to the Siamese, an arrangement that was to last until the emergence of the new Malacca Sultanate in the 15th Century. With the demise of this sultanate, Kelantan was ruled first by ohore in the 17th Century, and later by Terengganu in the 18th Century. By the early 1800s, Kelantan was easily one of the most populous and prosperous States in Malaya. This was due to largely to the fact that, like its neighbour Terengganu, Kelantan was ´ignored´ by the concerted efforts that were being made to develop the resources found on the west coast. Thus ignored, Kelantan went on with her own largely unimpeded development. Kelantan did, however, maintain strong ties with Siam throughout the 19th Century. Kelantan lost her ´independence´ with control of the state passing to British hands following the signing of the Anglo-Siamese Treaty Of 1909. When Japan first landed her troops upon Malayan soil in Kelantan during World War II and the Occupation followed, control of the state was passed to Thailand. Kelantan became a member of the Federation of Malaya in 1948.