パタニ國の支配層について

17世紀のパタニ國 II

抄録

The writer, having investigated the royal lineage of the kingdom called Patani in the eastern side of the Malay Peninsula in the 17th century, will now try to clarify some facts concerning eminent members among the ruling class of the kingdom by availing himself of Chinese, European and Japanese sources.
The ruling class, called orang-cayas (nobles) in the Malayan language, were said to be as many as four thousand according to the Voyages of Jacob Van Neck, though the figure seems to be incredible compared with the whole population of the country. In most cases, each nobleman used to be called with a prefix “Dato” which means “nobleman” in Malayan. The writer asserts that the title is the same as the word na-tu (nátok in Fukien dialect) mentioned in Tung-hsi yang-kao written in Ming China.
It was much more difficult for the writer, however, to identify all the particular noblemen than to trace the royal lineage, because almost all the nobles were called merely by their official titles, not by their personal names. All he could do, therefore, was to trace their official status in the bureaucracy, apart from each individual.
Among the official titles one that appears most frequently and during the longest course of time is “Dato Serinara”, which means divine hero. The writer associates it with Shitsu-ri Tatsu-na which appears in quotations in the Gaiban-tsusho compiled by Kondo Seisai. It seems that this official was also often called Dato Serinara Paducka, an honorific title, the last word of which literally means sandal. It is obvious that the above-mentioned official title was held by a Chinese at least in 1599 and 1603. The Travels of Wijbrand van Warwyck described one as the treasurer of the queen of Patani. The title continues to appear in historical records down to 1639, although there is less possibility of ascertaining that the position was still filled by a Chinese at that time. Many sources indicate the dominance of the Chinese as a whole in the field of trade and commerce in the country.
Two other official titles Dato Besaer (a principal nobleman) and Dato Bandhara (a nobleman of the harbour) date back to the second decade of the century. However, the problem as to which was the most important official title among the above-mentioned three, and which was called the third king in Ka-i hen-tai has not yet been solved. The historical sources are far more scarce as regards other official titles among which only Dato Laxamana (which means an admiral) is worth mentioning. Several records seem to indicate that the title is used as a synonym of Shahbandar, the harbour master, which was the term generally used in many ports in the southern part of Asia.
The castle of the kingdom of Patani, about half a kilometer long on its longer side, was, according to many records, surrounded by huge timbers. The population of the city may be estimated at ten to twenty thousand in spite of the great variety of figures given in different records. It is known that many of the principal officials lived close to the queen, presumably inside the castle.
The writer concludes that the bureaucratic system in the kingdom closely resembled those of adjacent minor countries in which Islam was the most favoured religion. In other words, this system was quite different from that of Siam, though the former was a tributary state to the latter at that time, even if nominally. While some officials, Dato Serinara Paducka and Dato Laxamana for example, directly took part in trade, there still remains the question as to what was the economic basis of the ruling class in general.