Sharmalan Thevar

The Hero and His Divine Spear

Thaipusam has just ended. The festival at Batu Caves was well managed especially when compared with the previous years. So I will say that this year's Thaipusam festival is something I enjoyed.

One of my blog reader, Ganesh Reddy, requested me to write something for Thaipusam. Since I was quite busy during the last few days, I could not do it. I took a break from writing.

There is something in my mind which I want to share with others. It is about the hero of Thaipusam, Muruga himself and his divine spear.

Like the other Devas in Hinduism, Muruga has many names. He is also known as Skanda. There was a time when people even considered Muruga as Alexander The Great.

This is because Alexander was also known as Sikandar in Persian and Urdu. The Arabs and Malays call him Iskandar Zulkarnain. But Muruga or Skanda worship started even before Alexander's time.

The cult of Muruga is known as Kaumaram. One of the important aspects of Kaumaram is the Vel worship. The Vel is the divine spear which Muruga used to kill the Asura named Surapadman.

Murugan receiving the Vel from his mother Sakthi.
PICTURE CREDIT murugan.org

Vel worship is an ancient form of worship. The Veddah tribe of Sri Lanka also have a form of Vel worship.

Muruga is considered by the Tamils as their God of War. He is the commander of the heavenly army. His mother Sakthi in the form of Durga is the Goddess of Victory. She is also associated with war. Durga has 9 main forms called NavaDurga. The 5th form is called SkandaMata, Mother of Skanda.

Tuesday is both Durga and Muruga's day. Tuesday is the day of the planet Mars and like the Romans believed, Mars is the planet that represents war.

Mars is a red planet. Muruga is known as Seyyon or Senthil. The word Se (Che) here means Red and Muruga was portrayed as a red god on a blue peacock during ancient times. These are all somehow connected to astronomy.

Muruga received the Vel from Sakthi in the Tamil month of Thaai during the Poosam (Pusya) nakshatra. In Indian astronomy and astrology, a nakshatra is one of the 27 sectors on the path of the Sun on the celestial sphere. To make it sound simple, we can consider it as a form of astronomical coordinate system.

So our astrologers will calculate the coordinates each year and decide when exactly the event happens. For the year 2015, the month of Thai started on 15 January 2015. Poosam of Thai began on the night of 2 February 2015 up to the evening of 3 February 2015. There are more calculation involved to determine the exact moment.
(I am not an expert in this so I cannot elaborate further.)

The Poosam nakshatra is in the Cancer constellation.

Indian zodiac: 3°20' -16°40' Karka

Western zodiac: 29°20' Cancer - 12°40' Leo

PICTURE CREDIT: Wikipedia

This is the moment Muruga received the Vel which he later used to kill Surapadman. So we celebrate it grandly each year as Thaipusam.

Prior to this event, his father Siva destroyed the three Asura cities of Tripura during one of the Poosam nakshatra. So that event was celebrated as Tripura Samharam.

Eventually the son's event became more popular than the father's event.

After receiving the Vel, Muruga goes to war with Surapadman. He camped in 6 different places. The 6 battle camps of Murugan are Tiruthani, Swamimalai, Palani, Palamuthircholai, Tiruparankunram and Tiruchendur. These 6 places are known as Aaru Padai Veedu.

There are actually many types of Vel. Devaraya Swamigal mentioned several different Vels in his Kandha Shasti Kavacham. Each of these Vels have its own meaning. It is invoked for different purposes.

AlahuVel
AnaiyaVel
ArulVel
AyilVel
ChaturVel
IniyaVel
KanagaVel
KarunaiVel
KathirVel
MunaiVel
MuranVel
MurugaVel
NalVel
ParuVel
PeruVel
PunithaVel
SevVel
ThiruVel
VadiVel
VajraVel
ValVel
VetriVel
YethirVel

Muruga was actually born from Siva's third eye. Therefore he is the wisdom of Siva. Even till today, Muruga devotees chant AroHara. Hara means Siva.

His Vel which was given by his mother Sakthi, is actually made from her own power. Therefore, the Vel also called as SakthiVel is an embodiment of Sakthi herself.

When we worship Muruga and his Vel, we are actually worshiping both Siva and Sakthi.

According to our sacred geometry, the upward triangle represents Siva. The downward triangle represents Sakthi. The union of the upward triangle with the downward triangle forms the hexagram.

The hexagram is the symbol of Muruga. Therefore, Muruga is none other than the representation of SivaSakthi.

The Roti Canai Story

Roti Canai.
PICTURE CREDIT http://tomsaleebastravels.blogspot.com/

Roti Canai is a very popular dish in Malaysia. We Malaysians just love it. We even have various versions of Roti Canai. Roti Bom, Roti Pisang, Roti Sardin, Roti Telur, Roti Planta etc.

It is generally assumed that Roti Canai got its name from Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu.

So did Roti Canai really get its name from Chennai?

Parotta
PICTURE CREDIT http://www.yamu.lk/place/chennai/

Roti Canai is actually the modified Parotta. This dish is quite popular in South India. However, it is not a native South Indian dish. The dish is said to come from North India. Some claim that it was introduced by those from Middle East.

Parotta may have entered India via North India or via Kerala. Because Kerala is exposed to the Arabian Sea and many traders from Middle East used to trade in Kerala.

There is also another theory that suggest that the main ingredient to make Parotta, the Maida flour, was introduced to South India only during WW2. Maida flour is a wheat flour and wheat was first cultivated in the Middle East.

I am not very sure about the authenticity of such theories but the Middle East-Kerala theory makes more sense.

We are not sure who introduced Parotta in Malaya (now Malaysia). It could have been the Tamils or Malayalees, it could have also been others from India or even someone from the Middle East.

The Malays had several words for metal works. When working on the metal, the blacksmith will hammer the metal, flatten it, then cut into half, forge it, hammer it, flatten it, then cut into half....the process is repeated.

This process is known as canai in the Malay language.

Similarly, the cook who prepares the Roti Canai will smash the dough, spread it, fold it into half, smash it, spread it, fold it into half.....the dough takes a beating similar to the metal in a blacksmith's workshop.

This is how Parotta became Roti Canai in Malaysia. Instead of a layered piece of round bread like the Parotta, we made our Roti Canai appear folded.

This is the story of Roti Canai and it has got nothing to do with Chennai because back in the olden days, Chennai was known as Madras.

UPDATE1
(The origin of Madras or Chennai can be read at the links below)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Chennai-is-a-Telugu-word-nothing-Tamil-about-it-Historian/articleshow/34640530.cms

http://www.rediff.com/news/interview/historian-jbp-more-theres-no-word-like-chennai-in-tamil/20140826.htm

UPDATE 2
Dr.Jayabarathi's input on the word Canai having a Tamil origin. As mentioned, it is not a corrupt form of Chennai. It is the process of beating the dough.

The Mandailing Tunnel of Bukit Nanas

Yesterday, The Star published an article about the discovery of a tunnel in Bukit Nanas (Pineapple Hill), Kuala Lumpur. A copy of the article can be read at the link below:

http://www.thestar.com.my/Metro/Community/2015/01/19/part-of-bukit-nanas-secret-tunnel-made-public/

This tunnel is said to be dug by the Mandailing people during the Klang War which happened during 1867-1874 AD. Mandailings are an ethnic group related to the Malays and Bataks . They are from Sumatra and they have paternal family names.

Their family names are known as marga, a Sanskrit word signifying people of same origin. Marriage between two people of the same marga is forbidden. The Marga is their Gothra.

The Klang War involved many different ethnics. Although today they are called as one Malay race in Malaysia, back in the olden days, they divided themselves as Malays, Bugis, Acehnese, Mandailings, Javanese etc. The Klang War also saw the involvement of the Hakkas and Cantonese of the Chinese community.

I wonder if the Indians were involved in this war. Perhaps I should do some research about this war.

Since the tunnel was dug by the Mandailing people, I decided to call it the Mandailing Tunnel. I visited the place today. It was closed so I could not go inside. It is said that the tunnel leads to the Klang River which is just a hundred meters away from the tunnel entrance.

Someone once told me that the Klang River has few underground streams in KL. Perhaps this tunnel is connected to one of those streams which then leads to the main river.

The archaeological department should conduct some study. Not only on the tunnel but also the Bukit Nanas forest. Perhaps they can find remains of old kampungs and a few tools including weapons used by the Mandailings in the Klang War.

I hope I can someday go inside the tunnel to see it for myself. Here are some pictures which I took this morning.

This place is located right beside Wariseni, near Monorail Bukit Nanas.

Entrance

Location of the tunnel entrance and the present day nearest access to Klang River

Minoan Bulls and Basque Goddess - A Possible Tamil Connection?

SOURCE: Dr. N. Lahovary in "Dravidian Origins and the West", published by Orient Longmans, Bombay, 1963

Spain is known for its sports involving bulls. They have bullfighting, bull leaping and bull chasing. Each are different. They may have inherited this from the earlier Minoan civilization which existed in the island of Crete.

Probably the Spaniards and Minioans shared the same culture during ancient times. We don't know.

Like the Spaniards, we Tamils also have a few sports involving bulls. It is collectively called as Jallikattu and there are few variations in this sport.

There is a region in Spain known as Basque. The Basque language of Spain (and parts of France) is different from other European languages. Some scholars believe that it may be related to ancient Tamil language.

The Basque people have a goddess named Maari. She is their goddess of weather. Similarly, we Tamils too have a goddess named Maari. She is also our goddess of weather. The Tamil word Maari is synonymous with heavy rain.

Maari of Basque has two sons, Atxular and Mikelatz.
Maari of Tamils also has two sons, Muruga and Ganesa.
(Tamil Maari is seen as a form of Sakthi)

When Christianity entered the Basque world, the worship of native Maari was replaced with Mary. The Tamils who converted into Christianity worship the same Mary. Despite change of religion, the cult of Maari has somehow survived in a new form.

The original native cult of Maari is still very popular among the Tamils who mostly remained as Hindus.

There seem to be some connection between the people of ancient Basque-Spain-Minoa and the Tamils. Hopefully some day, with the blessings of Maari, we will find the missing link.

(Pictures taken from Google. Credit goes to various people who uploaded them)

Bull Leaping

Bull Fighting

Bull Chasing

Bull Leaping

Minoan Bull Leaping

Jallikattu

PROOF POSITIVE: A seal made of stone, found at Mohenjodaro, depicting “jallikattu” (bull-baiting) that was prevalent in the Indus Civilisation. The seal, about 4,000 years old, is on display at the National Museum, New Delhi.

ROCK CUT: A painting of bull chasing on a massive rock surface at Karikkiyur in the Nilgiris. These pictures, according to specialists in rock art, are dateable to 2,000 B.C. to 1,500 B.C. Karikkiyur is the biggest rock art site in south India, with the rock surface teeming with about 500 paintings.

The stone sculpture depicting a bull taming event at Salem District Museum

Maari of Basque

Maari of the Tamils

The Cambodian Who Ruled Tamil Nadu

Bokator - The traditional martial art of Cambodia.
https://500px.com/photo/2107465/cambodia's-martial-arts-by-visions-of-indochina

The Pallava kingdom once ruled a large area in Tamil Nadu. They had their capital in Kanchipuram which is located in the Thondai region of Tamil Nadu. Thondai region is made of northern Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh.

The identity of the Pallava dynasty is a mystery. It is generally accepted that they were Persians who migrated to India. In a few centuries, they moved from North India to South India.

They served under existing dynasties such as Satavahanas and Cholas as vassals. They later become powerful enough to create a kingdom of their own in 275 AD.

Although not Tamil in origin, they eventually became Tamilized. This is because they intermarried with local Tamil royalties for many generations. The Pallavas also colonized areas in South East Asia and created dynasties in what is today Indochina.

One of the Pallava kings, Simhavishnu reigned around 550 AD. He is credited for creating a strong Pallava empire by subduing many kings of southern India. He has also sent naval expedition to Sri Lanka and South East Asia.

About 6 generations after Simhavishnu, Parameswaravarman became the king of Pallava during 720-730 AD. However, Parameswaravarman died battling the Chalukyas. He left no heir.

Someone had to replace him as the new king. The Pallava royal council came up with a solution. The solution was to get someone from the same lineage as the deceased king to become the new Pallava king.

Simhavishnu who lived 6 generations earlier created colonies in Southeast Asia. He had a brother named Bhimavarman.

Bhimavarman became the king of Kambujadesa which is also known as Chen-La covering Cambodia, Laos and parts of Thailand. So the Pallava bloodline survived in Southeast Asia thanks to Bhimavarman.

When the royal council went to Kambujadesa, a descendant of Bhimavarman was ruling there. His name was Harivarman. By this time, the Pallava bloodline in Kambujadesa would have become Cambodianized. Either fully or partially.

Harivarman had a few sons and the youngest son, Nandivarman, agreed to become the new Pallava king. He then travelled back with the royal council to Kanchipuram and gets himself crowned there.

Nandivarman is the Cambodian prince who ruled Tamil Nadu as the Pallava king. His rule ended in 796 AD.

MIC & Caste Politics - How Truth is Twisted by Media

Each year, we will see at least one article that talks about MIC and "caste system". Those who write about "caste system" in Malaysia fail to elaborate what this system is all about. How does the system even work?

What existed in the past is the Varna system which is a Class system. The class system also exist in every country. Human society is divided into ruling class and commoners.

What exist among the present day Indian castes in Malaysia is kinship ties based on clans. It is not Varna system. Different clans occupied different territories in Tamil Nadu. They have different customs and traditions.

This year, I came across this particular article by The Rakyat Post. Please click below to read it.

http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2014/12/09/will-caste-influence-casting-votes-mic-re-election/

"“Ever since Samy Vellu took helm of MIC, the party then was controlled by the supposedly ‘Thevar’ caste of which Samy Vellu comes from. Throughout the years, he had pitted himself against the late Tan Sri M.G. Pandithan and former deputy president Tan Sri S.S Subramaniam, mainly over personality differences as well as spurred by caste, and he eventually topped.”

Firstly, Thevar is not even a caste. Only in 1995 did the government of Tamil Nadu decided to call it a community.

Thevar is actually a hereditary surname used by certain families from the Kallar, Maravar and Agamudayar clans.

The clans are collectively called the Mukkulathor community which means "people of the three clans". Hereditary surnames are passed down from father to son just like what Tengku is for the Malays or Wong is for the Chinese.

Samy Vellu may be from the Mukkulathor community but he is not a Thevar. Tun Sambanthan was the first and last Thevar president of MIC.

As a Thevar myself, I can say for a fact that most of us are not even in MIC. The Thevars are more aligned towards Socialist parties.

In fact, many Thevars were involved in the Malayan trade union movement even during the colonial days. Even back in Tamil Nadu, most Thevars were aligned to Netaji's Forward Bloc, a Socialist party.

How come the media never talks about this larger group of Thevars? There seem to be a hidden agenda to always link us Thevars with any mess in MIC.

"The source said that while the main agenda was to topple Palanivel over his poor leadership of the party, caste politics was expected to play a certain role in the upcoming party re-elections.
This is because Palanivel is believed to be from the supposedly “Gounder” caste, the same caste as S.S Subramaniam, whom Samy Vellu had pitted against for many years."

It is true that Palanivel is not performing as expected by all Malaysians who voted him. You don't have to be an MIC member to know it. Just take a look at how the people reacted for the recent issue in Cameron Highlands. Even non-Indians would know it.

This has got nothing to do with caste and media should not turn it into a caste issue.

Secondly, Palanivel is not even a Gounder as mentioned in the article here. Why did The Rakyat Post purposely label him as a Gounder when he is not one?

Palanivel belongs to the largest Tamil caste known as the Vellalar community. His clan is known as the Kaikkolar. The surname used by them is Mudaliar. They are related to the Mukkulathor community and both communities are in good terms.

I wonder if The Rakyat Post knows all these.

Unlike what the media said, Gounder is not even a caste. Gounder (ka-vun-dar) is a hereditary surname used by landlords and chieftains in the western region of Tamil Nadu known as the Kongu region.

Two person with the same Gounder surname are not necessarily from the same caste. They can be of different origins. Gounder surname is used by those from the Vellalar, Vokkaligar, Vanniar (Palli) and Vettuvar castes who lived in Kongu.

The “Gounder” caste is known as the “trader” caste under the same system.

There were many feudal lords and warriors in the Kongu region who used the Gounder surname. It does not necessarily have to be a trader caste. Dheeran Chinnamalai Gounder was not a trader. He was a chieftain and a freedom fighter who fought the British. Many Gounders also practice the traditional martial art of Silambam.

The media often try to make it look like Thevars and Gounders are enemies in Malaysia. We are not enemies. They use the issues in MIC as an excuse for this false portrayal. Someone probably gains something if Thevars and Gounders fight each other.

Get the facts right. Stop spinning stories in media for the sake of making it a sensational news. Stop making it look like Thevar vs Gounder.

Pitchavaram Zamin Are Not Cholas, Rajaraja Chola Is Not Vanniyar

Zamindar of Pitchavaram

During the British rule, the traditional Tamil kings were no longer in power. They no longer had a say in governance. Unlike the previous dynasties which ruled Tamil Nadu, the British suppressed the native rulers and prevented them from rising.

Those who were favored by the British seized the opportunity to make false claims about themselves. They changed their caste names and also claimed that they are descendants of ancient kings.

One such claim is made by the landlords of Pitchavaram. They claim that they are the real descendants of Cholas. They justify this by stating that they have the coronation right in the Chidambaram Nataraja Temple just like the Chola kings.

The Pitchavaram zamin family claims that since the traditional priest of the temple, the Dikshitars, perform the coronation and also pass the temple key to them, then they must be the real Cholas under the title Cholanar or Cholanganar.

Having coronation in Chidambaram with titles like Cholanar in the hands of Dikshitar during British era does not make one a Chola king. Temple management can always change when different rulers rule the land. The former Chola country was ruled by the Pandyas, the Vijayanagars, the Nayaks, the Marathas and finally it fell into the hands of the British

When the Nayaks conquered Madurai, they crowned themselves in the Meenachi Temple. However, this does not make them Pandyan kings.

Gettibommu Naicker, the Telugu Palayakarar of Panchalankurichi was called VeeraPandya Kattabomman. This does not make him a Pandyan king.

The Cholas were defeated by the Pandyas in the 13th century. Some historian puts the year as 1280. The earliest record of Pitchavaram coronation in Chidambaram is only in 1908.

So for 628 years, there were no news about any Chola kings. All of a sudden in 1908, somebody calls himself Chola king and that too only during the British era.

The Pitchavaram family could not provide any record of coronation prior to 1908. If they were indeed the real Chola kings, then they should be able to provide a list of successors since 1280.

As we know, the Dikshitars pass the key to the Pitchavaram family after closing the temple each day. It is not the duty of a king to hold the key of the temple.

That is actually the duty of the temple guardians who are appointed by rulers to manage and guard the temple. Such people will usually be given lands near the temple so that they can live nearby and help to manage it.

Since they have the key, they will also need to rush to the temple if there is an emergency during wee hours. The priest will knock on their door each morning as early as 4am to retrieve the key.

The priest will also pass it back to them late in the night once the prayers are over. Practically speaking, kings will not commit themselves to such responsibility.

They will have to hold the key and stay in the palace daily if they commit to this. It is logical to just appoint someone and let him handle it.

Holding the key of a temple makes one important but that does not make him a king. There were also many communities such as Kaikolars who were made temple guardians.

The Pitchavaram family belongs to a community which calls itself as AgniKulam (Fire Race). Lately, many cyber cadres from the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) waged an online crusade claiming that Rajaraja Chola belongs to the AgniKulam community which is also known as Palli or Vanniyar in Tamil Nadu.

This cannot be true because Rajaraja Chola belongs to SuryaVamsam (Solar Lineage). This is why he is also known as RaviKulaManikam and RaviVamsaSikamani. Ravi is the other word for Surya. So there is no chance of Rajaraja Chola being a Vanniyar because he is not from AgniVamsam.

To counter this, the PMK cadres claimed that SuryaVamsam descended from the AgniKulam or AgniVamsam (Fire Lineage). This is actually a baseless myth.

Let us examine some of the myths which is used by the PMK cadres to justify their claims....

Myth #1
They claimed that SuryaVamsam and ChandraVamsam (Lunar Lineage) came from AgniVamsam. Dushenthen was believed to be a descendant of Agni. Dushenthen's son was King Guryamen or Karendhamen: he had four sons called Pandyan, Keralen, Solen (Cholan) and Kolen. The kingdom was divided among the sons by their father who called the divisions after their names Pandya, Sola (Chola), Kerala and Kola.

If this myth is true, then the Pandyan and Chola dynasty will become brother dynasties. Their children will become panggali (parallel cousins). Therefore they cannot intermarry.

We know this is not true because Pandyas and Cholas are not panggali. They are muraipasangga (cross cousins) and they intermarry. The Pandyas belong to ChandraVamsam and the Cholas are SuryaVamsam.

The actual origin of the royal lineages of India is written in the Puranas.

According to the Puranas, Manu was the progenitor of mankind. He was the son of Surya (Sun). Manu had 9 sons and a daughter named Ila. Manu's son, Ishvaku, is the founder of the SuryaVamsam dynasty named after his grandfather, Surya.

Ishvaku's sister Ila married Budha, son of Chandra (Moon). Their union created the ChandraVamsam dynasty named after Chandra.

Both Rama of Ayodhya and Rajaraja Chola belong to the SuryaVamsam dynasty created by Ishvaku. The Pandyas belong to the ChandraVamsam created by Ila and Budha.

That means, those of ChandraVamsam and SuryaVamsam are muraipasangga. They can intermarry.

The origin of the AgniVamsam is different. AgniVamsam was created later during the time of Sage Vasistha. Vasistha performs an AgniHoma (Fire Sacrifice) and from the burning fire, emerges a man. He is the founder of the AgniVamsam.

This is the real origin of the royal lineages as written in our Puranas. People of the same lineage cannot intermarry because they are SaGothra; of the same gothra.

Myth #2
Vanniyars were born in opposition to two demons named Vatapi and Mahi. These demons received the boon of invincibility against everything except fire allowing them to swallow the wind and the sun. The first Vanniyar (known as Veera Vanniyan, Rudra Vanniyan, Vanni Raja or Banniraya) was born from the flames of the sacrificial fire with a host of armed horsemen to defeat the demons. He then sired 5 sons who later become the ancestors of the divisions in Vanniyar caste.

In this myth, it is said that the subdivisions of the Vanniyar caste was created by 5 brothers who were born to the first Vanniyar. That means all Vanniyars will become panggali as they are descendants of brothers from the same father. If this is true, the Vanniyars cannot even marry other Vanniyars. They will have to look for brides from other castes because this will make all of them panggali.

This is another myth which cannot be taken as true.

Myth #3
The Vanniyars claim to also descend from the Dvarapalakas or "gate guardians" who were created to guard a particular Vanni tree which the Pandava brothers used to hide their weapons upon entering the kingdom of Virata. The descendants of these gate guardians worshiped Draupadi, the shared wife of the Pandava brothers. For this reason, Draupadi cult is quite popular among present day Vanniyar community members.

Anyone who read Mahabaratha or Ramayana knows that both the Pandya and Chola dynasty existed even before the era of Draupadi or Pandavas. These dynasties were mentioned in our Itihasas.

That means the Vanniyars cannot be the founders of these dynasties because the Vanniyars were only born after the kingdoms were created.

The cadres are relying on mythology to justify their fire origins. Not only these myths contradict with one another, the myths also does not match the origins of royal lineages as written in our Puranas. Therefore, claims of fire origins based on unreliable mythology holds no water.

Based on this, the following can be established:

1.The fire myth origin of the Vanniyars does not conform to the originaly mythology as written in our Puranas.
2.SuryaVamsam and ChandraVamsam did not originate from AgniVamsam.
3.SuryaVamsam, ChandraVamsam and AgniVamsam did not originate from the same father.
4.AgniVamsam was created only after ChandraVamsam and SuryaVamsam were created.
5.Vanniyar's claim of Agni origin and that they have Surya and Chandra lineages is questionable.
6. Pandyas and Cholas existed even before the fire myth of Vanniyars happened.
7. Rajaraja Chola is SuryaVamsam, therefore, he cannot be a Vanniyar.
8.There is no record of Pitchavaram Zamin coronation prior to 1908.
9.There is no historical proof to support claim that Pitchavaram Zamin are descendants of Cholas.
10.There is no mention of Pitchavaram Zamin as Cholas for 628 years.

The communal identity of Tamil kings can only be established by proper research. It cannot be established by making false assumption. Since we know that the real Pandyas belong to ChandraVamsam and the real Cholas belong to SuryaVamsam, we can use this information to research about them.

The Tamil royal families also intermarried with other royalties irrespective of linguistic differences. They also have descendants living in Southeast Asia.

All these needs to be considered when researching. One has to research genuinely by putting aside communal affiliation else the truth will never be out.