Genealogy 101

Heirlooms we don't have in our family. But stories we've got. ~ Rose Cherin.

I have always been interested in the genealogy of my family but since this has never been divulged by my immediate antecedents, I kept quiet and sort of forgot about it until recently, when my kids and I discussed a Malaysian play. In the past, occassionally, I would hear my Dad telling guests who came to our house that my GrandDad was originally from Bandung. Occassionally, too, I heard my Dad telling people that my GrandDad came from Surabaya. Well, to put it simply, let's just say my GrandDad came from Indonesia. I am not sure whether I heard wrongly or my Dad heard wrongly. I am also not sure whether he's a Javanese or Sundanese. My Dad's family said that he was a Javanese but then this cannot be ascertained since the Malaysian concept of a Javanese has been: anyone who comes from Indonesia. Whereas to Indonesians, a Javanese is anyone who comes from the Java Island. Indonesia does not have the concept of race. Rather, they identify each other by suku. So, if one comes from Indonesia, one can be referred to as a Javanese, Sundanese, Madurese, Balinese and so on. An Indonesian friend of mine said my GrandDad could be a Sundanese - based on his character. My mom described him as a soft-spoken, courteous and steadfast man - qualities that are normally associated with the Sundanese. The Javanese, on the other hand, are the opposite. Well, this, too, cannot be ascertained unless I do a DNA test on everybody from Bandung and Surabaya. *LOL*. Come to think of it, I must have relatives residing in Bandung or Surabaya now, if my GrandDad had not been an only child. Well, thousands of DNA tests would confirm this, surely. *Chuckle* I do not know much about my maternal GrandMa except that she wasn't an Indonesian. She was a Malaysian, of Bugis descent, and came from Muar. This is how much information I have about my paternal grandparents. I learned from my mom recently that my maternal GrandDad's family had come from Trengganu. How they ended up in Segamat, she and I have no idea. My maternal GrandMa's family however, has always come from Segamat.

I suppose studying the history of the past and present members of the family can be fun but it is a huge, daunting task. Almost impossible. Besides the DNA test, how am I going to trace the family lineage? Records are scarce and in most cases, non-existent. My mom is like the Oral Historian (borrowing Huzir Sulaiman's term) of the family. Everytime I come home, stories about my ancestors would crop up bit by bit. I wonder what else will be divulged the next time I come home. It seems like the older my Mom gets, the more stories about the family she passes on, and the more nostalgic she becomes. Well, this reminds me of Margaret Atwood's closure in The Entities - "In the end, we'll all become stories."