Zaman Pra-Islam di Kedah Berdasarkan Bukti Arkeologi *

Pre-Islamic Era in Kedah Based on Archaeological Remains

Abstract

This paper discusses pre-Islamic period in Kedah based on archaeological remains. It serves as an important source to provide information related to the history of Kedah along with foreign sources and Malay manuscripts as well as Malay literary text. Due to the long history of Kedah, this article argues that the archaeological discoveries help in providing evidence to the history of the pre-Islamic period in Kedah. This paper analyzes to what extent materials culture as well as religious influence illustrate the assimilation and transformation of human culture in Kedah. The objective of this study is to investigate and classify archaeological remains comprehensively to contribute into the development of the historiographical of Kedah. This research based on primary sources at the national archives as well as public libraries. Informations derived from the sources consulted suggest that Kedah has a long history from pre-history, Hindu-Buddhist era up to the emergence of Islam. Remains found in the pre-Islamic archaeological sites mainly came from artifacts and Hindu-Buddhist temples which closely related to animism (pre-Islamic era) and the influence of Hinduism and Buddhism. The location and distribution of temples at the archeological sites of Bujang Valley shows that religions and beliefs of communities in Kedah went through a lot of changes until the emergence of Islam.