SEJARAH BAHASA - KALLUKOTAI, PUDDUKOTAI, RAYAKOTAI
There is a sizeable town in Mindanao called Cotabato. "Cotabato" is a Spanish mangling of the Malay name Kota Batu. Kota means fort. So Kota Batu means Stone Fort. A simple name because most forts were indeed made of stones.
Then we also have the famous Kota Bahru aka Kota Baharu in Gopeng, Perak. Kota Bahru Perak is famous (in history) for its railway station. Possibly the second railway line in Malaysia (after Taiping - Port Weld) that was built by the British in Malaya. At one time the British considered making Kota Bahru the district capital of the Kinta Valley. By the way some Perak people say 'Kenta' and not Kinta. Sungai Kinta is a British mispronounciation of Sungai Kenta. Kota Bahru, Perak is also famous now because the cartoonist Lat was born there.
There is another place with the same name somewhere else in the jungle where the drinking water is almost black in color.
Then we also have places like Kota Raja. As well as "Kota Raya".
There is Kota Raja in Kelang. There is also a Kota Raja in Aceh in Sumatra.
So these names Kota Batu, Kota Bahru, Kota Raja (and Kota Raya) are quite common throughout South East Asia from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The Malay word 'kota' which means a fort comes from the Tamil word 'kotai' which of course also means a fort.
And in Tamil Nadu, India they have very old place names like KALLUKOTAI, PUDDUKOTAI, and RAYAKOTAI which means Kota Batu, Kota Baru and Kota Raja respectively. (The British mangled the spelling and pronounciation by saying Puddukottai, Kallukottai and Rayakottai).
Kallu in Tamil means stone, and Kallukotai means a stone fort. Or Kota Batu.
Rayakotai means the king's fort or kota raja. (The common Tamil word for king is 'raja'. Raya could be dialect). Rayakotai would also be 'kota raya' in Malay.
Puddukotai means kota baru or a new fort.
How did this happen?
The Tamil Chola Empire which lasted from the 3rd century BC until the 13th century AD (about 1,600 years) is not only the longest lasting empire in history (longer than the Roman Empire) but it ruled directly and indirectly (through vassals) over southern India, the east coast of India, into Burma, Thailand and across South East Asia including the Malay Archipelago. The Chola's maritime, cultural and religious influences also spread in Indo-China.
"There is evidence of trade and cultural exchange between the Chola dynasty and the kingdoms of Giao Chỉ and Đại Việt, which existed in what is now Vietnam, during the 2nd century. The Cholas were known to have maintained trade relations with Southeast Asian countries, including those in present-day Vietnam."
To understand Malaya's modern history (post 14th century) our scholars must learn to speak Portugese, go to Portugal and research their colonial archives. Our researchers must also learn to speak Dutch so that they can research the Dutch archives in Holland.
Both the Portugese and the Dutch who ruled this part of the world for so long maintain a tremendous amount of historical records covering the centuries when they were here. We must be able to study and research those records.
And of course we must research the British archives in the United Kingdom.
Likewise to understand our earlier history, including the evolution of the Malay language, we need local scholars to learn the Tamil language and study the Cholas and other Indian empires who were so influential in this region for such a long, long time
