Muzium Negeri Kelantan

The Kelantan state museum, Muzium Negeri Kelantan, appeared slightly unexciting in the way that I've come to expect such places to be. However, I was able to while away a pleasant hour or so learning everything I could want to know about keris (Malay daggers), from their design to their magical and mystical properties. Some can kill an enemy by flying through the air, others you simply stab into your enemy's footprint to render him deceased. Most importantly, I now know how to clean my keris, an eight step procedure involving banana stems, limes, bamboo, coconut water, smoke and wax.

Weapons used by women were another interesting feature of the museum, ranging from deadly hairpins for "protection against predatory males and others of evil intent," to the lawi ayam, a tiny dagger with a finger hole in the handle, held in the palm with just the tip of its curved blade poking out of the hand. While men conceal this hand in the folds of their clothing, women keep their lawi ayam "hidden in the coils of the hair as protection from a man with evil intentions." Obviously a lot of these men about.

There was also a small room displaying information about poisons made by witch-doctors, which were either ingested or carried magically by the wind to the intended victim. There were also samples of plants that could be use as medicines, love potions and so on.

In the royal family room, I was interested to read about Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra, the crown prince of Kelantan, especially his education. At the Sultan Ismail Primary School he achieved five A grades and won the trophy for 'student of the year'. Following this he went to an international school in KL (no mention of any achievements) then to Oakham in the UK where he "was in the A-level class." There was no mention of his having got any A-levels though. I couldn't help thinking that maybe his primary school had overestimated his brilliance, in the way that Malaysian institutions shamelessly will in their dealings with royalty and other important figures. However, to give the guy his due, he went on to study useful things like diplomatic relations and European business administration, so it does seem that he or his family had some intention of his being well informed in areas that might prove relevant to his position.

One other thing that I found interesting was that in older photos of the royal family, women wore no tudongs. I'm not sure whether this is due to their status or simply because back in the seventies and eighties it was more acceptable for women to be seen with their heads uncovered. Certainly in the more recent photos, the women wore their tudongs.