A.D. 150 - AVREA CHERSONESVS (GOLDEN CHERSONESE)

Ptolemy described the land of the Golden Chersonese (Avrea Chersonesvs), around 150 A.D.

The First Map of the Malay Peninsula drawn from information contained in Ptolemy's "Geographike Syntaxis" written in Alexandria about A.D. 150

Figures 1, and 3 to 8 (below) were taken from  Illustrated Guide to the Federated Malay States edited by Cuthbert Woodville Harrison,  Malayan Civil Service.  It was published by The Malay States Information Agency , London, 1923.  The colour illustrations were done  by Mrs H. C. Barnard.

Figure 1: A coastal village.

Figure 2 :  Padi fields where Malays had to work hard, surprise! surprise!

Figure 3 : Malays lived amongst coconut palms.  Coconut (and fish and rice) were essential to their simple diet.  Despite this seemingly easy life they also kept their kampung compounds clean and they were never short of space for their settlements.

Figure 4 :  But they were not simply kampung yokels dependent only on the bounties from land and sea.  Above is a Malay Eating House - the beginning of the Malay warong - a venture into food-capitalism? 

Figure 5 : Gunung Bubu from Krian.

Figure 7 : Morning Mists - Gunung Tahan

Figure 8 : A river landscape tarnished by tin workings, a common blight affecting Perak, Selangor and Negri Sembilan.

(adapted from Anak si Hamid)