Burung Petala Processions

The Burung Petala Processions (literary "Celestial Bird Processions") (Malay: Perarakan Burung Petala; Jawi: ڤراراكن بوروڠ ڤتالا‎) referred to a series of imperial parades to commemorate the circumcision ceremony of the Kelantanese nobility. During the grand cavalcade, the prince and his royal entourage were celebrated around Kota Bharu via a large bird-like processional cart, notably the grand chariot of 1933 known as Burung Petala Indra and tandu Burung Petalawati of 1923. The processions were held three times between 1919 and 1933.

The celebration is rooted in the historical grand parades observed during the pre-Islamic era of the northern coast of Malay Peninsula. As noted from the old records from Chi Tu, the Chinese ambassador of the kingdom would be paraded under a similar fashion upon their arrival to the city state. This largely originated from the custom that holds every state delegations should be celebrated akin to the return of the gods from their heavenly abode. The kingdom managed to obtained strong diplomatic relationship with ancient China derived from the epic celebrations for its delegations.

The birds were mobilised for official use, including during the enthronement of the prince, arrival of state delegations and during royal circumcision celebrations. While not in use, the bird would be nestled in a special chamber, with a courtier delegated with a task of conducting rituals to guard her spirit.

There are several variants of the bird in Pattani, including Gagak Suro (raven), Karawek (kalaviṅka), Merak Mas (golden peacock), Garuda and Burung Singa (lion bird). The procession was later recorded in great detail upon the arrival of the British colonial administrator in Kelantan from 1909.

In the traditional Malay custom, a child would usually be carried on the shoulder of his dad from his abode to the place where his circumcision will be held. But for the more affluent Malay families, the ceremony would be more lavish, the child would be transported on a processional carrier, in a form of boat or a small mosque-like structure by a group of men, a philosophical correspondence of a rite of passage from boys to men. More elaborate practise of the celebration would include a march of men with weapons, musical performance and even ceremonial foods being included in the parade.

Based on the record by Ghulam-Sarwar Yousof, it was narrated that the sultan had a dream about the Burung Petala Wati, the traditional guardian of Kelantan. Following the account, he ordered the construction of the mystical Thunderbird for his prince. Another version of the origin of Petala Wati denotes a far more secular account, as it was believed that the construction of the ark was mainly to illustrate the grandeur of the Kelantanese monarch and to please the British colonial resident at that time, who were intrigued by the local Malay culture, heritage and folklore.

The design of the chariot emulated many ornamental figures derived from ancient Malay mythology, kingship and the tales from Malay hikayats. Based on the narration by Paul J. Coatalen in his interview with a local Malay Bomoh (shaman) about a parallel Kelantanese imperial vessel, he asserts that the ceremonial vehicle is a symbol of Malay mysticism adopted based upon the legendary promise made between the ancestors of the Kelantan king with a loyal warrior known as Isma Dewa Pekerma Raja.

While based on the record between Coatalen and Haji Mubin Sheppard in “Processional Birds Of Kelantan” and “The Giant bird”, he asserted that there was a strong correlation between the Royal barge of Pertala Sri Kelantan with the Hindu epics, deriving Helang, Burung Camar Laut, Garuda and Jentayu as a source of identity and inspiration. This was heavily owed from the fact that the Malayalised Hindu literature was highly celebrated during the period and the tales of Hikayat Maharaja Wana, Ramayana, Isma Dewa Perkerma Raja were often transmitted into the form of Malay theater and Wayang kulit, thus become a norm by the Kelantanese Malay society. Based on Coatalen, despite the design and the name of Hindu mythologies were adopted in the bird art, it doesn't necessary bear any Hindu religious syncretism, instead the adoption was solely for cosmetic factors, he added.