Could Kelantan’s name actually be from an Indian city?

There is a saying in Kelantan that goes: ‘Sek-sek kito jange pecoh’ (‘our people should stick together’). It’s often used in a footballing context, but it just goes to show the strong sense of identity of the Kelantanese people. No matter how far a Kelantanese person goes from Kelantan, you can always identify them by their very distinctive dialect.

Having various nicknames – Tanah Serendah Sekebun Bunga, Tanjung Pura, Negeri Cik Siti Wan Kembang, Serambi Mekah – Kelantan has been around since prehistoric times, and has had links to various Hindu-Buddhist cultures before the arrival of Islam, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that the possible origin of its name reflects that.

Theory #1: ‘Kelantan’ was derived from Koli, an Indian city’s name

Similar to how places like ‘New York’ and ‘New Amsterdam’ got their names from already-existing places, it was theorized by geographer G.E. Gerini that Kelantan’s early settlers named it Koli Thana (Land/Boundary of the Koli) in tribute to the ancient city of Koli, where Siddhartha Gautama Buddha’s mother Maha Maya came from (she was a princess of Koliya).

“[Kelantan’s] probably ancient name, Koli, appears to have been introduced from Northern India, where a city called Koli (from the Koli or jujube tree, it is said) is … reputed to have been the birthplace of Maya, the mother of Buddha. The present name … presumably was formed by affixing … either the term thana (or tanah in Malay), meaning place, country, or the particle anta, antam (limit, boundary), thus obtaining the compounds Kolamtanah, Kolantan, etc., which by vulgar parlance soon became modified into Kelantan and Kalantan.” – excerpt from History of Kelantan by Anker Rentse (1934).

The theory goes that eventually the name evolved into Kelamtan/Kelantan (‘Kalantan’ in Thai), which of course, is how we refer to it now.

Theory #2: ‘Kelantan’ was shortened from ‘Kerat Lintang’, or ‘Horizontally Split’

According to this theory which stretches way back in the 1700s, after several wars Kelantan was split in half and ruled by two people: Long Gaffar and Long Yunus. This era was when the state was known as “Negeri yang Dikerat Lintang” (roughly The State Split Horizontally).

Some believe that the word Kelantan came from shortening the term Kerat Lintang, giving the state its modern name. However, Kelantan’s name had existed long before that, proven by the discovery of an Arabian gold coin dated 577 H (1181 AD) bearing the inscription ‘Al-Julus Kelantan‘.

So this theory, while interesting, is probably not it.

Theory #3: The state was named after gelam hutan trees

In 1931, Kelantan’s British Adviser at the time mentioned a bit of lore behind the state’s name in his annual report:

“The name Kelantan is derived from the two Malay words Gelam Hutan a species of swampy jungle (Malaleuca Leucadendrom), which originally covered much of the coastal area!” – A.S. Haynes, as quoted by History of Kelantan (1934).

After a bit of digging, it would seem that the trees in question might have been a same-same species called Melaleuca cajaputi. Also known as pokok kayu putih (yes, minyak kayu putih and cajaputi oil are made from these trees), these trees are easily recognizable by their white papery bark.

Back in 1997, it was reported that the biggest areas with these trees are the coasts of Terengganu, Kelantan, and Malacca, so this theory has some basis behind it. Anyways, that’s it for Kelantan. If you want to discover more interesting origins of our states’ names, pick one from the list below!

Kedah | Terengganu | Kelantan | Perlis | Johor

Selangor | Penang | Perak | Pahang | Malacca

Negeri Sembilan | Sabah | Sarawak | Federal Territories