By Dr. Adib Vincent Tung Abdullah
In Perak, there are only two personages that undergo a ceremonial installation, and these two are His Royal Highness the Sultan and The Celebrated Lord of Kinta.
The Traditional Bathing Ceremony or Istiadat Mandi Balai is a unique tradition that is solely reserved for a Malay nobleman who has just received the title of the Orang Kaya-Kaya Panglima Kinta Seri Amar Bangsa DiRaja (or colloquially referred to as the Panglima Kinta or the Lord of Kinta) from His Royal Highness the Sultan of Perak.
This ceremony is said to have originated after the proclamation of Tok Changkat Piatu as ‘Maharaja Kinta’. Tok Changkat Piatu is said to have undergone a ceremonial installation by the indigenous Temiar people as their Maharaja taking into consideration that he was the son the then Sultan Mansur Shah I, the second Sultan of Perak (1549-1577) with a daughter of an orang asli chief while residing near the confluence of Perak River and Kinta River.
However, the customs practiced then were wholly the cultural traditions of the indigenous people. And, when his son, Tok Tambak, was bestowed the title ‘Panglima Kinta’ by Paduka Seri Sultan Mahmud Iskandar Shah, the eleventh Sultan of Perak (1654-1720), the installation ceremony of the Panglima Kinta was incorporated with much Islamic elements and practices.
Indeed, progenies of Panglima Kinta are considered descendants with royal blood as none of the State chiefs other than the Panglima Kinta who bore the noble title ‘Bangsa DiRaja’ (of royal race).
The Traditional Bathing Ceremony of Panglima Kinta Dato’ Ab Wahab bin Dato’ Seri Azizul Hassan was held on 27-29 July 2025 less than a year after he has performed the Istiadat Menjunjung Duli and the Istiadat Menghadap Selepas Lari Bersembunyi at Istana Iskandariah, Kuala Kangsar in November last year.
This ceremony is rather similar to the Customary Installation Ceremony of the Sultan of Perak but carried out on a moderate scale. It is divided into several smaller ceremonies such as:
- Ceremonial Feast to honour the Kinta Genies;
- Collecting water from seven tributaries of the Kinta River;
- Sacrificing an albino buffalo;
- Erection of the seven-tier pyramid-like structure;
- Ceremonial Bathing on the pyramid-like structure;
- Installation and the baur (Instrument of Authority) handing over ceremony; and
- Public Parade.
However, all the above ceremonies must be carried out within 3 or 4 days.
On the first day, all inherited keris including the baur have to been surrendered to the Kinta Shaman and his assistants to be cleansed at a ceremony known as Ceremonial Feast to honour the Kinta Genies.
This ceremony was conducted at the official residence of the Panglima Kinta with the presence of the Panglima Kinta himself, his wife known officially as Toh Puan Panglima Kinta and close relatives after the Isyak prayers at around 9:30 pm.
On the second day, i.e. 27 July 2025, the slaughtering of an albino buffalo took place. A large square hole, 2 meters wide, 2 meters long and 2 meters deep, was dug at the centre of the location where the ceremonial pyramid-like structure would be erected. In this ceremony, an albino buffalo would be slaughtered and its head would be buried inside the hole.
This ceremony has to be witnessed by at least one native Temiar headman from Hulu Kinta. Meat from the buffalo would be cooked and ate, and excess meat was distributed to relatives and attendees.
Soon the construction of a pyramid-like structure called the Panca Persada began. It consisted of seven levels with at least fifteen steps, and was decorated with ocean blue fabrics, which is the official colour for all the Eight Major Chiefs of Perak.
It took almost 12 hours to complete building this structure which would be used for the Traditional Bathing Ceremony.
On the third day, thus arrived the peak of the Traditional Bathing Ceremony where traditional customs passed down through generations were put in practice again, including ceremonial music known as ‘ the accompanying traditional music’.
Also participating in this ceremony were 17 native headmen from orang asli throughout the Kinta district to recognize and honour their new ruler. Invited as special guests were Tunku Besar Tampin VII Tunku Sheikh Razman bin Tunku Sheikh Idrus Al-Qadri, as the head of the customary administration in the Tampin Customary Region, Negeri Sembilan, and his consort, Cik Puan Isteri Anias binti Sobari.
Also present were the Territorial Chiefs, members of the Perak State Council of the Justices of the Peace, Vice Admiral Dato’ Pahlawan Abd Halim bin Haji Shaari, who is the Commander of Training and Doctrine, and Captain Ahmad Rashidi bin Othman, the Commanding Officer of K.D. Pelanduk, from the Royal Malaysian Navy based in Lumut Navy Town, Tourism, and Maritime.
All the indigenous headmen took their position all around the Panca Persada. The Panglima Kinta dressed in a Malay shirt without a songkok and samping while his wife adorned a baju kurung. The couple were guided by the shamans to circle the Panca Persada once, ascended it, sat on the bench, and were bathed with water taken from the seven tributaries of Kinta River.
The water, stored inside earthen containers, were gently poured by male descendants including the Toh Muda Panglima Kinta, over the heads of the couple. After the Traditional Bathing Ceremony, the Panglima Kinta and his wife descended from Panca Persada and entered their residence to change into dry clothes.
In the afternoon, both of them dressed in full ceremonial attire along with their orders and medals underwent the Installation Ceremony as well as the Baur Handing Over Ceremony. This ceremony was held in the lounge of their official residence. The couple sat on a special dais called ‘Gegunung’, and the ceremony of sprinkling water was performed over the baur.
After that, the blade was removed from its sheath by the shaman for the Panglima Kinta and Toh Puan to kiss. This was followed by putting the blade back into its sheath and placing the baur in an upright position in the middle of the dais.
On the morning of the fourth day (29 July 2025), the Panglima Kinta and his spouse would go on a procession through Ipoh city to commemorate his installation as the Panglima Kinta. To add pageantry to the occasion, a series of 10 vintage cars was invited to participate in this parade, accompanied by traditional music played by the orang asli.
After the parade, there was a silat presentation by two prominent bodies, viz. Pertubuhan Silat Seni Gerak Sendi Naga and Silat Seni Gayung Negeri Perak, held at the compound of the People Of Remarkable Talents (P.O.R.T.).
In the evening, a banquet was held in conjunction with this occasion. The Menteri Besar was invited as the guest of honour who was accompanied by his wife. The Bendahara and his wife also graced and attended the dinner held at the Jubilee Ballroom of the Royal Perak Golf Club.
On the late afternoon of the fifth day, a small bamboo raft made by the orang asli from Hulu Kinta, was brought to the bank of the Kinta River near Gunung Cheroh to be set afloat on the Kinta River to carry off the Kinta Genies downstream to the sea.
The Panglima Kinta and his son, the Toh Muda Panglima Kinta, were present to witness the event which was carried out successfully by the shamans.
About the Author:
Dr. Adib Vincent Tung Abdullah holds a Doctorate in Business Administration (Cross-Culture Management) and serves as Chairman of the Perak Academy. He has written more than 30 books on subjects ranging from royal traditions to natural history and entomology, including the landmark Titles and Ceremonial Traditions of the Royalty and Nobility of the State of Perak (936 pages, illustrated with over 1,500 photographs).
In 2024, he was conferred the title Ilmuwan Negeri Perak at the Darul Ridzuan Literary Awards in recognition of his lifelong contribution to the preservation of Perak’s heritage.
