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Introduction
Terengganu is a region located on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, bordering Kelantan and Patani in the north, and Pahang in the south. These three regions—particularly Patani in the southern provinces of Thailand1 —was considered to be the center of Malay culture and closely related in terms of cultural development, race, and religion (Wan Teh, 1996; Sheppard, 1972). This connection exists as these regions were once a part of the Langkasuka Kingdom believed to have existed in the first century CE until the end of the 14th century CE. The Langkasuka Kingdom existed in several places during different time periods, namely Ligor, Kedah, Singgora and lastly Pattani (Sheppard, 1972; Wheatley, 1961).
Langkasuka’s strategic location—which connects the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea in the west with the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Seas in the east through the isthmus of Kra—it was considered as an emporium of Arab traders in the Malay Peninsula region which attracted other merchants, namely the Persians, Indian and Turkic people (Sheppard, 1972; Wheatley, 1961). This created a multi-racial and multi-religious society in Langkasuka. The local kings and elites were practicing Buddhism and Hinduism, while some of the merchants—Indians, Arabs, and Persian (including Turkic)—were Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Christian and Muslims (Shaghir, 1998). According to Ramli (2012), Buddhism was the earliest influence that was accepted by the local Malay communities in the 4th century CE followed by Hinduism (11th century CE). Despite the Buddhist influence being more prominent than Hinduism, it was carefully selected and acculturated into the existing local animistic traditions. The Mahayana sect of Buddhism practiced in Malaysia, in particular during the 5th century CE, was to fulfill the spiritual activities of local kings and elites. It also strengthened their positions as divine rulers and kings based on the concept of hierarchies, in addition to culture, art and architecture (Rahman et al. 2018; Ramli, 2012; Al-Attas, 1972). Although certain Buddhism–Hinduism artistic influences such as bunga teratai (lotus flower), Buah Buton (Buton fruit), pucuk rebung (bamboo shoots), makara (legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology) and pohon budi (bodhi tree) are apparent in Malay woodcarving and architecture. However, the identicality is only based on the physical appearance of the artforms as the style and meaning of the...