BALING is an administrative district located in southeastern Kedah and the closest in the state to border Thailand’s Patani region.
Baling is part of Old Kedah history. The name Baling which means "to throw" in Malay, was said to have originated from the Legend of Raja Bersiong.
Legend has it that the "vampiric king", who got his name after developing a taste for human blood, in his bid to escape the wrath of his subjects, pulled out his fangs and threw them here.
The place where his fangs landed is called "Siong" which means "fangs" in Malay. In short, Baling is a district with a colourful history.
Because of its close proximity to Patani, there is also a very strong influence of the Patani culture and language here.
The Patani language is unique because it is not fully Thai but more of a mixture of Malay that sounds slightly like the Kelantanese dialect.
The language spoken in Baling here is a mixture of Patani and Kedah Malay.
The New Straits Times visited a family in Baling who can trace their lineage from Patani and they converse in the unique Baling dialect.
The family patriarch, Wan Haris Che Mat, 70, lives in the remote Kampung Charok Bakong Dalam Wang or Kampung Dalam Wang for short.
According to Wan Haris, the village was founded by Tok Tha who hailed from Patani. He brought with him the language and culture of Patani and subsequently it mixed with the Kedah’s culture and language.
“Outsiders find it interesting that Baling has such a unique dialect.
“Others think we sound like Kelantanese because of the Patani influence.
“It's different from the Kelantan dialect because here, we merge the Patani language with the Kedah dialect,” he said.
Wan Haris invited his friends for the interview session in order to display the uniqueness of conversing in the Baling dialect.
“The difference is the terms we use is distinct here. For example the malay word “tahu” (know), we use “thu”. The word “hampa” (Kedah dialect for “you”), here we use “huma”, a kitchen area for a feast is called “wok mo” for example,” he said.
Blogger Ibn Jawi said the Baling language is actually known as the Reman dialect and originated from the old Reman empire located in Northern Kedah.
“There used to be an old Patani Malay empire called the Reman empire that was located in parts of northern Kedah and Yala in Thailand.
“When the empire was dissolved, the people were dispersed to different areas in northern Malaysia such as Baling and Sik, some parts of northern Perak and neighbouring Kelantan, bringing along the language and culture and mixing with the local language and culture,” he said.
Blogger Taufik Kamal agrees about the Reman roots of the dialect.
“When the Reman malay empire was destroyed, the people escaped to regions such as Baling and Sik in Kedah, Gerik and Pengkalan Hulu in Perak and also to Yala in Thailand.
“The dialect is an extension of the Patani-Kelantan dialect which is why anyone from Patani-Kelantan can understand the language in terms of sound and rhythm except the words used have been merged and infused with the Kedah dialect,” he said.
Wan Haris said the dialect is mostly used in the rural areas and is slowly being forgotten as time passes.
“This dialect is used widely amongst the elders in the remote villages. This is why some people call it Bahasa Kedah Hulu. It is mainly used in Hulu (remote) areas such as the northeastern region of Kedah almost spilling into Kelantan.
“However, when we speak with outsiders, we use normal Kedah Malay so they can understand," he said.
Wan Haris expressed hope that people will continue to cherish the old languages and dialects.
“Language carries so much history. We should cherish our language even as we progress. This may not be widely used anymore but it reminds us of our history and identity,” Wan Haris said.