GETTING TO KNOW MUNSYI ABDULLAH

Munsyi Abdullah was born in Kampung Pali in Malacca,

from parents of Tamil and Yemen descent. He was the youngest
of five sons. All of his brothers died in infancy. He was sick most
of the time and his mother took great care of him.

Following the customary practises of the Malay community

of that period, he was taken care of various individuals as it was
held that a child with poor immunity to diseases should be
cared for by caretakers other than his or her biological parents.

He became a teacher or Munsyi, first by teaching Malay to

the Indian soldiers of the Malacca Garrison. He was proficient in
Arabic, Tamil, Hindustani, English and Malay. He taught the
Malay language to British and American missionaries and
businessmen. When he was only 13 years old, Munsyi Abdullah
became secretary to Sir Stanford Raffles, the Governor -General
of the Dutch East Indies.

Abdullah set sail for Mecca from Singapore in 1854 with

the intention of completing the Hajj pilgrimage. He died of
cholera shortly after his arrival in Mecca and before he could
complete his pilgrimage in 1854. The Story of Abdulllah's
Voyage from Singapore to Mecca, one of Abdullah's lesser-
known works, records his experiences on the journey to Mecca.
Find the meaning of these words.
Then, build a new sentence from
each of the word.

1. descent: 2. infancy

3. practises: 4. various

5. caretakers:

6. biological parents:

7. Garrison: 7. proficient

8. missionaries: 9.
Pilgrimage