The Malay Theory

The Malay Theory is a controversial theory claiming that the peoples described in the Book of Mormon occurred in the Malay Peninsula.
General Consensus
General Mormon beliefs hold that the angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith in 1827, and told him that "there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang.” (Joseph Smith History 1:34). While there is considerable debate in the Mormon community as to where the events in the Book of Mormon took place, most people believe that it occurred in some area of North, Central, or South America.
Dissatisfaction with Existing theories
Ralph Olsen, a a retired chemistry professor at Montana State University, first came up with the theory in 1994. This author has acknowledged that consideration of his "Malay hypothesis" by LDS scholars would require Book of Mormon archaeology to "undergo a radical paradigm shift—one that many would consider quite far-fetched."<ref name=Malay />
His purpose to combat . The Book of Mormon mentions many animals which are not native to the Americas, such as elephants, horses, and swine. Plants don't match. MesoAmerica didn't have many of the things mentioned in the Book of Mormon, the Malay Peninsula area did (ie. silk, metallurgy, peninsular setting, an inlet of the sea for Hagoth, wheeled vehicles, script on gold sheets, mideast writing, similar place names in appropriate locations, etc.) Additionally, DNA evidence seems to show an Northeast Asian ancestry of Native Americans, contrary to the Mormon belief that the Book of Mormon peoples came from Israel.
Outline of Theory
The Book of Mormon describes that Lehi and his family travelled in Arabia, heading in a South-Southwest direction, stopping in a place called Nahom, to bury [http://en. .org/wiki/Ishmael_(Book_of_Mormon) Ishmael], who was a member of their party. Most Mormon scholars believe that Nephi built a ship in Yemen. There are several candidates for Nephi's Harbor in the [http://en. .org/wiki/Bountiful_(Book_of_Mormon) Land Bountiful], such as Khor Rhori and Wadi Sayq/Khor Kharfot.
Olsen believes that Nephi and his party probably hugged the coastline. John Sorenson, a proponent of a Mesoamerican setting for the Book of Mormon concurs with this, and says that it is likely that Nephi stopped along the shore to replenish supplies. Olsen has made a case that the distance traveled make more sense for a 4000 mile journey to Malay, rather than a 16000 mile journey to the Americas.
Navigational Support
Olsen notes that the favorable wind and ocean currents (Gyres) extend only as far a Mala, making a trip to the Americas much more impractical than a trip to the Malay Peninsula. He also notes that the Jaredite barges were sometimes submerged, meaning they could have no sails. Therefore, ocean currents would have been vital. Ships in the Aegan Sea in about 700 B.C. sailed close to shore. They navigated by landfalls. They hugged the coast and beached their boats each night. To sail across the Aegean Sea (150 miles or less) was considered to be a 'great feat!' It was attempted only in the finest summer weather. Steering was done with an oar. (Coon, C.S. (1984) The Story of Man. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., p 258)
Topography
The "narrow neck of land" mentioned in the Book of Mormon is one of the most recognized natural features mentioned. Finding a suitable narrow neck is a big part of every theory. According to the Book of Mormon, a Nephite could cross the narrow neck of land in 1.5 days. The Narrow Neck on the Mala Peninsula is just 26 miles, making a one and a half day journey quite plausible.
Plant Support
Barley, wheat and other grains are known to have been cultivated in Southeast Asia. Only corn (which is not mentioned in the Book of Mormon) is known to have been cultivated in the Americas. In MesoAmerica they did not have tillage agriculture. They had no beasts of burden, no tillage equipment. So they couldn't have raised plants that require tillage.
SMALL GRAINS. EVERY KIND of Middle East grain would have included:
wheat, rye, barley, oats, millet, sorghum, and rice (Hunter, M.R. & T.S. Ferguson (1950) Ancient America and the Book of Mormon, Kolob Book Co, Oakland, CA, p. 306). The lack of evidence of any kind for any of these grains having been cultivated in ancient Mesoamerica creates a monumental problem for Meso. In support of Mala, wheat, barley, millet, rice, and other grains have long been cultivated in Southeast Asia (Pendleton, R.L. (1962) Thailand, Aspects of Landscape and Life. Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, NY, p. 177).
SHEUM. Nephites raised sheum (Msh 9:9). Sorenson (Sorenson, J.L. (1985) An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon. Deseret Book Co., SLC, UT., p. 185) reports that sheum was a small grain grown near Nimrod where Jaredites collected seeds about 3,000 B.C. Later the name would have changed (ibid.). Finding the term in Mosiah provides excellent support for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon and for Mala but not for Meso. Small grains were
not grown in Ancient Mesoamerica.
CORN. Nephites tilled the ground and planted seeds (not kernels) of corn and wheat and barley (Msh 7:22;9:9). In Biblical and traditional European cultures, the term ‘corn’ referred to one or more of the small grains (Bible Dictionary) (Deut 16:9). Ancient Americans did not till fields and did not raise small grains to the best of our knowledge. Small grains indicate Old World locations, e.g. the Malay Peninsula.
FRUITS. EVERY KIND of Middle East Fruit would have included: dates, apples, pears, grapes, figs, quince, plums, mulberries, melons, pomegranates, pistachio, citrus and cherries (28, p. 306). To the best of my knowledge, ancient Americans had none of these fruits under
cultivation during Book of Mormon times. Conversely, Mason (an early European explorer) reported that the Karens in southern Burma raised pineapples, grapes, bananas, coconut, breadfruit, plums, apples, oranges, limes, citron, and many other fruits (Mason, F. (1882) Tenasserim. Am. Mission Press, Maulmain, p. 379). By their fruits ye shall know them (Luke 6:44).
VEGETABLES. EVERY KIND of Old World vegetable would have included: turnip, cabbage, rutabaga, chard, mustard, radish, beet, carrot, parsnip, onion, leek, garlic, shallot, spinach, eggplant, lettuce, endive, celery, asparagus, pea, lentil, and others. There is no known
evidence of any of them having been grown in pre-Columbian America. In fact, when the Spaniards arrived in Mexico, they were provided with diverse luscious vegetables, ‘none of which were known to them’ (Prescott, W.H (1893) Conquest of Mexico. Vol 1, David McKay Publ., p. 293). A comparable argument might be made with regard to Middle East plants grown for spices. Southeast Asia became renowned as a source of valued spices.
NEW WORLD PLANTS. Some of the most choice plants on earth were indigenous to the New World. They include: potato, sweet potato, cassava, lima bean, tomato, pepper, squash, pumpkin, peanut, avocado, and cacao (Hunter, M.R. & T.S. Ferguson (1950) Ancient America and the Book of Mormon, Kolob Book Co, Oakland, CA, p. 306). Tobacco for all-important peace pipes could be
included. Lack of reference to any of them in the Book of Mormon raises doubts about
American hypotheses. Appropriately, they were not grown in ancient Southeast Asia.
VINEYARDS. MacGowan includes no Old World fruits in his list of cultivated plants in ancient America (MacGowan, K. (1950) Early Man in the New World, MacMillan, NY, p. 199). He states that there were a few wild fruits and berries, including grapes. Yet King Noah had vineyards and wine presses and made wine in abundance (Msh 11:15). The evidence preferentially supports Old World over New World hypotheses.
Maguey (agave) is a large plant which was grown using hand tools and requiring no work animals or tillage equipmnet. It was an extremely important crop in Central America which was used for paper, the intoxicating beverage 'pulque,' thatch for dwellings, thread, cord, rope, needles (from spines), and food (from roots). Engravings of the esteemed plant have been found in stone at Teotihuacan in MesoAmerica (Florescano, E. (1984) The Myth of Quetzalcoatl. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press. p. 13). They attest to its importance. Lack of mention of the plant or any of its uses in the Book of Mormon is one more indication that Book of Mormon events occurred elsewhere.
Animals Support
The Book of Mormon people had all manner of animals for food, including cattle, oxen, sheep, swine and goats (Ether 9:18). These are all Old World animals and were in Southeast Asia. No evidence has been found for any of them either being used, or existing in the Americas.
The Book of Mormon also identifies that animals were used for work, including horses, asses, elephants, cureloms and cumons. Modern readers do not know what cureloms and cumons are. Water Buffalo, Gaur and other bovines are known to be used as work animals in Southeast Asia, and Olsen theorizes that these might be good candidates for cureloms and cumons. Olsen has also noted that the Americas had no work animals.
ANIMALS FOR FOOD. The Jaredites had all manner of cattle (beef?), oxen, cows (milk?), sheep, swine, and goats (Eth 9:18). These were all domesticated animals
in the Old World during Book of Mormon times and, to the best of my knowledge,
they were in Southeast Asia. Larson reports that no evidence of these animals,
in any form, dating to BofM times has been found in America (Larson, S. (1996) Quest for the Gold Plates. Free Thinker Press, SLC, UT, p. 246). This includes ceramic representation, skeletal remains, mural art, scultures or any other form.
WORK ANIMALS. The Jaredites had domesticated horses, asses, and elephants
(Eth 9:19). These animals were indigenous to the Old World and were widely used as work animals. Conversely, Schele and Freidel write: All they (the Mayans) accomplished was done by means of stone tools, utilizing human beings as their beasts of burden. No animals large enough to carry cargo lived in Mesoamerica before the coming of the Spanish (Matheny, D.G. (1993) Does the Shoe Fit? A Critique of the Limited Tehuantepec Geography. In 'New Approaches to the Book of Mormon. Metcalf, B.L., ed., Signature Books, SLC, UT, p. 310).
CURELOMS AND CUMOMS. Although these animals are not identified in the Book of Mormon, they were work animals which were especially useful, as were elephants, to the Jaredites (Eth 9:19). In Southeast Asia, water buffalo and other bovines
were especially useful, e.g., in the cultivation of flooded rice fields and as draft animals. They are still commonly used in rural areas. Ancient Mesoamericans, during Book of Mormon times, had no work animals at all.
INSPIRED TRANSLATION. In a valiant attempt to accommodate the serious animal problems in the Book of Mormon, Sorenson (Sorenson, J.L. (1985) An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon. Deseret Book Co., SLC, UT, p. 299) has suggested that the names were mis-translated by Joseph Smith. e.g., maybe the term ‘horse’ really means ‘deer’ and maybe ‘swine’ really means ‘peccaries,’ etc. (ibid.). Well, if farm boy, Joseph Smith, had trouble translating (with divine assistance) an Egyption symbol representing an animal, then I shudder to think of errors introduced when he tried to translate esoteric religious terms from symbols. Thank heaven, Mala allows us to interpret most, if not all, terms literally. We need to have confidence in a scripture meaning what it says.
HONEY BEES. The Jaredites took swarms of honey bees with them in their travels (Eth 2:3). And later reference is made to them in the Book of Mormon
(BofM Index). This creates a major problem for Meso. The four species of honey bees are indigenous to the Old World (21, p. 6; 36); three of them are confined to Asia. Prior to 1500 A.D., ‘there were no honey bees in the New World’ (56, p. 387). Mason (an early European explorer in S.E. Asia) intriguingly reports finding several species of natural bees in the Burma area from which a considerable amount of honey was produced (Mason, F. (1882) Tenasserim. Am Mission Press, Maulmain, p. 379). Encyclopedia Britannica 2l, 6, 36.
BISON. Bison ranged southward through Mesoamerica (Radin, P. (1934) The Story of the American Indian, Garden City Publ., NY, p. 32-33). They were the source of much essential food, shelter, and clothing for native Americans.
Drums and tepees were made from their skins. Dances and important ceremonies
were performed in which bison were worshipped. The bison was the glorified hero in
songs and myth (ibid.). Surely then, bison would have been mentioned in the Book
of Mormon if the Land of Promise had been in Meso. In complete accord with Mala,
they are not mentioned in the Book of Mormon.
JAGUAR. This large American feline was of special symbolic and religious
significance in ancient Mesoamerica (Cheesman, P.R. (1978) The World of the Book of Mormon. Deseret Book Co., p. 42-51). Jaguar statues are found at many ziggurat (temple?) structures. In preferential support of a Land of Promise in the Old World, there is no reference to jaguars in the Book of Mormon.
DRAGONS. Dragons were indigenous to the Komodo Islands (Komodo Dragons) near the Malay Peninsula (Websters Dictionary). Reference is made to fighting like dragons in the Book of Mormon (Msh 20:11; Alma 43:44). This indicates to me that they had actually seen dragons fight and had drawn pictures of them on the gold plates. If Book of Mormon people were on the Malay Peninsula, they could have been familiar with dragons. America had none.
LIONS. The Book of Mormon reports lions in flocks of sheep (3 Ne 20:16; 21:12;
Msh 20:10). There were no lions or domesticated sheep in America during Book of Mormon times. They were Old World animals. The accounts preferentially support Mala.
DOGS. The dog was apparently the only domesticated animal in Book of Mormon times in Mesoamerica (Roberts, B.H. (1992) Studies of the Book of Mormon. Signature Books, SLC, UT, p. 98). It was very valuable for transportation, hunting, guarding, companionship and for food (ibid.). One would expect very favorable reference to dogs, therefore, in the Book of Mormon. Instead we find only two derogatory comments (3 Ne 7:8; 14:6) such as a dog turning to his vomit and keeping holy matters away from dogs. The comments seem inappropriate for a Meso setting.
AMERICAN ANIMALS FOR FOOD. To make matters worse for Meso, many New World animals which WERE very valuable food items in MesoAmerica ARE NOT mentioned in the Book of Mormon. They include: turkey, duck, quail, pheasant, partridge, dove, hares, rabbits, rodents (paca and agouti) and guinea pigs (Sorenson, J.L. (1985) An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon. Deseret Book Co., SLC, UT, p. 292). The large American game animals are not mentioned either. This serious lack of very important evidence is supportive of hypotheses other than American (such as Mala).
ANIMAL MATTERS. Without the domesticated animals listed above, related
items in the Book of Mormon are out of place in Mesoamerica. They include: milk
(2 Ne 9:50), flocks (2 Ne 5:11, Msh 2:3), herds (Enos 1:21; Hela 6:12), firstlings of flocks for sacrifice (Msh 2:3), and milk and honey (2 Ne 26:25). The Malay Peninsula provides a far better setting than does Mesoamerica.
Metals Support
The Book of Mormon people had mines, metallurgy and metals (Ether 10:23). There is good evidence of these in prehistoric S.E. Asia but not in MesoAmerica.
Metal tools, weapons, and body armor are mentioned in Ether 10:23 and Helaman 6:9. Of special interest are the Oriental SCIMITARS (cimeters, Enos 1:20; Msh 9:16). Evidence of these has been found in Southeast Asia but not in the Americas.
Money Systems
Metal coins were in use in ancient times in Southeast Asia but no evidence of them has been found in MesoAmerica. The Tamayana of India make reference to the Malay Peninsula as the Yava-Dvipa (barley peninsula) (sixth century BC) (Harrison, B. (1964) Southeast Asia, p. 10).
Barley was used as money in Mala (Alma 11:7). Some scholars have noted small amounts of grain that could be considered barley have been found in the Americas, but it certainly wasn't used as money.
Anthropological Support
DNA Support
No DNA tests have been done to confirm or deny Jewish DNA on the peninsula, though some people in Thailand do claim to be from the Tribe of Manasseh.
Corroborating Support
A Jewish documentary filmmaker named Simcha Jacobovici has made the claim that the Tribe of Manasseh may be located in the Malay Peninsula in his film “Quest for the Lost Tribes”. Jacobovici mentions that when Babylon invaded Israel and scattered them in 600 BC, that some of the tribes were taken across land to Malay. Proponents of the Malay theory feel this could explain how the Mulekites got there, and why the Nephites (who traveled by boat) couldn’t understand them.
Jacobovici also talked about a legend in Malay stating that some shipwrecked Jewish people landed there. A Mormon point of view would conceive that this might possibly indicate the Nephites landed there. Since the Book of Mormon claims that Nephi and Lehi were from the tribe of Manasseh, this could be an important event. Jacobovici states in his film that some of the local citizens in Malay claim to be from the Tribe of Manasseh.
In correspondence between Olsen and Simon Southerton, Southerton has not ruled out the possibility that Jewish sailors could have landed in Malay, though Southerton stops short of endorsing this theory.

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