title: Siwa Oasis

text: The Siwa Oasis (, "Wāḥat Sīwah," ) is an urban oasis in Egypt; between the Qattara Depression and the Great Sand Sea in the Western Desert, 50 km (30 mi) east of the Libyan border, and 560 km (348 mi) from the capital. Its fame primarily from its ancient role as the home to an oracle of Ammon, the ruins of which are a popular tourist attraction which gave the oasis its ancient name Oasis of Amun Ra, a major Egyptian deity.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: The Siwa oasis is in a deep depression that reaches below sea level, to about . To the west the Jaghbub oasis rests in a similar depression and to the east , the large Qattara Depression is also below sea level.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: The Ancient Egyptian name of the oasis was "sḫt jꜣmw", meaning "Field of Trees". The native Libyan toponym may be preserved in the Egyptian "t̠ꜣ(j) n d̠rw “tꜣj" on the fringe” where "t̠ꜣ" transcribed the local Palaeo-Berber name "*Se" or "*Sa". This name survived in the works of Muslim geographers as "Santariyyah."


title: Siwa Oasis

text: The etymology of the word سيوة Siwah is unclear. Champollion derives it from ⲥⲟⲟⲩϩ – a corruption of Egyptian word for "oasis", ⲟⲩⲁϩ. The additional evidence of the Egyptian source of Siwa's name is another place name in Kharga Oasis that may share the same etymology – "S.t-wȝḥ," modern Deir el-Hagar). Basset links it to a Berber tribal name "swh" attested further west in the early Islamic period, while Ilahiane, following Chafik, links it to the Shilha Berber word "asiwan", a type of bird of prey, and hence to Amun-Ra, one of whose symbols was the falcon. Some classical authors referred to the site as "Ammonium".


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Although the oasis is known to have been settled since at least the 10th millennium BC, the earliest evidence of any connection with Ancient Egypt is the 26th Dynasty, when a necropolis was established. Ancient Greek settlers at Cyrene made contact with the oasis around the same time (7th century BC), and the oracle temple of Amun (Greek: "Zeus Ammon"), who, Herodotus was told, took the image here of a ram. Herodotus knew of a "fountain of the Sun" that ran coldest in the noontime heat. During his campaign to conquer the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great reached the oasis, supposedly by following birds across the desert. The oracle, Alexander's court historians alleged, confirmed him as both a divine personage and the legitimate Pharaoh of Egypt, though Alexander's motives in making the excursion, following his founding of Alexandria, remain to some extent inscrutable and contested. During the Ptolemaic Kingdom, its Ancient Egyptian name was "sḫ.t-ỉm3w", meaning "Field of Trees".


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Evidence of Christianity at Siwa is uncertain, but in 708 the Siwans resisted an Islamic army, and probably did not convert until the 12th century. A local manuscript mentions only seven families totaling 40 men living at the oasis in 1203.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: In the 12th century, Al-Idrisi mentions it as being inhabited mainly by Berbers, with an Arab minority; a century before Al-Bakri stated that only Berbers lived there. The Egyptian historian Al-Maqrizi traveled to Siwa in the 15th century and described how the language spoken there 'is similar to the language of the Zenata'.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: The first European to visit since Roman times was the English traveler William George Browne, who came in 1792 to see the ancient temple of the Oracle of Amun. Bompiani, in her description of the 19th-century explorer Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti, called this site the "Oasis of Jupiter Ammon".


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Siwa was annexed by Muhammad Ali of Egypt in 1820, but the Egyptian representative in Siwa was assassinated in 1838. At some point, Muhammad al-Sanusi stayed at Siwa for a few months and gathered some followers here. Later, Siwa was a base of the Sanusiyya in their fight against the British from 1915-17. Meanwhile, in the spring of 1893, German explorer and photographer Hermann Burchardt took photographs of the architecture of the town of Siwa, now stored at the Ethnological Museum of Berlin.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Egyptian rule from distant Cairo was at first tenuous and marked by several revolts. Egypt began to assert firmer control after a 1928 visit to the Oasis by King Fuad I, who berated the locals for "a certain vice" and specified punishments to bring Siwan behaviour in line with Egyptian morals.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Siwa was also the site of some fighting during World War I and World War II. The British Army's Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) was based here, but Rommel's Afrika Korps also took possession three times. German soldiers went skinny dipping in the lake of the oracle, contrary to local customs which prohibit public nudity. In 1942 while the Italian 136th Infantry Division Giovani Fascisti occupied the oasis, a tiny Egyptian puppet government-in-exile was set up at Siwa. The oasis makes a brief appearance as a base of the LRDG in the 1958 war film "Ice Cold in Alex".


title: Siwa Oasis

text: The ancient fortress of Siwa, known as the Shali Ghadi ("Shali" being the name of the town, and "Ghadi" meaning "remote"), was built on natural rock (an inselberg) and made of kershif (salt and mud-brick) and palm logs. After it was damaged by three days of heavy rains in 1926 it was abandoned for similar unreinforced construction housing on the plain surrounding it, and in some cases those, in turn, have been replaced by more modern cinder block and sheet metal roof buildings. Only one building in the Shali complex has been repaired and is in use, a mosque. Gradually eroded by infrequent rains and slowly collapsing, the Shali remains a prominent feature, towering five stories above the modern town and lit at night by floodlights. It is most easily approached from its southwest side, south of the end of the paved road which curves around from the north side of the Shali. Several uneven pedestrian streets lead from the southwest end of the Shali into it, the ground rent in places by deep cracks. Many of the unreinforced kershif buildings bordering the streets of the Shali are also split by large cracks, or they are partially collapsed.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Other local historic sites of interest include the remains of the oracle temple; the Gebel al Mawta (the Mountain of the Dead), a Roman-era necropolis featuring dozens of rock-cut tombs; and "Cleopatra's Bath", an antique natural spring. The fragmentary remains of the oracle temple, with some inscriptions dating from the 4th century BC, lie within the ruins of Aghurmi. The revelations of the oracle fell into disrepute under the Roman occupation of Egypt.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh), as the rest of Egypt.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: The traditional culture of Siwa shows many unique elements, some reflecting its longstanding links with the isolated Oasis life and the fact that the inhabitants are Siwi Berbers. Until a tarmac road was built to the Mediterranean coast in the 1980s Siwa's only links with the outside world were by arduous camel tracks through the desert. These were used to export dates and olives, bring trade goods, or carry pilgrims on the route which linked the Maghreb to Cairo and hence to Mecca.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: As a result of this isolation, Siwis developed a unique natural culture manifested in its crafts of basketry, pottery, silverwork and embroidery and in its style of dress. The most visible and celebrated examples of this were the bridal silver and the ensemble of silver ornaments and beads that women wore in abundance to weddings and other ceremonies. These pieces were decorated with symbols which related to Siwa's history and beliefs and attitudes.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: The best known of these pieces is a huge silver disc called '"adrim"' and a round necklace, called "'aghraw'," from which it hung over the breast. A girl would give up the disc at a special ceremony in the spring the day she was married. The jewelry, which was made by local silversmiths, consisted of silver necklaces, earrings, bangles, hair ornaments, pendants, and many rings. For a wealthy woman, the full ensemble could weigh as much as five or six kilos. These pieces are decorated with symbols common to Berber people across North Africa designed to promote good health, fertility and to protect the wearer from misfortune. Some of the same signs and patterns are found on the embroidery which embellishes women's dresses, trousers, and shawls.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: The arrival of the road and of television exposed the oasis to the styles and fashions of the outside world and the traditional silver ornaments were gradually replaced by jewelry made of gold. Evidence of the old styles and traditions are however still in evidence in the women's embroidery and costume. The material for the "tarfutet", the distinctive all-enveloping shawl worn by women, are brought from outside the oasis, specifically from the town of Kirdasa, in the Giza Governorate.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Siwi people are very religious so on Ramadan, they tend to close all the shops and stay at home for the whole month. Like other Muslim Egyptians, Siwis celebrate Eid al-Fitr ("lʕid ahakkik","the Little Eid") and Eid al-Adha ("lʕid azuwwar","the Big Eid"). Unlike other Egyptians, however, on Eid al-Adha Siwis cook the skin of the sheep (along with its innards) as a festival delicacy, after removing the hair. They also eat heart of palm ("agroz").


title: Siwa Oasis

text: The Siyaha Festival (Eid El Solh - Eid El Hasad), in honour of the town's traditional patron saint Sidi Sulayman, is unique to Siwa. (The name is often misunderstood as a reference to "tourism", but in fact predates tourism.), it is known that on this occasion Siwi men meet on a mountain near the town, Gabal Al - Dakrour, to eat together, sing chants while thanking God, and reconcile with one another; all Siwi houses co-operate in preparing and cooking food, in this day Siwian people eat fattah (rice, toasted bread and meat), after Dohr prayer (12:00 PM) all Siwian youth gather to set the banquet, nobody is allowed to eat before the caller announces to start eating so they can all eat together, the women stay behind in the village, and celebrate with dancing, singing, and drums. The food for the festival is bought collectively, with funds gathered by the oasis' mosques, celebrations last for 3 Qamari days, and in the early morning of the fourth day, siwian men form a big march, while holding flags and singing spiritual songs, march starts from Gabal El - Dakrour and ends in Sidi Solayman square - in the center of Siwa - declaring ending of festivals, and beginning of a new year without hatred or grudge, and with love, respect and reconciliation.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Siwi children traditionally also celebrated Ashura by lighting torches, singing, and exchanging sweets. Adults' celebration was limited to the preparation of a large meal.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Siwans are preferentially endogamous, only rarely marrying non-Siwans. Nonetheless, Bedouin brides command a higher brideprice in Siwa than Siwan ones.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: According to older members of the "Awlad Ali" Bedouins, the Bedouin relations with Siwans were traditionally mediated through a system of "friendship", whereby a specific Siwan (and his descendants) would be the friend of a specific Bedouin (and his descendants). The Bedouin would stay at the Siwan's house when he came to Siwa, and would exchange his animal products and grain for the Siwan's dates and olive oil.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Women have traditionally played a prominent role in Siwan households, often being in charge of a household's financial decisions. They have also been responsible for raising children; the town's deputy mayor said in 1985, "If our children speak Siwi, it to our womenfolk that they owe it."


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Siwa is of special interest to anthropologists and sociologists because of its historical acceptance of male homosexuality and even rituals celebrating same-sex marriage - traditions that the Egyptian authorities have sought to repress, with increasing success, since the early twentieth century.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: The German egyptologist Georg Steindorff explored the Oasis in 1900 and reported that homosexual relations were common and often extended to a form of marriage: "The feast of marrying a boy was celebrated with great pomp, and the money paid for a boy sometimes amounted to fifteen pounds, while the money paid for a woman was a little over one pound." Mahmud Mohammad Abd Allah, writing of Siwan customs for the Harvard Peabody Museum in 1917, commented that although Siwan men could take up to four wives, "Siwan customs allow a man but one boy to whom he is bound by a stringent code of obligations."


title: Siwa Oasis

text: In 1937 the anthropologist Walter Cline wrote the first detailed ethnography of the Siwans in which he noted: "All normal Siwan men and boys practice sodomy...among themselves the natives are not ashamed of this; they talk about it as openly as they talk about love of women, and many if not most of their fights arise from homosexual competition...Prominent men lend their sons to each other. All Siwans know the matings which have taken place among their sheiks and their sheiks' sons...Most of the boys used in sodomy are between twelve and eighteen years of age." After an expedition to Siwa, the archaeologist Count Byron de Prorok reported in 1937 "an enthusiasm [that] could not have been approached even in Sodom... Homosexuality was not merely rampant, it was raging...Every dancer had his boyfriend...[and] chiefs had harems of boys".


title: Siwa Oasis

text: In the late 1940s a Siwan merchant told the visiting British novelist Robin Maugham that the Siwan women were "badly neglected", but that Siwan men "will kill each other for boy. Never for a woman", although as Maugham noted, marriage to a boy had become illegal by then. The Egyptian archaeologist Ahmed Fakhry, who studied Siwa for three decades, observed in 1973 that "While the Siwans were still living inside their walled town, none of these bachelors was allowed to spend the night in the town and had to sleep outside the gates...Under such circumstances it is not surprising that homosexuality was common among them...Up to the year 1928, it was not unusual that some kind of written agreement, which was sometimes called a marriage contract, was made between two males; but since the visit of King Fu'ad to this oasis it has been completely forbidden...However, such agreements continued, but in great secrecy, and without the actual writing, until the end of World War II. Now the practice is not followed."


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Despite the multiplicity of sources for these practices, the Egyptian authorities and even the Siwan tribal elders have attempted to repress the historical and anthropological record. When the Siwa-born anthropologist Fathi Malim included reference to Siwan homosexuality (especially a love poem from a man to a youth) in his book "Oasis Siwa" (2001), the tribal council demanded that he blank out the material in the current edition of the book and remove it from future editions, or be expelled from the community. Malim reluctantly agreed and physically deleted the passages in the first edition of his book, and excluded them from the second. A newer book, "Siwa Past and Present" (2005) by A. Dumairy, the Director of Siwa Antiquities, discreetly omits all mention of the famous historical practices of the inhabitants.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: About 80 km (50 mi) in length and 20 km (12 mi) wde, Siwa Oasis is one of Egypt's most isolated settlements with about 24,000 people, mostly Siwi berbers. who developed a very isolated desert culture and a language called Siwi; they are also fluent in the Egyptian dialect of Arabic which is called "Masry" meaning Egyptian.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Siwa has been noted for its dates since ancient times, and today date palm cultivation is by far the largest component of its economy. In a distant second place, with about one-fifth of the scale as dates, is olive cultivation. Handicrafts like basketry are also of regional importance.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Tourism has in recent decades become a vital source of income. Much attention has been given to creating hotels that use local materials and display local styles.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: In the mid-20th century, Egyptian archaeologist Ahmed Fakhry worked at Siwa (and elsewhere in the Western Desert).


title: Siwa Oasis

text: In 1995, Greek archaeologist Liana Souvaltzi announced that she had identified the tomb of Alexander the Great in the oasis of Siwa. Mrs Liana Souvaltzi made the following statement to the Greek media: “but I am speaking to every Greek all over the world. I want every one of you to feel proud because Greek hands have found this very important monument”. This statement was an answer to the, at the time, Greek prime minister Costas Simitis who urged the archaeologists to stop their research in Egypt and sent a Greek Embassy advisor to ask the Egyptian government to withdraw Mrs Souvaltzi’s permission to excavate in the area. This was the first time in human history that one country's government intervened in another country's internal affairs to stop an archaeological excavation. The case is still active in the Greek courts of law.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: An extremely old hominid footprint was discovered in 2007 at Siwa Oasis. Egyptian scientists claimed it could be 2–3 million years old, which would make it the oldest fossilized hominid footprint ever found. However, no proof of this conjecture was ever presented.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: In late 2013, an announcement was made regarding the apparent Archaeoastronomy discovery of precise spring and fall Equinox sunrise alignments over the Aghurmi mound/Amun Oracle when viewed from Timasirayn temple in the Western Desert, 12 km away across Lake Siwa. The first known recent public viewing of this event occurred on 21 March 2014 during the spring Equinox.


title: Siwa Oasis

text: Siwa Oasis is an official map for "" which belongs to North Africa Campaign. The fifth mission from the game "Sniper Elite III" takes place on the Siwa Oasis. Siwa is prominently featured in "" and is the birthplace and home of protagonist Bayek. In British author Anthony Horowitz's "Alex Rider" series, the ninth and eleventh instalments "Scorpia Rising" and "Never Say Die" feature Siwa. In Australian author Matthew Reilly's "Jack West" series of seven novels starting with "Seven Ancient Wonders" feature prominently the Oracle of Siwa.


title: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee

text: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee () also known by the initialism MNMN, is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language coming-of-age film written and directed by Darbuka Siva, in his directorial debut, who also scored music for the film. Produced by Sameer Bharat Ram, the film features a predominantly new cast and crew. It was released on 21 January 2022 on ZEE5, and received positive response upon release.


title: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee

text: The film premieres sometime in the '90s and shows a group of adolescent boys from a Catholic school all set to begin their 11th year. The bunch of friends (Vinoth, Surender/Su, Chinese, Naushad, Richard, Durai, Francis and a few others), all studying in Commerce stream, check the list of new admissions for any new girls on the day of collecting their school books. They are met by two girls (Rekha and Anu) from the same school and upon leaving Rekha looks over and waves at Vinoth. It is shown that Vinoth and Rekha have been in a relationship for the past three years and only a few of their friends know about it. One of their common interest and favourite dating activity is listening to A. R. Rahman songs in a walkman. Vinoth aspires to become a music director and Rekha is supportive of his goal, so much so, that she even gifts him a guitar for his birthday


title: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee

text: On that same day, a girl named Victoria/Vicky joins the Commerce stream as a new admission and takes an instant liking to Vinoth. Whilst all of Vinoth's friends suspect her of being interested in Vinoth, he rejects the idea of it. While Rekha's best friend Anu is in the Commerce stream with the boys, Rekha is in the Science stream, away from the boys. Rekha often shares her feeling of having less time to spend with Vinoth now that they are in different classes. After school reopens, more students are introduced - notably, Catherine, Richard, and Francis among others; Catherine is egoistic and detests and mocks Chinese who is interested in her. Richard, though part of the friendship group, is domineering and problematically precocious. Lastly, Francis is often bullied by Richard due to his lack of 'manliness'.


title: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee

text: Initially jealous and possessive, Rekha grows suspicious about the friendship between Vicky and Vinoth, despite Vinoth's denial and fidelity. After an incident where Rekha becomes upset at seeing Vinoth and Vicky playing basketball together, Vinoth begins to maintain distance with Vicky. On their farewell day at the end of their 12th year, Rekha learns about the relationship between Anu and Chinese and excitedly rushes to tell this news to Vinoth. At this time, Vicky requests the help of Vinoth to remove a box from a tall shelf in a secluded room. As he was lifting, a speck of dust seems to fall into the eyes of Vicky and when he tries to blow it out, Vicky kisses him on the cheek. However, Rekha witnesses the kiss and immediately rushes away from there. Both Vinoth and Rekha decide to end their relationship after an intense argument where Vinoth was unable to convince Rekha. As Vinoth goes to sleep that day, Cupid arrives and advises Vinoth to beg mercy from Rekha and patch up. Vinoth adamantly refuses and claims that he is better off without Rekha in his life and that he will not regret his decision. At the same time, a silently crying Catherine leaves earlier from the farewell event, after being almost sexually abused by a food vendor at the event. Similarly, Francis and Richard are chastised by the teachers after the teachers catch the boys drinking, although Francis was bullied by Richard into drinking.


title: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee

text: The scene cuts to Vinoth's future in the present day, where he is shown to be a successful and famous music director, yet unmarried and void of bliss in life. At this time Chinese arrives at his house and they leave for their school reunion. Chinese is a contractor and married, but unhappy with his marriage, which he doesn't show to others. They meet up with Richard, who is happily married with two kids, yet he suffers from alcoholism.Durai, Another friend of theirs is burdened with loans as he had to marry his three sisters with hefty dowries on his own. Surendar arrives at the reunion on a sports motorbike, flaunting his bachelor's life and its freedom. Naushad, a physician, arrives with his newly married conservative wife. Anu arrives with her husband, who is overly talkative, naive, and a credulous man. Catherine gives out backhanded compliments which are hiddenly insulting. Rekha arrives with her fiancé Sid, who is uninterested in the reunion and finds it lacking class and taste to his liking, and decides to leave midway. Another friend, Joseph, who used to be Vinoth's competition in music arrives and greets Vinoth and asks for keyboard player opportunities in his upcoming projects as he is struggling. Finally, Francis, now confident and comfortable in his own skin, arrives with his partner, and seeing his partner, an overly drunk Richard shouts for him to leave. Richard's wife Sharon drives sense into Richard who later apologises to Francis for his behaviour and admits that it has been hard for him to see Francis in this light after growing up together with him having a different image of Francis in his mind.


title: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee

text: Chinese sees how Catherine has been rudely behaving and decides to teach her a lesson by surreptitiously following her to her home with the aid of Surendar. He spraypaints her parked car, however, Catherine comes out of her home and discovers both of them hiding behind a wall. A child follows her out and calls her mum and this shocks both Chinese and Surendar. Catherine admits that she is no longer the same girl that they knew in school and that her behaviour at the reunion was done knowingly because she wanted to recreate her past self for a few hours of satisfaction and even the car parked outside is a rental car for a day. She tells them how she is now a single mother and an unmarried woman after her affair with a married professor. Hearing her story, Chinese reveals that he is waiting for his divorce finalisation after his wife cheated on him with someone else in their office. Surendar too admits that he is still trying to make ends meet as a mechanic and the bike he rode was borrowed for a day from a workshop near his. In the end, they all end up spending the night at Catherine's, cooking, eating, and laughing.


title: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee

text: On the other hand in the reunion, Vinoth is asked to perform a song and he reluctantly grabs a guitar and sings a song which he states as the first song he had written. Throughout the song, he exchanges gaze with Rekha who is emotional at knowing that this song is written for her. She asks him if she could listen to any songs from his upcoming movies. Vinoth agrees and they both walk out of the reunion together as Vinoth had his earphones in his car. They share an earpiece of the earphones listening to the songs. Rekha asks Vinoth to play A.R.Rahman's songs which they listened to during their school time. Sid calls Rekha and informed her that he had come to pick her up. As Rekha was about to leave, Vinoth admits that he has missed her.An emotional Rekha takes Vinoth by surprise by planting a passionate kiss on his lips and leaves without looking back. The kiss crumbles Vinoth to the ground and he regrets his past decision to end his relationship with Rekha.Chinese finds him and consoles him while Cupid arrives at this scene with the past Vinoth from the 90s in the background, seemingly showing him the eventuation of his decision. Seeing this, Vinoth begs for another chance and Cupid grants him that chance to return back to the 90s. Waking back up in his room after the argument with Rekha on their farewell day, Vinoth runs to Rekha's house and apologises to her and they both reconcile.


title: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee

text: The scene cuts to the future in the present day, where Vinoth is happily married to Rekha, who is an architect and has a child. Although he isn't a music director anymore and works a normal office job, he is happy just to have Rekha in his life. Chinese is married to Anu and directs sitcoms. Richard is married too, but this time his wife is an alcoholic, whom he has to take care of. Catherine is a successful children's author. Naushad is married to a different woman and is happy. Francis is a famous YouTuber. Surendar works in a call center and is engaged to a Nepalese lady. Joseph is now a successful music director. All of the friends are successful and happy with where their lives are. In this version of their lives, the friends are on good terms with Vicky too, who joins their reunion virtually as she now lives abroad. The movie ends with an appearance of Cupid - who Vinoth doesn't remember, though he realises to have met him somewhere - and Cupid saying how he has met up with each of the characters somewhere in their lives to direct them to make the right decisions in their love life, but none remembers him.


title: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee

text: In April 2018, music composer Darbuka Siva announced his debut as a director, with the project being produced by Sameer Bharat Ram of Super Talkies. Stating about his directorial debut with his original script, Siva stated that he had working experience because he has worked extensively with budding directors, also adding that he will simultaneously continue to compose music for other films. Sameer described it as "coming-of-age film featuring a bunch of new talent", adding that a casting call for the film had been put on social media.


title: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee

text: The makers officially announced the film with a tentative title "#MNMN" in May 2019, with a principal launch also held the same day. In August 2019, the makers had completed the first schedule of shooting, which was held predominantly in and around Chennai. Principal photography wrapped in November 2019. On 4 November 2019, a day after the film's shooting got completed, Darbuka Siva announced the major technicians of the film's crew members; with himself composing the music, he also brought the key technicians of the film, which included Sujith Sarang, Sreejith Sarang, Thamarai as the cinematographer, editor and lyricist along with other crew members, and on 8 November, the makers officially announced the film's title as "Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee", derived from one of the verses of his composition "Maruvaarthai" from "Enai Noki Paayum Thota" (2019).


title: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee

text: The music was composed by Darbuka Siva. "Pudhidhaai" is singer Jonita Gandhi's second collaboration with Siva after "Thirudathe Thirudathe" from "Enai Noki Paayum Thota" (2019). On recording, she told "The Hindu", "I was given the vibe that it needs to be a little retro and happy. It is almost like candypop (genre) in India; almost making one feel youthful. Especially towards the end of the song, he wanted a lot of the parts to sound 'freeing'." In an interview with "The Times of India", Gandhi said, "The song was nostalgic, not just lyrically, but also reminds us to relive the memories, especially during the pandemic. Because all we are doing during this time is live off memories". The song was released as a single on 21 January 2021, coinciding with a promotional curtain raiser event featuring prominent stand-up comedians and YouTubers. The soundtrack album which was unveiled on 31 March 2021, featured six tracks including all the tracks which were released as singles earlier, it also had a reprised version of the title track performed by Shweta Subram.


title: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee

text: Darbuka Siva announced a unique promotional campaign to introduce the lead characters of the film through social media platforms. Starting from the occasion of Children's Day (14 November 2019), twelve lead characters and their names were announced by the film's team.


title: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee

text: "Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee" was released on 21 January 2022 on ZEE5. Logesh Balachandran of "The Times of India" wrote, "Over the years, we have witnessed several campus flicks in different languages across the country. But only a few have actually created an impact and kindled a sense of nostalgia. Darbuka Siva's "Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee" is one such film [...] Overall, the film is definitely worth-watching and would be loved by the generation who miss their school days".


title: Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee

text: At the New York Movie Awards, "Mudhal Nee Mudivum Nee" won in the "Honourable Mention" category. Siva won in the "Best Director" category at the Art Film Awards, Macedonia.


title: Friends (season 1)

text: The first season of "Friends", an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994. "Friends" was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The season contains 24 episodes and concluded airing on May 18, 1995.


title: Friends (season 1)

text: Early reviews of the series were generally positive. In the "Los Angeles Daily News", Ray Richmond named the series as "one of the brighter comedies of the new season", and the "Los Angeles Times" called it "flat-out the best comedy series of the new season". Tom Feran of "The Plain Dealer" wrote that the series traded "vaguely and less successfully on the hanging-out style of "Seinfeld"", while Ann Hodges of the "Houston Chronicle" called it "the new "Seinfeld" wannabe, but it will never be as funny as "Seinfeld"." "Chicago Sun-Times" Ginny Holbert found Joey and Rachel's characteristics to be underdeveloped, while Richmond commended the cast as a "likeable, youth ensemble" with "good chemistry"; Robert Bianco of "USA Today" was complimentary of Schwimmer, calling him "terrific". He also praised the female leads, but was concerned that Perry's role as Chandler was "undefined" and that LeBlanc was "relying too much on the same brain-dead stud routine that was already tired the last two times he tried it". The authors of "Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends" thought that the cast was "trying just a little too hard", in particular Perry and Schwimmer. "People Magazine" said that the "saving grace" is that the characters become more likable as time goes on.


title: Friends (season 1)

text: Collider ranked the season #9 on their ranking of the ten "Friends" seasons. They wrote that the best episode of the season which is called "The One Where Rachel Finds Out".


title: Angel City FC

text: Angel City Football Club is a National Women's Soccer League expansion team that began play in 2022. The team is based in Los Angeles, California, and was announced on July 21, 2020. The team has many high-profile owners, including Becky G, Natalie Portman, Eva Longoria, Mia Hamm, and Serena Williams.


title: Angel City FC

text: The team is the Los Angeles area's first women's professional soccer team since the Los Angeles Sol of Women's Professional Soccer folded in 2010.


title: Angel City FC

text: On July 21, 2020, the National Women's Soccer League announced that Los Angeles would be awarded an expansion franchise for the 2022 season. The team was announced with a majority female ownership group led by actress Natalie Portman, venture capitalist Kara Nortman, entrepreneur Julie Uhrman, and venture capitalist Alexis Ohanian. Other founding members of the team included professional tennis player Serena Williams, actors Uzo Aduba, Jessica Chastain, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner, and Eva Longoria, late night talk show host and YouTuber Lilly Singh, YouTuber Casey Neistat, and former members of the United States national team including Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, Rachel Van Hollebeke, Shannon Boxx, Amanda Cromwell, Lorrie Fair, Ronnie Fair, Joy Fawcett, Angela Hucles, Shannon MacMillan, Tisha Venturini, Saskia Webber, Lauren Holiday, and Abby Wambach.


title: Angel City FC

text: It was also announced during the team's launch that they would be announcing their official name before the end of the year but were going to use 'Angel City' as a tentative nickname. The team was also in discussions with various groups for a stadium agreement, including the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer.


title: Angel City FC

text: In the time since the club's name was confirmed as Angel City FC on October 21, 2020, additional members of the ownership group were announced, among them tennis great Billie Jean King, former tennis player and current tennis administrator Ilana Kloss, WNBA star Candace Parker, NHL star P. K. Subban, actress and activist Sophia Bush, Latin pop star Becky G, actor and TV host James Corden, former US men's international soccer star Cobi Jones, NFL offensive lineman Ryan Kalil, and "The Vlog Squad" member Natalina Mariduena.


title: Angel City FC

text: Angel City FC hosted Mexican football club Tigres UANL Femenil in the club’s first-ever International Friendly match in August 2022, which Angel City FC won 1-0. The first edition of the Copa Angelina on September 5, 2022 saw Angel City FC fall 2-0 to the Mexico women's national football team off a goal by Scarlett Camberos and an own goal.


title: Angel City FC

text: The announcement of the Angel City ownership group's franchise agreement caused backlash on social media among women's sports fans and particularly roller derby fans due to the long-standing existence of the popular Angel City Derby. The groundbreaking WFTDA team was established in 2005 by female skaters and consistently ranks among the top derby teams in the world. On October 21, 2020, the club officially confirmed that it would keep the name "Angel City Football Club".


title: Angel City FC

text: Angel City FC's official colors are "asphalt" and "armour" with "sol rosa" as an accent color, a pink-tinted hue unique to the club.


title: Angel City FC

text: On June 30, 2021, the club revealed its crest featuring an angel with wings inspired by the Southern California red-tailed hawk and shaped to mimic the area’s palm trees, with the top of the crest sloping at a 22-degree angle to represent their 2022 entry into the league. The crest was designed by Amedea Tassinari.


title: Angel City FC

text: The club collaborated with supporters in the design of the colors, crest, and kit to ensure the club represented Los Angeles.


title: Angel City FC

text: On November 17, 2021 the club unveiled its primary kit which is made from recycled materials. The all-black primary look features hints of sol rosa and an art deco pattern. The kit will also feature an ‘empowering phrase’ above player names.


title: Angel City FC

text: In November 2020, it was announced the team would play its home matches at Banc of California Stadium in Exposition Park near Downtown Los Angeles. Banc of California Stadium is also home to Los Angeles Football Club of Major League Soccer.


title: Angel City FC

text: Only competitive matches are counted. Includes NWSL regular season, playoffs, and Challenge Cup matches.


title: Tituss Burgess

text: Tituss Burgess (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in numerous Broadway musicals and is known for his high tenor voice. He is best known for starring as Titus Andromedon on the Netflix comedy series "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" (2015–2020), for which he has received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations.


title: Tituss Burgess

text: Born and raised in Athens, Georgia, he attended Cedar Shoals High School where he was active in the theatre program. He graduated from the University of Georgia with a BA in music. He is gay.


title: Tituss Burgess

text: Burgess made his great Broadway debut in the musical "Good Vibrations" as Eddie in 2005, and then appeared in "Jersey Boys" in 2005 as Hal Miller. He originated the role of "Sebastian the Crab" in the musical "The Little Mermaid" in 2007 and went on to the role of Nicely-Nicely Johnson, traditionally played by a white actor, in the revival of "Guys and Dolls" in 2009. He has also performed in several regional theater productions, including "The Wiz" and "Jesus Christ Superstar".


title: Tituss Burgess

text: Burgess performed at the "Broadway for Obama" benefit concert held at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Easton, Pennsylvania, on October 20, 2008. He performed at the "Broadway After Dark" benefit concert on October 26, 2008, in New York City. He performed in a solo concert at Birdland in New York City on July 27, 2009.


title: Tituss Burgess

text: In July 2009, he was a performer on the R Family Vacations Summer Cruise. Three months later, he was featured on an episode of the popular web show "The Battery's Down". He appeared in Season 5 of "30 Rock" as D'Fwan, a member of Tracy Jordan's wife's entourage. He reprised the role in Season 6.


title: Tituss Burgess

text: He was cast as The Caterpillar in the 2011 Broadway musical "Wonderland" in October 2010. A month later, he dropped out of the project.


title: Tituss Burgess

text: In March 2013, Burgess performed "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from the Broadway musical "Dreamgirls" at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS fundraising concert Broadway Backwards.


title: Tituss Burgess

text: Burgess was cast in the role of The Witch, a role traditionally played by a female, in "Into the Woods" in a 2015 production by DreamCatcher Theatre which performed in Miami's Carnival Studio Theater at the Adrienne Arsht Center.


title: Tituss Burgess

text: On March 6, 2015, Netflix released the first season of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" which stars Burgess in a main role as Titus Andromedon, Kimmy's roommate. Burgess received universal acclaim for his performance, with "The New York Times" stating that the role was tailor-made for him. For his performance in the first season, he received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 2015 Critics' Choice Television Awards and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 2015 ceremony.


title: Tituss Burgess

text: In June 2016, Burgess reprised his role of "Sebastian the Crab" during the Hollywood Bowl concert event of "The Little Mermaid".


title: Tituss Burgess

text: Since May 2020, he stars in the musical cartoon series "Central Park" as Cole Tillerman, alongside Leslie Odom Jr., Kristen Bell, Daveed Diggs, Josh Gad, Kathryn Hahn and Stanley Tucci.


title: Tituss Burgess

text: On December 28, 2020, it was announced that Burgess will star as Remy in a benefit concert presentation of "Ratatouille the Musical", an internet meme that originated on TikTok, inspired by the 2007 Disney/Pixar film. The concert streamed exclusively on TodayTix on January 1, 2021.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: Tessa Blanchard (born July 26, 1995) is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in Impact Wrestling, where she became the first female wrestler to win the Impact World Championship and is also a former Impact Knockouts Champion. A third-generation professional wrestler, Blanchard is the daughter of Four Horsemen member Tully Blanchard and the stepdaughter of Blanchard's rival Magnum T. A. In addition, Blanchard is a former The Crash Women's Champion, AAA Reina de Reinas Champion, and WOW World Champion.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: Blanchard was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on July 26, 1995. She is the granddaughter of wrestler Joe Blanchard, daughter of Tully Blanchard and the stepdaughter of Magnum T. A.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: At age 4, Blanchard and her siblings moved in with her mother and stepfather after her parents' separation. Tully Blanchard would visit his children at least once a month after the divorce. She has three siblings from her father and twin half-siblings from her stepfather. Blanchard considers herself a musical-theater enthusiast, having enrolled at the Children's Theatre of Charlotte, joining Shakespeare recitation contests, and acting in all of her high school's amateur productions. She was also on the track team.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: She left home after high school and briefly attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, lived off income from working in a nightclub, and stopped communicating with members of her immediate family for a prolonged stretch.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: Blanchard was bartending and waiting tables and partying with her college friends when her interest in wrestling was piqued. She went with her father for the Four Horsemen's 2012 induction into WWE's Hall of Fame in Miami. Tessa kept her wrestling plans unknown from her family as she was then still only slowly reconciling with her mother and stepfather.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: Blanchard went to Highspots Wrestling School in Charlotte when she turned 18 in 2013. She was trained by veteran NWA/WWE/WCW enhancement talent George South and had future WWE wrestler Cedric Alexander among her classmates. Blanchard informed her father and stepfather about her wrestling training upon the insistence of South and Highspots owner Michael Bochicchio around six months into her training. She tried out for WWE in 2014 but a formal offer never materialized.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: Blanchard competed at "Queens of Combat 2" on June 13, 2014, where she interrupted a speech by Miss Rachel after her victory over Amanda Rodriguez, which resulted in a match between Blanchard and Miss Rachel, where Blanchard was defeated. On October 11, she participated in the Super 8 ChickFight tournament organized by the East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA), a federation of Delaware, where women under ECWA compete. Blanchard won the tournament by eliminating successively Tina San Antonio, Renee Michelle, and finally, Jenny Rose. A week later, Blanchard successfully defended her title of women's champion of the ECWA against Amber O'Neal.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: On November 8, 2014, Blanchard debuted for Women Superstars Uncensored and was defeated by Niya in a match for the WSU Spirit Championship at "Breaking Barriers III". On February 21, 2015, Blanchard picked up her first victory in WSU when she defeated Sassy Stephie.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: Blanchard debuted for Shine Wrestling as a villain at the "Shine 26" event on April 3, 2015, and was defeated by Evie. Later in the evening, Blanchard attacked Leva Bates, causing her and Jessicka Havok to be defeated by Saraya Knight and Su Yung, and later became the newest member of Valkyrie. At "Shine 27", Blanchard was defeated by Bates. After the match, she and April Hunter both attacked Bates.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: On January 9, 2016, Blanchard made her Lucha Underground debut losing to Ivelisse Velez in a dark match. On April 24, 2016, Blanchard wrestled in a tag team dark match alongside Prince Puma at a Lucha Underground taping defeating Marty Martinez and Mariposa.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: Blanchard began wrestling intergender matches after the spring of 2016, after working for Shimmer, Stardom, and Lucha Underground, and NXT. She had a singles match against NXT signee Dominik Dijakovic and a mixed-tag team match with Ricochet, Bea Priestley, and Will Ospreay. On June 16, 2018, Blanchard defeated Mercedes Martinez to win the WSU Championship.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: On July 7, Rise Wrestling had their Rise of the Knockouts cross-promotional event with Impact Wrestling. Blanchard won the Phoenix of Rise Championship, in a 30-minute Iron Woman match against Mercedes Martinez to win the previously vacated title. Blanchard lost the championship to Martinez on October 19, in a 75-minute iron woman match, the longest women's wrestling match in history. On July 14, Blanchard defeated Lacey Lane and Santana Garrett to win The Crash Women's Championship.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: On September 1, Blanchard defeated Britt Baker, Chelsea Green, and Madison Rayne in a Four Corner Survival match at All In.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: In 2016, Blanchard appeared in WWE, making her in-ring debut for NXT on April 2, 2016, in a match won by Alexa Bliss. On May 4, Blanchard wrestled and lost to Nia Jax. On June 15, Blanchard wrestled her third match, losing to Carmella. On July 13, 2017, Blanchard returned as part of the Mae Young Classic, and was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by Kairi Sane.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: In August 2016, Blanchard made her Japanese debut for the World Wonder Ring Stardom promotion by entering the 2016 5-Star Grand Prix, where she made it to the finals, before losing to Yoko Bito on September 22. Blanchard returned to Stardom in April 2017. On April 30, she took part in the 2017 Cinderella Tournament, where she defeated High Speed Champion Kris Wolf in the first round, before being eliminated in the second round by eventual tournament winner Toni Storm. On May 14, Blanchard teamed with Jessicka Havok to unsuccessfully challenge Hiroyo Matsumoto and Jungle Kyona for the Goddess of Stardom Championship.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: On September 5, 2018, it was announced that Blanchard had signed with Women of Wrestling (WOW), and would make her debut through the TV tapings from October 2018. On January 18, 2019, when WOW premiered on AXS TV, Blanchard made her televised debut, where she confronted the WOW World Champion Santana Garrett, establishing herself as the villain, as the two would feud over the championship. Blanchard won the championship for the first time on the February 15 episode of "WOW" by defeating previously undefeated Jungle Grrrl. On March 6, 2019 Blachard joined WOW owners Jeanie Buss and David McLane along with AXS TV CEO Andrew Simon to announce the network's second season renewal with a record number of 24 episodes. In addition, it was announced that Blanchard would be one of the trainers in the WOW all-women's wrestling training school in Long Beach, California. During her reign, Blanchard successfully defended her championship against Faith the Lioness, Reyna Reyes, Serpentine, and WOW's veteran, former champion, Jungle Grrrl. At the second-season finale, Blanchard lost her championship to The Beast, ending her reign at 217 days.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: On October 6, 2021, on top of the Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, ViacomCBS Global Distribution President Dan Cohen, alongside David McLane and WOW Executive Producers Jeanie Buss and AJ Mendez announced ViacomCBS had entered into a multi-year distribution agreement for WOW. For Blanchard this historic and exclusive media rights deal between CBS and WOW gives her career the biggest distribution platform in the history of women’s professional wrestling. However, Blanchard had a falling out with the company and left before the new season began.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: Blanchard made her debut for Impact Wrestling on "Redemption", when she joined the commentary team during a match between Kiera Hogan and Taya Valkyrie. A few weeks later, after attacking her during her match, Blanchard defeated Hogan in her first match on "Impact!". On Slammiversary XVI, Blanchard scored her first pay-per-view win, when she defeated Allie.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: On August 12 (which aired on tape delay on August 30) at "ReDefined" special, Blanchard defeated Allie and Su Yung in a three-way match to win the Impact Knockouts Championship for the first time in her career. At "One Night Only: Bad Intentions", which aired the following night, Blanchard made her first successful title defense, defeating Gisele Shaw. During her reign, Blanchard was able to retain her title against various competitors such as Su Yung, and Faby Apache. In October, Blanchard started a feud with Taya Valkyrie, whom she defeated on two different occasions — at Bound for Glory and three weeks later in a rematch at "Impact". Valkyrie was then able to submit Blanchard in a mixed tag team match that earned her another title opportunity.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: On January 6, 2019, at Impact Wrestling Homecoming, Blanchard lost the championship to Valkyrie, after special guest referee Gail Kim (whom she attacked during the match) performed "Eat Defeat" on Blanchard, ending her reign at 147 days. After she failed to regain the title from Valkyrie in a street fight, Blanchard started a feud with Kim that led to both women attacking each other on numerous occasions inside and outside the ring (including at Kim's husband's restaurant). This led to the announcement of a match between the two, at Impact Wrestling Rebellion on April 28, where Blanchard defeated Kim in what was officially Kim's last match. After the match, Kim praised Blanchard for her abilities and as the future of the division. Blanchard thanked Kim and returned her respect, turning her face in the process.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: On July 7, Blanchard competed against Sami Callihan in the first intergender match to ever headline a professional wrestling pay-per-view event at Slammiversary XVII, during which she was defeated. She later competed in a ladder match for the Impact X Division Championship, which was won by Ace Austin, on October 20 at Bound for Glory. On the November 19 episode of "Impact!", Blanchard won a Gauntlet match against Daga, Moose, Rich Swann, Michael Elgin, and Brian Cage to become the No. 1 contender for the Impact World Championship. At the Hard to Kill pay-per-view on January 12, 2020, Blanchard defeated Callihan to win the Impact World Championship, becoming the first woman in history to win the title. Blanchard made only one successful


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: title defence against Taya Valkyrie who was the second woman to challenge for the world title also the first time to feature two women competing for the company's main championship. Her last match in Impact was taped on March 7, 2020 and aired on April 7, 2020, she teamed with Eddie Edwards for the Impact World Tag Team Championship against champions The North (Ethan Page and Josh Alexander) in a losing effort. After going on a leave of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Blanchard departed Impact Wrestling on June 25 after her contract was terminated before it was set to expire on June 30; she was stripped of the Impact World Championship in the process.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: On March 18, 2019, it was announced by Konnan that Blanchard had left The Crash Lucha Libre and joined AAA Lucha Libre. On May 18 in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Blanchard made her debut in the AAA teaming with La Hiedra, who defeated Faby Apache and AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Lady Shani.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: On August 3 at Triplemanía XXVII, Blanchard defeated Apache, Taya Valkyrie, Ayako Hamada, Chik Tormenta, La Hiedra, and Lady Shani in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, to win the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship thus becoming the third foreigner (after Taya Valkyrie and Ayako Hamada) and first American to win the championship. However, Blanchard lost the title to Valkyrie in her first defense at the Impact Wrestling and AAA "Lucha Invades NY" event on September 15, ending her reign of 43 days.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: She was the stunt double for actress Florence Pugh in the film "Fighting with My Family", produced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, about former WWE wrestler Paige. On November 20, 2019, Blanchard confirmed her engagement to fellow wrestler Miguel Olivo, better known by the ring name Daga. The couple married in August 2020 and resides in Mexico.


title: Tessa Blanchard

text: In January 2020, multiple female wrestlers came forward with bullying and racism allegations against Blanchard, including an incident involving Blanchard spitting in a black woman's face and calling her a racial slur. The woman in question, Black Rose, later stated that the incident did indeed take place. Blanchard denied the allegations.


title: Rolando Romero

text: Rolando Romero is an American professional boxer who held the WBA interim lightweight title from 2020 to 2021.


title: Rolando Romero

text: Romero made his professional debut on December 2, 2016, scoring a first-round technical knockout (TKO) victory against David Courtney at the Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall in Sunrise Manor, Nevada. Romero amassed an 8–0 record during the next three years, winning all but one of those fights by stoppage. Romero was next scheduled to face Andres Figueroa on April 20, 2019, on the undercard of the Danny Garcia and Adrián Granados welterweight bout. He won the fight by a fourth-round knockout. Romero had his first step-up in competition on November 1, 2019, when he faced Juan Carlos Cordones. He won the fight by a first-round knockout, stopping Cordones in the final minute of the opening round. Romero faced the undefeated Arturs Ahmetovs on February 22, 2020, on the undercard of Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury II. He won the fight by a second-round technical knockout.


title: Rolando Romero

text: After compiling a record of 11–0 (10 KOs) Romero faced undefeated Dominican Jackson Maríñez for the vacant WBA interim lightweight title on August 15, 2020, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Romero captured the vacant WBA interim title via twelve-round unanimous decision (UD) with the judges' scorecards reading 118–110, 116–112, and 115–113. This decision was considered very controversial, with many feeling Marinez deserved the win.


title: Rolando Romero

text: Romero was scheduled to take on Justin Pauldo, but Pauldo came in 5Ibs over the contracted weight. Romero's team would then change the weight to 140 Ibs, but Pauldo failed a pre-fight physical with the commission having to cancel it. Romero fought Avery Sparrow as a last minute opponent, the latter having had five weeks of training prior to this fight. Romero defeated his opponent by seventh-round technical knockout, and aired his frustrations with Sparrow's fighting style after the fight: "He fought like a coward, he just wanted a street fight because he knew he wasn’t gonna do anything to me."


title: Rolando Romero

text: Romero was slated to defend his interim title against Austin Dulay on the undercard of Jermell Charlo vs. Brian Castaño on July 17, 2021. Dulay pulled out of the fight a few days before the scheduled date which prompted Romero to claim that Dulay had pulled out of the fight due to a “panic attack.” Dulay responded by revealing that he suffered a knee injury and offered to give Romero $10,000 of his fight purse to reschedule the fight.


title: Rolando Romero

text: Anthony Yigit was subsequently moved from his untelevised preliminary slot to step in as Romero's opponent. Romero's title was no longer on the line when Yigit weighed in 5.2 lbs over the 135 lb limit, but the fight nonetheless went ahead. On the night, Romero dropped Yigit multiple times en route to a seventh-round technical knockout victory. The San Antonio crowd booed Romero as he was announced as the winner, voicing their displeasure with his roughhouse tactics of throwing elbows, shoving and grappling his opponent. He was unfazed when questioned about it in his post-fight interview, saying, "I fought a 140 pounder and I fucking stopped him, simple as that."


title: Rolando Romero

text: On October 6, 2021, it was announced that Romero would be facing undefeated WBA (Regular) lightweight champion Gervonta Davis on December 5 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Showtime PPV. However, Romero was pulled from the bout due to sexual assault allegations made against him, and was subsequently replaced with Isaac Cruz. On January 11, 2022, Romero revealed on his Instagram page that no charges against him were filed, as the claims of sexual abuse could not be substantiated. On January 24, the WBA once again ordered Davis to make a mandatory lightweight title defense against Romero, and gave the pair until February 24 to come to terms. The pair agreed to face each other on May 28, in the main event of a Showtime PPV, at the Barclays Center in New York. Romero was knocked out in the 6th round.


title: Story of Seasons

text: Story of Seasons, known in Japan as and formerly known as Harvest Moon, is an agricultural simulation role-playing video game series created by Yasuhiro Wada and developed by Victor Interactive Software (acquired by Marvelous Entertainment in 2003, now Marvelous Inc.). "Story of Seasons" was the first game to be released under the new international series title of the same name.


title: Story of Seasons

text: From 1996 to 2013, Natsume oversaw the English translation and distribution of the "Bokujo Monogatari" series in North America, where the games were released under the series title "Harvest Moon". In 2014, however, Marvelous Inc. announced that the latest installment in the series would be localized by their American publishing brand Xseed Games under the new series title "Story of Seasons". In September 2015, Nintendo of Europe announced that they would be handling the European distribution of the first game released under this title, "Story of Seasons", which was released later that year.


title: Story of Seasons

text: The main objective of the series is to rebuild a dilapidated old farm and turn it into a successful one. Over a period of time, the player tends to crops and livestock, befriends nearby townsfolk, and eventually marries and starts a family. The first game in the series, "Harvest Moon", was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1996.


title: Story of Seasons

text: In 2012, Marvelous discontinued licensing the series to Natsume. Natsume took the opportunity to develop their own series of "Harvest Moon" in North America and Europe beginning with the release of "." The resulting spin-off series has caused some degree of confusion among fans and video game news sources. Natsume published this series under the name "Harvest Moon" until 2014. At that time, Natsume maintained the rights to the "Harvest Moon" series name after Marvelous announced that it would have its subsidiary, Xseed Games, take over North American distribution. Because of this, Xseed began bringing the series to North America under the "Story of Seasons" title, beginning with the release of the game of the same name.


title: Story of Seasons

text: In September 2015, Nintendo of Europe confirmed that they would be publishing the latest entry of the series in Europe under the "Story of Seasons" name. Previous games released under the series title "Harvest Moon" were localized in Europe by Rising Star Games.


title: Story of Seasons

text: The player's character has primarily been male, but some games offer the option to play as a female character. The most common story line of the series involves the player taking over a farm that no longer has an owner tending to it, growing crops, raising livestock, making friends with the town's people and creating a family while running a successful farm. Each game provides objects to collect or goals to complete, whether it is befriending villagers, collecting musical notes, finding sprites, making rainbows, or ringing bells.


title: Story of Seasons

text: Money is obtained by growing crops, raising livestock, fishing, mining, and foraging. With a limited time and limited energy, the player has to find a balance between these in order to accomplish their work for the day.


title: Story of Seasons

text: Crops are the primary source of income in "Story of Seasons". In order for crops to grow the player must first clear the field from weeds, rocks, boulders, branches, and stumps. Then with a clear field, they must take their hoe and till the soil. Next, they choose the seeds that they wish to grow and sow them where the soil is tilled. The player must continue to water the crop daily, but it isn't required on a rainy day, and as time goes on the crop will be ready for harvesting. The player must find optimal planting, watering and harvesting patterns. They also must consider the cost, sell price, number of harvests and growth time of the various produce available before planting. Each season has different crops available for planting, though in most games nothing may be planted in winter, and in "Harvest Moon" crops could not be planted in fall. In some games, a greenhouse or basement can be used during the winter to grow crops.


title: Story of Seasons

text: Turnips, potatoes, tomatoes and corn are staple crops of the series, introduced in the first game. Since then, other games have introduced new crops, such as cabbage, carrots, onions, strawberries, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, rice, pineapples, cucumbers and more. Grass may also be grown and harvested as animal fodder.


title: Story of Seasons

text: The secondary source of income in the games is purchasing, caring for, and raising livestock. Livestock may produce products which may be sold on a daily basis. Giving animals attention will increase their affection towards the player and may increase the quality of their products. Neglecting the animals' needs may lead to sickness and even death.


title: Story of Seasons

text: The first "Harvest Moon" only had cows and chickens, which were housed in a barn and chicken coop and fed the same fodder. Milk and eggs could both be sold, as well as the animals themselves. Later titles introduced sheep and a separate feed for chickens, as well as machines that could change milk into cheese, eggs into mayonnaise, and wool into yarn. The more recent games allow the player to also raise ducks, goats, alpacas and differently-colored cows. In "" silkworms and ostriches were introduced to the series, and the new game also enabled players to befriend wild animals and persuade them to live on their farm.


title: Story of Seasons

text: Animals are also able to reproduce. Eggs can be placed in an incubator to hatch a chick in a few days, while giving a cow or sheep a Miracle Potion will impregnate them. Buying and breeding multiple horses was introduced in "Harvest Moon 3 GBC" for Game Boy Color and continued in "", "Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility" and "".


title: Story of Seasons

text: In many "Story of Seasons" games, the player is given the opportunity to receive a dog and horse as a pet. A large variety of animals can be kept as pets in the newer titles, from pigs and cats to pandas and turtles. In some games, the pets attend competitions (e.g. horse races and dog races) to win prizes. In "Harvest Moon: Back to Nature" the player can raise fish.


title: Story of Seasons

text: Pest animals are also found in older "Story of Seasons" games (for example, "Friends of Mineral Town") including wild dogs, and gophers. Wild dogs visit the farm at night and harass any livestock not kept in a barn or fenced area. Gophers in some older titles would consume crops.


title: Story of Seasons

text: Many "Story of Seasons" games require the player to gather materials for home improvement, tool improvement, cooking, or selling. The most common building resource in "Story of Seasons" is wood; other resources can include stone and golden lumber. The player can gather wood by chopping tree stumps and branches, and use wood to add buildings or fencing to their farm. Mines are present in many games, and minerals gathered can be used for upgrading tools and crafting gifts. In many games wild plants, such as herbs and flowers, may also be gathered.


title: Story of Seasons

text: Most games in the series feature annual festivals which the player can attend. Some festivals are contests with prizes available, while others are social events, some being equivalent to actual holidays, such as Thanksgiving, New Year's Day, and Christmas Eve. Livestock festivals also take place, where the player can submit their animals to compete against other farms. Animals that win these contests often receive benefits; for example, a cow that wins might gain the ability to produce gold milk.


title: Story of Seasons

text: Most "Story of Seasons" games offer the ability to marry. Gift giving and interacting with the love interest may increase the love interest's affection, and if their affection is high enough marriage may be proposed. Often, the proposal is made with a Blue Feather. In some games, love interests have rivals, who will marry them if the player does not. One "Story of Seasons" game, the Japanese version of "Harvest Moon DS Cute", had allowed players to marry someone of the same sex (termed the "Best Friends" system). The feature was removed from the North American version over concern its inclusion would have raised the game's ESRB rating.


title: Story of Seasons

text: In the remake game "", players are allowed to marry someone of the same sex. In the Western release, it is treated identically to opposite-sex couples. However, in the Japanese release, it is not referred to as marriage proper and instead brings back the "Best Friends" title.


title: Story of Seasons

text: In many versions, it is possible to have children. "Harvest Moon", "Harvest Moon 3", "Harvest Moon: Animal Parade", "", "Story of Seasons", and "Rune Factory 5" are the only versions where the player can have multiple children. However, in "Story of Seasons", unlike the other games, pregnancy is only experienced once, as the player character winds up having twins. "" is the first game in the series that allows the player to have two children of either gender, and "" allows the player to have three children of either gender. "Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life", "Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life", "Harvest Moon DS" and "Harvest Moon DS Cute" are the only games in the series where the player can experience a child's growth from toddler to full-grown adult. "Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility" expands on this by letting the player restart the game as their child after the completion of an end game event. "", "Harvest Moon GB", "Harvest Moon 2 GBC" and "" are the only "Story of Seasons" titles in which the player cannot marry. "" is the only "Story of Seasons" where the player can personify two characters, the father and his son or daughter.


title: Story of Seasons

text: In September 2011, Rising Star Games announced that they had sold more than a million copies of the series in PAL regions. In Japan, the DS games in the series had sold more than 948,000 copies alone by April 2011, with the PSP games selling over 81,000 in the same time period. "" reached No. 4 in the Japan Software and Hardware Weekly Chart, shipping 63,610 copies in its first week on sale. In March 2014, "Story of Seasons" was the top selling game in Japan, at 131,000 units sold, and in July 2015, Xseed Games announced that it had become their fastest-selling game ever, with over 100,000 copies sold in North America.


title: Story of Seasons

text: It has inspired a large number of social network games based around farming, most notably "Happy Farm" (2008) and "FarmVille" (2009). "Happy Farm" is considered one of the most influential games of the 2000s, while in early 2010 "FarmVille" had a peak audience of 84 million monthly active users. In 2009, Marvelous Entertainment released a version of "Harvest Moon", called , for the Japanese social network site Mixi, where it attracted 2.3 million users. Other similar farming social network games released in 2009 and 2010 include "Sunshine Farm", "Happy Farmer", "Happy Fishpond", "Happy Pig Farm", "Farm Town", "Country Story", "Barn Buddy", "Sunshine Ranch", and "Happy Harvest", as well as parodies such as "Farm Villain".


title: Story of Seasons

text: The developer of "Stardew Valley", Eric Barone, has mentioned several times he was inspired by "Story of Seasons" when developing his game. Given the recent growing popularity of the farming and life simulation genres, most notably in the indie game scene, both "Story of Seasons" and "Stardew Valley," along with the "Animal Crossing" series, have been regarded as the foundation of this "new golden era" for the genre.


title: British Malaya

text: The term "British Malaya" (; ) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Unlike the term "British India", which excludes the Indian princely states, British Malaya is often used to refer to the Federated and Unfederated Malay States, which were British protectorates with their own local rulers, as well as the Straits Settlements, which were under the sovereignty and direct rule of the British Crown, after a period of control by the East India Company.


title: British Malaya

text: Before the formation of the Malayan Union in 1946, the territories were not placed under a single unified administration, with the exception of the immediate post-war period when a British military officer became the temporary administrator of Malaya. Instead, British Malaya comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States, and the Unfederated Malay States. Under British hegemony, Malaya was one of the most profitable territories of the Empire, being the world's largest producer of tin and later rubber. During the Second World War, Japan ruled a part of Malaya as a single unit from Singapore.


title: British Malaya

text: The Malayan Union was unpopular and in 1948 was dissolved and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which became fully independent on 31 August 1957. On 16 September 1963, the federation, along with North Borneo (Sabah), Sarawak, and Singapore, formed the larger federation of Malaysia.


title: British Malaya

text: The first English trader to visit the Malay Peninsula was Ralph Fitch who arrived in the 16th century. However, the British only became formally involved in Malay politics in 1771, when Great Britain tried to set up trading posts in Penang, formerly a part of Kedah. The British established a trading post in Singapore in 1819 and gained complete control of the island in 1824.


title: British Malaya

text: In the mid-18th century, British firms could be found trading in the Malay Peninsula. In April 1771, Jourdain, Sulivan and de Souza, a British firm based in Madras, India, sent Francis Light to meet the Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Muhammad Jiwa Zainal Adilin II, to open up the state's market for trading. Light was also a captain in the service of the East India Company.


title: British Malaya

text: The Sultan faced external threats during this period. Siam, which was at war with Burma and which saw Kedah as its vassal state, frequently demanded that Kedah send reinforcements. Kedah, in many cases, was a reluctant ally to Siam.


title: British Malaya

text: After negotiations with Light, the Sultan agreed to allow Jourdain, Sulivan, and de Souza to build and operate a trading post and in Kedah, if the British agreed to protect Kedah from external threats. Light conveyed this message to his superiors in India. The East India Company, however, did not agree with the proposal.


title: British Malaya

text: Two years later, Sultan Muhammad Jiwa died and was succeeded by Sultan Abdullah Mahrum Shah. The new Sultan offered Light (who later became a British representative) the island of Penang in return for military assistance for Kedah. Light informed the East India Company of the Sultan's offer. The Company, however, ordered Light to take over Penang and gave him no guarantee of the military aid that the Sultan had asked for. Light later took over Penang and assured the Sultan of military assistance, despite the Company's position. Soon the Company made up its mind and told Light that they would not give any military aid to Kedah. In June 1788, Light informed the Sultan of the Company's decision. Feeling cheated, the Sultan ordered Light to leave Penang, but Light refused.


title: British Malaya

text: Light's refusal caused the Sultan to strengthen Kedah's military forces and to fortify Prai, a stretch of beach opposite Penang. Recognising this threat, the British moved in and razed the fort in Prai. The British thereby forced the Sultan to sign an agreement that gave the British the right to occupy Penang; in return, the Sultan would receive an annual rent of 6,000 Spanish pesos. On 1 May 1791, the Union Flag was officially raised in Penang for the first time. In 1800, Kedah ceded Prai to the British and the Sultan received an increase of 4,000 pesos in his annual rent. Penang was later named Prince of Wales Island, while Perai was renamed Province Wellesley.


title: British Malaya

text: Before the late 19th century, the British largely practised a non-interventionist policy. Several factors such as the fluctuating supply of raw materials, and security, convinced the British to play a more active role in the Malay states.


title: British Malaya

text: From the 17th to the early 19th century, Malacca was a Dutch possession. During the Napoleonic Wars, between 1811 and 1815, Malacca, like other Dutch holdings in Southeast Asia, was under the occupation of the British. This was to prevent the French from claiming the Dutch possessions. When the war ended in 1815, Malacca was returned to the Dutch. In 1824 the British and the Dutch signed the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. The treaty, among other things, legally transferred Malacca to British administration and officially divided the Malay world into two separate entities, laying the basis for the current Indonesian-Malaysian boundary.


title: British Malaya

text: Modern Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles, with a great deal of help from Major William Farquhar. Before establishing Singapore, Raffles was the Lieutenant Governor of Java from 1811 till 1815. In 1818 he was appointed to Bencoolen. Realising how the Dutch were monopolising trade in the Malay Archipelago, he was convinced that the British needed a new trading colony to counter Dutch trading power. Months of research brought him to Singapore, an island at the tip of the Malay Peninsula. The island was ruled by a "temenggung".


title: British Malaya

text: Singapore was then under the control of Tengku Abdul Rahman, the Sultan of the Johore-Riau-Lingga Sultanate (otherwise known as the Johor Sultanate), in turn under the influence of the Dutch and the Bugis. The Sultan would never agree to a British base in Singapore. However, Tengku Abdul Rahman had become sultan only because his older brother, Tengku Hussein or Tengku Long, had been away getting married in Pahang when their father, the previous sultan, died in 1812. In Malay cultural traditions, a person must be by the side of the dying sultan to be considered as a new ruler. Tengku Abdul Rahman was present when the old sultan died. The older brother was not happy with the development, while the temenggung who was in charge of Singapore preferred Tengku Hussein to the younger brother.


title: British Malaya

text: The British had first acknowledged Tengku Abdul Rahman at the time of their first presence in Malacca. The situation however had changed. In 1818, Farquhar visited Tengku Hussein in the little island of Penyengat, off the coast of Bintan, the capital of the Riau Archipelago. There, new plans were drawn up, and in 1819 Raffles made a deal with Tengku Hussein. The agreement stated that the British would acknowledge Tengku Hussein as the legitimate ruler of Singapore if he allowed them to establish a trading post there. Furthermore, Tengku Hussein and the temenggung would receive a yearly stipend from the British. The treaty was ratified on 6 February 1819. With the Temenggung's help, Hussein left Penyengat, pretending that he was 'going fishing', and reached Singapore, where he was quickly installed as Sultan.


title: British Malaya

text: The Dutch were extremely displeased with the action of Raffles. However, with the signing of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, Dutch opposition to the British presence in Singapore receded. The treaty also divided the Sultanate of Johor into modern Johor and the new Sultanate of Riau.


title: British Malaya

text: After the British secured Malacca from the Dutch through the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, they aimed to centralise the administration of Penang, Malacca, and Singapore. To this end, in 1826 a framework known as the Straits Settlements was established, with Penang as its capital. Later, in 1832, the capital was moved to Singapore. While the three holdings formed the backbone of the Settlements, throughout the years Christmas Island, the Cocos Islands, Labuan, and Dinding of Perak were placed under the authority of the Straits Settlements.


title: British Malaya

text: Until 1867, the Straits Settlements were answerable to the British administrator of the East India Company in Calcutta. The Settlements' administrators were dissatisfied with the way Calcutta was handling their affairs and they complained to London. In 1856 the Company even tried to annul Singapore's free port status.


title: British Malaya

text: In 1858, following the Indian Mutiny, the East India Company was dissolved and British India came under the direct rule of the Crown, which was exercised by the Secretary of State for India and the Viceroy of India. With Calcutta's waning power, and after intense lobbying by the administrators of the Settlements, in 1867 they were declared a crown colony and placed directly under the control of the Colonial Office in London. However, the declaration gave the colony a considerable degree of self-government within the British Empire.


title: British Malaya

text: In 1946, after the Second World War, the colony was dissolved. Malacca and Penang were absorbed into the new Malayan Union, while Singapore was separated from the rest of the former colony and made into a new crown colony on its own. The Malayan Union was later replaced with the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and in 1963, together with North Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore, formed an enlarged federation called Malaysia.


title: British Malaya

text: Prior to the late 19th century, the British East India Company was interested only in trading, and tried as much as possible to steer clear of Malay politics. However, Siam's influence in the northern Malay states, especially Kedah, Terengganu, Kelantan and Pattani, was preventing the Company from trading in peace. Therefore, in 1826, the British, through the Company, signed a secret treaty known today as the Burney Treaty with the King of Siam. The four Malay states were not present during the signing of the agreement. In that treaty, British acknowledged Siamese sovereignty over all those states. In return, Siam accepted British ownership of Penang and Province Wellesley and allowed the Company to trade in Terengganu and Kelantan unimpeded.


title: British Malaya

text: 83 years later, a new treaty now known as the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 or the Bangkok Treaty of 1909 was signed between the two powers. In the new agreement, Siam agreed to give up its claim over Kedah, Perlis, Terengganu and Kelantan, while Pattani remained Siamese territory. Perlis was previously part of Kedah but during the Siamese reign it was separated from Kedah. Kedah's district of Satun however was annexed by Siam in the same agreement. Pattani on the other hand was dissected into Pattani proper, Yala and Narathiwat after the signing of the treaty.


title: British Malaya

text: Though the Siamese King Chulalongkorn was reluctant to sign the treaty, increasing French pressure on the Siamese eastern border forced Siam to co-operate with the British. Like Rama IV, Chulalongkorn hoped that the British would leave Siam alone if he acceded to their demands. Earlier in 1893, Siam had lost the Shan region of north-eastern Burma to the British. This demarcation as stated in the agreement remains today the Malaysia-Thailand Border.


title: British Malaya

text: Malay rulers did not acknowledge the agreement, but were too weak to resist British influence. In Kedah after the Bangkok Treaty, George Maxwell was posted by the British in Kedah as the sultan's advisor. The British effectively took over economic planning and execution. A rail line was built to connect Kedah with Siam in 1912 while land reform was introduced in 1914. Only in 1923 did the ruler of Kedah, Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, accept a British advisor.


title: British Malaya

text: Perlis had a similar experience. The ruler did not recognise the 1909 treaty but the British were de facto administrators of the state. It was only in 1930 that the ruler Raja Syed Alwi recognised the British presence in Perlis by admitting Meadows Frost as the first British advisor in Perlis.


title: British Malaya

text: Perak is a state on the western shore of the Malay Peninsula. In the 18th and 19th centuries it was discovered to be rich in tin, with the richest alluvial deposits of tin in the world. Europe at the same time was undergoing an industrial revolution and this created a huge demand for tin. The British as well as the Dutch were active in the states, each seeking to monopolise production of tin and other commodities. However, the political atmosphere in Perak was sufficiently volatile to raise the cost of tin mining operations. For instance, in 1818 Siam ordered Kedah to attack Perak. The lack of security in Perak forced the British to protect Perak in 1826.


title: British Malaya

text: As Perak continued to increase its mining operations, it suffered a shortage of labour. Looking to solve the problem, Malay administrator Long Jaafar invited the Chinese in Penang to work in Perak, particularly at Larut. By the 1840s, Perak's Chinese population exploded. The new immigrants more often than not were members of Chinese secret societies. Two of the largest were Ghee Hin and Hai San. These two groups regularly tried to increase their influence in Perak and this resulted in frequent skirmishes. These skirmishes were getting out of hand, so that even Ngah Ibrahim, the "Menteri Besar", or chief minister, was unable to enforce the rule of law.


title: British Malaya

text: Meanwhile, there was a power struggle in the Perak royal court. Sultan Ali died in 1871 and the next in line for the throne was the "Raja Muda" Raja Abdullah. Despite that fact, he was not present during the burial of the sultan. As in the case of Tengku Hussein of Johor, Raja Abdullah was not appointed as the new sultan by the ministers of Perak. Instead the second in line, Raja Ismail, became the next sultan of Perak.


title: British Malaya

text: Raja Abdullah was furious and refused to accept the news kindly. He then sought and gathered political support from various channels, including several of Perak's local chiefs and several British personnel with whom he had done business in the past, with the secret societies becoming their proxies in the fight for the throne. Among those British individuals was British trader W. H. M. Read. Furthermore, he promised to accept a British advisor if the British recognised him as the legitimate ruler of Perak.


title: British Malaya

text: Unfortunately for Raja Abdullah, the Straits Settlements governor at that time was Sir Harry Ord and the governor was a friend of Ngah Ibrahim, who had unresolved issues with Raja Abdullah. With Ord's aid, Ngah Ibrahim sent sepoy troops from India to prevent Raja Abdullah from actively claiming the throne and extending control over the Chinese secret societies.


title: British Malaya

text: By 1873 the Colonial Office in London came to perceive Ord as incompetent. He was soon replaced by Sir Andrew Clarke and Clarke was ordered to get a complete picture of what was happening in the Malay states and recommend how to streamline British administration in Malaya. The reason was that London was increasingly aware that the Straits Settlements were increasingly dependent on the economy of the Malay states, including Perak. After Clarke's arrival in Singapore, many British traders including Read became close to the governor. Through Read, Clarke learned of Raja Abdullah's problem and willingness to accept a British representative in his court if the British assisted the once apparent heir.


title: British Malaya

text: Clarke seized the opportunity to expand British influence. First, he called all Chinese secret societies together and demanded a permanent truce. Later, through the signing of the Pangkor Treaty on 20 January 1874, Clarke acknowledged Raja Abdullah as the legitimate sultan of Perak. It resulted in the appointment of J.W.W. Birch as a British resident in Perak later that year. Raja Ismail, on the other hand, while not party to the agreement, was forced to abdicate due to intense external pressure applied by Clarke.


title: British Malaya

text: Selangor just to the south of Perak also had considerable deposits of tin around Hulu Selangor on the north, Hulu Klang in the central area and Lukut near Negeri Sembilan to the south. Around 1840, under the leadership of Raja Jumaat from Riau, tin mining became a huge enterprise. His efforts soon were rewarded by Sultan Muhammad of Selangor; Raja Jumaat was appointed as Lukut's administrator in 1846. By the 1850s the area emerged as one of the most modern settlements on the Malay Peninsula apart from the Straits Settlements. At one point, there were no less than 20,000 labourers, most of them ethnic Chinese imported from China. He died in 1864 and his death created a leadership vacuum. Slowly, Lukut slid backward and was forgotten.


title: British Malaya

text: Meanwhile, Hulu Klang enjoyed unprecedented growth due to tin mining. Between 1849 and 1850, Raja Abdullah bin Raja Jaafar, Raja Jumaat's cousin, was appointed by the sultan as Klang's administrator. As Lukut's economic importance was slowly declining, that of Hulu Klang was rising. This attracted many labourers to relocate there, especially Chinese immigrants who had worked in Lukut. One person responsible for persuading the Chinese to move from Lukut to Hulu Klang was Sutan Puasa from Ampang. He supplied the mining colonies in Hulu Klang with goods ranging from rice to opium. As Hulu Klang prospered, several settlements started to rise up by the late 1860s. Two of them were Kuala Lumpur and Klang. A Chinese kapitan named Yap Ah Loy was instrumental in developing Kuala Lumpur.


title: British Malaya

text: As in Perak, this rapid development attracted great interest from the British in the Straits Settlements. The economy of Selangor became important enough to the prosperity of the Straits Settlements that any disturbance in that state would hurt the Straits Settlements themselves. Therefore, the British felt they needed to have a say in Selangor politics. One major disturbance, amounting to a civil war, was the Klang War from 1867 to 1874.


title: British Malaya

text: In November 1873, a ship from Penang was attacked by pirates near Kuala Langat, Selangor. A court was assembled near Jugra and suspected pirates were sentenced to death. The sultan expressed concern and requested assistance from Sir Andrew Clarke. Frank Swettenham was appointed to serve as the sultan's advisor. Approximately a year later, a lawyer from Singapore named J. G. Davidson was appointed as British Resident in Selangor. Frank Swettenham was nominated for the Resident post but he was deemed too young.


title: British Malaya

text: Negeri Sembilan was another major producer of tin in Malaya. In 1869 a power struggle arose between Tengku Antah and Tengku Ahmad Tunggal, as both aspired to become the next ruler of Negeri Sembilan, the Yamtuan Besar. This conflict between the two princes divided the confederation and threatened the reliability of tin supply from Negeri Sembilan.


title: British Malaya

text: Sungei Ujong, a state within the confederation in particular was the site of many locally important mines. It was ruled by Dato' Kelana Sendeng. However, another local chieftain named Dato' Bandar Kulop Tunggal had more influence than Dato' Kelana. Dato' Bandar received great support from the locals and even from the Chinese immigrants who worked at the mines of Sungai Ujong. Dato' Kelana's limited popularity made him dependent on another chieftain named Sayid Abdul Rahman, who was the confederation's "Laksamana Raja Laut" (roughly royal sea admiral). The strained relationship between Dato' Bandar and Dato' Kelana caused frequent disturbances in Sungai Ujong.


title: British Malaya

text: The years before 1873 however were years of relative calm as Dato' Kelana had to give extra attention to Sungai Linggi as Rembau, another state within the confederation, tried to wrest Sungai Linggi from Sungai Ujong's control. Negeri Sembilan at that time was connected to Malacca via Sungai Linggi, and a high volume of trade passed through Sungai Linggi daily. Whoever controlled Sungai Linggi would gain wealth simply through taxes.


title: British Malaya

text: Later that year, Dato' Kelana Sendeng died. In early 1873, Sayid Abdul Rahman took his place, becoming the new Dato' Kelana. The death however did not repair the relationship between Dato' Kelana and Dato' Bandar. On the contrary, it deteriorated. The new Dato' Kelana was deeply concerned with Dato' Bandar's unchecked influence, and sought ways to counter his adversary's power.


title: British Malaya

text: When the British changed their non-interventionist policy in 1873 by replacing Sir Harry Ord with Sir Andrew Clarke as the new governor of the Straits Settlements, Dato' Kelana immediately realised that the British could strengthen his position in Sungai Ujong. Dato' Kelana wasted no time in contacting and lobbying the British in Malacca to support him. In April 1874, Sir Andrew Clarke seized Dato' Kelana's request as a means to build British presence in Sungai Ujong and Negeri Sembilan in general. Clarke acknowledged Dato' Kelana as the legitimate chief of Sungai Ujong. The British and Dato' Kelana signed a treaty which required Dato' Kelana to rule Sungai Ujong justly, protect traders, and prevent any anti-British action there. Dato' Bandar was not invited to sign the agreement and hence asserted that he was not bound by the agreement. Moreover, Dato' Bandar and the locals disapproved of the British presence in Sungai Ujong. This further made Dato' Kelana unpopular there.


title: British Malaya

text: Soon, a company led by William A. Pickering, of the Chinese Protectorate from the Straits Settlements, was sent to Sungai Ujong to assess the situation. He recognised the predicament Dato' Kelana was in and reported back to the Straits Settlements. This prompted the British to send 160 soldiers to Sungai Ujong to help Pickering defeat Dato' Bandar. At the end of 1874, Dato' Bandar fled to Kepayang. Despite this defeat, the British paid him a pension and granted him asylum in Singapore.


title: British Malaya

text: As the year progressed, British influence increased to the point that an assistant resident was placed there to advise and assist Dato' Kelana with the governance of Sungai Ujong.


title: British Malaya

text: The British became involved in the administration of Pahang after a civil war between two candidates to the kingdom's throne between 1858 and 1863.


title: British Malaya

text: To streamline the administration of the Malay states, and especially to protect and further develop the lucrative trade in tin-mining and rubber, Britain sought to consolidate and centralise control by federating the four contiguous states of Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang into a new entity, the Federated Malay States (FMS), with Kuala Lumpur as its capital. The Residents-General administered the federation but compromised by allowing the Sultans to retain limited powers as the authority on Islam and Malay customs. Modern legislation was introduced with the creation of the Federal Council. Although the Sultans had less power than their counterparts in the Unfederated Malay States, the FMS enjoyed a much higher degree of modernisation. Federalisation also brought benefit through cooperative economic development, as evident in the earlier period, when Pahang was developed through fiscal federalism, using fiscal equalization payment funds derived from the revenue of Selangor and Perak.


title: British Malaya

text: The Unfederated Malay States, on the other hand, maintained their quasi-independence, had more autonomy, and instead of having a Resident they were required only to accept a British Advisor, though in reality they were still bound by treaty to accept the advice. The British undertook far less economic exploitation throughout the UFMS as they primarily desired to simply keep these UFMS states in line; limited economic potential in these states deterred the British from further political meddling throughout the UFMS. Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu were surrendered by Siam after the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909. Independent Johor, meanwhile, had to surrender Singapore to the British earlier on. Despite the Sultan's political effort, he was forced to accept an advisor in 1914, becoming the last Malay state to lose its sovereignty (although British involvement in Johor began as early as 1885).


title: British Malaya

text: This period of slow consolidation of power into a centralised government and compromise—the Sultans retain their reign but not rule in their states—would have a great impact on the later road to nationhood. It effectively marked the transition of the idea of Malay states from a collection of separate lands governed by their own different feudal rulers, towards a federation with Westminster-style constitutional monarchy. This became the accepted model for the future Federation of Malaya and ultimately Malaysia, distinguishing the nation throughout the Asian continent, whereby most other countries adopted stricter, heavily centralised unitary state administrations.


title: British Malaya

text: By 1910 the British had established seven polities on the Malay Peninsula – the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States and the standalone protectorates of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Johore. The First World War had a limited impact on Malaya, with notable events including the Battle of Penang and the Kelantan rebellion.


title: British Malaya

text: British policy in the late 19th and the early 20th century had been the centralisation of the Federated Malay States (FMS), which was headed by the High Commissioner, who was also the governor of the Straits Settlements. All four British Residents, who acted as a British representative in the FMS were answerable to a Resident General in the FMS capital Kuala Lumpur, who in turn reported back to High Commissioner. Crucial state government departments had to report to their federal headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Meanwhile, the Unfederated Malay States (UMS) began to receive British advisers but they remained more independent than the FMS.


title: British Malaya

text: In 1909 however, High Commissioner Sir John Anderson expressed concerns over over-centralisation, which was marginalisation local sultans away from policymaking. The British had a formal pro-Malay policy and the colonial administrators were careful in developing mutual trust with the Malay sultans. However, the centralisation had eroded the trust, which the some British officials felt important to regain. This led to the creation of Federal Council, which the sultans were members along with representatives from the colonial government and members of the non-Malay communities. The creation of the council however failed to distribute powers to the individuals FMS states. Another attempt at decentralisation as carried out in 1925 by Sir Laurence Guillemard, the High Commissioner from 1920 to 1927, which was termed as the Decentralisation Debate of 1925-1927. During the 1920s, the British also began affirmative action for the Malays in the FMS civil service to further entice the UFMS to join the federation by proving that the Malays would have a role in the running of the government. While the Malays supported the proposal because it would give them more powers, Chinese merchants and British planters argued against it, fearing decentralisation would affect efficiency badly and slow effort at building a unified modern state. The next High Commissioner, Sir Cecil Clementi, arriving from Hong Kong in 1930, pushed harder for decentralisation, believing that it would entice the UMS to join the FMS, forming a Malayan union. He envisaged the union would eventually be joined by the Straits Settlements as well as the British Borneo.