Kramats of the Cape · Vredehoek
Sayed Abdul Malik
Also remembered as Tuan Sayed Abdul Malik of Batavia
Healer, imam and friend of Tuan Guru, who trusted him with his estate and his sons.
The shrine of Tuan Sayed Abdul Malik of Batavia stands in Vredehoek, near St Cyprian's School, in a green and white mausoleum with arched windows and domes.
He came to the Cape from Batavia towards the end of the 18th century as an enslaved man. Here he married Ruska of the Cape, a free woman, the mother of his children. The records list him as a Malay doctor and priest: he gave spiritual medicine and guidance, and it was as a healer and imam that he made his mark on the Muslims of the Cape. He also prospered in business.
He worked with Tuan Guru to establish the Dorp Street madrasah. Tuan Guru trusted him so fully that he named him executor of his estate and guardian of his two sons.
He is one of the best known of those buried on the slopes around the city, and many stories of him are told. Pupils at St Cyprian's have spoken of a friendly old man who stops to talk with them in the playground, and is gone as quickly as he came. The dates painted inside the tomb differ from the historical record, which places his arrival late in the 18th century.
Sources: Guide to the Kramats of the Western Cape, Cape Mazaar (Kramat) Society (1996; third impression 2010).