Origin of popiah

As a linguist, I am fascinated with the recent debate on the origin of popia as reported in local dailies. We read that the Indonesians claimed that popia or lumpia as it called in Indonesia originated from Indonesia.

As we all know, popiah is a popular food enjoyed by all Malaysians. Popia is not only popular in Malaysia and Indonesia, but also in other Asian nations like Singapore Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. 

This spring-roll actually originated from China and it was introduced by the Chinese when they settled in South-east Asia as early as 15^th century. As they settled in many parts of Asia, this delicacy was introduced as a food item in all these countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia.

According to the renowned linguist, Russell Jones, etymologically the word originated from China. In his book Chinese Loan-Words in Malay and Indonesian (2009), Jones states that the word popia comes from the Chinese word pop-pia, and lumpia from lun-pia. Over the years popia has undergone much improvisation according to the culture and location. For example, popia is a fresh spring roll where else lumpia is fried version of the delicacy.  

The word popiah was first was recorded in Malay Language by Teuku Iskander in his compilation, Kamus Dewan published in 1970 by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, the custodian of the Malay Language.  Tthe word popiah has also entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 1986, as a Malay Chinese word originated from the Hokkien dialect, meaning a thin pancake.

I feel it is futile to debate on such petty issues as commented by Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Nik Safiah Karim recently. Chef Wan has also correctly pointed out that it is fruitless to argue whether popia or lumpia belongs to Indonesia or otherwise. Both are delicacies in each country.

Ironically, the Chinese are not even claiming that popia comes from China. The very fact remains that popia is a delicacy in Malaysia and as well in many Asian countries like Indonesia. In each country, it is called in different names.

So let us forge on without any enmity between the neighbouring nations of Malaysia and Indonesia focusing on much urgent issues of mutual cooperation and understanding among the peoples of the two nations. After all, language is just a tool to name items found in the world, including food items.