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The only certainty we have left is that our knowledge of the history of this part of Asia is only in its infancy and that history isn't merely a matter of wars and conquests but also and above all a matter of technologies and cultures. Our study of history cannot be limited to narratives or writings, even less to the school textbook. It must go beyond the stage of the textual by considering the long cultural evolutions and by relying more on archeology and genetics.
In each of the three hypotheses, who was the transmitting vehicle ? Indian merchants, Indonesian seafarers, other peoples still ? The first were perhaps not the only ones to convey their ideas and techniques towards South-East Asia. It's possible that the seafarers coming from South-East have been active in the trade between India and their lands. They were able, by themselves, to go to India and come back with ideas and techniques of this country in their ships.
Let's not forget that seafarers have brought an Austronesian language to the island of Madagascar, which has given Malagasy. That represents a navigation distance of more than 6000 km. Let's not forget either the case of Africa : is there a historical connection between gamelan and the xylophone ensembles of the Chopi people in Mozambique ?
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