‘One story ends and another begins’

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis is the first treatment of a hitherto unknown text, a hybrid lithograph-manuscript from 1864 called the Syair Tabut, or ‘Poem of the tomb effigies’, by Encik Ali. The only known copy of the Syair, held at Leiden University in the Klinkert collection, and transcribed and translated by Byl, Iskandar, Lunn, and McCallum (2017), describes the Muharram commemorations at Singapore that year. As the poet describes the procession and its consequences, he reveals much about inter-community participation in this ritual event. Significantly, the 1864 Muharram procession ended with an altercation that resulted in the banning of the ritual by the colonial government, and led to two major court cases on native culpability and police corruption. Encik Ali’s poem offers an alternative perspective, conditioned by the wide-ranging vocabulary and conventions of Muharram, a vivid description of diverse performances and events, a knowledge of Singapore’s urban geography, and the parameters of Malay poetry.