Traditional Malay Literature Research Articles

The Concept of the Intellect According to Nuruddin Al-Raniri in the Bustan Al-Salatin

Written by Nuruddin al-Raniri, Bustan al-Salatin ranks among the most well-known pieces of traditional Malay literature. This work discusses issues of varying themes, such as religion, politics, customs and culture, in order for a kingdom to function and as a guide for the rulers of a kingdom. One of the issues discussed in the Bustan al-Salatin concerns the intellect. The intellect is the highest gift awarded by Allah to humankind. Therefore, Nuruddin al-Raniri deals at length with this and uses several sources as references to strengthen his argument. The present article will focus on two objectives that is, to identify the concept of the intellect in the manuscript, and to analyse the categories which al-Raniri divides the intellect as in his Bustan al-Salatin. Library research and content analysis was employed to achieve this. Early findings show that there are several categories into which al-Raniri divides the intellect in Bustan al-Salatin, namely: understanding, function, position, the different categories of the intellect and the ideal life through the use of the intellect. The content of this manuscript is not only aimed at giving rulers direction but also to educate the community to become servants of Allah who know their Creator.

Flowers in Classical Malay Literature: A Study of Aesthetics

Flowers are among God's amazing creations in the mortal world. There are a variety of flowers in the Malay world, such as the hibiscus, various types of jasmine and the lotus. These flowers are recorded in old Malay texts. Therefore, this paper examines flowers in traditional or classical Malay literature as elements employed, mentioned or used metaphorically for a specific purpose, which clearly shows the wisdom of the Malays of old. The methodology employed for this study was library research as well as textual analysis to analyse relevant data. A conceptual framework related to literary aesthetics was used as the basis of the study. The study finds that in Malay texts, flowers are used for both their figurative and literal meanings. This study is important in demonstrating the ingenuity of the Malays.

The Turkic-Turkish Theme in Traditional Malay Literature: Imagining the Other to Empower the Self. By Vladimir Braginsky. pp. 303. Leiden, Brill, 2015.

The Turkic-Turkish Theme in Traditional Malay Literature: Imagining the Other to Empower the Self. By Vladimir Braginsky. pp. 303. Leiden, Brill, 2015.

UNSUR MITOS BERDASARKAN TEKS SASTERA MELAYU TRADISIONAL

Myth is a very dominant element in traditional Malay literature. The myths are not set forth in an unorganized manner or randomly, but instead are based on the belief patterns that are already in existence, and this reflects the connection of the society’s thinking with elements of animism that serve as the background of their lives before the arrival of other beliefs. Examples of the development of myth stories can be observed in hikayat (literary works) in traditional Malay literature like Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa and Sejarah Melayu. Meanwhile, examples of oral stories are those found in Cerita Rakyat Malaysia (2008). The aim of this article is to identify the functions of myths found in traditional Malay literature. This article will use the Sociology of Literature approach by Plummer, Ken (1997). The approach of this paper draws on to the questions of how myths became the belief of the society and what is the function of myths in traditional Malay literature texts. The functions of myths can be seen based on these questions. Elements of myths in historical works are narrations that are believed by the locals as actual occurrences that have happened in their locality in the past. Hence, the myth stories became the basis and answers to the inquisitiveness of the people of the past time. The other purpose is to uphold the royal dignity. In traditional literature, literature is viewed as the mirror of society and their documents. The role of myth stories is not only to explain their functions in the society but also to reveal the creativity of the writer or orator and the storyteller. But here, the presence of mythical elements explains to us the relationship of the work from the aspect of thoughts and the world view of that society in the past.

The Code of Conduct (Adab) for Rulers in Two Malay Masterpieces

The aim of this paper was to explain about the code of conduct (adab) as described in the Malay literary masterpiece, the Taj Us Salatin (Mahkota Raja-Raja), and to compare it with the famous epic Malay text, the Hikayat Iskandar Zulkarnain. The Taj Us Salatin (Mahkota Raja-Raja), a well-known literary work on constitutionalism written by Bukhari Al-Jauhari, was used by the Malay rulers as a guidebook on governance, starting from the time of Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah in Acheh in the 17th century until the time of Sultan Hussein Syah of the Johore-Singapore Sultanate in the 19th century. All the procedures of government were comprehensively recorded in this book by the author. As a result, a prominent figure, Iskandar Zulkarnain, who was both a great ruler and warrior, was said to be the first in a royal line of Malay sultans, as recorded in historiographic works. Hence, this noble figure was often highly esteemed in most of the literary works and, in fact, this manifestation was even assumed to validate the sovereignty of a kingly dynasty in the Malay World. The question is, were the guidelines for rulers, as recorded in the Taj Us Salatin, in line with the code of conduct (adab) for rulers and warriors in the epic Hikayat Iskandar Zulkarnain? Therefore, by doing a text analysis of the Taj Us Salatin (Mahkota Raja-Raja) and the Hikayat Iskandar Zulkarnain, this paper compared the connection and link in the characterisation of the code of conduct (adab) for rulers between both texts. This study makes an important contribution, especially in enhancing the contribution of the Malay masterpiece, the Taj Us Salatin (Mahkota Raja-Raja), as a constitutional literature containing highly valuable knowledge, and Iskandar Zulkarnain as a famous Malay ruler and warrior. In summary, the code of conduct (adab) of a ruler was reflected in the stability and peace that prevailed in a country, so much so that this element was given serious emphasis in most of the genres of traditional Malay literature.

Guidance Behind Criticisms: The Good Parenting as Portrayed in the First Malay Autobiography

This paper was aimed at identifying the guidance to parenting that emerged in the first Malay autobiography, the Hikayat Abdullah, and subsequently, to analyse those instructions on parenting in the context of the traditional Malay society of the 19th century. The recognition accorded to Abdullah Munshi as the Father of Modern Malay Literature has attracted various reactions from scholars. Some scholars regard Abdullah Munshi as the one who brought renewal to Malay literature through his courageous criticism of the customs and culture that had been in practice for generations. On the other hand, there are scholars who disapprove of that recognition being given to him and who consider Abdullah Munshi’s criticisms in his works as a deviation from the reality expressed in previous works. Nevertheless, not a single study has suggested that perhaps Abdullah Munshi firmly emphasized those criticisms with the intention of providing some sort of guidance. Hence, by analysing certain texts in the Hikayat Abdullah and by reviewing the evidence from the perspective of Swettenham (1895), who objectively evaluated the thinking and culture of the Malay community, this study was able to rectify the image of Abdullah Munshi, who, all this while, was considered to be pro-British because of his harsh criticism of the Malay community. Moreover, those criticisms were meant to provide guidance for the family institution, especially for parents. This indirectly proves that Abdullah Munshi took a serious view of parenting and believed that improvements were necessary to produce a dignified and civilized generation. In conclusion, the autobiography, the Hikayat Abdullah, was not just a new form of writing that deviated from the conventions of traditional Malay literature, but was the fruit of the wisdom of the author that was meant to benefit his readers.

Audiences and an artist

ABSTRACTBuilding on Amin Sweeney’s study of Authors and audiences in traditional Malay literature (1980), this article sets out to investigate the artists who created illuminated Malay literary manuscripts, and the audiences for whose visual delight they were produced, through a focus on paratexts in the volumes: scribal or authorial notes or annotations, and ornamental and other graphic details. While distinctive regional artistic schools associated with Qur’an and other Islamic books from Southeast Asia have been identified in locations such as Aceh and the east coast of the Malay peninsula, most illuminated Malay literary manuscripts were produced in the burgeoning urban centres of Penang, Melaka, Singapore and Batavia, areas without a strong tradition of religious book production. The very different artistic profiles of these two broad groupings of manuscripts may therefore be linked with their contrasting physical and social locales. A detailed study of two illuminated manuscripts from Perlis then reveals, for the first time, the name of a Malay manuscript artist – Encik Muhammad, son of Raja Indera Wangsa – and casts valuable light on the mechanics of book production in the northern Malay peninsula in the early 19th century.

The Turkic-Turkish Theme in Traditional Malay Literature. Imagining the Other to Empower the Self, written by Vladimir Braginsky

The Turkic-Turkish Theme in Traditional Malay Literature. Imagining the Other to Empower the Self, written by Vladimir Braginsky

A JAWI SOURCEBOOK FOR THE STUDY OF MALAY PALAEOGRAPHY AND ORTHOGRAPHY

This special issue of Indonesia and the Malay World was compiled by friends and colleagues as a tribute to Professor E. Ulrich Kratz's three decades of teaching Jawi and traditional Malay literature at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and to mark his 70th birthday on 14 October 2014. Reflecting Ulrich's deep interest in Malay manuscript texts and letters over many years (see the list of publications compiled by Helen Cordell in this issue), this Festschrift takes the rather unusual form of a compilation of reproductions of Malay manuscripts in Jawi script, accompanied by commentaries on the handwriting and spelling. Nearly all the manuscripts are dated or firmly dateable, and come from known locations. The hope is that this issue will be useful as a sourcebook for the study of the development of Jawi script, and in particular its palaeography and orthography, over the course of nearly three and a half centuries. The manuscripts presented date from the end of the 16th century to the early 20th century, and originate from all corners of the Malay world, from Aceh to Aru and from Melaka to Mindanao, as well as from Malay communities in Sri Lanka and Mecca.

Between the Broad Daylight and the Shadow: Metamorphoses of the Bakhtiar Tale in Persian and Malay

Barthes defined the literary text as “a tissue of quotations drawn from the innumerable centres of culture”. Developing this statement, we can postulate two forms of existence of the literary text. On the one hand, it may exist as a holistic entity in which all components are interlinked so that they can bear an integral meaning. This is a “syntagmatic” existence of the literary work as a “tissue”, or a certain structure. On the other hand, the literary text may exist as a destructuralised set of the same components isolated from each other—its “paradigmatic” existence as a sum total of quotations that contribute to the all-embracing repository of “quotations”, which makes up the intertext of a particular literature. This intertext provides “building blocks” for the construction of new literary pieces. In this article I shall discuss the two forms of existence of literary works on the basis of one piece of Persian literature translated into Malay. The example chosen is Hikayat Bakhtiar (Tale of Bakhtiar), and its transformations and diverse literary constructions that were built of “quotations” from it over more than two centuries. This discussion, among other things, will help us to explain the strong Persian influence on Malay traditional literature, despite the relatively small number of Persian writings translated into Malay. Keywords: traditional Malay literature, persian influence, Hikayat Bakhtiar , quotation, recension, intertext, Hikayat Maharaja Ali , Syair Bidasari

The Meaning of Female Passivity in Traditional Malay Literature

In traditional Malay literature, women were often portrayed as individuals who were mentally, physically and spiritually weak. They were incapable of surviving on their own and could only hope to receive help and assistance from the main characters comprising men. In addition, the female characters in the genres of traditional Malay literature were 'silenced' by their authors when faced with certain situations without being given the opportunity to come forward to defend themselves let alone their rights. Their ‘silence’ was also related to their passivity in dealing with life. Thus, this paper will identify the female characters in several selected genres and analyse their level of passivity according to Bardwick’s psychological perspective. The results of this study show that the 'silence' of traditional women marked their ingenuity in handling pressure from the Malay patriarchal society. The 'passivity' of this group was also meant to be a form of indirect aggression over their inability to establish their rights openly in society. This paper shows that the 'silence' of the women in traditional Malay literature does not mean they gave in willingly to every act committed against them, but it was also a ‘subtle’ resistance to the suppression by the patriarchal system as practised in the Malay community.

Abdullah Bin Abdul Kadir: Hadijah Rahmat's Focal Point In Malay Literature

Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir or Abdullah Munshi is a respected figure who is often associated with his standing as the Father of Modern Malay Literature as compared to Hamzah Fansuri. He has become one of Hadijah Rahmat’s focal point in her works; whether in her academic research or in creative works. Among others, this paper focused on the standing of Abdullah Munshi which explains her leaning towards him. This is gleaned through her academic works, for example on what she has deduced from Antara Dua Kota ( Between Two Cities: Tracing the works of Munsyi Abdullah in and Singapore , In search of Modernity A Study of Concepts of Literature , Authorship and Notions of Self in Traditional Malay Literature or Mengukir Air di Pesisir Sastera Melayu/ Indonesia dalam Arus Jagat . The same applies in the poetry collection Di Tengah Alam ( At the Center of Nature ), the drama Munsyi or Kurnia Alam ( Gift of Nature ) that was crafted by Hadijah Rahmat; the personality of Abdullah Munshi which she attempted to discover. This paper shows the link between the two figures in representing among others the continuity of relationship between Malay literature in Malaysia and Singapore. Keywords: Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir, Abdullah Munshi, Hadijah Rahmat, Malay Literature, Malaysian Literature, Singaporean Literature

IMAGINING KINGS OF RUM AND THEIR HEIRS

Raja Rum whether understood as a Greek, Persian or Turkish ruler is a popular figure in traditional Malay literature. A great array of kings of Rum occurs in many Malay literary genres in which his protean image emerges as king-sage, just king, or tyrant. However fantastical adventure tales and historical or quasi-historical chronicles are his favourite ‘habitats’. In the former genre, Raja Rum appears in the fanciful world of heavenly and demonic creatures that populate various never-never lands in some of which allusions to the Ottoman empire can be discerned. A different, although no less imaginary, Raja Rum appears in works of the latter genre. This is Iskandar Zulkarnain (Alexander the Great), first a Persian and later a Turkish king, the greatest ever monarch of East and West and the preacher of the primordial Islam of the prophet Ibrahim (Abraham). Represented as the progenitor of local dynasties, this ‘stranger-king’ dominates the world of political mythology in chronicles of many peoples of the Malay Archipelago. He and his descendents create the ‘dynastic space’ in which Malay dynasties are linked to each other and with lineages of the great powers of the external world. On the basis of Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) and Tambo Minangkabau (Minangkabau traditions) the article examines this mandala-like dynastic space which, inter alia, shows an interaction between the political mythologies of these two works.

In Search of a Just Leader in Islamic Perspective: An Analysis of Traditional Malay Literature from the Perspective of Adab

This paper discusses the functions of traditional Malay literature as a platform for the formation of human civilisation to create a just leader in fulfilling his responsibility as a caliph of Allah on earth. Justice in Islam means to put something in the exact, right and proper position in all aspects of human life. Justice becomes one of the important pillars in human life, especially for a leader. The data of this study involves the edited texts of traditional Malay literature, consisting of a variety of genres produced or copied from the 15th to 19th century, namely Hikayat Maharaja Ali, Hikayat Raja Pasai, Taj al-Salatin, Bustan al-Salatin, Thamarat al-Muhimmah, Hikayat Abu Syahmah, Hikayat Raja Jumjumah and Hikayat Ibrahim ibn Adham. This study explores and analyzes the texts of traditional Malay literature by using an adab approach based on the Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas (2001) frame work. As an adab literature, this study demonstrates that the works of traditional Malay literature could assume as a major role in forming the just leader. Traditional Malay literary works serve as planters of noble manners to create a balanced human both mentally and physically. Elements of justice presented through the traditional Malay literary works have become guidelines for audience in seeking for a guided relationship both with their Creator (hablumminaLLah) and fellow human beings (hablumminannas) as well as explicating the divine purpose of every living human being in this world – to become His vicegerent and servant. Every leader has to implement this dual role with just and balanced. As His servants, the leader needs to obey all His commandments and use their wisdom to guide their lives. As His vicegerent, the just leader needs to perform their duties and responsibilities with trust, and fairness in resolving the problems and sentencing.

Co-opting the Rival Ca(n)non the Turkish Episode of Hikayat Hang Tuah

Among specimens of traditional Malay literary polemics, or rather, “wars of books”, we find an interesting group of texts of the mid or late seventeenth century, which narrate how an Acehnese embassy was dispatched to Ottoman Turkey to obtain “large cannons”. Remarkably, alongside literary pieces composed in Aceh, this group also includes the Turkish episode of Hikayat Hang Tuah ( HHT ), the epic created in Johor which describes the epoch of the Malaccan sultanate. However, HHT is a double-layered work in which Malacca not infrequently stands for Johor, whose relations with Aceh were more often than not hostile. HHT ’s author covertly polemicizes against Acehnese literary works, striving to prove that Malacca (read Johor) allegedly established diplomatic relations with the Ottomans earlier than Aceh. HHT also attempts to show that its mission to Istanbul was much more successful than Aceh’s and that it completed the recognition of Malacca/Johor across the entire political space from China to Turkey. Yet, the political and literary agendas of HHT ’s author differ radically. In the former, the forces of repulsion hold sway, which leads HHT to depict the triumph of Johor in its rivalry with Aceh. In the latter, on the contrary, the forces of attraction dominate. For this reason the Turkish episode in HHT borrows the plot of Acehnese works, constructs its portrayals of Istanbul from a mosaic of Acehnese sources, and resorts to the grand Acehnese literary style of the “gold-and-jewel” variety. Keywords: traditional Malay literature, Hikayat Hang Tuah , Malacca, Johor, Aceh, Turkey, Istanbul, the Ottomans, Acehnese embassy, political agenda, palimpsest, war of books, gold-and-jewel style

Light, Sound and Fragrance: The Impact of Sufism on the Aesthetics of Traditional Malay Literature

Sufi ideas exerted a great influence on nearly every aspect of traditional Malay literature of the late 16th to the 17th century. Not only Malay literary practice of that age owed much to the Sufi inspiration, equally important is the fact that Sufism brought to life a pre-modern Malay literary theory including, inter alia, fundamental concepts of literary aesthetics. On the basis of a poem by Hamzah Fansuri and Sufi allegories Hikayat Inderaputera and Hikayat Si Burung Pingai the article investigates the Sufi doctrine of imagination as a particular world all of its own, the “aesthetics of light” expressed through specific illumination of portrayed events and “lighting effects”, and the “aesthetics of ecstasy” communicated through acoustic and olfactory images. By embodying these aesthetics in the “flesh and blood” of literary works, their creators not only managed to reveal Sufi doctrines with more clarity and beauty, but also let their audience experience them both intellectually and emotionally. Keyword : Sufism, Hamzah Fansuri, literary aesthetic, Hikayat Metaphysics.

‘SPUN WITHIN THE BRAIN, WOVEN IN THE HEART’

Among the literary studies of R.J. Wilkinson (1867–1941) – an administrator-scholar of diverse interests and the compiler of the famous Malay-English dictionary – his survey Malay literature: romance, history, poetry (1907) occupies a special place. Published in the series, ‘Papers on Malay subjects’, created by Wilkinson with a view to broadening prospective colonial officials' understanding of the Malays, this survey drew material from both his ‘field studies’ and from written texts, often Singaporean lithographs. The use of these sources, more demotic than was usually the case in Malay studies at the time, influenced Wilkinson's insights into the significance of the oral element in traditional Malay literature, the nature of its creators' literary views and their audiences' particular characteristics. A number of his pioneering ideas have been confirmed and further elaborated by contemporary students of traditional Malay literature. At the same time, Wilkinson's survey, like his other works, had the overarching task of defending the ‘Malay cause’, which he understood as the conservation of Malay traditions and customs combined with their development. It is precisely this approach that explains Wilkinson's position vis-à-vis traditional Malay literature, which is expressed in the survey through what can metaphorically be viewed as a theatrical performance, with a ‘Malay rhapsodist’, a ‘pedantic scribe’, a ‘European’ and ‘Wilkinson’ himself as its characters.

A NEW WAVE OF INDIAN INSPIRATION: Translations from Urdu in Malay Traditional Literature and Theatre

In the late 19th century the Malay world experienced a new impact of artistic stimuli from Islamic India. This not only brought to life half a dozen literary works, translation-adaptations from Urdu (Hikayat Gul Bakawali, Syair Indra Sebaha, Hikayat Sultan Bustamam, Hikayat Ganja Mara and some others), but also considerably enriched histrionic culture of the region, in particular through the creation of the Wayang Bangsawan theatre. The influential Indo-Malay community, Jawi Peranakan, played the role of cultural brokers in this process; the Indian Parsi theatre was its major medium. By studying in detail the extant bio-data of translators from Urdu, prototypes and principles of their translations, the history of the Parsi theatre in the Malay world and literary-theatrical interactions within it, the article reveals the paradoxical nature of the new wave of Indian inspiration. On the one hand, this wave contributed a great number of innovations to Malay culture, thus stimulating its modernisation; on the other hand, together with the burgeoning number of lithographs, it marked the beginning of a new (if final) era of flowering of traditional Malay literature. Another issue discussed in the article is the significance of this relatively well-documented stage of the Indo-Malay cultural interface for a better understanding of its earlier stages (for instance in Malacca of the 15th to 16th century or in 17th century Aceh), information of which is still scarce and uncertain.

Between Iron Formalism and Playful Relativism: Five Recent Studies in Malay Writing

The heritage of traditional Malay literature: A historical survey of genres, writings, and literary views By VLADIMIR BRAGINSKY Leiden: KITLV Press, 2004. Pp. xiv, 890. Notes, Bibliography, Index.John Leyden's Malay Annals With an introductory essay by VIRGINIA MATHESON HOOKER and M. B. HOOKER Kuala Lumpur: MBRAS, 2001. Pp. 81, 361. Notes, Bibliography, Index.We are playing relatives: A survey of Malay writing By HENK MAIER Leiden: KITLV Press, 2004. Pp. viii, 542. Notes, Bibliography, Index.Bidasari: Jewel of Malay Muslim culture Edited by JULIAN MILLIE Leiden: KITLV Press, 2004. Pp. 310. Notes, Bibliography, Index.A merry senhor in the Malay world: Four texts of the Syair Sinyor Kosta Edited by A. TEEUW, R. DUMAS, MUHAMMAD HAJI SALLEH, R. TOL and M. J. VAN YPEREN Leiden: KITLV Press, 2004. Pp. x, 467. Notes, Bibliography, Index.

The Heritage of Traditional Malay Literature. By Vladimir Braginsky. pp. xiv, 890. Singapore, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2004.

The Heritage of Traditional Malay Literature. By Vladimir Braginsky. pp. xiv, 890. Singapore, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2004.