Buqga Kan~pai:~8pøcts ofMalay Culture

Buqga I~an~pai:~8p~cts ofMalay Culture

Molid. Taib Osman

DEWAN BAHASA DAN PUSTAKAKEMENTERIAN PENDIDIKAN MALAYSIAKUALA LUMPUR1988

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Copyright© Mohd.Taib Osman,1988

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PREFACE

The papersincludedin this volume representsomeof the essayswhich I havewritten for the variousacademicjournals, both localand abroad.They are selectedand brought together in this singlevolumeso that theaveragereaderwill find them easilyaccessiblethan theywould otherwiesbe, beingspreadover in manydifferentjournalsandbooks.

Thereare really two main areasthat the papersdeal with: litera-ture andculture. As a scholarof Malay society and culture, it isunavoidablethat I aminterestedin literature. It is an expressionofculturefor besidesbeinga productwhichcan give us untold plea-sure in reading it, it also tells us a lot of things which otherwisewould havebeenhidden in our studyof the peopleproducingandappreciatingit. RajaAu Haji is acasein point. While readinghis workslike Tuhfat an — Na/is or Silsi!ah Me!ayu dan Bugis canbring us anendlessjoy, at thesametime theseworks tell us a greatdeal of Malayhistoryandsocietyin thepastAnd in dealingwith modernliteratureweactually seein it a manifestationof a society or culture in a stateofchange,becauseit is aninteractionbetweenthecreavityandsensitivityofindividualsandthesocialsituationsthatoccuraroundthem. In short,Ifind literaturea fascinatingsubjectto study.

The other half of the essaysconcernsvarious aspectsof Malayculture. I begin by looking at Malay culture from its traditionalsetting. It is my belief that to understandthe presentsituation,especiallywith regardto the pangsof change,onehasto look attheelementthat givessocietyits senseof mooring. Social changehas not beenso drastic in the caseof the Malays, and what givesthem a senseof stability and comparative psychological securityin the face of social change is their age-old traditions, which I

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am glad, havenot been thrown overboard in their entirety for thesakeof modernisation.Technologicaladvancementis a must inthis age, and the Malays are caught in the throes of it at themoment, but I do hope that they havenot lost their soul in theprocess.

The essayspresentedhere thereforerecord the traditionalas-pectsof the Malay societyand cultureasstudiedby one of them.And at thesametimetheyalsoreflectthethoughtsconcerningthesocialchangefacingthesociety.I hopethat thereaderwill find in themusefulmaterialsin oneway or another.

Kuala Lumpur Mohd. Taib Osman, M.A., Ph. D.Februari81

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Contents

Preface v

1. Oral Traditionsin Ulu Tembeling:Reportof Fieldwork in Malaysia 1

2. ClassicalMalay Literature:A Brief Survey 18

3. Raja Ali Haji of Riau: A Figure of Transition or theLastof theClassicalPujanggas? 41

4. ModernMalayLiterature: A Reflectionof a ChangingSocietyandCulture 67

5. ContemporaryMalay Poetry 87

6. Sajakof1972 95

7. TowardsTheDevelopmentof Malaysia’sN4tionalLitera-ture 105

8. Mythic Elementsin Malay Historiography 125

9. MythS, LegendsandFolk-Talesin Malay Culture 138

10. TheBomohandThe Practiceof Malay Medicine 148

11. Patternsof SupernaturalPremisesUnderlyingthe Institu-tion of the Bomohin Malay Culture 162

12. Myth, RitualandDrama:With ParticularReferencetotheNusantaraArea 178

13. SomeObservationson the Socio-CulturalContextofTraditionalMalayMusic 197

14. TraditionalMusic In Malaysia:TraditionalExpressioninContemporarySociety 207

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15. A Placefor Traditional Technologyin IndustrialisationPlanning, PeninsulaMalaysia 224

16. Religion andBureaucracy:TheDevelopmentandOrga-nisationof IslamicReligiousAdministrationin PeninsulaMalaysia 255

17. Islamisationof theMalays: A Transformationof Culture 261

18. The Conceptof NationalCulture:TheMalaysianCase 273

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1ORAL TRADITIONS IN ULU TEMBELING:REPORT OF FIELDWORK IN MALAYSIA *

I. INTRODUCTION:The project to collect oral tradition materialsor folklore in theupperreachesof thePahangRiver wasamongthethreeprojectsoffieldwork approvedby UNESCOfor the study of Malay culture.This particularprojectwascarriedoutfrom 22nd April to 9th May1976underthedirectionof thewriter.

II. ITINERARY:The teamconsistingof four fieldworkersand two assistantsleftKuala Lumpur for Jerantuton 22nd April 1976and spenTT~nightpreparingfor thejourney up the TembelingRiver. The next day,we travelledby roadto Kuala Tembelingwhere the main PahangRiver branchesinto two tributaries—- theTembelingandtheJelai.From KualaTembelingwetravelledby motorboatto KualaTahan,where the Taman Negara (National park) has its headquarters.Westayedat KualaTahanfor four days,visiting surroundingvilla-gessuchasKampungPagiandSungaiTiang.From theseriverinevillageswecollectedsomeoral traditionmaterials(seeAppendix)

On 26thApril we left KualaTahanby boat for KampungBantalin Ulu Tembelingwherewe establishedour base.From this base,we visited the neighbouringvillages, namely, Kampung Pulau

* Grateful acknowledgementis herewith made to Un~cofor

permissionto publish this report

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Besar,KampungCheneh,KampungMat Daling, KampungGusaland KampungSungai Kuching. At these riverine settlements,materialson folklore were observed,collected and noted (e.g.wedding customsand rituals in curing the sick) but someinfor-mantswerealsobroughtto KampungBantalwhen necessary.Theteamwishedto stayhere longer for therewere a lot of materialsstill toberecordedanddocumented,butwehadto leaveKampungBantal on 6th May andwe reachedKuala Lur?ipur on 9th May.1976.

III. THE AREA: CEOGRAPHICAL AND SOCIOECONOMICOUTLINE.

ThePahang River bifurcates at Kuala Tembeling with the JelaiandtheTembeling.The Tembelingand its uppertributariesflowfrom the foothills of the mountainswhich form the bordersbet-weenPahangandTrengganuon oneside and PahangandKelan-tan on the other. According to local informants,the usual routefrom the Tembelingvalley to Trengganuis by way of oneof itstributaries,SungaiLurut, overthe saddleof amountainknown asGunung Mandi Angin, and down the upper reachesof SungaiDungun.(It is to be noted, however, that thereis a discrepancybetweentheinformationgivenandthe placenamesprintedon themap.ThemapplacesGunungMandi Angin moretothe north,andthe mountainthat separatesSungaiLurut and SungaiDungun iscalledGunungDiwangsa).During April andMay, the water levelin SungaiTembelingis quite low. WehadtodragtheboatovertherapidsbetweenKualaTahanand KampungPagiandalsooverthesandbarsbetweenKualaSatandKampungBantal.However,theriver usuallyfloods its banksduring the monthsof DecemberandJanuary:during thesetwo months,river travellingon the Tembe-ling, for that matteron anyriver in PeninsularMalaysiais dange-rous.

Therearemanysettlementson bothbanksof the river betweenKualaTembelingand KualaTahan,but beyondKualaTahan,thesettlementsare not only far-betweenbut are sparselypopulated.Apart from the main villagesof KampungPagi, KampungKualaSat, Kampung Bantal, Kampung Gusal and Kampung Mat Da-ling, mostof theothervillages markedon the maphaveonly twoto six households.The leastinhabitedpoint that we cameacrossduring our fieldwork, appearedto be KampungTembungwheretherewereonlytwo households.

The populationupstreambeyondKualaTahanis totally native

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Malay, with one settlementof OrangAsh (aborigines)at SungaiKuching. Justdownstreamfrom Kuala Tahan, there is also asettlementof OrangAsh at SungaiTiang.The OrangAsh of thesetwo placesare identified as belonging to the Semoq Ben group. AtKualaTahanitself, thereis asmall groupof OrangAsh belongingto theBateqgroup. Theirsettlementsareactuallyfurther inland indeepjungle, but they have a temporary post in Kuala Tahanbecausethey work asguides to the touristsvisiting the NationalPark.According tothe !~stc~~u;,t’ñereareabout2,iC,~~ intheareaupstreamof KualaTahan.

The National Electricity Board is planning to have a hydro-electricdambuilt acrossthe Tembelinga mile or two upstreamofKuala Tahan.1 When this plan materiahises,perhapsin the earlyeighties,theareaupstreamup tothe400foot levelwill besubmer-gedunderwater.It is becauseof this factthat the work to collectthe oral traditions in the area assumesaddedimportanceandurgency.Althoughthe populationwill be resettledelsewhere,it ispossiblethat thetraditionswhichareembeddedin their way of lifeandrelatedtothephysicalenvironmentaroundthemwould be lostor at leastmodified.

Themain economicpursuitof the Malay populationin the areais plantingrubberascashcrop. Rice is also cultivatedbut mainlyfor subsistence.As in the caseof otherMalay villages, fruit treesarea sourceof incomeonly during the fruit season,that is, fromJuly to September.Water buffaloesare rearednot for own con-sumption (excepton wedding celebrationsand festivals) btit forsale at KualaTembehing.As transportationis very expensiveontheriver, the buffaloesare led down the river in batchesof fifteento twenty by two or threehandlerswho would take sevento tendaystoaccomplishtheir task.Rubberandothercommoditiessuchasrattanareusuallybroughtdownriverby meansof bamboorafts,for motorboatswould meananadditionto the capitaloutlayof thefarmers.However, the marketingorganisationis to someextentbeing taken over by somevillage coopertives,althoughsomeindMduals continue to transport their produce to Kuala Tern-beling. It is difficult to assess the average income or theaverageholdings of the people in the area until the socio-economicdatacollectedareanylised.Speciahisedvocationssuchas boatmakingandsugarrefiningarealsoobserved.Gatheringofjungle producesuch as gamblerand tree-gums,althoughpresentlypursuedon asmall scaleby theMalays, is still animportantoccupationamongthe OrangAsh.

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Fromtheinterviews, it hasbecomeclearthat the web of kinshipis finely woven amongthe peopleof the area,especiallyamongthosewho bearthe hereditarytithe of Wan. In fact the importantfamihiesof the areabelongto this classof people,and are oftenaddressedas Engku. a term reservedin Malay for thoseof royalblood. Mostof thosein positionof leadership— thePenghulu (theadministrative headof the Mukim of Ulu Ternbeling) and the in-fluential political leadersare both Wan and are related.In Kam-pung PulauBesar, for instance,thereare sevenhouseholds,fourof whichareWans: theycantracetheirdescentto WanIsmail whowasoneof thoselocal chiefsthat helpedTengkuAhmad to foundthe present Pahangruling housein 1863. The dose-knitkinshipsystemis explainedby the fact that the areais comparativelyaclosedone,although its traffic with Dungun in Trengganushouldnot be overlooked.In thekinship networkof the areamanyof thefamiliesdo havetieswith peoplein Dungun.Someof the familiesareactuallyfirst generationmigrantsfrom Dunguninto the area.Another item of information which needsverification is whetherthe settlersalong River Sat, a tributary of the Tembehing,havecloserelationshipwith thepeopleof Lebir River in Ulu Kelantan.Itappearsthat from the upperreachesof Sat River one can crossover a saddle in Gunung Gagau and reach the Lebir River inUlu Kelantan.

IV. ORAL TRADITION MATERIALS COLLECTEDA detailedlist of the itemscollectedis found in the Appendix.Thissectionhoweverdiscussesthe natureof the materialscollected,their significanceto the anthropologicalstudy of the area, andplansfor further fieldwork.

Two assumptionswere madebefore beginning the fieldwork:frist, the areawould yield a good crop of oral tradition materialsandsecondly,it wasculturally anisolatedarea.The first assump-tion wasborneoutto someextent,but thesecondonewasfoundtobe not very true. The close contactwith Dungun in Trengganuorwith Ulu KelantanthroughSatRiverhasbroughttothisareatradi-tions whichare identifiablewith thosetwo sources.Broadly spea-

* For administrativepurposesin Malaysia, a state is divided

into districtsunder District Officers, andthe districts arefurther divided into Mukims underPenghulus.Anumberofvillages (kampung)make up a Mukim. The Mukim of UluTembehingis in thedistrictof Jerantut.

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king, thematerialscollectedcanbeclassifiedasnarratives(mainlyfolktalesand local legends),folk beliefs and folk medicine, folksongs,dancesandgames,genealogiesandhistoricalreminiscences,andmaterialculture.

(a) Folk Narratives(i) Tales:All togetherwemanagedtoputon tape 15 tales:

7 are classifiedas long and 8 asshorttales. The longtales are usuallysung to a particular tune. Some ofthesetales havebeencollected before, but neversocompletely recordedas this time. The longest talewhichcametoabout15 hoursof recordingwas AwangMalim Dewana. This talewasrelatedby a 65 yearoldwoman Fatimahbt. Arif of KampungMogol who ori-ginally came from Dungun, Trengganu.She learntthe tale from her father. From her we also recordedtwo otherlongtales,RajaKuang and Burung Si Agut,a number of short tales about Sang Kancil (a well-known characterin Malay animal stories) and aboutPakPandir (aproverbialcharacterof a fool in Malayfolktales).Shehasin her reportoireother talesbut wedid nothavetimetorecordthem.

Another story-tellerwasa sixty-five year old man,Abdullah bin Mat from KampungCheneh.He wasalocal manborn in KampungKualaSat.Herecitedtwolongtales,bothwith tune,andacoupleof shortones,also aboutSang Kancil or Pelanduk and Pak Pandir.The longoneswereRaja Muda Cik Sandangwhich helearnt from his brother-in-law, a Dungun man, andBujang Gading, atale which helearntfrom an OrangAsh convert (i.e. converted into a Muslim), Tahir byname,who alsolivesin KampungCheneh.The lattercouldnotbecontacted.

From Ti bt. MohdEndutwe managedto recordtwotaleswith tune calledMak Busu Sungai Mengkinangand Malim AnakChina. (Becauseof lack of time, thelastonehadtobetold partly by directproseandminusthe usualstory-tellingfrills). About 40 yearsold, Ti isfrom KampungBantal.Shelearntherstoriesfrom herfatherwhenshewasayounggirl of 14, Ti wasalsooneof the womenin KampungBantal who performedthe

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Tan Pulau andsangthe nazamand the folk songswe-recorded.

Other raconteurswe recorded from were not asaccomplishedas the threeabove. Talib bin AwangKechik of KualaTahantold in plain prosetwo shorttales: EmpatPemudaand TekunTebu; dan PawangNong of Kampung Pagi related Saudagar Abdu!lahdenganAnakAngkatdanAnakSendini.An importantobservationto be made here is that the long taleswhich are sungand told in a stylised mannerneedaccomplishedraconteursto recite them, and they arenotmeantonly for entertainment.

Ti informed us that she intoned her tales whileworking with other women in the rice-fields and thelast time she recited Malim AnakChina was duringthe previousrice harvest.Abdullah bin Mat also toldusthat mostly herecitedhis taleswhen hewascamp-ing out in a group eitheron a fishing expedition orgarheringjungle produceupstream.It is clear thatstory-telling amongthe peopleof Ulu Tembeling isclosely associatedwith group work, besidesbeing aformof entertainment.

Anotherobservationis that story-telling is confinedto theolder generation.Ti at 40, is aboutthe last linkthat thepresenthaswith thetradition of stylisedstory-telling. Much as we tried, we could not persuadeanyonebelow 40 to tell stories, eventhe anecdotalshortones,whichsomeof themclaimedto haveheardatonetime or anotherfrom theirelders.

Most of our informants in Ulu Tembehing were re-served. However, Wan Hashim, who since hisyounger brother’s death (Abdul Jalil), hastaken over the political leadership of the area,is a sophisticated informant when it comes tothe recent history of Ulu Tembeling. His greatgrandfather, Wan Ismaih, was the main supporterof WanAhmadwhenthelatter descendedon Ulu Tem-beling from Trengganuandmadea claim to thethroneof Pahangin the early 1860 The prime interest ofWanHashimandothermembersof his family seemsto be the assertionof their leadingstatusin the UluTembehingcommunity.A letter of authorityfrom Sul-

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tanAhmadgiving Wan Ismail the right to settlein UluTembehingis usedasakind of legitimacy for his fami-ly’s leading position in the area.Thus informantslikeWanHashimandmembersof his family would provideversionswhich tend to highlight the role of Wan Is-mail. However,their accountsarenot at variancewiththe historytextbookson Pahang.

Otherhistoricaleventswhich tookplace in Ulu Tern-beling, suchasthe retreatof Datuk BahamanandMatKilau aftertheir armedstrugglewith the British in theearly1890s are not well-rememberedby the presentgeneration.Our attemptsto get personalmemoriesofthe eventsfrom the old peopledrew a blank becausethe oldestmanin KampungBantal,Bomoh Mat Pitah(see below), who claimedhimself to be 97 yearsold,wasonly a young boy whenthe eventstook place.Hecàuld only rememberthat he and his family weretakento Kuala TembehingbecauseUlu Tembelingwasin difficult timesof war.

However, we managedto collect a numberof locallegendspertainingto place-names.Although the ori-gin of someof the place-nameshas been forgotten,many of the older generationcan still relate storiesexplaining how the villages, settlementsand land-marks derivedtheir names.Someof thesestoriesarelegends,while othersrefer to their geologicalforma-tions. Thus PulauBesar (Big Island)was actually anislandat onetime, butbecauseof the sedimentsdepo-sited by the meanderingTembeling after so manyfloodsovertheyears,thevillage is no longeran island,but a high ground with the river on one side and amarsh (paya) for planting rice on the other, joining itwith themainland.KampungBantal is not actuallyabantalmeaning “pillow”, but ratherbantai, that is, ‘toflog’. The metamorphosisfrom bantai to bantal is mostlikely becauseof the local pronunciationof the wordwhere the final (ai) and (al) are indistinguishable.There is a story behind the name Bantai: it tells ofsomeMinangkabaumen(accordingto someversions,Dayak)who successfullyfloggedto deathahugesnakewhichwaspreyingon peopleandanimalsalikeastheypassby on the river.

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(b) Religion,Folk Beliefs andFolk MedicineExceptfor theOrangAsh at SungaiTiang andSungaiKuching, all peoplein Uhu TembehingareMuslim Ma-lays.Thelargervillageslike KampungPagi, KampungBantalandKampungMat Dahinghavemosqueswherethe Friday congregationalprayer is said, evenif thedaily prayersarenot offeredthere.The smallersettle-mentshavesuraus(small prayerhouse).As in the restof thestate,theMukim of Uhu Tembelingcomesunderthe administration of the PahangReligiousAffairs.Department.The sub-administrativecentre for reli-giousaffairs is Jerantutwherethereis a District Kadi(ReligiousJudge).For the Mukim of Ulu Tembehing,thereis a . Wall Hakim. who representsthe Kadi. Butwhilst the Kadi haswider functionsthan just being aregistrarof marriages,divorcesor reconciliations,thefunctionof Wali Hakim in Ulu Tembelingseemsto belimited to officiating at marriages,divorcesor reconci-hiations.He sometimesdelegateshis functionsto theimam of a village if thereare no complications.Forinstance,the bride hasa wall (guardian) to give heraway in marriage. In such instances,the imam getshalf of the fee dueto the Wali Hakim. The delegationof function is done becauseof the difficulty of travel,but if the case warrantshis presence,for example,whenthe bride hasno wall, thenthe Wall Hakim, hastoofficiate personally.Thecollectionof the religioustithe(zakat/fitrah) is not done by the Wall Hakim, but bythe Amil (collector) who works underthe village head-man (Ketua Kampungor TokEmpat).From the inter-viewsconductedwith the local people, it appearsthatmatterslike family squabbles,which would normallybe referredin Malay communitylife to religious lea-ders,are referredhereto the village headmen (KetuaKampungor TokEmpat) or to the Penghuluhimself.I do notseethis, however,asa gapbetweenreligiousandtemporal leadershipbut rather asa complemen-taryarrangement.

If thereis any manifestfriction, it is betweenthereligiousview on onesideandsomepracticeswhichwemaycall folk beliefs andpracticeson the other. Therealm of folk beliefs and practices covers a wide

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spectrumof activities, from magical practicesandcuring of the sicktogameswhich invoketheaidof thespirit world. The friction is not unusual in Malaysocietywheretheofficial religion of Islamis irreconci-lably opposedto the recognitionof the spirit world.Thusfolk beliefs,whichrepresenttheohde~stratumofthe Malay belief system before the advent andacceptanceof Islam, are looked upon with anambivalent attitude. The tendencyis to rationahiseor syncretise,at least in interpretation, the twoelements.Thus the Wall Hakim is also a PawangTanah (Shaman who propitiatesthe guardianspirit ofthe land beforeit is usedfor cultivationor habitation);his incantationsandexplanationof the conceptof pro-pitiating the guardianspirits of the land are colouredby Islamicnotions.

Howeverfolk beliefsespeciallythoseelementscon-nectedwith the art of curing the sick, still managetohold their own despiteoppositionsboth from the reli-gious quartersand from the ‘modern-minded’ asrepresentedby the local school teachers.Thereareagovernmenthealth clinic and a maternity centre atKampung Bantal, but the local medicine man, MatPitah, is still called upon to administerto the sick.During the fieldwork I had the opportunityto sit in onone of his curing sessions.Much of the folk beliefmaterialswerenoted down andrecordedfrom my longtalks with him. One obvious featurewhich surfac2dduring our conversationswas his sensitivenessto theissueof oppositionfrom the formal religion (Islam) towhat hestoodfor. Heresolvedthis by insistingthat theevil spirits or other maverick spirits were also thecreationof God; they,however,originatedfrom Azazil,an angelwho refusedto submit to the form of Adam(LembagaAdorn) as the finest creationof God. Theitems that I managedto gatherfrom this particularinformant included various incantations,love magic,the art of curing the sick, mainputeni and main dewa(trancedancesusedasakind of psycho-therapy).

(c) Folk songs.DancesandGames

Therearetwo distinguishabletypesof songsrecorded,

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the religiouschants (dikir and nazam)andthe seculartraditional oneswhichhavesurvivedamonga groupofmiddle-agedladies in KampungBantal. The nazam,which is asongin praiseof the Holy ProphetMuham-mad, is sung in a group. Although there is a bookplaced in thecentre,it is only used-asa prompter,forthe ladiessitting aroundin a circle usually memorisethe verseswhich are in Malay. Thereis a leaderwhosingsthe leadingverseand sheis echoedor chorusedby the others. Two recordings were made of thenazam,oneat KualaTahanandtheotherat KampungBantal,bothchantedby agroupof middle-agedladies.The nazam incidentally is not accompaniedby anymusical instrument.The other type of religious songis the Dikir Pahang, which was performedby agroupof six men in Kampung Bantal. The versesare inArabic but the performanceis similar to the nazam,that is, oneleadsandtheotherschorusto the accom-paniment of the rebana (drum), with which thesingersmeasurethebeatandrhythmof their singing.It is a popular form of past-time at weddings andgatheringsandhasreligiousconnotationsbecausetheversesare, like nazam,songsof praisefor the HolyProphetMuhammad(S.A.W.).

Moreinterestingarethe folk songsusedto accom-panyawork-danceknownasMain Pulau. Thisform ofpast-timeis almostmoribund,but a few middle-agedladiesstill rememberthe~songsandthe dance. MainPulau was usuallyperfomedwhenthe ladiesgot to-gethertowork on the paddynursery-bedsor to weedthe paddyfields (merumput). In other words, theysangand dancedwhile weedingthe paddy-fieldsortendingto the nurserybeds.According to oUr infQr-mants,competitionsusedtobeheldbetweendifferentworking groups.Theearliestto finish the chorewouldrush to a pole andgrab the sweetsandcakeswhichdecoratedthepole. Beingawork-play ratherthananactualdance,Main Pulau isperformedbyanumberofladieswho encircletheplot on which theyaregoingtowork. Equippedwith sickles (kni or kiut), they wouldsing, danceand work their way to the centreof thecircle, where the leader who leads in the singing

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(mengadi) works. Oncethey reachthe centre, theywill endtheir songanddancewitha yell.

There are many songsand dancesthat go into aMain Pulau, but the playershaveto begin with Me~ngambil Indung (fetching the Indung) and end withKembali Indung (sendingback the Indung). In bet-ween thereare a variety of songsand dance-steps,someof which arealmostalike. I managedto record30 different songsfor Main Pulau from the group ofwomenin KampungBantal.Eachsongis usuallymadeup of pantuns and the chorus (see Appendix). Twoperformancesof Main Pulauweregiven by the ladies,and excerpts were recorded by cine-cameraandtape-recorder.

Someinformantsconfirmed my suspicionthat MainPukzuhad its origin in the ancientsMalay belief ofSemangatPadi (padi spirits) becauseof the rule that itmustbegin by fetchingthe indungandsendingit backat the end of the performance.However, someinfor-mantswould insist that indung wasa humanandthatthe play had nothing to do with the old animisticconceptof theMalays. It is significant that thoseven-turing this view belongedto the religious-orientedin the community. In fact they were the samepeoplewho did not show enthusiasmwhen the bomoh, MatPitah, performed for us an almost forgotten Malaypast-timeof old — Main Lukah or Tori Lukah (thefish-trap dance). Underlying this attitude is the usualcon-flict in Malay society that existsbetweenthe puristicteachingsof theformalreligion of Islamandthe beliefsand practicesinherited from the distantpast followedand performedfor pragmaticendssuch as curing thesick, divining lost objectsor one’s future, influencingthe dispositions of others as in the affairs of theheart,etc.

Main Lukah or Tan Lukah which was mentionedearlierwas performedby the bomoh, Mat Pitah. Hedid two performancesfor uswhich werephotographedby cine-camera.Skeat in his Malay Magic2 mentionsabout Main Lukah and its other variants like OIekMayang. Personally I never expected to find anyonewhocanstill perform Tori Lukah, notonly becauseit is

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anoldMalaypast-timebut moresobecauseit involvesan invocationof the spirit to animatethe fish-traptodance,the practiceof which is frownedupon by strictreligious teachings.This explainswhy, as I havesaidabove,somemembersof the community in KampungBantalwerenot enthusiasticaboutit. Anothertype ofresponsewas from the village school-teachersandthe youngerset who had beento secondaryschoolsoutsidethe community: their attitudewas to test thevilidity of the claim by the bomoh that the fish-trapdanced becauseit was animated by the spiritsinvokedratherthanby oneof thebomoh’sassistants.

According to Mat Pitah, the fish-trap (lukah) to beusedfor the dancehad to be constructedfrom specialbambooand rattan. In the performancesome musicmustbeplayedandfor thedancethat wasputon for usonly a drum (gendang) was available. Traditionallythe musicS would consist of gongs, serunai (flute),rebab (stringedinstrument)besidesthe drum. Theremustbesinging toowhile the trapdances,handledbytwo people. Mat Pltah explainedthat the musicandsingingwould encouragethespiritsto dancetheLukahvigorQusly.

The lukah is first of all dressed in a 1ooseMalay shirt (baju gobang), a sarong is tied uplike a turban at the top. A stick is put thtoughthe upperpart to form a pair of arms.The Bomohthen readsan incantation over a burning, incense,andthen placesthe lukah over it so that the smokeenvelopesthe body of the lukah. Thentogetherwith the help of anotherperson,the bomohholds thebottomof the lukah.Soonthe lukahbeginsto move byswayingfrom side to sideasthe musicandsingingarein full swing. Another handlerthen takesover fromthe bomoh, who is now free to conductthe movementof the lukah. He doesthis by shoutinginstructionstothe lukah to bend right or heft (liuk kin; liuk kanan)while hitting it with awhip madeup of five fine longstrandsof lidi kelapa (rib of coconut leaf). The wholeatmosphereismeantto be swathedin an air of magic —

the inanimate lukah is animatedto danceby the spirits

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at the behestof the bomoh. although there are twohandlershandling the bottom of the Iukah (Mat Putihexplainedthat this was necessarybecausethe Iukah hasno legs to danceon its own). While the smokefrom theburning incensebillows and while the musician fill theair. the Iukah dances.and the audience.some in utteramusement,respondnoisily by shoutingencouragementto the dancingfish-trap. It wasa game of old, but themagic (in anothersense)still holds for the present-dayaudience.

A fewpantuns (Malay folk poems) were also recor-dedfrom thestory-tellerAbdullahMat. Beinga manofmany talents, Abdullah also played a short bambooflute calledlocally buluh seredam.We recordeda shortrenderingof hisskill on theflute.

As forchildren’sgames,wecould notdetectthetra-ditional onesbeing played. The favourite gameis ofcoursethe perennialfootball. However, it wasinteres-ting to observethat amongyoungerchildren of six totwelve, the craze was to build cars from boxesandwheels,completewith headlightsand licence plates.The nearestpoint where onecanseecontraptionslikemotorcarswill be KualaTembehing,but the childrenmusthaveseenthemin their visitsdownriver.

(d) MaterialCulture

Apart from thetape-recorder,thecamerawasusedtorecordaspectsof the traditionspertainingto materialculture. Modern technology is not unknown to thepeopleof Ulu Tembeling,but becauseof the remote-ness of their settlements,much of their creativitydependedupontraditionaltechnologywhichmusthavebeen handeddown from generation to generation.Boat-making,especiallythe dug-outs, is one of theskilful tradesto be found in Ulu Tembehing.The dug-outis actuallythe chief meansof transportationon the river. Itis interestingto note that the biggerboatswhich takeoutboardmotorshaveastheir foundationthe dug-out.Thisis becausetheboatsplying theTembehinghavetoreckonnotonly with rocksat the rapidsbut alsosand-bars.Thereforethey musthavestrong solid keelsto

13

overcome these treacherousobstacles.Thereare twoor three‘shipyards’ wherethe motorisedboatscanbebuilt, but the art of making dug-outsseemsto be quitewidespread.

In the place where processedtimber has to bebroughtall thewayfrom KualaTembehing,planksandtiles area luxury. Almost all the dwellingsare there-fore madeof roughly hewntimberwith the barkof thekapur tree as the walls. The homesare usually of asimple structurewith the main building a rectangularblock raisedaboutfour to five feetaboveground-level.Attached to the main structureis the kitchen,also arectangularblock, but much smaller in sizecomparedwith the main house.There are variations,but whathasbeendescribedisthebasicpatternof the dwellingsin thearea.

Otherartifactsthat havebeennoted include imple-mentsconnectedwith rice-cultivation, a sugar-pressmadeentirelyof wood, boatstogetherwith the tech-niqueof boat-building,andmusicalinstruments.

Conclusion:

The Ulu Tembehingarea,becauseof its comparativeisolated-ness,andbeingoff the mainstreamof socio-culturaldevelopmentin Malaysia, still retains some of the Malay traditions whichelsewherehavedisappearedor haveat leastbeenerodedby mo-dernpractices.Someof thesetraditionsstill vie stronglywith thenew institutions brought into the community. Thus traditionalmedicine continuesto live side by side with the GovernmentHealthClinic, andthe nazam and dikir are still a living past-timeinspiteof theradio. But somehavebecomealmostmoribund, likethe main puteni, main lukahormain dewa.Thesetraditionssurviveas long astheir presentcarriersarealive, althoughthey aresel-dom practisedtoday. But in the long-run, traditionswhich havebeenhandeddown orally for generationsare still to be found inUhu Tembehing. Almost three weeks were spent recording anddocumentingthesetraditionsbuttherearea lot morewhichawaitthecollectorandthe researcher.A fewmorefield-trips to theareaare thereforenecessary.And thesewill haveto becarriedout be-fore the whole areais inundatedwhenthe hydro-electricdam is

14

completed.While economicprogresswill eventuallyovertakethepeopleof Ulu Tembeling,it is importantfor the posterity to haveon recordtheirancienttraditionsaspartof their culturalhistory.

Notes.

1. Thisprojecthassincebeenabandoned.

2. Skeat W.W.. Malay Magic: Being An Introduction to the Folkfore andPopular Religionof Malay Peninsula, London,1896.

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2CLASSICAL MALAY LITERATURE:A BRIEF SURVEY

The BackgroundLiterary historians dealing with Malay Literature have found itconvenientto divide Malay literary works into two categories:thetraditional or classicalon the one hand and the modernor newliterature on the other. By traditional or classiced literaturethey meanthe literary stylescharacteristicof the period beforeWestern civilisation made its impact felt on the life of theMalays. It is true that the Malays hadcomeinto contactwith theWestsincethe 16thcenturywith the conquestof Malaccaby thePortuguesein 1511 AD. However, it was not until the late nine-teenth century and the beginning of the presentone that Malaysocietyandculturehadexperienceda massivesocio-culturalchangeasa result of Westerndomination.Before thattime, contactwith theWest had beenkept on the fringe. Exceptfot the early Englishcolonieslike Penang,MalaccaandSingaporein the 19thcenturywhere contactwith the West had madepossiblethe writings ofAbdullahMunshi, theso-calledfatherof modernMalay literature,the rest of the Malay peninsulahad still not felt the direct in-fluenceof Westerncivilisation. However, the subsequentwester-nisationof the societyprovidedonly the settingfor the growth ofa newliteraryidiom, for thefirst seedsof the newliteraturedid notcomefrom the West but from the literaturesof Egypt and In-donesia.

Westernisationrepresentsbutaphasein the history of the Ma-

18

lay people;beforethat the Malayshadalreadygone throughpe-nodsin historyduring which the influenceof foreigncivilisationshadleft indeliblemarkson their culture.Formorethana thousandyears,beginningfrom aboutthe first centuryA.D. or evenearlier,Indiancivilisation hadexertedits influenceon Malaysociety andat the samatime helpedto formulatevariousculturaltraditionsofthepeople, includingliterature.The useof Indian scripts like thePalavaandtheNagari, theassimilationof numerousSanskritandTamil words into the Malay language,the adoption of Hindu,Buddhistand Sivaistic religious thoughts,law, social and moralcodes,ceremoniesandrituals, someof whicharestill manifestto-day, reflect the extent of cultural borrowing and the processofacculturationprevailingat thetime.

Then,beg~nningaboutthe thirteenthor the fourteenthcenturyof the Christianera, anothercivilisation, that of Islam, came toexertits influenceon the Malays.Broughtinto the NusantaraviaPersia and India, Islam did not only introduce a new religiousfaith, but alsobrought in its wakethe Islamic cultural influencesfrom PersiaandIndia totheMalayarea.Beingreceptiveto foreigninfluences,theMalayssoonadoptedfor themselvesnew ideasandvaluesin the variousaspectsof life. But the adoption of the newreligion anditsattendantculturalinfluencesdid noteradicateenti-rely the cultural elementsof the pre-Islamicperiod.The culturalheritageof the pre-andpost-Indianperiodssurvivedin partsandcontinuedto live sideby side with the new order. The situationisbest reflected by the fact that words of Sanskritderivation likepuasa (fasting), neraka (hell), syurga (heaven), and agama(religion) hadbeenretainedto denoteideasandpraticesbroughtby Islam andadoptedby theMalaysaspartof their wayof life.

Perhapsthemost importantcontributionof Islam to Malay cul-ture istheArabic script,popularlyknown asthe “Jawi” script.Al-most without exception, traditional Malay literature includingthoseof Hindu provenanceinherited from the preceedingperiodhadbeenwritten in this script. One of the oldest Malay manus-cripts known to havebeenpreservedsincethe fifteenthcentryisthe Malay version of the Indian epic, the Ramayana. Known asHikayat Sen Rama, it waswritten in the Jawi script. It cansafelybe said that classicalMalay works which havecometo us in theform of manuscriptswere mainly the productof the Muslim pe-riod. But asawhole, it reflectsa rich blendingof diverseculturaltraditionswhich madeup the fabric of traditional Malay culture.However,thischaracteristicmay leadoneto seeonly the borrowed

19

elements,andweareproneto shareSir RichardWinstedt’sviewwhen he said, “Anyone who surveys the field of Malay literaturewill be struckby theamazingabundanceof its foreignflora andtherarity of indigenous growths” This view is quite misleading, forclassicalMalay literatureisactuallyamanifestationof a processofacculturation. What is interesting to observe is how foreignnarrativeshavebeenadoptedaccordingto the literarytasteof theindigenouscultureandhow the ideasconveyedby worksof foreignoriginfitted into the local socialfabric.

ClassicalMalay literaturecanbesaid to havetwo typesof tradi-tions: thewritten traditionandtheoral tradition. Thefocal pointofthe traditional societybefore the adventof Westerndominationhadbeentheroyal courtsor the pre-industrialisedurbancentres.It wasat the royal courtsthat the bardsandthe scribescould bemaintainedto writeor adaptfrom foreignsourcesscholarlyworkson religion,compilethehistoriesor sejarahof theruling dynasties,and copy works on Islamic law, history and theology, and thecolourful romancesfeaturing Persian,Indian and local dramatispersonae andsettings.

If written literaturewasthe productof the royalcourts,the oraltradition flourished amongthe rakyat, the common people in thekampung(villages)andulu (upstream).The oral tradition of theMalayrakyat like the oral traditionandthe folk narrativesofotherpeoples,washandeddownfrom onegenerationtothenextwithouttheaid of writing. Like thewritten literature,theoral tradition alsoreflectstheblendingof thedifferentcivilisationswhichhavemadean impacton the commoncultureof the Malays.Perhapsit is inthe folktale that the blending seemsto be more harmoniousandcolourful. Wecaneasilyrecognisethosefolktaleswhichmusthavebeenbroughtto the shoresof the Malay Peninsulafrom distantplaces,butthey soonunderwentaprocessof what thescholarsoffolktale would call “oicotypification”, andthey became,for all in-tentsandpurposes,Malayfolktales.

Folk NarrativesWhile written literature flourished in the royal courts, the

simplefolks in thekampunghadthe storytellersto entertainthemwith taleswhichhadbeenhandeddownorally throughtheages.Inthe days when entertainmentlike the cinemawas unknown, orevennow in remotevillageswherethe modernway of life hasstillnot madea deepimpressionon the villagers, the story-tellerwas

20

andis an importantpersonin village life. Aptly calledthe “Peng-upon-lana” or the “soother of cares”, the story-tellerentertainedhis listeners with tales about beautiful princes or princesses,adventuresof princelyheroes,pranksplayed on otheranimals bythe minikin mouse-dear(Sang Kancil), the foolish anticsof thesimpletonPak Pandir,or the escapadesof Pak Belalangwhoout-wits hisking for hisown advantage.W.E. Maxwell whowitnessedtheartof story-tellingamongthe Malay kampungfolk in the latenineteenthcenturyhad the following to say of the Malay story-teller:

A small reward,a heartywelcome,anda goodmealawaittheMalayrhapsodistwhereverhegoes~andhewandersamongthe MalayvillagesasHomerdid amongthe Greekcities.

Without doubt the art of oral story-telling is gradually disap-pearingin the Malay Peninsula,but it still survivesin the Malayvillages as in Kelantan wherethe “Tok Selampit” still plies histradeaccompaniedby his stringed-instrumentcalled the rebab.Hundredsof tales havebeen collected during the past twentyyearsor so through efforts by individualsand interestedinstitu-tions. Mr. Zakaria bin Hitam of Kuantan, Pahang,for example,hascollectedover the pastyears,more thana hundredtraditionaloral tales from all over the state of Pahang.And through theeffortsof peoplelike Mr. Zakaria,the taleswhichotherwisewouldhavedisappearedfor good arenow preservedin writing. Someofthem havebeenpublished,thusmaking the talesaccessibleto awideraudience.

A surveyof Malay folktaleswould revealamotleycollection oftypesnot unknownto theoral tradition of othernations.Somearequite similar to tales found in the culturesof the peopleswithwhom the Malayshadcomeinto contactat one time or another.This is an outcomeof cultural borrowing, but such talesastheybecomethepropertyof the Malay story-tellershow that they haveundergoneand-beensubjectedtoa thoroughprocessof adaptationor “local colouring”. Therearealsomanynarrativesin the form ofaetiological tales explaining the origin of things, legendsandmythsrelatingto thepre-Islamicbeliefsof the Malays.

The most well-known and widespreadnarratives are the folk-romances,a name first given by R.J. Wilkinson. The folk-roman-ceswould normally come underthe term “m~rchen”in the gene-

21

ral classificationof folktales,but they showdistinctive Malay styleof story-telling.They arenarrativeswhich haveastheir dramatis-personaeprincesandprincesseson the one hand,and villains ofthe piece — geniesand giants — on the other. A typical Malayfolk-romancehasaprincelyherowho holdsthecentreof the stage.Usually, theherois a princeor heir to the throneof a certainking-dom. Right from hisbirth heis endowedwith notonly goodappear-ancesbut also with superhumanmagical powers. Then an inci-denthappenswhich sets him off on a journeyof adventure.Per-hapsit is the prophecyof someevil astrologersthat hewill bringill-luck whichcauseshim to be drivenout of his father’skingdomand sets him off to redeemhimself. Or, it is becauseof a dreamhe hasof abeautifulprincessthat hegoeson a journeylooking forher. His adventureis pregnantwith wondrousincidents;perhapshe hasto fight hisrivals for thehandof his princess,or he hastoovercomeobstaclesto achievewhateverhe setsoutto do. His featsareusuallysovividly describedby the story-tellerthat they easilycanenthrall thelisteners.

A typical exampleof a Malay folk-romanceis anoral versionofthestory of Ramawhich waswritten downby W.E Maxwell, latein the19th century, in Perak, from a well-known “penglipor-lara” of thepast,Mir 1-lassan.This oral tale of Ramaundoubtedlyshows cultu-ral borrowing,but in structureandin inspiration, it belongsto theMalay folk tradition.Thus it evendiffers from thewritten version,theHikayat SenRamawhichkeepsclosetothe originalplotsof thegreatIndian epic. The Malay written versionof the Ramaepic isundoubtedlya product of the court culture for it conveystheessenceof the social order prevailingat the time, that is a feudalsociety,in whichsenseof loyalty, patriotism, heroism,thewarriorcode and other moral dictums were cherished.Mir Hassan’sver-sion,on theotherhand,is notexactlythestory of Rama.The fewplotswhichcanberecognisedastheplotstobefound in the Rama-yanaareinterpolatedsoastoaccomodatethestyleof aMalay folk-romance.In this folk version,the herois not Ramabut rather hissonwho assumesthe shapeof amonkey.Undoubtedly,the heroisreminiscentof Hanuman,themonkeyheroof the Ramayana.Dri-ven out of his father’s kingdom, lest he brings shameto his pa-rentsbecauseof hismonkeyform,theherostartson hisadventurewhich includessomeof thefamiliar plots in Ramayana,suchastheherohelping his fatherRamato rescueSita from Rawanaand theburningof Rawana’scastle. In the main, however,the plots of thetalefit intothe schemeof aMalay folk-romance.For example,it is

22

during the adventurethat he first meets a princesswho finallybecomeshisbridewhenhelaterassumesthe humanform. And asin a typical Malay folk-romance,the herothenbecomesa king andliveshappily everafterwith hisqueen.

The namesof the charactersfor example,are a hotch-potchofvarious literary traditionsassuch nameswould suggest: “TuanPuteni Sa-KuntumBunga,” is a local renderingof Sita and “ShahNuman” is obviously of Persianderivation. But “Sen Rama”,“Rawana”, and “Raja Laksamana”areobviouslydrawnfrom theRamayana.Names of places, for example, are either indigenous,such as “Negeri Tanjung Bunga” or corruptedfrom the writtenversion,suchas “Kachapuni” for “Langkapuni”. The setting forthe tale is unavoidablylocal in touch: a Malay royal court with itsretinuefor Raja Sen Ramaandagardenof mangotreesandcoco-nut palmsfor the garden Rawana.With all the attempt by theraconteurto conjureup the imageof sophisticationfor the princelyworld of the tale, the picture of village simplicity is projectedinstead.The grandeurof a royal wedding,for example,has thelocal village dignitaries—the lebai (local priest) and the haji(onewho hasgoneto pilgrimagein Mecca) — attending.Anachro-nisms, such asthe useof pistol in battles or the display of thewhite flag asa token of surrenderarealso to be seen.Obviously,thesearelateradditionsbecausesuchobjectsor symbolismwerenot to be found in the Malay weltanschauungbefore the 18thor19th century. A Malay folk-romancetherefore blends togetherindigenousaswell as foreign literary elementsinto a traditionwhich hasbeenacceptedby theMalay folk asitsown.

Besidesthefolk-romances,therearethehumoroustalesaboutadull-wilted simpleton, that proverbial characterPak Pandir (FatherFolly as Winstedt calls him), the lucklesspriest, Lebai Malang,andstoriesof the anticsof Si Luncai andPakBelalangwho outwitothersto further their own ends.Thereareothercharacters,likeMat Jeninand Abu Nawas,which obviously originatedfrom theMuslim civilizationsof ArabiaandPersia.Theanticsof PakPandiror the lucklessnessof Lebai Malangwould undoubtedlyentertainany audience.Imagine, for example,Pak Pandir leading back asickle at the endof a string just becausehis wife, Mak Andeh,describesa buffaloasa thingwhich eatsgrass;or the indecisionofLebai Malangwhether to go to a funeralwhere he canget a pre-sentof cloth or to a feastwherefine food is served,but in the endhe getsneither. The stories of Pak Belalangand Si Lunchai aredefinitely foreign importations.Th~episodeshavemanyparallels

23

in thetalesof othernations.Therearealso many animal tales in the repertoireof a Malay

story-teller. Perhapsthe most well-known is the ‘trickster’ motif inthetalesof SangKanchil, the mouse-deer.Talescenteringarounda wily animalcharacterareperhapsthe mostpopularanimaltalesin thefolklore of theworld: SangKanchil of theMalay folk-tales isa counterpartof the famousanimal characterslike the rabbit andthe fox of the Westernand American traditions. So well-known isthis characterSang Kancil that amongstMalays it symbolisespeoplewho, duminitive in stature,display extraordinarysharpnessofmind. A hostof otheranimalsalso featurein the animal tales of theMalays,but noneis more popularthanSangKanchil.

Therearemanyother typesof taleswhichare shorterand per-hapswhicharenot entirelyfor the purposeof entertainment,butrathertheyreflectthewayof thinking of the simplefolks or reflectthe remnantsof pastbeliefs. Thereare the talesof origin whichexplain the origin of the world or the origin of mankind.At onetimein the pasttheywerethe componentsof the religious systemof thepeople,butnow theyform partof thefolklore of thepeople.Aetiological tales are taleswhich explain certain phenomenainnature;for example,why a tiger hasstripes,or why a certainrockis cleft in the centre,or why the gumof the angsanatree is red.Why the pythonis notpoisonous,for example,is explainedin thestoryof how thepython,which at onetime waspoisonous,vomit-ted its poisoninto the seabecauseit was outwitted by a prince.And thepoisonwasthenswallowedby the seasnake:that is whythepythonis no longerpoisonouswhile the sea-snakeis.

Thus,Malay folk narrativesare not different from the folktalesof otherpeoplesin the world. They representa rich literary heritagefrom thepastwhichconnotbesimply ignoredeitherby thescholarof Malay literatureor by the practisingMalay writers of the pre-sentgeneration.To the latter, the traditional oral tales provideready-madesymbolism,both in content aswell as in language,whichcanberecreatedinto a newidiom in literaryexpression.

The Epic LiteratureEpicsandromanceswhich musthavebeenderivedfrom the In-

diancivilisation or from theperiodof Indian culturalinfluencecon-tinued to from a part of the literary tradition of the Malaysafterthey had acceptedIslam. According to Sejarah Melayu or theMalay Annals,.which is believedto havebeenfirst written in the

24

periodof Muslim MalaccaSultanate,whenthe famousheroHangTuah talked of his prowess. he liked tc~be compared to Lak-samana,Rama’sbrother in the great Indian epic of Ramayana.Thus the nameof Laksamanastuck to HangTuah; and from thattimeon, Laksamanacameto bethe Malaytermfor “admiral of thefleet”. Thereare many other instanceswhere the Ramayanahadbeena sourceof inspirationtoMalay literatureaswell as tc~Malaylife generally. Episodesand motifs from that great epic are to befound in manyMalay worksandfolktales. In Hikayat Achehwhichtells thestory of theAchineseKing, IskandarMuda, who reignedduring theearlierpartof the 17thcentury,anepisodein the Rama-yanais usedasa comparisonto themythicalorigin of theSultanateof Acheh. In Malay wair and pantun, the two forms of traditionalMalaypoetry, it is notunusualtofind thepoetinvokingthecharac-ters found in the Ramayana.So well-known is the story of Ramaamongthe Malays that eventoday, Ramaand Sita aregenerallyregardedasthe epitomeof beautyand the exampleof faith andlove. Magical incantationsrecited by the pawang and bomoh(villagespecialistin magicandfolklore) invoke thenamesof Ramaand Sita for suchpurposesas making onelook appealingto theoppositesex.Spellswhicharesupposedto endowonewith martialskills also invoke the nameof Laksamana.A circle investedwithoccult powerby a pawangto protect those inside it is called the‘~Circleof Laksamana”.This is reminiscentof the episodein theRamayanawhenLaksamanaattemptsto protectSitafrom Rawana.It is safeto say that theepic hasgreatermeaningin Malayculturethanjust literary.

Besidesthe Ramayanawhich hasgiven Malay literatureoneofits oldestknown written texts, Hikayat SenRama,the greatepicMahabarata too has given rise to Malay works such as HikayatPandawaJaya,Hikayat PandawaLima (storiesof thewarbetweenthe pandawasand the koravas),Hikayat Sang Boma and HikayatSang Samba (the story of Bhima, the son of Bhumi, the Earth).Thereis a strongprobability that theseworkswere derivedfromJavaneseliterature,a literaturerich andwell endowedwith classi-cal works. ‘Hikayat Sang Boma, for example,could havebeenderivedfrom the Bhamakavyaof the Javaneseliterature and soalso the various hikayat of the pandawas.Perhapsthe appealofthe epic is universal. The heroicdeedsof the characterswouldalwaysfire the imaginationof man.But asfar as theepic storiesofRama,the pandawasor Sang Bomaare concerned,they fit into thepictureof the Malay royal court in the past. A king leading his

25

armyinto battle,the unstintedloyaltyof thewarriorstowardstheirking, theheroicfeatsof the king himself andhiswarriorswould bean inspirationto the court and its retinue.The Malay versionsoftheepicshoweveris in prose.But the poeticbeautyof the epicsisstill to be seenin the descriptionof scenesdepictingthe grandeurof royal courts, the army arrayed for battles or the gods anddemigodsof the Indian pantheonlockedin mortal combat,usingweaponswith super-naturalpower.

The popularityof the epic of Ramaan& the other Indian epicswasundoubtedlylooked uponwith concernby the propagatorsofthe newreligion Islam. In fact, a religious workwritten by aGuje-rati Muslim theologianin theserviceof the Sultanof Achehin theearly seventeethcenturycondemnedthe Hikayat Serf Rama asheretical.Sri RichardWinstedtcannotbefar wrongwhenhe said,“The first task of the (Muslim) missionarieswasto substituteforthe Hindu epic tales of the heroes of Islam...” Legends ofheroesin Muslim garbare perhapsthe earliestof the literaturebrought in with the adventof the new religion. Mythic narrativeswhich accountfor the origin of the MalaccaSultanatedraw quiteextensivelyfromthe Muslim legendof AlexandertheGreat(Iskan-darDzulkamnain).Thisdynasticmyth which tracesthe ancestorsofthekingsof Malaccato Alexanderthe Greatwaslater takenup byotherMalaySultanateswhichcantracetheir descentfrom the Sul-tansof Malacca.

Islam had come to the Malay world not from its birthplaceArabia,but from Moslem-Indiawhich had by then absorbedthecultural traditions of Moslem-Persia. Thus, when Islam finallyreadiedthe shoresof the Malay Archipelago,it did notcomeonlyasa newreligiousfaith,but it broughtwith it therich cultureof theIndo-Persian traditions. One of the types of literature thusbroughtwasthe heroiclegend— legendof heroesdrawnnot onlyfrom thehistoryof Islamicterritorialexpansionbut from traditionsdating to pre-Islamicperiod.The legendof Alexanderis anexam-ple. Called IskandarDzulkarnain,Alexander is given a Muslimcolouring. In the Malay versionof this legend,Hikayat IskandanDzulkarnain , Alexanderis portrayedasa propagatorof Islam anda king whoconquerstheworld “from wherethesun risestowherethesurrsets”.Alexander’sadventureover the surfaceof the earthis basicallylittle differentfrom theadventuresof the heroesin theIndian epics: Alexander is made to fight the giants and othersupernaturalbeings,a fact quite familiar to the heroesof classicalMalay literature.But Hikayat IskandanDzulkannainalsoservestheroyal Malay court in adifferent way. It also expoundsthe ethical

26

codeof kingshipwith Islamic bias.Forexample:at one time whenAlexanderwas drunk with the spoils of his world conquest,hewaschastisedandputon the right pathasa just king by the ubi-quitous prophet, Nabi Khidir, who appearsagain and again invariousMalay hikayat. In thisway, Alexanderwasmadeto be anexamplefor all good kingsto follow. This codeof conductis furtherstressedin laterworksof a moretheologicalcharacter.ThustheIs-lamic legendprovided new meaningsto an existing institution,that is kingshipin Malaysociety.

According to Sejarah Melayu, on the eveof the Portugueseat-tack on Malacca,the warriors of Malaccarequestedfrom SultanAhmad, the last king of Malacca the Hikayat MuhammadHana-fiah, so they could be inspired by MuhammadHanafiah in facingthePortuguesethenextday.SultanAhmadproposedto give themHfkayat Amir Hamzahinstead,saying: I’d give thestory of MuhammadHanafiah,but I fearthey will notbeasbraveas he: if they are like Amir Hamzah it will do, so I givethe story of Hamzah”. But the warriors got Hikayat Mu-harntmadHanafiah in the end.And judging from the story of thebattle asrelatedby the authorof Sejarah Melayu, the warriorsofMalacca fought their adversarieslike the heroes in the twohikayat.

Thesetwo hikayatare further examplesof the heroic legendsbroughtwith theadventof thenewreligion Islam.Amir l-lamzahisactually a Persianhero belonging to pre-Islamic period whileMuhammadHanafiahcanbeconsidered.aherowithin the historyof Islam.But whethertheheroeswerepre-Islamicor not, it did notmatterfor they hadbeenintroducedto the readersof the Malayhikayat asheroesof Islam. However,the heroesof Islam did notentirely replacethe heroesof the Indianepicsin their popularity.In fact, the heroescontinuedto live side by side in the traditionalMalaymilieu.

Althoughtheepicsof Rama,Amir Hamzahor MuhammadHa-nafiaharewell-known to the Malays,noneis morecherishedthantheindigenousepic, HikayatHang Tuah,becauseit is anepic bornoutof the goldenageof the Malay history, thegloriousperiodoftheMalaccaSultanatein thefourteenthcentury.HangTuahis theMalay national hero of the classicalperiod, becausehe is theembodimentof traditionalMalayvalueswhich, however,arebeingquestionedtoday by the younger generation.The epic of HangTuahis madeup of not only theepisodeswhich relatehisprowessin battlesagainsthiscountry’senemiesor his adventuresasemis-saryof his king to foreigncountriesasfar asConstantinople,butalsoof elementssuggestiveof hisundividedallegianceandloyalty

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to his feudalmaster.In the famousepisodewhichhasbeenreenac-ted overandoveragainin contemporaryMalaydramaticplays,wefind HangTuahfighting hisclosestfriend, HangJebat,in order toredeemhisSultan’shonour,evenafterthe Sultanhadtreatedhimunfairly. The tragic episodeis sowell-known In classicalMalayliteraturethat if HangTuahis symbolicof the traditionalfeudalis-tic values,HangJebatis, on the otherhand,symbolicof rebellionagainstestablishedorder. It is not surprising that it is in HangJebatthat the youngergenerationof Malays today havefound anewsymbolism:that is onerepresentingchangeasagainstconser-vatism.Sotheepisodeitself canbe interpretedasoneportrayingaconflict of valuesin Malay society.But asthe epicwasservingthernvaluesprevailing at the time, it was1—lang Tuahwho triumphedoverHangJebat.The emphasisof the hikayat, besidesthe ques-tion of socio-culturalvalues, is on the heroicdeedsof HangTuahas an indigenousperson. Perhapsthis is the one factor whichmakesit themostsignificantproductof classicalMalay literature.

TheSejarahor HistoriesHistorical writing to the Malaysin the pastwasnot meantonly

to bea recordingof events,butalsoa form of literary art. Thusthetradifional Malay historiography is somewhatdifferent from his-torical writing today. The Malay histories or sejarah consist ofdynasticchroniclesof the differentSultanatesor just recordingsofeventswhichcaughtthefancy of thewriter of thepast.

The earlier historical writing are mostly concernedwith theeventsandhappeningsin the royalcourts.Theroyalcourtswere infactthe hub of theMalay society,which in thepastwasorganisedinto city-states.At the royal court, the scribewho wasin the ser-vice of the king would write little of the actualevents,butmoreofhis interpretationsof the eventsand happenings,concerningthosecloselyconnectedwith thecourt. In someworks, onegetsthe im-pressionthat therewasprobablya revision madeat the time ofwriting on pastevents.Wheneverarevision wasmadeduring thereign of a particularruler, the scribewould seeto it thathis patronwould overshadowhis otherwise illustrious predecessors.Theseearlierhistorical writings consistof works suchas Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai, which is anaccountof the Pasaidynasty,coveringtheperiodfrom the beginningof the 14thcenturyuntil thetime whentheMajapahitforcesof Javaoverranthe country in aboutthe mid-dle of the samecentury,Sejarah Melayu or Sulalat - us Salatinwhichgivesanaccountof theSultanateof Malaccaduring the 15thcentury,MisaMelayuwhich describesaperiodof thereignof thePerak

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Sultans,HikayatAchehwhich relatesthegenealogyof theSultanateofAcheh,butdevotesmostof its pagestoglorify SultanIskandarMudaofAcheh and Hikayat Merong Mahawangsawhich begins with thelegendarykingsof pre-IslamicKedahandendswith theMuslim rulersofthe state.Someare quite lengtb,i like the Silsilah Kutoi or the HikayatRaja-raja BanjardanKoto Ringin, which describesthe historyof somestatesin Borneo,but othersare fragmentarylike the historiesof theSultanateof Langkatin Sumateraor thoseof PahangandTrengganu.Thesefragmentaryworksusuallydealwithcertaineventsanddo notgiveagoodpictureof thehistoryof thestatein question.Soitis tothe lengtbyworkslike HikayatRaja-raja Pasai, SejarahMelayuandHikayatAchehthatweturnto if wewantto haveanideaof theMalay histonograpbyofthe past

The most commonfeatureof the Malay historiographyis thegenealogyof thedynastytracedto its origin. Usually theorigin of adynastyis shroudedin mythologiesinvolving mythic kingsof thepast.Thegenealogyof theMalaccakings, ashasbeensaidabove,is tracedin SejarahMelayu to IskandarDzulkarnainor Alexanderthe Great. In fact, SejarahMelayu beginswith a lenghty accountof the ancestorsof the kingsof Malacca.While Alexanderwasonhisjourney, he marriedthe daughterof agreatHindu King, RajaKhida Hindi, and it wasfrom this matrimonialalliance that theancestorof the kingsof Malaccacameabout.This ancestor,SangSapurba,landedon a Mount SiguntangMahameruin Palembangfrom anunderseakingdom.Whenhelandedthepadi on MountSi-guntangturned into gold andthe stalks turned into silver. Suchwasthe sign of greatnessof theancestorof MalaccaKings. In Hi-kayat Raja-raja Pasai, in Hikayat Acheh or in Hikayat MerongMahawangsa,we getthesamecharacteristic.Theorigin of the Pa-saidynasty,forexample,is tracedto the alliancebetweena princewho wascarriedabouton the headof anelephantanda princesswho wasfound in a bamboostalk. Somewhatsimilar is the ances-torship of the sultansof Acheh; and in the caseof the kings ofKedah,their ancestryis tracedto king MerongMahawangsawhomanagedto reconciletheprinceof Romeandthe princessof Chi-na, representingthe Westandthe East,after the greatbird Ga-ruda,hadput themasunder.

Theseareundoubtedlylegends,and in somecaseswell-knownlegendsin Indian literature. The legend of the bambooprincessisquite well-known in southeastAsia, andthe legendof the Elephantprince, usuallycalled the tale of the “SagaciousElephant,” isfound in Kantha Sanit Sagara of the Indian literature. But themythological origin of the dynastiesin the Malay histories had

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a purpose. These dynastic myths give an aura of divinity tothe Sultanate.The rakyat (subject)was thus imbued with a senseof respect and worship towards his king. In Sejarah Melayuthis is further stressedin storiesdescribingthedivine powerof theMalaccaSultans.Thepossessionof this divine power, which is theprerogativeof the monarchalone, is called ‘daulat’ in Malay, andth~cursefor going againstis called ‘tulah’. Thus, for example,accordingto SejarahMelayu whenthe Emperorof Chinasufferedfrom a skin disease,he was told by his Mandarin, “Your High-ness,thecause(of the disease)is that the Rajaof Malaccasentyouhisobeisance Your Highnessmustdrink the water usedbythe Rajaof Malaccafor washinghis feet or this sicknessthatafflicts Your Highnesswill notbe cured Such is the man-ner in which the writer of the Sejarah Melayu portraysthe divinityof hismaster. And Sejarah Melayu also stresseson the loyalty ofthe rakyatin servinghis sultan.Time andagainthecry that “it isnot in the characterof the Malay rakyatto rebelagainsthis king”echoesin the stories of Sejarah Melayu and the other Malayhistories.

The histories also serve the pride of the city-states. Hikayat Rajaraja Pasai, for example, tells how the greathero of Pasai,crownprinceIbrahim Bapa,scaredoff two warriors from India who camesjloiling for a fight at the courtof Pasai.In Hikayat Acheh,whenIskandarMuda wasstill a boy, he put to shamethe challengerfrom Portugalin horseridingandchallengersfrom othercountriesin matchesof weaponeryskill. And it is againin Sejarah Melayuthat suchthingsaredepictedmorevividly. In Sejarah Melayu,notonly the king, who wassup~osedto be the overlord of the otherMalay kingdoms,but the ‘gentlemen’ of Malacca as well wereaboveanyoutsiderin physicalcontestsor in battlesof wit. It is hisskill in portrayingall this that we admirethe writer of SejarahMe-layu as a literaryartist ratherthana historianor a chronicler.

Then, there is anothertype of histories which becamequitepopularin the 18thandthe19th centuries.Unlike the dynastichis-tories, the latter type reflects a truly literary effort becauseit isusually written in verse, usually the syair form. There is at leastone known text, publishedby WE. Maxwell, which is in anotherverse form called pantunberkait. Thesesyairs relate eventswhichmusthavetakenplaceduring the life time of thepoet. The one inpantunberkait which hasjust beenmentionedrecordstheeventofRaja Haji’s attackon the Dutch in Malaccain the 18th century.Judging from its tone, it must have been written by a MalaccaMalaywith Dutchsympathies.Belonging to this categoryaresuch

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works as Syair Perang Makasarwhich records Speelman’sattackon Macassarin 1666 AD., Syair Perang Banjarmasinwhich des-cribes the war in Banjarmasin(South Borneo) between1858 AD.and 1863 AD and Syair Inggeris MenyerangKota which tells ofthe Englishoccupationof westJavain 1811,and in which Rafflesis referredin thesamewayasa Sultanin usuallyreferredto by theword ‘baginda’. It would appearthatonly sucheventsaswarsandbattlescaughtthe imaginationof the poets;but the collection ofthis typeof literature revealsa myriad of eventswhich hadgiventhe Malay poetof the pastan inspirationto show his poeticskill,from eventssuchasaGovernor-General’spartyat hispalaceto theweddingof a KapitanChina.

Islamic ReligiousLiteratureThe royalMalay courtsin thepastdid not only maintainscribes

to composehistoriesand romancesbut also, during the Islamicperiod, had in their employ theologianswho acted as spiritualadvisersto the Sultans.In SejarahMelayu, for example,we getaccountsof the theologiansfrom the “West” comingto Malaccatoadviseon or to teachmattersconcerningthe new religion. Andaccordingto Sejarah Melayutoo, it was a favourite sport of SultanMahmudof Malaccato teasethe theologiansat the courtof Pasaiby sendingmissionsacrossthe Straitsof Malacca to posethemwith tricky questionson theologyandSufi thoughts.Having theo-logiansat royal courts asspiritual adviserswho also engagedinliterary writing was by no meansan Islamic innovation. It was anextensionof an institution foundedin the Hindu-Malaycourtsofthepre-Islamicdays,aswasclearly seenin thecourtsof JavaneseKings.

WhenMalaccawas conqueredby the Portuguese,cultural lea-dershipin the Malay world wentover to Acheh,which by the se-cond half of the 16th centurywas an up and rising kingdom. Astreamof theologiansfrom placeslike Gujerat beganto flow towardAcheh. It is the writings of thosetheologiansserving the courtofAcheh whichenableustodaytoknow of yet anothertypeof writingbelongingtoclassicalMalay literature.Perhaps,the mostcelebra-ted theologianof this period was SheikhNuruddin Al-Raniri, aGujerati, who arrivedin Acheh in 1637 A.D. A prolific writer, hewroteandtranslatedagreatnumberof works dealingwith Isla-mic history, theology,andjurisprudence.His bestknowm work istheonecalledBustan-us-Salat,n(The Gardenof Kings) whichwas

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written in 1638. This book doesnot only deal with the subjectofreligion, but it is alsomeantto bea guideor exampleon goodandjust kingship.Thethird chapter,for example,expoundsthe ethicalcodeof kingshipwhich includesthe moral duty of kings towardstheir subjectsand the religious duty of the kings towards God.Another work of similar style was Taj-us-Salatin(The Crown ofKings), whichmusthavebeenderivedfrom Persiansources.

Theperiodof Achinesesupremacywasalsoaperiodwhenmys-ticism or sufism as a form of theologicaland philosophical thinkingin Islamcameto bevery popular.In this particularfield, it wasthelocal peoplewho cameto the fore asauthorsof sufisticwritings.Going through their works, we comeacrossnameslike HanizahofBarus,Shamsuddinof Pasai,Abdul Rauf of Singkel,Abdul Samadof Palembangand many others.At one time someof the workswereconsideredhereticalby the theologiansat theAchinesecourtso they wereorderedto be burnt.The mostfamousof theSufis ofthe periodwas HamzahFansuri,the “poet-laureate”of Acheh.Althoughsomeof hisworks werewritten in prose, it wasin verseform or syair that he proved himself to be a great writer. Hisnumerous syair verses present his mystic thinking in beautifulimageries.At the time when the greatnessof Malaccawasjust amemoryandat thetime whentheinroadsmadeby theWesternerswt~regathering momentum, it was at the court of Acheh thatIslamic religiousthoughtsandwriting flourished.

With Islam also camethe stories of the prophetsbelongingtothe Islamictradition. Someof the storiesantedateIslam itself, buttheycameto the Malaysaspartof the Islamic tradition.The storyof Joseph,known in Malay as Hikayat Nabi Yunuf, for example, isone of the oldestknown texts in Malay literature. It is known tohavebeenin existenceasearlyas 1604AD. The spreadof IslamamongtheMalaysbroughtalongwith it notonly worksof theologyandSufi thoughtfrom the Moslem lands to the north, but alsopopular works for easypropagationof the new faith. A popularform of religious propagationis to be seenin the narativesabouttheHoly ProphetMuhammad.Thesestoriestell of the miraclesbythe Holy Prophet, thus emphasizinghis special powers (mu’jizat).Works like Hikayat Mujizat Nabi, Hikayat Nabi Bercukur, Hika-

yat BulanBerbelah andHikayat Nabi Wafat aresomeof the manymeant to convince the followers, not through strict dogmaticteachings.but through popularappeal. It is usual to find exhorta-tionsto reador listento theseworks becausereadingor listeningto them would havethe reward equal to circumambulatingthe

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Kaabah thirty times.Belongingto the samecategoryareworks onmagic and medicinederivedfrom popular Islamic sources,mostprobablyPersianin origin. Two examplesof theseare Kitab Taj-ul-Muluk andKitab Mujarrabat Melayu which canstill beobtainedtodayin Malay bookshops.

The tradition of writing, copying, translatingand editing withcommentariesworks on the Islamic religion is perhapsone of themost importanttraditionsin classicalMalay literature. In the pe-riod before the middle of the nineteenthcentury, the religioustexts, which are known as kito.b in Malay, existed mainly in manu-script form. Thekitabs werecopiedeitherby scribesin theemployof the royaltiesandruling chiefsor by studentsin pondokschoolswhich were,until recently, the main centresof religious learningamong the Malays. Thus works on Muslim theology, jurispru-dence,philosophyand historycan be regardedas the main intel-lectualexpressionin classicalMalay literature. It is significant tonote that the introductionof the printing pressand the establish-mehtof publishing housesin the nineteenthcenturyfirst servedthe market for religious literature rather than other types ofwritings. Even in the first half of the twentieth century, a greaterportion of the Malay book market wasconfined to works on everyaspectof the Islamicreligion.

The RomancesThe classicalantecedentsof today’s modernMalay novels are

theromancesor romantichikayat. Although mostof the romancesdealwith adventuresof kings, princes,sea-captains(nakhoda)andmerchants(khoja), somebelongto whatwe maycall moralstories.Unlike thefolk-romancesof the oral tradition which display muchindigenousoriginality, most of the romanceswhich have comedown to us in manuscriptsform indicate foreign inspiration ororigin. Themostindigenousto theMalay area,andthemostpopu-lar, aretheJavanesepanjicycle.Thebasicstoryof the cycle revol-vesaroundthe love betweena prince, Radin Inu Kartapati of thekingdom of Kuripan, and a princess, Galuh ChanderaKiranaof thekingdomof Daha.The cycle is madeup of the adventuresofRadinmu Kartapati who is in searchof his betrothed,ChanderaKirana,and thoseof ChanderaKirana herself in the disguiseof amale dancerknown as Panji Semirang.There are many othernames.Someof thesevariantsarealsoknownby othernamessuchas Hikayat Chekel Waneng Pati, Hikayat Panji Vv~1a Kesuma,Hikayat Raja Kuripan, Hikayat Panji Kuda Semirang, Hikayat

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Charang Kulina and many others.Some of the variantswere alsorenderedinto syair form as narrative poetry, such as Shair PanjiSemirangandShairKen Tambuhan.

The romancesderivedfrom the Indian sourcesstill retaintheiroriginal nameslike Hikayat Marakarma, Hikayat Jaya LangkaraandHikayat Indera Putera The local story-tellerswho renderedthesestories into Malay had been quite free with their renditionsthat the ultimate products have been transformed into talesquitedistinguishablefrom the original ones.It is acommonfeatureto find the episodesof the different romancesbeing juxtaposedamongthemselves.Someof theworksevenhavealternativenames;thus Hikayat Marakarma is also known as Hikayat AhmadMuhammad. In the processof rendering the foreign derivedromancesinto Malay, it is possibleto saythat the local writers hadbeen recreating theseworks into Malay romantic hikayaL This isespeciallytruein caseswherethe story is recomposedin verseor syairthustransforminga prosehikayatinto a narrativepoem.

Someof the original sourcesof these hikayat are not easytotrace.Partlythis is duetothefactthat therehadbeenan intermix-ture of Indian, Arabic and Persianliterary traditionsevenbeforethenarrativescameto beintroducedto theMalayworld. TaleslikeHikayat Bayan Budiman and Hikayat Kalilah wa Daminah,whichare actually cycle-storiesemphasisingmoralsand good-conduct,hadbeencirculatingin manyvariantsin India, PersiaandArabia.It would be interestingto study the origins of the hundredsofMalayromances,but it would notbeas interestingasthe studyofthe adaptationof thesenarrativesinto Malay hikayat and whatliterary and socio-culturalvalueshavebeenemphasisedin theirtransformation.-It is in the romantichikayat that we find the cry-stallisationof Malay proseliterary conventions:the stylistic fea-tures,plot structuresandalsothethemes.

It is clearthat romanceslike HikayatLang-LangBuana,HikayatGuI Bakawali, Hikayat isma Yatim, Hikayat Bakhtiar, HikayatBustomamand numerousothersare so well-known that they pro-vide ready-madeimagesand comparisonsas to humanconductand behaviour, concept of beauty and magnificence, humanstrengthand frailties and soon. The romancesare not basedonthe kind of reality that we find in a modernnovel for they oftendealwith themarvellousandthewondrous;but this is to beexpec-tedfor theyweremeantprimarily toentertain.WhatdifferentiatestheclassicalMalayromantichikayat from the modernnovel there-

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fore, is thefactthat theformercontainslessplausibilitiesandpro-babilitiesthanthe latter in termsof the storiesthey tell. It is inte-resting to note that the sea-captian(nakhoda)and the merchant(Khoja) are the main charactersof the romancesbesidesthe usualkings and princes.Perhapsthis is becauseof the fact that thesetwo classesof peoplealmostsharedthe social statusof kings andprinces,and suchsocialdistancemade it possiblefor them to bepart of the imaginativeworld not readilyaccessiblein real life toordinarypeople,exceptonly in romances.

Of all the literary genres,the romantic hikoyat has beensadlyneglectedby scholars.Very little hasbeensaidaboutthem,exceptto refer to their diverseorigins. Even their contributionto Malayliterarystyles,technicalconceptsof plot structure,c’haracterdeve-lopmentand other literary aspectshas never been looked into.Equally importantis thestudyof the romantichikayatasa carrierof social values,ethicalaswell asaesthetical,andworld-view.

ClassicalPoeticFormsOf classicalMalay poetry,perhapsthe mostwell-known is the

pantun. A pantun is a quatrain with the rhyming scheme ofa-b-a-bor evena-a-a-a.Forexample:

Pulau Pandanjauh ke tengah,Dl balik Pulau AngsaDua,Hancurbadandikandungtonah,Budiyangbalk dikenangjuga.

Thereis apeculiarityof thepantunwhichhasbeenthe subjectofanunendingdiscussionamongstscholarsof Malay. Thisconcernstheconnectionbetweenthe first two linesandthe lasttwo linesofthe quatrain.Somescholarsmaintain that the first two linesaresuggestiveof the messageconveyedin the lasttwo; butothersareof theopinionthatthereis no relevanceof thefirst two lines to themessageconveyedby the last two exceptto providethe rhymingscheme.It would be a long discourseto go into such discussion;but suffice it to saythat the most importantpart of the pantun isthelasttwo lineswhichconveytheactualmessage.

Essentially,pantunis folk-poetry; it is meantto be recitedorallyor sungaloud.The pantun, it is to be observed, is the basis ofmostMalay folk-songs,like thepopular “RasaSayangEh” or the“Dondang Sayang”of Malacca. It stressesmuch on assonance,rhymeandcadenceon theonehand,andontheappropriatenessof

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the messageto the occasionin which it is recited on the other.There are well-known “stock-pantuns” which are quoted at appro-priate accasionsfor relevant purposes.Such pantuns functionmore like proverbs.For example,whensomeonewishesto showgratefulness,he merelyrecitesthe follcxving pantun:

Pisangemasdibawa belayar,Masaksebiji di ataspeti,Hutong emasbolehdibayar,Hutong budidibawamati.

The lasttwo lineswhichconveytheactualmessagesay:

If gold is owed,it canberepaid,But if it is gratitude,it is carriedto thegrave.

But beingfolk-poetry, the pantuncanbefreelycomposedasonelikes, but the form hasto be adheredto. Anyone cancomposeapantun or recite it as he likes. It can also fit into any occasionbe-causethe messageconveyedby a pantuncanbe a universaltruthas usuallyconveyedin ‘stock-pantun” , or it can be a personalmessageof thereciter.Themassagecanbeanythingfrom areflec-tion of an irony of fate in life to an expressionof ardentlove, orfrom aseriousnoteof advicetoa light-heartedteasing.And in conveyingthesemessages,thepantunis notalwaysstraight-forward,but is usuallydisguisedin appropriateimageries.

Forexample,to expressanirreconcilableparting,wehave:

Orang be!ayarlautan ambung,Patohtiang timpakemudi,Putus benangboleh disambung,Patoharangsudahsekali.

Themessageconveyedby the lasttwo linesis:

A breakin threadcanberejoined.But abreakin charcoal,it is final.

Or, toexpresslost love,wehave:

Sungguhdalam SungaiSedayu,Tempatraja pergibermain,

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Bagaimanabungatok Iayu,Embunjatuhdi tempatlain.

The messageis:

Why shouldn’ttheflower wither,Thedewfalls on another.

Or, the lamentationof one’sfate in notbeing ableto get what onedesires,wehavea well-known stock-pantunwhichsays:

Asapapi gulunggemulung,Anakbuayaterlampai-lampai,Hajat hati nakpelukgunung,Apakandaya tangantok sampai.

Andthe messagereads:

The intentionis toembracea mountain,Butwhat canI do, my armsarenotlongenough.

Many scholarshavetried to discussthe origin of the pantun:somehave traced the pantun form to simpler forms of folk-dittiesand jingles. R.O. Winstedt,1for example,hassuggestedthat it isfrom simple riddlesbasedon soundsuggestionsthat the pantunhas evolved into a comparativelymore sophisticatedform. Anexampleof this “simple form”, which hasbeenerroneouslyrefer-red to asa “two-line pantun”by Winstedt, is to be seenin thefollowing:

pinggantak retak. nasi tak dinginengkautak hendak,aku tak ingin.

whentranslated,it means:

Theplateis notcracked,nor therice cold,

If youdon’t feellike it, neitherdo I.

Othershavesuggestedthat theorigin canbetracedto‘a peculiartypeof languageusage.It is a kind of euphemism,whereanideais

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not expresseddirectly but by soundsuggestion.Forexample,theword “ribu” which means“thousand”is conveyedby a word withalmostsimilar sound“riwu”, which is akind of fern. Or, aspracti-sedby peoplein somepartsof Sumatera,a bridegroomgivesto hisbride a fish called “belanak”, but all the time meaning “ber-anak”,which means“to bearchildren”. It appearsthat the prin-cipleof “sympatheticmagic” prevailsin theuseof languageillus-trated here. The relationship between language and magicalnotions is found in most cultures, but to say that the origin ofpantun lies in the magical use of words needs further investiga-tion.

Theso~calledtwo-linepantunandthe full four-line pantun,howeverhave the usual characteristicsto be found in folk or oral poetry: thesimplerhymingschemeof thebasicstructure;cadencewhichsuits oralrecitation;mnemonicdevicein the first partbeingformulaicexpression;rich but simple imageries;and their proverb-likefunction.Bearingthisfactin mind, it would not be far-fetchedto saythat thereis no suchthing

asthe two-linepantunbeing the forerunnerof the four-line pantun;allthe forms happento be oral or folk-poetry.

Another form of traditional Malay poetry is the syair. Althoughthe word suggeststhat it is of Arabic origin, which in theoriginalhasalsosomeconnectionwith poetryor singing, the Malay verseform which goes by the nameSyair is somewhatdifferent form theArabic verse.Syair in Malaypoetrymeansa longpoemmadeup otfour-linestanzasor quatrains.Unlike the pantunform,eachstanzaof the syairisrhymeda-a-a-a;forexample:

Dengarlahkesahsuatuniwayat,Raja di desanegeriKembayat,Dikarangfakir dijadikan hikayat,Dibuatkansyairserto berniaL

Whereasthe pantunis completein a quatrain,the syair conveysacontinuousideafrom onestanzatothenext. In eachstanzathereisaunity of ideafrom thefirst line to the last line, andthe idea iscontinuedinto the following stanzas.Thus the syair canbe a narra-tive poem,a didactic poem,or a poem usedto convey ideasonphilosophyor religion,or evenone to describea historical event.The syair versewhich is quotedaboveis an introductionto a well-known syair narrative called Syair Bidasari. Old Malay literatureaboundsin syair narratives; it is not uncommon to find two ver-sions of a story, one in prose form which has beenreferred to as

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the romantichikayatandtheother in syair form.The syair is a literary effort of an individual poet; andassuch,

unlike the pantun,it belongsto the written tradition. But it is per-hapsmoreappropriateto say that it is partly-writtenand partly-oral in characterbecausethesyair is meantto be recitedaloud to acertaintune.Thisis especiallytrue in the pastwhenliteracywasaluxury anda privilegeaffordedonly bya few.

The syair is known tohavebeenwritten asearlyasthe 17thcen-tury. Thisis evidentfrom someof the manuscriptscontainingthesyair whichhavesurvivedto this day. HamzahFansuri’ssyair areamongthe earliestknown. As a mystic, he usedthe ~yair to putforth hisSufi thoughtsascanbeseenin thefollowingexamples.

Satukanhangatdan dingin,lInggalkan loba dan ingin,HancurhendaksepertihIm,Mangkanyadapatkerjanyahicin.

Sir RichardsWinstedthadattemptedto translatethe stanzainto

Englishin a poeticway:

Whenheatandcold havebecomethesame,with greedanddesireeachanidle name,andyourselfisthewaxresolvedin theflame,andsmoothin theendyou’ll find life’s game.

The following is anotherexampleof HarnzahFansuri’s style: inthis particular stanza,which is quite simple in form, the mysticpoetrelateshisexperiencein “seekingGod”.

HamzahFansunidi dalam Mekah,Mencari Tuhandi Baib..il Kaabah,Dan BaruskeKudusten!alu payah,Akhimyadapatdi dalam rumah.

Whentranslated,it would mean:

HamzahFansuriin Mecca,LookingforGodin Kaaba,FromBarus (hisbirth place)to Purity (thepinnacleof mystic

experience)is verydifficult,But finally finding Him at home(meaningthe poethimself).

The syair hasbeenfor a long time a popularform of composinglong poemsin Malay. It hasbeenalmostthe sole vehiclefor con-veyingnarrativesor continuousideain poetry.But today,the syair

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is notapopularpoeticexpressionanymoreasyoung writers preferthe blank-versecalledthesajak. But in the periodbeforethe out-breakof theSecondWorld War,the syair wasacommonfeatureinMalaynewspapersandpopularliterature.

Other forms of traditional Malay poetry include the irregularverseformscalledthesebokaandthe gurindam. Thereis no sharpdistinction betweenthe two structures:but the content of theseloka is usuallyof a lighter vein, whereasthe gurindamis usuallydidactic in nature.The adventof Islam also introducedinto theworld of Malay literature Persianverse forms like the masnawi,rubal and ghazal, but they are very rare and not widely known,exceptin workstranslatedfrom Persiansources.

Notes1. WinstedtR.O. AHistoi~of ClassicalMalay Literature,OxfordUniv. Press:

KualaLumpur. 1960.

40

3

RAJA ALl HAJI OF RIAU:A FIGURE OF TRANSITION OR THE LAST OFTHE CLASSICAL PUJANGGAS?

It is undeniablethat the nineteenthcentury was the watershedthat divided the socio-culturalhistory of the Malay world. Beforethe nineteenthcenturybelongedthe classicalperiod which wascharacterisednotsomuchby theexternalinfluencesof Indian, andlater, Islamic civilization, but by, to my thinking, the socialstruc-tureandtheculturalvaluesandexpressionsof theindigenouscivi-lizations. For nearlytwo thousandyearsthe socia’ structurewasgenerally characterisedby “great-little traditions” of the city-stateson the onehandandthe more homogeneousbut relativelyisolatedsocio-politicalorganizationsof theinhabitantsof the inte-rior.1 But by the nineteenthcentury, the polity of the city-statesbeganto crumbleandin its placewefind theencroachmentof the“colonial society”.While certainfeaturesof thetraditional societywereretained,suchasthe nominalpolitical structureof thefe’udalcourtsor thetraditional economicpursuitsof thepeasantry,it wasbeyonddoubtthatthetwentiethcenturysawthe transformationofthe indigenoussocietyinto one much imbuedby westerninfluen-cesanddominationwhichultimatelyculminatedin the foundingofindependentstateswhosesocio-pilitical structuresshowlittle ves-tigesof the traditional polity, although in somerespects,certaintraditionalelementslike theartsor philosophy(e.g. theconceptofmesyua~ah and gotong-royong) wererevivedandblendedinto themodernstructure.Theinstallationof theYang Di-PertuaAgong in

41

Malaysia,forexample,usedtraditionalsymbolismin legitimisingan entirely new and western inspired institution, the constitu-tionalmonarchy.

In the history of Malay writing, the nineteenthcenturytoo wasthedividing line. While it is true that a reallymeaningfulchangedid not materialiseuntil the 1920’s and 1930’s when the seedsofthe present-daynx’els, short-storiesand sajak were shown,2 thetransformationof the traditional styleand approachinto certainnew traits was alreadyto be seenin the nineteenthcentury. Agreatdealhas beenwritten about Abdull~has the innovator ofMalay writing in the 19thcentury.He hasbeen variouslydescri-bedasthe “father”of modernMalay literature, the first Malayjournalist, a chronicleror evena historian. The focus has sofarbeenon the innovativefeaturesof Abdu!lah’swriting. His HikayatAbdullah and Kisah Pelayaran Abdullah are regardedasthe fore-runnerof modernprosebecausein themonefinds the departurefrom the classicalstyle, notsomuch in the styleof languagebutmore in the attitude towardsandthe way he seesin his subjectmatters.The Hikayat andthe Kisah arenotyet the modernshort-storiesor novels,but they representa different kind of literarygenre from thosefound in the classicalliterature.They project adifferent world-view andethos. Unlike the traditional history orsejarah, which the Hikayatandthe Kisah approximatein content,bothof Abdullah’sworkspresenttheir subject-matterin aperson-al andcritical manner.It is understandablethat this shouldbeso,forwhile thehistorieswerenurturedin themilieu of the traditionalsociety of the city-states,Abdullah’s works could havebeenpos-sibleonly becausehewasapartof the embryoniccolonial societywhich the EnglishEast India Companywas establishingin Pe-nang,MalaccaandSingaporein the 19thcentury.Anotherfactorwhichmay havecontributedto the kind of world-view and ethosonefinds in Abdullah’sworks is the fact that the period wasthebeginning of the technologicaland industrial age. Abdullah wasperceptiveenoughof thepossibleconsequencesthe scientific andtechnological inventions such as the steamship,cartography,surgery,printingandotherswould bring to the world traditionallydominatedby superstitionsandblind faith in the feudalvalues. Itwas his close associationwith the Westernersand his praise ofthem andtheir civilisation in his writing thatearnedhim the title“Abdullah Paderi”amonghiscontemporariesand“Anglophille”amonglaterappraisersof hisworks.

Whathavenotbeendealt with,anddealtwith justification, are

42

the traditional dispositionsto be found in Abdullah’s writing.Apart from the syair and pantun which hewasfond of composingor hisfamiliarity with classicalworks, thewaythat he lookedat theworld aroundhim doesnotindicatethathewasentirelywon overby thenew civilization which he realised was right at the doorstepof theMalay world. He might havebeen impressedby the technologyandtheorderlysystemof the English law andadministration,butheremaineda traditional moralistbasedon thepreceptsandphilo-sophyof the Islamic humanisticideas. It is without doubt thattherewasa discrepancybetweenthe much-publicisedpraticesofthe Malay feudal lords and the injunctions and exhortationsofsuchbookson kingshipas Tajus-Salatin or Bustan-us-Salatin,wherethe emphaseshadbeenon just and humanitariangovern-ment. The first fact has been often focussedupon by Westernscholars,and in this respect,Abdullah wasno lesscritical of theMalay feudalelite duringhis time. The idealsasexpoundedin thebooksof law and statecraftare often regardedas uselessdocu-ments.However,thesamemoralpreceptsareto bedetectedin thehistorieslike Sejarah Melayu or HikayatRaja-RajaPasai, wherejust andablerulersareshown to be morally superiorto the weakandunjust.The ethoswasnot pronouncedassuch,but the impli-cationswerethere.Abdullah,on the otherhand,wasexpressedlymorecritical, buthewasstriking thefamiliar chordwhenhe criti-cised the indulgentand indolent feudal princes,while praisingthose who practised strain and judiciousness.The moralisirigstreak,therefore,is verymucha traditionalcharacterof theMalayclassicalwriters or pujangga, and in this respectAbdullah wascontinuingatradition which hasbeenenriched by the humanisticteachingsof Islam.

It is in the contextof examiningthe transformationof classicalworld-view andethos in Malay writing that we haveto considerRaja All Haji of Riau. He wasalmostthe contemporaryof Abdul-lah. Like Abdullah he also experiencedand perceivedthe socio-cultural changebroughtaboutby the adventof Westerncivilisa-tion, althoughin hiscaseit wastheDutch ratherthan the Englishwho introducedthe new order of things. However, his works areoften looked uponasstill bearingthe hallmarkof the classicaltra-ditions — thehistoriesandthesyair. But on closerscrutinywewill findthat while the foims are traditional, the viewsand valueswhich aremanifestedin thoseworks alsorevealamind not quite consonantineveiy respectwith the traditional world-view and ethos which had

43

producedsuch historicalworks as SejarahMelayu,Hikayat Raja-RajaPasai or Merong Mahawangsa.Raja All Haji is better known as ahistorian,andhis contributionin thisrole,throughhis Tuhfatal-NafisandSilsilah Me!ayuDan Bugishadbeenevaluatedto someextentby thehistorians.3

The contentionhere is that RajaAli Haji was more than just ahistorian in the modernsense:he was, perhapsmore so thanAbdullah a pujanggaof the old order. He was, in fact, the last ofthe pujanggas.While the Malay Sultanateshadcontinuedtoexistin the different parts of the Malay world under the aegisof thecolonial powers, the figure of the pujangga was missing. Thepujangga wasthefigure of an intellectualin the classicalsetting:he wasnot only a writer or a historian, butonewho providedtheintellectualstimulationto thecourthe wasserving.The intellectualclimate in Malaccaand Pasaiwhich wasdominatedby religiouspolemicsasdescribedin Sejarah Me!ayu, or the contributionsof

Sheikh Nuruddin Al-Ranin and Hamzah Fansunat the court ofAcheh,aresomeof the glimpseswe getof the intellectual activi-tiesand influencesin the past. RajaAli Haji, through his works,still showsthe mark of the traditional pujanggaof the old Malayfeudalcourt, but at the sametime healso displayssensitivity to-wards the new kind of world-view and ethos . Besidesthe twohistorical works, Tuhfat-al-Nafis and Silsilah Melayu danBugis, he had left to posterity an assortmentof poetic works,syair, and gurindam, and two works on Malay language,KitabPengetahuanBahasa and Bustan-ul-Katibin There is also amentionof a bookon moralsor properconduct(adab)in his KitabPengetahuan Bahasa (pg.92).

RajaAll Haji, whoserealnameis RajaHaji Ali bin Raja HajiAhmad,wasamemberof the Malay-Bugisroyalhouseof Riau.Hewas the grandsonof Raja Haji, MarhumTeluk Ketapang,who diedattackingthe Dutch in Malaccain 1784A.D. His lineageis furthertraced to Daing Chalak, one of the five Bugis warriors whodominatedthe westernpart of the Malayworld in the eighteenthcentuiy.4 It is not known eactly when Raja Ali Haji was born, butby calculatingthe datesmentionedin Tuhfat-al-Nafis, it is mostprobablethathewasbornin 1809A.D. It isalsonotknown exactlywhen he died but it could be between1869 and 1875 AD.5 BothRaja All Haji and his father, as mentionedin the Tuhfat, wereseniorofficials in thesultanateof Riauduringtheir times.Accord-ing tohim, thehaj pilgrimagethathis father,RajaAhmador RajaTua, made,and in which he also took part, was the first that the

44

Malay nobility from Riauperformed. He has beendescribedasan authorandreligious expert. It is easyto seefrom his worksthathe was not only knowledgeable in religious studies but well-versedin Arabic too. His family backgroundalso shows up in hisworks: while he was charitable towards the Malay side of hisfamily line,6 he was proud of his Bugis ancestry that despitehis protestationsfor objective truth in his Tuhfat and Silsilah,theBugisbiasis very muchin evidence.

It has been pointed out by Virginia Mathesonthat the Tuhfatrepresentsa synthesis and collation of works which are quiteidentifiable,7 but is beyonddoubt that Raja All Haji had not onlytooled it togetherinto a meaningful whole as a history but hadembellishedit with his own touch. The samecan be said of theSilsilah. Not only is it basedon the “Kitab daripada tangansaudarakami yang saleh yang kepercayaandan iaiti.i Sayid Alsyarif Abdu!RahmanIbnu SaidAlsyarifKasim SultanPontianakbin SayidAlsyarifAbdulRahmanAl-Kadiri” andothersourceswhich arealsomentoinedin the Tuhfat,itis embellishedwith lengtbysyairwhichreflectsboth hisskill and imaginativebentin poetrywriting. So notwithstandingthefactthattheTuhfat,andtheSilsilah werebasedon otherworks,in their finalformswhichhavecometous,theymustberegardedastheworksof RajaAli Haji. The Tuhfat, andtheworksonwhich it is based,hasbeendealtwithalreadyby Virginia Matheson,buttheSilsilah hasnotattractedthatmuch attention.Forexample,atext publishedby theAl-Imam PressinSingaporein Hijnah 1329,whichcontainssomepensketchesof theoldpalaceof SultanSulaimanandsea-battlesbetweenRaja Kechikarid theBugis,hasnot beenmentionedan~vhere!~

Thereis no other wayto describethe Tuhfat, whichshouldberegardedas Raja All Haji’s magnumopus,exceptthat it is a histo-rical work But it is a historkal work not entirely in the traditionalMalaysenseof historyasrepresentedby SejarahMelayu, HikayatRaja-raja Pasai or Hikayat MerongMahawangsa. Thefirst featureonenoticeswhich deviatesfrom the traditional historiographyisthe preponderanceof dates. Although the use of dates is notexceptionalin the traditional historical writing for some of theworks that the authorusedcarrieddates, their usein the Tuhfat,nevertheless,is significant, not so much becausethey are used,but more so becausethey representa new kind of world-viewwith regardto the conceptof timein Malay historiography.It is ageneralfeatureof the traditional historiesthat therewas an ab-

45

senceof dates. The referrenceto any concept of time is done invery vaguemannerssuch as “zaman dahulu kala” or at best~Mthareferenceto the reign of particularrulers.Thereis definitely to bedetecteda senseof chronologyand corcernfor the realationshipbetweeneventandtime. Sooften in the Tuhfat Raja All Haji refersto differenttimesequencesaccordingto the different sourcesthathewas using. Coupledwith the elementof time in historiographicalwriting, we also find in the Tuhfat the useof different and variedsources.According to Dr. Kratz, therewere at least 20 knownworks dealingwith thevariouseventsduring the time, somewerein the form of genealogies,otherswere in the form of chronicles,but they weremainly confinedto specific events.9It is only in theTuhfat and the Silsilah that we find works aimed at providing acomprehensivehistorical picture. Virginia Matheson has shownthat Raja Ali Haji must haveusedhis source materialsvery skil-fully, for he emphasisedon chronologyratherthan location as thecentral thread in his narrationof events.’°This againreflects theattitudeandconcepttowardstimein history, a factnotfound in theearlierhistories.The Tuhfat and Silsilah howeverwere traditionalhistories in the sensethat they were motivated by the author’ssenseof family duty to preservefor the posterity the “history’ ofhis ancestors.This is comparableto .the introduction by Tun SriLanang to the SejarahMelayu, the writing of which was alsopromptedby the acquisitionof a “hikayat” from “Goa”.

Thelate A.H. Hill hasdescribedin the prefaceof his edition ofHikayat Raja-RajaPasai that the truthas conceivedin the traditio-nal Malay historiographywas subjectivetruth rather than objec-tive truth as espousedby the modern historian.” I have tried toexplain the phenomenonby showingthat the Tuhfat containstheleast “mythical elements”comparedto the earlier Malay histo-ries, not so much becauseit representsa laterpoint on a time-scalein Malay historiographicalwriting, but ratherbecausetheremusthavebeena shift in thefunctionof historicalwriting in Malaysociety.’2 Forexample, it wasno longernecessaryfor RajaAli Hajiin the Tuhfat or the Silsi!ah to perpetuatethemyth of semi-divinityof the Malay rulers becau~eof the alreadychangingsituationofthe time. It was during this time, that the Malay Sultanates,inclu-ding the sultanateof Riauand Lingga had not only declinedbutwereat themercyof thecolonial powers.In fact the lastpagesofthe Tuhfat picture graphically the gradual decline of the Sultana-tesand the ascendingpowerof the Dutch and the English in the19thcentury.As I havepointed out before, the mythic world-

46

view hadgiven way to a.critical world-view and thereforethehistory that onefinds in the Tuhfat reflects a new world-viewalthough in content and form it still representsthe traditionalgenre.His evaluationof the sourcematerialsmay notstandup tothe critical standardsof present-dayhistorians,but at leastthereseemstobeanattemptatobjectivity asthefollowing cantestify:

Demikianlahtersebutdi dalam sejarahyangsebelahSiak. Makasangatiahbersalahandengansejarahdansiarahyangdi sebelahbarat pihak Johor Maka hal ito pun tiada aku beranimengesahkansejarahSiak,dan tiadapulaakuberanimengatokanghalatsejarahdan siarah yangdisebelahbaratpihakJohorito,keranakeduanyaito pekerjaanyangtelah lalu masanyaberatustahundaripada masaku.Allah SuhhanahuwaTaalayang lebihtahunyaakanhakibatnya.Antoha.

It is difficult to deny the fact that Raja All Haji professedto beobjective in his approach.As I haveobservedbefore, his prayerthathis accountof historywould besparedof errorsandmistakes

(Pada ha! mengharapiaku akan Allah Ta’ala yang mengampunidaripada tersalah pada segala tawarikh dan perjalananriya: YaTuhanku, perkenankanoleh Mu akan pintak hamba Mu) couldeasilybetheprayerof a modernhistorian.However, thedifficultyis, how to reconcilehisprofessedstancewith the factthat he wasalmostblatantlybiasedtowardsthe Bugisrole in theeventsnarr~-ted in the Tuhfator theSilsilah? As Virginia Mathesonhaspointedout, Raja Ali Haji hadbeendiscriminativein the useof hissources,choosing the accountswhich gave the bias to the Bugis.overothers,and he might haveevenaltered the Siak source whichshould be, logically speakinganti-Bugis.’3 The bias towards theauthor’s family lineageis also to be seenin SejarahMelayu aspointed by Winstedtwhen he suggestedthat the work tendedtoput the Bendaharaline in a better light.’4 Perhapsit is simplyhumannatureto favourone’sfamily line. But I ammoreinclinedto give it a sociologicalexplanationin that traditional Malay his-triographywasaprocessof myth-making:to upholdthe.legitimacyof aruling houseoreventojustify thepositionof aruling family. Itisin this respectthatRajaAli Haji wasstill a traditional Malay his-torianwherefamily honourandthequestionof legitimacywastheuppermostconsideration.In Both the,Tuhfat andthe Silsilah, thisquestionis encapsulatedin the long and protractedstrugglebetweentheBugisfamily andRajaKechikof Siak.

TheTuhfat andthe Silsilah, are to my mind motivatedby Raja

47

All Haji’s familiar feeling andconsideration.Howeverthe personalviews in his historical works are interesting. Describing the cha-racterof SultanMahmudof Lingga until the time haswasdeposedby the Dutch,for example,is a distinct exercisein objectivity in-spiteof thefactthat theSultanhadclosetieswith him. Abdullah ismorepoignantin portrayingthepatheticfigure of SultanHusseinShahof Singaporewhenthe Sultanfound outwhat it was like tolose his authority and sovereignty.’5However, the main thing isthatboththeauthorsaxequite perceptiveof the actualmeaningoftheincident:thepassingof anold orderintoa newoneandneitherof themapparentlyshowedgreatpersonalloss.Theydescribedtheincidents ratherphilosophically- While Raja Ali Haji sometimesintrudes into the narrative, he usually maintainshis anonimity,evenif hementionshisown name.

While the eventsin both the Tuhfat andthe Silsilah cover anextensivetimeperiodaswell asspace,it is significantthat RajaAliHaji paid a greatdealof attentionto RajaKechik of Siak in theSilsi!ah who amongall the other personageswas outstandinginonerespect,hewasthethorn in the sideof the Bugis hegemonyinthe westernArchipelago.TheBugisbias in him isclear,for inspiteof the impersonalandobjectivestancehe takesin mostpart of hisworks, his portrayal of Raja Kechik in the Silsilah where his lite-rary inclinationsareat their best, is verybiasedalmostto aperso-nal level.

While the Tuhfat summarisesthe protractedstrugglebetweenRajaKechik and the Bugis by listing the ten battlesfought, theSilsi!ah dwells quiteat lengthon thesubject.The historicalsignifi-canceof the strugglebetweenthe two factions is pushedto thebackground by the literary treatmentof the events, especiallywhen they areembellishedin the syair. The plight of the Johorerulerswas protrayedin a patheticmanner,showingtheir impo-tence agaiRst Raja Kechik and subsequentequally patheticapproachin gettingtheBugiswarriors toredeemtheir honour.Butmoreliterary are the syair in the Si!silah which romanticisetheevents,suchastheBugis warriorstaking leaveof their wives, thefutility of RajaKechik’s warriors in facingBugis military prowess,the treacheriesof RajaKechik andthe descriptionof ceremoniesandfeasts.The vestigesof thetraditior~alhistorianbeinga literarypujangga ratherthanachroniclerare thereforeclearly seenhere:this trait of traditional approachto historiographyvies with theprofessedobjectivity of the author.In fact, the literaryinclinations

48

areevencarriedfurther to the extent that the authoroffers someribald humourin his syair.

In the traditional histories,even if the historicity of the eventsare suspect,one canalwaysget a glimpse into the natureof thesociety andculture. Tuhfat al-Nafis is no exception.In fact itshows deeperinsight into the workings of the traditional socialfabric, while at the sametime, especiallyin the last part of thework, suggeststhe breakingup of the socialorder. Social stratifi-cation in societyis notto beseenonly in statusdifferentiation,butevenin the conductof war. For examplethe rajasareallowed toretreatin the face of defeatas to be seenin the remarkmadebythe Yang Di-PertuanMuda. “Biarlah Raja Abdullah itu lepaskeranasegalaraja-raja itu sedaulat.Apa boleh buat terkena dalam pepe-rangan”~ It is undeniable that the protracated war betweenthe Bu,gis princesandRaja Kechik of Siakhad many specialfea-tures inherentin it, but the relationshipbetweenthe rajaclassamongthemselvesor therelationshipbetweenthe rajas andtheirfollowersareclearly reflectedin theeventsnarratedin the Tuhfator the Silsilah. Loyalty to the feudal master,especiallyat the suffer-ing of the common peopleis no longer taken for grantedas to befound in the older sejarah.Such relationshipdrawsthe followingobservationfrom theauthor: “Hura-hara antara orang-orangkecilitu kerana tuan penghulu bersalah-salahan”.’7 But the most per-ceptive part with regard to the portrayal of Malay society andculture is reservedfor incidents of culture contactand the changingpolitical situation. The graphic description of old Batavia as theauthor visited it brings into focus a new kind of world in theArchipelagoas comparedto the royal court of Riau.’8 The enquiryby the Dutch Admiral as to why SultanAbaul Rahmanof Linggashedtearsat his installationis laconic: in a few words the age-oldAdatwhichshouldbe takenfor grantedis suddenlybroughtinto adifferent light.’9 But more significant is the portrayal of the impo-tenceof theMalay powerbeforethe everexpandingpowersof theDutchandtheEnglish.BothAbdullahandRajaAli Haji dealtwiththis theme.While Abdullah tendedto blamethe nobility for theireffete leadership and the massesfor their ignorance and reluc-tance to educatethemselves,thus bringing into sharpfocus thechangingsituationconfrontingthe Malay society,RajaAli Haji inthe lastpagesof the Tuhfat accountsfor the eventsin thetraditio-nal mannerof the Malay historian, unmindingof the social impli-cationsof theeventsbutdoggedlyrelatingtheeventsasthey hap-pened.Evenwhile portraying the lastvestigesof powerleft in the

49

Malay rulers, he still clings on to the chiche, “Seperti adat raja-rajayangbesar”, whennarratingsucheventsasthe meetingbetweenthe rulersor betweenthe rulers andthe Europeans.AdmittedlyAbdullahwasnotbasicallya historianbuta chronicileranda socialcommentator,while Raja Au Haji was more of a historian and awriter. It is in thisrespectthat Raja Ali Haji appearsto be a figureof theclassicalpujanggawhile Abdullahshowsup moreasa figureof transitionin Malay letters.

It is significant to note that out of so many manuscriptswhichare known to havesurvived to this day, there is a remarkableabsenceof worksdealingwith language.Exceptfor Kitab Terasul,which is about the closest one can get to works dealing withlanguage,thereis no work in the classicalperiod which can bedescribedas a grammaror dictionary. However, such works onMalay in Europeanlanguagessincethesixteenthcenturyarewell-known to us, including treatiseson grammar,literature, poetry,spellingand dictionaries.Perhapstherewaslittle self-conscious-nessamongthenativeMalaysabouttheir own languagefor it wassomethingtakenfor granted.Or perhapstheknowledgeof writingwastheprivilege of onlyafew, the pujanggaatthe royal courts,sothatwriting andproperusageof thelanguagewere a rarecommo-dity confinedonly to a few. It is equallysignificant to note thatlinguistic interestsbeganto surfacein Malay lettersonly in thenineteenthcentury, a period which also saw other intellectualexpressionssuchas the interestshownin the technologicalandsocio-politicaladvancementin the western countries, The mostsignificant new elementin the intellectual activities in the latenineteenthcentury,besidesliterature,wasmoreattentionpaid tothe secularaspectsof life asopposedtothereligiousdomain,

Abdulláhhadvoicedhisviewson thesubjectof languagelearn-ing, languageusageand the structureof pantun. However, there

wasno attempton his part to write a grammaror evencompileadictionary although he was actively engagedin teaching thelanguageto hisEuropeanfriends. In fact, it waswith hishelpthatthosefriendsof his could compile dictionariesandwrite treatiseson the Malay language.The end of the nineteenthcenturysawactivities that seemedto put iinguistic interest in the Malaylanguageon a-firm footing. Not only wereworks on languageanddictionariespublished,suchasPemimpinJohorand BenehPenge-tahuan by Muhammad Ibrahim Munshi, Abdullah’s son, orKamus Mahmudiah and PemimpinPengetahuanby Sayid Mah-mud bin SayidAbdul Kadir, but a society for the promotionof

50

learningandteachinglinguistic knowledgeof Malay (PakatanBe-Iajar~Mengajar PengetahuanBahasa)wasalsofoundedin Johorin1888.2 It is without doubt that the nineenth century saw anawakeningof interestin the Malay languageby the nativesthem-selves,althoughsomeof them were not really indigenousMalaysbut were of Arab or Indian descent.We can attribute the blos-somingof linguistic interestin the nineteenthcenturyto a socio-cultural changetaking place in the Malay world. And it wasRajaAll Haji who canbe giventhecreditof attemptingthefirst work ongrammaranddictionaryby a nativeMalay.

The treatise on grammar called Bustan-a!-Katibin or the“Garden of Scribes” has been adequatelycommentedupon andtranslatedinto Dutchby van Ronkel in the Tijdschrifj voor IndischeTal!-Land~enVolkunkundein its 1901 issue.22Themanuscriptsarealsolisted in van Ronkel’scatalogueof Malay Manuscriptsin theBataviaasch Genootschapvan Kunsten en Wetenschappen.22

cataloguehassincebeenupdatedby a teamworking for ProjekInventrisasi dan DokumentasiKebudayaanNasional which hascomeout with a new catalogueof Malay manuscriptcollectionsatthe Central Museum in Jakarta, Katalogus Koleksi NaskhcihMelayuMuseumPusat(1972).2.~ Thereare two entriesfor BustanAl-Katibin basedon the van Ronkel’s catalogue,but given newnumbersandplacedunder “KelompokVII: AnekaRagam:”

21. BUSTAN AL-KATIBIN IMI, 844 (dan NW. 218).33x21CM56 hal., 20W., hurufArab,baik.Kitab bacaandantatabahasaMelayu(lihat, TBG j ilid XLIV hal.512—581).Ditulis di Penyengat,20Sya’ban1273.

22. BUSTAN AL-KATIBIN IIMI. 845 (dan W. 219),21 x 16 CM.,88 hal., 14hr., hurufArab, jelasCat: KR. hal.461, samadenganI, tetapiparagrafnyatidakbernombor:tanggalnya:Riau. 18Dzulk 1267.

Althoughthe cataloguesaysthat the writing is clear, I havefoundthat both the itemsare in badshapebecausethe ink on thepageshavebecomeimprintedon otherpages.As a result,it is difficult toreadthewriting, especiallythefirst manuscript,whichwaswrittenin 1857. Accordingto van Ronkel, it is not actually a manuscriptbuta lithographedcopy, which wassentby Van der Tuuk to theDirectorof theBataviaSociety in 1868. Somepartsof this “manu-

51

script” arestill legible, but otherwiseit is almost illegible. Thesecond“manuscript” is in a worsecondition as it is alreadyille-gible for mostpart. The first “manuscript” is apparentlyearlierthat the secondone,but it is doubtfulif it is anoriginal copy. It is

probablethat the Bustanal-Katibin hasbeencopiedmany timesover despite the fact that it wasoncelithographed.This practiceis quite usual: even in the period before the Second WorldWar, many of the lithograph or even printed Kitab and Syairwerecopiedin handwritingin the homesof wealthyArabandJawiPeranakanfamilies in SingaporeandPenang.It is notknown whet-her other copies of the BustanAl-Katibin exist, but one hasrecently been acquired in Riau.24 It is evident from the xeroxedcopysentto methat it isaseparatemanuscriptfrom the two in theMuseumPusat.

My discussionof the Bustanal-Katibin here shouldnot repeatwhathasalreadybeendoneby van Ronkelthree-quartersof acen-tury ago.I feel thata critical edition of the text shouldbe attemp-ted, if not for its linguistic significanceat leastfor its historicalvalue asthe first attempt by a native Malay to put his languageinto a grammaticalform. As alreadypointed out by van Ronkel,Buston al-Katibin is not actually a work on Malay grammarbutrathertheapplicationof Arabic grammaron the Malay language.It is difficult to saywhether the author was trying to fit Arabicgrammarinto Malay languageof vice verse.The main portion inthis work comprisesa Mukaddimah followed by 31 Fasa! orsubject-mattersandconcludedby three “Pesan” or advice. In thefirst “manuscript” in the JakartaMuseum the colophon is follo-wedby threepagesof an expositionon the goodandbadpointsofcomposing syair, pantun and gurindam, a blank page with onlytheword “Syair” written on top of the page,obviously represen-ting anattemptto composea syair which wasneverfulfilled, andlastly a page which is entitled “Inilah Ikat-ikatan Dua BelasPuji’~

It is notclearwhetheror not the treatiseon poetryandthe lastpagewerethe work of RajaAli Haji. It is a well-known facthow-ever that RajaAli Haji was very fond of poetry: he had not onlywritten the syair,buthadcomposedgurindamandpantunberkait.In fact, it is veryinterestingto notethat the “Ikat-ikatan Dua BelasPuisi” isnotcalleda syair norapantun,but ikat-ikatan, for as to beseenin theAppendix,it doesnot conformstrictly to the syairformbutapproximatesthe form of pantunberkait. In pantunberkait,thefirst two linesarelike thefirst two linesof the pantun(erroneo-

52

usly called “pembayang maksud”) in that they have no directbearingin meaningonthe last two lineswhichconveythe message(maksud),but the secondline is repeatedin the succeedingstanzaas its first-line, just as thelastof the precedingstanzais repeatedasthe third line. In this particularinstance,theform is like pantunberkait in the rhyming scheme,the repetition of the secondandlast lines in the succeedingstanza,but there is no “pemboyangmaksud”. On theotherhandit is like the syair becausethe ideaineachstanzaruns continuouslyfrom the first to the last line. Incontent, it dealswith a gift of a silver ink-well from the Dutchgovernmentto the author, and this called for an expressionofgratitudein responseto the honour (Kumia raja muliakan kami).Judgingfromthe contentof thepoemandbearingin mind thefactthat Raja Haji was probablya well-known personality in PulauPenyengatat the time, it is perhapsnottoo far fetchedto suggestthat thepoemwasthe work of RajaAll Haji himself.

In the main part of Bustanal-Katibin, Raja Ali Haji does notonly dealwith linguistic analysisof the language,but dwells alsoon suchsubjectsasthevalueof knowledge.The introduction,asinmost classicalworks, is interspersedwith Arabic pharaseologywhich is translatedinto Malay. And this is apparentlythe formthat the authorprescribes,especiallyfor letter-writing. After theusual introduction of , Bismillah:ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim, therefollows the usualArabic phraseologyin praiseof Allah and theHoly ProphetMuhammad,his family and his companions.Thenfollows in Arabic the nameof the author and his intention ofwriting abookon language,with the following Malay translation,“Inilah suatukitab yangsimpanbagi orangyangberkehendakato.smengena!sega/ahunifMelayudansuratannyadanaku atorkandiaatassuatumukaddimahdan beberapapasa/yangsatu khatamah’~Thenfollo~in Arabic the nameof thebookandthe Malay translation,“akunamaiakandiaBustanal-Katibinyakniperkebunanjunitulisbagikanak-kanakyanghendakbe/ajar” And theintroductionendswith, “Berrnulaharapaku akanAllah Ta’a/a memberimanafaatdengandia bagiorangyangmembacabe/ajar akan dia: Amin!” The Mukaddimahwhich israther lengtby contains among many things a discussionon theadvantageof knowledge,the wayknowledgeis acquired,the relation-shipwith one’s teacherandsoon.

Bustanal-Katibin representsan attempt to analysethe Malaylanguageinto somekind of linguistic rules,and it wasan obviousthing that the Arabic grammarwas usedasa meansto achieve

53

this. In this casenot only becausethe author waswell-versedinArabic but also becausethe Malay languageitself, especiallyinthe written form, hadbeenmuchinfluencedby Arabic usage.25Thelearned,the intellectual elite of the time, were invariably conver-sant with Arabic for the most dominant intellectual activityduring the classicalperiod was religious studies. Besides thenarrativehikayatand syair andthe sejarah (histories),mostof thewritten works hadbeenof religious naturein oneway or another.A cursoryglanceat the catalogueof the manuscriptsin the Mu-seumPusat,Jakarta,for instance,revealsthat thelongestlist is inthe group of religious works, surpassingeven the hikayat andsyair.And manyof the religious workswere actuallytranslationson renderingsof works in Arabic. Thus the Malay languagein itswritteri form was much influenced, in practice, by the Arabiclanguage.Nevertheless,this fact doesnot mitigate the criticismlevelledat thework by von Ronkelthat “Het Werk van RadjaAli isgeenMaleischespraakunst The Malay idiom wasutterly lostin RajaAli Haji’s treatmentof the language,for the examplesthathe presentedwere not Malay but Arabic renderingof Malay. It ishistoricallyandculturally significantthat thiswork appearedin thesecondhalf of thenineteenthcenturywhentheclassicalpolity wasgiving may toa newsocial orderspearheadedby Europeanexpan-sion into the Malay world. Beginnings,suchasthe use of nativeterms (e.g. “nama” is used besides the Arabic “ismu” or “per-buaton” for Arabic “fi’il”) besides the Arabic ones, are to beobserved,althoughsomeof t’he attemptsareclumsyandunintelli-gible (e.g. “nama yang melerrgkapi pada jenisnya dan yangmelengkapi pada malamnya”). However, such problemsare notpreculiar to Raja Ali Haji for evenZa’ba in his Pelita BahasaMelayu hadto resortto equallyunwieldyterms.

Raja Ali 1-laji canbesaidto be the lastof theclassicalpujangga,andthis fact is reflectedin his Bustanal-Katibin - While he was,in a way, introducinga newelementin Malay lettersby attemptingto draw out a grammaticalsystemfor the language,he was inactualfact defendingtheclassicalstyle. In this respectAbdullah,in adifferent milieu, hadinadvertentlybrokenthe shacklesof theclassicalstyle. In the last Fasal of the Bustan al-Katibin, forexample,Raja Ali Haji expoundedthe model for letter writing.Accordingto him:

Bermu!aperkataan pada surat perkinmanito, maka hendaklahdimulai dengan Bismi!lah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim:kemudiandenganA!hamdulillah, yakni memuji-mujiakan Allah Ta’ala, mana-mana

54

yangmunasabah,dan yang layak pada pekerjaandan maksuddisuratyangdikirimkan ito. KemudianmakaselawatakanNabi kitasertakeluarganyadansahabatnya.Kemudianbaru!ahdiiringi dengansalamtakzim, dan mana-manalayaknyadan pakitnya,dan orangyangberkiñmdan pada orangyangdikinmi ito, makahendaklahdiinngi dengandoa mana-manayang layaknyadanyangmunasa-bahnya.Kemudianbarulah datangkanperkataanyangmenceraikanperkatoanpuji-pujian denganperkatoanyang dimaksudiaitu/ahwaba’dahatau namaba’du. Dan ter/ebih baik dan ter!ebih simpandaripadamenyebutkandaripadakalamalmazkutdan ter!ebihfasihatlagi pu/adaripadadiberi akanmakna

What is to be observedhere is theparaphernaliathat went intoletter-writing, a conventionwhich had beencommentedupon byAbdullah and which had not survived into the twentieth centuryexcept in Malay courtly practicesand in very special instances.However,asa comparison,theanonymousauthorof a book, IlmuKepandaian, publishedin Singaporetowardsthe end of the lastcentury, had criticised the long-winded practice of Malaylatter writing.26 The book which contains short essayson suchsubjects as the world was spherical, the function of the lib-rary, map-making, street-lighting by electricity, newspapers,welfarehomes,printing, historybooksandair purification, repre-sents an effort to introduce a new kind of knowledge,secularknowledgethat is, to the contemporaryMalay reader,andthere-fore its criticism of the “time-wasting” conventionsof Malayletter-writing wasconsonantwith the type of world-view it wastrying to promotein Malay society.The point that is being madehere is that the Bustan al-Katibin still representsthe classicalworld-view as far as languageusageis concernedalthough theattempt to work out a grammarfor the languagein itself repre-sentsaninnovation.

RajaAli Haji’s other work on languageis Kitab PengetahuanBahasa.It waswritten in 1858 but not until 1928 that wasit firstpublishedby the Al-Ahmadiah Pressin Singapore.From the titlepagewe find that it waswritten in PulauPenyengat,Riau in Hija-rah 1275. The work, however,wasnot completed,for the dictio-narywentasfarasletterca (~). It is observedthat thetitle pageindicatesthe work asPenggalPertama,implying that therewereotherpartsof thework. In actualfact,asstatedin the lettersentbythe publisher to Za’ba dated9th January,1930, the published

55

work representedall that was extant. However the questionof“PenggalPertama”canbe explainedby the fact that it was thepublisher’shopetoget Za’ba to completethework (“Maka besar-lah pengharapankami mudah-mudahandengan ihsan tuan ataulainnya dapatkiranyapada masayanglapangtuan menjalankanikhtiarmengadakansambungannyasupayakaumkita dapatmenjadikannyatempat rujukan pada perbahasanyangdimusykilkannyaatou dapatmerekaito memandangdanmengertiakancukuplengkapperbahasansendiri beratos-ratustahunyangdahulu”).

Za’baon hispart, however,wasrathercritical of the work. In thenotesthathe wroteon thebackof theaboveletter, Za’ba madethefollowing points:he did not agreewith the approachof the work,which he consideredfell short of being a kamus ( keranabanyakmelarat jika demikianbukanlagi kamusbahasanamanya);toomanyofArabic rulesandtermsusedforgrammaretc.,whereastheMalaylanguagehad its ownsturcture kaedahArabdansebut-sebutonArabbanyakdipakainyapadanahudan lain-lain,pada ha!bahasaMelayuadaadatnyasendiri). It wasregretablethat thework wasnotcompleted,forotherwiseit would havebeena greatwork nevertheless;it wasgood of the publister to publish the work without any changestothe original text for then the readerwould be able to fathom theauthor’s feeling and knowledge ( dengan demikian dapat pem-baca-pembaca menganggarkan bagaimana dalam hati pengarang-nya. dan ke pihak mana lebih i!munya dan cenderung hatinya).andlastlyZa’ba in vaguetermsstatedthat the ideaof compilingadictionaryhad beenwith him for a long time and God willing hewould embarkon the work (akansaya mulaimenghadapkandinkepadanya)assoonas he hadfinished the book which wasbeingprintedat that time. Za’ba’s view of (Kitab Pengetahuan Bahasadid notchangewhenhewrote “Modern Developments”for Wins-tedt’s A History of Malay Literature someyears later. However, heconcededthat, “With all its defectsthebook wasperhapsthe firstMalay attemptat lexicographyanddeservesto betreasuredif onlyasa curiosity” 27

NotwithstandingZa’ba’s view, Kitab PengetahuanBahasa is auseful landmarkin the cultural history of the Malays. Although itwasnotpublishedduring theauthor’slifetime, it representda newelementin theclassicalliterary activity. Thedevelopmentof nativeMalay lexicographyin the modernsensesawits beginningsin thenineteenthcentury,andRaja All Haji’s attemptto compile oneis

56

of somesignificance.The work, however,is not adictionary in itsentirety. Trueto its title, abookof linguistic knowledge,it beginswith achapteron grammarusingtheArabic model. Thecontentofthispartismoreor lessthesameastobefoundin Bustanal-Katibin,butwith someelaboration,especiallyin the examples.The Mukaddimah,afterthe usualArabic phraseologyof praiseto the Prophet,states:

Yaknimi satupendahuluan: ketahui olehmu orang yangmenuntutbahasaMelayubahawasesungguhnyasekali-kalitiada boleh dapat kenyataansegala maksudbahasaMelayudengan sempurnanyamelainkan hendaklahdengan i/mu yangtersebutyangakan lagi datangdi dalam kitab mi.

Thenthe chapterdealswith the threecategoriesof Arabic gram-mar: ismu— thenoun; fi’ml, the verbandhuruf. The noun is dealtwith underthe variouscategoriesin Arabic suchas msmunakirah

and ismu makrifah ( ~ ~l ) which

is further divided into five subcategories ismu dhamir

.—‘~“ ~ ), ismu al-alam ( ), ismuisyarah ( ~L~II~ ), ismu musu/ ( J,~y ,~ ), andismu Idhafah ( ‘ ). It is interesting’to note theauthor’sown viewon the subjectof grammar:

Ketahui oleh mu, hai sekalian orangyang menutut, ban yak-lah aku tinggalkan bicaranya pada i/mu nahuiai, tiada akusebutkan di sini, sebab tiada maksudku hendak memanjang-kan akan dia. Barangkali terlebihamat sukarbagi orangyangbaharubelajarmemahamkanakandia padailmu Arab,akan tetapi apatah dayaku daripada sangat loba aku hendakmemperbuatkan kaedah mi yang diperpegang oleh orangyang berkehendak akan membetulkan perkataannya dansuratannya, jika aku bukannya ahli itu seka/ipun pada yangdemikian itu.

It is equallyinterestingto notethat theknowledgeof linguisticsor grammaris called “ilmu Arab”, and the enunciationof thegrammarin the book is undoubtedlyArabic fitted into Malay. Asin Bustanal-Katibin, eventhe examplessoundArabic ratherthanMalay. In certain illustrations,asin the caseof “namagelar-gelaran”aspartof hisdiscussionon noun,theauthorprovidesthevarioustitles to befound in Malay life of his time,suchasSultan,Raja, Menteri, Baginda, Yang Dipertuan Besar, Yang DipertuanMuda Tuan, Daing, Encik, Wak Batin, Patinggi and soon. The section on “fl’ml” or “pethuatan” (verb) follows that of

57

noun. Again it is based on Arabic where fi’il is dMded into filllazim and fi’il muta’di. The examples,as in his Bustan a!-Katibinare not idiomatically Malay, such as “telah memuku!si Zaid” or“telah menyumpahsi Zaid,” when illustrating fi’il lazim. Thesection on “huruf” shows the kind of Arabic categorisationwhichdoesnot entirely fit with Malay. For example, the categoryofwords under “jar” include prepositionsas well as quantifiers:dengan, daripada, kepada, hingga, pada, demi, bagi, beberapa,atas, seperti, selama-lamaand astathni or kecuali. In the categoryof otherthan“jar”, it includesinterjectionsandconjunctions:hai,oi, and weh; melainkan: bahawadan bahawasesungguhnyaorbahawasanya; seolah-olah; tetopi; wai kiranya; mudah-mudahan:tiada; hendaklah; jangan; jika or jmkalau. In explaining tiada,theauthorpoints out that there is a limited sensein using the negativein Malay comparedto Arabic where it has “two, three and fourrulesregardingits use.” This drawshiscomment; “Maka sangat-lah miskinnya bahasa Melayu mi jika dibangsaka71 denga 71 bahasaArab” -

The interogative includes adakah, betapakah, beberapa, keranaapa and apa. However he categorisessiapa, manakala, mana-mana and di mana as “ismu bertanya”. His explanationof theinterogative,however,is perhapsthe closesthe gotto Malay cate-gonsation: “adalah” ito iaitu bertanya pada: “betapakah” ituiaito bertanyadaripada hal; “berapa” ito bertanyadaripadabi!angan;“kerana apa” ito iaitu bertonya daripada sebab; “apa” ito bertanya

daripada zat; “siapa” ito iaito bertanya danpada batang tobuh;“manakala” ito ialah bertanyadaripada masa; “di mana” ito bertanyadanpadatempat;“mana” ito iaito bertonyadaripadaketentuan.

Hecategoriseswordssuchas bahkan,ya, supaya,and makaashurufjawab, that is becausethesewords define what has been

said before. Dan, maka, kemudian,atau and tetapi are categonsedas hurufmengikutfollowing the Arabic terms.Thus oneexampleof using tetopi follows the Arabic usage: tiada datong akan dikauSiZaid tetapi Si Omar. And he convenientlyexplainsthe interjec-tions lah, oh, wah, nah, amboi and tah as “huruf Melayu yangbergunamasing-masingdengangunanyadan tempatnyakeranasegalahurufyangterdapatito iaitu jadi perencah(sic)padabeberapaperkataanMelayu” The explanationthat follows makesuseof interestingexam-ples,as in thecaseof “amboi” whenthe authorstates“jika amboi ito

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melebihkan,dibesarkansedikitsuaradanamboi “pada mengurangkanito dikendurkansedikitsuaranyadenganhalus”

Thederivativefloun suchasketiadaan,kekayaanandperjalananor duplicatedwords suchas berbunuh-bunuhanare explainedasthe “nun” phenomenon,when “huruf nun dibunuh”. Oneof theflaws of Raja Ali Haji’s grammar is his failure to recognisethe basic feature of the language,that is the system of affixesThe word “istimewa pula” is explained as “huruf yangmelebihi daripada maksudyang dahulu “ while syahadari as“datang ia pada perkatoanyangdahulunyadenganperkataanyangkemudianterkadangdatangia pada menyatakanperkatoanyang /agiakandatang ‘~ RajaAli Haji makesthedistinctionbetweena completesentence,anincompletesentenceanda complementin a sentencebyusingthe term “perkataan’~“kato-kata” and “kata” respectively.Thethree are made up of ismu, fi’il and huruf. Then he proceedstodemonstratetheconstructionofthesentence,beginningwith thesubjectfollowedby theverb.His first exampleis given in Arabic: “Zaid qaim” or“Zaidyangberdiri” (whichshouldbeidiomaticallyZaidberdiri). Therestof the introduction thusdealswith the sentencefollowing the Arabicmodel ratherthan theMalay.

The first chapterof the lexicon, which is the main part of thework, dealswith wordsbeginning with alif, and it beginswith alengthyexpositionon “Allah”. This is followedby “Ahmad”, thatis the nameof ProphetMuhammadasmentionedin the bible; anexplanationon the companionsof the Prophet;anexplanationasto the origin andnatureof man, including the questionof after-death;adiscussiononthewaysof theworld with emphasison suchdispositionsin manasavariceandarroganceandtheir oppositessuchassenseof justiceandhumility; anda long expositionof theafter-world. It is only with the secondchapteronwardsthat thebookreally takesthe form of a lexicon. As pointedoutby Za’ba,the“curious” arrangementof thewords is by first andlastletters.Thus thefirst setof wordsarethosebeginningwith alif andendingwithhamzah,andthenfollowed by a setbeginingwith a/if endingwith hamzahbut definedby ta (alif dan akhirnya hamzahyangmati dipukul ta). Suchanarrangementseemsto follow the pronun-ciationof the spokenwordratherthanaconsistentsystemof spel-ling. Thushamzahreallyrepresentsthe glottal stop,andthereforea~word hasto be speltin morethanoneway. And this is aggra-vatedby the factthat thevowel is oftennotusedin preferencefor

59

thediacriticalsigns,which, howeverare in turn often left out any-way. Forexample:

£

4’

The lexiconcontainsmanyordinarywords that onecanfind in anyordinarydictionarytoday,but it is useful in explainingthosewordswhich havefallen into disusetoday or termswhich arepeculiartothe Riau-LinggaArchipelagoespeciallywords of Bugis origin. Inthe explanationto some words, Raja Ali Haji makesuse of hishistorical knowledgeto illustrate further their meaning Thus forthe word Upu, the author doesnot only explain what it means(namaanak raja-raja Bugis di negeriLuwok) but he goeson torelate the history of his ancestors,the five Bugis princes whodominated the Riau-Johoreempire in the eighteenthcentury. HeevenmentionsTuhfat al-Nafis in this connection (bacalah sejarahdan siarah Melayuserta Bugis dalam Kitab yang bernamaTuhfatal-Nafis). The word “tengku” for instance, is given a longexplanationby tracing its usagefrom the time of Sri Tn BuanaofPalembangto the time of theauthor, especiallyin makingthe dis-tinction betweentengku, ungkuor raja asapplied to thosewhosedescentwas from the Bugis warriors and those who descendedfrom theJohorroyal lineage.It is characteristicof Raja Ali Haji tostray from his subjectmatter or to elaborateit unncessarily.Forthe word berani, for example,he has a long syair composedtoillustratewhatit means.In explainingtheword tarak which meansa religious asceticor a piousperson, he takesthe opportunitytocondemnthose,who in the garbof piousteachers,takeadvantageof their wom~idisciples.He evenprovidesa long syair relatingastory of how a young man in theguiseof a girl turnsthe tablesonthe offending religious teacher.The syair leavesso little to theimaginationthat it soundsreally vulgar.28The main flaw of the sec-tion on grammar, and this view holds tnie of Buston al-Katibinalso, is that it fails evento recognisethe basic featuresof theMalay language,especiallyin theuseof theaffixes. In the lexicon,the derivative forms are given undera particular word and areexplainedby providing examplesof their usage.It is clear thatRajaAli Haji wasableto provideapt examplesfor the derivativeforms,but little elsebesidesthat.Usually the examplesare in theform of direct speech (seperti kata seorang: si anu ito sudah di-

60

incitkanorangdan negeri or kato seseorangkepadasese-orangsepertikatanya:incitkanlah sianu dan sini lekas-lekas )The wordformsareapparentlybasedon pronunciation.Thepenul-timate ,‘~,, or the sound ,‘~/ is given a special dia-critical mark ~ thus distinguisingit betweenthe wordambik ( ~ ) meaning to take and embek

- ) which is the bleatingof a goat.In transcri-bing certain words which normally would haveinitialRajaAli Haji spellsout theweakform which undergoesan elisionof the * in thespokenlanguage.Thuswords like hambatisgiven asambat, hendcipas endap or hela as~eIa.However, bothforms are also given side by side lIke( ) and

althoughin term of the arrangementtheyareplacedunderalif. However,puttingthe work in the contextofits time, theleastwecansayfor RajaAli Haji’s effort is that it is apioneeringpieceof work. It hasitsflaws, but that is to be expectedfor apartfromtheworksof westernersat the timewhich might nothavebeenaccessibleto him then, Raja Ali Haji had hardly anymodelto workupon.

This paperhas tried to discussRajaAli Haji’s contributionstoMalay letters, especiallyin historiography and linguistic know-ledge. It has not dealt much with his contribution in classicalpoetry.Apartfrom his Gurindam Dua Belas andthe renderingofSyairAbdul Muluk, which is also attributed to his sister, RajäSaleha,29his poetic compositionsare to be found Interspersedinhisproseworksor elsewhere.Za’ba thoughtthat his syamrwas“ofthird-rate guality”. Admittedly Raja Ali Haji excels in light-heartedandevennaughtycompositionsandthis seemsto be hisforte. But amonghis poemsthesearealso the moralisingones.There may be other works that he had written, but at least onework is mentionedin Kitab Pengetahuan Bahasa (p. 92), that is awork on adab (moral or proper conduct) called Thamarat-alMih-mah (Fruits of Importance).3°Taken as a whole, his contribu-tions to Malay lettersare quite significant. He wascreativeandwasquite perceptiveof the signsof the timesascould be seeninhis pioneeringwork in grammar,lexicographyandtreatmentofhistoriography,buthe wasnotthat innovativeto makethe transi-tion from the classicalstyleandconventionsto new ones.To thevery endhe keptcloseto the polity into whichhe wasborn andinwhich he grew and participatedfully. He was not, therefore,a fi-gureof transitionwhencomparedto Abdullah, for truly, he wasthelastof theclassicalMalay pujanggas.

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APPENDIXThe poetry on the last page of the Bustana!-Katibin in

MuseumPusatJakarta.

Inilah Ikat-ikatanDuaBelasPuji

Tempatdakwatperakyangkhalis,Kurniagubernemanrajabangsawan,Patutdipakaidi tengahmajlis,Menjadikansedapdi matatuan-tuan.

Kurniagubernemenrajabangsawan,Kepadaseorangfakir .maulana,Menjadikansedapdi matatuan-tuan,Sebabperbuatanterlalukena.

Kepadaseorangfakir maulana,Diam di Penyengatdi KotaLama,Sebabperbuatanterlalukena,Patutdijadikanzamandannama.

Diam di Penyengatdi KotaLama,Tarikh dal-ra-ghintahunIslami,Patutdijadikanzamandannama,KurniaRaja memuliakankami.

Tarikhdal-ra-ghintahunIslami,Dzulkaidahkonon namabulannya,Kurniarajamemuliakankami,Patutlahdimasyhurakannamanya.

Dzulkaidah kononnamabulannya,Menerimadia dibalairongseri,Patutlahdimasyhurakannamanya,Rajayangmurahlagi jauhari.

Menerimadia dibalairongseri,Han Sabtupukulsembilan,

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Raja yangmurahlagi jauhari,Iaitulah rajabangsaNederlan.

Han Sabtupukulsembilan,disambutdenganbeberapamulia,Itulah rajabangsaNederlan,Perintahnyalalu ke tanahHindia.

Disambutdenganbeberapamulia,Dipasangkanmeriamduapuluhsatu,Perintahnyalalu ketanahHindia,Nederlankononnamanyatentu.

Dipasangkanmeriamduapuluh satu,Dipukulkannobatberderang-derang,Nederlankonon namanyatentu,Khabarnyabangsaberaniberperang.

Dipukulkannobatberderang-derang,Hinggasampaikebalairongseri,Khabarnyabangsaberaniberperang,Banyaklahsudahmengalahkannegeri.

Hinggasampaikebalairongseri,Selesailahpekerjaante~imamenerima,Sudahlahbanyakmengalahkannegeri,Kerajaannyatentumasyhurlahnama.

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Notes.

T~egeneralcharacteristicsof the indigenouscivilisation beforethe onsetofEuropeandomination have beenoutlined by Prof. W.F. Wertheim in hisIndonesian Society in Transition (pp. 2 — 8)- The emphasisby Wertheimiasbeenon the diversity of the different typesof civilisations— the polity ofroyal courts surroundedby land-basedpeasantryas in Central and EastJava,the harbourprincipalitieson the pesisirand thehinterlandof theharbourprincipalities populatedby the peasantryof the ladang type of cultivation.TotheseI would addthe inhabitantsof the interior who weretechnologicallyinferior but who would have much more cohesivesocio-political structure.Thepolity of the threetypesdescribedby Wertheimcan also bedescribedin termof “great-little traditions”asfirst suggestedby RobertRedfield (in hisPeasant Societyand Culture, Chicago 1956) and applied to the Javanesecivilisation by Clifford Geertz (see his The Religion of Java, New York: TheFreePress,1969,pp. 227 — 231).

2. See Mohd. Taib Osman, “KesusasteraanMelayu dan PeruhahanSosio-Budaya”,DewanBahasa,Vol. XVIII, No.8 (August 1974).

3. See Matheson, Varginia, “The Tuhfat al-Nafis: Structure and Sources”,

Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land-en Volkenkunde. Deel 127 (1971). oran unpublishedpaperby Dr. Ulnch Kratz, “Sumber-sumberSejarahRiauSekitarTahun 1511-1784”, which was preparedfor SeminarSejarahRiauatPekanbaruin May 1975.

4. The Tuhfat itself providesa detailedgenealogyof the Johore-Bugisalliancebeginning with the marriagesbetween the Bugis Upu and the Johoreprincessesup to thetime of RajaAu Haji himself.

5. See Muhammad bin Anas, “Geographical Notes to the Tuhfat al-Nafisor a Malay History of Riau and Johore”, unpublished acc, ex in theDepartmentof Malay Studies, University of Malaya, 1958, pp. ix-x. Theinfluence of Raja Ali Haji in political-administrative matters and also inreligious learning in theroyal courtsof Riau-Lingga is also well summarisedby Muhammadbin Anas (pp. x-xii) -

6. The picture of the Johore royal line in the Tuhfatas well as the Silsilah inrespectof their alliancewith the Bugis Upus cannotbe said to be flattering,especiallythe portrayalof the helplessnessof the Johoreroyal family againstRaja Kechik of Siak. In the Tuhfat, Tengku Tengah said Jikalau tuanhamba berani tutupkanlah kemaluan beta anak.beranak, adik-beradik;maka apabila tertutup kemaluan beta semua maka redalah beta men-jadi hamba raja Bugis, jikalau hendak disuruh jadi penanak nasi rajasekalipun, redalah beta”. And in the Silsilah, the Bugis-Johorealliance isdescribedin the following terms: “Yam Tuan Besar (i.e. the Johore-Ruler)jadi seperti perempuan raja, jika dibennya (i.e. the Bugis Yam TuanMuda) makan maka baharulah makan ia, dan Yam Tuan Muda jadi se-perti laki-laki’~However,thegeneralpictureof theJohorefamily in theworks isthat it forms the base of the civilisation into which the Bugis wereabsorbed,just as the Manchuswere sinicised when they conqueredChina.

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7. SeeMatheson,ibid.8. The Silsilah was published by the Al-Imam Pressin Singaporeon 21 Rabi

al-akhir 1329 Hijrah and later was published by the Johore GgyernmentPressat the commandof the Sultanof Johorein 1956. It hasrecentlybeenedited (minus the syair) and publishedby PustakaAntarain Kuala Lumpurin 1973).

9. Kratz, ibid.10. Matheson,ibid, p. 389.11. Hill, A.H. “Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai”. JMBRAS, XXXIII. 2 (June, 1960)

p. 25.

12. Mohd. Taib Osman, “Mythic Elementsin Malay Historiography”, lënggara.No. 3 (1968).

13. Matheson,ibid. p. 389.14. In discussingthe varioustexts of SejarahMelayu, Winstedtbelievesthat the

“Johore revision kills off this son (Raja Radin son of Sultan Mansur Shah)and fabricatesa Raja Hussainson of a Bendaharalady who becomesSultanAlauddin”. (A History of Classical Malay Literature Kuala LumpurOxfordUniversityPress,1969,p. 159).

15. SeeHikayat Abdullah, the chapter “Darihal Tuan Crawford dengan SultanHussainShahnegeriSingapura”.

16. Winstedt.R.O. (ed) Tuhfat-al-Nafis,JMBRAS, X.2. (1932) p. 121.17. Ibid, p. 191.18. Ibid pp. 223 — 227.19. Ibidp.233.20. See Zainal Abidin bin Ahmad, ‘Modern Developments” in JMBRAS,

XVII. 3 (1939).21. Ronkel. Ph. 5. van, “De Maleische Schriftleer en Spraakkunstgetiteld

Boestanoe ‘I Katibina”. Tiidschrife voar Indische Taal-, Land-en Volkun-kunde,deelXLIV (1901).

22. Ronkel. Ph. S. van, “Catalogusder MaleischeHandschriftenin hetMuseumvan her BataviaaschGenootschapvan Kunsten en Wetens-chappen”,Verhandelingenvon hetBataviaaschGenootschaap,LVII (1909).

23. Katalogus Koleksi Naskah Melayu MuseumPusat (Projek Inventarisari danDokumentasiKebudayaanNasional,DirektoratJenderal,Kebudayaan)Dep.PandK 1972.

24. Acquired by a linguist in Universitas Indor~esia,Jakarta, Drs. HarimurtiKridaleksana.

25. Even RajaAli Haji’s proseis heavilyArabised.SeeIsmail bin Abdul Rahman.“The Arabic Influence in the Tuhfat al-Nafis”, unpublished acc. ex. in theDept.of MalayStudies,Universityof Malaya, 1959.

26. This particularpublication is found in the Malay collection of the NationalLibrary in Singapore.

27. “Modern Developments”,p. 143.28. Demikianlahsehari-hari,

LepasIsya’ sampaidinihari,Lepasseorang,seorangdiberi,Lebaiberkehendakbanyakyanglan.

65

MakIebaimendengankhabanyangpelik.Loklok dipanggilke dalambulk.Sentatiba zakandibelek.Membuangkain minta dicolek.

MakIebaidijimakolehsi muda.Kembangkempispenutdandada.Denganlebai sangatbenbeda.Sepentikambingdengankuda.

(Kitab PengetahuanBahasap. 303)29. Attributed to Raja Salehaby Raja Au Hajis close Dutch fniend. H. van de

Wall.

30. 4~Lft j

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4MODERN MALAY LITERATURE: A REFLECTIONOF A CHANGING SOCIETY AND CULTURE

1. IntroductionThe growth and developmentof modern Malay literature wentthrough three distant phases:the first stretchesfrom about themiddle of the nineteenthcentury to the seconddecadeof thetwentieth century, the secondfrom the 1920’s to the outbreakof the Pacific War, and the third from 1945 to the presentday. The moderntradition is new and is still developing,but it

is clearly distinguishable from the classical style.’ The changesthatovertooktraditionalMalaysocietystartedwith British colonialexpansioninto the Malay peninsula.Beginning with isolated settle-ments in Penang, Malacca and Singapore between 1789 and1823, British dominancein Malaya was completeby the firstdecadeof the present century. The first phase of modernMalay literaturethuscoincidedwith theearlyperiodof British rulein Malaya. The secondperiod wasduring the time when Malaysociety wasreceivingthe full impact of British dominancewhichbroughtwith it westernisation.The Japaneseoccupationbetween1942and1945sawlittle literary activity, but it wasa periodwhichprovidedthe climate in whichnewperspectivestowardsliteraturewere nurtured and later found expressionduring the post-warperiod,thethird phasein the developmentof modernMalay litera-ture. Post-warMalay literature is characterisedby an unprece-dentedawarenessof the youngergenerationof Malay writers oftheir two-fold mission: to elevateMalay writing to higher stan-

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dardsof literary achievementsand, throughtheir writings, to becommittedto thesocio-politicalissuesprevailingat thetime.

2. The First Phase:The BeginningsThe nineteenth century was one of great significanceto thehistory of the Malay Peninsula.It wasthe period in which Malaysocietyfelt theearlyimpactof modernWesterncivilisation. At thebeginningof thecenturylife still wenton asbeforein mostpartsofthe peninsula,but in placeslike Penang,Malaccaand Singaporewhereby 1824A.D. theEnglishEastIndia Companyhadreplacedtheir Malay andDutch rulers,contactwith the Englishhadbegunto introducesignificantchangesto local life. The processof colonialexpansionacceleratedtowards the end of the century. so that bythefirst decadeof the20thcentury,thewholeof thepeninsulahadpassedinto British dominance.The passingof the traditionalsocietyis alsoreflectedin literature.The breakfrom the classicalliterary tradition wasneithersharpnor immediate; the classicalprose — the hikayat — and the traditior~a1poetry — syair andpantun continued to be popular well into the 20th centuty. Bythe 1850’s,thefirst signsof innovationwereto beobserved.

The personaccreditedas the innovator of Malay writing isAbdullah bin Abdul Kadir Munshi. He is said to be the forerunnerof modernwriting becausehis works hadbrokenaway from theconventionalstyleandideasof classicalworks. Abdullah did notintroducethe novel, nor did he ever experimentwith new verseforms, but he hadintroduceda newapproachto writing. The inno-vation is more on the ideationallevel ratherthan in literary presen-tation. For thefirst time wegetworks whicheffectself-conscious-nessandego-centricismin Malay literature.

Abdullah’s major work was Hikayat Abdullah, which hasbeen describedas his autobiography.2However, about Abdullahhimself,“we get only a glimpseof his earlychildhood in Malaccaandlittle elsebesidesthat.Mostof the work is aboutthepersonal-itiesof his time, the officials of the English EastIndia Companylike Sir Stamford Raffles and Colonel Farquhar;the lastMalayruler of SingaporeSultanHusseinShah;EuropeanandAmericanmissionariesand traders and Chinese merchantsof the earlySingaporedays.It alsocontainsaccountsof importanteventslikethefoundingof theSingaporeInstitution, thedemolition of theoldPortuguesefort in Malaccaandthe visit of Lord Minto, theGover-nerGeneral,to Malacca.TheHikayatalso relatesAbdullah’sownexpenenceslike an operationperformendupon him by an English

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surgeonor his visit, at the risk of his own life, to an encampmentof a Chinesesecretsociety in the interior of Singapore.And inter-spersedin the work, onefinds Abdullah’s views andcandidcom-mentson thesubjectsthathewroteon.

HikayatAbdullah wascompletedin 1845andpublishedin 1849His otherworks werethe accountof his voyagesto Kelantan,hisoriginal essayson thingsandeventshewitnessedduring his timeandhis translationof bookson generalknowledge.But his maincontributionto Malay literature is the fact that it wasfor the firsttime that a genuineexpressionof socio-political awarenesswasfound in Malay writing. The classicalliteraturewasa passiveref-lectorof the socialsituationandservedthe functionsassignedto itby the society. For example, the histories or sejarah were notmerelychroniclesof their timesbut servedthe function of uphol-ding the social structurethrough the dynasticmyths and storiescalculatedto infus~absoluteloyalty in the ruling houses.Soit waswith Abdullahthat themoderntraditionhadits beginning:a tradi-tion which is the outcomeof socio-political awarenessof Malayintellectuals.

Anotherwriter of significanceduring the sameperiodwas RajaAu Haji who belongedto the ruling hoqseof Riau. Raja Au Haji’swritings, however,arenearerto the traditional Malay style thanAbdullah’s. While Abdullah was in a place where currents ofmodern Westerncivilisation were gatheringforce in the Malayworld, Raja Ali Haji wasin a place wherethe traditional Malayculturestill heldaway.Beingeducatedin Mecca,hiswritingsweremuch influenced by the Arabic style of writings, including theuse of Arabic vocabulary and phraseology.Raja Ali Haji wasbotha linguist anda historian, but it is asa historian that he isbetter known to-day through his two books, Tuhfat-al-Nafis,a work on the history of the Malay kings of old Singapore,Malacca,Johoreand Pahang,and his Silsilah Melayu dan Bugis.Tuhfat-al-Nafls can be said to be in the tradition of classicalMalay historical writings like the SejarahMelayu or the HikayatRaja-raja Pasai,but it showssignificant innovationswhich reflectthe fact that therehavebeensomechangesto the Malay view ofhistory. Tuhfat-aI-Nafis gives more emphasison the events anddwells little on thosemythic elementswhosem~ainfunction is tolendsupportto thefeudalvaluesand world-view of the traditionalMalay polity. SilsilahMelayu dan Bugis, on the other hand,stillretainstheclassicalstyle, especiallyin theuseof the syair to relatethe events.It is thereforenot an entirely historical work, butone

69

reflectingthepoetic inclinationsof the author.It is in RajaAli Hajithatweget a reflectionof the classicalMalay world adaptingitselfto a newchangingworld. His attemptto write a Malay grammar(Bustan-uI-Katibin) and a dictionary (Kitcib PengetahuanBahasa)reflect the new awarenessandself consciousnesstowardsthe Malaylanguage.In thepast,therehadnotbeenaMalaygrammaror dictionarywritten by Malays themselves.

Both Abdullah and Raja Ali Haji are mentionedhere as repre-sentativesof the~p~jp4dutingwhich modernMalay literature hadits beginnings.Therewereothers,but their contributionsare notassignificant.This period especiallyduring the first two decadesof the twentieth century,can be describedasone in which newideaswerebeginningtobe introducedto the Malay society.Bookson science,mathematics,geographyand history were publishedfor thesecularschoolsestablishedby the British, while translationof Westernpopularliteraryworks werealsointroducedto thegene-ral reading public. However, the romantic hikayat and syairremainedto be the main literary readingfor the people,andthistime theseworkswere printed or lithographed.3

3. The SecondPhase:The Foundation YearsThe realbeginningof modernMalay literature is in the period

between1925andtheoutbreakof the Pacific War in 1942. It wasduring this time thatnewliteraryforms like the novelor the short-story dealing with real life charactersset in contemporaryback-groundappearedon the Malay literary scene.It was during thisperiod toothatefforts weremadetobreakaway from the conven-tionally rigid forms of the traditional syair and pantun. Thechan-ges did notoccur entirely as aresult of aconsciousnessto createnewstylesin literature,butpartly asanoutcomeof anon-literaryfactor, that is usingliteratureasaplatformtodiscussandmoraliseon currentproblems,particula;ly thosearising from the situationof socialchange.

Thefirst novel in Malay, HikayatFaridah Hanum, wasactuallyanadaptationfrom anEgyptianwork. Publishedin 1926, it madeagreatimpacton the Malay readingpublic. From the literarypointof view, its innovativefeatureis that it tellsastoryaboutmenandwomen in a modernsociety, eventhoughthe locale is Cairo inEgypt rather than Malaya at the time. The dramatis-personae,however, are still idealistically portrayed and the love themeis still as entrancing as that of the classical romances.

However, theMalay readerat the time could easily recognisethe

70

moral of the story intendedfor him by the author.The authorwasratherpreoccupiedwith the questionof moralityamongMuslimsin the face of social changesfast overtaking the Malays as theresultof rapidwesternisationtaking placein the Malay peninsula.Patriotism,emancipationof woman, the moral codeof behaviourbetweencourting couplesare someof the questionsentwinedaroundthe central love-themewhich conveysthe messagethatfidelity is the essenceof a happymarriage

Theauthorof the novel wasSyedSheikhAl-Hady whoseperso-nality weget the notuncommoncombinationof the time - a writeranda Muslim religious reformer.HikayatFaridah Hanum wasnotonlya literarywork, it wasalso a mouth-pieceof the reform move-ment known as“Kaum tyluda” (The Young Group)asopposedtothe orthodox“Kaum Tua” (The OrthodoxGroup). Islamic reformin Malayawasactuallyan offspringof the samemovementwhichsweptthe Muslim countriesin the Middle East,especiallyEgypt,during the 19th century. It wasthroughpeoplelike Syed SheikhAl-Hadyandhis colleagues,SheikhTahir JalaluddinandHaji Ab-basbin Mohd. Tahathat thereformist ideasof SheikhMuhammadAbduhof Egyptcameto beknown andspreadin Malaya.

The inspiration in meeting the changesbrought about by theWestcamemainly from the Arab world, especiallyEgypt. UnliketheEnglisheducatedelite who left very little impacton the Malayliteraryworksat the time, the vernacularandreligious educated,especiallythosewho hadsojournedto EgyptandotherArab count-ries for higher education,were the people engagedin writing,translatingandrunning local newspapers.The influenceis shownby thefactthatbesidesexpressingtheir ideas,theyalso translatedstoriesand articleswhich had appearedin the Egyptian news-papersandperiodicals.During those formativeyears, the news-paperswereinstrumentalin encouragingliterary productivity.Of-ten the storieswere at first serialisedin the newspapersbeforebeing publishedasnovels.Very little of Englishand other Euro-peanworksweredirectlytranslatedintoMalay, manywereretran-slatedfrom Arabic translationsof the original. Again, it was thepopularliterature, the pennynovels, thrillers andadventuresto-ries ratherthan theclassicsof Englishliteraturethat filteredto theMalay readingpublic at the time.The greatEnglish literarytradi-tion hadneverpenetratedthe world of Malay writing. Of thefewEnglish-educatedwriters in the twentiesand thirties, none hadshownthetendencyto learnfromseriousEnglishliteraryworks.

The MalayTranslationBureauwhichwascreatedaspart of the

71

SultanIdris (Teachers’)TrainingCollege,the highestseatof lear-fling in Malay affordedby the colonial governmentat the time,publishedabout thirty translationsof abridgedand simplifiedworks of well-known Englishauthors.Theseincluded SherlockHol-messeriesby Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle,plays of Shakespeare,andStevenson’sTreasureIsland.Thepublicationswerepartof the twoseriesinitiated by the TranslationBureau — Malay Home LibrarySeriesand The Malay SchoolLibrary Series.The first aimedat thegeneralpublic, especiallythosewho hadleft schooland neededreadingmaterialsfor their leisurehoursand the secondwas forusein the Malay schoolsasreadersandtextbooks.The contribu-tion of the Bureautowardsthe developmentof modernMalay lite-ratureis bestreflectedin the wordsof the director himself, “Wehavespentthe lastonehundredyearsin producingreadingmate-rials for children.”4 The TranslationBureauwas a dismal failure inkindling an interest for seriousliterary works, it was only matchedby its gross neglectto encourageliterary creativity, especiallyinwriting original works. In Indonesia,Balai Pustaka,which wastheDutch counterpartof the Translation Bureau, had already beenencouragingthe writing of original novels andpoemsstarting fromtheearly1920’s.

The proto-type of the novel with local charactersand back-ground setting is Kawan Benar (True Friend). Set in the back-groundof thetown of Penang,it tells the story of how a waywardhusbandis returnedto the right path,backto the fold of his f~mily,by a truefriend. Kawan Benarwasfollowed by a greatnumberofnovelswith varyingdiversityof accomplishments:somewereshortand sketchy dime novels, while others,although lacking in goodliterarytechnique,couldbeconsideredasseriousworks.Onecom-moncharacteristicswhich underlinedthe novelsat the time wasthattheytendedto containmoralisticviewsof theauthors.5

Besidesthe novels,short-storiesteaturing local charactersandbackgroundbeganto appearin the newspapersandperiodicalsby1925. Actually short-storieshad alreadyappearedby 1920, buttheselike theearliernovelshadasthe backgroundsettingcount-ries outside Malaya.6 With an increasednumber of newspapersand magazinesappearingin 1930’s, the numberof short storiesalso increasecL7In fact, short stories were a regular feature in thenewspapersand popularjournals.They were mainly written forthe entertainmentof the readersand subscribersof the news-papersandmagazinesin question,but like the novels, they werealsoa mediumfor expressingandmoralisingsocialandreligious

72

issues.The questionof literature as a creative endeavourwasalmostneverraised.For theshort-storiesor the novelsto be mein-ingful, they had to convey a message,either social, religious orpolitical. Hence the prose fiction before the war appearedto bebasicallystory-tellingwith a purpose,but without much concernfor techniqueor aesthetics.The ideaof literary criticism almostneverexistedat the time. Commentson the literary works weremostlyconfinedtotheir contentsandmoral messages.

Thethemespredominantin Malay prosebetween1920and1942reflectanawarenesson thepartof thewritersfor thesocio-culturalchangesthen taking place in the country. Sometimes,the thememay be a straightforwardlove story, but the messageswhich arelacedaroundthe themeareclearly didactic in nature.Thus therewerethemeschidingoutmodedparentsfor forcing their daughtersto marrymenof theparents’choice - themespopularly labelledas“kahwin paksa”or “forced marriage”. Themesdealing with thesufferingsof women becausetheir husbandstook otherwives, apracticeallowedby Islam butwith stringentconditions,werealso’popular. Thesethemessimply reflect the view that someof thetr~ditionalpracticeswereoutmoded:newvaluesand perspectiveswould havetobe institutedin thesituationof socialchange.

The view wasnot, however,one-sided.The writers also realisedthat modernisationhad brought definite benefits to the country.Theycould seethat materialisticgainscouldbederivedfrom parti-cipating in thecolonial economicsystem.And in this respect,theimmigrantChineseandTamils had reapedthe harvest,while theMalayshadnot enjoyedthe benefits.But, in their message,theyoften stressedthat advancementandprogresshadto be modifiedaccordingto Malay and Islamic socio-culturalethos.Urbanisationwhich wastaking place in the country had brought many youngvillage mento town. The writers, while notactuallyextolling thevirtuesof rural life, warnedthat life in town wasfull of moral trapsanddangers.Thus manystorieswere told of how young menandwomenhadcometo grief throughfalling into the worldly tempta-tionsof town-life.

As agroup, thosewho engagedthemselvesin writing showedmoreconsciousnesstowardsmoral ratherthan any other kind ofsocialproblems.And the problemswereoften viewedin the con-text of modernisationversus traditional and religious values.Therewerefewworkswhich maybe saidto dwell on political the-mes,andof thesetherewereonly a handfulwhich dealtwith thequestionof colonialism.Themesdealingwith socio-economicpro-

73

blemswerealsofew, andof these,they mostly centredaroundthecomparativebackwardnessof the Malays in commercewhich, inthe eyesof the writers, was th source of wealth for the otherraces.

Evenfrom its earlydays,modernMalay literature hasa charac-teristic in that therewas little specialisationamong the writers.Almost everyoneof them would write novels, short-storiesandpoetry. However, Abdul Rahim Kajai, who is often regardedas thefather of modernMalay short-storieswas first and foremost ajournalist. It was in his journalistic capacity that he wrote short-storieswhicharerepresentativeof the genre belongingto thepre-war years: they aredidactic in theme,dwelling on questionsofechics,religion,andpatriotism,andare romanticin approach.It issignificant to note that his heroesandheroinesin the storiesbearnamesin pairs,suchas “Jamil” and “Jamilah” or “Rahim” and“Rahimah” 18

IshakHaji Muhammadis an exampleof the writer who, al-though English-educatedand widely read in Western literaryworks,did notshow that hewasreally influencedby Westernlite-rary traditions. Ishak was a “rebel” who preferredto work asajournalistratherthanasa colonialcivil serviceofficer althoughhewastrainedtobeone.His motivewasto air his political viewsandlife philosophy through his writings. FIitera GunungTahan (1937)andAnakMat Lela Gila (1941), his two significantpre-warnovels,carrieddifinite anti-colonialpolitical messagesundera thin veneerof fantasyand humour. In them he questionedthe integrity andsincerityof theBritish in protectingtheMalay statesandregrettedto seetheimpotencyof theMalayruling class.

Of the Malay educatedwriters, mentionmust be madeof Ha-run MuhammadAmin (who is betterknownby his pen-nameHan.inAminurrashid),AhmadBakhtiarandAbdullah Sidek.The threeofthem,as in thecaseof othersbelongingto the samegroup, wereclosely connectedwith Sultan Idris Training College.Harun andAhmadwereteachersat the collegewhile Abdullah wasastudentthere.This groupof writers hadtheir inspirationmainly from theIndonesianwritersof the time. Nationalismcanclearly be seenintheworksof this group,but this sentimentwasveiledandexpres-sed in many diffirent ways. Ahmad Bakhtiar choseto invoke thegreatnessof theold Malaccaempireby reliving the exploitsof itsheroesin a seriesof historical novelssuch ~s Keris Melaka. (TheKris of Malacca), Kurban Keris Melaka (The Victim of the Krisof Malacca),PanahBeracun(PoisonedArrow), andDarah Di Selat

74

Melaka(Bloodin theStraitsof Malacca).Theseworksarenostalgi-cally heroic appealingto the patriotism of the Malays. HarunMohd. Amin developedthesamekind of historicalnovelsaftertheWar, but during the period under discussionhis contributionlay mainly in a numberof short-storiesand anovel, Melor KualaLumpur(1930).AbdullahSidekwroteon avariety of themes,froma semi-nationalistic novel, Mari Kita Berjuang which is a simplestory of how someunemployedyoung Malays turned a tract ofjungle into asuccessfulagriculturalfarm, to domesticthemeslikeIblisRumahTangga(TheHomeWrecker-1938)andNasibHasnah(TheMisfortunesof Hasnah-1940).

Anotherrepresentativegroupof writers consistedof thosewhoturned out light literary piecessuch as detective or adventurestoriesandtalesof love, ShamsuddinSallehwasonesuchwriter.His works included Bingkisan Rahsia (Secret Message),RahsiaYangSangatRahsia (The Most Secretof Secrets),Pelarian YangCerdik (A SmartFugitive) and Tiga BulanDalam Penjara (ThreeMonths in Jail). Thesenovelsmainlydealt with the work of th~police and secret agentsin tracking down political activists. Mo-ther writer belonging to the groupwas Raja Mansoerbin RajaAbdulKadir. Hewasessentiallyajournalistandhadexperienceinrunning newspapersboth in Sumatraand Malaya. His works,althoughfor light entertainingreading,arenot entirely free frommoral preaching.They bear such attractive titles as SatuKaliCium Tiga Kali Tempeleng(One Kiss and ThreeSlaps — 1936),Tujuh Kali Beristeri (Married for Seven Times — 1935), ApaSebabnyaAku Kahwin DenganOrang Keling (Why I MarriedATamil Man — 1936) and Cinta Berahi SeorangPengarang (TheLoveLife of A Journalist— 1935).

While the classicalforms of poetry, the pantunand the syair,still dominatedthe scene,especially in newspapersand perio-dicals,a newstylein poeticexpressionhademergedby themiddleof the 1930’s. The main carrier of this new experimentationwasthe Malay teachers’journal, Majalah Guru, whose contributorscamefrom theranksof theMalayeducatedelite, the Malayverna-~cular school-teacherswhose creamwere the graduatesof the tea-cher’colleges,first in Malacca,thenin Matang,Perak,and finallyafter 1922, the Sultan Idris Training College, Tanjung Malim,Perak.Theexperimentationswith the newformswhich latercameto be knowncollectivelyassajak were inspired by the newpoetryin Malay popularisedby the Indonesianwritersin the 1920’s and1930’s. The hall-marksof the sajak are that it is a free-verseand

75

that it is anintimatelypersonalisedexpressionof the poethimself.Thesecharacteristicsthus offer a contrastto the rigid forms andimpersonalmessagesof the classicalpantunandsyair. However,it wasduring the post-waryears that the Malay sajak begantodevelopits distinctive qualities.In the earlyyearsof its develop-ment,just beforetheoutbreakof the PacificWar in 1942,the sajakin Malayastill retainedthevestigesof the pantunandsyair struc-tures,althoughthe messageshadbecomepersonalised.

Thusthe twentiesandthirtiesweretruly thefoundationyearsofthe developmentof modernliteraturein Malay.

4. The Third Phase:Current Developments

The three-and-a-halfyears of Japaneseoccupationof Malayadid not produce much literary output but it was duringthoseinterveningyearsthat new meaningsandattitudestowardsliterature beganto take shape. It was really a period of socio-political awakeningin most Asian countries, and Malaya at thetimewasno exception~The awarenessfor one’sown self-respect,stifled bydecadesof colonialism,manifesteditself in manyforms:political, social,economicaswell asliterary.Oneof the manifesta-tionsof Indonesiannationalismwasthe growth of a modernlitera-turein MalaypruposefullydirectedtowardspromotingIndonesianculturalconsciousness.Sucha literaturehadalreadybegunto takeshapein the twentiesandthirties. A closerrelationshipthatdeve-loped betweenthe intellectualsof Malayaandthoseof Indonesiaundertheauspicesof the Japanesehadopenednew perspectivesto thewritersin Malaya.While literature,it wasrealised,could beapotent tool for socio-politicalends,the valuesattachedto litera-ture were in themselvesinvaluablein evokinga cultural awake-ningamongthe people. In otherwords, therewasanew realisa-tion that literatureneednot be the handmaidenof socio-politicalmotivesall thetime, for literaturein itself promoteshighersocio-culturalvaluesfor society.So, while the literatureof the post-waryearscontinuedto expressthe socio-political ideasand idealsofthe writers,it alsoexpressedan acuteawarenessfor its own lite-rary valuesand standards.The post-warliteraturewasno longerincidentalto thesocio-politicalsituation; it developedasafull partof the total reawakeningin society. It wasduring this~periodthatthe Malaynovelasa genreachievedits maturity, the short-storyholdingits own asadistinctiveliterarystyle,thesajak emergingasthepoeticexpressionof thetimeand literarycriticism becomingalively forum not only for literary evaluationbut also for discussion

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on trendsandgoalsof literarycreativity.

A significant eventwhich truly reflects the consciousnessto-wardsliteratureafterthewar wastheformationof an organisationof young Malay writers in Singaporein 1950calledthe AngkatanSasterawan50 (in shortAsas’50)or the Generationof YoungWri-ters of the Fifties. In this organisation,young writers who mainlycamefrom the ranksof vernacularschool-teachersandjournalistsbandedthemselvesto further the causeof modernMalay langu-ageandliterature.It wasmorethan just anorganisation; it wasamovementmanifestingthe new literaryawakeningamongyoungMalays.Not only did theorganisationstresson thedevelopmentoflanguageand literature, but it also expresseddefinite ideasofwhat new Malay literature should aim at, for literature, from thepointof view of this groupof writers, shouldbe the guiding lightfor thebettermentof society,andthis is reflectedby their slogan:“Art for Society”.Althoughits mostactiveperiodasan organisa-tion wasbetween1950and1954, the influenceof the grouplastedwell beyondthat and was far-reaching. It stalwarts like Asraf,Keris Mas,TongkatWaran, Masuri S.N. andSamadIsmail werenotonly modelsfollowedby theyoungergenerationof writers, butthey alsohelpedin mouldingthe growth of modernMalay litera-ture into the shapeit is today. Partly this was becausesomeofthemwereat the helm of the importantnewspapersandperiodi-cals which were the main media for creative writing. Besidesproviding the lead in creativeworks, membersof Asas’50 werealso activein writing essaysandcriticism, and were engagedinpolemicson literaryaswell associo-politicalmatters.9

In theearlypost-waryears,thenovelhadagreaterappealto thereadingpublic. Fromabout1946to about1950or ‘51, literary acti-vity continuedthe patternsof the pre-wardayswith the novel asthe main literary genre. Among the novelistswas AhmadLutfi,who between1948and 1950 wrote a seriesof short novels whichpurpotedto carrysocialcommentsmoralisingon the ills besettingthe Malay societyat thetime. However,the questionswereconfinedmostly to the erosionof moral standardssufferedbecauseof suchreasonsas westernisation,poverty and liberal attitudestowardsreligious teachings. Ahmad Lutfi was a controversial figure. Inspite of his protestationsthat his works containedmoral teachingshe found ready marketbecausehis novels usually included spicyepisodesin the hotel-roomsand on the beacheswhich attractedyoung readers.However,the impactof AhmadLutfi’s novelslike

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Pelayan (Waitress), Subuh Di Tepi Laut (Dawn on the Beach),Bilik 69 (Room69), Ustazah (ReligiousTeacher)and many otherson Malay writing had not beenmuch, for they representedtheusualpre-warformatof didacticworks.

Nationalismwasfairly representedin theearlypost-warnovels.AhmadBakhtiarcontinuedhishistorical novel serieswith PerwiraBintan (The Warrior of Bintan), Hang TuahDi Ayer Masin (HangTuahAt AyerMasin) and RahsiaKeris Putih (TheSecretof WhiteKris). Othersdealwith nationalismin a modernsetting, like.Seru-an Merdeka (The Call of Independence— 1947) by Salleh Ghaniand Barisan Zubaidah (The Zubaidah Movement—1950), byHamdan.’°The main characteristicof such works is the idealisticportrayalof characters:to makesacrificesfor one’scountryseemsto be the idealistic conceptionof nationalism. There were alsonovelspronouncingwhatshouldbethesocial,economicandpoliti-cal ideals for the country. Ishak Haji Muhammadcontinuedwritingafter thewar. Between1956and1968, he wrote at leastten shortnovelswhich included Jalan Ke Kota Baru. (Roadto Kota BAru —

1956), BudakBeca (The Trishaw Rider—1957), Pengantin Baru(NewlyWed—1958), Mata-mataSukarela(VolunteerPoliceman—

1959),Norita (Norita—1966) and AnakDukunDerarnan (The Sonof Dukun Deraman—1967).Ishakdealswith themeslike the evilsof gambling,unemployment,political developmentin the countryandother topicalcontemporarysocio-political issues.In style, hispost-warworksstill retainthepre-warstyle, but they werenot asincisiveashisearlierPutera GunungTahanorAnakMat Lela Gila.

Anotherpre-warwriter whobecamemuchmoreprolific afterthewarwas HarunMohd. Amin or Harun Aminnurashid.His worksincluded Cinta GadisRimba (The Love of A JungleGirl— 1946),DewaLombongMinyak (The Godof the Oil Fields—1947), DarahKedayan(The KedayanBlood —1947), Korban Kinabalu (TheSac-rifice of Kinabalu—1947) and Dayangku Fatimah (DayangkuFatimah—1948).All told, Harunhaswritten about20 novels,butthe mostsuccessfulare thehistorical romances,PanglimaAwang(Awang the Warrior — 1958) and Anak Panglima AwangThe Son of Warrior Awang— 1961).~which he spunfrom certainepisodesof pasthistory.Thesearefollowedby Tun Mandak(1963)and WanDerus (1965)with slightly lesssuccess.

Besides the old stalwarts, many new names had begun toappear.Mostof thesewriterswereyoungandwerewriting for thefirst time. Buttheybroughtwith themnew trendsandrealisations

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with regardto nevel writing. Hamzah,oneof the young novelists,tried to introducerealismto Malay writing with somesuccess.Hisnov~.d,RumahItu Duniaku (That Houseis My World), for example,brings to the readerthe starkrealitiesof life behindthe walls of arich Arab home often shelteredfrom public eye and knowledge.The new Malay novel which appearedafter 1960 has shed theromantic notions found in the earlier works; it often strives toportraylife as it is. often life in its cruderealities. Thus the novelSauna(1961) by A. SamadSaidis namedafterthe prostitutewho isthe protagonistof the novel. Salinasuccessfullyportrayslife in theslumsof Singapore.where man hasto live in sub-standardcondi-tions and has to fend for himself amidst poverty, squalouranddeprivations.

Unlike the approachof the older works, the new novelsdo notintend to teach or moralise or even to offer remedies,but areconfinedto exposingthe actualconditionsof life, leaving to thereader himself to draw his own inferences. Thus Markasan’sTa Ada JalanKeluar (No Way out- 1962), for example,tries toportrayhumanconflict within a family. It tells a story of a woman,whobeing desertedby herhusbai~,hasto resortto prostitution inorder to supportherchildren. But whenthechildrengrow up andrealisethekind of life led by themother,theydeserther.

Among the writers who wrote successfulnovels in the 1960’swereShahnonAhmad,ArenaWati andAbdullah Hussein.Shah-non’s Menteri (Minister) dealswith moral corruption gererallyassumedto be rampantamong politiciansor evencivil servants,while Rentong (Burnt to Ashes—1965)and Ranjau SepanjangJalan (ObstaclesAll Along the Way—1966) dealwith themiseriesof rural economiclife. His novel Protes (Protest—1967)causedsomecontroversyover certain religious issuesthat the authordeals with socio-political issues. Terdedah (Exposed—1965)isperhapsthemost interestingbecauseit attemptsto deal with theindividual ratherthanwith social issues.

Arena Wati has the distinction of winning the 1967 literaryawardcommemoratingthe tenth anniversaryof independenceofthecountrywith hisnovel Sandera.Before that healreadyhadtwosignificant works to his credit, Gelora (Turbulence—1963)andLingkaran (Bindings—1965)besidesnumerousshort-stories.

Abdullah Husseinwon a consolationprize in the samecompeti-tion with his Interlok (Interlock), a novel dealing with the ethnicplurality of Malaysia’spopulation.BesidesInterlok, he hasto hiscredit JanganlahJangan (Don’t, PleaseDon’t—1964), Peristiwa

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(An Episode—1965),Terjebak (Trapped—1965),Aku Tidak Minta(I Am not Asking—1967) and Kuala LumpurKita Punya(KualaLumpuris OurOwn—1967).

Between1960and1969,therewere211 literarypieceswhichcanbeclassifiedasnovels.But of theseonly about140, or about2/3ofthe total, which can be regardedasworks of reasonablequality.The figure comparesvery well with the periodprecedingit: bet-ween1945and 1958,therewere only about62 works which couldbe regardedasnovelsandthey werewritten by about11 authors.Another featureof the period after 1960 is the fact that manywomen hadtakenup writing. Khadijah Hashim,anotherconsola-tion prizewinner of the 1967competition,hasa numberof novelsto her credit although her forte seemsto be the short-story.BesidesMerpati Putlh TerbangJuga (TheWhite Dove FliesToo),herother novelsinclude BadaiSemalam(Yesterday’sTempest—1968), Jalan Ke Kubur (Road to the Grave—1969) and PelangiPagi (Morning Rainbow— 1971). Salmi Manja is anotherwomannovelist who haswritten a numberof works which include HanMana Bulan Mana (Which Day and Which Month—1960), DariManaPunaiMelayang (From WhereDoesthePigeonFly ~- 1961),HendakHujan, Hujan SekalI(If It Rains, Let It Rain — 1967),Rin-dv Hilang DiTapak Tangan(Longing Disappearsin thePalmof theHand—1968).Othernovelsby womannovelistsworth mentioningareSerojaMasih Di Kolam (The Lily is still in the Pond—1968) byAdibah Amin, and Meniti Pelangi (Treadingthe Rainbow—1964)by HamidahHassan.

It hasbeensaid thatpost-warMalay literature is a literature ofthe newspapers.This is to say that newspapershavebeen themain mediumfor literaryactivity besidesthepopularmagazines.This is especiallytrueof theshort-storyandthe~’sajak.Todaytherehaveemergedseriousjournalsandperiodicalswhich aredevotedto the publicationof literary works andpolemics. TheseincludeMajalah DewanBahasa, Dewan MasyqrakatandDewan Sasterapublishedby Dewan Bahasadan Pustaka, a governmentagencychargedwith the task of developingMalay languageand litem-ture. Others include the Sunday newpapers,Berita Mlnggu,Mingguan Malaysia and UtusanZaman, the monthlies MastikaandDkzn,andjournal~of literary bodieslike PenulisandBahasa.Thesepublicationsare supplementedby the popular magazineswhich invariably would carry short-storiesandsajak amongtheirother features.To get an ideahow many short-storiesandsajakarepunlishedin asingleyear,wecanturn to the figuresfor 1971

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and 1972.In 1971 therewereat least294short-storiesin the vari-ous newspapersand magazineswritten by about 115 writers. Inthe sameyear,therewereabout1,200piecesof poetrypublished.In 1972, however, there were more than four hundredshort-storiesandover1,500piecesof sajak published.The rise in 1972was most probably encouragedby the Annual Literary Awardinstituted by the Prime Minister beginning in 1971, and alsobecausethere were many more publications coming into themarket.However,thehighfiguresarenotcommensuratewith thestandardsasreflectedby the numberwinningtheawards.In 1972,prizesweregiven to 15 short-storiesand 42sajak,while in 1972,only 12sajak and12 short-storiesmadethegrade.

Like the novels, the short-storiesin the early post-war yearswereromantic in approach,mostly dealingwith romanticpatrio-tism andnationalism.Thechangefrom romanticismto realisminMalay short-storieswas a result of the changein conceptionto-wards literature. Writing in Hiboran of 7th January 1950, thewriter Hamzahreviews in passing the developmentof modernMalay literature from the time of Abdullah Munshi and thenobserves,“Only in thepastfew monthsdo weobservea newtrendin Malay writing — the trend of realism”. He then continuestoexhortyoung writers to takeup this trendand emulatethe post-war Indonesianwriters in this respect.In the sameissue of themagazine,anotheryoung writer, Rusmira, also brings up thequestionof realism in Malay writing. Rtrsmiratoo suggeststhatcontemporaryIndonesianshort-storiesshouldbethe modelfor theshort-storywriters in Malaysia.The views expressedonly reflectthebeginningsin the drift from thepre-warstyleof writing short-storieswhich emphasisesbeautiful languageandromantic treat-mentof the themetoamorerealisticandearthyapproach.

Some of the works scatteredover so many newspapersandperiodicalshavenow appearedin various collections.To mentionjust a few, we haveMekar don Segar (Young and Fresh—1959),Dua Zaman (Two Eras—1963), Wanita (Woman—1964), Perten-tangan (Conflict—1968), Patah Tumbuh (Everchanging—1962),

Di Tepi Jalan (By theRoadSide — 1960), Daun-DaunBerguguran(Falling Leaves— 1962), Anjing-anjln,g (Dogs— 1964) and DebuMerah (RedDust — 1965).

The short-storyasa genreshowsthe fastestdevelopmentandimprovementin Malay writing after the war. The protagonistsofthe new trend like Keris Mas, Awan-il-Sarkarn, WijayaMalaandSamadIsmail dominatedthe short-storiesin the fifties. With

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them theoutright sermons,the romantic treatmentof heroesandheroines bearing similar names or the idealistic portrayal ofhumancharacterandemotionwereno longer in fashion.The newtrend was dominatedby the idea to present realistically andgraphicallythe world of everydaylife, especiallythe hard life ofthe under-privilegedclassesin society.Thus, thereis a definitepreferencefor themeswhich touchon the strugglesof the “under-dogs” : the unemployed in ekeing out a living in the cities, theexploitationof thepoor by therich, economicmonopolyof thecapi-talists in urban areas, thestrangleholdover the landlesspeasantsby the landownersin therural areasandthe oppressivemeasurestakenby inconsiderategovernmentofficials againstthe rakyat orcommonpeople. It is apparentthat the short-storywriters werestill motivatedby thedesireto redressills in society:butthe issueshad become more sophisticatedand quite removed from thepresciptionsof moral behaviourof the older authors.The writersof the fifties had become aware of the social conflicts, buttheir awarenesswasconfined to thoseaspectswhich they werefamiliar with. Most of them became writers after gravitatingtowards the big towns to seek employment. Their perception,althoughkeenandincisive, wasoften confinedto their own expe-riences and environment. Thus they could write with graphicdetailsthe life amongthe poorersegmentof theMalay populationin the towns, especially Singapore, where writers like KerisMas, UsmanAwang or Wijaya Mala had migratedto from theirvillageson the mainland. The writers thus portray very well theworlds of labourers,petty-traders,the unemployedbut aspiringjournalistsor thelife in thevillagesandrubberestatesfrom wherethey had hailed.They could see for themselvesthe visible con-trastsin real life: the luxurious housesand gardensof the Euro-peanandChinesebusinessmenor governmentofficials ascompa-red to thecrowdedslumdwellings,grandlimousinesascontrastedwith the trishawsand bicyclesand the differencebetweenjobs inconfortableoffices with thosedone by labourersin the hot sun.The slogan of Asas ‘50, “Art for Society”, was unmistakenlymirrored in the themeswhich predominatedas the short-storyremainedbasicallya mediumfor “socialcriticism”.

The short-storiesthus evolved over the years with new andyoungerwriters trying their hand at writing with new perspec-tivesof social issues.A well-known young writer at the endof thefifties wasA. SamadIsmail whosecynical style exertedquite aninfluence over aspiring writers. Independenceof the country

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openednew vistasand horizonsfor the youngerwriters. Short-storiesprobing into new situationsarising in the newly indepen-dentcountrybeganto appearafter 1957.Themesdealingwith theinability of ex-colonialexpatriateofficers or evenlocal afficerstounderstandthe changingsituationsandattitudesin independentMalayawerequite prominent.Satiresandcriticism weredirectedat the new rising classesof local officers who were replacing theexpatriates,of politicians and parliamentarianswho werefull ofpretensionsand of the new-found rich and class-climberswhowere quick to forget their paststations.There wasalso a slightshift to non-socialthemesamongsomeyoung writers asexempli-fied by ShahnonAhmad. His “Babi Hutan” (Wild-Boar) provi-des an exampleof a break from a persistentpreoccupationforsocietyandits issues.In this short-story,Shahnondisplaysadeepinsight into the irony of humanlife. Set in the backgroundof anaboriginecommunity, the work relatesthe story of a young abon-gine mangoingout to hunt for aparticularspecieof wild-boartobe usedasbride-wealthfor a girl in anothertribe. He huntsoverthe lengthandbreadthof the country without success.Finally hetracksonedown to his own clearingandkills it, butnotafter theanimalhadgoredhisown mothertodeath.

Socialthemeswerestill dominantin the short-storiesin the six-ties, but theattemptto probeinto manhimself andthemeswhichavoidedthecurrentsocialissuescamemoreandmoreto the fore.BesidesShahnonAhmadandAbdul Samad,theotherwriterswhohaveleft their mark in short-storiesare, to mention just a few,Mohd. Affandi Hassan,S. OthmanKelantan,Ali Majod, AliasAli,Anas I’. Hadimadja,Azizi Hj. Abdullah, Yahya Ismail, Nora,Zakry Abadi and Mana Sikana.The women writers also deservespecialmention. In the earlysixties, the namesof Salmi Manja,Anis Sabirin,RokiahAbu BakarandSàlmahMohsinwereperhapsthe bestknown in short-stories,but today their rank has beenswelledby the additionof writers like KhadijahHashim,FatimahBusu,ZahrahAriff andothers.

It is in poetryor sajakthat the breakfrom the past is mostpro-nounced.Althoughthe earlypost-warsajak still showedtracesofthe syair or pantunstructure, that is four-line stanzasrhyminga-a-a-aor a-b-a-b, the shift to free versificationwas in full gearby the early 1950’s. The two leadersin new poetry during theearly yearswere Masuri S.N. and UsmanAwangwho is better-known by his pen-nameTongkat Waran. Their poems writtensincethe 1940’s until today somehowreflect the developmentof

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the sajak: from the romantic, idealistic and almost naiveexpres-sions in pantun-likepoems, they havebecomebolder and freer inboththemeandform.Thechangein Malaypoetry is a reflectionofthe change in society and culture: from a closed feudalisticMalay society of the past to an open society which forms apartof the pluralMalaysiannationof today.

The developmentof sajak in so far as it concernsthe choice ofthemeparallelsthat the short-stories.Romanticnationalismandmelancholicexpressionsof fate and fortune predominatedat first,but theseweresoontakenoverby themesof the sufferingsof therural fishermen,and farmersor the urbanworkers and labourers.The influence of Asas ‘50 was clearly to be seen, for the sajakclearly expressedthe concernof the poetsfor what in their mindsweretheinjusticesin society.Evenwhenthe influenceof Asas‘50wason the waneby the middle of the 1960’s, the preferenceforsuchthemesstill persisted,especiallyamongthe new poetswhousually had their experimentationscyclostyled for distributionamong themselves.By the end of the 1960’s, the variation inthemeshadbecomeevident,and the poetsbeganto move awayfrom thetopicalsocialissues.Onecanclearly seethisby browsingthrough the sajak columns of Dewan Sastera and other seriousperiodicalswhich carry sajak.

As in thecaseof short-stories,it is easiernow tofollow thedeve-lopment of the modem sajak becausemost of those poets whocount havealreadypublishedtheir hithertoscatteredpiecesin theformof anthologies.Thereare few exceptions:we are yet to seetheworksof Latif Mohidin,MuhammadHaji Sallehor BaharuddinZainal publishedin collections.Masuri SN.hashadpiecespublis-hed in AwanPutih (White Clouds — 1958), Warna Suasana(Colour of Situation — 1962) and BungaPutih (Bitter Flowers —

1967); UsmanAwang hashis in Gelombang(Waves— 1961) andDun Dan Api (ThornsandFire — 1969); RejabFl. hashisearlierworks published in Kebangkitan (Emergence — 1963); AS.Amin’s piecesarecollectedin Damai (Tranquility — 1965); NoorSI. has his sajak in Setonggi Waja (The Steel Incense— 1960);andSuhaimi Hj. Muhammad,who hasbeenthe mostprolific hascollectedhispoemsin at leastsix anthologieswhich includeJalanKe Kota Ku (Way to My Fortress— 1959) and TulisanDi KamarTidur (Writingsin theBedroom— 1960).

Some of the later ones include Terbit Matahari (The SunRising—1972)by HadzramiAR., KemarauDi Lembah(Droughtinthe Valley—1967)by Kassim Ahmad,which also included some

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short-stories,Duri Di Kaki (Thorn in the Foot—1971), consistingof the laterworks of Rejab F.!., Laut Tak Biru Di SeberangTakir(The Seais Not Blue at SeberangTakir—1971)by T. Alias Taib,Darah Merah (Red Blood —1972) by Jihaty Abadi and Berputar-putar (Round and Round-1972)by Capt. MuhammadAwang.Therearealsogeneralcollectionsof worksby morethanonepoet,suchasModern Malay Verse (1963)which hasEnglish translationof the poemsin it, HimpunanSajakDan Majalah DewanBahasa,September1957—1967,whichcontainspoemspublishedin DewanBahasa over the decade,1957-1967, or Laungan (Loud Yell—1967)whichcontainsworksby six youngpoets.

5. TheFutureLiterature in Malay has alwaysbeenresponsiveto the socio-

cultural conditionsaround it: asa passivereflectorof societyasfound in the classical literature,as a mediumfor socio;politicalexpressionsin the 1920’s and 1930’s and as a vehicle for socio-cultural awakeningin the post-waryears. With the departureofcolonialismand the gaining of independencefor the country, noethnicor cultural group in Malaysiacan live in compartmentsashad beenthe caseduring the colonial times. The racial riots ofMay, 1969,havetaughtthepeoplesof Malaysiathatsocio-culturalintegrationis imperativefor Malaysia’sfuture. While the variousethnicgroupsmaycontinueto live assub-cultureswithin the tota-lity of Malaysiansociety,thereis an urgentneedto developa na-tionalculturewhich transcendsandintegratesat thenationallevelof the various sub-culturalgroups. Literature canplay a usefulmeansin encouragingthe developmentof a national culture,andliteraturein Malaycan fulfill this role easily, not becauseit is aliterature using the national languageof the country—BahasaMalaysia, but more important, becauseit is built on a traditionindigenousto the countryandhasdevelopeda vital moderntradi-tion which fits into the needsof the nation.” Startingfrom the early1960’s therealreadyhad beenworks which attemptedto portraylife beyondthe confinesof Malay society and to encompassthewholeof the Malaysiansocialscene.The trendhasbecomemorepronounced:notonlyareMalaywriters widening their horizonbutmore non-Malaywritersandartistsare now participatingin lite-rary creativity, including dramaticandotherrelatedarts,throughthemediumof BahasaMalaysia,thenationallanguage.It is onlyanatural processtherefore to find literature in Malay today trans-forming itself into a truly Malaysianliterature.

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Notes

1. For classical Malay literature. see Mohd. Taib Osman. “Classical MalayLiterature: A Brief Survey”, Asian Pacific Quarterly of Cultural and SocialAffairs, Vol. III No. 3 (1971),PP.51 — 70.

2. Abddulah bin Abdul Kadir, The Hikayat Abdullah, trans. and ann. A.H. Hill.Kuala Lumpur(Oxford UniversityPress).1970.

3. Foran accountof this period, seeZainal Abidin bin Ahmad. “Modern develop-ment,” Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol.XVII, Pt. 3 (1939).

4. Abdullah Sanusi Ahmad, Pejabat Karang-Mengarang (Malay TranslationBureau) an unpublished academic exercise in the Department of MalayStudies,Universityof Malaya,1960.p. 65.

5. For a descriptionof novelsduring this period, seeZainal Abidin bin Ahmad.“Recent Malay Literature”, Journal of the Malayan Branch of the RoyalAsiatic Society,Vol. xix. Pt. 1 (1941).

6. For ctudv.of the short-storiesbefore the SecondWorld War, see HashirnAwang’s (2erpen Melayu Sebelum Perang Dunia Kedua (Malay ShortStoriesBeforetheSecondWorld War) an unpublishedM.A. dissertationin theDepartmentof MalayStudies,Universityof Malaya.1972.

7 For an accountof Malay newspaperand periodicalsbeforethe SecondWorldWar, see Muhammad bin Dato’ Muda Lingqi, Tarikh Surat Khabar (TheHistoryofNewspapers).1940.

8. His short-storieshave since been published in Collections Banyak UdangBanyak Garam (published by the Geliga Press, Singapore,) and PustakaKajai (publishedby QalamPress,Singapore).

9 SeeMemorandaAngkatanSasterawan‘50, Kuala Lumpur, 1962. -

10. For a comprehensivelist of works published between 1945 and 1967. seeLi Chuan Siu, Ikhtisar Sejarah Pergerakan dan Kesusasteraan Me!ayuModern, 1945 - 65, Kuala Lumpur, 1967,pp. 509 — 521.

11. See Mohd. Taib Osman, “Towards the Developmentof Malaysia’s NationalLiterature,” TenggaraNo. 6 (1973).

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5CONTEMPORARY MALAY POETRY

“We do notwant to retainthe old style (of poetry), we do not wantto sing the selokaand the gurindamlike our fore-fathersdid; wewant to createnew forms which are worthy of the spirit of ourtime “ — so said Armijn Panein the Augustissueof the journalPoedjanggaBaroe in 1933. Armijn Panewas oneof thoseyoungIndonesianwriters in the twentiesandthirties who wereconsciouslyforging new traditions in Indonesianliterature. The new form,generallyknown as sajak, cameto bethe mainpoeticexpressionofthe modern Indonesianliterary tradition since before the SecondWorld War. The samewords,soaptly expressedby Armijn Pane,could easily havebeenutteredby the young Malay writers aftertheSecondWorld War, for it was in the post-warperiod that the newpoeticstyleor sajakcametobethe favouriteform of literaryexpressionbesidestheshort-stories.

For agespoetry hadbeenmainly expressedin the form of thetraditional quatraincalled pantunor in the form of narrativepoetryconsisting of four-line stanzasknown as syair. (There are alsoother traditional forms of poetry known as seloka, gurindam,talibun etc.).Although attemptsto breakaway from thesetraditionalstylescanbe tracedbacktothenineteen-thirties,it wasnotuntil afterthe SecondWorld War that sajak cameto be a dominantfeatureinMalaywriting. The earlyinfluence camefrom Indonesia:the sajakof early Indonesianpoetslike Armijn Pane,Amir Hamzah,RustamEffendi and Sanusi Panebecamethe first models for the young

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Malaypoetsin experimentingwith newversestyles.Sajak, however, does not refer to a particular poetic form; it

refersto the free style of verse-writing.The term is normally usedfor modernpoetryso asto distinguishit from traditional poetry. Thusthe term sajakis almostsynonymouswith “free-verse”.It is notonlyin fQrm that the sajak differs from the rigid structuresof the pantunand syair, but it is also in the underlying concepttowardspoeticexpressionitself. Thetraditional pantun, which in its original form isan oral poetry, is usually ready-made,like a proverb, to be quotedwhen an appropriateoccasionarises. The syair usually relates astoryor a philosophicalthoughtusingcontinuouslyfour-linestanzasandextendingsometimesoverhundredsof pages.

The .sajak, however,takesany form the poetwishes, accordingto thefanci~sof hisown creativeskill andexpressesthe personalandintimatethoughtsof the poethimself. Lookingat it anotherway, thesajak doesnotmerelyreflecta changein literarytradition; it, in fact,symbolisesthe changeexperiencedby Malay societyandcultureasa whole, from a closedto a more open socio-culturalsystem.Anychangeis usuallymarkedfirst by a transitorycharacter.Similarly withMalay poetry, the earlysajak clearly showsthe tracesof thepantunin structure.But the ideasexpressedhavebecomepersonal,reflectingthe awarenessof the young poets,not only of their own feelingsandattitudes,but also of the new thingsand changesoccuringaroundthem.Above all, theyseemto beconsciousof thier own role in sucha situation.They look upon themselvesas a new generationcons-ciously striving for a change,and changewill comeonly whentheold is discarded.

This fact is clearly stated by Masuri S.N. when he wrote (in1947) “AngkatanBaru” (TheNewGeneration):

BerlepasbarisanangkatanbaruMelangkahgerakmaju sediaMerentak meleburikatan dubMerentakputusbelitanjiwa.Bangun semua,parapeiwiraDan gunung terjun menurunMenuju laut idaman sukmaTiada peduli arab bersusun.

TranslatiQn: (Unless otherwise stated, all translations fromMalay are the writer’s own. He has tried to keepas close as pos-

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sibleto theoriginal meaning).The NewGenerationstepsoutSteppingforward with readiness.To snaploosethe bindingsof old,To severthe knotthat stranglesone’sspirit.Wakeup. all bravesFrom the mountainrush downTo theseawhich is the choiceof the soulIgnoring all obstaclesin the way.

In structurethe two stanzasquotedhere are reminiscentof thepantunstyle, but in contentit representsthe young poetstrying tobreak away from old traditions. This poem is straight-forward;theexhortation for the new generationto step forward is statedin amatter-of-factmanner.Goneare the floral imageriesof the pantun.imageriesbasedon common experienceof men and age-oldwordsymbols like flower for a damseldan beefor the young lover. Intheir place,comeimagesfrom thepoet’sown thoughtandimagination.

In a later sajak called “Tiada Peduli” or “I don’t Care” Masuriis defiant and saysthat he doesnot carewhat othersthink of hisown convictions and ideals. Here he defies those of the oldergenerationwho are scepticalof the new poeticexperimentationsoftheyoung writersandthosewho do notsharehis ideas.

This time I don’t care;The angerat night of waningstars,Althoughothersare indifferent,On oneprinciple, whetherclear or hazy,I standfirm.

Gone are the influencesof the Pantun structurein this poem,and the expressionhas become more individualistic and bolder.The secondline shows someattemptsat imagery, but the rest ofthe lines are straight-forward,althoughratherprosaic.The problemof sajak in its earlyyearsof developmentis in a way exemplifiedbythis stanzaby Masuri.

The problem is twofold: on the one hand the modern sajak isoften too prosaicthat it tendsto lose its poetic character,and onthe other, the imagerycan becometoo personalisedthat it be-comesobscurein meaning.The questionof obscurity in sajakwas atone time a subjectof an unendingdiscussionamongMalay writersandcritics. However,thefault wasnot only on the sideof the poets

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but also on the side of the readingpublic. Now that the audienceismorefamiliar with sajak. thecomplaintis heardlessandless.

Modern Malay verse hasonly a few years behind it. but it has

cometo be themain poeticexpressiontoday. The numberof youngpeopletrying their handsat writing sajak keepsincreasing.Themainmedia for sajak arethe newspapers.journalsand magazines.Thethreemajor Malay Sunday newspapers.MingguanMalaysia. BeritaMinggu andUtusanZaman. have regularcolumnsfeaturingtwo tofour sajak in each issue. Monthly journals, weekly andfortnightlymagazinesalso have special columns for sajak in every issue. Arecenttrend is to publish collectionsof sajak by an individual poet orby anumberof poets. (A short list of thesecollectionsis givenat theendof this articlefor thoseinterestedin modernMalaypoetry).

The young post-war Malay poets are not so much concernedabout the technicalitiesof poetry writing as they are about thingsandeventshappeningaroundthem. Consciousas they are of theirart, they do not write poetry just for the sakeof writing poetry. Tothem poetry is an expressionto presenttheir thoughtsandideals —

thoughts and ideals which are more often than not relatedto thehappeningsaroundthem,whetherlocal or abroad.A modernMalaypoet is not very interestedin expressinghis own personalemotionsor problems unlessthey are related to wider social or universalquestions.He is more of a thinker, directing his thoughts to thequestionsandproblemsof his societyandtheworld at large. That isthe reasonwhy Malay poetry todayappearsto bea little too topicalin thechoiceof themes.

Take, for example.the sajak by UsmanAwang written in 1949called “Jiwa Hamba”or “The Servile Spirit”, whichsaysin part:

Pondera while in a moment’ssilence.Thesoul is empty.without spirit.In life, it is felt as if enslaved.Only the voice riseshigh.

The wheelturns, and time fliesLife on earth takesmanyshapesAs longas to live with a servile spiritIt is certain that weareforeverenslaved.

If there is a desirefor independence.It cannotbe achievedby words alone.

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But try to surgeforward,And throw far away theservile spirit.

Rememberthe words,Of a great leader,Andon the remains of MalaccaFort,Weinculcatethe spirit of independence.

This is an expression against colonialism, and it is clearlyexpressedwithout trying to be too “poetic”. Before independence,themeslike the oneherewerethefavouriteamongthepoets.

Comparethis to the hopeful toneof SamadSaid’s sajak called“Pada TanahYang Indah” or “To The Beautiful Land”, whichalso deals with the questionof independence,but in a differenttimesetting.

To our bright eyesthefirst clear rays appear,and I cravethefreedomof my love,In myyearningheart, as calm as the pool of love,I promiseloyalty to defendour belovedland.

Shouldviolentstormthrecitenthis fair land,I shall notretreat onestep,nor admitdefeat,Let a million bulletsfly,seekingrevengeupon their victims,for our belovedland myheart is constantlyready.

As the dayspass,love grows rich in my heart,An iron will grow, away with the colonialistOur love united,dark vengeancesuppressed,how I longfor the bright dawnto break.

With all myheart I lovemy motherland,I pledgeher vow to serveuntodeath.

— Quotedfrom Modern Malay Verse,Pg. 83

After the country has won its independence,the young poetsturn their attentionto themeswhich reflect their deepconcernforthe conditionsin the society.They displaya senseof social justice.

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They try to bring out thesufferingsof thepoor or they hit out at theopportunisticpoliticians.

As an examplewe may takea poemby a writer who calls himselfZulastry — “Sebuah Pondok Buruk” or “An Old DilapidatedHut”.

The first stanzareads:

Our househasno walls,only a pieceof roof.

Night brings cold but weneverweep

To tread the steps-onesidefalls

Andfriends walking in front,pretendingnot to notice.

Again, the messageis clear,but the poemas a wholeappearstobe a little prosaic. A moresophisticatedapproachis to be seeninKassimAhmad’s sajak which is in the form of a dialoguebetweena motherandherson:

Restin peace,my sonAlthough our rice-fields are floodeä.

This rain comesfrom God.A blessingwhich poursdownin deluge,

And day comes,as if it doesnot bring light,Listen,

The toadshaveceasedto callTomorrowwill bring sunshine.And our padiwill flourish again.

Sleep.my mothersleep.Weare insignificant people,Wetoil during the day,Night brings us worries.

Tomorrowcomes,usheringwith it thesun,Then I shall go,Togetherwith a thousandrebels,

thesonsof soil,

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For so long we have lost our soul in servility,Now werise to live, though as rebels.

This is a voice of one who is at conflict with the existing order,and wantsto rebel. The themeis still topical, but the style showsmaturity. It is difficult to portray anything representativeof thecontemporaryMalay poetry for it is actually wide and varied inthemeaswell asis style.

But surveyingthe sajakfrom 1960 onwards,one is struck by theimprovementshown in the craftmanshipof poetry-writing and amaturity in the choice and treatmentof the themes.Although theconcernfor social justiceandtheurgetoexposethe ills of the societyare still evident,they are no longerexpressedin a blatantly prosaicmanner.Takefor examplea part of “Balada Gadis Tani” or “TheBallad of a PeasantGirl” by Dharmawijaya,written in 1967:

Todayand tomorroware fraughtwith miseries,but the wails and criesare lost to the

realisationthat life is increasinglycravingfor humanity,and that thosewho are humaneare only pretending.

So,said thepeasantgirl to the world,that everythingsheenjoysandpossessesis but a minutepieceof the goldenprosperityenjoyedby her belovedleadersin Parliament.

Modern poetry in Malay has only a short tradition behind itcomparedto the pantunandthe syair. But it hasbecomea symbol

of the dynamism of the new generationin creatingnew ideals andconceptsin Malay culturetoday. Theyoung poetsrealisethat theirsis a role to leadandnot to follow, and they are awarethat as poetsthey will leavetheir mark. This is aptlyexpressedby HadzramiAR.when he comparesthe poetswith a river in a poemwritten in 1964called“Di pinggirSungaiJelai”or “By the Banksof River Jelai”.

The greatpoetswhoseworkslike theflow of RiverJelaiSacred,continuouslyflowing in all seasons.

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On the banksof RiverJelaiThe duskyesterdaywas so peacefulThis morning, it is envelopedin mist.

Thebirds movefrom branch to branchwhistlingwhile swoopingdownfor foodAnd thefish dancingin the water.

The practisingpoetslive like the riverEverflowing toward the EternalSea.

A selectedlist of anthologiesof modemMalay poetryin the fifties andsixties.

Au Haji Ahmad (ed), Puisi Baharu Melayu (Zaman Permulaan), Dewan Bahasadan Pustaka,Kuala Lumpur. 1959.

Au Haji Ahmad (ed).Puisi Baharu Melayu 1942-1969.DewanBahasadan Pustaka,Kuala Lumpur. 1961.

KassimAhmad, Kemaraudi Lembah,SaudaraSinaran,Penang,1967.Masuri SN., AwanPuteh,PustakaNasional,Singapore,1966.Masuri SN., WamaSuasana.Oxford University Press,Kuala Lumpur.Masuri SN., BungaPahit. Oxford University Press,Kuala Lumpur, 1967.Masuri SN., SetanggiWaja,MalayanPublishingI-louse, Singapore,1960.Rice, Oliver & Abdullah Majid, Modem Malay Verse, 1946-61, Oxford University

Press,Kuala Lumpur, 1963.Samad Halim (ed), Sajak-sajakAngkatan Baharu, Sinaran Bros., Penang,1957.A, SamadSaid,Liar Di Api, FederalPublications,KualaLumpur,nd.UsmanAwang, Gelombang,Oxford University Press.Kuala Lumpur, 1963.A WahabAu atal, Larangan,FederalPublications,Kuala Lumpur, 1966.Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Himpunan Sajak Dan Majalah ‘Dewan Bahasa’

Sept.1957-1967,D.B.P.,Kuala Lumpur, 1969.

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6SAJAK OF 1972

The sajak in 1972 saw a markedincreasein quantity, but to thepanelof judgeschargedwith the taks of selectingthose worksworthy of TunRazak’sannualliteraryawards(HadiahSastera)forthe year, the rise in numberwas not matchedby the quality ofpoetryproduced.

Hardasthey tried, andwith somany argumentsamongthem-selves,thejudgescouldonlyarriveat aconscensuson thirteenoutof some1,728piecesthat they hadto scrutmiseduring the year.Thepreviousyear,they recommended42poemsfor theawardoutof some1,322pieces.

With lastyear’sexperienceof readingovera thousandpiecesand a lot more the following year, the judgeshavefound them-selveson moresolidgroundtojudgethe work of our poets.Criti-cism levelled at the choicefor lastyear’sawardsalso helped inmouldingthe criteria usedby the judges.They havebecomeper-hapsmore stringentandcritical in judging the techniqueof thepoets,bothestablishedandaspiring,knownandunknown.

Speakinggenerally,the sajakin 1972 displayslittle imaginationor experimentationon thepart of the poet. Thetrendpointedoutby SamadIsmail in the short stories is also very evident in thesajak, that ~s, thereis a strong tendencyto imitate the stylesofestablishedor well-knownpoetsratherthan strikingout for one’sown original creativeness.

Thestampof UsmanAwang,Kemalaor SamadSaidis tooappa-rent in mostof the sajaks:sometimesone is left with the impres-

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sionthat thesajak iswritten ratherhurriedly.A good proportionofthe sajaksis tobe foundin the cyclostyledcollectionspublishedbylocal writers’ groups.

Usually, it seemsthat suchpoemsarewritten duringgatheringsheld at the seasideor at workshopsfor poetry writing. Some ofthesesajaksdo show potentiality, but theyusually remain unpolishedandraw.

Young poets tend to regardpoetry asexpressionsspurted inmomentsof inspirationwhereasthey shouldrealisethat animpor-tant ingredientin poetryisdeliberatecraftsmanship.

There is no real harm in using figures alreadyusedby otherpoets, like the “seagull” or “camar” used by Kemala, but if allthat the poetscandrawout of the animal kingdomfor their ima-gety are the oft-repeated “camar’~ “pipit” or “gagak’~ thensomethingmustbe wrongsomewhere.

UsmanAwang,commentingon diction in thesajakof 1972, looksunfavourablyat thecommoncurrentpracticeof repeatingthefirstsyllable of the word to imdicate plurality. Thus “pepohon” forpohon-pohon”~“jejarum” for “jarum-jawm” andsoon.

OnecanunderstandUsmanAwang’sconcernover theprevalenttendencyto imitate the styleof others,but it doesseemthat thestyleof repeatingthe first syllable of the word to denotepluralityis coming to stay in Malay poetic style. What was once“poeticlicense”hasnow becomea “poeticconvention,”andwho knows,it may even-one day find its way into daily usagebecauseof itsbrevity.

Two significantpointsneedto benoted.First, out of the ninepoets whose sajaks won the awards, three — Mohammad Hj.

Salleh, Rejab F.I. and Latiff Mohidin — had won last year andtwo — Kemala and JaafaH.S. — are well-known in the sajakcircle. The restare not actually newcommers,for althoughtheyhavewon for the first time, their namesare often to be found inthesajakcolumnsof thenewspapersandmagazines.It shouldalsobementionedthatoneof thewinners,S. Mala, isfrom Sabah.

The other point is that, all the thirteen winning sajaksare formpublicationsknown for their seriousattitudetowardsliterarypro-ducts.Thejudgesfind thatonly in the major Sundaynewspaperslike BeritaMinggu, UtusanZamanandMingguanMalaysiaandinpublicationslike Dian,DewanBahasa,DewanMasyarakat,DewanSasteraandPenulis,thatonecanhopeto find poemsof relativelyhighquality.

One can go on pointing out the shortcomingsof the sajak in

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1972, but to flog the flaws is sterile and unproductive.UsmanAwang,himself a practisingpoet, hasdealtat lengthwith someofthe common mistakes made by the young poets in the Malaypapers.One.maynot agreewith everyword he says,butnonethe-lesshe hasprovidedsomeusefulpointersfor the youngwriters totakenoteof in improvingtheir craft.

It would be useful thereforeto commenton someof the prize-winning poems. One of the cnticims levelled at the choice ofsajaksfor the 1971 awardswas that most of thosechosenweresimpleandcould easilybeunderstood.

Certainly oneof thecriteria which the panelholdsdearis that apieceof poetry is not a jigsaw puzzle nor a detectivegame.Thepoet, through his work, shouldbe able to communicatewith hisaudience.Thepieceof poetrymaybesimple, clear in messageandpurposeful,but it mustcontainthe ingredientswhich make it anartistic pieceof work. In theme,the subjectneednotbe too philo-sophicallyprofound,but it shouldnotbe tootrite or common-placeeither.

Takethepoemby Latiff Mohidin, whoalonewon threeof the 13awards,called “Sianak Rimba” (JungleDweller): it is a short,simpleandratherstraightforwardpieceof work. Yetafter readingit, oneis left with an intriguing experienceasto what has beensaid.

di sudutmuziumakhirnyakutemui wajahmusianak rimbayang hilang.segempal himsegenggam kapaskau sekarangberdiri di antara bukitsungaipohonanunggaskerasdan keringberdiri di sudut muziumakhirnyadi dalam lemankacosianak rmmbalemas dan terasing.

Irony seemstopervadein thispieceof poetry: the incongruityofa jungledweller, removedfrom his naturalenvironment,standing

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in ashowcaseat onecornerof the museum.And the onceenerge-tic lively jungle-dwelleris now reducedto a “lump of wax andafistful of cotton”.

In factthepoetis trying to tell usmorethanjust that. Heleavesus-withanimpressionof the inevitable,that-ischangeandmoder-nisationwill surelyonedayovertakethepeopleof thejungle. Buteventhen there is irony in it: the inevitable modernisationwillmakepeoplewish for the original carefreeworld of the jungle-dwellers.

The sajak appearssimple, but it is one examplewhere wordsarechosenandweighedsopurposefullythat every word is mea-ningful. The last line, especially,conveysa powerful impactwiththe words “lemas” and“terasing”.

Anotherseeminglysimplepoembutadeeponeis “Batu-batu”(Rocks) by MuhammadHj. Salleh,a poetwell-known for his dexte-rity in both Englishand Malay. At the moment, Mohammadisaway in the U.S.A. working on his Ph. D in ComparativeLitera-ture. It is at Nevadathat Mohammadwas inspired to write his“Batu-batu”.

Thecommoneyemay seeonlyapile of rocks,butwhatthepoetdiscernsis morethan that. Hefinds that thereis an order in thepile of rocks,just like manliving in anorderedsociety.

Batu-batu mi ada masyarakatnya-tegçikatau berbaring di kakilangit.merekahidup dan matidalam undang-undang batu.

And to him therocksseemto bealive, asthey standagainstthehorizon, one on top of the other, surprisinglynot in confuseddisarraybut following somesetrules.

dengan alun dan ombaknyaketul-ketul tegak sendlrlmegah mematahkan benangdi antara langit dan bumi.

And the rockscomealive for they seemto know that whereverthey stand,they are in apositiondictatedby the natural laws oftheir own being.

yang besar di atasyang kecli di bawahyang besar akan jadi kedilyang kecib akan bebih kecilyang iatuh dan atos pecoh

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yang tertahandenganhati batu,yangkecewadan kecil di dalam bayang:mereka tau tempatnya,faham akan undang-undang wujudnya.

Thus with such forthnghtness,Muhammad has not only beenableto projectsomemeaning,somethingto be thought of out ofa pile of rocksandboulders,buthe hasalsoexploitedthe languagein its simplicity by notat all trying tobepedantic.

Rejab Fl. who, like Latiff and Muhammad,had won an awardlastyear,wins this timewith a simple poem,reflecting solitude,“Kesepian”. Right from the first stanza,Rejabdraws ouratten-tion to the factthat solitudecanbe “heaven” as well as“hell” toman,but it is inevitablyever-presentin our lives,

kesepian adaIahsebuahsyurgasebuahnerakaberbunga kasih dan resahdalam kuntum-kuntum penghidupan.

Solitudecanbean antidotewhenoneneedsto think overprob-le~ns.It can bring peaceto restlessnesslike the “invigoratingdew” or “soothingwind”.

kesepian adaIahkuntum-kuntum embun segarbayu kemesraanmawar kedamaian.

Thereis a fair sprinklingof religious poemsin modernsajak wri-ting, andtheyaremostlyfoundin religious orientatedpublicationslike Al-Islah and UtusanKiblat.

Even Warta JabatanAgamaJohor, the publicationof the Reli-giousAffairs Departmentin Johore,carriestwo to threesajaksinevery issue.Most of thesesajaks seemto be mereexhortationsthat theyoftenlosetheir poeticqualities.

However,amongthewinning sajaksof 1972, thereis onewhichtoucheson religious sentiments.Mostof the religious sajaks tendto beevangelical,but “Melalui: Pikir, Mata, Telingadan Lidah”is freefrom the usualpretensions.

The poem is written by Marhan, quite a familiar namein thesajak world. It is a- simplepoem,but it tries to encompasswhatGodhasendowedmanwith: his mind, eyes,earsandtongue.Themind has the strength to make life in a society orderly andmeaningful.Theeyes,theearsandthetonguearegiven by Godto

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mankind. If they serve manwell, then they too shouldbe madeto serveGod.

What is attractiveaboutthis poem is its tightness:every wordconveysa definite meaning and every imageryevokesa clearpicture. Thus the mind is like the twinkling stars in heaven(“pikirku adalah bmntang-bintang yang mengerdip”). And theperceptiveeyesroveover thepolesandheaven.

matakuadalaharasy nan luasdi perjalanankutub dan ufuk

And the sensitiveearsare like a tape-recorder,taking in everyconceivablesound, from the rustling wind and thunderouswavesto the noisescomingfrom everycrackandcrevice.

Telingakuadaiahpita rakamdi desir angin dan deru ombakmenyehmnap dan meresapruang-ruang yang terbuka

Thetonguecanbe of suchstrengthandwill, ‘Ike fire andwind,burning and destroying even fortresses.

Lidahku api dan angmnmembakar dan meruntuhistana dan mahhlgal

The religious sentiment — thatall which isendowedby Godis inactualityfor Him — is simply expressedin thefinal two lines:

Ilahi: Rabbijiwaragaku untuk mu.

Besides Latiff Mohidin who won three prizes, Jaafa HS andKamalawontwo each.Bothof themwork with DewanBahasadanPustakaandareactivein literaryactivities. Theybothwin for thefirst time, althoughtheir namesarealreadywell-knownin literarycircles.

Jaafa’swinning poemsare “Diruang Yang SempitIni” (In thisConfinedSpace)and “Satu Han BernamaEsok” (OneDay Cal-led Tommorrow). The first poem deals with the poet’s cynicalobservationof thesuffocatinglydepressingatmosphereof ahospi-tal ward. Hetalksof the lonelinessof the sick,andhe sensesthatthe ultimateloneliness isdeathitself, whenwhateveroneposses-sesor loves is left behind.

tiada siapa yang berteman di sinitelah ku hihat betapa-seorang lelaki perglmeninggabkan tangis kekasihnyanamundia pergi jua

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He seesthe shadowof deathalways stalking and lurking in thehospitalward,andhefeelshelplessandrestless.

bayang-bayang kematian semakln menglsl ruangyang sempit miuntuk menemul merekayang klan lama terbaring dalam kebuhan dan resah gehisahtanpa rasa setla.

The strengthof the poem lies in the powerful way the poetcon-jures up the imageof helplessnessandforebodingin a hospitalward. The subject may at a glance appear gloomy and dark, butthe skill of the poet does notmakeit so.

In “Satu Han Bernama Esok”, Jaafatriesto projecttheworld oftomorrow. He is fully aware of what is to come wher~school-booksgive way to computers and students using automatic pens poweredby electricity.

Yaanak-anakku ke sekolah tanpa bukutapi mengepit komputerbersama pena otomatik digerak kuasa betrik.

He also envisages that in days to come, the lives of men will bedictated by machines. It is the machines who will decide whomoneshouldlove or befriend.

pemimpmn mereka adaiah mesin-mesinkira kata mesin dia kekasih diabah kekasihnyakira kata mesin itu setia itubah setianya

The poet is neither worried nor apprehensive of the future. Heaccepts it as inevitable, and he is fully aware that the norms andvalues of today will give way to those of tomorrow. Thus familyloyalty will no more be held dear by the future generation, and heis willing to accept this.

satu han bernama esokaku akan relakan anak-anak untuk tidak menyapakerana setianya bulçan untuk setltls darak keluarga

But personally to the poet, there is a tone-of-regret, for he fearsthat the world of tomorrow may lose its humanity or godliness.Thus he concludes his poem with a d~terrnia~ation that at the time“love poems cease to have any meaning,” hewÔuld still attemptto make “his world sing.” And in such a confusing world, hewould still stand for “godliness” amidst the machines and corn-puteis.

tika puisi-puisi nndu enggan bicora apakan kucuba juga mengajak duruaku mers~ars~n

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dalam kabus-kabus pagi aku berdiribersama sebuah komputer kunamakan imanmereka satu bentukbakal kunamakan tuhan

Kemala’stwo poemswhich won prizesare “Laut” (Sea) and“Meclitasi” (Meditation). In the former, which appearedin DewanBahasa(July, 1972), Kemala picturesthe seain its many aspects.The seais first personifiedasa beautifulgirl sleepingpeacefullyon her bed (“gadis cantik tidur diperaduannya”)and then as avirile youth mellowed with age (“pemuda tangkas asuhanwaktu”). As abeautifulgirl, the seais the pictureof eternalcalm-ness,in spiteof thewavesrolled by the wind.

Aku bautsisik-sisik riak ditubuhkulukisan detik dan tarian anginbersatudrgemersikangin saujanaketenangan miAnd asavirile youth,the seais apictureof forceandenergy,

as it crashesagainsttherocks.gelegak ombak menjadi kata

dew menjengkau ufuk muzik terdampar ke benteng karanglalu kenal din.

In the third and fourth stanzas,Kamala talks of the seain thelight of thedayand in the darknessof the night. During the day,wefind the sea-gullsinging,andthe sceneevokesthefeelingsforlastingeternallove.

Siang pilihanmenyimpulkan seloka camarberlabu sejarahkudukung bahasamuakulah laut pertama pemupuk cinta abadi

Thedarknessof the night finds theseachurnedinto fury asit ispossessedby thestorm:

Malam pertaruhan badai perkasa memeluk hadirkuThereflectionsonthe seaarecarriedon to the laststanzawhere

the poet talksof the seaasameetingpointof many things. Andfinally, the poet finds in his heartan acuteawarenessor self-respect.

Kqsih sayang nenek tua, matanakal cucubertemu di siniangin jauh mencani harmonitergetar bibir di dalam tafsirdi sini: di hati mi kekasihkumerupakan harga din.

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The otherpoemby Kamala is “Meditasi” (Meditation). It hasmany specialqualities not found in other sojaks. It is a long poempublishedin a smallbooklet of 31 pages.

Thethemeis ameditationon love whichbeganat dawnone Julymorning. It is actually a rambling thought, although well sustai-ned, traversingall kinds of experiencesin love, touching on thefamous love affairs in history — Julius Caesar,CleopatraandMark Anthony,andon to Lord Byron. Theactualmessageis quiteelusiveasthe poet flows from one trend of thought into another,but the readercan seethat the thread which runs through thewholetapestryisa comentaryon love.

Such a long poem will noteasily find spacein the newspapersandmagazines,andthatis thereasonwhysucha pieceof workis highlyrated in modern sajak writing. Kamala had shown consistencythroughoutthe long work, choosingthe wordscarefully for poeticeffects.Thepoembeginswith love andendswith love.

meditasi berm ula dan cintatersimpulkini dalam suatukesetiaan, suatu keindahan

meditasilalu diakhirnya menjadi ~alengkapdengan catatan yang kuasuhdengan jiwatubus kuduspengenabanpengertian Cinta!

“Tiada lagi GemaSeruling” (No Longer the Flute Resounds)dealswitha subjectonewould think rightly belongsto thesociolo-gist or theeconomist.But RidzwanM.S. provesthat sucha mun-danesubjectasthe exodusof youthsfrom thekampung,if viewedfrom poeticeyes,canbeexpressedin abeautifulway. It is theonlysajakpublishedby the newspaperstowin an awardthis year, therestarefrom thejournalsandmagazines.

Ridzwanpicturesvividly the village scenedesertedandlifelesswithout its young man.

Sumunbendang kehilanganpondok surau sunyi sendinikahi-kahi mengahin sepibeberung piana ti imbau-mengimbau

Thereis a constantworry in the village that without its youngmen, work will be at a standstill when the seasonfor plantingarrives.

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Hati berkocak pabila musim tibatiada siapakah membanti~ngtulangdi sawah-sawah bendang

However, the responsibilitywill be carriedoutby thoseremai-ning. And thereis hopethat thepadi-fieldwill beasgreenandtheripenedricewill be as golden.

Namum hakmilik adalah tanggungjawabuntuk dibebai diterokasemogakan hijau dedaun padikuning mebambai buahnya.

Thepoetendshis poemon thehopeful notethat the young menwill returnfor the harvest,bringing with themtalesof their expe-

riencein thecity andlongingsfor theloved onesleft behind.

mungkinentahkan esok busarangmudakan pulang bersama gunau sendabensama cenita kota,bersama dedebar nindu di hati yang terusap belaidana melambaiSemogakan bebih meriah musim menuai

Again, it is simplicity that makesthis sajak attractive. One isheartenedby the optimism expressed,for usually sajaks dealingwith sucha subjectwould ratherharpon thedarkerratherthan thelighter side of the subject. The tone of the sajak is light and theflow is lyrical. Ridzwanhasbeenabletoexploit thevariousaspectsof the village sceneto his advantagewithout tiying too hard. Thevillage life without its youngmen is soaptly expressedright at thebeginningof thesajak:the flute no longerresoundsin thevillage,asits young menareawayabroad.

Desa itu tiada lagi gema serubingrangmudanyatebah diperantauan.

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7TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENTOF MALAYSIA’S NATIONAL LITERATURE

When Malaysians held celebrationson the 3lth of August lastyear, it was not as ‘IndependenceDay’ as in the yearssince theFederationof Malaya achieved independence,but as ‘NationalDay’. We also no longer shoutedthe slogan ‘Merdeka’ but ‘Ber-jaya’ instead. Such changesare essentiallysymbolic, calculatedtobring about changesin our perceptions,attitudesand emotionalresponses.

The changeswere madewith a full awarenessof the politicaldevelopmentsin Malaysiansociety.The cry ‘Merdeka’ was mostappropriateduring the strugglefor independence,but new needsarose which madeit no longer adequatesimply to revive thememoriesof the struggle.It wasnecessaryto developnewattitu-deswhichwoukLprovideagreaterassurancefor nationalviability.The needfelt at presentis to createwhat is popularlylabelled the“MalaysianIdentity”. This need,we mustrealise,is of thegreat-estimportance,for it will beareventuallyon theviability or other-wiseof the Malaysiannation.The urgencyof this needwasneversoclearly felt asafter the occurrenceof communalriots in May,1969.

Malaysia’s viability as a nation must be built upon two basicrealities:

‘(1) Although Malaysia is a young nation, sheforms part of ahistorical continuity of this region involving the majority of thepopulation,namelytheindigenouspopulation;

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(2) As part of the same historical continuity, there exists aplurality of cultureswithin the nation, partly broughtaboutby theimmigrantcommunities.

From the viewpointof cultural anthropology,aculture is a sys-tem of symbols.Man, comparedto the otheranimals,is the mostefficient makeranduserof symbols.Man communicatesthe mostabstract things in the form of symbols. Thus symbols are oftenusedto representabstract ideas which in themselvesare notvisible or tangible.Many aspectsof nationsbuilding areabstractin natureand thereforehaveto be conveyedthrough symbolicmeans.

In the hustle and bustleof everydayliving, such notions asnation or countryareoftenforgotten,but menultimately organisethemselvesto conducttheir living within the sdcial units we call“nations”. The viability of a nationasasocialunit dependsmuchon theprojectionof its own identity. The questionof nationaliden-~ity relatesto symbolism,becausein itself it is not visible exceptthroughsymbols.It is important,especiallyfor newly independentnationsto projectsuchan identity externallyaswell as internally.Therefore,a country’s national identity is madevisible throughsymbolssuchasflags andemblemsandsymbolicbehavioursuchas singing the national anthem or celebrating the “national”occasions.

The symbolicobjectsandbehaviournot only makeasawareofour nationalidentity, but also enhanceour emotionalresponsetosomethingwhich otherwisewould remainabstract.Thusthroughthe symbols, the abstractnotion of nationalismcan spur us toheroic deedsand sacrifices.One of man’s symbolic modes ofexpressionwhichhelp to promotenationalidentity may clearly beseenin thearts.

Thereseemto be two important factorswhich tend to restrictefforts to build national identities among newly independentnations.Firstly, thesocio-culturaldifferentiationsexistingwithin anation,andsecondly,the unavoidableimpactof the socio-culturalinfluencesleft by colonialismtogetherwith the influence of theuniversalcultureimbuedwith westernideasandvalues.The twofactorsare relatedto the historical background ,f the country inquestion.Thefirst factorcanbefoundin almostall the newly inde-pendentcountrieswhichwereonceunderWesternrule. In Africa,for example,the nationalboundariesareoften inheritedfrom the

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areasof influenceof oneor anotherof the Westernpowers,andwithin suchboundariesare to befoundethnicgroupsandcultureswhich neverhadanythingin commontojustify the socialunit intowhich theywereputby thewesterncolonialists.

In the past,most of thesegroupswereorganisedinto individualcommunitiessuch astribal or other local groups. Even thoughthereexistedsophisticatedsocio-politicalunits as thosefound inDahomeyor amongthe Ashantis,thesewere not widespread,nordid they havethe basic conceptsor administrative machinerywhich areessentialto a modernnation of today.The presenceofimmigrant groups residing in somecountiiesposesmore complexproblemsasthesepeoplecreatedeepersocio-culturaldifferenceswithin a nation.The secondfactorcanbe seenin countrieswherestrongwesterninfluence had beenin such ascendencythat thelocal culturestend to be valuedlessandless,exceptasmuseumpieces.One interesting example is Ireland where the Englishlanguageis so strongly entrenchedin daily life that efforts torevivethe useof Gaelic by the nationalistsprovedto be adismalfailure.

As adevelopingcountryMalaysiafacessimilar problemsin hersearchfor nationalidentityandinattemptsat nation building. Thetwo factorsmentionedaboveexistin Malaysia.It cannotbe deniedthat Malaysiaemergedas a nation basedon the territorial areawhichoncewaspartof theBritish Empire.Evenbeforethe adventof British rule therehadalreadyexisteda local populationconsis-ting of groupswhichamongthemselvessharedcommonhistorical,ethnic, linguistic and cultural ties. The indigenouspopulationofthe region has similarities and affinitieswith peoplebeyondtheconfinesof the political boundariesof Malaysia. The commonethnicandculturaltiesidentify anareawhichwasonceknown asthe ‘Malay Archipelago’and is now known as ‘Nusantara’.Thesocialunitswhich existedbeforethe founding of modernnationslike Malaysia,or Indonesia,were organisedon kinship, local tiesa~1’dsultanates,whichformedthemostsophisticatedtypeof socio-political organisation.Although the ethnic or cultural groupipgsdiffered from oneanotherin mattersof detail, they neverthelesssharedmanycommontraitsandcharacteristics.

Besidesthe indigenouspopulation, thereexist also sizeableimmigrantcommunitieswhohavetheir own characteristiclangua-gesandcultures.Although somehavelong settledin the MalayArchipelago, — that is even before the colonial period — the

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majority of them migratedfrom their homelandsin the wake ofwesterncolonisation.Theseimmigrantgroupsdid not assimilatewith theindigenouspopulationasthey lived in separatecommuni-ties, andhavingonly functional relationships,generallyvery limi-tedin volumeaswell asin frequency.

It mustbe mentionedthat thosewho havelong beenhere,likethe Baba Chineseand the Chettiars of Malacca, have alreadyabsorbedthe local culturalelementsduring the processof accultu-ration. The samecan be said of the Chinesein certain parts ofIndonesia.But themajorityof theimmigrantpopulationstill retaintheir own culturesandway of life. As theyform part of thebulk ofthe Malaysianpopulation, their culturestoo are to be consideredasoneof the manycultureswhichexistin Malaysia.

In the context of such a situation, suggestionshave often beenmadefor the formation of a Malaysian culture by uniting thevariousculturalelementstogether.But this view is untenableas itdoesnot meetoneimportantcondition in the growth of a culture,that is the question.of time. It is impossibleto expecta Malaysiancultt~reto takeshapewithin a very short time. What shouldbedone now is to think out plansfrom which a culturecan developandgrow into what can be acceptedas a Malaysianculturein theyearsto come. At the presentmoment,astrongcolonial influencestill prevailsand most of the dominantsocio-culturalvaluesstillsmackof westerndictates.Thisinfluenceis clearly seenin evalua-tions in the field of the arts: whatevercomesfrom the West isregardedassuperior,somuchsothatthe localandindigenousartsarecondemnedtothrive asbesttheycanamongthe villagefolks.

As adevelopingcountry,Malaysia’sproblemis not to establishwhetheror notthereexistsat the momenta national identity, butrather to make the effort and face the struggleto build up thisidentity. It must not be thoughtthat the achievementof suchanidentity would meanthat the countrywould havea single mono-lithic Malaysianculture.The conceptof ahomogeneouscultureisonlyapplicableto small,simpleandisolatedsocietieswhichhardlyexistanywheretoday.

Whenthe anthropologistsanalysea simple or tribal society,apicture if a homogeneousculture emerges.In such a society,patternsof behaviour, world-view or weltanschauung, ethos andsocialorganisationshowa high degreeof uniformity. In fact verylittle socio-culturaldifferencescan be observed.Betweenindivi-duals, thereis little difference in behaviour, thoughtsand thethings communicated.Such a society stands in contrast to the

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modernnation asa social unit: a modernnation formsa complexcommunity consistingof smaller groupings.An individual canbelongtomorethanoneof thesesmallergroupingsbasedon localor regional settlements, religious affiliations, ethnic groupings,socialclassesor evenoccupationalcategorisations.An individualcanbelongto morethanoneof thesesmallergroupingssincetheyoverlap.

In thecontext of a nation asa whole society, the smallersocialgroupingcanbetermedsubculturesor subsocieties.Thecountry’snatural institutions such as the common educationalsystem,government administrative departments, common financial,economicand legal systems,the armyandthepolice andsoon bindall thegroupingsandaffiliations to the nationalwhole.Otherthanthese,thearts,politicalideology,religion,sports,philosophiesandthemassmediawhich transcendthe subcultures,canalso actasafactor in binding the various subculturesinto a single nationalcommunity.Thelinking of various subculturesamongthemselvesor betweenthemandthe nationasa wholeoccursat variouslevels.Thehighestlevel of such socio-culturalintegrationcanbe said tooccuratthenationallevel.

An anthropologist,Julian H. Steward,has suggesteda way oflooking at a complexsociety, that is by recognisingthe variouslevels of socio-cultural integration. He points out that the artsrepresentoneof thoseculturalentitieswhichmight occupyaplaceat thehighestlevelof socio-culturalintegrationi.e. at the nationallevel. However,as it hasalwayshappenedin the history of man,the artswhich arehighly valuedor arerecognisedasthe nationalarts havealwaysbeenthe productof the upperclasses.And thishaspromptedJulianH. Stewardto say, “National cultureis toooftenconceivedsolely in terms of thoseaestF~eticand intellectualachievementswhich in many societiesareunderstoodonly by theupperclassesandwhichmaybelittle knownto the illiterate, isola-ted folk communities”. (see his book, The Theory of CultureChange Universityof Illionis Press,UrbanaIII. 1963,p. 73.)

The history of Malay/Indonesiancultureclearly illustratesthepoint raisedabove:the ars and a~hievementsof the upperclas-ses,i.e. thosebelonging to the Kraton or the palace,had alwaysbeenprojectedasthe representativeculture.Thesimplecreationsof thecommonpeopleor the folk cultureof theNusantararegionshadoftenbeenignoreduntil lately. If theartsof thecontemporaryupperclasses(an entity still opento interpretation)were to be con-sideredas representativesof the Malaysian culture, we may find

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them unpresentativeof a Malaysian identity. Such works mayappearto have more international identificationsthan nationalones,andmoreoverthey still show characteristicsof a colonialstamp.Thereforefull considerationshouldbegiven to the kind ofworkswhichcanplay their part at the nationallevelof socio-cultu-ral integration.Theconceptof Malaysiannationalliteratureis onlyapart of thewholeissue.

Literature is oneof the most importantcultural expressionsinlinking thevarioussubculturesin the prçcessof socio-culturalin-tegration at the national level. Comparedwith other forms ofexpressions,literatureuseslanguageasthe medium, which is aform of communicationpar excellence in the life of a society. Al-thoughother formsof arts like painting, music,carvinganddan-cing reflectthe peculiarqualitiesof aculture,they perhapsdo notevokea high senseof indentificationcomparedto literature. It iseasierto identify the literatureof asocietyor its relationshipwiththesocietyto which it belongs,thantoperforma similar taskin thecaseof painting.

Thecomparisonmaybejustamatterpf degree,butsincelangu-ageis easily identified with a group of people, it follows that thearts in the mediumof languageevoke a greateremotional res-ponse.In otherwords,literaryproductsproveto be moreeffectiveandplayamoreimportantrole in socio-culturalintegrationat thenationallevel thanmostotherforms of art. The otherreasonwhyliteratureplaysanimportantrule in this issue of nationalidentityis becauseof the uniquefunctionof literaturein society.Literatureis notonlya form of art, it is alsoa form of expressionwhich mir-rors and projects the social values, and the aspirationsof thepeople.In literaturewhich is handeddownfrom onegenerationtothe next is embedded,in symbolic form, the cultural values,andidealsof the society.Therefore it is important in the processofsocialisatidnof anindividual in the society.Socialisationisasocialprocessduring which an individual learnsdirectly or indirectly toplay hisrole in his society.It is a processof transformingabiolo-gicalbeingintoa socialone.

If weare fully awareof the factthatnationalismcanbe inculca-tedthroughsocialisation,weshouldrealisehow literaturecanplayanimportantrole in promotingnationalconsciousness.Therefore,the needto conceptualisewhat is a Malaysiannationalliteratureassumesgreater importance,especiallywith regard to its owndevelopment,for sucha literaturecanbe a most importantagent

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in cultivating the Malaysian consciousnessand identity in ouryounggeneration.

The characteristicsof thepopulationin Malaysia, the historicalbackgroundof the country, and the relationshipwith the neigh-bouring countriesare someof the factors which haveinfluencedthecharacterof theliteraturefound in Malaysia.Thesefactorsareimportantin discussingthe conceptof Malaysiannational litera-ture.

The peopleof Malaysiaare madeup of theindigenousgroups ontheonehand andthe immigrantgroups on the other. Theculturesof theindigenousgroupsarenativetothispart of the world. Theseculturesmay differ from oneanother,but on the whol~they arecognateculturessharing the samehistorical past, similar environ-ments and the samebasesin South East Asian civilisation. Theimmigrantgroups,althoughtheyhavebeensubjectedto newenvi-ronmentsandinfluencedsomewhatby the local culturesandnewrelationships,still retain to a high degreethe culturesof theircountriesof origin.

Thetypesof literaturefound in Malaysiareflect thecharacterofthe Malaysianpopulation.The traditional literaturesof the immi-grantgroupsconsistof thosecarriedoverfrom their countriesoforigin. Meanwhiletherearealso workswritten in the new Malay-sian environment.Sincethesearewritten in the languagesof theparticulargroups,theycanhardlyberecognisedasMalaysianlite-rature,eventhoughtheir contenthassomerelevanceto thiscoun-try.

Besidesthe workswritten in BahasaMalaysiawhich is the offi-cial andnationallanguageof thecountry, therearealsoother lite-rary forms of expressionof the variousindigenousgroups.But ofthese,only those in BahasaMalaysiahaveshowngreatervitalityandhavedevelopedconsciouslyin keepingup with times. How-ever the literaturesof the other groups, noticeablythoseof theIbandan Kadazan,hasshownglimpsesof similar developments.As thesewritingsarenativeto Malaysia,they areeasilyrecogni-sedassuch.

Theliteraryscenein thecountry is verymuch influencedby thehistoricalexperiencesof thepeople.The most recentexperienceiscolonialism. An importantheritageof this is the wide use of theEnglish languagein the country. Although the English languageand literature wereforeign to both the indigenousandthe immi-grantgroups,they were the most influential meansof linguisticandliteraryexpressionat onetime.

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During the colonialdaystheability to usethe English languagewasthemain factor in determininga person’ssocialandeconomicstatus.Beingwell-versedin English literature (or otheraspectsofWestern civilisation) was enough to distinguish a cultured orlearnedpersonfrom an ignoramus.In fact, the English-educatedelite occupiedaspecialstatuswhichcontinuedevenafter Indepen-dence.It wasthis elite groupwhichstruggledto maintain the sta-tus-quoof Englishsoasto preservetheir own interests.They evenunabashedlytried to project their literary works as Malaysiannationalliterature,evenif their claimsweremadeindirectly.

Thechallengefrom thisgroupmustbe takenseriously,becausesuchanattitude is quiteprevalentstill amongMalaysians,that isto regardthingsconnectedwith the West as superiorto thingslocal. Furthermore,sincetechnologicalprogressis often equatedwith westerncivilisation, thereis a lopsidedview with regardtomeasuringa civilisation primarily on the strength of its techno-logical achievements.

Whensucha view-pointhasbecomeentrenched,it is naturalforprejudicesagainst local culturesto be sustained.For examplewithoutevenknowingaboutlocal literature, it isalreadyassumedthat it is inferior to Westernliterature.Whethersuchaview-pointis right or otherwise,thelocalliterature is ignoredby suchpeople.Thatisthe reasonwhy the conceptof aMalaysianliterature mustfirst of all overcomesuchprejudices.

History beforetheperiodof colonialismi.e. before 1786or 1819,representsadecisivefactor in giving characterto the developmentof culture generally and to literary activities in Malaysiaandthroughoutthe Nusantara.Malaysia’sown history is only a fewyearsold, but the history of the indigenouspeoplesandtheir cul-turesin Malaysiagoesback thousandsof years.The factor divi-dingthedifferent culturesin the areais the contactwith externalinfluenceslike India, theIslamicworld,ChinaandtheWest.Therearegroupswhich hadvery little contactwith outsidecivilisationsandthereforeforeign influenceshaveleft very little impressiononthem.However,therearegroupswhoseculturaldevelopmentsarecharacterisedby the acceptanceof elementsform foreigncivilisa-tions.

Groupsbelongingto thefirst type usuallydwelt in the intenor,while thoseof the secondtype lived along the coast. Hencethecultures, including the literature, of the groupsbelongingto thefirst typemanifestlittle changeandvariationcomparedto thoseofthe secondtype.Theseis no questionasto which oneis moremdi-

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genousand which is not, for even though the cultures of thesecondtype absorbedelementsof foreign civilisations, the deve-lopmentof thesecultures,e.g. Malay, Javaneseor Balinesecul-tures. show a processof developmentshaped by indigenousfoundationsand environments.In actual fact, it is the characterfound in Malay, Javaneseand Balinesecultures, thatis, culturesdeveloping through a process of borrowing and synthesisofforeignandlocal cultures,whichshouldbe madethe model for thefurther developmentof cultures in Malaysia. In anthropologicalterms,suchaprocessis known asacculturation,that is, a processof grafting foreign elementsonto the receivingculture harmoni-ouslyovera longperiodof time.

Fromthepointof view of the developmentof culture, thehisto-rical backgroundof this region shouldbe regardedas a moreimportantfactorfor considerationthan the historical periodbegin-ning from the period of British colonialism or eventhe periodbeginningwith theformationof Malaysia.This is becausethecivi-lisation in this regionhascrystallisedoverhundredsof yearssincethedawnof historyin this partof theworld.

Admittedly. it is the Western civilisation which is the mostdominantin theworld today, and it is an importantfactor in sha-ping our own civilisation now and in the future. This cannotbedeniedas our own pastexperienceshaveshown.What, for exam-ple. is Malay culture today if we takeaway thoseelementswhichhadbeenabsorbedfrom the Indian civilisation andthe teachingsof Islam for hundredsof years?Yet, howeverextensiveand how-everdominanttheinfluenceof outsidecivilisationsmay havebeenon the local culture, the resultantcivilisation hasbeenshapedbylocal cultural forces.A long penodof time musthavepassedbeforeany meaningful fusion betweenthe two acculturatingculturescould takeplace.

That is the model we must takewhenconsideringthe possibili-tiesof the growth of our civilisation in time to come. Hencethefuturedevelopmentof Malaysianliterature must be foundedonthe traditionsalreadyexisting amongthe indigenouspeoplesofMalaysia and the literary productswhich had a continuousexis-tence in the Nusantararegionfor hundredsof years,while at thesametime this developmentshouldbeopento suitableinfluencesfrom theoutside.

With the exceptionof Thailand, Malaysia’sneighboursare ex-colonial territones. The political boundriesof thesestatesare inhe-rited from the colonial territories. But the cultural and ethnic

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affinitiesof thepopulationof thesestatestranscendthesenationalboundaries.The vital factor to considernow is the factthat Indo-nesiaand Malaysiahavea common languageas their nationallanguages.The decision to adopt the Malay languageas the uni-fying languagefor the peoplesof Indonesiawho have their xvnregional languagesandculturesis perhapsthe most momentousdicisionmadein thehistoryof this region.It is spokenby over 120million peoplewho givemeaningandvaluetotheir choiceanduseof thelanguage.

Oneof theresults of this factor hasbeenthe birth and growthofa modernliteraturein this language.The developmentof this lite-raturehasa significantmeaningin thedevelopmentof thecivilisa-tion of the peoplesof Nusantara.This literature is not simply asuperiorliteraturecomparedto theregionalliteraturesor cultures,norjust theproductof anelite, nor simply to tool to encouragethespirit of nationalism. It is in fact a manifestationof a force orenergyforcreatingnewbasesuponwhicha newcivilisation canbefounded.This newcivilisation will haveto acceptWesterninfluen-ces,but it hastobe shapedby the matrix found in the indigenouscivilisation of Nusantara.This view is thusopposedto the ideaofdeveloping a Nusantara civihsation based mostly on Westernvaluesandorientations.

Although at this juncture, such venturesmanifest attractivepossibilities,their strengthis basedon materia!ratherthan spiri-tual orientations.A clearexampleof this is to be seenin an over-balancedand disproportionateemphasisgiven to science andtechnology,anemphasison overwhelmingeconomicwealth, or onvaluesbasedentirelyon considerationsof utility. This is theview-pointwhichwould makeusonly look forward andnotbackwardin-to ourpasthistory.

On the other hand,the new civilisation which will arise,basedon thelocal civilisation,will alsosatisfymaterialneedfor techno-logyandscienceare notthe prerogativeof the Westonly, as hasbeenshownbyJapan.And sucha civilisation hasanadvantageasit is alsobasedon spiritualvalues.As anexample,wecantaketheinfluenceof modernIndonesianandEgyptianliteratureson Malayliteraturein itsearlyformativeyears.

WenotethatEnglishliterature left little markon anythingat allof theartistic creativityof the PeninsularMalaysat thetime whentherewasa vacuum in literary productivity amongthem. WhatHappenedwasthat, modernEgyptianand Indonesianliteraturesmadetheir impactbecausethey contain elementseasily recogni-

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sablein Malay culture where it concernsliterary creativity. Al-thoughthereweretendenciestocopysomeof theWesternliteraryproducts,as it wasa fashionduring thosetimesto regardthingsWesternas “civilised or modern”,whattookplacewasthat Eng-lish literary traditionsfound no receptionin the cultural develop-mentsof theMalaysat the time. On theotherhand,the EgyptianandIndonesianliteraryproductswereaccepted.

As a nation,Malaysiahasits own characteristicswith regardtoits indigenouspopulation. It is inherited from the history of thisregionbeforeandafter the adventof Westerncolonialism. In thepre-colonialperiod, thepatternis bestviewedfrom the culturesof

the indigenousgroups themselves;there are those which hadabsorbeda lot of foreignelements,like thecoastalMalay culture,andthereare thosewith aveneerof foreign influences.The indi-genousgroups in Sabahand Sarawakconsistof the Kadazan,Du-sun, Bajau, Sulu, Iban, Bedayoh, Kenyah, Melanau, the coastalMalaysandsoon. Althoughall thegroupscanbe saidto belongtoa commonculturalbase,belongingtoacommonfamily of languag-es (the Austronesian),they have developed many distinctivecultural traits anditems amongthemselves.Every grouphas itsown traditionsin literature (mostly oral), and thesehavefunctionsin thecontextof their owncultures.

What is meant is that, the literature has a function, in theanthropologicalsense,in the cultural life of the members.Liter-atureis not regardedasmerelytheartisticcreationof an individu-al to be evaluatedby thecritics. That isaphenomenonfound onlyin complexsocieties,wheresocialstratificationaswell asspecial-ization (divisionof labour)areclearlyto beseen.In thosesocieties,theevaluationof the arts is strictly confinedto only thosehavinghigh artistic qualities,and referredto as “Great Literature” and“Fine Arts”.

Literaturewhich is directedat the public for commucialendsisnot includedin suchcategories,butcalled “PopularLiterature”.In other words, in a complexsociety,distinctionsare madebet-weenwhat isregardedasLiteraturewith acapital “L” andLitera-turewithasmall“1”. In societieswherethereis alreadyself-cons-ciousnesstowards “Great Literature”, the traditional literaturewhich existsamongthe lower classesor groups in the outlyingareas is often overlooked and bypassed.Even if it is givenattention, it is studiedasa part of the local culture or as “folktraditions”.

Not much of the traditional literature among the indigenous

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groupsin SabahandSarawakhas beencollectedsofar, let alonestudied.Whatis knowncomesfrom the notesof theethnographersandanthropologistswho havebeenstudingthe societiesandcul-turesof theindigenouspeoplesof SabahandSarawak.

The literatureof theindigenouspeoplesof SabahandSarawakisno different from similar literaturesof Nusantara.The variousformsof literaryexpressionsfulfil different needsin thesocial lifeof the people.Myths about Gods, supernaturalbeings,culture-heroesandsacredsaints(kera mat) form the foundationsof theirbeliefsor religioussystems.Aetiologicaltalesrelatingthe originsof the world, flora and fauna in their environment explain therituals and festivals connectedwith harvesting and so on. Pro-verbs, riddles, songs, dirges and customary sayings are notmerelybeautifulexpressions,butaremeaningfulandprovidetheframework for desiredbehaviourin society. But more important,such literary expressions,whethernarrativesor otherwise,aremanifestations of the peoples’ weltonschauung (world-views)andethos (soc~alvalues)of aculture.

The relationshipbetweenthe realitiesof everydaylife and thecreationof literature is shownthrough symbolism. The symbo-lism is not only thelanguageusedfor literaryexpressionbut alsothe charactersandactionswhich reflectsuchvaluesasgood/bad,rough/fine or beautiful/ugly, and concepts such as sacred!profane,truth/falsity, cleanliness/dirtiness,nature/man-madeasmeasuredandconceivedin that society.In short, to really under-standaculture,onemustunravelall thesymbolsexpressedin lite-rature,dances,songs,rituals andother forms of symbolic actionin thesociety.

So what we get in Sabahand Sarawakis that each indigenousgroup has its own traditional literature. Besides knowing his ownliterature,the nativeof SabahandSarawakmay alsohavea know-ledgeof English literature becauseit is part of the school curri-culum. Now when literature in BahasaMalaysia is introducedtoschoolsandcolleges,it is notonlyknown totheMalaystudentsbutalso to other children. Besides, there is the Borneo LiteratureBureau(now takenover by Dewan Bahasadan Pustaka,SarawakandSabahBranches)which publishestraditional literaturetranslatedeitherinto BahasaMalaysiaor into theotherlanguages.

When thereis enoughinteractionbetweenthe various indige-nousgroups (and other groups as well), there will be enoughopportunityfor the literaturesof eachgroupto be madeknown tothe others. In this context,with Malay as the traditional lingua

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franca in the pastandnow asthe national/official languageof thecountry, thereis every opportunityfor literature in Malay to beknown widely. Bearing in mind that the indigenousgroupshavethesameculturalbases,it is notexpectedto beagreatproblemfortheother indigenousgroupsto understandandappreciatethe lite-raturein Malay.

Through social communicationand educationliterature in theMalay languagein Sabahand Sarawakdevelopedon the samelines as in West Malaysia which in turn is influenced to someextent by developmentsin Indonesia. It is undeniablethat a newliterature in Malay hasdevelopedin Sabah,and to somelesserextent, in Sarawak,and in effect, it is part of the samepheno-menonasthegeneraldevelopmentof modernMalay literature inthe20thcenturyin WestMalaysia.

Many commonfeaturesare to beseenin SabahandSarawakonthe onehandandWest Malaysiaon the other: thereare writerswho consciouslycreateliterary works in forms distinguishablefrom the traditional ones; there are self-consciousdiscussionsonthesenewformsof literature;thereareorganisationsandgroupsinvolved in literary activities; andfinally, the literary works aredisseminatedthroughthemassmedia,especiallynewspapersandmagazines.And thereis contactbetweenthe literature of Sabahand Sarawakand West Malaysia, especiallythrough the writersthemselves.Quite a numberof writers from WestMalaysiahavesettleddowninSarawakandSabahsincethe SecondWorld War.

In this section,I try to discussthe relationshipbetweenthe lite-raturesof the indigenousgroupsand the literature in Malay, forthe questionhere toucheson the interrelationshipbetweentheindigenousliteraturesand the conceptof Malaysian literature.Oneis remindedof parallelquestionsinvolving writers in Europein thepast.Therise of nationalismin Europehadcausedthe Euro-peanwriters to seekinspirationfrom works reflecting only the natio-nal identityandcharacterof their respectivenations.A significantpoint is that someof thesewriters had found inspiration in thetraditionsof the humblefolk, thepeasantrywho lived awayfromthe culturedcentresof their nations.Irish writers like JohnMil-lington SyngeandWilliam Butler Yeatsemergedasgreatauthorsin world literature becausethey were successfulin capturingandrecreatingin new idioms the humanisticvaluesof the folk tradi-tionsof the Irish peasantry.Therewasnoquestionof their wantingto turn the clock backor inhibit the modernizationprocessesoftheir peoples.Hereliesthe differencebetweenusingtraditionsto

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seekout new meaningsfor the presentandthe attemptsto revivethemoutof nostalgicandromanticnotionsof thegloriouspast.

The literature in Malay will be further enriched and becomemeaningfulif it were to takein elementsequally indigenousfromthe literaturesof the other indigenousgroups. This would notmeanthat we aregoing back into pasthistory. Ratherwe wouldrecreatethe indigenouselementsby giving them new meaningsandpurposein our efforts to build the new culturein Malaysiainthetimesahead.

In practicalterms,efforts to introducethe traditional literaturesof the Muruts, Kadazan,Dusun, Bajau, Sulu, Iban, Bedayoh,Ke-nyah and Melanaumust be redoubled.The first step is to collectandtranscribetheliteratures,whichatthe momentexistmostlyasoral traditions.Thecollection of oral narrativesand other literaryforms with ethnographicalnotesaboutthem mustbe in the origi-nal languagesand laterarchived.Effortsmustbe madeto renderthem into BahasaMalaysia,butsuchrenderingsmustretaintheiroriginal characteristics.And theserenderingsmustbeturnedintoschool readersto be usedas part of the literature coursesinschools.In thisway the socialvaluesandweltanschauung in theseliterarypiecescanthusbetransmittedto our youngergenerations,becauseamongthem will emergenew writers for the Malaysianliteratureof tomorrow.

As for thewritersof thepresentgeneration,they shouldnotjustlook uponthesetraditional literaturesascuriosities.They shouldtry todrawdeeplyfrom theseliteraturesandunderstandwhy theyhavesurvivedall theseyears.In this respect,thewriters in SabahandSarawakare in abetterpositionto exploit the situationasthematerialsare much richer in those areasthan in West Malaysia.Thatis reallywhat is expectedfrom thewriters in the interestsofthefurtherdevelopmentof Malaysianliterature.

Thesituationdescribedaboveis theresultof manyfactorswhichwe havediscussed.The picture we get is that in a newemergingnation thereare to be found variousforms of literaryexpression:literature inherited from the colonial period written in English,literatureof the immigrantgroupswritten in their own languages,thetraditional literatureof the variousindigenousgroupsexistingfor hundredsof years,andliteraturein Malaywhichhasdevelopedfqr centuriesandis now forging newandmoderntraditions.

It is without doubtthat theliteraturein Malay is themost logicalchoice to provide the foundation for the further developmentofNationalMalaysianliterature.

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This is not merely becauseMalay astransformedinto BahasaMalaysiais the nationaland official languageof the country.Themoreimportantreasonis that, comparedto otherforms of litera-ture, it hasthe necessaryadvantagesto makeit thefoundationforthe futuredevelopmentof a nationalliteraturefor Malaysia.It hasa long history, a tradition nurturedwithin the environmentof theindigenouspeoplesof the region, and this tradition developandgrowsmeetingthe needsof thetimes,andmostimportant,at thiscrucial stage, it is sensitiveto the socio-political situationof thecountry. Besides,it hasa closerelationshipwith the literature ofIndonesia,our closestandmostimportantneighbour.

The lastfactor is importantin strengtheningthe spiritualbondsin SoutheastAsia, which hithertohavebeenprojectedin termsofa commonhistorical pastand common cultural basesamongthedifferent peoples.The traditional literaturesof the other indige-nous groups have an important role to play in the conceiving offurtherdevelopmentsof Malaysianliteraturebecausetheytoo hadgrown and developedwithin the local environment. We have

alreadydiscussedthe interrelationshipbetweenthe indigenousliteratures.What shouldbeemphasisedis the fact that of all theindigenousliteratures,only the literaturein Malay hasdevelopedto apointwhereit hasforged a 20thcenturytradition, thegrowthof whichparallelssocio-politicaldevelopmentsin thecountry.

Indirectly it hasbeenstatedthat the nationalMalaysianlitera-ture hasalreadyexisted,that is the literaturewirtten in BahasaMalaysia.But theroleof thetraditionalliteratures,eitherin Malayor in the other indigenouslanguages,in developingthe new tra-ditions of Malaysian literature has not been fully recognised orrealised.To havea strong tradition asbaseis important in thedevelopmentandgrowth of a culture.This doesnot meanthat theculturewill developsolely on what it inherits:a cultureis dynamicandit changesfrom time totime.

The tradition as the baseprovides the backgroundwhich givescharacterto furtherdevelopment.At least,the traditional indige-nousliteraturesprovidethe historicaldepthfor the nationallitera-ture, its origins, its developmentandits changesin a longpathoftime.Moreover,althoughMalaysianliterature hasalreadyexistedin works in Malay, theconceptwe mustbuild for a nationallitera-turemustnotstopat that.

As the use of BahasaMalaysia as the national and officiallanguageof the landwill not eradicatethe otherlanguagesin thecountry, similarly the drive to developa nationalMalysian litera-

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ture doesnot meanthat literaturesin other languageswill disap-pear. Besides literature, there are other culture expressionslikesongs, dancesor dramawhich will continue to flourish in thesubculturesbecausethey fulfil the socio-cultural needs, havemeaningsandfunctionsin social life of the groups.Similarly withthe literature in English: although it is often regardedas the directinheritor of the colonial literature, it still providesspiritualsatis-faction to certain groups, including expatriates who, for sometime to come, will still apparentlybe involved in business,indust-ries and the plantationsin the country. The short spanof timesinceMalaysiaachievedits independenceis notsufficientto eradi-cate attitudesand view-points nurturedover the last hundredyearsor so, and moreover,we cannot ignore the dominating influencesof the Westtoday.

Two view-pointsareoften expressedwhendiscussingnationalMalaysianliteratureor otherarts.The first rejectsasMalaysianliterature and art forms those which are alien to the indigenoustraditions. Such a view does not considerthe fact that a cultureusuallyenrichesitself throughborrowingandabsorbingelementsofothercultureswithwhich it hascomeinto contact.

In our countryat present,not only arethe culturesof the immi-grantgroupsin directcontactwith the indigenouscultures,but weareall withoutexceptionexposedto thepopularartsandentertain-mentswhich prevail all over the world today, suchaspop music,abstractpaintings,songsby the Beatles,Westernpopularlitera-ture andsoon. If we can accepton radio and televisiondances,songs, music and film from countriesas diverseas Germany,U.S.A.,Britain andJapan,weshouldbe ableto accepttheartisticexpressionsof thosewho live within our own borders.But it wouldbemisplacedif suchartistic expressionsareprojectedas nationalMalaysianarts.

Whatcanbesaid is that the literaturesof the othersubculturescan contributeto the developmentof national literature whichmust,however,bebasedon literary productsgrown andnurturedwithin theenvironmentnativeto thiscountry.

Thesecondview is that thenationalMalaysianliteraturecanbecreatedby fusing the literary elementsfrom various literatures.The mostfacile exampleeversuggestedis apoemin a mixture ofEnglishandMalay. Sucha view doesnot understandthe natureofculturaldevelopments,and treatsculturelike a chemicalmixtureor a rojak. Thefusionof elementsalien tooneanotherneedsabase

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from a particular culture soas to give characterto the resultantdevelopmentof thefusion.

In the history of Nusantara,we haveobservedthat in civiliza-tionsreferredto asthe “Indian period” or “Islamic period”, thereis anacculturationof foreignandlocal cultures,suchthat the endresult displaysits own stampand mark. This meansthat the civili-zationsduring thoseperiodsin history differ in characterfrom thecivilazationsof India, Persiaor Arabia during the sameperiods.Thus, it is only by having thebasein the literaturein Malay, andalso by having the other literary traditionsmaking their appro-priatecontributionsthata traditionalliteraturein timetocomewilldevelopits ow~stamp,projectingthe Malaysianidentity.

Thegrowth of a wholesomeMalaysianculture, that is a culturewhich is ableto createmeetingpoints for the varioussubculturesof socio-culturalintegration,will take a long time to materialise.The nationalsystemof education,given through the mediumofBahasaMalaysia, for example,will not leave any imprint untilafter1983, that is if it is implementedasexpected.But thespanoftime takenwill bethecrucialformativefactor ultimately,andnotahindrance,for time will decide whether the seedsplantedwillgrow into stronghealthyplantswith roots firmly implanted in thesoil on which they grow. It is equally importantthat during thistime wechooseand selectwhich seedsareworthwhile andwhicharenotfor it is theseseedsthatwill give rise tothecharacterof thenationalculturereflectingnationalidentity.

Theconceptof a nationalMalaysianliteratureis oneof theseedsfor this objective. Although eachsubcultureand group in thecountrywill have its own form of literary expression,what is thenationalliteratureis theoneacceptedby all astheirown literature.Such literary productswill link the peoplesof Malaysiaat thenationallevel of socio-culturalintegration,buttheother literatureswill live and function at the subcultural level of socio-culturalintegration.

In actuality, the seedsfor the nationalMalaysianliteraturearealreadyplantedandgrowing, that is the literaturein Malay. Butfurther growth will have to be nurtured through a conceptualframework, far wider than we have at the moment, so that infuture it will reallyprovidea lingking systembetweenthe subcul-turesthroughworksregardedas the “Great Literary Tradition” ofthecountry.

Thedevelopmentof Malaysiannationalliteraturemustgive riseto a high-qualityliterature which is not only rich and varied, but

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alsoone imbuedwith thevalues, weltanschauungandaspirationsof thepeople.Sucha literaturewill not materialiseif the writersthemselvesare alienatedfrom the existing traditions, for thesetraditionsform a bridge betweenwhat has passedandwhat is tocome. In this context, the history of Malay literature from itsoriginsto theijresentdaymustbemadethebasisfor theeducationof our buddingwritersandthe intellectualsin our society.

Whatis meantby literary history is not merelyan expositionofits growthfrom onepoint in the time scaleto another;it shouldbea picture of contributionandchangein ideas, social values, artforms andwriters’ aspirations,and all this related to the socialconditionsof the time. Besidesthat, thetraditionalliteratureof theindigenousgroupsshouldbe widely disseminatedthroughBahasaMalaysia, andmadecompulsoryreadingin schools.Literaturesinother languages,bearingMalaysianthemes,shouldbe translatedinto BahasaMalaysia, so that theseworkswill further enrich thenationalliterature.

The conceptof a national Malaysianliterature will not achievethe desiredaims if the literary works do not reachthe commonpeopleas widely aspossible.Thus a literaturein a languagewide-ly usedby thepeoplewill haveabetterimpactthanonein a langu-agewhoseuseis limited to certainsegmentsof thepeopleonly. Asliterature is a more effective transmitterof social valuescomparedto otherarts,it is an importantagentof socialisation.It must beemphasised,therefore,that nationalMalaysianliteraturemustbetaught as an importantsubject in schools, that is, as a subjectwhichwill help in nurturing theawarenessof aMalaysianidentityin theyoungergeneration.

The conceptof Malaysiannationalliteraturewill haveneedforworkswhicharesensitiveto theproblemsof nationaldevelopmentin the widest senseof the word. On the otherhand,art becomessterileand insipid’if controlled. Fora healthygrowth of art, theremust be freedomfor the artists to createtheir works, that is,freedom boundedonly by a senseof morality and humanity.Therefore,theremustbe a balancebetweenthe needto be sensi-tive towardsnationaldevelopmentsandthe needto encourageahealthydevelopementof artisticendeavours.Theremustalsobe aplace for “popular literature”, like detective stories,mystery novels,adventuresandlight romances.

Finally, what can be regardedas the ideal Malaysianworkswould bethosewhich in thecontextof the Malaysianenvironmentcouldpassthe testof being “Great Literature”. And to havethis

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traditionof “GreatLiterature”, theremustbean elite which takesuponitself the taskof preservingandnurturinghighly literary andartistic valuesin the national literature. In other words, at thehighestlevel, that is at the nationallevel of socio-culturalintegra-tion, we get seriousworks of high quality which encompasstheworksfound in thesubcultures.Oneof the measurementsneededfor literatureat this level is its sensitivityto thenationalissuesandnational development,especially in terms of spiritual develop-ment. In this respect,wecannotignoretheimportantcontributionbeingmadeby the presentliteraturein Malay in its role as the baseforthe future developmentof Malaysian national literature. Theliterature in Malay reflectsthe seriousnessand sensitivity of thewriters towardsthe upheavalsand issuesof the society at large.The themeschosenby the writers in Malay rangebeyondthOsefound in Malay subcultureonly, but encompassissuesandproblemsfoundin theMalaysiansocietyasawhole.Onecaneasilyseethisthroughthe sajak, short-stonesor novels in Malay written since 15 or 20 yearsago.

ForMalaysia,which is a developingnation with a populationofmany cultures, the needto project a national identity amongitspeoplesin the yearsto comeis a crucial problem.Artistic workscancontributetowardsthe efforts to build up the identity. Of allthe arts, literatureseemsto be most useful andeffective: firstlybecauseit useslanguagewhich is the mediumof communicationineverydaylife, andsecondlybecauseliteraturecanbe an importantsocialisation tool for individuals in Malaysian society,as in literaryworks are to be found, in symbolic forms, the social values, Weltans-chauung andlife aspirationsof theculturewhich givesriseto it.

Thus there must be a thinking towardsthe developmentofMalaysian national literature. Factors such as historical back-ground,the populationcharacterandrelationshipwith the neigh-bouringcountrieshavegiven rise to many typesof literary worksin Malaysia. But thoseworks which arenative to the soil shouldbe the basesfor further developmentof truly national Malaysianliteraturein yearsto come.

Thedevelopmentof Malaysiannationalliteratureappearsto beoneof the manyprocessesthroughwhich a new civilisation basedon local cultureswill rise in this partof theworld. Of all the litera-turesof the variousindigenousgroups,the one in Malay seemstobe themost logical one to be takenasa basefor further develop-ment of Malaysianliterature.This is not only becauseMalay hasbeenchosenas the official/nationallanguageof the country, but

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therearetwo othermoreimportantcontributoryfactors.Firstly, ifcomparedto the other indigenousliteratures,it is the one whichhasshowncontinueddevelopment,sincecenturiesago,andat themomentit is forging a new traditionwhich is mindful of the needsof thecountryat themoment.Secondly,thedevelopmentof litera-ture in Malay has close connectionswith the developmentofmodernIndonesianliterature.The secondfactor is important inthesensethat it showsa regionalbasisin developinga local civili-zationin meetingthechallengesof Westernconceptsandvalues.

The contributory role of the other indigenousliteraturestowardsfurther developmentof the national literature must be emphasi-sed.It is in this that we can seean interplaybetweenthe variousindigenouscultures.The literary works of the indigenousgroupsreflect the various cultures native to the Malaysiansocial systemsfor ages.All thevaluesandweltanschauungwhichcanbegatheredfrom the traditional works can be re-evaluatedby presentandfuturewriters, in order to fulfil the needsof the time andthoseofthe Malaysiansocietyasawhole. A heavyresponsibilitywill haveto be borneby our writersof today.

Thosewho~haveyet to learnto writeSin BahasaMalaysiashouldtry to havetheir works madeavailablein the national languageifthey want their works to be in the mainstreamof truly nationalMalaysian literatures. Those already writing in Bahasa Malaysiamustcontinuewith thetraditionthey haveforged,but from nowonthey must widen their horizons.They should not overlook thetraditional literaturesof theother indigenousgroupsandmustbesensitiveto theotherliteraturesfound in the country.Theyshouldstrive towards works of high quality, commensuratewith thestatusof “Great Literature” in theMalaysiancontext

For the intellectualelite, they must takeseriously the literaryworks of their country. They should strive, either directly orindirectly, to work for agreattradition to be establishedin litera-ture. Andfinally, the governmenttQo shouldshouldersomeof theresponsibilitiesin thinking towardsthe developmentof a Malay-sian national literature asa contributionto the establishmentofMalaysianculturalidentity in thetimestocome.

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8MYTHIC ELEMENTS

IN MALAY HISTORIOGRAPHY

In his introductionto a collection called The Variety of History:From Voltaire to the Present, FritzSternpointsoutthat “history...variesas the life andspirit of different agesvary, andthat is whyat differenttimesandin differentcountriesdiversetypesof historyhave prevailed”.’ To the modern academichistorian, the Malayhistoriesor sejarah would notproperlybecalledhistory. Theprob-lem as seenby a modern historian is to assesshow the Malaysejarah can provide historical informationon pastevents.In thisrespect, works like Sejarah Melayu, Hikayat Acheh or Tuhfat-an-Nafis may not be able to contribute in the way the Dutch orEnglishfactory or companyrecordscan.But thefactremainsthattheMalay historieswerea socio-culturalexpressionof the Malaysociety in the past.They were not merely a literary expression:they were a distinctive genre in the totality of classical Malay lite-rature.While the Malay sejamhmay not tell us much of the historyof theMalaystatesin thepast,theycanbeusefulsourceto enligh-tenusas to why and how they cameto be written in sucha man-ner. Thispaperattemptsto look at the Malay historiesnot merelyas a socio-culturalproduct of their time, but also as a psycho-cultural expressionof the Malay historiansof a bygoneage. Theauthorsof the Malay sejarah were individuals aswell aspartici-pants of a particular culture.2 As Fritz Stern points out further,“In thelastanalysiswhatwill shapea particular historyis thehis-torian’sconceptionof the past,whetheror not he hasformulated

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it, whetheror not he is fully consciousof it. Theseconceptions,compoundedof tradition and temperament,governthe writing ofhistory”: The authors of the historical writings in Sterm’s collec-tion areknown, and this makesit easierto correlatethe type ofhistorical writing with the personalityof the author, his purposeandthe moodof hissocietyandtime. With theMalay histories,thetask is definitely harderfor the authorsarealmostwholly anony-mous and hardly any external information is available of the au-thors themselves.’ With this limitation in mind, we are thereforeforced to talk in generalterms.What we are interestedin is toexamine the world-view and also the ethos of the writers of theMalay sejarah.

The modernreadercan at oncedistinguishtwo main kinds ofinformation conveyedby the Malay histories. On the one hand,thereare those irrational narrativeswhich we today would-ordina-rily ascribeto the realmof folklore ratherthan accountsof every-day happenings.5Theseinclude such tales of princes and prin-cessescomingoutof bamb’ooclumpsor foamin thesea,the genea-logies of kings tracedto figures like Iskandar Dzulkarnain, thelegend of Wan Empo’ and Wan Malini, or tales of the “sagaciouselephant”pointing out the future ruler of a state.On the otherhand,thereareepisodeswhich to our critical minds today may beacceptedas containingelementsof truth or at least plausible interms.of human action and situation. As narratives’they arematter-of-factandalmostdevoidof marvellouselements.Fromthepoint of historical writing today, suchepisodesmay not evenbeacceptedashistorical truths, or they may be regardedmerelyaspseudo-history.The rigid criterion of academichistorianswoulddemanddocumentarysubstantiationof thefactsrelated.In Malayhistories, the shortcoming appears to be the trivial motivationsthat underlie the actions narrated.Wars are not usually waged foreconomicor political motivesbut for humanreasonssuchas love,insult or jealousy.However,evenin this categoryof information,we do get themesand motifsb which we can immediately recogniseas “unhistorical”. One good example is the theme of how SultanMansurSyahgot thebetterof the Emperorof Chinaas recountedin SejarahMelayu. While we may notfind it very difficult to sepe-rate the two kinds of information suggestedhere, it is admittedlydifficult to makea clear-cutdivision betweenthe folkloristic ele-ments characteristicof the first type of information and the“unhistorical” themesandmotifswhich sometimesembellishthesecondtype. The story of SultanMahmud wanting to marry the

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Princessof GunungLedangin SejarahMelayuandthatof IskandarMuda showingextraordinaryprowessduring his early years inHikayat Achehare two casesin point. Thesethemesmay appearfolkloristic, but I am inclined to believe that they are morethanthat.They may appearto be allegorical and hyperbolicto us, butsuch taleswere not strangeto the belief-systemof the Malaysinthe past,or for that matter, of the Malay peasantrytoday. I shallcomebacktothis point later.

Ihe two kinds of informationcanbe clearly illustratedby Hika-yat Sen Kelantanwhich I onceedited.7 Structurally,thecontentofthis hikayat can be divided into two parts. The first half of thehikayat is supposedto dealwith theearlierperiodof the historyofKelantan,while the latter half dealswith the history of the stateaboutthebeginningof the nineteenthcentury.What is significantis the fact that the two partsmore or lesscoincidewith the twokinds of information suggestedhere. The first half containsvarioustalesaboutcharacterswho purportedlyonceruled Kelan-tanandthe surroundingareasandwho now live on in the oral tra-ditionsof the local people.Today, the namesof Encik Siti WanKembangand Tuan Puteri Saadongare invoked wheneverthelocal folk talk aboutthe “ancienthistory” of their state.It is inte-restingto notethat the episodesrelatedby the hikayatin this sec-tion might notevenstretchbackto thesixteenthcentury,but theyareshroudedin a mist which only thosefamiliar with Malay histo-ries can understand.It is equally interesting that place-namesmentionedin the hikayat arestill to be found in Kelantan.Land-marks like Bukit MarakandKampungMahligai, a hill and a vil-lagenearKotaBharu, thepresentcapitalof the state,areconnec-ted, in the local oral traditions,with Encik Siti WanKembangandTuanPuteri Saadong.Thusthefirst half of the hikayat can tell usvery little abouttheactualhistory of thestateasa historianwouldlike to have it. Onething is clear,however,the sectionhasacloseconnectionwith the folklore of the local people.But as far as thefolk are concerned,and this is implied in the hikayat also, suchtalesare “historical”.

It is in the secondpart of HikayatSen Kelantan that we getaccountswhich we today may accept as “historical” Comparedtothe precedingportion, the stories here are not folkloristic butmatter-of-fact. In this part of the hikayat, the author keepsto astraight-forwardform of narration, recountingthe eventson amundanelevel. Here we get events that are supposedto haveoccuredduring the reignsof sultanswhosegravesin the !anggar

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(royal cemetery)at Kota Bharutoday offer us tangible evidencethat they oncelived andruledthe state.In otherwords wecannotvouch that the happeningsrelated in the hikayat actually tookplace,butat the sametime it would be difficult to reject them ashistoricallyuntrue.Somecan evenbe substantiatedby other reli-ablesources.The point is that while we arenot going to examinethe events in the light of present-dayrequirementsof historicalevidence,we haveto acceptthe fact that they area kind of infor-mationwhichwecannotrejectasmerelyfictitious. Howeverintert-wined within this sectionare someepisodeswhich we can easilyrecogniseas “unhistorical”. Long Junus,whose grave we canfind in the Langgar in Kota Bharu, is historically acceptedas thefounderof thepresentdynastyin Kelantan.Hikayat Sen Kelantangivesa longaccountof Long Junusto thetimehe becamethe rulerof Kelantan.Oneof theepisodesaboutLong Junustellsushow heand his friend Long Jaffar helpedthe Sultan of TrengganutothwartaBugineseprince’sdesignto takeover the statethroughacockfight. Long JunusandLong Jaafarprovidedthe fighting cockfor theSultanof Trengganuandtheir cock won thefight. Gratefulfor this action, theSultan of Trengganuhelpedto establishLongJunusastheruler of Kelantan.This episodeis quite innocuousofmarvellouselements,butthe motif of countriesbeingwon throughcock-fightsis a widespreadmotif not only in Malay historiesbutalsoin oral traditions.

The “unhistorical” elements,however,warrantour attention.While they may not be exactlysimilar to the folkloristic informa-tion of the first type,they areneverthelessquite distinct from thematter-of-factaccountscharacteristicof the secondtype of infor-mation. We canleaveto the academichistoriansto dealwith thesecondtypeof information in theMalay histories,for it is only thiskind of data that can be useful to their purpose.The folkloristicnarrativesand the “unhistorical” themesand motifs, however,arecentraltothe approachwe havein mind regardingthe Malayhistories.Wearenotconcernedwith theuseof theMalayhistoriesasa sourcefor historical study, but rather asa source to under-standthe historiesnot onlyasa socio-culturalproduct, butalsoasa psycho-culturalexpression.

Our critical mind can distinguishthe two typesof informationgivenin theMalay histories.It appearsstrangeto usthat thedua-lity in thoughtcanappearside by side andat timesintermingles.Wewould makethe distinction todaybetweenthe mundanereportingof everydayeventsin the newspapersand the marvellousfairy-

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taleswe tell our childrenor the impossibleanticof the charactersin thecartoonstrips.But it doesnotappearto bethe samewith thewayof thinking of the Malaywritersof historiesin theold daysoreven with that of the Malay folk who still tell and believe inlegendsrecountingpasteventsandexplainingthe origins of locallandmarks.Ourcritical thinking today is circumscribedby ourcul-ture and civilization: that is to sayour perceptionof things andeventarebasedupon our knowledgeand way of thinking. Thereare certainthingswhichare acceptableto our minds and certainotherswhicharenot.Therearelimits towhichwerespondin eitherbeliefor disbelief.This is what, in Dr. David Bidney’swords, the“psycho-cultural attitude or degreeof belief”.8 Thus we use theword “myth” to describethe elementsof belief held by othersbutnotby us.

Dr. Bidney suggeststhat the term ‘myth’ whenusedin connec-tion with belief “refers relativelyto any beliefwhich we discredit,although acceptableto others in the past or the present”.9As Ihavesaid above,the secondtypeof information conveyedby theMalayhistoriesis acceptabletous:wecanaccepttheplausiblity ofthe happeningsevenif they are not takenas historical truths. Itis the folkloristic and “unhistorical” themesand motifs that weconnotacceptbecauseof their irrationalandabsurdcontents.Butat the sametime we recognizethe factthat thesethemesandmotifsareanexpressionwhichstandssideby sidewith thesecondtypeofinformationwithin thetotality of theMalayhistories.We maythuscall thesethemesand motifs mythic elementsfollowing Bidney’sformulation.Ourown belief-systemmaydiscountthesenarratives,but we cannotdeny the fact that they are the productsof thethoughtsof menwho belongto aparticularcultureandtime in his-tory. Bidney has also suggestedthat it is reasonableto lookupon mythic belief as the product of “precritical, critical andscientificthought”. Accordingto him:

In precriticalculturesanimistictalesof cultureheroesandof magic and epic cosmogoniaand theogonicmythstend toprevail. In critical, prescientificculturesmythsof the miracu-lous and supernaturalgain currency. In scientific thought,thereis atendencyto discountnarrativesof the miraculousorsupernatural,but to acceptsecularmyths instead.In our so-calledscientificculturewehavethesecularbeliefsof pseudo-science,suchasthemythsof racialsuperiorityandthestereo-typesof racialandnationalcharacter.’°

As mythicelements,thefolkloristic and“unhistorical” episodes

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canactuallybelooked upon from two pointsof view — diachronicand synchronic.When we discusssuchthemesand motifs in thecontextof the Malay histories,we are viewing the questionin adiachronicperspective.But if we bearin mind that similar narra-tivesstill prevail in the form of oral legendsand talesamongtheMalayvillage folk, weare looking from a synchronicpointof view.If we follow Bidney’s postulation,the folkloristic and “unhistori-cal” elementsare the productsof precriticalandcritical but pres-cientific thoughts.“History” as known by the Malay folk differsfrom the “history” onelearnsin schoolstoday. So, from a synch-ronic point of view, “history” as conceivedby precritical and criti-cal butprescientificthoughtsstill prevailsin certaingroupsof theMalay society today.” The mythic elementsin the Malay historiesare to be examinedin a diachronicperspectivebecausethe Malaysejarah is aproductof the societyandculture at one point on thehistoricalcontinuum.As we today would incorporatecertainele-mentsin the Malay historiesinto our own historical writing aftersubjectingthemto the critical demandsof the discipline,we canexpectthat the Malay historiestoowould representa cumulativeknowledgeor tradition. The writer of the Malay sejarah not onlywroteor compiled hiswork asanindividual of his timebuthealsohadaccessto thecumulativetraditionsof his cultureprior to thattime. If lookedfrom this pointof view, we may beableto explainthe two types of information we get in the Malay histories. Thefolkloristic elementsaretheexpressionof the precriticaltraditionsinheritedby theMalay “historian”, while thesecondtypeof infor-mation, including the “unhistorical” elementsembeddedin them,is the manifestationof the critical but prescientificthoughtof histimeandculture.

The mythic elementsin the Malay historiesare as much theresult of an interplayof cultural traditionsand the personalityoftheauthorsas in thecaseof the secondtype of information refer-redto in this paper.TheMalayhistoriesthathavecomedown to ushadbeenwrittenduringa periodwhichspannedoverthreeor fourhundredyearsasrepresentedby Hikayat Raja-RajaPasai & oneend and Tuhfat-al-Nafis at the other, and over an area fromKedah in the north to Borneo in the south. But within that periodof timeandthatareaof space,theMalay historieshavedisplayedcertaincommon characteristicswhich could only have stemmedfrom a moreor lesscommonculture.But the point in time is animportantvariableto note.Evena cursoryobservationcantell usthat therearemuch moreof mythic elementsin I-Iikayat .Raja-Raja

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Pasai slightly less in Hikayat Acheh and much less in Tuhfat-an-Nafis. There is, it seemsto me, a correlation between thequantityof mythic elements,particularly thefolkloristic ones,andthe time whenaparticularsejarah is supposedto havebeenwrit-ten. And this in turn reflectsthe placeof aparticular sejarah on ahypothetical continuum where at one pole we have precriticalthoughtandat theotherself-correctingscientific thought.Thuswemay have Hikayat Raja-RajaPasai nearerone end of the conti-nuum and Tuhfat-an-Nafis closer to the other. Miraculous andma!vellous themesand motifs permeateHikayat Raja-Raja Pasatalmostthroughout.Thefolkloristicelementsareparticularly heavyin theearlierpart of the hikayat,but in the latter sectionwhenthehikayatdealswith SultanAhmadPerumudalPerumalandhis son,Tun BeraimBapa, supernaturaland magicalmotifs are nonethe-less abundant. Compare this with Tuhfat-an-Nafis. Raja Au Hajiwasthemostcritical of theMalayhistoriansof old. Whenreferringto thetraditionwhich saidthat the ancestryof theBugineseprinc-es couldbetracedbackto “Puteri Balkis”, hecould nothelp beingsarcasticabout it. Hewassoconsciousof his task that hisprayer,‘~Mengharapiaku akanAllah Ta’ ala yang mengampunidaripadatersalah pada segala towarikh dan perjalananNya”, can easily be aprayer of a modern historian. So, it is with Tuhfat-an-Nafisthat weget a Malay history as a product of a critical self-correctingthought-

The mythic elementsin the Malay historiesare thereforeto beviewedasa psycho-culturalproductof the Malay historianof thepast.Theseelementsaredrawnfrom the cognitivepatternsof thecultureasa wholeand the perceptionof the historiansas indivi-dualsin the society.The folkloristic themesandmotifs are tradi-tions which help the authorsof the Malay sejarah to explain thedistantpast.Thesourcesof theseelementsthemselveswould war-ranta detailedresearchof their own, for thereare recurrentthe-mesand motifs which may also be found in otherculture areas.Not all the folkioristic elements show pre-Hindu indigenoustraits,therearesomewhichmusthavearisenfrom aknowledgeofIndian belief and narrative traditions. The motif of a being co-mingforth from a bambooclumpis aclearexample.

If we look at the structureof the Malay histories,we cangene-rally observethat the mythic elementsconsistingof folkloristicthemesandmotifsusuallyprecedethemore“historical” elementsof the secondtypeof informationwetalk aboutin this paper.Thiswehaveseenin HikayatSenKelantan- A regularpatternemerges

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when we examinethesefolkloristic elements.As has beensaidabove,thesethemesandmotifs seemto explainthe distantpastofthe history of the statethe authoris dealingwith. And that mistypastdoesnotonly meananarrayof personagestobe relatedsome-how to the dynastywhich is actuallythe central themeof aparti-cularwork, butalsoeventsandplaceswhichhavesomebearingonthe state in question.The antecedentsof the kings of MalaccainSejanahMelayu.rangefromIskandarDzulkarnain,RajaNushirwanAdil andRajaKida Hindi to the kingsof Palembangandold Singa-pore(Temasik). Similarly the history of Pasaitakesinto accountMerah Gajah, Puteri Betong, Merah Silu (Silau?) and MerahHasum. Hikayat Merong Mahawangsaprovides the starting pointof the history of Kedahby bringing in MaharajaRom and Maha-raja China, the two greatkings (andkingdoms)the old Malay his-torian musthavebeenfamiliar with from ancienttraditions.Oneofthe commonfolkloristic elementsto be found in the Malay histo-riesconcernsvariousplace-names.Eventsarerecountedasto howland markswhich havesurvivedto thetime of the authorcametobear particular names or certain characteristics.Themesandmotifs concerningthe eventsareoften to be found in more thanone sejarah. It is also significant to note that these themesandmotifs usuallyfit the kind of expressionof a precriticalcultureasoutlined by Dr. Bidney. A comparativestudy of recurrentthemesand motifs concerning the pre-”historical” figures, place-namesandeventsin thevariousMalay historicalworksshouldbeattemp-ted. Sucha studyshould reveal to us whetheror not therewas acommon world-view in the precritical culture of the Malays in-heritedby the writersof theSejarah.From my preliminaryobser-vation, it is possibleto say that the first typeof information wasmainlyderivedfrom theoral traditions.thefolkloristic themesandmotifswhichmight havebeenpickedupby theold Malay historianfromthefreefloating oralmyths,legendsandtalescurrentduringhis timeintheIndonesianregion.Apart from the factthat thesenarrativesformedpartof theworld-view of thehistorianaswell as thatof his milieu, theyalsoprovidedfor him asenseof continuityfor thedynastyandstatehewasmainly concernedwith.

The “unhistorical” themesand motifs seemto reflect a moresophisticatedmanifestationof the mythic elements. Bearing inmind that thehistorieswerewrittenduring the Islamicperiodandthat thenewreligion hadbecomeaforcein thebelief-systemof thesociety, this type of mythicelementshowsa strong Islamic bias.HikayatAchehandHikayat MerongMahawangsaareparticularly

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strong in this respect.The writer of HikayatAcheh,for example,seemsto takegreatpainsto identify Achehwith the Islamicworldat large.Thudwegetaccountswhich revealan apperceptionof theauthortowardsthis end.The storiesof MahkotaAlam being notonly known in the Islamic world in the west but respectedandhonouredasa greatMuslim ruler indicatesthe awarenessof thehistorian as regardsthe psychologicalattitudesand the socio-political situationsof his times. In Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa,the secondpart whichdealswith the Islamicperiodoffers a sharpdistinctionfrom the narrativesconcerningthe earlierperiodwhichcontainfolkioristic traditionswhich in turn show a greatdeal ofSiameseinfluence. The teachingof Islamic popular beliefs throughthe miraculousappearencesof a Wali Allah, Sheikh Abdullah,before Sultan Mudzaffar Syah could have been conceived onlythrough the sharpperceptionof the authorandhis familiarity withtraditionsprevailing in the Muslim civilization.

Thepersonalityof theold Malay historianmusthavebeendeve-loped in themelieu in which heworked.Besidesthe Islamic bias,the “unhistorical” themesandmotifsalso reflectthefact that theMalayhistorianwasespeciallyawareof othersocio-politicalforcesat work during his time. Many scholarshavesuggestedthat thehistorieshada definitefunction in upholdingthe political institu-tionsof theMalaysocietyin the past.To agreatextent,they werea device to prop up the charismaticposition of the rulersandthenobility. Thiswasthecasewith Javanese“historical” works. TheJavanesecourt hi,torian or pujanggahad a definite role to playwithin the structure of the old Hindu Javanesesociety. He wasnot merely a writer; he was, asD.F.K. Bosch puts it , a “seer,king’s adviser, court poet, chief justice, astrologer, supremeauthorityin religiousaffairs, initiate andkeeperof the holy tradi-tion.”12 The Javanesecourt historian was invariably a Brahmin.He wasLentral to the systemof social control in the Hindu-Java-nesesocietyandcultureby providingthe magicalsanctionsfor themaintenanceof the charismaticposition of the royalty and thesanctity of the priestly class. In the situation where the seatofpowerkept changinghands,he was indispensable.This fact hasbeen well summarisedby the Dutch historian B.H.M. Vlekke,when he said, “Each time the centreof power shifted to a newplace, the claim to legitimacywas sanctionedby the new king’spujangga, the poet of the court, who wrote the miraculoustale ofthe king’s descentfrom mighty rulers eminent in their magicpower.“13

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Although the Malay sejarah may not displaythe kind of polishfoundin theJavanesePraraton or Negarakartagamain servingtheruling class,thefactthat theycontainsomesimilaritiesin this res-pect is undeniable.Whetheror not therewere historieswritten inthe Malay royal centresduring the Hindu period is a questionwhichwill eludeusforever.But thereis enoughevidence,asfar asliterary sourcesgo, to show that therewas a consciousattemptduring theIslamic period to promotesomekind of socialorganiza-tion. Besidesthe histories,other literary sourcesseemto morethanconfirmthisview.The old Malay lawsthat havecomedown tous in textslike HukumKanun Melakaor Adat Atjeh indicatewhatis implied in the historiesis set out clearly in the codesof law.Whetheror not theselaw codeswere, in practice,effectiveor pre-vailing is not the question;the fact remainsthat the codesof lawcategorically institutionalise the class distinctions between therulersandthe ruled.And what is to be gatheredfrom the literarysourcesis furthersupportedby someaspectsof Malay culturestillprevailingtoday — the hereditarytitlesandhonorificsof thenobi-lity, the courtceremonialsand theawesomeregardfor daulat andthefearof kétulahan-

It is in the light of thesocio-politicalfunctionof thehistoriesthatthe “unhistorical” themesand motifs as mythic elementscanbecomemeaningful.The differencebetweenthe Malay historieswhichareconcernedwith political entitiessuchas the stateor thedynastyandthoseworkswhich deal with particulareventslies inthe fact that the former reflects a greaterdegreeof emotionalinvolvement on the part of the authors towards their subject-mattersthan in thecaseof thelatter. The closeidentification bet-ween the historian and the social systemin which he works orwhich he supportsexplains someof the mythic elementsin hisworks. Two dominantthemesappearto be the glorification of thedynasty or state and the loyalty towards the ruler. Bravery andprowessin battles, being able to outwit otherswhen the prestigeof the stateis at stakeand the grandeurof the historian’s ownmasterin comparisonto othersaresomeof the commonthemes.Utmostloyaltyto theruler is implied in themeswhereprincesandwarriorsarewilling to die ratherthan rebel againsttheir rulers.Seenin the light of their socio-political functions, the episodeofTun BeraimBapa’sunflinchingsuicidein HikayatRaja-Raja Pasai,the hyperbolic narrative of Iskandar Muda’s superhumanfeatswhilestill atatenderagein HikayatAcheh andthe storyof Malac-cawarriorsoutwitting the Siameseinvading forcesby lighting up

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the coastlinewith burning torchesin Sejarah Melayu can thusbe-come meaningful. These mythic elementstherefore reflect theawarenessand perceptionof the Malay historiansof the socio-political forcesandconditionsprevailing during their time. Theyareaproductof a critical mind butnotthatof a self-consciouscriti-cal thoughtcharacteristicof ourown cultureandtime.

It hasbeensuggestedthat someof what we call “unhistorical”episodesin the secondtypeof information may well havebeenasubterfugeusedto maskthe real intentionsof the writer. Assu-ming that the feudal systemprevailing in the traditional Malaysocietywasintolerantandoppressive,someof the “unhistorical”themesandmotifs may be said to bedisguisedexpressionsrebel-ling againsttheruling class.It may evenbe the writer’s intentionto censurethe conductof his feudalmaster.Thestory of swordfishinvading old Temasikin Sejarah Melayu, for example,has oftenbeensuggestedasan allusionto the incapacity of the Sultan inrepelling Majapahit’s invasionand more generallyto the inepti-tude of the ruling classasa whole. Similarly, the tale of SultanMahmud’s futile venture to marry the fairy princessof GunongLedangis said to be a reminderto the rulersthat they wereafterall meremortals.Many suchthemescanbe given similar interpre-tation. Thefall of MalaccaandPasaito the enemies,for instance,is often said to be attributed to the weaknessin the personalcharactersof Sultan Mahmud and Sultan Ahmad of Malaccaorthoseof Sultan Ahmad PerumudalPerumalof Pasai.This, how-ever. is only implied but not explicitly stated by the hikayats inquestion.This line of interpretationassumesthat the narrativeswereconsciouslycreatedfor thepurpose.Ethnographicanalysisofmyths and folktaleshaveshownthat the narrativesare not onlyovert expressionsof a culture but are also the manifestationsofcovertandlatent attitudesin the society.The trickstermotif in theAmerican Indian myths and tales does not usually reflect thesystemof valuesbutprovidesa psychologicalreleasefor membersof thesociety.Thepublic recitalof suchtalesandmythsoffers themembersa licenceto expresslatentfeelingsnormally forbiddenbythe valuesheldby thesociety. It may notbeexactlysimilar in thecaseof thesatiricalor allegoricalthemesin the Malay sejarah,butthefact thatsuchthemesplay almosta similar role is conceivable.But thisassumptiondoesnot affect the argumentpresentedherethat the “unhistorical” themesand motifs are part of the world -

t’iew of the old Malay historian. In fact it shouldstrengthenthecontentionmadeabovethatthe themesandmotifs are theproduct

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of a critical mind. In otherwords, althoughthe episodescan besaid to be a consciouscreationof the author, they remain to bemythic from our point of view. But, most importantly, they areconsonantwith the systemsof beliefsandvaluesprevailing in theauthor’sculture.Justasour presentdaymyth-makersmakeuseofwhat Bidney calls “secular beliefs of pseudo-science”,the oldMalay historian was also a myth-makerin some respectusingelementswithin the cognitive-patternsof his culture and time.Literary scholarsmay preferto use the term “imagination” todescribe the mythic expressionsfound in the old Malay history,but I would preferto stick to Bidney’s use of the term “psycho-cultural” expressionfor the main reasonthat the Malay sejarahwasnotmerelya literaryeffort butone thatwascentralto theideo-logyof thetraditional Malaysociety.

Notes

1. Meridian BooksPaperback.1956.p. 13.2. Whetheror not authorswere merelycompilersorcopyistsdoesnot affect the

argumentsset forth in this paper. In the processof compliling or copyingthehistories, the writers must have been consciousof the task before them. Iconcurwith Teuku Iskandar’sview that “a Malay copyists is not a merecop-yist he is more than that, he is an author himself’. (“The Malay HistoricalWritings in the First Half of the 17th Century”. Journal of the MalaysianBranch.RoyalAsiatic Society.XL 2/1967/41.)

3. The Varietyof Histon,, 13.4. Except for Raja Ali Haji. the other authorsof Malay histories, including Tun

Sen Lanang,purportedly the writer of Sejarah Melayu. will remain to be amatter of conjecture.

5. Note that the use of the word folklore” here is normativerather than neutralor technical.

6. The terms ‘theme’ and ‘motif are used together for convenience.‘Theme’would normally refer to the coreidea in a completepieceof narrationor anepisode,while‘motif usuallyrefersto a minimalunit in thenarrative,suchasthecharacters,objectsand actionsof thecharacters.Theepisodesof how Malaccaand Pasaiobtainedtheir names,for example.can be said to have thesametheme,but themotifsin them aredifferent.

7. Submittedasa dissertationfor Master of Arts in the University of Malaya in1961.

8. Theoretical Anthropology (New York: Columbia University Press. 1960).p. 293.

9. Ibid. P. 300.10. Ibid. p. 325.11. Many talesand legendshave been publishedand passedas‘historical’ works.

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One good example is Tawarikh Gunung Reng by Mohammad Daud Jamilpublishedrecently(undated)by Al—Ahliyah Press,Kota Bharu,Kelantan.

12. SelectedStudies in IndonesianArchaeology (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff,1961) p. 11.

13. Nusantara: A History of Indonesian (The Hague and Bandung:Van Hoeve,1959) p. 52.

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9MYTHS, LEGENDS AND FOLK-TALESIN MALAY CULTURE

Myths, legendsand folk-tales are traditional narrativespassedonfrom one generationto another. In preliterate societiesor in the“folk” segmentof literate societies, such narratives belong to theoral tradition. It is true that myths, legendsandfolk-talesmayexist inwritten form, but originally theywereoral tales.Ascultural phenomena.they are related to other aspectsof culture, especiallythe belief-

system, the world-view and ethos (or social values) of society. Asociologicalanalysisof thesenarrativescan tell many things aboutaculture, especiallythoseelementswhich are not readily verbalizedby the membersof that culture. The validity of such an analysisisbasedon the fact that unlike modernforms of literature which arethe creationof individuals, myths, legendsand folk-tales do’ notbelongto anyonebut to thewhole community. Theyarenot usuallysubject to the whims and fanciesof individuals: they are a socialmanifestation.Once they outlive their function in the culture, theybecomeat bestaculturelag, or theymay performa differentfunctionwith new meaningsandvaluesattachedto them.

It should be realised, however, that the terms myth, legendand folk-tale are only a convenienttool for scholarship, for eachparticular culture may have its own namesfor the different typesof traditional narratives. Some cultures may not even be so self-conscious;assuchthey do not haveanythingto indicatethedifferencesbetweenthe typesof oral tales.However, the termsare useful. The

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sametale, for example,may be classifiedasmyth in onecultureanda legendor folk-tale in anotherwhen put in thecontextof its functionin the respectivecultures. There are no specific termsin Malayformyths, legendsandfolk-tales, exceptthoseof recentorigin usedbystudentsof literature andculture. It is interestingto note the termsused by thePressin reportingthis lectureof mine: “cerita dongeng”(old wives’ tales) for myth, “kisah keperwiraan” (tales aboutwarriors) for legend and “Cerita penglipur-lara” for folk-tales. I donot favourthe useof term “dongeng” for myths or even legendsforthe reasonthat it is chargedwith our own valuesand conceptionsregardingthem.

However, the useof the term doesreflectthe changein meaningand function of traditional oral narratives in the Malay societytoday. The term for legend only partly describes that types ofnarratives,for not all legendsareabouttheexploits of warriors. Theterm for the folk-tales is, however, quite apt; in fact the term “peng-lipur lara” (the sootherof cares) is one of the terms known to beconnectedwith thetraditionof oral story-telling. It refersto thestory-teller whosetradeit wasto entertainthevillage folk with marvellous

tales.Sir Hugh Clifford has describedthe Malay raconteurof tales in

thefollowing terms:BayantheParaquet(i.e. the raconteur)waswhat is technically

termeda Penglipur Lara — “Soother of Cares” — a classofmen which is fastdying out in thePeninsula

Thesepeoplearesimply the wanderingbardsand minstrels,who find their placein an independentMalaystate

They learnby rote someold-world tale, which has beentransmittedby word of mouth through countlessgenerations,andtheywanderfrom village to village, singingit for payto theunletteredpeople. to whom thesesongsandstoriesrepresenttheonly literaturewhichcomeswithin their experience.

Such minstrels are greatly loved by the villagers, who holdthem in high honour, giving them hearty welcome, and thenameby which theyare known in the vernacularbearswitnessto thejoy whichtheybringwith themwithersoevertheygo.

And W.F. Maxwell haswritten th~following:To the Malays. the skilful raconteur. who can hold his

audienceenfralledwith theadventuresof his heroandheroine,orwith elaboratedescriptionsof the magnificenceof thepalacesand

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courtsof mythical Rajas,is the PenglipurLaraSuch was the tradition of oral story-telling among the Malay

folk in the days when radio and televisionwere unknown. Thereare other terms, the presenceof which lendsfurther proof to theexistenceof oral story-tellingtradition in Malay culture. In Kelantan,the term usedfor narratingoral talesis “berbari”, while the term forthe story-telleris “tok selampit” or “tukang selampit”. However, allthe narrative are either called hikayat, cerita, or kisah. From thetermsalone, it is quite difficult to say whether the peopleare self-consciousabouttheir conceptionsof the differencesin thenarratives.Although words like sejarah, siarah or tawarikh, referring tonarrativesof “historical” nature,havebeenused,but mostly relativelyrecent,it is difficult to say categoricallythat judging by the usageoftermsalone,therehasbeenin Malay culturea self-consciousaware-nessasto differentcategoriesof narratives.

But thereis no questionto the fact that the different categoriesare recognizablethroughtheir contents,their functionsandplacesinthe life of the peopleandtheattitudesheldtowardsthem. However,myths, legendsand folk-tales haveto be viewed in terms of thecontinuity and changein Malay culture, for whatcan be termedamyth at one time may be recognisedas a legenda few centurieslater. At present,it is usuallyassumedthatoral narrativesare thingsof the past.With radio andtelevisionplaying an everincreasingroleas a meansof communication,for entertainmentor otherwise, wewould expectthatoral narrativestoo haveoutlivedtheir usefulnessor eventheir existence.At least for the time being, this doesnotseemto be so. The effects of radio, televisionandthe cinemaonMalay kampunglife are quite profound, but in someareas,traditionalforms of entertainmentlike wayang kulit, ston,~-te!1ing,berdikir orhadrah havecontinued to live with vigour. Berdikir or hadrah —

chanting of versesin praiseof Prophet Muhammad(s.a.w.),areeitheraccompaniedor unaccompaniedby drums(rebana).

This shows that the traditional arts and pastimeshave still aplacein the life of our folk-society.As for oral tradition,its continuedexistence,althoughto a less degreethan before, is reflectedby therecentcollectionsmadeby Dewan BahasadanPustaka(Languageand Literary Agency), studentsfrom the Departmentof MalayStudies, University of Malaya and individual collectors. A well-known collector,Encik ZakariaHitam of Kuantan,hasfound a richmine of Malay folk-tales in many areasof Pahang,even in the

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kampungs(villages) aroundKuantan.He has so far collected morethan a hundredoral tales of various lengths and havepublishedabout one-third of them. Encik Zakaria’sefforts are praiseworthy:his publishedtales provide good readingmaterialsfor the generalpublic interestedin traditional forms of literature and to school-children.

The oral narratives havecome to us mainly through writing.This is especiallytrue of thosebelongingto the pastages.Ourknow-ledgeof the myths, legendsand folk-taleswhich existedbeforethetwentieth century is drawn from thosewhich havebeencommitedto writing. Myths, as narratives,are held sacredby membersof asociety.They tell the talesof godsandotherpantheon,relateeventsin remotepast, and are central to the belief systemof the society.The main functionof myth is to providethebasisfor abeliefsystem,which is mostcases,but not always, are connectedwith religiousbeliefs.

Of the Malay traditional narrativesthat havecometo us, eitherin oral form which havebeen recordedby scholars,or in writtenform, thereare many which can be recognisedasbelonging to thecategoryof myth. Perhapsthe easiestto recognizeare thosewhichI intend to call political myths. Such narrativesare to be foundmainly in Malay historicalworks of the pastor whatwe may call thesejarah. Thesemayappearto us now as legendsfor theyno longerevokea senseof sacrednesswhich they oncedid. But taken in thecontextof the function they performedin the past, they shouldbeproperlyidentified as myths.Political mythsformed the foundationfor the traditional Malay political system.It is moreaccurateperhapsto say socio—political system, for the political arrangementwasinseparablefrom the social order of the day. Suchnarrativesprovidedthe charater for correct social interaction and the legitimacy forpolitical power. The narrativesare usually about the supernaturalorigins andsuperhumanfeatsof the ancestorsof a ruling dynastyina Malaystate.

There are certain recurrent themesand motifs in such taleswhich showaffinity with othercultures.The motif of the futurekingcomingoutof the foamin theseaor from a clump of bamboosis notpeculiarto the Indonesianregion. Similar motifs are to be found inIndian tradition. The political myths in the Malay sejarah drawtheircomponentelementsfrom manycultures,buttheyhaveall cometobe recognisedas the symbolsof the divinity of Malay kingship.As I

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havepointed out in anotherplace (See“Mythic Elementsin MalayHistoriography”) historianswho wish to drawinformation from theMalay sejarah may straightaway ignore the first few chaptersdealingwith matterswhich by any stretchof the imagination cannotbe acceptedas “historical” becausethey are usually about super-human beingsperforming feats right out of this world. But to astudent of culture, thesetales provide a wealth of material on thesymbolicexpressionsof aculture.

An analysis of such political myths can throw a great deal oflight into the social valuesandsocial organizationof the Malays inthe past. It can contribute a greatdeal too to a more meaningfulstddy of thecultural history of theMalaysthan thatwhich hasso far

beencarriedout. An important task is to makea thorough study ofthe symbolism to be found in such myths. The changesthat havetaken placein Malay culturehavecertainly changethat function ofthe traditional narrativesof the attitude towards them. Today wewould regardthe stories about the origin of crops, or about theorigin of theworlds, as legends.But atonetime they musthavebeenmyths, for theyprovidedaframeworkfor areligioussystem.

Ralph Linton has warned that the “reconstruction of the oldSoutheast Asiatic religion presentsthe most difficult problem ofall”. But studieshaveshownthat to someextent it is possibleto geta glimpse at the Old Indonesianreligious system. Someaspectsofthis religion havesurvivedin someof thecontemporarysocietiesofthe area. Animistic beliefs musthavebeenthe core of this religioussystem. ContemporaryIndonesiansocietieswhich have remainedmore or less untouchedby foreign influences for the past twothousandyearsor so still subscribeto belief in spirits. Among thosepeopleswho havechangedtheir religious creedsin the courseoftheir history, animistic notionsare still to be observedin the beliefsandpracticesof the folk segmentof their societies.

The Malay village specialist, the pawang or bomoh, (medicine-man), is still an important figure in Malay village life. The traditionwhich providesthe frameworkof thepawang’scraft is a link betweenthe past and the present. It is the informal aspectof the Malayreligion, that is using the term religion in an anthropologicalsense.It is not possiblenow to talk abouta corpusof myths or a systemof mythology supportingthe institution of pawangand bomoh.Butstoriesvalidating thepracticesof thesevillage specialistsarestill told,andsometimesareto be found in manuscripts.Theserepresentan

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esoteric knowledgejealously guardedby the practitionersand areonly impartedif oneis willing to takeup thevocation.

These tales are survivals of age-old myths; but as far as thepractitionersare concerned, they are still mythic in function. forthey provide the very things by which their beliefs and practicesare validated and legitimised. Thus old myths in Malay culturesurvivetoday in certaintraditionswithin the totality of Malaysociety.They provide the link betweenthe past and thepresent.Althoughthey no longer function in the sameway they did in the past. theyhavesurvivedin certaininstitutionsinheritedfrom thepast.A know-ledgeof themis importantin understandingthepast,andanawarenessof their survival todayalso helpsin understandingthoseinstitutionsandcustomswhich havesurvivedthepassageof time andchanges.In time of crises,theseinstitutionsare still used to easethe tensionsexperiencedby individuals as well as the whole community. Suchcustomsand institutions provide a convenientalternative in theactionpatternof themodernMalay.

With legendswe get a different type of traditional Malay oralnarratives. While myths properly belong to the past when theywere central to the belief-systemof the Malays, the legend is aliving tradition. Legendsare believedin, but they are not regardedassacred.They lend support to the beliefsheld by the people. buttheydo notform thebasesfor suchbeliefs. We havenotedthat someof thoserecognizableasmyths at onetime should now be classifiedaslegends.We maycall thesedemythisedmythsor mythic legends.The true form of legendsconsistsof tales aboutpersons,placesoreventswhichareconsideredto betrue.

Legendsare not devoid of supernaturalelements; in fact thesearethe very ingredientswhichmakethe narrativesoccupya specialplacein a culture. Themain characteristicof the legendis that it tellsaboutextraordinaryevents,personsor placeswhich aresignificantenoughfor the attention of the society. Anotherimportant charac-teristic of the legend is that it is usually anchoredto a particularcommunity or locality. Thereare legendswhich are widely known,andthey are usually aboutnational heroesor of eventsof nationalsignificance.Some of them may reachsuch a proportionthat theyareregardedasnationalepic. Onesuchexampleis the epicof HangTuah.

The most common type of legendto be found in Malay cultureconsistsof stories about local landmarks and about personsand

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eventsusually connectedwith those landmarks.Theselandmarksmay just be ordinary phenomenaof nature, a lake, a tree or aboulder on the seashore.But we can at once know that theseobjects havea specialmeaningto the local community. The treemay havewhite or yellow cloth tied to its branches,the boulder onthe beach may havean anchak(sacrificial basket)placedon it atregulartimes or a particular lake is avoidedby the local populace,eventhough it such an inviting place for a swim. A keenethno-graphercaneasily observethatthe patternof behaviourof the localcommunity is regulated somewhatby these landmarks, and hewantsto find out the reasonsfor this. Usually the explanationis tobe found in the tale told by the membersof the community. Sucha tale would thenbe classifiedas a legendbelongingto thetraditionof the localcommunity.

Local legendsare to be found all over the country, like thelegend of Mahsuri in Pulau Langkawi, the legendssurroundingLake Cmi in Pahang,the legendof GunungRengin Kelantanorthatof HangTuah’swell at Duyong in Malacca.But objectsaroundwhich local legendsare usuallyfound are thosewhich standout asextraordinary. Solitary graves, an isolated hillock or mound, anabandonedancient cannon, odd-looking rock-information oftenhave stories explaining their origin or connection with certainpersons.

It is significant to note that theselegendsoften appearin theMalay newspapers,and this reflects the significant part they playin Malay culture.As far as the local community is concerned,theirlegendis a historical truth. Malay local legendsare not merelythefolk’s “historical” perceptionof pastevents,theyare closely relatedto local beliefs, which form a part in the totality of the relationshipwith supernatural.Onecommoncharacteristicof Malay local legendis that it is too often connectedwith the belief in keramat(saints).Thereare actually4variousconceptsof the keramatin Malay culture.At one end,we have the Islamic tradition of the wali or chosenreligiouspersonendowedwith extraordinarypowerslike thefamousKeramat Habib Noh in Singapore, and the other, the animisticconceptof objectshaving magicalproperties.

Local legendsusually play the role of validating the beliefs inkeramatby telling about local objects,landmarksor personsrecog-nised as keramat.The point here is that, there is a close relation-ship betweenthe narrativesclassifiedhere as legendswith certain

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aspectsof Malay beliefs and the subsequentpatternsof behaviourrelatingto thesebeliefs.What is interestingto me regardinglegendsaboutold heroesis againconnectedwith patternsof behaviourandbeliefs to be foundin Malay culture.A few yearsagowhen a “purba-wara” (stageplay) basedon the legendsof a hunchbackwarriorwho is believedto haveonce lived in Johor was staged, the actorplaying the part of the warrior andother membersof the cast fellunconscious.Ritualshad to be performedin order for the play torun smoothly.This is notan isolatedinstance;it is quite usualto hearof actorsplaying the rolesof legendaryheroesbeing possessedbyspirits.

Thereare two points to be notedhere:the first is thatsuch hero-legendsare acceptedas true, in spite of the supernaturalelementspresentin them. In fact, it is such elementsthat characterisethelegendsand that which make them significant comparedto otherforms of traditional narratives.The secondis that, thereseemstobe an ideaof a link betweenthe hero of the legendandthosewhowant to keepalive the legend,either by telling it or by re-enactingthe event.Thus rituals are held whenthe legendis recountedor re-enacted.Perhapsthis may explain why such an excitementwasevoked by the re-emergenceof Mat Kilau (a Malay warrior whofought againstthe British late in the 19th century.A manemergedfrom obscurityrecentlyto claim thathe wasthatwarrior). Forthoseheroeslonggoneandburied (andthereis no chancewhatsoeveroftheir being resurrected),there is already a senseof communionbetweenthe deadand the living. So one can imagine the impactwhen the “dead” cameactually walking in, as in the caseof MatKilau.

Although legendsare usually local in theme, there are somewhich are widely known in different places. Such legends areknown as migratory or wanderinglegends. But here again, thefamiliar themetendsto be anchoredto a locality and is givena localcharacter.The local community will swearthat the eventoccurredin their place, andtheymay evenshowthe evidencesupportingthisclaim. It is only whenoneis awareof the existenceof the sametaleelsewherethat one realisesthat it is really a migratory legend. InSungai Nal in Kelantan, in Perak River, in Brunei River, at theBatu Cavesandin a cave nearMuar in Johore,local populacecanshow what they claim to be a petrified ship belonging to a youngman who wascursedinto stoneby his motherwhen herefusedto

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own herashis own mother.It is the same legendbut known by different namesin different

localities. This legendis widespreadand is well-known among theMalays. Consideringthis fact, it is difficult to saythat it doesnot haveany significant meaning in Malay culture. It doesseem to be anexpressionof an important socialvalue in Malay culture, andthat isa value connectedwith mother-sonrelationship. It is important tonotethat in theversionsso far knownto me, it is alwaystheconnectionbetweenthe sonandthemother,exceptfor onevariantcollectedbya former student of mine in Negeri Sembilan. In this particularversion, it is betweenthe mother and daughter, and there is no

petrified ship. The daughtersankinto the ground, andto this day,theplacewhereshesankis called “PulauTengkolok”, that is island(raisedground) in the middle of a flat riceland. It is also significantto note that this variantoccurs in a society where women hold aspecialposition.

As I havesaid earlier, story-telling is still a living tradition amongrural Malays,but it is not aspopularasit usedto be in thedayswhenHugh Clifford, Maxwell and Winstedt first brought to outsideattentionthe role of Malay raconteurs.It is a limited activity now, butmanymore talescan be broughtto light if collectorsarepainstaking

enoughto track them down. Many old peopleare reluctantto tellthese tales becausethey assumethat they are of no use to thepresentgeneration.They fail to realise that a rich cultural heritagewill be irrevocably lost if these tales are not recordedfor posteritynow. The folk-tales in Malay culture have beenbrought to noticeonly whentheyhavebeenput into writing.

The tales about “Sang Kancil” and other animal stories havebeenrecordedfrom the oral tradition. but they are known to haveexisted in manuscript. This fact reflects the interflow of elementsbetweenwritten andoral traditionsin Malay culture. We can quicklygo over the different genresof folk-narrativesin Malay culture. Firstwe have the animal tales of which perhapsthe best known is themouse-deeror “Sang Kancil” cycle. Then we have the cycles onproverbialcharacterslike Pak PandirandPak Belalang.Thesetalesbelongto thecategoryof funnyanecdotesaboutsimpletons.“born-losers” and tricksters which although entertaining, can be quiteincisivesatireson humanlife.

Thetype of folk-taleswhich borderson the legendis the aetiolo-gical tale. It tells of the origins of things. but unlike the legend, it

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refersto generalobjectsrather than to specific objectsin a locality.But the most widespreadare marvelloustales about extraordinaryprincesandprincesses— andtheir adventures.Winstedthasgiventhe term “folk-romances” to this type of tales, which usually havecomplicatedplots. Comparedto the other types, these are ratherlengthy. Some of these tales may take many nights to recite. InKelantan,story-telling is accompaniedby the playing of the rebab (atype of violin), while in Kedah andPerlis, Awang Batil narrateshisrepertoireof tales by beating a rhythm with his fingerson a metalbowl. Fromwhat I havegathered.a tradition like story-telling is alsodependenton other forms traditional arts, especially the wayangkulit (shadow play). Many tales that my students have collectedshowgreataffinity with storiesused for wayangkulit.

Without doubt, the folk-tale is mainly for entertainment.In thepast,eventoday to someextent,well-known raconteursarepaid toperform at weddings and other gatheringsin Malay villages. Therole of the folk-tale in Malayculture is quite clear. It is thesamewiththe syair (narrative poem) which is recited aloud by a reader.Butwhat is significantregardingthe folk-tale in Malayculture is that thereseemsto be a degreeof belief in the eventsandcharactersrelatedin thetales.It is not thesamekind of beliefas in the caseof themythandlegend,but away of thought that theeventsandcharactercouldhave taken place and existed somewherein the past. It is quite

similar to the observationmade by Snouck Hurgronje early thiscentury regardingthe Achehnese’attitude towardstheir traditionalnarratives.It appearsthat the peopledid not actually believein thetales.but they did not discountthe possibility that thoserecountedin the tales could haveexisted in the past or in anotherworld. Astory-teller. from whom one of my studentsrecorded a tale inCentralPahang.hadno specialrites performedwhen he startedon

his tale, but he saluted (seru) the guardian of the place and the‘raja” (king) aboutwhom the tale wasabout. He truly believedthatthe hero and other charactersin the story had lived once upon atime. And if he did not respectthem, something untoward mighthappen, as those “raja” had extraordinary properties (tuah) andthesemight affect him adversely.

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10THE BOMOH AND THE PRACTICE OF

MALAY MEDICINE

Theliteratureon bomoh, the Malayspecialistof folk medicineandspirit beliefs, and the practice of traditional Malay medicine is notlacking. From the time Walter William Skeatcompiledhis MalayMagic’ at the turn of the century, or since Dr. John D. Gimiettewrote his Malay Poisons and Charm Cures ir’~ 19.152 there havebeenmanybooksandpaperswritten on the subject.1-lowever, thesubjectseemsto havebeenapproachedin many~different ways.The colonial scholars, like Skeat,Gimlette and later Sir RichardWinstedt3 were collectorsand compilers: they brought to the at-tention of the outsideworld the theories, conceptsand materiamedica of the PeninsularMalays. But as yet no original texts onMalay medicinewhich are generally known by the term “KitabTib” have been translatedand published. Even among the Malaysthemselves,such literature wasknown only to the practisingoraspiringbomohs,for it containedtheesotericknowledgeopenonlyto the initiated and the practitioner. Perhapsduring the time ofSkeat,Gimlette or Winstedt, the interest invoked by their workswasmorein characterwith thespirit of the time: Malay folk medi-cine was a fascinatingsubject, a part of the exotic mysteriousEas-tern world which provokedthe curiosity of the West. It was aftertheSecondWorld War that thesubjectof Malay folk medicinetooka different turn. As medicalservices-werespreadingto the ruralareas,modernmedicalpractitionerswereconfrontedby the diffi-cult task of “selling” their brandof medicinein the face of the

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competitionfrom thetraditionalknowledgeand practicewhichhadbeenin thelives of the peoplefor centuries.The assaulton tradi-tional beliefs and practicesregardinghealth and medicine wasrelentless.4Todaythe acceptanceof modernmedicinein the villa-gesis beyonddoubt, but it doesnot meanthe eradicationof thebomoh or what he standsfor. The questionis morethan just a dis-placementof onemedicalsystembyanother,butratheronethat isonly explicablewhen one understandsthe natureof culturecon-tact, that is between Malay culture, of which the institution ofbomoh is an integral part, and the modernmedical system.That iswhy in an earlier paper, I haveposited that the acceptanceofmodern medicine only means an additional social institutionamong the Malays, an alternativemedical system,besidesthe onethat has alreadybeenin existensefor centuries.5And amongthemedicalpractitioners,too, thereis anoticeablechangein attitudetowardsthesubjectof bomoh and traditional Malay medicine.Nolongeris thebomoh regardeda rival andhisbeliefsandpracticesastumblingblock to the introductionof modernmedicine.Insteadthereis alreadya positiveapproachtowardsunderstandingnot somuchthe medicineitself but ratherthe attitudesandthe percep-tion of the people and their culture.6 This paper tries to avoidgoingoverthe samegroundalreadycoveredby Skeat,GimletteorWinstedt,except to mentionin outlinewheneverit is necessary,for thebasicideasaboutsickness,theircausesandremedies,havenotchangedtheselast fewhundredyears.Nor is it going to touchon the question of folk medicine uis-a-vis modern medicine.Whatthispaperwill do isto explainthe natureof the institutionofthe bomoh and the practice of medicineasthey are viewed andperceivedfrom-within thecultureitself.

Therearetwo generaltermswhichareoftenmet with whenwetalk aboutthetraditional medicalspecialist amongthe Malays —

“pawang” and“bomoh”. While somepeoplemay usethe termsinterchangeably,theformer usually refers to the shaman who isable to communicatewith the spirit world and who conductsuchritualsasopeningvirgin land,propitiatingthespirits of theseaforthefishermenor the pacificationof spirits which aresupposedtohaunta place.Thebomoh, on the otherhand,usuallyrefersto thespecialistwho tendsthe sick andcuresillnesses.However,as theconceptof illness is moreoften thannotassociatedwith the beliefin theinterventionof thespirit world, thepawang toois involved incuringrites,suchasexorcisingspiritswhich aresupposedto havetakenpossessionof aperson.Thisexplainswhy sometimesthetwo

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termsareusedinterchangeablyor thataspecialistmayfunctionasboth. Thereare also other terms used for thoseengagedin the artof curing the sick, such as the dukun, tok puteri, tukang urut,tukang bekam, tok mudim and bidan. The dukun, a term usedinIndonesiaas the equivalent of the bomoh in Malaysia, has cometo be a specialisedterm for the bone-setter,while tukang urut isgenerallythe masseur.Thereis a tendencyto attributethe dukunwith some magical knowledge, for his prowessin restoring thefracturedbonesanddislocatedjoints is notentirelydueto hisownskill, but to someextraneouspoweraswell. The masseur,on theotherhand,is employedto soothethe tired musclesand tendons,to restorevirility to man’s sexualorgan, or to correct the nervesandblood-vesselsof motherswho havejust deliveredtheir babies.Tok Puteri, togetherwith his “interpreter” Tok Minduk, is a spe-cialist in the shamanicritual of curing the sick. However, thisbrandof ritual is confinedto Kelantan,and the Malaysof SouthThailand. Tukang bekam is a specialist in blood-letting. Using hol-low hornsof thebuffa!oor glassbottles, the practitionerdrawstheblood from behindthe patient’searsfor complaintslike headacheor from other partsof the body where thereare swellings. TokMudim is the village surgeon who specialises in circumcision.Thenthereis the bidan , the village midwife, who is the expertinmatterspertainingto childbirth. The bidan providesthe pre-natalcare,deliversthebaby,andthen looksafterthe motheras well thebabyfor a forty-four-day period. Finally, thereis anotherpracti-tioner who is also engagedin curing the sick, the “keramat hi-dup” However, this type of practitioner does not properly belongto the bandof curersin traditional Malay medicine.He is on theperipherybecausecuringis only a part of his “repertoire”. In factthe “keramat hidup” is a figure emergingfrom popularreligion:he is moreor lessa “living saint” who is endowedwith specialpowers,oneof which is the ability to cureillnesses.However, theincidence of “keramat hidup” is rare and far between,for unlikethebomoh overwhom no religious sanctionhasbeenknown to beapplied rigorously, the “keramat hidup” is not allowed to flourishby thereligiousauthorities,,for hispresenceis suspiciouslylookedupon asa deviationfrom thetrueteachingsof Islam.7

To understandtheinstitution of bomoh and the practiceof tra-ditional Malay medicine,we haveto look at them as part of thetotal belief-systemof the Malays. Both datebackto the dawn ofhistory of the people,andin the courseof time, somepartsof themedicalbaggagehavebeenabandonedwhile newaccretionshave

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beenaddedon. Basically, however, ,the world-view regardingsicknessand its cure stemsfrom the belief in the supernaturalinterventionof human life. Vestigesof the shamanicpracticesofthedistantpastarestill verymuch in evidence,suchas theritualsof main puteri. berjin or berhantu~or the possessionof familiarspirits,akuan. From the civilisationsof India which had influen-cedthe Malaysfor overa thousandyears,from aboutthe 1st cen-tury AD. to about the 12th centuryAD. the Malaysmust havelearntnot only about certain efficacious medicalmaterials (per-haps the use of henna and betel leaves),but also the mysticalpowersof the deities like “Betara Guru”, “Sen Rama” or “Laksa-mana”,whosenamesareoften invoked in the incantations(men-tern, jampi or serapah) of the bomoh. And from the Islamiccivilisation (but not necessarily Islam as a religion) the Malaysgathered further medical knowledge: the use of certain materiamedica, the hot andcold syndrome,humoral pathology(the harmo-nious balance of earth, water, fire and wind), magical formulaeand incantations, and verses from the Quran for the cure ofcertain specific diseases. Such knowledge is often compiled in

bookscalled Kitab Tib. The most famousbook is Taj-uI-Muluk, whileothersgoby different namessuchasKitab MujarrabatMe!ayu.OneKitabTibwhich I managedto acquirefrom Nik Abdul Rahmanbin Nik Dir, theroyal bomohof Kelantan,is a 500-pagemanuscriptdealingwith 147fasal orsubjects.However, included,in the 147area fewcoveringnon-medical knowledge,suchas the way to identify lucky singingdoves(burung ketitir yang bertuah) or lucky traits in a dog (pada menyatakantuah anjing). Thepracticeof medicineor magic(sihir) is compatiblewithpopularreligion,butsomeaspectsof it do seemto beincompatiblewiththe strict teachingsof Islam, especiallywhere there is soliciting withsupernaturalbeingsoutsidetheotbit of Islam.Thus,oneof therationaleusedby the bomoh is to recite versesfrom the Quranbesidesfolowingthe ntualistic formulae. Finally, the contributionof modernmedicalknowledgecannotbeover-looked,for it hasbecomepartof themedicalworld-view of theMalaysto recognisethe“germs” (kuman) asa probable

causeof anillness, or thesimplehygienic practicessuchasthe needforgood ventilation in the house.In short the medical world-view of theMalaysasreflectedin thedifferentvocationsof themedicalpractitionerisone that has beenbuilt up throughthe courseof their history fromdiversecultures.However,thesupernaturalpremisesofsuchworld-viewremain,althoughnotall themedicalconceptsandtheonesarebaseddn

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theassumptionof supernaturalinteivention.Naturalcausesof sicknessarerecognised,andthecuresandremediesfor suchcausesareequallymundane,like the antidotes(penawar = neutraliser)administeredincasesof poisoning.But evenin suchcircumstances,an invocationtosummontheaidof supernaturalagentshelpsagreatdealinboostingtheconfidenceof thepatient.Theritual, in otherwords,mayberegardedashaving a therapeuticfunctionor value.

The general term in Malay for illness is “sakit”~ Its use rangesfrom the feeling of pain as in “sakit kepala” for headacheto one’sstateof being, either emotional or physical. Thus an infirmityresulting from old ageis said to be “sakit tua” or when one is dep-ressedor low in spirit, perhapsfrom longing or being in love, it isreferred to, half jocularly, as “sakit angau‘~ One area where thebomoh is oftenconsultedis whena personsuffersfrom anemotio-nal or psychologicaldisoder. In fact, one of the stock answersgivenwhenapersonis askedwhy he doesnot consulta doctor isthat oneseesthe doctor for physical illnessessuchascough, fever,fracture or dislocation,but for thosediagnosedascausedby super-natural agentsthe proper physicianwill be the bomoh. As pointedout earlier the question of traditional medicine vis-a-vis modernmedicineis notsomuch of the latter displacing the former, but rat-her that of two different medical systemsexisting side by side,offering alternatives aswell asa “psychological reserve” whenone isfound to be inadequate or ineffective. It is alsonot true thatthere isa correlation betweenthe rise in the acceptanceof modernmedicine and the decline in the belief of bomoh and pawang. Infact, thebomohs are no longer to befound only in the rw~alvillagesor kampungs; somehaveevenbuilt up a sizeableurban clientele,evenin Kuala Lumpur or Petaling Jaya. Someevencomefrom theranks of those who have received secondaryand post-secondaryeducation. To mention a fewcasesin point: one of my former stu-dentsat the University usedto assisthis elder brother who is abomoh in Kuala Krai, Kelantan, while a bomoh who practises inPetaling Jaya is a college-trainedteacher. A study madeby oneofmy former studentson a well-known bomoh who is a retired majorof the army, showsthat the bomoh’sclienteleis madeup of urban-dwellers and well-known personalities.9 However, it needsto beemphasisedthaf thecli~nteleis not madeup only of thoseseekinga cure to illnesses,physical or psychological,but aslo those with’various personal problems and difficulties, such as those arisingfrom love affairs, domestic disagreementsor everyday working

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life, like seeking promotion to higher offices. It is clear that thebomoh is not looked upon simply as the curerof illness; his func-tion extendsfurther than strictly medical chores.Moreover, it isthe Malay world-view that sicknessin notconfinedonly to physi-cal or psychologicaldisorders:it also includesinexplicabledisor-dersof thekind broughtaboutby inappropriateor unethicalbeha-viour.

Therearebasicallytwo typesof causesto illnessesor disorders:the naturalcausesas manifestedin such disordersas fractures,dislocations or sprains; woundsand cuts; tirednessor generaldebility becauseof over-workor old age(this may include impo-tency, which may also be brought on by supernaturalmeans —

e.g.witchcraft); food, which is eithertoo muchof hot food or toomuch of cold food; the “wind” (angin), that is too much wind inthe body (andthis may evenbe causedby taking “windy” food);poisonwhich also include “santou”, the fine hair from the bam-boo which when taken will affect the gullet and the digestivetracts;’°poisonousblood (darah kotor) which may manifest inheadachesor boils in the skin; or the imbalanceof the four ele-mentsin thebody — earth,water,fire andwind. As alreadysaidabove, the introduction of simple hygiene books to vernacularschoolsfor the past80 yearsor sohasbroughtto commonknow-ledgetheconceptof germs(kuman) asthecauseof disease.Illnes-sessuchas the commoncold, influenza,etc. aresimply attributedto the “germs”. Malaria, for example,whichat onetime wasbe-lievedto havebeencausedby supernaturalagents,is now widelyknown as to be causedby the Anophelesmosquito. This is onexamplewheremodernmedicalknowledgehas becomepart andparcelof thepeople’smedicalworld-view. And the curefor thesenaturallycauseddisordersvariesaccordingto the conceptof thecauses.Thus toomuch “wind” would requireits reductionin thebody; the taking of poison requires an antidote (“penawar”), adislocationor fracturewould needtheattentionof the bonesetter;woundsandcutswould first of all requirebleedingto bearrested;the imbalanceof thebody elementswould haveto be redressedsoas they canbe irj harmonyagain. Eventhe idea of quarantineincombating epidemics is not new to Malay medical concepts.”

It is in thesupernaturalcausesthat we find a greatervariety ofconceptsand notions. High on the list are disorderscausedbywhat maybecalledunethicalor inappropriatebehaviour.It is partof the belief-systemof the Malays that certain behaviourmaybring retribution or sanction from supernatural beings. It is not

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unusualto hearpeoplesayingthat oneis afflicted by an incurableor lingering illnessbecauseAllah haschosento show his displea-sure,andin suchcases,the sufferer’sonly recourseis to undergorepentance(taubat) and seekHis pardon.However, such diagno-sis is said only in very specialcircumstances.This is just to illu-stratehow inextricably boundthe notion of medicineis with reli-giousbelief. It shouldbe explainedthat the notion of supernaturalsanctionor retribution for inappropriatebehaviourevenpredatesthe acceptanceof Islam amongthe Malays.Therewas, for exam-ple, the notion of “ketulahan’~which meansa curse which befallsan ordinary personwho daresto transgressthe sanctity of theroyalty. Another term for the sameidea is “ditimpa daulat”which refersto one’ssuffering ,e.g.from an incurableskin disea-se (kedal) , becausehedaresto breakthesocialbarrieror disobeyaroyal command.In other words, the idea of sicknessis somuchrelated to one’sstation andbehaviourin society that its causesstemfrom notobservingtheright conductexpected.And the sanc-tion comesfrom the supernaturalpowerswithin the belief-systemof thepeopleconcerned.

The belief in spirits is paramountin the conceptof sickness.From the simpletransgressionagainstthespirits which arebelie-ved to be aroundus (tersampuk, tertegur) to the possessionof apersonby a fimiliar spirit (polong or pelesit) the curecanonly beeffectedby the bomoh. In the first instance, the victim or thepatienthasunwittingly upsetor incurredthe wrath of the spirits,andthis is only diagnosedby the bomoh whenhe is consulted.Hewill evenidentify the spirit which is causingthe illness. It oftenhappensto childrenwho while playing may unknowingly disturbthe abodeof thespirits.Thereareplacesandnaturalobjectssuchastreesandhillocks which are regardedasthe territory of thesespirits.Sowhena boyfalls ill, thebomoh is consulted.If it is diag-nosedthata certainspirit hascausedthe illness, the bomoh willthencommunicatewith the responsibl~spirit and try to persuadethe spirit to leavethevictim alone. Theinvocationof the origin ofthesespirits seemsto bethe key to thecureof suchillnesses.Theother commoncauseof illness is the possessionof a personbyfamiliar spirits (polong or pelesit) belongingto aperson(the pos-sessorof a familiar is often called ibu or mother of the spirit).Usually thevictim who is possessedby the polong or pelesit wouldbe hysterical,andhe canonly becalmeddownby the bomoh whoinducesthe spirit to return to the owner. Precautionsare oftentakenagainstpolong or pelesit , especiallywhenit Is rumouredthat

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such and such a person,usuallyanold womanin the village, pos-sessesthe polong. The examplesgiven here illustrate the twobasicnotionsof the interventionby the spirit which would causeillness: one is broughtaboutby noxiousspirits, thuscausingsick-ness,while the other is brought about by man through the agencyof spirits. An outbreakof choleraor small-pox, for example,was atone time thought to have been causedby malevolent spirits, andthe way the bomoh combated it was by enticing away the spiritswith a beautifully decoratedboat (lancang), which at the endof theritual was pushedout to the seaor mid-stream, hopefully with theculprits aboard. There are many ailments which are attributed tothe work of the noxiousspirits, and the work of the bomoh is to ridthe patient of them with the esoteric knowledge which only thebomoh has.The secondexample, like witchcraft, often stemsfromjealousiesor attempts at settling old scores.Sicknessis broughtabout when familiars are sent by the owners to disturb (“rasuk”)the victim. Again it is only thebomoh who is ableto exerciseandinducethe familiars to leavethe victim.

Witchcraft (sihir) usually doesnot involve the spirits, but occultor magical powers. Thus witchcraft would involve any of thefollowing: the useof magical symbolsor diagrams (rajah); contagi-ous magic (such as casting spells on parts of the body of thevictim — e.g. dress, nail paring or evenfootsteps left in sand);immitativemagic (like putting spellson apersonby sticking pinsinto the victim’s photographsor wax dolls resembling thevictim);or theuseof magical objectslike the projectile called tuju (which issupposedto pierce the heart of the victim). Therearemany otherwaysto causesicknessand discomfort to the intended victim. Thespiritual beingsused in witchcraft are often vague in entity, andtheseareonly invoked In the incantations or spells (mentera, jampiand serapah) . It hasbeentheorisedthat in the notion of magic, it isthe word that carries the occult power, not so much the super-natural entity invoked. Thus in witchcraft, the nameof Rama and Sita are invoked in rituals to entice the soul of anintended victim (usually the object of love). Thus through thepracticeof witchcraft, a personaffectedby it issaidtobe sick. Andthe term “sick” depends much on how the situation is lookedupon. One good exampleis when the parents disapprove of theirdaughter’s own choiceof boyfriend. It is often claimedthatsheis“sick”, bewitchedby the magic perpetrated by the boy. It is onlya natural recoursefor the parents to seekthe help of the bomoh to“cure” the girl’s “sickness”. In the world-view of the people

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concerned,it is a “sickness”, and it is within the pu!view of thebomoh to “cure” such sickness.The simplestexplanationhere isthat the “soul” (semangat) of the girl has beenenticedaway,andthussheis “lifeless” andput at the mercyof the boy’s wishes. Thebomoh, therefore,has to restore the lost “soul”, fortify it, andperhapsevenmakesurethat thereis no relapseby implantingin herthe “pembenci” (aversion)againsttheboy.

I havepointedoutin my previouspaperthat in the Malay world-view theefficacy of thebomoh doesnot lie primarily on his “know-ledge”, but rater on his “charisma”. The bomoh is actually aconglomerateof a shaman,a herbalist,a diviner, a curer and apsychiatrist.As a shamanhe communicateswith the spirit world;as aherbalisthehasknowledgeof themateria medica; asa divinerhe notonly diagnosesthecauseof illnessbut is alsoableto foretellthe futurecourseof events(e.g. in mattersof marriage,divorceandreconciliation); asa curerhe curesthe sick; andasa psychia-trist he overcomesone’semotionaldisorder.It is unvoidablethatthe premiseunderlyingthe institution is the belief in the super-natural. The old Malay shamanhas the endowed qualities ofcommunicatingwith the spirits throughhis familiar. This is themainstayof the bomoh’s practice.It is truethatonecanbecomeabomoh through apprenticeship,that is by learningto be one,butthefinal testis whetheror not he is ableto absorbthecharisma ofthe teacher(peturun). One doesnot haveto learn to becomeabomoh, for if a personhasthe charisma, the office of the bomohcomesnaturallyto him like a revelation.Mostof the bomohs wouldthenhaveafamiliar, andthe favouriteterm for it is “tuan-puteri”or “princess”. Sothe diagnosisandthe remedyfor an ailment isreceivedfrom thefamiliar throughthe bomoh. It is a commonsightto see the bomoh communicatingwith the familiar spirit in astrangelanguage.Oncehecomesout of. the spiritual communica-tion, he may not evenrememberor know of what has beensaid.That is the reasonwhy thereis needfor an “interpreter” whointerpretesthe conversationbetweenthe bomoh and his familiarfpr the benefitof the patient.The remedyis alsogivenduring thecourse of this communication. Whatever it is, what the bomohdoes,confirms the expectationsof his audience,for it is part of theculture’s world-view that there are ~pints which can inteivene inthe life of man, and that there are the chosen few who cancommunicatewith thesebeingsbecausetheyhavethecharisma.

Thebo.moh andwhat he standsfor is anold institution in Malayculture.Despitetheconversionto Islam, which, ideally speaking,

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is uncompromisinglymonotheistic, the institution has survivedand in fact haseventakenoverelementsbroughtaboutby the Is-lamic civilisations.Writings on medicineasevidencedby the kitab.tibs havenotbeenobjectedto by thereligiousauthorities.It is onlythoseaspectswhich involve trafficking with the spirit world notacceptableto strict Islamic tenetsthat the religious authoritiesobject to. However, asa social institution, the bomoh occupiesaperipheralzonein Malayculture:it lackstheofficial recognitionbysociety asopposedto religion (or evenpopular worship like thekeramat), but it is at the sametime takenfor grantedaspart andparcelof Malaycommunitylife. No Malay communityis completewithout the bomoh (or pawang). I havenot known of any bomohbesidesNik Abdul Rahmanbin Nik Dir of Kelantanwhocanclaimthat he hasbeengiven a tauliah (letterof appointment)to be abomoh, although in thepast,eachroyal court would haveits ownroyal bomoh Today, even with the spreadand acceptanceofmodern medicine into the remotestvillage, the institution of thebomoh seemsto survive.An Americandoctoroncetold me that hiswork in the ulu’s (upstream)wasmadeeasierafter he hadjoinedforceswith the local bomohs. In fact, it is not out of characterforthebomoh today to advisehispatientto consultthe doctor, for hehimself is proneto usingsomeof thecommonpatentmedicinesforhispatientaswell asfor himself. Thegeneralworld-view today isthatbothwesternmedicineandtraditionalfolk medicineareparal-lel medicalsystemsworking towardsa common goal, that is toalleviatesufferingandpain,buteachhasits own wayof achievingresultsas eachoperateson its own premisesand concepts.Withthe presenceof modernmedicinethe bomoh may not be ashighlyregardednow asa curer of sickness,but ashumansuffering andpain cango beyondthesicknesscurableby modernmedicine,thebomoh seemsthe be still in business.

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Tradisional dan Moden (Academic Exercise, Dept. of Malay Studies, Universityof Malaya, 1967).

Wilkinson, R.J. Malay Beliefs. London: Luzac & Co.:. Leiden, E. J. Brill, 1906.Republishedin JMBRAS, XXX, 4 (1957), 1—40.

Winstedt,R.O. “PropitiatingtheSpiritof a District.” JFMSM. IX (1920),93—95.___________“MalayCharms.Pt. II. Miscellaneous”.JFMSM, IX (1920),231—244.

“MalayCharms.Pt. I. Love Charms.”JFMSM, IX (1920), 129—149.___________“Keramat: SacredPlacesand Personsin Malaya” JMBRAS, II 2(1924),264—289.

“A KelantanInvocation to the EarthSpirit” JMBRAS, III, 1 (1925),83

~~‘A Perak Invocation to the Langsuyar.”JMBRAS, III, 1 (1925),83—84.

~‘Noteson MalayMagic”JMBRAS, 111,3 (1925),6—21.________ “More Notes on Malay Magic” JMBRAS. V, 2 (1927), 342 — 347.

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“Cosmogony of the Malay Magician” in Bingkisan Budi (Een.Bundal Opstellen and Dr. Philippus Samuel Van Ronkel door Vrienden enLeerlingen aangeboden op Zijn Tachtigste Verjaardag 1 Augustus, 1950).Leiden, 1950.__________ The Malay Magician: Being Shaman, Saiva, and Sufi rev. ed.London: RoutledgeandPaul, 1951.

Zainal Abidin Sulong. “The work of Bomoh in Kelantan.” Diss University ofMalay (KualaLumpur, Malaysia),1957.

Zaleha Ismail. “Kepercayaan dan Upacara .Berhubung dengan Kelahiran Anak(Beliefs and Rituals Connectedwith Childbirth)” Academic Exercise, Dept. ofMalay Studies,Universityof Malaya,1961.

JMBRAS:Journalof theMalayanBranch of theRoyalAsiatic Society.JSBRAS:Journalof theStraitsBranchof theRoyalAsiaticSociety.

Note.1. Skeat, WW, Malay Magic (Being an Introduction to the Folk-lore and

Popular Religion of the Malay Peninsula). London: MacMillan, 1900. (Thisbook has been republished in paperbackby Dover Publications, Inc., NewYork).

2. Gimlefte. J.D., Malay Poisons and Charm Cures. London: J & A. Churchill,1915. This book has been republishedin paperbackby Oxford UniversityPress,KualaLumpur,in 1971).

3. Sir Richard Winstedthaspublisheda great deal of descriptivepaperson theMalay bomohand the practiceof Malay medicine,but his major work in thisarea is The Malay Magician: Being Shaman, Saiva and Sufi, which wasfirst published in 1931. The revised edition appearedin 1951 (London:RoutledgeandKeaganPaul).

4, The criticism againsttraditional medical beliefs and practiceshasbeenbothfrom the point of religious belief and modern medical practices.From theviewpoint of thelatter, see, for example, Dr. S. Hasmahbinte M. Ali. “EffectandBasicattitude— Health,” Intisari, Vol. 1, No. 4, 27 — 36.

5. Mohd. Taib Osman, “Patterns of SupernaturalPremises Underlying theInstitution of the Bomoh in Malay Culture” Bijdragen tot de Taal—.Land—enVolkenkunde128, 219 — 234.

6. See Wolff, Robert J. “Modern Medicine and Traditional Culture: Con-frontation on the Malay Peninsula” Human Organisation, XXIV, 4 (1965).A local scholarwho haswritten a numberof paperson the subjectis Dr. PaulC.Y. Chenof the Medical Faculty of the Universityof Malaya.Two of themmay be mentionedhere: “Spirits and Medicine-menamongrural Malays.”Far East medical Journal, V (March 1969), 84 — 87 and “Malay FolkMedicine and Modern Medicine” (to be publishedsoon in the Proceedingsofthe Seminar on Oral Traditions 1973 by the Ministry of Culture, YouthandSports).

7. It shouldbe explainedthat highly respectedreligious personswho in their life-time are known to perform some miracles are also referred to as “keramathidup”, One exampleis Habib Noh whosemausoleumin Singaporeis still a

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centre of worship for those seeking blessingsor curesfrom illness. It seems

that when he was alive, he performed a great number or miracles~(SeeMuhammad Zain Mahmood, A Study of Kerarnat Worship with SpecialReference to Singapore. BA. Honours Dissertation. University of Malaya.Singapore,1959).

8. Berjin or berhantu are rituals in which the bomoh or the pawang would go

into a trance. For accountsof the various forms of such ritual. seeSkeat’sMalay Magic and Gimlette’sMalay Poisonsand CharmCures(ChapterIV).

9. Mohd Ghazali Hj. Maulud, Seorang Bornoh Melayu: Satu Kajian TentangCara-cara Perubatan dan Ilmunya (A Malay Bomoh: A Study of themethods and knowledge of his practice) Aca. Ex. Dept. of Malay Studies.Universityof Malaya(1968).

10. For a list of poisons used by the Malays see Gimlette’s Malay Poisons andCharmCures,pp. 285 290.

11. Seeibid. pp. 39 — 40.

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11PATfERNS OF SUPERNATURAL PREMISESUNDERLYING THE INSTITUTION OF THEBOMOH IN MALAY CULTURE

The heterogeneityof traditions which make up the culture otthePeninsularMalaysandthecomplexity of the totalfabric of theculture woven from strands of diverse civilizations past and pre-sent havedrawn the attentionof many scholarsof Malay societyand culture. Scholarsof Sir Richard Winstedt’s generation havetackledthesephenomenamainly from the historical point of view,providinghistoricalbackgroundsandorigins to the different com-ponentelementswhich make up tHe present-dayculture of theMalays. It is importantto know the natureof the historical back-groundto the culture, for muchof thepresenthasto beexplainedin termsof the past.But equallyimportantis to explainhow andtowhat extentthedifferent traditionsare integratedmeaningfullyorotherwisewithin theframeworkof anon-goingculturalsystem.Anumberof recentscholarshaveaddressedthemselvesto thisques-tion eitherspecifically or tangentially.AnthropologicalstudiesonsingleMalaycommunitieswould haveto touchonthissortof prob-lem, especiallywhere it concernsbeliefs, customsand socialvalues,RobertJ. Wolff, in anarticleon the acceptanceof m~x1ernmedicinein rural Malaysociety,comparesthe different traditionsin Malayculturewith a cupboard,usuallyfound in wealthierMa-lay homes,whichexhibitsan arrayof oddsandends.Accordingtohim,

PerhapsMalaycultureis like that, it is thecupboardin which

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are storedall the gifts from other cultures,not arrangedinanyparticularway. Thereis no connectionbetweentheitemson oneshelf andthoseon thenext — or evenlinkageamongth~itemson a shelf. But they areall the possessionsof oneperson.1

Others have seen an irreconcilable conflict betweenelementsofdisparatetraditions in Malay culture, particularly where it con-cernsthe oppositionof Islam as the official religion to the reten-tions consistingof inherited beliefs and practicesof past ages.Thus Prof.deJosselindeJongdescribestheconflict betweenAdatPerpatehof Negeri Sembilanand HukumSyara’ (IslamicLaw) asone“Betweentwo systemsof idealsandpractices,bothof whk±iwereconsideredby the societyconcernedasbeingan integralofits culture, both applicableto the entire society,andboth perceivedasasystemby inhabitantsof thatsociety.”2

However therehavealso beenattemptsto show that despiteapparentconflicts and discrepancieson the surface,it might bepossibleto find somestructuraldanconceptualorder andconsis-tencyin the integrationof the different culturalderivationsin Ma-lay culture.Apart from my own work,3 a recentbook by Ki.. En-dicottattemptsto show that thereexistsa structuralorganizationin the world-view of Malay magical theories and practices.4 Myown work demonstratesthat althoughMalay folk beliefs and ritualsaremadeup of elementsof diverseorigins, they form meaningfulunits or cult institutionswhich arebasedon ideological premisesfamiliar to theculture.Historicalbackgroundof’the differentcom-ponentelementsalso helps to explain the characteristicstheseelementstakein intergratingwith otherelements.End~icott’sworkis a detailedanalysisof the complexstructuralrelationshipsbet-weenthe materialworld and the supernaturalrealm that can beextractedfrom the symbolic and expressiverituals and spellsfound in the literatureon Malay magicpublishedsofar. Althoughthe work is based entirely on publishedworks, and the writerdid not have a first-hand knowledge of the culture of whichthe magicaltradition is only a small part, it is an importantworkfor it represeststhe first attemptto analysein depththe structureof an aspectof Malay world-view. The assumptionposedby En-dicott andmyself in our works is that despitethe differencesintraditions,the componentitemsin Malayculture,evenif they areapparentlyopposedto oneanother,havean underlyingmeaning-ful orderandananalysablerelationshipamongthemselveswithinthe world-viewof theculture.

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Whatthis paperhopestodo is to examinethe institution of thebomoh, the traditional practitioner of Malay folk medicine. Per-hapsthere is no other social institution in Malay culture todaywhich enjoys a longer continuity and yet is fully functional ineverydaylife whencomparedtotheinstitutionof bomoh.In it, oneis abletoseeculturalaccretionsfrom theearliestperiodof theMa-lays’ historytothe present.It thereforeoffers usanopportunitytoseehow elementsfrom the different traditions featurewithin asingleinstitution. The aim is to seewhetheror notthe patternsofsupernaturalpremisesunderlying the notion of the work of thebomoh are consistentv~nthinthemselvesand consonantwith thegeneralbeliefsystemof theculture.

Thetotalbeliefsystemin Malayculturetodaycanbegraphicallypicturedas interactionsbetweenIslamic ideals, inheritedtraditio-nal beliefsand empiricalor scientific knowledgewhich form thethreepoints— A, BandC — of a hypotheticaltriangle:5

A Islamic Ideals

Inherited Empirical orTraditional B scientific knowledgeBeliefs

On the ideal level, astypical of a Muslim communityeverywhere,prescribed Islamic teachings and practices are the paramountgoalstowardswhich membersof the communityaresupposedtostrive.But onthebehaviouriallevel, theIslamicidealshavetocon-tend with local beliefs or adatas well as scientific knowledgewhich, in thecaseof mostMuslim communities,is mainlybroughtabout by the processof westemisationof thesecultures (althoughagreatdealof modernscienceshavetheir roots in theIslamic civi-lisation).An exampleof theinteractionbetweenIslamic idealsandwesternisation(line AC) can be shown in a situation where themodernbankingsystem,which is anessentialpartof the economicdevelopmentof developingcountries,comesinto conflict with theIslamic law on interests.Such a conflict may be resolvedby aninterpretationgivenasa fatwa (ruling) by aconsessesof scholars.TheinteractionbetweenIslamic idealsand local traditionalbeliefs

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(line AB) is a constantfeatureof a Muslim community.An injunc-tion may be madein thenameof Islam prohibitingthe practiceofa certainlocal custom;or certainreinterpretationsaremadesoasto give “Islamic” meaningto a local belief; or it is possiblethattraditional localbeliefssystemfulfilling the pragmaticandimme-diateneedsof day-to-day living side by side with the “formal”religion which servesthe moretranscendentalneeds.The interac-tion betweentraditional beliefsandscientific khowledge(line BC)is exemplifiedin theproblemof modernmedicinehaving to com-petewith traditional medicineandconceptof health.

Ideally, the institution of bomoh standsat point B ,of qur triang-le, but in practice, it is anywherealong line ~ It is, however, inconstantinteractionwith the other two points.But its interactionwith eachof the other two points is of a different nature. WithpointA, the interactionis mostly on theplaneof supernaturalpre-mises.While theinstitutionof bomohhadas itsorigin theoriesandconceptsregardingillnessesandtheir curebasedon animisticpre-mises,it now hasto contendwith the teachingsof monotheisticIs-lam where ill health or otherwiseemanatesonly from the Almigh-ty. It is within thiscontextthat we get the patternsof supernaturalpremisesrationalisingthe institution of bomoh:on theonehandit

is basedon the Old Indonesianbelief in semangat and spirits andon theotherit is drawntowardsapositionwhereit is conceivedasbeingconsonantwith theteachingsof Islam.But thewhole picturewould revealto usthe traditional Malay world- view in regardtothecausation,natureandthecureof illnesses.

The interactionon line BC is entirely of a different nature.Theproblem here really is the introduction to and acceptanceofmodem medicinebasedon empirical or scientific knowledge in aculturewhosetraditional medicalpremisesareentirelydifferent.Thus,a Malay lady doctorwho hadfirst handexperienceof theproblem lamentedthe fact that herpeople, especiallythe ruralpopulation, were slow in acceptingscientific medical treatmentbecausetheywerestill steadfastlyholdingon to traditionalbeliefs,customsand social values.7 She was hopeful, however, that “intime to come, scientific medical thinking will completelyreplacetheancientbeliefsandsuperstitions”.Theproblemis actuallynotmedicalin naturebutcultural.ThusWolff recognisesthat to makeWesternscientific medicineto be truly accepted,“it is necessaryto acquaintthe peoplenot only with moderntools, moreefftcienttechniques,but with a new andaccçptablewayof thinking aboutdisease,about causationof disease,about treatmentof disease”8

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However,whereit concernsMalayculture, Wolff thinks that it is“doubly difficult’ to introduceWesternmedicinebecauseof theverynatureof theMalaycultureitself. Accordingto him,

the introdution of Westernmedical servicesto the Ma-lays is difficult not just becausethereis a conflict of cultu-res — it is perhapsdoubly difficult becausethe elementsofour Western medical subcultureare bound together in ameaningful,causal,logical sequence,whereasMalay culturedoesnotrecogniseanysuchkind of order, excepttheorderheperceivesin the world aroundhim, anorderwhich is the har-monybetweennotnecessarilyrelatedphenomena.9

A lecturerin socialmedicine,Dr. PaulC. Y. Chen,whoaddres-seshimself to the sameproblem, however,seesthe problem asarising from a lack in cultural communicationsbetween themodernmedicalpractitionersandthe rural Malays.He venturesthat “the variouselementsin rural Malay cultureform stronglycoherentpatterns,andsupplyaninternallyconsistentexplanationfor all that happens,which is reassuringto the rural Malay.”1°Thus, unless modernmedicinecan form part of the “coherentculturepatterns”of theruralMalays,it will not beeasilyacceptedby them.

It is a factthat modernmedicinehascometostay in Malay cul-ture, but the problemof introducing it speedilyandeffectively totheruralMalaysis veryreal.Much of theanswermaybefoundinthe traditional Malay world-view regarding illnesses and theircure,andno otherinstitutionon theculturewhich is morerelevantto the questionthan that of the bomoh. Embeddedin the world-view regardingthe work of thebomohare the Malays’ traditionalconceptsof the causation,natureandtreatmentof diseases.It isthereforeusefulfor usto seewhatare thepatternsof the assump-tions regardingthe supernaturalwhich govern the office of theMalaybomoh.

An ordinaryMalay is generallyawareof the distinctionbetweenwhat is approvedby Islamic teachingsand what belongsto therealmof the folk beliefs.Similarly, heis awareof the distinctionbetweentraditional or folk medicineasrepresentedby the bomohandmodernwesternmedicineasrepresentedby thedoctors,dres-sers,hospitals,travellingclinics andrural governmentmidwives.It is usual to hear the Malay villagers talking about “ubat camlama” (old style of medicine) or “kepercayaan orang tua-tua”(old beliefs) in contradiction to “ubat orang putih” (white

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man’s medicine) or “ajaran Islam” (Islamic teachings).But hemay notknow forsurewherethe demarcationline really is when itcomesto folk beliefsand Islamic teachings.In a Muslim commu-nity in Selangorwherea field studywas conductedrecently, refe-rence was often made by the villagers to those who arepious and knowledgeablein religious matters as opposedto theordinary people who only know the basic requirementsof beingMuslim)’ The former are often referredto as “ahli agama” or“orang masjid” , and it is they who would be relied upon to tellwith somedegreeof authority what is approvedand what is notfrom the Islamicpoint of view. Even the bomohmay speakof hisvocation defensive’y and refer to the belief in spirits as “keperco-yaankarut” (spurious beliefs) 12 Or he would resort to variouswaysof rationalisinghis practicesoasto make it consonantwithIslam traditions.However, althoughthe bomohis being hemmedin from both sides, Islamic teachingson one side and modernmedicalknowledgeon the other, the needfor bomohcontinues-tobe felt not only amongthe village folk but also amongthe towndwellers. Not a few well-known bomohshave built up their reputa-tion through services rendered to the town people. and suchbomohs~’clienteleusually includenon-Malaysas well.’~It is clearthataslongasthereexisthumanproblemsor ailmentswhich reli-gion or modernmedicinecannotsatisfactorilysolves,suchsocialinstitutionsasthatof thebomoh,will continueto flourish.

In a Malay village community, the bomohexistsside by sidewith the imam, and what he stands for coeustswith the Muslimcodeof belief and practice.Conflicts do arise, but thesemay beresolvedby reinterpretations,althoughthe more religious mem-bersof the communitywould not normally associatethemselveswith thework of thebomoh.’4 The situationin avillage communityis usuallyfluid, for thebomohmayturn outto beapersonrecogni-sed for his piety andreligiousknowledge.But sucha person,al-thoughadmittingheis a bomoh,would alwaysclaim thathisprac-tice isconsonantwith Islamicteachings.Two of the threebomohsmentionedin thestudyon a Muslim communityin Selangorcitedjust now were recognisedas belonging to the categoryof “ahilagama” in their community.However,therearebomohswho arebetterknownfor their possessionof esoterici/mu which only theythemselvescan explain. Others claim that they have familiars tohelpthemin their work.The well-knownroyalbomohof Kelantan,PakNik Abdul Rahman,insists thathis llmu isbasedon thephilo-sophy of the wayang ku/it (i/mu perwayangan)’5Becauseof the

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periphery nature of the bomoh’s ilmu and his ambiguousstatusinaMalaycommunity,theattitudetowardsthe bomoh,aspointedout by Michael Swift, is usually ambivalent.’6 The bomoh is anindispensablefigure in a Malayvillage: in fact, without a bomoh,the village community is felt to be incomplete.But it is also acommon belief amongMalays that however large a bomoh‘s ear-ningsare,they cannotbring him happinessor richesbecausehisilmu is hot (panas).And moreoversinceabomohmaytraffick withthoseforcesof evil, his end will comeon his deathbedin a pain-fully lingeringmanner.

It shouldbe bornein mind too that Islam recognisesthe exi-stenceof magic (sihir), but the practiceis forbiddenbecauseit isregardedasthework of evil creaturessuchasthe devil (syaitanoriblis) andthe “infidel jin”. The placeof bomohin a Malay com-munity is notto belookedat asan institution outsidethecharacterof thecommunityas a Muslim community,but ratheraspartof it.Sometimesa ceremonypropitiating~the spirits conductedby thebomohis evenconcludedwith a religious prayer(doo), andwhenthis happens,the imamhasto give hiscooperation.The imamandthe bomoh in a Malay village community thus representtwoworldsof supernaturalbeliefsrepresented.bypointsA and B onourtriangle. The two neednotalwaysbe conflicting; in fact, theyareoftencomplementarytooneanother.While the imam is impor-tant in matterspertainingto religion, esp~ciallywhere it concernsthe salvation of one’ssoul in the next world, the bomoh is animportantmemberof the communitywhose services in dealingwith everydayimmediateproblems,especially in the healing ofsickness,aremuch soughtafter. The “Ninety-Nine Laws” of Pe-rak, an eighteenthcenturycompilationof the customarylaws ofthe state,postulatesthat the villagesmustnot only feed the dist-rict judge andthe officials of the mosque,but also the m~gicianandmidwife.’7 The codealso laysdown the codeof conduct, thedutiesand the fees of the pawang.’8 It is said that as “the muezzinis king in the mosque,themagici~pis king in thehouseof the sick,in therice-fieldandon the mine” 19

The institution of bomoh is built upon elementsfrom diversetraditions,indigenousaswell asforeign. The ilmu of the bomohisnotwhollybasedon supernaturalpremisessuchasthe control andmanipulationof semangat,communicationwith spiritualbeingsorthe useof objectswith extraordinarypowers.A good dealof theilmu is madeup of the knowledgeof herbsandpoisons,bloodlet-ting, bonesetting, humoralpathologyor simplehygiene.But the

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ilmu is not whatmakesa bomoha bomoh: It is moreon the quali-tiesascribedby thecultureto theoffice occupiedby apersonthatcausesone to be acceptedas a bomoh. Eventhe spellsand ritualsperformedby the bomohare not so much his ilmu or somethingpersonallyattributedto him, but rather they are an inheritancefrom the pastor a revelationcommunicatedin a dream.In otherwords,it is the institutionratherthan thepersonor his ilmu whichis significantfor thebomoh in theeyesof hisculture.

Theprototypeof the presentdaybomohmustbe the shamanofthe old Indonesiancivilization. It is by examiningthe institutionitself that we may get the generalideas underlying the super-naturalpremisesof thebomoh’soffice. The needto give the officeanIslamiccharacterusuallyleadstoaclaim thatthe institutionhasanIslamic genesis.Most Malaybomohsascribethe origin of theiroffice to the legendaryfigure of Luqman al-Hakim. Oral tales andlegendsaccountingsuchgenesisalsocite Hindu deities andindi-genousspirits, but they form a cohesivetradition explainingtheorigin of bomoh. The name,of Luqman al-Hakim is often corrupt-ed in the accountsgiven by the bomohs,but it is unmistakablethat thegreatsageof theArabiantradition hasprovidedthe Malaybomohwith a convenientpatrondrawnfrom Islamictraditions.

It is possiblethat at onetime the office of the magicianandthatof theking or chiefwere identical in Malay society.TheOld Indo-nesianchiefor king wasprobablyelectedby commonconsentandregardedas the keeperof traditionsandcustoms.Only whentheinstitutionof theroyalcourt becamemoredevelopedunderIndianinfluenceandthe Hindu Brahmin becamethe chief religious andmagical consultantto the king did the office of the bomoh (orpawang)cometo be identified with the peasantry.GalqstinandLocher havepointed out, taking Javaasan example, that whileHindu culturethrivedin theroyalcourts,therewereto befound inthe villages forms of magic, ceremonialdancesand oral litera-ture connectedwith fertility of the crops or the family, with thecult of the forefathersand of the dead.2°The samemay be saidfor Malay culture. Once a “Great Tradition” wascreated,firstthroughHindu influenceand later under Islamic civilisation, inurbanroyalcentres,indigenoustraditionswhich continuedto liveamongthe rural massesbecamethe “Little Tradition” of Malaycivilisation.2’ It is in the latter “part-culture” that the tradition ofMalay bomoh has continuedto live on. In the practicesof thebomoh,the vestigesof the BronzeAge IndonesianShamanismarestill to be seen.But, asQuaritchWaleshaspointed out, shama-

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nistic rituals amongmostof the Indonesiangroupstoday, inclu-ding the PeninsularMalays, havebeen much influeced by ele-mentsof Hinduism and Islam.22 The tracesof the Old Indonesianshamanismareto be observedmainly in thespirit-raising seancesperformedby speciallyqualified bomoh.But, not all the bomohsarecreditedwith theability toperform a seanceor go intoatrance.

Hinduismtoo apparentlyhasleft its mark on the office of theMalay bomoh.An incantationclaims that “Siva the Teacher,theLight to Muhammad and Luqman al-Hakim were the rna9iciansof old and I (the bomoh)am the fourth magician23 The implica-tion hereis that theoffice of thepawanghasits roots in an impres-sive array of powerful beings: Siva, the Divine Teacherof theBrahmins;The Light of Muhammad,which is a mystical conceptthat thesoulof theHoly Prophethaspre-existedbeforehis time asthe predestined essenceof the last prophet; and Luqman al-Hakim. The ideasembodiedhere can be traced to the sourceswhichhavecontributedtoMalay folk beliefs,Siva, or BataraGuru,astheHindu god is betterknownamongthe Malays,is the DivineTeacherwho held animportantplacein the religious and magicalschemeof the Brahminsin the Hindu-Indonesiansociety of thepast.24The magical notions attributed to Batara Guru have theirrootsin the influenceof theBrahmins.TheLight Of Muhammadisessentiallya mysticalspeculatianof the Sufisconcernedwith the“immaculatepedigree”of the Holy Prophetsince Adam.25Accor-ding to Sufi thought,.the light — a denseand luminouspoint —

wasthepre-existenceof the Prophethimself. But what has cometo the Malay folk is the morepopularform of theconceptdiffusedby popular tales of Persian provenence,like the Hikayat Nur Mu-hammad(TheTaleof theLight of Muhammad).It shouldbenotedthat the conceptualisationof the Light of Muhammadarisesfromthe philosophicalthoughtsof theSufis inquiring into the relation-ship of Muhammadas the last andpromisedApostle of God to theprecedingprophets.But the form that it takesin the Malay folktraditionsmusthaveoriginatedfrom the popularversionscouchedin termseasily comprehendedby the common people or as theresultof a filtration of Sufi ideasprevailingin the scholarlyatmo-sphereof the royal courtsto the commonfolk or rakyat.26

Theantiquityof theoffice of thebomohis reflectedby theusualreferenceto the primordial first or original bomoh or pawang(“Pawang YangTua” or ‘~BomohYangAsal”) who, accordingtosomeaccounts,predatesSiva, ProphetMuhammad,or sometimesevenAllah. In a genesisrecordedby Skeat,the original pawarig

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precedesAllah at onepointwhile at anotherbotharesaidtobeoneand the same.27Winstedthas drawn out attention to the fact thatthe idea of god being a magician is common in IndonesianandSemiticmagic.28Oneversiontracesthe originalbomohtothechild-ren of Adam, while another accountsfor the “four originalpawang” as the creation of Allah (sahabat lembaga Adam).29Theidentification of Allah with the original bomohand the useof Is-lamic notionsof creationin the genesisof the bomoh representsomeof the attemptsto give new interpretationsto an old institu-tion. Anotherexampleof this fact is to be seenin the associationof the first pawang with the berpuar ritual practised in NegeriSembilan.Theberpuar, which is in theform of a mockcombatbet-ween the forcesof goodand evil, is an ancientIndonesianritualconnectedwith ricecultivationstill observedby someof the tribalgroups in Nusantara.Accordingto the legendof the origin of ber-puarandthatof the office of pawang,Allah gaveJibrail (Gabriel)“a Book in which couldbefound effectiveprescriptionsfor all ail-mentsandthroughthe mediumof certainformulae,miraclescouldbeperformed,suchfor instance,asraisingthedeadtolife, conver-ting grey or-white hair to black and making the old regaintheiryouth” 30

Theseaccountsrepresentthe esotericloreof the Malay bomohandtherearemany versionsof them. However, they usuallydis-play the samecharacteristic,that is a blendingof inheritedlorewith elementsfrom Islamic traditions. This fact representstheinteractionon line AB of our triangle. While the institution itselfhasits roots in the inheritedtraditionsof the culture, it hasbeendrawnthroughtimeby the needto conformto a new world-viewbrought by the teachingsof Islam to a point closer to Islamicideals.Althoughtheresultantform asseepin thoseaccountsgivenabovemaynot satisfyor meetthe idealsof Islamiccode, it never-theless representsa world-view consonantwithin itself as far asthe practitionersandmembersof the cultureareconcerned.Andthis world-view perceivesthe officeof the bomohasonewhich issupernatural,or almost,in nature.It is similar to the conceptofthesemi-divinityof theMalaykingsin thepastasembodiedin theideasof daulat andtulah. Although it is not soat persent,the of-fice of pawangor bomohat onetime hada regaliaof its own,3’ justlike every Malay sultanatehaving its regalia, the possessionofwhich is theproofof one’sright to thesacredandhighestoffice ina traditional Malay state. As said above,the interactionon line ABof our triangle is on a supernaturalplaneor of a supernatural

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dimension.Any reinterpretationmadeon theoriginal institution infavourof Islamic ideasasconceivedandunderstoodby the peoplethemselvesis effectedon thesameplane,that is on a supernaturalplane.This will becomeclear to us when we considerhow oneassumestheoffice of bomoh.

There are two fundamentalways by which one can becomeabomoh.The first is to acquire by learning (menuntut)the ilmufrom anotherbomohand the secondis through an extraordinarysituationor experience,suchasthe inheritanceof thespecialqua-lity within a family (baka), a dream,possessionof a helperspirit(akaun),chanceencounterwith a supernaturalbeing or theacqui-sition of objects which have the quality to care sickness.Becominga bomohdoesnot only meanthe acquisitionof the i/mu, but alsothe transferenceof the teacher’sspecialendowment(peturun) tothe pupil. The pupil then reciprocateswith gifts (asamgaram)whicharemoreof symbolicratherthan of materialvalue. JeanneCuisinier has rightly observed that the acquisition of thei/mu is not merelya transferenceof esotericknowledgebutratheran inheritancefrom the original bomoh.’2 The esoteric lore of thebomohis usuallynotcommunicatedto the uninitiated,but it is nota rarethingto find the knowledgecompiledin booksusuallyrefer-redto as Kitab Tib. A 500pagemanuscriptI recently purchasedfrom Pak Nik Abdul Rahman,the royal bomohof Kelantan,con-tains 147 fasal (subjects)dealing with the cure for all kinds ofillnessesknown to theMalays.But, it is notthe knowledgethat isof significanceto the practiceof thebomoh, it is the mysticalal-mostsacredqualities thatone must infuse one-selfwith, or onemust acquire for oneself, that will ultimately influence one’sassumptionof theoffice,and,later,efficacyasabomoh.Therearemany specialprescriptionsandproscriptionsto beobservedby abomoh,not onlyduring hisperiodof apprenticeshipbutalso afterbecomingafull-fledged specialist.He may haveto avoid certaintype of food, perform certainspecialtasksor behavein a certainmanner,all of which would indicatehis distinction from the or-dinarypeople.

It is becauceof the cultural world-view which lays moreemphasison the extraordinaryqualitiesof thebomoh,especiallythosewich createan auraof almostsupernaturalcharacteraroundthe personof the bomoh,that the secondmethod of becomingabomohassumesits significance.The specialc~ualitiesor powersareacquiredeitherdirectly, in whichcaseit is usuallyan encoun-terwith a spirit or reveredfigure in the attire usuallyconceivedas

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thatof a Muslim piousman,or indirectly, which is throughcertainsigns (alamat).A well-knownbomoh, who in everydaylife wasahigh-ranking army officer, acquired his special qualities notthrough learningbut primarily through spiritual agents.~3The spe-cial qualitiescame to this bomoh over a long period of timethroughdreams,extraordinaryexperiencesandanencounterwithProphetKhidir. The mostcommonexperience,however,is to beinformedby a spiritualbeing,usuallyawa/i (sage),in a dreamthatoneis to becomeabomoh.Usually, someonewho is going to beblessedby suchadreamwould receivethe signsfor someperiodbeforethe actualdreamcomes.It is alsopossiblefor someonetoobtain objectswith miraculouspowersto be usedfor curingsick-nessesafter being told about them in a dream. From the accountscollected amongthosebomohswho hadacquired office throughthe secondmethod,thereis a definite leaningtowardsgiving theextraordinaryexperiencesthey had an Islamic bias. The robed.figure who appearsso often in the dreamsof would-be bomohswould invariably be Nabi Khidir, Luqman al-Hakim or a wa/i whois known asa keramat in the locality. Even if the identity is notclear, prefixes of Muslim connotation are given, such as“Sheikh”, “Sayed” or “Habib” . However,therearealsoreferen-cesto visitationsby a penunggu(guardianspirit) of a place,com-mon hantu (spirit) or soulsof dead persons,but it is also quiteoften to find theseindigenousspiritual beingsattired in flowingrobes, huge turbansand sweepinggrey beard, the way a wallAllah is oftenpicturedin traditional Malay literature,especiallyinclassicalMalay worksandoral tales.Hereagainwe areconfrontedwith further evidenceof the integrationof diversetraditions inMalayculture.

It is also interestingto note that the bomohis often distingui-shedfrom a classof miracle-workersknown in Malay cultureas“keramat hidup” , which can be loosely translatedas “livingsaints” While bomoh is ubiquitous in Malay society, keramathidup” is a rare phenomenon.Thereare two typesof “keramathidup” : thepiousasceticswho themselvesdo not claim of havingmiraculouspowersandthosemiracle-workerswho claim that theyhavebeenchosenby a known keramatto act as an intermediary.34A distinguishingmarkof aself-proclaimed“keramat hidup” is hisyellow robe. In fact, everythingaroundhim is decoratedin yellow,a colour representingsacrednessin Malay symbolism. The“keramat hidup” is of popularIslamicderivationin Malay cultureand is a comparativelyrecent introduction. Thus he differs, in the

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conceptionof theMalays,from the bomoh,which is an indigenousinstitution, evenif it hasaccruedmany Islamicelementsandiden-tification by now. Equally interestingto note isthe fact thatwhilebomohsenjoy comparativefreedomfrom the sanctionsof the reli-giousauthorities,the samecannotbe said for “keramat hidup”As soonas it is known that someoneis attractinga good followingas a “keramat hidup”, the officials from the Religious Affairs De-partmentarenot slow in investigatingthe case.More often thannot, after such a visit, the “miracles” of the “keramat hidup”would fizzle outand he would be chastisedandmadeto returntothe truepathof Islam.Thus,althoughdiversetraditionscaninter-mingle in a coherentorderin Malay culture, they canalsobe dis-tinguishedfrom oneanotherin certain instancesaswe haveseenin thecaseof bomohand “keramat hidup”.

What I havetried to show is that the institution of bomoh isfundamentallybasedon supernaturalpremises.The patternsofthesepremisesare circumscribedby the indigenoustraditionalorderof the supernaturalworld on the one hand and the Islamicideals on the other. The patternscan also be conceivedas theresultsof interactionon line AB of our triangle. Historically spea-king, the interactionhas beentaking place for centuries,that issince the Islamisationof the Malay culture. The actual resultantforms arising from the processdiffer and vary from situation tosituation, dependingon the exact natureof the factors prevailing,butwhatwe canshowarejust the patternsthat canemergefromthe whole process.Bearingin mind that the bomohhadbeenforcenturiesthe only socialinstitution connectedwith the healingofthe sick, its importancedoesnot lie only in thefunctionit performsin everydaylife, butalso in its influenceon the world-view of theMalay culturewith regardto the causation,natureand cure ofsicknesses.We haveseenthat right from the beginningthe insti-tution of bomohhad beensuffusedwith supernaturalnotions. Itwas not unlike the idea of semi-divine kingship in the traditionalMalay political system.With the coming of Islam thesesuper-naturalnotionshadundergonesomechangeswith the inclusionofelementsfrom the Muslim civilisation. But what has remainedunchangedis theunderlyingsupernaturaldimensionof the institu-tion. In otherwords,whatevermodification Islam haseffectedonthe institution of bomoh,it hasbeendone mainly on the super-naturalplane. Thatis the reasonwhy, I think, the institution hasnot goneundergroundor disappearedwith the ascendancyof Is-lam in Malayculture.On the contrary,Islamic ideashavehelped

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to give new meaningto the institution of bomoh.And this is madepossiblebecausetheadmixtureof diversetraditionsof the institu-tion is quite capableof being coherently organisedwithin theframeworkof the world-view of Malay culture. Conflicts willsurelyarise if the society choseto apply strictly the sanctionsofIslamicideals,but this hasbeenrareandfar betweenin thehisto-ry of Malaysocietyandculture.

The introductionof Western medicineand conceptof sicknesshasbroughtabouta differentkind of interaction.While the institu-tion of bomoh is basicallybasedon supernaturalpremises,that ofthe modern medicalpractitioner is basedon empirical researchandknowledge.Thetwo thus meeton differentplanesor in diffe-rentdimensions.As suchtheproblemof the acceptanceof modernmedicine in Malay society,especiallyrural society, is viewedasarising from a competitionbetweendifferent premisesregardingthe causation,natureand causeof diseases.JosephWolff hasnotedthat theproblemis notoneof rejection,for therural Malaysdo know aboutmodernmedicine,butratheroneof rearrangingtheworld-view of Malay culturesothat modernmedicinewill formanintegralpartof it andnot somethingsimply hookedon to it. Wehavenoted that cultural changebrought aboutby. Islam has notchangedfundamentallythe premiseswhich underlie the institu-tion of bomoh:thustheMalay world-view regardingdiseasesandtheir curedid not haveto undergodrasticreorientations.But thesamecannotbesaidfor theconfrontationbetweentraditional andmodern medicarconceptsin Malay culture. The IslamisationofMalayculturesincefive hundredyearsagohasseenthe retentionof the sameinstitution for solving the problemsof health andillness. But with the acceptanceof modernmedinicethereexisttwo distinguishableinstitutions which serveas alternativesfortackling the same problem. Thus it is “ikhtiar” (resourcefulness)for a westerneducatedMalay, who undernormal circumstanceswould only rely on modernmedical skills, to consultthe bomohwhenthe situationseemshopeless.Similarly,aMalay who is stillreluctantto trustotherthan thebomohwill acceptmodernmedicaltreatmentif the situationdemandsit, althoughsometimesit is toolateto beof anygood.To the modernmedicalpractitionerchargedwith administeringwesternmedicineto rural Malay folk, the res-ponsecanbe quite frustrating, but the phenomenonis explicablein termsof traditionalMalay world-view regardingmedicine.

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Notes

1. Wolff. RobertJ.. Modern Medicine and Traditional Culture: Confrontationon theMalay Peninsula”HumanOrganisation.XXIV, 4 (1965), 343.

2. De Josselinde Jong. P.E Islam versusAdat in Negeri Sembilan (Malaya)Bijdragen Koninklijk Institut uoor Taal-Landen, Volkenkunde, CXVI,1 (1960).203.

3. Mohd. Taib bin Osman.“Indigenous. Hindu. and Islamic Elementsin MalayFolk Beliefs’ Ph.D. Diss.. IndianaUniversity (Bloomington. Indiana. U.S.A ).

1967.4. Endicoot, Kirk Michael, An Analysis of Malay Magic, Oxford Unv. Press,

1970. By world-view. I meanthe systemof ideaswhich membersol a culturehold aboutthingsaroundthem. In otherwords, it is theway thingsarepicturedorconceivedby themasa “reality”.

5. This diagramis presentedheremainly for convenience It representsthe idealsituation only. In actual everydayhappening. it is possible to get elementsofA + B standingin oppositionto C. elementsB andC combining harmoniouslytogetherandso on.

6. It may even be at point BC. for it is known, although neveradmitted. thatsome bomohs surreptitiously make use of patent medicine and powderedaspirin pills.

7. Dr. S. Hasmahbinte M. All, “Effect on a Basic Attitude — Health” Intisari,

Vol. 1. No 4. 27—.36.8. ‘Modern Medicine and Traditional Culture: Confrontation on the Malay

Peninsula”pp. 334—345.9. Ibid.. pg. 345.

10. “Spirits and Medicine-menamongrural Malays” Far East Medical Journal,V (March). 1969.84—87.

11. SeeMohd. Aris bin Hj. Othman“Agama Islam dan kepercayaanTradisionaldalamSebuahKariah di Selangor”Diss.,Universityof Malaya (Dept. of MalayStudies).1957.p. 6.

12. Zainal Abidin Sulong,“The Work of Bomoh in Kelantan”, academicexercise,Universityof Malaya (Dept.of Mala~Studies).1957. p. 6.

13. A detailed study of one such .bomoh is found in Mohd. Ghazali bin Hj.Maulud, “SeorangBomoh Melayu: Satu Kajian TentangCaraPerubatandanIlmunya” academicexercise.University of Malaya (Dept. of Malay Studies).1957. p. 6.

14. For example, see Fraser Jr., Thomas M., Rusembilan: A Malay FishingVillage in SouthernThailand.Cornell University Press,1960, pp. 189 — 191.

15. Recordedinterview with the writer. Simply put, the lamp, the screen (kelir),the puppetsand the dalang correspondwith people (puppets), life (screen),sun or energy (lamp) and the bomoh (dalang). To be able to control andmanipulatethe puppetsin a wayang performanceis analogousto having aknowledgeof life andpeople.

16. Michael G. Swift, Malay PeasantSociety in Jelebu, London, 1965, p. 165.17. Winstedt, Richard 0., “More Notes on ~1alay Magic” Journal of the Royal

Asiatic SocietyMalayan Branch.V. 2 (1927),346.18. The terms pawang and bomoh are often used interchangeably.But in most

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places.the term bomohrefers to the specialistwhosemain vocation is healing,while pawang refers to a more versatile practitionerof magic endowedwithmany talents In Kelantan.and amongthe Malays in SouthThailandthe termbornoh seemsto be the general term used, although the pawang is alsoknown. An ordinary Malay may generally draw the distinction betweenthe functions of the pawang and bomoh, but he tends to place both thespecialists into one common institution of his culture mainly becauseheregards their practices as commonly belonging to a domain of inheritedtraditions from the past.Both thepawangand bomohrely on the samelore ofspirit beliefs provided by their culture. Their institution in Malay folk cultureis basically one but it is necessarysometimesto draw a distinction in theirfunctions: bomohas the specialistin folk medicineand pawangas the generalpractitionerof magic

19. Winstedt.“More Noteson Malay Magic”.21. UNESCO: OccasionalPapersin Education.No. 8 p. 31.21. 1 am using Robert Redfield’s conceptof “Great” and “Little Traditions” as

found in his “The Social Organizationof Tradition” in PeasantSociety andCulture, Chicago.1956.

22. Prehistory and Religion in SouthEast Asia (London: Quaritch, 1977),pp. 73 — 74.

23. Winstedt,R.O., The Malay Magician,p. 72.24. F.D.K. Bosch. Selected Studies in Indonesian Archaelogy (The Hague:

MartinusNijhoff. l96l)p. 17.25. ShorterEncyclopaediaof Islam.p. 452.26. As pointed out by GeorgeM. Foster.manyelementsof the folk culture today

are derivedthrough time from the culture of the preindustrialurban dwellerswhich flourished at one time in the past (“What is Folk Culture?” AmericanAntropologist.Vol. 55. No. 21(1953).pp. 159 — 173).

27. Skeat.W.W.. Malay Magic (London: MacMillan, 1900). pp. 2 — 3. 581 — 582.28. “Notes on Malay Magic” Journal of Royal Asiatic Society. Malayan Branch,

III. 3 (1925). 10.29. Skeat,Ibid.. pp. 584 — 586.30 Dato’ Sedia Raja Abdullah. “The Origin of Pawang and Berpuar Ceremony”

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Malayan Branch. V. 2 (1927)310 — 313.

31. See Blagden, CO., “Notes on the Folk-Lore and Popular Religion of theMalays” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Straits Branch, XXIX (1896).6.

32. Cuisinier, Jeanne.Dances Magiques de Kelantan (Paris: Institut d’Ethno’logie. 1936). pp. 6 — 18.

33. Mohd. Ghazali b. Hj. Maulud. “Seorang Bomoh Melayu: Satu Kajian34. For a discussionon keramat hidup. see my work. “Indigenous. Hindu and

Islamic Elementsin Malay Folk Beliefs,” as cited above.

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12MYTH, RITUAL AND DRAMA: WITH PARTICULARREFERENCETO THE NUSANTARA AREA

There appearsto be a general agreementamong scholars as tothe factthat thereis a closerelationshipbetweenmyth, ritual anddrama,but it is the kind of relationshipwithin this complex thatthereseemstobe disagreement.Thus,the “ritual view” of the so-called “Cambridge School”, starting with the study of Greekmythology and laterexpandingto otherareas,has advancedthetheoryof myth beingderivedfrom ritual (Hyman 1958 (2)). JaneHarrison, who, as early as 19J2, had expressedthe view that“myth arisesoutof rite, ratherthanthereverse;that it is ‘the spo-kencorrelativeof the acted,thething done ‘; and that it is notanythingelseof anyotherorgin” (Hyman(1958: 85). Lord Raglan,who from thethirtiesto thefifties hadconsistentlymaintainedthatmyths havetheir origin in therites connectedwith the sacrificeofpriest-kingsor regicide.Accordingto Raglanmyth helps to rein-forcethebelief in theefficacyof ritual. Hesays,

the supposedeffectof theritual are far lessclearly appa-rent,sothat if belief in its efficacyis to be maintained,amorecomplextype of faith is required. This is inducedby mythwhich linksnotmerelybetweenritualsof thepastandthe pre-sent,but actually identifies the present,in its ritual aspects,with a pastconceivedsolely in terms of ritual — a past inwhich superhumanfigures devotethemselvesto the perfor-mance of acts which are too prototypesof ritual. (Raglan1956:127).

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ToRaglan,therefore,mythperformsa dual function: to sanctifyandto standardiseritual. However,standardisationwas notcom-pletebeforewriting; thoseclosely transcribedbecame‘scriptures’while the rest becameoral tradition. Another point to be notedregardingRaglan’sview is his belief in all myths being derivedfrom a commonsource,that is from theancientritesinvolving thesacrificeof priest-kings.Herejectsthe notion of preliteratepeoplehavingthe ability to createmyth or to think historically. Howeverhe doesrecognisethe possibility of the borrowed myths under-goingchangesaccordingto enviromment(Raglan1956: 148).

The sameview is held by many others as comprehensivelysummarisedand reviewed by Stanley E. Hyman, who himselfholds the sameview (Hyman1958: 84—88). Hymanalso tries todemonstratethat thepsychologicalapproachto the interpretationof myth is quite compatiblewith the view that myth originatesfrom ritual (Hyman 1958:88—89).As Hymansummarisesit,

the ritual-view hasilluminated the whole of Greek cul-ture, includingreligion, philosophy,art, manyof the formsofliterature,andmuchelse.It hasdonethesamefor thegames,songs,andrhymesof children; the Old andNewTestaments,epicsand romance,eddaand saga,folk dramaand dance,folklore and legend; Near East religion, modern dramaandliterature,evenproblemsin history, law and science.(Flyman1958—92).

Hesuggestswith conviction that the same“ritual-view” canbeappliedto othergenres, eventhebluesof the Negroesandformalliterature. Thus we can say that even drama, from this point ofview, can be tracedback to its ritual origin. TheodoreH. Caster,one of those sharing this view, attemptsto demonstratein hisbook, Thespis, that “the factor which transmutes Ritual intoDrama is Myth”, at least in the caseof festivals of seasonsin theancientnearEast.The function of myth in transmutingritual todramais “to translatetherealinto termsof the ideal,the punctualintotermsof thedurativeandtranscendental”(Gaster1950:5). Tohim the whole complex of myth, ritual, drama and seasonalceremonieshas“religlo-social root”

The“ritual-view” hasmetnotsomuch with criticism butratherwith anoteof cautionfrom lateranthropologists.In aspirited replyto Bascom‘s criticism of Raglan(Bascom1957), Hymanmakesadistinction betweenthe approachesof the anthropologistsandthoseof the studentsof folklore. According to him, the “ritual-

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view hasbeenadequatelydemonstratedby scholarsworking onfolklore materials (Hyman 1957). Looking at most of the workspropounding“ritual-view”, we may note that most of them dealwith materials from literate societies,while the concernof theanthropologistshave been with the pre-literate ones. It doesappearthat theargumentsoverthe primacyof myth over ritual orvice-versaareunnecessaryandthe disagreementseemsto be theresult of nothing morethan a dogmaticapplicationof a theory toall kindsof situations.As Herskovitsputs it, not only is the diffe-rentiationof “savagesandprimitives” asagainstthe “civilised”hasto be considered,buteachcultural unit will haveto be dealtwith individually (Herskovits1958: 110). Another pertinentpointraised by Herskovits against the holding of a fixed theory is thefactthatsucha theorytendstoignorethequestionsof variantsandchanges;to him theseare important for the variantsandchangesreshape,over a time, the form and meaning (Herskovits 1958:116).The sameview applieswhere the dataconsistsof materialsresultingfrom acculturationor culturalborrowingas in thecaseoftheculturesin Nusantara.ClydeKluckhohn, however,remindsusthat in spiteof cultural changesbrought aboutby contactswithothercultures, the innovationsarestill basedon the “pre-existingcultural matrix”, but thenew resultantforms are usuallydeterm-ined by factorsexternalto the receivingculture (Kluckhohn1962:138).Kluckhohnrecognisesthefactthat mythsandrituals are “in-tricately interrelated”, but he gives no primacy of one over theother. InsteadKluckhohn is more inclined tQ seethe relationshipbetweenmyth andritual from thefunctional point of view; that isboth haveconnectionwith the social and psychologicallife or aparticularpeople.Both mythand ritual havecommonpsychologi-calbasis:ritual is “an obsessiveandreflective activity” andoftena symbolicdemonstrationof thefundamentalneedsof thesociety—economic, biological, social or sexual. And mythology is a ra-tionalisation of the sameneeds, whether they are expressedinovert ceremonialor not” (Kluckhohn 1952: 140). Whetherwe findritual astheorigin of mythor theotherwayround,wecannotavoidthefactthatunderlyingbothmythandritual is thebelief systemofthe people,for without it bothcannothaveanysymbolicvalue.

In turning our attention to the culturesin the Nusantaraarea,thereis a point which we haveto considerbeforegoing into thequestionof whatform of relationshipis to befound betweenmyth,ritual anddrama.It is a fact thatalthough theIndonesianArchipe-lago canbe said to possessbasicallya cultural unity, becauseof

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historical factors, variations ~thin that so-called unity can easilybeseen.In verygeneralterms,wecandivide the Archipelagointothreecultural characteristics.The first one shows strong Hinduinfluence which still prevailsas in Jawaand Bali. The secondshowsthat the Islmic influencesof PersiaandMuslim India havesomewhatsupersededtheunderlyingIndonesian-Hinducultureasin the caseof the coastalregionsof Nusantara.The third showsthat the indigenousIndonesianculture still holds swayas in thecasesof the Dayaksin Borneoandthe Nias Islandersof Sumatra.ReymondKennedy has describedthe phenomenonin terms of“cultural contours” (see Kennedy1942: 11). For the purposeofour discussion,we aregoing to focusour attentionon thefirst twocultural characteristicsfor the reasonthat they havea commonIndonesian-Hinducultural basis which had prevailed since thebeginningof theChristianera,andthedifferencebetweenthetwolies only in the degreeof Islamisationthat they haveabsorbedthroughthe yearssinceIslam madeits impact on the peoplesofNusantarain the 14thand 15thcenturies.Howeverfrom theview-pointsof this discussion,the distinction is significant, for whereIslamisationhas seepeddeep,the dramaseemsto haveceasedplayinga role. Thus rig~itat the outset,we can makeanobserva-tion: the myth-ritual-dramacomplexis to be seenplaying afullerrole in the areawherethefirst cultural characteristicstill prevailsin the life of thepeople,namelyin Java.

Theclosenessof dramato myth andritual in Javaneseculturehasbeenthesubjectof discussionby variousDutch scholars,butonewhosetheorieswe cannotignore is W.H. Rassers.Althoughthe LeidenSchoolhascomeunderthecriticism of modernanthro-pologists, (H. Geertz 1965) the theoriesas expoundedby thisSchool, especiallyas representedby Rassersare worth lookinginto. Their theoreticalbasesor their conclusionsmay be challe-ngeable,but thejr contributionscannotbe overlooked.At leastthey hadlaid thegroundworkby providingtheethnographicaldataand somepertinent observations.At the turn of this century,G.A.J. Hazuewroteanumberof articleson the Javanesetheatre.Henotonly distinguishedbetweenthedifferenttypesof Javanesetheatrebut hadalsoconvincinglydemonstratedthat the Javanesetheatrewas not solely for entertainmentfor it had somereligioussignificanceaswell. Thiswasespeciallytrueof the shadow-playorthe wayang asit is normallyreferredto. It is pertinenthereto notethat thellakonor storiesenactedin the theatrearemostly episodestaken from the Indian epic Mahabhorata (C. Geertz1960: 263).

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Someof theIakons,however,areanadmixtureof Hindu mytholo-gies andthe indigenousones,especiallythe Panji cycle.Workingwith this kind of material, Hazeu advancedthe theory that in spiteof theIndian elementsto befound in the Iakons, thewayang itselfantedatesthe Indian periodin Java.Hepointedoutthat the techni-ques and the apparatusof the wayang did not bear Sanskritnames.In distinguishingthe different typesof dramatic perfor-mances,Hazeu showed their chronologicaldevelopments.Thedetailsof this neednotdetainushere,butsuffice it to say that toHazeutheshadow-playseemsto be the mostancient(seeRassers1959: 98). This view is sharedby other scholarsfor it is in theshadow-playthat the ritual significanceof dramais to be seenmore than the others.Tyra Van Kleen observesin her book,Wayang: Jauanese Theatre, thatwhereasin theWesterntraditionthetheatrehasanaturalisticorigin, thatis startingfrom life it triesto imitate, the.Javanesetheatrebeginsfrom theoppositeend,thatis it startsfrom the unrealshodowfiguresand developsthroughhuman-likepuppetsandfinally to living actors (Tyra Van Kleen1947:9—10).VanKleendescribesin herbookhow a dramaticplayhaving humanactors was createdby a Javaneseprince for hisweddingcelebrationsasan exampleof the culminatingpoint ofthis dramaticdevelopment.This purely technicaltheatricaldeve-lopmentmay be interpretedin anotherway: the developmentofdramaticperformanceoriginatesfrom a purelyritually significantperformanceto one for entertainment.The play createdby theprincewasfor entertaiment,althoughthe plots weredrawnfromthestore-houseof Hindu-Javanesemythswhich havesuppliedtheIakons for the more ancient forms of dramaticplays. CliffordGeertz who studied Javanesereligion in more recent times hasmoreor lesssubstantiatedthefactthat the shadow-play,althoughhaving lostits full ritual significanceasinterpretedby Hazeu,Ras-sersandthe otherDucth scholars,still retainsthe vestigesof thisancientsignificance(C. Geerts1960: 269). The most significantfactorto bebornein mind in connectionwith this isthe institutionof the dalang; at the lime when the shadow-playhasbecomepartentertainmentand part ritual, the dalang continuesto havethatntual aurn (C. Geertz 1960264).As Rassersputs it, “~ainandagainonerecognisesin him the officiating priest” (Rassers1959:116).

The ritual significanceof dramaticperformancesseemsto cent-re morearoundthe shadow-playthan the other typesof dramaticperformances.To Hazeu,the shadow-playhas its origin in ances-

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tor-worshipfor it fits into theancientcult of the deadto be foundamongthe moreprimitive tribes in Nusantara.The spirits of theancestorsarebelievedto bepowerful andcan renderasistancetothe living. Imagesare madeto inducethem to descend.Eventuallythese spirits become identified with the images,but they are notthoughtof materialistically: ratherthey are thoughtof being morelike shadows.Hencetheshadow-playwasalreadyexisting in prin-cipal. Hazeu’stheoty then is that the shadow-playoriginatesfrom areligious belief and is connectedwith a kind of ancestor-worshipritual (Rassers1959:101-2).A typical mythof origin tellsus, how-ever, that onceupon a timethe godscamedownto earthto givethefirst wayang performanceby projectingtheirown shadowson awhite screen.The art wasthen handeddown to man (Tyra VanKleen1947:10). Themyth tells usthe origin of the wayang, but itmight just be merely an explanatorymyth validating or explainingthe ritual valuewhich is still attachedto the performanceof thewayang.

We mustbearin mind that the abovetheoryas expoundedbyHazeu does not concern the lakon or the story-contentof thewayang, but rather the techniqueof the performanceitself. Themere performance,regardlessof the story, is looked upon ashaving ritual efficacy in itself. Clifford Geertztells us that whena wayang performanceis given on an occasion,one might attendthe performancewithout giving much attentionto the run of thestoryfor it is notthecontentof the storeybut theefficacyof theper-formancethat is importanton theoccasion(C. Geertz1960:269). Itis not that the lakon has no significance,it has as we shall seelater, but just that the performancein itself is looked upon ashavingritual values.

Hazeu’stheoryregardingtheorigin andmeaningof the wayanghas beendisputedby Rassers,but the view that the woyang ismore than just an entertainmentis well accepted.Right at thebeginningof his paperon the origin of the Javanesetheater,hesays,

From the momentthis peculiarcivilization first camewithinthe sphereof scholars’ interest it has been clear that the-atre occupieda very specialplacein the life of the Javanese(Rassers1969:95).

To Rassers,theorigin of the wayang hasto be looked into fromthepointof whatfrom of societytheplay is “geneticallyconnected(with) andthepart it playedin it. “It would taketoomuchspacetorecapitulateall the points raised by Rassers,so we would just

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selectthosewhich arepertinent to our discussionhere.Hazeu’sthesis,aswe haveseen,is basedon the view that the shadow-playis in essencethe projectionof the flat puppetson the screenandthe audienceseesthe shadowperforming on the other side of thescreen.Hencethemeaningliesin theperformanceof the shadowsof the puppets.Rassers,on the contrary,is of the opinion that theperformanceis meant to be seenfrom the puppet side of thescreen.To Rassers,the importantpoint is notthe shadowbutthescreenitself andthe factthatthepuppetsareplacedon bothsidesof the dalang againstthescreen,that is to sayon the left andrightside.Thescreenis supposedto shutoutthosenotbelongingto thepurposeof the performance.The division of the puppetsto theright andleft of the dalang is supposedto representthe two phrat-riesof theancientIndoriesiansocietywith thescreenrepresentingthetribe. Thustheform of societytowhich the shadow-playis con-nected,accordingto Rassers,is “a societywhich haspassedthestageof real totemism,butwhosepeculiarinstitution canonly beunderstoodfrom the point of view of totemism.” In such a societywe havetheinstitutionof “men’shouse”wherewomenareexclu-dedasit is meantto beameetingplaceof adultmalesandat timesfor the holding of initiation rites for the would-be adults. Thewayang performancethenhasits origin in this form of society.Thescreenthusactsasa wall of the men’shousekeepingthe womenoutwhile thewayang performancewith its division of left andrightpuppetsrepresentingthe dichotomy of the group in the men’shousewhich in turn representsthestructureof the societyat thetime. The kinship system in such a society is that of doubleunilateral. It is interesting to note that in reconstructingthisancient Indonesian social structure, Rassers, for purpose ofcomparison,drawsextensivelyfrom the literature on Australianaboriginal tribes. In constructinghis theoryhe is very much in-fluencedby th sociologicalschoolof Durkheim.

So far we havedealtwith Rasser’stheoryon the meaningand-origin of the techniqueof the wayang. Rassersshows a unity ofinterpretationwhenhe dealswith theIakon of the wayang. UnlikeHazeu,RassersdoesnotrejectIndianinfluence,but to him evenifthe shadow-playwas importedfrom India, it hadbeen acceptedandassimilatedinto the Javaneseculturebecauseit fitted into thegeneralschemeof the society.Thus, it might be an importation,but it is in thewayang that the “primeval andgenuinelyreligiousfeelingsof theJavanesepeopleareexpressedcompletelyadequa-tely “ (Rassers1959:1%). Not only in the performancebut in

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the story-contentor the lakon too that the wayang phenomenonshouldbetracedbackto theancientIndonesiansocietyof thepre-Hindu period,andboth the performanceandthe lakon showunityof origin and meaning.As he puts it, “whether, in studying theshadowtheatre,onestartsfrom the text of the lakons or from thetechnicaldirectionsfor theperformance,theresultsare the same”(Rassers1969: 161).The lakonsor storiesenactedin the wayang,as said before, arestories mainly drawn from Hindu myths, theMahabharata especially.But Rassersmakesthe assumptionthatin spiteof thisborrowing, the lakons areentirelyJavanese.In fact,Rassersgoesevenfurther:to him all the lakons canbereducedtoonesinglemythandasingletheme(Rassers1959:6 and 112).Andthis core themeis a “totemistic tribe myth, sort of cosmogonyinwhich themain incidentsof theearthlyexistenceof thetwo divineancestorsof thephratriesare related:how theyareborn andgrowup, haveto endurethe pain of initiation, andfinally, after muchsufferingand vicissitudesmarry, andfound thegreatcommunitywhich is the tribe” (Rassers1959: 112). In essence,the wayang,not only its technicalaspectsbut its story-contentas well, is ~nembodimentof myth and ritual, for the tribal myth, accordingtoRassers,is basedon the initiation rite in which the plight of thetwo original ancestorsof the tribe is portrayed (Rassers1959:60—1). And moreover,the whole complex of drama-myth-ritualhasits root in thestructureof thesocietythatonceexisted.

Wehavetobearin mindthatbothHazeuandRassersdiscussedthedramain thecontextof Javaneseculture.Theirapproachtothequestion is more inclined towardsgethng at the origin and mea-ningof the drama. Although their theoreticalbasesand conclu-sionshavebeencriticisedby laterscholars,theyneverthelesshaveshownone importantfact, andthat is the Javanesedramais morethan just mereentertainment.We have quotedGeertsabovetotestify to thefactthatevenatpresentritual efficacyof the shadow-play is still to be observed.Now wecan examinethe form of rela-tionshipthe dramahasto mythandritual in theJavanesesociety.Thefirst thingweobserveis that theperformanceof the wayang isgiven as somethingapartfrom the rituals held on the occasionsconnectedwith the life of a personor calendricalcommunalfesti-vals.Thatis to say,besidesanyritual that might takeplacein con-nectionwith anoccasion,the wayang is still performed.We havenoted that the lakons are actually mythical stones.J. Kats in deal-ing with the Javanesetheatre has shown that the subject of thelakon chosenhas someconnectionwith the particular natureof the

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ceremony (Rassers1959: 7). This is an important observation:Hazeuand the othershavenoticedthe same.Thus accordingtoGeertz,whena weddinqceremonywhichhasits own ritual is held,lakons pertaining to the marriage of the MahabharataheroesAngkawidjaja, Bima, or Ardjuna — are performed. And for thebirth, the lakon of the birth of Gatutkatja is performed(Geertz1960:268).

Let us considerthe ritual of marriageand how the wayang isrelatedto it. Marriagebeingoneof thecritical pointsof life is oftenattended by rituals to ensure its success.The Javaneseare noexception,in fact they havea very elaborateceremony.On thewedding-evethere is a ritual called “the-buying of kembangmayang (blossomingflowers)”. The motherof thebridebuysfourkembang mayang from thepersonwho makesthem.The ritual isjust a dramatisationof getting at any cost the kembang mayangwhich is supposedto symbolisevirginity. On the weddingday it-self, the contractof marriageis observedboth accordingto thestate law (signing the marriageregisteretc.) andto the Islamürequirements.But thereis moreto this than just that; therearecertainritualswhichhaveto beobservedwhichhaveno connectionwith thestateor Islamiclaw governingmarriage.Weshallseethattheseritualsareactuallysymbolicactionsto ensurethat the idealsof marriagewill be achieved.The whole ceremonyis conductedunder the supeivision of a dukun manten or “ceremonial special-ist” as Geertzcalls him. And old sarongbelonging to the girl is laidout in front of thebride’shousewheretheceremonyis being held.On the sarongabrassbowl containingflower water anda chickeneggare placedwhile a yoke (for a pairof oxen) is placed under.Atthe chosenmomentthe bridecomesout of the housefollowedbytwo virgin girls bearingthe kembang mayang. The groom thenapproachesfrom anotherdirection attendedby two virgin boysbearing his kembang mayang symbol of his virginity. As the brideandthe groom approachoneanother,they throw at eachotherasmallpackageof betel-nut,the theorybeingthatwhoeverhits theotherfirst will bethedominantpartnerin thewedlock.Needlesstosay,the girl often missesher target.Whentheycomefaceto faceon the sarong (symbolising the bride’s nakednessbefore thegroom), the girl usuallyperformsthe traditional gestureof obei-sance,sembah, indicating heracceptanceof herhusband’ssupe-rior position in their household.Thentheattendantsexchangethekembang mayang, signifyingthe relinquishingof virginity to eachother. The b~dethenbreaksthe eggon the groom’s foot andwash-

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es it afteiwards with the flower water. The white of the eggsymbolisesherpurity whereasthe yolk signifiesthe breakingofthe hymen. The washing of the groom’s foot signifies utter sub-servienceto the husband.Further symbolic acts continuewithboththegroomandthebridestandingon th~yoke.This is suppos-edtosymbolisetheir inseparability.Thebride’s motherthenstepsforward and encirclesthe bride and groom with herscarfas if shewere craddlingboth of them. This symbolisesthat she hasadoptedthe groom asher own child. The last part of the ritual is for thegroom and the bride to sit together immobile while the dukunmanten chantsa spellwhich invokes Allah and ProphetMuham-madandthe two beautifulwives of Ardjuna (see C. Geertz1960:55—60).

Thepurposeof describingthe marriageritual hereis toshowthesignificanceof the acts in the rite and the fact that the marriagecontractis accompaniedby its own ritual. We haveseenthateveryact in the ritual is supposedto symbolisesomethingcloselycon-nected with the successof the marriage. Thus underlying thevariousacts,therearetheideasof virginity, harmony,man’sposi-tion in the household,and the acceptanceof the wife’s family.Would such ritual be regardedas “ceremonial and symbolic”only? We have seenthat the motive is for the successof themarriage,which is a local need.And the symbolic actsareakindof immitative magic.With thedukun manten officiating the ritualwith greatcare,andwith amagicalinvocationor chantrecited,theritual seemsto takea form of magicalrite. However,we canalsoobservea closeconnectionwith myth. At somepartsof the cere-monyallusionsaremadeto thegodsin the myth. The groom andthe bride aredressedasprinceand princess,and also by sittingimmobile, they are “as the ancientkings sat as rigid asa bronzeBuddhadoingthe,ir inaugurationor whenevertheir countrywasinseriousdanger,and as the greatshadowj~layherorespractisedlong tapa (ascetism) featsbefore engagingin either love or warthe newly married couple display that trance-like immobilitythat signifies spiritual power” (C. Geertz 1960: 59). Over theritual, we alsohavetheperformanceof wayang with the lakon rela-ting thestoryof themarriageof oneof the mythic heroesof Maha-bharata. It we look at oneof theselakon asgiven by Geertz, “theMarriageof Angkawidjaja”, we shall notice that the marriageofAngkawidjaja, the sonof Kreshn.a,is achievedwhen the forcesofthe Kuravas havebeenovercome.The rituals and the lakon there-fore suggestthat thereis an attempt to emulatethe godsof the

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myth. In this respect,the ritual is also “religious” in significanceat the sametime. Hence, looking over the marriageceremony,wemay observethe following forms of relationshipbetweenritual,myth, and drama:firstly, the weddingritual consistsof symbolicactions,only someof which haveallusionsto the myth about themarriageof mythic heroes;secondly, the drama, which is theenactmentof thestory in the myth seemsto standapartfrom theritual. But thewhole complexof myth-ritual-dramaseemsto havea unity of purpose:toensuretheseccessof marriage.

Wemayalsonotethat the ritual alsoreflectsthe socialorganisa-tion of thepractitioners,but not in Rasser’ssense,which is a his-torical interpretation,that is going back to the structureof thesocietywhich onceexisted.The act of symbolisingutter submis-sionof thenewbrideto herhusbandreflectsthe presentsituation.Not only doesit referto thenuclearfamily structureof manbeingthe headof thefamily butalsoto the whole socialstructureof bila-teral kinship with patriarchalemphasis.The act of the bridesmotherin encirclingthe brideandthe groom with herscarfseemsto reflect matrilocality in marriage.On the otherhandwe do notnoticeanything that suggeststhe primacyof ritual over myth orvice verse.But we do find that underlyingboth the acts of ritualandtheenactmentof myth in thewayang is thebeliefthat theywillmagicallyensurethesuccessof marriage.

Wemay now turn to calendricalrites.The most importantocca-sion is obviouslyconnectedwith rice cultivation, oneof the basicelementsof Indonessianculture. The rituals connectedwith theplantingand harvestingof rice arevaried accordingto the diffe-rentregionsof Nusantara,but thebelief in rice-spirit is universal.In an interestingarticle in Asian Folklore (Vol. XXIIINo 1) on talesaboutthe origin of grainsin Japan,Ryuku, and the Indonesianarea,Toichi Mabuchicategorisesthesetalesinto threetypes.TypeI hastalesrelatingtheorigin of riceascomingfrom heavenorfromlandsabroad;Type II consistsof talesaboutrice originating fromthe underworld;andType III comprisestalesaboutthe first ricespringingfrom a corpse.MabuchiobservesthatType III seemstobe predominantin Indonesia.In thoseareaswhere Hindu-Javanese culture at one time held away. Type III seems to centrearoundthe myth of Dewi Seri, in which the Hindu godsalso fea-ture. “Wherethe Hindu-Javanesecultureonceflourished,leavingvariousdegreesof its influence the Hindu mythology mighthavetendedtofertilise theindigenoustalesof TypeIII while trans-forming themto a largeextent” (Mabuchi 1964:86).Thus the Ja-

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vanesemyth of Dewi Sen has more Hindu elementsthan thevariantsin otherpartsof Indonesia.The nameDewi Sen thereforeis known by othernamessuch as Bok Seri,Dewi Pohachi,Tiana-wati or its Muslim renderingof RatnaDumilah (seeRassers1959:9—19),Van derKroef 1954 (1), de Jong(1965). It is interestingtonote that in the Malay Peninsulawhere Islam is so deeply rooted,thetaleof TypeIII is somewhatdifferent; herewegetthe introduc-tion of Adam andHawa (Eve) which is clearly a Muslim accretion.Let us examinethe two well-knownvariantsof Dewi Seri myth.

The god Guruis offeredanegg,outof which a girl emerges.The girl is suckled andbrought up by Guru’s consort.Shegrowsup tobeamostbeautifulwomanandGuru desiresher.ButGuru’swife hadsuckledher, soGuruis herfathersociallythoughnotbiologically. To avoid an incestuousunion betweenGuruandher, oneof the othergodsputsherto death.She isburied,after a time rice comesforth from her eyes,coconutfrom herhead,andbamboofrom herfeet.

Theothervariant is somewhatsimilar:BetaraGuruis givenajewel calledRatnaDumilah.He breaksit openandagirl Tisnawati is born.The girl dies in similarcircumstancesasthefirst mythandisburied. After a time theking of thecountry in whichsheis buriedobservesa wonder-ful light shiningforth from hergrave.Coming closerhe seesthat out of herheadhas grown coconutpalm, andfrom herbodysugarpalm andriceplant.

Obviously it is a mythof origin. Variouslakons tell thestorywithmore complicatedplots in which Dewi Sen undergoesvarioustransformations.Thus lakons like Sri Sedana or Mengkukuhan areperformedat ricecultivationceremoniesor ceremoniesconnectedwith the village. Rassershasfound that the lakons connectedwithDewi Sen showthat the myth is rootedin theancientsocialstruc-tureas in thecasewith theothermythsand lakons (Rassers1959:9—29). According to Ressersjust before the harvestrituals areheld with incantations(mentera) to makeBok Seri and Jaka Se-dana (her brother/husband)descendfrom heaven.Shadow-playperformingthe lakon of Sri Sedanamayalsobe givenfor this occa-sion (Rassers1959: 10). When the harvestis overa similar cere-mony is held,butthis timefor thepurposeof cleansingthevillage(Bersih Desa) of evil spirits and at the sametime, according toGeertz, “concerned with sanctifying relationships in space, withdefining and celebratingoneof the basicterritorial units of the

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Javanesesocial structure— the village~’.(Geertz1960:161). Inthis ritual, as describedby Geentz,the cultural hero who is thefounderof the village is commemorated.Josselinde Jong, in dis-cussingthe agricultural rites in SoutheastAsia, believesthat intherice-plantingceremonyof thepeninsularMalays,RatnaDumi-lah is invoked in the incantation accompanyingthe ritual. Butbecauseof strong Islamic influence, he thinks that the myth ofDewi Sen has longbeenforgotten, but tracesof it are left in theincantation(de Jong1965).It is clear that thereseemsto be acon-nection of somekind betweenthe mythsandthe ritual here:butthe form of relitionship seemsto be the ritual is derivedfrom themyth rather than the other way round. We haveseenthat therituals vary from placeto placeand the myth hasmany variants.Only in onething theritual andthe myth coincide,andthat is thereferenceto Dewi Sen from whosecorpsetherice originated.Thusit is moreplausiblethat theritual wasdrawnfrom the myth, as abelief ratherthanas a narrative,that is thebelief in Dewi Sen (orin herothernames)as theorigin, spirit or goddessof rice. In thisconnection,it is interestingto notewhatToichi Mabuchihasquo-tedfrom Ad. E. Jensen.According to Jensen,the origin of deathandthat of food plantsare inseparablyconnectedwith eachother.In this kind of world-view, by repeatingritually such a primor-dial act,the fertility of bothplantandhumanbeingis tobesecured(Mabuchi1964).We mayalso notethat theperformanceof wayangseemsto apply only to the Javanesesituation.We find that thesignificance is similar to that at the wedding ceremony. Thewayang, which performs the lakor~sconnectedwith the agricul-tural myth, is performedapartfrom the actual ritual. But themotive of the ritual andthe wayang performanceis thesame,andthat is to ensure the successof rice and the well-being of thevillage.

The political myths connectedwith the coronation rituals ofkings in Indonesianculture offer someinterestingpoints in theinterrelationshipof myth, ritual, and drama. Following differenthistorical experienceswhich also coincide with our divison intothreecharacteristicsof culture in Nusantara,thepolitical systemin theareacanbe saidto comprisethe tribal or village-communitytypewhich still prevail amongthepeoplesof the interior, the state(andevenempire in the past) modelledon Hindu concepts,as inthe caseof the statesin Javaand Bali formerly, and the stateba5edon the sameconceptsbut superimposedwith Muslim ele-mentsas in the caseof the Malay Sultanatesin the Malay Penin-

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sulaandSumatra(seeKennedy1942:11).The first typeof organi-sationcanbeseenamonggroupswhicharealmostindependentofone anotherandthe political structurecan be charactenisedasdemocratic.Ownershipis often communal, thereare no classesbasedon wealth, kinship is slightly further than the extendedfamily andthe tribal chiefor leaderis usuallychosenby acouncilof elders. In short the political structure has not come to thesophisticatedstagefound in the secondand third types. In thecomplexpolitical structureof thesetwo typesweget the institutionof kingship, the ruling and the ruled and an advancedeconomicsystem.It is in the institution of kingshipthat we aregoing todis-cuss the questionof the interrelationshipof rnfyth, ritual anddrama.

Thepretinentpoint is, asputby Heine-Geldem,“what religiousand philosophical conceptions underlay and shaped” these sta-tes? (Heine-Geldern1942). It seemsthat the primary notion goesbacktoasearlyas5thCenturyB.C. andby the 3rd centuryB.C. itwasalreadyestablishedin Babylonia.This notion enteredSouth-eastAsia throughIndia andChina,although in thecaseof Nusan-tarait wasprobably morefrom India thanChina. It wasfrom thereligions of India — Hinduismand Budhism — that this notioncametobethe basisof the institutionof kingsin Indonesia.This isthe notion of the statebeing an image of the universeor cosmosandthe king asgod’s image on earth.In the political structureofanIndonesianstate,thisnotionbecomesreligiousas well aspoliti-cal, religious in the sensethat it sanctifiesthat divine position ofthe king and political in that it seivesas a kind of social control. Thisnotion centresaroundMount Meru, the abodeof gods,which is thecentre of the cosmos.Cities and palacesareconstructedaccordingto the model of the cosmoswith MountMeru in the centreas to beseenin thefamousarchitectureof Borobudur(Eliade1959: 15). Itis not surprising that local mountainsand hills are said to beMountMenu in variousmythsin Indonesia.Forritual purposes,ahillock, apalace,or amanufacturedstructureresemblinga moun-tain symboliseMount Menu (Winstedt1947). The personof. theking is supposedtobea god incarnateor asa laterdevelopmentasdescendantsof gods.Thus the title of the Javanesekings, “PakuBuwono” or “Nail of the World”, revealsthe underlying conceptof kingsbeingattheaxis of theuniverse(Heine-Geldern1942).Asfor the MalayanandSumatranrulers,althoughtheybearthe Per-sianMuslim title of Shah,they havenot in theory lost their chanis-

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maticpowerinheritedfrom thepre-Muslimpast.Basedon this fundamentalnotion, the variousruling housesin

Nusantarahadwovenfor themselvesmythssanctifyingtheir posi-tion as rulers of their people.The Javanesecourt histories likeNagarakartagama, Pararaton, and evenBabad Tanah Jawi, are notonly genealogiesof the ruling kings but include accountstracedbacktotheheavenlyancestorsof thekings. Someof themaresup-posedto be the incarnationof gods. Thus King Erlangga (11thcenturyA.D.) is saidto bethe incarnationof Vishnu; KartadjajaofKedini (13th centuryAD) hason oneoccasion,it is said,appearedas Siva; and King Anggrok asan incarnationof Vishnu, sonof Siva.(Heine-Gelder~1942). Hence it is not unusualfor usurperstoclaim divinity by creatingfor themselvesgenealogiesand mythswhich validate their claim to the throne of the state, (see Johns1964). The Malay Sultanatesof the Peninsulaaswell asSumatraalsohavethe sametype of mythsalthoughsomeIslamic elementshavebeenadded.TheMount Menu of the Malay myths is MountSiguntangin Palembang,Sumatra,where the first ancestorof theMalay rulersfirst appeared.But this ancestorwith a Hindu name,whoseappearanceon “Bukit SiguntangMahameru”had causedtherice plantsto turn into gold andsilver, haddescendednot onlyfrom a mythical Indianking butalsofrom IskandarZulkarnain(theMuslim nameof Alexanderthe Great)and Nushinwanthe JustofPersia (see Winstedt 1947). The Malay sultanateshad womengenealogiestracing their origin to this myth to sanctify theirkingship. In doing this they had grafted Islam elementsto themyth.

in the Javanesecontext,the lakons of the wayang, aswe havementionedbefore,arestoriesof godstakenmostlyfrom Mahabha-rato. But we mustbearin mind that in them the godsact like mor-tals: they fall in love, they battle, and they may be divided intogood andevil forces.In fact, life on earthis reflectedon a higherplane, It is becauseof this that Geertz, in discussingthe interpre-tation of wayang among the present-dayJavanesearistocraticdass(prijtii) sees the wayang portraying the psychological rather thanthe socio-politicalpatternsof man and his life (see Geertz1960:Chap-ter 18). Interesting though this point is. it should not detain ushere. The lakons and the political myths have many things incommon:they dealwith characterswho are godsand mortalsatthe sametime, soto speak,for they tell storiesof battles,emotio-nal conflicts,marriagesand otherthingsmendo. It is not surpni-

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singthat theperformanceof thewayang amongthe Javanesecourtcircle is looked upon as the pnotrayal of themselvesand theirancestorson anotherplane,while to their subjectsit helpsto rein-force their belief in the divinity and charismaticpower of therulers. It is in this sensethat leadsGeertzto say, “the Javanesearistocracyhad, until the Dutch come, but t’.vo ways to hold thepeasantsin order to exact from them rice and manpowerthey need-ed to support their own specialisation: simple military ten-or andreligiousenthusiasm.Theyusedboth”.

The sameholds true for the ritualsconnectedwith the corona-tion of newkings. The newruler is not only to be shown a secularleaderof hispeoplebutalsoas god incarnate;he is notonly takingchargeof the statebut alsothe universein miniature. The ritualacts and objects used in the ceremonyare supposedto be the rep-lica of thosein heavenasdescribedin the myth. Thus the corona-tion of theMalay rulershasa nine or seventiereddais for lustra-tion rituals. While the ruler and this consortsit on the topmosttier, the palaceofficials conduct the ritual by circummbulating it.This is supposedto imitate the cosmicorder. The regalia usedinthe ceremony— the sword, the seal, the amulets,and the neck-lace — are objectsclaimed to havebeenderivedfrom the first•ancestorwho descendedon Bukit Siguntang Mahamenu.Theruler,afterhis coronationceremonyisoven,alsocircumambulateshispalaceon evenahillock in thepalacegrounds.Incantationsarereadat the ceremony.Besidesthe Islamic ones,a chin which issupposedto be in Sansknitand which is a fonmulaic incantationextolling the greatnessof the king is chantedby the “statesha-man” (seeWinstedt 1947 andSheehan1936). It is clear that thecoronationritualsconsistof symbolicactionsandsymbolicobjectswhich are connectedwith the notion of divine kingship, and thesamenotion underliesthe political myths, and also the pertinentlakons in the context of Javaneseculture. What Heine-Geldennsaysasthe “religious andphilosophicalconceptions”of the stateis the sourcefrom which the political mythsand the coronationritual havedrawntheir symbolicelements.The questionof whichgives rise to what seemsso insignificant here when we realisethat the complexof myth-ritual-dramais not only a manifestionofareligiousbelief,butat the sarrcetime alsofulfils thepolitical andsocialneedsof the society.

In dealingwith the Indonesianmaterial, we have takenexamplesfrom a rite-of-passage,a calendiical, and a coronation rite whichwe may call a rite of intensification. In all instances,we have

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observedthat the rites are in one way or anotherrelated to themythsanddrama.In sofar asthe relationshipto dramais concer-ned,we havenotedright at thebeginingthat it is presentwherethe Hindu-Javanesecultureis not much affectedby the adventofIslam. The mythswhichwe haveshownto be relatedto rituals ordramacontainto a high degreeelementsof Hindu mythology,butas they appearin the Indonesiancontext,they must haveunder-gonesomeprocessof acculturation.Rassers,we haveseen,hasnotdeniedthefactthat the mythsareof foreignderivation,but heis inclined to regardthem ashaving beenfully adaptedto thepre-existing patterns of Indonesian culture: hencehis thesis that themyths, in spiteof theirforeign trappings,ritual, anddramacanbetracedto their origin in the totemistic social structurethat onceexisted.To him myths, rituals anddramado not only reflect thesaidsocialstructure,butaresupposedtobe descriptiveof the ini-tiationritesinvolving theprimevalancestorsof the tribe. Rasser’sthinkinghas beeninfluencedby Emille Durkheim, but he in turnhas influenced a whole generationof Dutch scholars (H. Geertz1965). From the view-point of this School, underlying everycultu-ral aspectin Indonesiais a conceptof antithesis:theupper-worldagainsttheunderworld,blackagainstwhite,sky againstearthandso on. (seeVan derKroef 1954 (2)). In Rasser’sargumentabouttheorigin andmeaningof theJavanesetheatre(whichalsotoucheson mythandritual), the ideaof the dichotomyof cultural aspectsleadsto theproposition that the primeval society was a tribe divided into twophrathesor moetieswhich in turn aredivided into danswith doubleunilateralkinshipsystem.To reviewthis pointof viewwill beoutof thescopeof this paper,but in so far ashis theoryregardingthemyth, ritualanddramais concerned,it shouldnotgo without comment

Rassersin going back to the primeval Indonesiansociety hasused comparativedata from Australian totemistic tribes; hisargumentswould havebeenbettersubstantiatedif he had usedmore of the datafrom those areasin Indonesiawhich havenotbeen exposedto Hindu cultural influence. It is true that laterDutch scholarshave demonstratedthe existenceof the basic con-ceptof antithesisin the Indonesianculture,but in mostcasestheyare the result of preconceivedtheoriesfor lateranthropologistshavefailed to notice the samephenomenon(H. Geerlz 1965). ThusRasser’stheorydoesnotseemtobequite astenablenow.

Neitherhavewe noticedanyevidenceof myth describingritualor mytharising fromdrama.In fact we find that the interrelation-

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shipof myth, ritual, anddramaseemsto be oneof prallel relation-ship, each being a systemof symbols which are drawn from thesamesource and are comlementaryto each other in trying toachievethe samemotive. And that samesourceseemsto be thereligion describedas Hindu-Javanesefor lack of a better word;andmuch of the religious belief is embodiedin the sacredlitera-ture modelledon the Hindu mythological works, the most impor-tant of which is Mahabharata. If Rassershas given the role of Hin-du derivationsasbeing adaptedto the pre-existingconditionsinJavanesesociety, he cannotbe far wrong, for as Kluckhohn has

stated, any changeswould be basedon the “pre-existing culturalmatrix (Kluckhohn 1962: 138).At the sametime the role of Hinduimportationsin defining subsequentcultural changescannotbeignored. The organisationof the state is a very clear exampleofthis: the notion of divine kingshiphasbeenusedto meetpoliticaland social needsmosteffectively. In fact, the rise of dynasticmyths as we haveshown is a product of this phenomenon.I~ihisstudy of two much myths, the Pararaton and Babad Tanah Jawa,A.H.Johnshasshownsthat thesetwo myths indicate “somethingof the nature and changewithin the Javanesesociety,and illus-tratethe eclecticgeniusof the Javanese”(Johns1964).Henceitshould be reiteratedthat the kind of interrelationshipof myth,ritual, anddramain theIndonesiancultureisa relationshipstem-ming from a religious belief in which the Hindu elementshavehelpedto shape.

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13SOME OBSERVATIONSON THE SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT OFTRADITIONAL MALAY MUSIC

Music as a cultural expressionhas often been neglectedby thestudentof culture. Partly this is due to the fact that notationofmusicneedsspecialknowledgeandskill, moresothan that requi-•red to notethe peculiaritiesof languages.But the understandingof a culture is incompletewithoutconsideringthe musicalexpres-sion of that culture, for, asMelville Jacobsputs it, music is “asuniversala form of expressionas humour and languageitself,and resemblesthem in its elaboratenessof structuringandvarietyof ideasandfeelingswhich weresymbolizedin the specialkinds of units used”.’ The study of non-Westernmusic, whether itis the muskof non-literatesocietiesor that of the folk segmentofcivilised non-Westernsocieties,has seenmany collections andnotations describing the various instruments used, style ofespression,scaleand melody, tonal organizationand rhythms.Thesemusicalcharacteristicsare thenrelatedto their uses,eitherto accompanydancesor theatricalplay. Thecollectionandnotationare an important first step in any seriousstudy of the musicalrepertoireof a society or a sub-culture. However, an equallyimportant approach is to set the music against its socio-cultural

environment.Basically such an approachtries to answerthe ques-tion, “What doesmusic meanto the life of the people understudy?”In otherwords,wesetoutto find the placeof musicin theculture of a people. Studies in ethnomusicologyamong the non-

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literatepeoplesandthoseof folk songsandfolk musicof the civili-sed nationshaveshownthat asa cultutal expression,music hasmanyrolesandmeaningsin the life of thepeople.Music is a uni-versalphenomenon;it existsin all cultures, literate andnon-lite-rate.It is not merelyan artisticcreation,nOr for leisureandenter-tainmentonly. Music is, in fact, enmeshedinto otheraspectsofsocietyandculture,in thebeliefsystem,in the socialstructureandevenin economicactivities. Like language,music is a meansofsocialcommunicationand it playsan importantrole in the socialinteractionbetweenindividuals in a society.And similar to othercultural expressionslike literature, sculptureand graphic art,music is a rich sourcefrom which a studentof culturecandrawawealthof informationon socialvalues,aspirationsandorientationsin a particularculture.

Thispapermakesno claim to anyexpertiseon traditionalMalaymusicfrom its technicalpointof view. What it sets out to do is todiscussTherolesandmeaningsof the differenttypesof traditionalMalay music in their socio-culturalcontext. Sourceson Malaymusicarescarce,andno seriousstudyhasbeenmadesofar on thesubject.As a cultural phenomenon.the developmentof Malaymusiccoincidesmoreor lesswith thatof Malaysocietyasa whole.Continuityandchangein the cultureasawhole isalsoreflectedin themusic.Modern.Malaymusicusuallyheardovertheradioor televisionisnotonly Westerninfluenced,suchas thecurrentlypopularpopmusic,but is alsorich in its variety,drawingit inspirationfrom Latin Amencan,Hawaiian,Middle-EasternandHindustanitunes.It is necessalyfor thepurposeof discussionin this papertoidentifywhatistraditionalandwhatis modern.No hardandfastline of demarcationis possible,butwecanusecertaincriteria in distinguishingthe two. TradisionalMalay musicpredatesdirect cultural contactwith Westernculture which wasbroughtaboutby British dominanceover the Malay Statesbegin-ning from the secondhalf of the last century. The traditionalmusicalensembledoesnot includeanyof theWesterninstrumentslike the violin, guitar, trumpet etc. The instrumentsare eitherthosethatarecommonlyfound in SoutheastAsianculturessuchasthe gamelantype instruments,varioustypesof gongs,drumsandflutes,or thosethat haveaffinities with the instrumentsfound intheIslamicculturessuchasthe rebab, themandolin,the rebanaandthenafin. The traditional orchestration may consist of just onetypeof instrument,usually the drumsor rebana, or a numberotinstrumentsin which the drums, the percussionor the stringedinstrumentsusually predominate.Traditional Malay musicis sel-

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dom cultivated in the sensethat modernWestern music is; it isusuallytransmittedfrom the teacherto the studentin an informalmanner.From what I havegatheredsofar, no elaborateform ofnotationis known.Although tunesandsongsareknown by name,they areactuallymemorisedratherthancommittedto writing. Apupil learnsto play an instrumentby ear. Youngermembersof anorchestralisten and practisewith the older members,andexcept forintricateand complexinstrumentswhich require some dexterityandskill, no apprenticeshipis necessary.TraditionalMalay musicproperlybelongsto the oral rather than the written tradition of the culture.

The traditional Malay society as it was constitutedbefore theadventof British administrationwasfeudalistic in character.Thesocial structurecould easilybe divided into two broadstrata,theruling classconsistingof the nobility and the commonpeopleorthe rakyat who weretheruled. As commonlyfound in othertradi-tionalsocietiesin SoutheastAsia in the past,the socialdifferentia-tion wasmaintainedphysically by powerheld by the ruling classand ideology by mythic beliefswhich held the nobility as havingsemi-divinerights andpowers.Suchbeliefswere reflectedin theliterature of the period, whether in the written traditionsof theroyalcourtsor in theoral traditionsof thefolk. Thecharismaof theruling housewasshroudedin the mythologiesprojectingthe semi-divine characterof kingsandprinces. Music playedan importantpart in upholdingthesocialstructureof the time. The royal musicof the Malay Sultanatesknown as nobat will be dealtwith later,but now let us discuss how, in the world-view of the traditionalsociety, music and political ideology coincided. Musical instru-mentsformedpart of the royal regalia, the ownershipof whichsanctionedthe position of the possessoras the ruler of the land.The Malay Sultanatesof today still retainsuch regalia which areputon displayandcarriedin processionduringstateceremonies.

Like theotherobjectsof theregalia,themusical instrumentsarebelievedto havesupernaturalpowers.~Anauraof sacrednesssur-roundsthesemusicalinstruments.The royal regaliaof the stateofSelangor,forexample,comprisesamongothersonebig drum, twosmalldrums (gendang), two kettle-drums(len~kara),along trum-pet (nafiri) andaflute (serur&ai). WalterWilliam Skeatwho servedin the Stateat the turn of this century tells of many interestingincidents whichare supposedto vouchfor the sacredqualitiesoftheseinstruments.An interestingbelief recordedby Skeatclainisthatanomenin theformof dropsof perspirationwould beseenonthe trumpet when a senior member of the Royal House was

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dying.2 As a Westerner,Skeatdid not make light of such beliefs.He might.havebeena romantic, but it shouldbe noted that eventoday suchbeliefs are as credulouslyheld as during the time ofSkeataboutseventyyearsago.EachMalay Sultanatehasits owntypes of instruments for the regalia, but the basic instrumentsseem to be the drum (gendang). the trumpets (nafiri) and thegong.

Thebelief that inanimateobjectsareactuallyanimateor at leastpossessedof guardianspirit is world-wide. Among the Malays, itis believedthat the musical instrumentsin the royal regaliahavetheir gaurdianspirits.For the moreimportantones,it is popularlyheldthat theyare inhabitedby the guardianspirit of thestate (JinKerajaan). Ceremoniespropitiatingthe guardianspirit areusuallyheld if thewelfaretheStateis to bemaintained.We noteherethatthe notationof musical instrumentshaving supernaturalpowersfalls neatly into a schemein which the traditional social order,definingtherelativepositionsof therulerandtheruled, wasmain-tained.But eventoday,the beliefstill liveson. No performanceofWayangkulit or the shadow-playor any other type of traditionaltheatreis embarkedupon beforethe instrumentsand the theatri-cal propsare ritually fumigatedin the smokeof burning incense.Such rites may havechangedin their details,but the premiseofbeliefunderlyingtheacthasnot. Skeathasprovideduswith someeye-witnessaccountsof suchceremonieswhich took place at theendof the lastcentury,andtheseoffer usan opportunityto com-pare them with the ceremoniesconductedtoday in villages wherethetraditionaltheatreis still performed.

The nobat is a form of traditional Malay music which gives anexampleof the relationshipbetweenmusic and social structure.The nobat is in essencethe sacredmusic of the royalty. No royaloccasionis completewithout the nobat. It wasduring theheydayoftheMalaccaSultanatein the fifteenth centurythat the nobatwasprobably first institutionalised. According to Sejarah Melayu,which is thechronicleof the fifteenthcenturySultanate,it wasthefirst Muslim Malay Sultan of Malacca, MuhammadShah,whoinstitutedthe court ceremonieswhich havecontinuedeversinceby theMalaySultanatesin theregion.Althoughthe playingof thegendang,serunoi and nafiri is often mentionedin the descriptionof the variouscourtceremonies,the referenceto the nobat is notveryclear.The rulesgoverningtheplaying of the nobat in the oldSultanateof Johor-Rhio-Lingga,which ruled the southernpart ofthe Malay Peninsula(including Singaporeand the Rhio Archipe-

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lago until it disintergratedduring thelastcenturywith theonsetofBritish andDucth hegemonyin the area)aregiven by Syed AIwiAl-Hady in his book, Malay Customsand Traditions:’ The des-cription is importantbecauseit is one of thoserare accountsoftraditionalMalay musicin its original setting.The valueis heigh-tenedif we bearin mind that the Sultanateof Johor-Rhio-Linggawas the direct inheritor of the old Malaccaroyal traditions. Therespectdueto the soundof the nol,at wasequalto that dueto theSultan himself. Thus there is the injuction that one must stopeverythingone is doing upon hearingthe musicof the nobatas ifonewasin the presenceof the monarchhimself. The nobatwasplayedforonly four persons,thereigningsultan,hisheir, the Ben-dahara and the Temenggong,the last two being the highest offi-cials of the state. Even then therewas a hierarchicalorder in thetunesandthenumberof barsto beplayedfor eachof the four. Thenobat formspartof theroyal regalia,and it is oneof thoseinsigniasignifying the right to bea ruler. In theolden days,the nobatwasstruckat regular timesof the day, andon state occassions,buttoday, it is only performed at ceremoniesinvolving royal persona-ges.For thosewho are interestedin the technical aspectof thenobat orchestration. I reproducebelow the description by SyedAKvi:

Whenthe Nobat is dueto start playing, the PenghuluGen-dang (chief gendang-beater),called Leila Sengguna, sum-monsthe band.He soundsa token beatingon the gendangandthenstopsawhile. Whenit is timeto start,all theplayerscomeforward and line up, standingin their proper places.Thechiefof theNobat,calledLeila Perkasa, whoseduty is toblow the highly honourdnafin, stands in the front by himself.Immediatelybehindhim in line standthetwo nengkara (royalkettle-drum) players. In the Third line, behind the nengkara,stand the beatersof onebig gendang (dig drum) and twogendang-gendang peningkah (smaller common drums) withLeila Sengguna astheir leader.In the fourth line stand thetwo blowers of the two types of pipes, called respectivelyseri.jnai and bangsi. In the fifth and last line stand the rest ofthe band,that isO, the beatersof the kopak (a sortof tambou-rine) andcherachap(apercussioninstrumentcomprisingtwopiecesof bamboo).Whenmembersof theNobat havetakentheir positionsandareready,the Leila Perkasa(leaderof theNobat)thenblowsthe nafiri threetimes. This is immediatelyfollowedby thedrummingof the nengkara, alsothreetimes.

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Then comesthe beatingof all the gendang,and following thisthe nengkaramakesthe seconddrummingsound(guruh).On-ly thendoesthe Nobatcommenceto play the required tune.The maximumperiodthe Nobatmayplay is the time it takesthe nafiri to completeits thirty-two blasts. Thenthe perfor-mance is terminated by sounding the war beats on thegendang.4

Therearemany tunes,known by their specific names,playedbythe nobat orchestrabut to an untrained ear, the tunes wouldappeartobeall the same.The specialplaceoccupiedby thenobatin thecontextof Malay traditionalcultureis further highlightedbythebeliefsheld aboutit. In the past,not everyonecouldtouch,letaloneplay, the nobat,as it wasbelievedthat the instrumentshadmagical powersor were inhabited by guardianspirits. In mostMalaySultanates,the nobat playerswere speciallypickedfor thetask with the offices often hereditary. In Perak, the people whoplayed the royal nobat were known as “Orang Kalau” and aspecialtax waslevied tosupportthem.

Thenobatis a heritagefrom thetimeswhenthe socialstructureof the Malay societywasrigidly feudal. In the past it formedpartof the cultural paraphernaliawhich helpedto maintain the socialorder of the day.In spiteof the changesthat haveovertakentheMalaystoday,thenobat remainsa heritagewhich featurespromi-nently in the court ceremoniesof the Malay Sultans.In keepingwith thegeneralcharacteristiesof the transformationof the MalayStatesinto a modernnation of Malaysia, many age-oldtraditionsof theMalay courtshavebeenretainedin thepresentcourt of theYang Di-PertuanAgongandthis includesthe nobat. But the nobatis notthe only exampleto the continuationof traditional musicinthe life of the present-dayMalays. In those areasof Malay lifewheremoderninnovationhavenot~left adeepimprint, someformsof thetraditional musicstill perform thefunctionswhichhaveperi-shedthroughtheages.Onesuchexamplebelongsto the realmoftraditional Malay medicine. It is difficult to say to what extentmodernmedicineis acceptedby the Malay folk; it can safelybesaidthat it is nottotallyrejected.The traditional medicineaspres-cribed by the village specialists,known variously aspawang,bomohor dukun,is still the mainstayof medical treatmentin theMalay villages. Evenamongthe urban dwellers,the pawang orbomohis still consultedwhenevermodernmedicinedoesnotseemtobeimmediatelyeffective.This is especiallytrueof casesof men-tal illnesses.

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However,it is interestingtonotethat theplaceof musicin tradi-tionalMalay medicineis mainlyto be seenin the curing of sick-nessthroughshamanicpractices.It is this aspectof Malay medi-cine whichhasits origins in theremotehistoryof theMalay peop-les.5 Central to the shamanicpracticesof the Malay pawangorbomohis the holdingof a seance,during which the shamaninvo-kes the help of the spirits to cure the sick person. Both WilliamSkeatandSir FrankSwettenhamhaveleft usvivid accountsof theseancesheldsomedecadesago.Skeattellsusof the invocationofthe ‘tiger spirit in which the pawang’s wife acted as the musi-cian. To herown accompaniment(with a tambourine),shechantedthe lagu pemanggil (summoningsong — invocation) the text ofwhich is given in full by Skeat. Skeat also quotes in full the ac-countof a similar ritual recordedby Sir FrankSwettenhamin hisMalay Sketches.7What is significant in the account given by Swet-tenhamis thefactthat theseancewasnotan ordinaryone: it wasfor a sick monarchandthe spiritsto beinvoked wereguardiansofthe rulerandof the state.As Swettenhamputsit:

Only theSultanof theStateis entitledtotraffic with thesedis-tinguishedspirits; when summonedthey decline to moveunlessappealedto with their own peculiar music, sungby atleastfour singers,and led by aBeduan(singer) of the royalfamily. TheJin ka-raja-an (GurdianSpirit of the state—author)is entitled to havethe royal drumsby the statedrummersifhispresenceis required,but theotherthreespirits haveto besatisfiedwith theinstrumentsI havedescribed.8

The hierarchalnotion of the society is thereforeextendedto thespirit world, andthe higherthestatusof the spirit, the biggerandthemore elaborateis the orchestrationneededto invoke it. The sean-ces which I havewitnessedand thosed recordedby my studentsshowthat the possessionof thepawang or bomoh is still inducedby the rhythmic thud of the drum which accompaniesthe chantingof theinvocation.Although the roleof musiccanhardlybesaid tobe elaborate,it can neverthelessbe said the musicstill remainsanimportantaspectof the age-oldshamanicpracticesof the Malayvillage specialists.

A typeof traditional Malaymusicwhich iswidespreadis whatisvariously called the hadrah, marhaban or dzikir. Although knownby different names,it is basicallythe songof praisefor the HolyProphet.It usuallyconsistsof versessungin Arabic but stylizedaccordingto the typeof musicaccompanyingit. Thestlyealsodif-fers from one locality to another, and this also explains why

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different names are used for this type of music. The basicinstrumentusedfor this typeof musicis the rebana or drum, butagain eachstyle of playing has its own type of rebana. Hadrah,marhabanor dzikir may appearto be for entertainment,but reflec-ted by the occasionsduring which the dzikir is performed and theattitudeheldtowardsit. In thesouthernstatesof Malaysiaand inSingapore,the word kompangis usedto referto the accompanimentof the singing- of the verseswhich often has a leadercalled thekhalifah. The kompangis rather lively for two reasons;comparedto the othersa kompanggroup usually consistsof a greaternum-berof pla~,iersandthe rebana usedis of the smalltype which hasbrassdiscs on the side like those found in the tambourine.Thehadrah is the nameusuallyusedin the northernstatesof Malay-sia, and it is almostas lively as the kompang,but accompaniedbyacting or dancing by actors dressedas women. The marhaban isusuallysungunaccompanied,but itsuseis oftenmorelimited thani~the caseof the hadrahor kompang. In somelocalities,the termdzikir is used,asin the caseof Dzikir Pahang which I happenedtorecord recently in a kampung(village) near Pekan,Pahang.Accor-dingtomy informants,Dzikir Pahangwasverypopularatonetimeamongthe villagersalong PahangRiver. Now it is almosta dyingart and is performedmostly by elderly people, the young onesbeing no longer interestedin it. The peculiarityof Dzikir Pahangcomparedto hadrahor kompangis that it is not lively but ratherdraggingin style. The playersareseatedaroundon the verandahof thehouseandthe versesaresungwith eachplayertaking turnsto chantpartsof the verses.Thespecial performanceI recordedtook aboutonly four hoursbut theactualperfor~nancewould beginat about9.00p.m. at nightandendat dawn. The rebanausedforDziklr Pahang is a biggerversionof kompang,but without brassdiscson theside.

Hadrah, marhabanor dzikir are performed on certain occasionswhichgive it a religionsconnotation.The versespraisingtheHolyProphetare mostaptly sungat Maulud-an-Nabi, the birthday ofProphet Mohammad (Peacebe Unto Him). However, in Malayculture, this type of music is not only performed on religiousoccassionslike the Id festivals (I-fart RayaPuasa andHan RayaHaji) butalso on occasionswhich are moresocial in character.Thushadrah, kompang or dzikir, feature prominently at weddingsand at “rites of passage”like the circumcision. At a Malay wedd-ing, modernandtraditionalmusicareperformedside by side.Toentertainthe guests,especiallythe young ones,a modernMalay

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orchestraplaying the latesthit tunesis often hired. But at certainstagesof theweddingcelebrationmodernmusichasto give waytothe moretraditionalone.The bridegroom,for example,is takeninprocessionto the bride’s houseaccompaniedby the hadrah orkompang. At leastuntil the brideandgroom aresafelyseated“instate” on the bridal dais, the sound of hadrah or the kompangrulessupreme.Similarly, whenthe elderscongregateon the veran-dah to chant the marhaban, which is usually unaccompaniedbyany musical instrument,the modernorchestrais silent. Thus thedichotomy betweenmodern and traditional music at the Malaywedding coincidesin the people’sconceptandattitude with thedivision betweenwhatis strictly social andwhat hasreligiouscon-notations.Aithought modernmusicis usuallyassociatedwith theyounger generationwhile the traditional one is with the oldergenerations,itis hearteningto find young peoplemaking up thehadrah or kompang groups in the Malayvillages. At leastfor theforseeablefuture, this type of traditional Malay music will con-tinueto find a placein thelife of theMalays.

In thefield of entertainment,traditional musiccontinuesto liveside by sidewith modernmusic.But eventhen, traditional musichastakenon somemoderninfluences.Theviolin, for example,hasbeenadoptedfor the ronggeng,joget or dondangsayang, takingits place togetherwith the traditional instrumentslike the gong anddrums. Although traditional music is given expression throughthe radio or the television, it is clear that in Malay culturetoday modern music is enjoying greater attention from theMalay public. Traditional music can only survive if there is a pat-ron for it or, as in thecaseof the ghazalin Johor,thereis enoughinterest in the society to sustain it. In the past, music thrivedbecauseit was eitherpatronisedby the royal courts or it was aspontaneousaffairamongthepeople.Music wascloselyconnectedwith festivals,which in turn followedthe agriculturalrhythmin thecountryside.But eventoday, traditional music vies with moderntunes‘at main-pantoi,an after harvestcelebrationheld annually ontheeast-coastof thePeninsula.

Thispaperhasattemptedto outline the placeof certaintypesoftraditional Malay musicin Malay culture.The accountis far fromexhaustive;in fact it just managesto scratchthesurface.Thereisin Malaysiaarichvarietyof forms of traditional indigenousmusic.The materialsarethere,but few scholarsof musichaveventuredto exploit them.It is betterthat the effort shouldbeginnow while

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thetraditionalmusicis still vigorous,for it isdifficult to saythat it

would remain the samein a decadeor two with the continuingonslaughtof modernmusicin Malayculture.

Notes

1. Patternsof Cultural Anthropology (Homewood,Illinois: TheDoresyPress,1964),1964),p. 317.

2. Malay Magic (NewYork: DoverPublications,1967),P. 41.3. Syed Alwi Al-Hady, Malay Customs and Traditions Singapore: Eastern

UniversitiesPress,1962).4. Ibid. pp. 82—83.5. SeeR.O Winstedt, The Malays: A Cultural History (London: Routledgeand

KeganPaul,1958),pp. 23—25.6. Malay Magic, pp. 439, 643.7. Swettenharn,Frank. Malay Sketches(London: JohnLane,1943).8. Quotedby Skeatin his Malay Magic, pp. 446—447.

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14

TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN MALAYSIA:TRADITIONAL EXPRESSION INCONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

1. IntroductionThe Malays of Malaysia have experienceda variety of culturalinfluencesin their long history. This factcanbe demonstratedinanyaspectof theircultureincludAngmusic.Thispaperwill attemptto show thedifferent traditionsin Malay music, paying particularattentionto the relationshipbetweenmusicand its cultural con-text. The musicdealtwith hereis the traditionalmusicwhich is tobe distinguishedfrom whatis referredto asmodernmusic.Thereis no clear-cutboundarythatseparatestraditional musicfrom itsmoderncounterpart,becauseeachseemsto flow into oneanother.Yet the two can easily be identified. The use of musical instru-ments, for instance, clearly illustrates this fact: what is usuallyreferredto astraditional music like Dondang Sayang or the jogetwould include imported instrumentslike the violin or the accor-dion.,but the tempoandthe melody arestrikingly Malay. On theotherhand,the so-calledmodernmusic would alsohavesometra-ditionalelementsin it. However,for the purposeof thispaper,thefocusis ontraditional musicbecauseit is in this type of musicthatthecultural traditionsstandoutclearly.This doesnot meanto saythatmodernMalay musichas no cultural traditionwhatsoever;ithas,but it is not so deeplyrootedon accountof its shorthistory. Itis partof the urbanisationphenomenonwhich beganin Peninsular

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Malaysia in the late nineteenthcentury and it changesfast be-causeit appealsmostto theyouthsub-culture.

Traditionalmusichasdeeproots in thecultureof theMalays.Asan expressionof culture, music doesnot only reflect culture butstimulatesit aswell. Music like othercreativeproductsof cultureexpressesthegeniusof thepeople,butat thesametime it is inhe-rently relatedto the culture itself. The main thrust of this paperisto demonstratethis relationship,especially the functional relation-ship becausemusicis part of theeverydaylife of a people.Today,while modern music takesthe front seatposition and providesmostof the popularentertainment,traditional music providestheculturalanchor.Popmusic thrivesbecausethe young subscribetoit, butyouthis hardlythetime toreflecton culturalvaluesandcul-tural moorings. In a situation where modern pop music onlyemphasisesthe impermanenceof thingsin life, theurgetogo backto traditionwhich providesa senseof stability or evensecurity isnot only felt by the older generationbut also by those thinkingyoung peoplewho realizethat life is not all entertainment,for itneedsstrong cultural foundationin order for it to be stable andmeaningful.While traditional musicsurvivestoday and gives thenewmusicaltradition a soundbase,thereis alwaysthe attempttorevitalise it and bridge it to the needsof urbansociety and theyouth sub-culture.But what is most important is the new rolegiven to traditional music: it is to providea baseupon which a musicdistinctively Malaysianis to be createdas a national identity.

II. Traditional Malay Music: The Royal TraditionTraditional Malay music like the overall culture of the Malays ischaracterisedby two features:its tenacityin maintainingits basicidentity in spite of changesthat takeplaceasa result of culturalcontactsarid its receptivitytoforeign influenceswithoutsacrificingits own basic character.The history of Malay musicis difficult tochart, but today after Malay society has experienceda massivesocio-culturalchangeas the result of Westerncultural influencethemusicwhichmusthaveoriginatedin the remotepastof historyhas survived,both in the folk segmentof the society and in thehigherculturalcircles.

If we go by the written texts of the Malay histories (sejarah)from aboutthe 15th centuryAD., therehadalreadybeenmusicinthe courts of the Malay royal rulers. The Hikayat Petani’, the chro-nicleof theancientstateof Petani(now part of SouthThailand) inthe l5th-l7th centuries,hasgiven usavivid accountof the nobat,

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thecourtmusicwhich is a muston royal occasionslike the enthro-nementof a king, thelastritesof adeadking, theassemblyof nob-lesandcourtiersbeforethe ruler andsoon. Similarly the SejarahMelayu, the chronicleof the old kingdom of Malaccain the 15thand 16th centuries,also provides us with referencesto nobat,which hasbeentranslatedby C. C. Brown as“the drum of sove-reignty.”2 This is form of music is inheritedby the present-dayMa-lay sultanatesin Malaysia.

Thebasic nobat instrumentsarethe same,althoughthe ensem-ble differs in sizefrom stateto state,or in factfrom time to time.During the heydayof the Malay rulersin Pataniin the 16thcen-tury, therewere 32 instrumentsin use. The basic instrumentswere nafiri, serunal, two two-headeddrums and one big one-headeddrum. In the past, the instrumentswere madeof silver,especiallythe nafiri andthe serunai, while thedrumswerecoveredwith silver too. The musicof the nobat is rathersolemnandeachroyal court hasits own repertoireof music. Thus the old court ofPataniboastedof 25 tunes,while the presentnobat ensemblesinthe Malaystatesdo nothavehalf as many.In thepast,only certainfamilieswere qualified to play the nobat, thuspreservingits sac-redandexclusiveaura.3

Theculturaltraditionof the nobat hasto be explainedin the con-text of the structureof traditional Malay society.4 The nobat wasoneof the cultural paraphanaliawhich were usedto supportthelegitimacy and authority of the ruling class, thus preservingasocial structurebased on a division of the population into theruling class, the nobility, and the rakyat or the ruled. A furtherdivision wasvisible: thenobility alsohadahierarchyamongthem-selves,with the royal family at the top, the titled gentrycomingsecondandthoseaccordedhonorific titles by the sultanas a re-wardfor gooddeedsandthusjoining the ranksof the nobility. Thesacredauraof thenobat is maintainednot only by the statusac-cordedto it, but also by the belief that the instrumentswere ofextra-ordinarynature.The soundof the nobat demandsthe res-pectof the peopleequal to that due to the ruler himself. Thuswhenonehearsthesoundof the nobat, he muststopwhateverheis doingas if he were in the presenceof the ruler himself.5Suchwasthe statusof the nobat in the traditional Malay polity. TJ~ienobatinstrumentsmaynotexactlybecalledthe royal regaliawhich sym-bolisethepowerandauthorityof the rulers,butareequally lookeduponwith awe astheyaresupposedto possesscertainsacredqua-lities, and are believed to be possessedby spirits.6 Today the

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nobat still featuresin the royal ceremoniesof the Malay royalcourts,andeventhe central governmentadopts it for the courtceremoniesof the Yang di-PertuanAgong (the ParamountRuler).~

Apart from the nobat,the less seriousform of musIc wasalsofound in the courtsof theMalay rulers.Usually the musicwasfortheaccompanimentof the court dancersasthey dancedto enter-tain the sultanand his courtiers. The court of Kelantanhad thefamousTan Asyik, which, if onewereto considerthe fact that itwasmentionedin the Hikayat Petani, musthavesurvivedfor thepastfour hundredyears.TanSri Mubin Sheppardwho hastakenagreatinterestin reviving someof the traditionalMalaymusic,tellsusof anold ladywho wastrainedtobecomeoneof theAsyikdancersinthe royal court of Kelantan at the turn of this century.8Probablyshewasthe only oneleft to rememberthekind of musicalensem-ble accompanyingthe Asyik. According to her, therewerea num-berof one-headedelongateddrumscalledGedombak Asyik, akindof xylophoneencasedin aboat-shapedbox calledgembang andarebab, aninstrumentwith two or threestrings.All the instrumentswere played by the women of the courts,except for the rebabwhich wasplayedby a man.TheAsyik howeverhaddiedoutas ithadlost royalpatronage,butattemptsto reviveit havebeenmade,but without the original instruments. Instead, a new ensemblewhich is quite similar to the one usedfor shadow-playhas beensubstitutedfor it, completewitha pair of gongs.9

The other type of musicknown to havebeenpatronisedby theMalayroyalcourtswasakind of gamelan,butreducedin sizecom-paredto theJavaneseone.During thelate nineteenthcentury,thecourtsof Riau-LinggaandPahangwereknown tq havethisensem-ble, whichcomprisedtwo xylophones,oneof which is calledgem-bang andthe other“sarun”, threetypesof gongsandonedrum.The gembang has 20 woodenkeys arrangedclose togetherin awoodenframe,while thesQrOn, whichcomesin a pair, comprised6brasskeys in a carvedwoodenframe. The keromongconsistsoften small bossgongslaid on a network of strings in two rows,encasedin a wooden stand.The other instrument, the kenong,consistsof threedeep-rimmedgongsplaceduprightonthreesepa-rate tall stands.The last instrumentis the Malay gong calledtawak-tawak, which is suspendedin a pair from a frame. Thegamelan providesasoothingmusic whichaccompaniesthe joget,which is danced by girls in the palace specially trained for theprupose.’ The danceas well as the gamelanwould havedisappea-red if not for a royal Pahangprincesswho marriedSultan Sulaiman

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of Trengganuearlythis centuryandbroughtwith her the gamelanset aswell as the courtly dancejoget to Trengganu.” Even therethemusicas well asthedancehadbeenin abeyancefor sometimeuntil revivedin the sixtiesby Tan Sri Mubin Sheppard.The resur-rectedgamelan ensembleand the joget with its bevy of dancersdressedup in distinctivecostumesreminiscentof bygonedaysofthe traditional Malay court performedfor the first time in publicduring theconferenceandfestival of traditional dramaandmusicof SoutheastAsia in KualaLumpurin 1969.

Ill. The Folk TraditionApart from the nobat the dichotomy of court and folk traditionsin Malay musicis notclear-cut. In fact what havesurvivedas folktheatreswith their attendantmusic might haveat one time beenpatronisedby the royal court. The cultural traditions of Malaymusicthereforearebetterobservedthroughthedifferent typesofmusicextantamongtheMalay folk today.While thereis anobser-vable variety in musicalexpressionsamongthe Malays,andthisfact is reflectedin the easily identifiable regionalmusical tradi-tions such asthe Wayang Kulit musical ensemblein Kelantan,KedahandPerlis,the Ghazal in Johoreand the Dondang Sayangin Malacca,thereis alsoa homogeneityto be seenin the musicalensembleswithin a particularregionor evenin the whole of thecountry.This stateof affair reflects the civilisation in the MalayArchipelago: while diversity of culture is clearly to be seen,yetwithin theheterogeneitywe canfind a threadcommonto all thesecultures.

Therearemanywaysby whichwe candiscussthe cultural tradi-tions of Malay music. But the best would be to go by the maintraditionsasrepresentedby thedifferenttypesof ensembles,theircharacteristicsandtheir placein the life of the society.The mostwidespreadform of musicis the one using single-headeddrumscalledthe rebana or variationsof it calledby other names.Basicallya rebana is a drum with the face made of cattle or goat skinover a circular rim, which is usually made out of piece of wood.The rim or the body vanes in size as well as depth. From asmallandshallowonewhichcaneasilybe held in one’s handto abig and deeponewhich is usually placedon the lap. There aremanydifferentwaysof tuninga rebana , butthemostcommonis toinsertarattancoil betweentheskinandthe body, a processusual-ly known as sedak The othercommonway is to havea rattan ringextendingjust beyondthe bottom of the body, and the tuning is

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doneby insertinga peg into the spacebetweenthe ring and thebottomof the body, thustighteningthe rattanpieceswhich con-nectthefaceof thedrumto thering.

As stated,therearemany different types of rebana, andeachlocality would haveits own style. But someare quite widespreadas in rebana kercing or kompang, so-called becauseit has twopiecesof smallbrassdiscsinsertedinto the sideof the body at twoor threeplaces.Thus whenthe faceis hit the brassdiscscontri-butetheir own jinggling sound,or whenthe rebana is shaken,thebrass discs will jingle like the tambourine. A small rebana calledtar isusedin Sawarakforbridal processionsbut it is alsoknown inPeninsular Malaysia, usually in performanceslike the rodat, adancewhich has a religious cor~notationand popular in Treng-ganu.

The rebana is usually associatedwith religious chants and“dances”,andtheseareknownby many different namesandper-formed in many different ways. They are variously called Dzikir,Ratib, Nazam. Hadrab, Rodat. Radat. Maulud etc. The commonname Dikir, which consists of verses praising the Holy ProphetMuhammad (Peacebe Unto Him), is accompaniedby the beatingof the rebana.Theremayor maynotbe a dance,as in the caseofthe Ratib wheredancingin the form of steppingto the rhythmofthe rebanais performed.One exampleis Ratib Samanwhich isfound in a widespreadareaincluding the Malaysof Sarawak.Aperformancein a village of MuaraTuang in Sarawak,for instance,consistsof a groupof peoplein a circle with a leadercalledtheKhalifah in the middle. The danceconsistsof many variationsofsteppingmovementsfollowing the leader’schantandthe chorusbythecircle. Two or three rebana accompanythe dance.TheRodatof Trengganuin its older form was more elaborate, having mendressedaswoman dancingwith feetand handmovementsto theaccompanimentof the rebana. Today, thedancehasbeenrevivedby someyouth organizationsof the state,but the form has chang-ed. Insteadof having mendressedup as women,young girls nowtakepartin the dancetroupe,andnon-religiouspopularsongsarealso included in the repertoire. In Sarawak,at the village ofSitunggang, the Rodat is called Radat, and it is performedin a mosque.Here, the danceconsistsof somesteppingand handmovementsby two rows of dancers,one consistingof boys andanotherof girls, with the Khalifah and his assistantbetweenthetwo rows. There are about eight to ten rebanaplayersaccompany-ing the dance.The Hadrah which is the style to be found in the

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northernstateof Kedahconsistsof a group of rebana playersandapair of dancers,both male,but oneis dressedandmadeup like awoman.Again the versessungto theaccompanimentof the rebanahavereligiousconnotations.Nazam , MauludorBerzanjimayor maynot be accompaniedby the rebana, but as in the case of othersbelonging to this group they are chantsin praise of the ProphetMuhammad(Peacebe Unto Him) or versesof religious teachingsand moralistic guidesto good Islamic behaviour.The Nazam is theterm usedin the stateof Trengganuandpartsof Pahang,andcon-fined to women. The Maulud is usually held during the monthcommemoratingthe birth of ProphetMuhammad(Peacebe UntoHim), but may be chanted on special occasionslike the cere-mony of cutting the first lock of the child’s hair. Berzanjiis also thechantingof verseson religiousteachingsandinjunctions.

Exceptfor someattemptsto chantin the indigenouslanguage,like one Maulud group in Pulau Besar,Trengganu,or like themodernisedRodatwhich has included popularsongs,the collec-tion of cultural activities describedaboveareexpressedin versesin theArabic language.But thechantingis sostylisedandsinceitis articulatedby the simple folk who havehad little or no educationwhatsoeverin Arabic apartfrom reciting the Quran, the articula-tion leavesmuch to be aesired.But thesechantsare activitieswhich form an importantpart of the cultural life: they combineplay-elementsandreligious inspiration.Theformal Islamicritualsareconfinedto the five daily prayers,acongregationalprayeronFridayafternoon,fastingduring the monthof Ramadhan,the pil-grimage or the Haji, and the observancesof certain occasionslikethe Id festivals, the commemorationof the ascensionof ProphetMuhammad(PeacebeUnto Him) (lsrakandMikraj), theremembranceof thedeathof HassanandHusseinat Katbala,the prophet’sbirthdayor the revelationof the first chapterof the Quran.Theseare observ-edandoften regardedasrituals, althoughsomeof theobservancesarenotrecognizedassuchby the strict Muslims. But a societyhasotheroccasionsto observewhich haveto do with things like thelife-cycle of individualsor to fulfil the needto strengthencommu-nal feelingsandsoon. It is on suchoccasionsthat thechants,andthe rebanathatgoeswith them,becomea feature.Thus,the wed-ding processionof the bridegroomto the bride’s housein Singa-porewould beprecededby a k~mpanggroupof ten to twenty (orevenmore)players,chantingin Arabic versesfollowing the leader(khalifah). Or in Trengganu,the Maulud is chantedwhen thechild’s first lock of hair is shornor in Malaccawhenthe child for

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thefirst timesetsfoot on the ground,bothwith the hopethat thechild would emulatetheexemplaryconductof theHoly Prophet(Peaceby Unto Him), whoselife andcharacterarebeingchantedin theverses.The Circumcision is also preceded not only by a feast (ken-dun) but also by a recitationof the Berzanji. At weddingsin Pa-hang,while the women stay awakethe night through preparingthe feast andother paraphanalia.somemiddle-agedmen wouldbeatthe rebana andchant the Diklr till dawn, thus keepingthewomen company.Or amongthe SarawakMalays, the Ratib Samanis perfomedby the men of the village to makea wedding or acircumcision a livelier event, if not more religious in meaning.Sufficeto say that thetraditionthat hascentredaroundthe rebanais an extensionof the religious mood, from the ritualistic andsacredto the mundaneandsocial.

In factthe rebana hasmadethis type of music-makinga homo-genouscultural phenomenonthroughoutthe Malay Archipelago,and basically it has an Islamic religious connotation. It is notknownhow thetraditionoriginatedin theArchipelago,but it musthaveoriginatedfrom placeswhenceIslamspread,the Indian sub-continentor Persia.The tradition of chantingreligious versestothe rhythmof thedrum andwith slowsteppingdancesandfingermovements is widespreadin the Islamic world, but the variousstyles which havebeen developedin the Malay Archipelagohavesomeuniformity within thearea,butarequite distinctivefrom thetraditionsof other Muslim areas.The deep religious drive hasfound expressionin the variety of rhytmic patterns from therebana which accompanythe Arabic chants,and from this basicform. it hasdevelopedinto a variety of stylesreflectednotonly bythedifferentkindsof performancesbutalsoby the varietyof~reba-na constructed.Onesignificantvarietyis thelarge rebana madeinKelantan.Known asRebana Ubi and Rebana Besar, they areun-like other rebana becauseof their sizes.While the usual rebanacanbecarriedin the hand,or placedon the lap, Rebana Ubi andRebanaBesar are large and heavy and are beaten not with thepalmof thehandbutwith sticks.Andtheir role is not like theordi-nary rebana;theyareplayedduring theafter-harvestcelebrations.During suchcelebrations,the rebana playersare pitted againstoneanother,eitherin teamsor individually. The rhythmicpatternproducedby thebeatingof the rebana, especiallyby the interloc-king rhythmproducedby morethanone rebana, is the basisof thecompetition. Thus while the rebar&a is usually associatedwithmusic-makingand this has religious connotations,it has been

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extendedto take in innovationsand usedfor non-religiousocca-sionssuchasafter-harvestfestivals.

The other complex of musical tradition is the ensembleswhichaccompany traditional preformances,such as the shadow play,usually referredto as Wayang Kulit, the dramaticperformanceMak Yong, the Gendang Kling and Mek Mulung of Kedah andPerlis.The musicalensemblesfor theseperformancearebasedona numberof commoninstruments:gong, rebab, two-headeddrum(gendang), one-headeddrum of different types. the oboe (serunai)and other smaller percussioninstruments. But the actual composi-tion of the ensemblediffers one from another.Although it hasbeensuggestedthat thesedifferent ensemblesmight havediffe-rent provenances,I am inclined to think that in termsof the non-musical aspectsof the ensembles,like the musical instruments,the function of the ensembles,the belief systemconnectedwithperformancesandthe placesof the performancein the life of thepeople, they all seemto point to a single tradition. In the firstplace,theseensemblesare found in the northernstatesof Kelan-tan, Kedah and Perlis, while in the neighbouringstatesto thesouth, in Trengganu,Pahangand Perak,we do find someoccur-rencesof thisstyleof musicalensembles.Furtherto the south, themusicalfeatureshowsa markeddifferenceastobeseenlater.

The Wayang Kulit ensemblecan be found asfar southas Jo-hore,but thisoneclearly belongsto a different tradition: it has agamelan-typeof music. The ensemblesin Kelantan, Kedah andPerlisshowanaffinity betweenthem,although thosein Kelantanseemto be compratively elaboratewith more instruments. Atypical Wayang Kulit ensemblein Kelantanconsistsof the follo-wing instruments: two oboes (serunal), a pair of one-headeddrums of a particularshapecalled gedombak, a pair of two-headeddrumscalled gendang.a pair of two-headeddrumswhich are beat-en with two sticks and placed at an inclination supportedby twolegs(geduk), apairof small bossedgongsplaceduprightandsus-pendedon a woodenstand (canang),a pair of small cuppedcym-bals (kesi) and a pair of gongs (tawak-tawak).’

2 A Wayang Kulitensemblein Kedahhasbasicallythesameinstrumentsbutmay beless in number,thus it may haveone geduk insteadof a pair andthe canangdoublesup asthe gong.’3

TheMak Yong ensemblehasbasicallythesameinstrumentsbutwith the addition of the rebab, a bowed two or three-stringedinstrument.Thestyleof vocaldelivery in the Mak Yong hasbeensuggestedby somescholarsas having closesimilarities with the

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singingamongthe Arabsof Hadramout,Yemenand Syria.14 Andthe rhythmic accompanimentof the music is said to be relatedtothe conceptof metresin Arabic music. Theseviews are givenmainlyfrom the point of the technical,including the vocal rende-ring, aspectof the music, but from the other features,especiallythethemesandnatureof the storiesenacted,they showmoreaffi-nities with the indigenousfolk traditions, like the folk-tales andfolk-beliefs. The simplest ensemblewithin this complex is theGendang Kling of PerlisandNorthernKedah. It comprisesa pairof serunai,apairof gendang andapairof gongs.15

It is difficult to talk in termsof scaleor measurein this type ofmusic. There is simply no conceptionof standaradisationin themaking of the instruments:two Wayang Kulit ensemblesmayhave the sameinstruments,but their measurementscan differgreatly.16The emphasisof the music is on the interlocking rhyth-mic patterncreatedby thedrums,while the nebab andthe serunaiweave the melodies. The percussions gongs, canang and thekesi — providetheconstantbeat.

Notwithstanding the observationsmade with regard to theforeignorigins or influencesthat might havehelpedto shapethemusicthat accompaniesMalay folk performancesin the northernstates,it mustbe admitted that the cultural traditionsof thesemusicalensemblesaredeeplyrootedin thefolk cultureof the localpeople.Beliefpertainingto theperformances,the instrumentsandthe playersaresteadfastlyheld to, so that rituals form an impor-tant part of the tradition. No performanceis begun without thestage,theinstrumentsandtheplayersbeing blessedfirst soas tobe protectedfrom evil forces.In fact, the music and the perfor-manceare not merelyfor entertainmentat weddingsor other festiveoccasions;theyaretheextensionof the supernaturalworld arounduswhich is a reality in thebelief systemof theMalay peasantry.Itis inherentin the beliefsof the Malay peasantsin Kelantan,Ke-dah,Perlisandelsewherethat in anotherdimensionof our worldthere exist supernaturalbeings, and thesecreatureswill have tobe propitiatedsoas to preservea harmonybetweenthe world ofmortals and that of the immortals. Rituals are often held, as inpropitiatingtherice spirits (semangat padi), the sea-spirits(hantutaut) and the pestilencewhichbrings diseases.And not only areperformancesforming part of the whole ritualistic system, theactual rituals themselvesare conductedto the accompanimentofthe sametype of music. Thus curing rituals like Main PuteriemployThe samekind of music; soalso the ritual to appeasethe

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spirits of the sea (Puja Pantai). Unlike the modern notion thatmusicis separatefrom otheraspectsof our life, the musicandtheperformancesamongthe Malay folk in the northernstatesof theMalayPeninsulaarepart andparcelof their everydaylife. Only inoneinstancedo theymakethe separation,andthat is betweenthekind of musicdescribedhere and the Islamic religious activities,including, in their perception, music and performancesof therebana complex already describedabove. The conflict becomespronouncedwhenthe religiousleaderscondemntraditional musicasbeinginconsistentwith Islamicobservances.

Outsidethe northernareadealt with above,the restof the Pe-ninsuladoesnotshow a homogeneoustraditionon folk music.Partof thereasonisthat mostof thepopulationin thesestateswere notasstableandperhapsnot as longestablishedasthe peoplein thenorthernstateswho hadcarvedout for themselvesa rice civiliza-tion on theflat plainsof thearea.Thereis agreatintermixture ofMalays in statessouth of Kedah and Trengganu,and the folkmusicdevelopedin thesestatesreflectsthis fact.Theimmigrationof theJavaneseintothestatesof JohoreandSelangorfrom the lastcenturyhas seenthe transportationof Javanesefolk cultureandmusic. Thus Wayang Kulit and Kuda Kepang are two of the mostpopulartobefound in thevariousvillageswherethe Javanesehadsettled. Thus Wayang Kulit in Johore or in Tanjung Karang inSelangordoesnot sharethe tradition of the theatrein the north,andits musicalensembleconsistsof gamelan type of instruments.It is an obviousby-productof the Javaneseimmigration into Jo-horeandthecoastalregionof Selangorwhenthe stateswereopento rubberandcoconutplantationsin the caseof Johoreand rice-cultivation in the case of Selangor.Another by product was KudaKepang, a group dance imitating the movements-ofhorses, withthedancerscarryingflat hobby-horsesby their sideas if theywereriding them. Again, the musicreflectsan importationfrom Java.Theonly instrumentscommonwith the northerntradition are thegongandthedrum (gendang).

Apart from the Javanesederivedmusic of Kuda KepangandWayang Kulit, the stateof Johorehas adopteda music greatlyinfluencedby Perso-Indianmusicasits distinctiv.emusictradition.The term traditional in this senseis only meaningfulwhen theGhazalmusicas it is calledis put in relationto the urbanmusicalperformance.’7 The Gho.zalwasstartedat the turn of the presentcentury by someJohoregovernmentofficials who were taughtHindustanimusicby anIndianteacher.In factthebeginningof the

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Ghazal wasin the Hindustanisongsaccompaniedby an ensembleconsisting of harmonium. tabla or gendang(drum). violin and theoud (locally known as gambus).The Ghazal actually underwent alot of modifications throughoutits short history. However, thebasicinstrumentstodayconsistof the harmonium,violin, gambus(oud), guitar, mandolinand the tabla or gendang. As canbe seenfrom theseinstrumentsandalso theorigin of the musicitself, it isdifficult to regardGhazalmusicas an autochtonouselementof Ma-lay culture,but it hastakensucha deeprootsamongthe MalaysofJohoreas a musicof entertainment,gracing such occasionsasweddings,festivalsandgatherings,that it has beenregardedastraditional musicbelongingtothestate.

The Ghazal music is quite distinctive from other traditionalmusicof theMalays; its Perso-Hindustaniprovenanceisclear,andthe musical instrumentsare hardly indigenousexcept for thegendang, andyet it has theappealand the sensitivity which areconsonantwith theMalayearfor music.The Ghazal is an examplewhere an importation is acceptedas a tradition. Not only has itbecomea form of entertainmentin the life of the people,but it hasalsogivenameaningandvaluetotheculture.Whenthe onslaughtof Westernpopularmusicposesathreatto the culturalidentity ofthe people, they fall back on music like the Ghazalas a culturalexpressionwhichprovidestherallying pointfor that identity. ThustheGhazolprovidesnotonlya traditionof music,butstimulatesitsown developmentasan entity recognizedasthe stateof Johore’sown distinctivetypeof music.

An exampleof acculturationis to be seenin the music whichaccompaniesthe populardancecalled Rbnggeng or Joget. Thebasic instrumentsare a combination of traditional local instru-mentsand importedones:a gong which gives a constantbeat,atwo-headeddrumcalledgendangwhichprovidestherhythmicpat-tern, and a violin or accordianwhich gives the melody. The Rong-geng or Joget might havebeeninfluencedby Portuguesemusicbut it is regardedastraditionallyMalay. It accompaniesa socialdancewherea mandanceswith a womanbut keepsa respectabledistancefrom eachother. As a dance,the Ronggengsoonbecamecommercialisedas part of urban entertainmentwhere Ronggenggirls act as dancepartners for a fee. And as part of the growth ofpopular urban culture, the Ronggengas a dance as well as themusic becamemodernised.The gendangsoon gaveway to themoderndrum set,.and the ensemblewas enlargedinto amodernorchestra.Thedancestepssoongraduatedinto thesamba,conga,

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fox-trot and quick-step. The gong, however, was usually retainedas the traditional Ronggeng or Joget wasstill in demand,especiallyfor themiddle-agedandolderpatronswho could notkeepup with themodernhot numbers.

Somewhatakin to the Ronggeng is the Dondang Sayangwhich isthe traditional musicof theMalaccaMalays.Also amusiç~setto asocialdance,Dondang Sayang hasbeengivena “swing”~version,which is more lively and faster in tempo,but retaining its basicmelody. The instrumentsare a gong which keepsthe constantbeat, the rebana to give the tempoor rhythm and the violin oraccordianto providethe melody.Thevocal renderingof DondangSayang Is importantbecausepartof the beautyof it is the wayit isvocalisedby the singer.It is a tradition which hastaken in a newelementin the violin,and by doing sohasaddedgreatervitality toit asalively music.

It is possiblethat in orderto look for the original versionof theRonggeng, Joget orDondang Sayang asaform of socialdance,wehaveto turn to theSarawakMalays.Thestrict Islamic codeof con-duct would not haveallowedfor men andwomento danceand faceeachotheras in the Ronggeng.Jogetor DondangSayang.In fact itwould beunlslamicto find the womendancing in public beforeanaudienceof strangers.The Ronggeng, Joget or Dondang Sayangasa socialdancethereforemust havedevelopedquite late, per-hapswith the progressof urbanisationin PeninsularMalaysiaduring the lastquarterof the nineteenthcenturyandhadbroughtwith it somelaxity in theIslamiccodeof behaviourin urbanareas.The version of the Ronggengor Jogetin Sarawakis known as theGendang.As a musical form, it is basedon the interlocking rhyth-mic beatingof the rebanaby two or more womenwhile they singthepantun. Thesewomenwould sitbehindacurtainandtheirpan-tun would beansweredby themenon theothersideof thecurtain.As a danceform, the Gendang music is dancedto by a coupleofmenjust like theRonggeng andJoget,that is, thedancersfaceoneanotherwhile steppingto the rhythmof the gendang or drums.Theseparationbetweenmenandwomenby thescreenis in keepingwith the Islamic code, but even then there had been criticismsagainstthe Gendang as unbeneficialto the well-being and progressof SarawakMalays in moderntimes’8 Todaythe Gendang is rende-red in two styles: the more traditional Gendang Melayu Lama andthemoreswine,,GendangMelayuBaru.However,botharedancedtoasthewayRonggeng and~ogetare,that is menmay dancewith womenwithout having a screento separatethem.

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IV. The Placeof Traditional Music In Contemporary SocietyThe cultural traditional of Malay music are diverse,and yet cer-tain homogeneityexistsamongthe different forms of the music.This stateof affairs reflectsnot only the history of the peoplebutalsothefactorsthat contributeto shapethe socio-culturalpatternsexistingtoday. Thus,as Malay culturehadundergonethe periodsof Indian, Islamic and Europeaninfluences, so has the musicshown elements which have resulted from this inter-mixture ofinfluences.What is traditional musicis difficult to define,andyetpeoplewould distinguisheasilywhat they regardas belonging totraditional Malay music andwhat they refer to as modernmusic.Wayang Kulit, Mak Yong, Gendang K!ing or Dikir are withoutdoubt traditional forms and recognizedas such,but Ghaza! andDondang Sayangarealsoregardedas traditional althoughmoderninstrumentsare included and in the instanceof Ghaza! it startedonly at the turn of the century. In the case of rebana musicaccompanyingthe chants (dikir, ratib or maulud), it has beenidentified as an extensionof religious needs.While variousstylesofpresentationhavebeeninventedin different places,the key instru-ment (rebana) seemsto remain as the central link betweenthedifferentpresentations.

The rebana tradition of accompanyingreligious chants anddanceswould remainas longas Islamcontinuesto be a dominantforce in Malay life andthe peoplehaveenoughtime to devotetothiskind of art. The countrymusicanddanceshavebeenrescuedfrom oblivion and propelledtoday as music and dance.Similarlythe folk music andperformanceslike WayangKulit, Mak YongGendang Kling orDondang Sayangaregivena newstatusandele-vatedfrom the village theatrical stageto the national theatreaselementsthat will contributetowardsthe building of nationalcul-ture. Eventhe Ghazalvies for the samehonour,beingregardedasindigenousandtraditionalin form. Thesearchfor nationalidentitybasedon indigenousculture includesmusicand this factgives anewmeaningtothetraditionalmusicof Malaysia.Thus anewcul-tural tradition is createdwherelocalisedfolk musicaswell asmori-bundcourtmusicbecomethe propertyof the wholenation.

In all probability, nebanamusicwould continueto be a vigoroustradition at local level. Malay communitylife would still continueto have the Maulud, the Bersanji, the Dikir or the Ratib as semi-religiousobservancesamongthe men, but the Nazam amongthewomenin Trelngganuhasseenamarkeddecline,althoughin some

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areas.it seemsto havebeenrecently revitalised.’ While the Rodatin Sarawakis still very much a local affair, its counterpart inTrengganuhasalwaysbeena public performanceas in the casealso with the Hadrah of Kedah. In fact the TrengganuJ-?odat andthe Kedah Hadrah are sonq-and-danceforms with religious conno-tations. However, only in the caseof Rodat that we find a cons-ciousattemptto transformit into a morepopularform, but losingits religioussignificancein the process.2”

What is obvious is the fact that traditional music,be it of courtlystrain or folk menifestation,is theonly type of musicwhich canbeprojected as truly belonging to the indigenouscultures of thecountry, in spiteof the factthat it haswithin itself a greatdealofborrowedelements.It is the questionof perceptionand concep-tion, rather than the questionof music. The casein point is theGhazal ashas beenexplainedbefore. Thus, as part of the pro-gramme to promote recognisableindigenouselementsas thecorner-stonefor the building of traditionswhich Malaysianscanproudlycall their own,traditional musicin differentforms is cons-ciously beinguplifted from theirown limited localenvironmentstoa wider national attention. Someof the efforts in this directioninclude the adoptionof traditional musical ensemblesto accom-pany newly choreographeddances (also perceivedas tradition-based), the encouragementgiven to revitalise local traditionalmusic (eg. Gendang Kling of Kedah and Kuda Kepang of theJavanesecommunities),andthe specialprogrammeson traditio-nal and folk music on the mass-media,especiallyon radio andtelevision.

The official promotionof traditional music, especiallyby theMinistry of Culture, Youth and Sportsand Radio and TelevisionMalaysia, has onedefinite effect, and that is to bring a greaterawarenessto agreaternumberof peopleof theexistenceof tradi-tional musical forms.2’ A positive responseto such attemptshascomefrom intellectual‘groups, including university studentsandstaff, who seemtounderstandthesignificanceof the wholething.Studiesandalsorecreationof traditional Malay musicfor specificpurposes(eg. perfomances)are someof the new-foundinterestsintraditional music. In the meantime,within their own social con-texts, thedifferentforms of traditionalmusiccontinueto functionin theeverydaylife of the people.But with the attentiongãventothem,they havenow anaddedvalueattachedto them.In thepast,the statusof themusicianor a theatricalperformerhadneverbeenhigh in Malay society,partly becauseof the popularly held view

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that musicandentertainmentwerenot compatiblewith religiouspiety. Even economically, the performerhas never commandedagood income in Malay society.22Music or theatreis alwaysa part-timework: the performeris usuallya farmerandhashisown fieldtoattendto. Theonly exceptionis whentheperformeris physicallyhandicapped.In traditional society, the professionalstory-teller(penglipur lana) was usually blind or handicappedin oneway oranother.But this particularbreed of artistes is already on the dec-line. In the caseof traditional music, only in areaswhere its func-tion asa ritual elementis much in demand,like in Kelantanwherethe musicalensembleis usedfor the wayang aswell as thecuringrituals, that the tradition continuesto be vigorous.In otherareas,even in Kedah and Perlis wherethe samekind of tradition hadprevailedas in Kelantan,traditional music like Gendang Kling orWayang- Kulit havebeenon the decline. It is only after the Mi-nistry of Culture, Youth and Sports has intervenedthat thereseemsto be a revival or at leastanew enthusiasmfor traditiønalmusic. The samecanbe said for Gendang Melayu in Sarawak:cultural shows and state celebrationsusually feature the Gendangbesidesthe traditional performancesof other indigenousgroupsof Sarawak.

To say that thereis a revival in traditional Malay musictodayisnot quite true, but certainlythere is a new consciousnessas well asa new perceptiontowardswhatis regardedastraditional musicincontemporarysocietyin Malaysia.

Notes

1. SeeA Teeuwand D.K. Wyatt, Hikayat Patani: The Story of Patani the Hague:MartinusNijhoff (1970),pp, 141—145.

2. See CC.. Brown (fr), Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals, Kuala Lumpur/Singapore:Oxford UniversityPress,1970,P. 18.

3. In theStateof Perak,theroyalnobat washandledby agroupof peopleknown asOrangKalau” andaspecialtaxwaslevied to supportthem.

4. Seemy discussion on the nobat as reflective of the stratified Malay societyof pastin “Some Observationson the Socio-Cultural Context of TraditionalMalay Music”, TenggaraNo. 5 (1969), pp. 122—125.

5. See Syed Altei Al-Hady, Malay, Customsand Traditions, Singapore: EasternUniversitiesPress,1962,pp. 82—83.

6. See Walter William Skeat, Malay Magic (Reprint) New York DoverPublications,1967,p. 41.

7. Although the institution of kingship for the Malaysian Federationis newlyconstituted,it retainsa continuity with the pastasrepresentedby the symbols

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of authorityand the ceremonials(of which nobat is a part) which retain theage-old traditional symbols and ceremonialsof the royal Malay courts ofbygoneages.

8. Mubin Sheppard,“PerananMuzik MalaysiaTermasukJenis-jenisEthnic danIstiadat pada Memajukan Keperibadian Malaysia” (The role of MalaysianMusic, including Ethnic and Ceremonialtypes, for developing a Malaysianidentity”).AsasKebudayaanKebangsaan,KualaLumpur:Ministry ofCulture,YouthandSports,1973,p. 228.op. cit.

10. Swettenham,Sir A Frank,MalaySketches,London:BalantynePress,1895,pp.44

—51.11. Mubin Sheppard,Thid, p. 229.12. See Mohd. Ghouse Nasaruddin,“Muzik Etnik Malaysia (Malaysian Ethnic

Music)” in Bahasa Kesusasteraandan KebudayaanMelayu (Malay Lan~tiage,Literatureand Culture).KualaLumpur:Ministry of Culture,Youth andSport,1976,pp. 168 — 182).

13. Ku Zam Zam Ku Idris, “Muzik Tradisional Melayu di Kedah Utara(Traditional Malay Music in Northern Kedah ~...), Master’s diss., Dept. ofMalayStudies,Universityof Malaya,1978, pp. 87-~-88.

14. Accordingto Prof. W.P. Maim as reportedby Mubin Sheppard(Ibid. p. 266and in his commentaryto the record in UNESCO’s Anthology of OrientalCollection:TraditionalMusic of WestMalaysia).

15. Ku Zam Zam, Ibid., pp. 178 — 179.16. SeeMohd. GhouseNasaruddin,Ibid.p. 165.17. No seriousstudy hasso far beenmadeof the Ghazal but for a popularaccount

of how it all began, see two articles in Kebudayaan, a publication comme-moratingthe 17th Anniversaryof BandarPenggaram,Johore.The first articleby Idris bin Daud,“PanduanGhazalLagu-laguMelayuJohor” (pp. 108— 118),and the second by Radin MuhammadChik, “Batu Pahat Ghazal Parti”(pp. 119—120).

18. For example a novel “Meiati Sarawak” (The Jasmineof Sarawak) by oneMuhammadRakawi bin Yusof, publishedin 1932, relateshow the downfallof a promising young Malay in Sarawakwas causedby his intenseliking fortheGendangparties.

19. See my report on Oral Tradition in Ulu Tembeling Pahang,in ASIDOC,Asian Cultural DocumentationCentre for UNESCO Tehran) Vol. 1, Nos.3—4 (Autumn1977),Pp.38—49.

20. I have referredto this kind phenomenonasthe “recycling of tradition”. TheRodat group in Kuala Brang, Trengganu,for example, was formed as partof youth activity in the district. The repertoire of this group consistsmostlyof currentpopular songs.Except for somechorusin Arabic, thereligious ele-ment found in theoriginal form of Rodatis almostnon-existent.

21. For instance the competition in folk music telecastby Television Malaysiawhich featuresDikir Barat, DondangSayang,Keroncong,and Boria. The lasttwo can hardly be classified as “traditioiial” in the true senseof the word, butlike Ghazal they tend to be perceived as being “traditional music”.“Keroncong” and “Boria” are of quite recentorigin, and even the label “folk”attachedto them is debatable.

22. SeeKu ZamZam, Ibid, pp. 222 — 241.

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15A PLACE FOR TRADITIONAL TECHNOLOGY ININDUSTRIALISATION PLANNING, PENINSULAMALAYSIA *

To those brought up and living in urban centres,technology issomethingoften taken for granted. Through the advancementalreadyachievedin developinghis technology,man’s relationshipwith naturehasbecomesoremotethat it is notrelevantany moreto perceivethat many article in use haveas their baseelementsfrom natural surroundings. Through advanced technology, asecondaryenvironmenthasbeenbuilt upon man-madeobjectsandmachineswithoutwhich it is now difficult to organizethebusinessof life.

In thepreoccuppationwith moderntechnology,especiallyin thenameof matenalprogress,it is often forgotten that in the ThirdWorld thereexiststechnologyof theold orderwhich still plays animportantpart in thesocio-economiclife of the poorersegmentofthe population.Colonialismhad broughtwith it not only a newgevermentalorderbutalsoan economicpolicy which haddebilita-ting effectson colonizedsocieties.While the coloniesbecametheproducersof raw materialsneededto feed the machinesin thefactoriesof Europe, they were also the ultimate market for the

Based on a paper read at the 3rd Inter-Congressof the Pacific Science

Association,held in Denpasar.Bali. Indonesia,18-22 July. 1977. The writer

wishes to record that the fieldwork carried out in Kuala Kangsar. Perak. andKuala Trengganu,Trengganu. was madefrom a grant given by the University

of MalayaunderitsVote F.

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manufacturedproducts.In the caseof Malaysia,for example,thenativeswere said to be unsuitable to participate in the colonialeconomicnetwork,and thereforeimmigrantworkerswere impor-ted to work in the ri~bberestatesand tin mines. In factan idyllicandcontentedpicturewaspaintedof the native life. Their traditio-nal economic activities were preserved, largely around rice-grcs~ving,fishing and the collection of jungle produce,and a littleassistancewas given in the form of irrigation of the rice-fields orproyision of technical advice. So the Malay peasantwas left as hewas until 1957 when the post-colonial independentgovernmentmade it its primary concernto up-lift the livelihood of the ruralpeople,who formedthe bulk of thecountry’spopulation,andit isthis segmentthat has managedto preservethe older forms oftechnology,for the life of the peasantrydid not changethat muchundercolonial tutelageand the old ways of doing things usingtraditional machinesand know-how survived.Traditional techno-logy, as hasbeenshownin thehistory of the industrialrevolutionin Europe,would not necessarilydisappearin the faceto moderninductrialisation, but its role and place in the changingsituationwould needto be re-examinedand appraised.This shouldnot bedoneonly from thepointof view of techno-economicenhancement,but rather also from a stancefor a greaterunderstandingof thenatureof traditionaltechnologyin its relationshipwith sociallife.

The paper attemptsto do this for PeninsularMalaysia withreferenceto the weavingof pandanusproductsandthe manufac-tureof brasswareandpottery.

Identifying TraditionalTechnologyGenerallyspeakingtechniquesusing traditional tools are sel-

dom referredto as a technology,a term which tendsto be associa-tedwith modernproductiontechniquesandmachines.Sothe oldertechniquescometo be known by many different labels such ascottage industry, village industry, rural industry, house-holdindusrty, handicraftor folk craft. In someof the literatureon smallindustry, especiallythosedealingwith the problemsof industrialorganizationandeconomics,theterm handicraftmay notevenbeequatedwith industryor technology,for it is said to be morecon-cernedwith art Thus handicraftcanbe caniedon evenin anurbanareain a specialisedand highly sophisticatedenvironmentHandi-craft is further differentiatedfrom cottageindustry as in India(Hoselits, 1968),cottageindustryreferringto productionsupplying.the needsof villagers and handicraft to peasantarts and crafts

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meeting householdneeds and village or urban arts and crafts.Shetty (1963), for example,gives four criteria for cottage industry:‘work place’, ‘employment’, ‘use of motive power’ and ‘extent

- of market served’. For work place, the activity is done in theartisan’sresidence;for employment,the work is done by familylabour; for power,it is mainly manual labour; andfor market, itdoes not extend beyond the locality where the industry is found.While thecriteriaareuseful,they inevitablyserveasthe difinitionof handicraftas well, or the socio-ecQnomicfactors surroundingtheoutputof handicraftcanbe similar. It shouldbe rememberedthat handicraftcanalso be a specializedindustry involving well-establishedfirms which export theseproductsto other countries.However,abetterguidecould bethedifinition of handicraftwhereit is describedas ‘both a method of industrial productionand aform of artistic activity’ (Knight, 1932). As a system, handicrafthas three main characteristics:the output is guided by social,including religious and ritual, need; a strong tradition of inheri-ted techniquesfrom past generations;and an extensiveuseof thehand,evenwhentools andmachinesare used, in manufacturingthe goods. What we meanby traditional technologythereforeishandicraftas delineatedabove.And as handicraftit is manufacturedin quantity in the homesof the villagers and mostly to meet localdemand.It is equally meaningful to refer to the production usingtraditional technology as cottage, village, household or ruralindustry. However, thereshouldalsobe agradingbasedon eco-nomic factors.Somecottageindustriescan beupgradedto small-scale modern factories while others, by the very nature of theirraw materials, techniquesof production, and the attitude towardsthem,cannotbutremainahandicraftor atbesthouseholdindustryin thestrict senseof theword.

Traditional technologycanalsobedefinedasacorpusof know-ledge, skills, techniques,andimplementsusedin producingandmanufacturingobjects or foodstuff which havebeen inheritedfrom the pastbefore the introductionof the so-calledmodernoradvancedtechnologywith its attendantfactory system,whateverits scale.However,as traditional technologyexistsnow or as itexistedevenfifty yearsago,it is notnecessarilyin thepre-modernforms.Traditionaltechnologycanbeviewedasacontinuummodelwith the ideal typesof traditional technologyand moderntechno-logy at the two endsof apole. This simply meansthat traditionaltechnologyas its existsnow hasalso takensomeelementsfrom theworld of modern technology,and hardly exists any longer in its

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purestform.Traditional technology should not be separatedfrom its social.

cultural, economicor technicalaspects.In fact all theseaspectsare so interrelatedand closely woven that it is not possibleto takeeachin isolation.Traditionaltechnologyis theproductof aswell asthematrix for traditionalsocietyandcultureasmuchasmodernoradvancedtechnology is the product as well as the mould thatgives form to moderncivilization. The caseof moderntechnologyprovides a clear picture for this. While demandsin the life of asociety produce ‘break-throughs’ which make advanced techno-logy possible, moderntechnology has in turn creatednew socialand cultural needs.The needfor spatial transpotationover thecenturieshas producedsuch meansof transportationfrom thehandcartto the aircraft. But moderntransportationhasceasedtobe merely a form of conveyancefor it has createdaroundit certainsocio-culturalvaluesaswell, suchasprestigeandstatusconnectedwith modesof transportation,speed,aestheticsasagainstutility intheconstructionof vehiclesandsoon.

Traditionaltechnologymusthavebeenbornoutof necessitytoo:to provide shelter from the elements,hencehouse building; toprovide food for subsistence,hencefood productionsuch as agri-cultureandfishing; to providetransportation,henceboatson thewaterandcartson land.At the sametime man lives in groupsorsocieties,so he has to organizehis relationshipwith eachother.Thus culturecameinto being andwith it customs,beliefs, normsandvalueswhich regulatetheinteractionbetweenmembersof thegroups.Someof theserelationshipshaveto be expressedin sym-bolic forms,suchasweddingcustomsandceremoniesor theinitia-tion of membersinto statusgroupsand associations.In meetingsuchneedstoo, te~hnologyplaysapart. Thatis to sayman learnsto manufactureobjectsnot merelyfor utilitarian purposesbut forsymbolicreasonsaswell, explainingthe artistic elementin tradi-tional technologyas an importantconsiderationwhendiscussingits appropriatenessin the faceof industrialisationplanning today.

But theseneedswhich exist becausethe old ways of life andtraditional societiesstill persistdo not aloneexplainthe preserva-tion of traditional technologytoday. The truth is, given the rightopportunity, the productionof traditional goodswould be takenoverby modernmethods.Theconstraintsareectuallyeconomictoa largerdegreeandthe lack of moderntechnical knowledgeto alesserextent.Anotherfactorthat shouldbe takeninto accountisthe consciousgovernmentalprogrammeto sustainand develop

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cottageindustries, which today are the mainstay of traditionaltechnology.This is an importantconsideration,for the continua-tion andsurvival of traditional technologyalso dependon govern-ment policy. Durin9 colonial timesin PeninsularMalaysia specialexhibitionswereheldyearlywheretherural dwellerscoulddisplaytheir prized agriculturalproduceand the productsof their handi-craft. After independence,the many programmesto uplift thesocio-economiclevel of the rural folk inevitably involved the cot-tageindustries.Thus,the settingup of the MalaysianHandicraftBoard has had a direct bearingon traditional technologyamongrural dwellers.The original organizationwascalledRural and In-dustrial DevelopmentAuthority (RIDA) which wasestablishedin1950. It hadas its aim ‘to stimulate, facilitate,andundertakeeco-nomic andsocialdevelopmentin the Federation(of Malaya) andmoreparticularlyin the ruralareasthereof.’

TraditionalTechnologyin MalaysiaOne result of the socio-economicchangesbrought about by

modernisation and industrialisation in Malaysia since colonialtimes hasbeenthe generalreductionin the incidenceof cottageindustriesandits attendanttraditionaltechnology,despitethe factthat therewasa definitepolicy topreserveit aspartof Malay rurallife. However, somehavenot only survived but havefound newlife as in the caseof batik andpandanusweavingindustries.Therecentrevival in theindustriesis duelargelytothe encouragementby thegovernmentfor thetechniqueaswell as theproductarelookeduponasa‘national heritage’.Themakingof batikshirtsasformalwearatimportantfunctionsis notonly motivatedby economicconsiderationsbutby nationalisticidealismaswell.

Examples of cottage industry using traditional technology inPeninsularMalaysiacanbeidentified asfollows:

i) Handloom industry producing gold or silver-threadedclothcalledsongket.The industry is now to be found mainly inKelantanandTrengganu,although in the pastthe useof thehandloomwasquitewidespread,evenon the westcoast

ii) Batik industry in Kelantanand Trengganu.Establishmentsfound in the urbancentresmayuse traditional methods,butthetechniquesandraw materialsare rathersophisticatedforthe establishmentsusuallycater for urbanand internationalmarkets.

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iii) Brasswarewhich is now concentratedin KualaTerengganu.iv) Silverware,which is not only jewellery but includesalso artic-

les like tea-sets and wall decorations,is to be found in KotaBharu,Kelantan.

v) Pandanusweaving, which is widespread,but moredevelopedas an industry in Rusila, Trengganu,and somevillages inMalacca.

vi) Traditional pottery. This used to be found in at least half adozenplacesin PeninsularMalaysia, but is now found onlyalongthePerakRiver,particularly is Sayong,KualaKangsar.

Othersuch industriesinvolving technologyinherited from thepast include ironworkwhich manufacturesknives, axesandotherimplementsfor village or householduse, and bamboocraft,in-cluding rattan,reedsandleaves,found in vallageswherethereisneedfor fishtraps,animaltraps,chicken-coops,or wall-sidings.

Few studieshavebeenmadeof the cottageindustriesin Penin-sularMalaysiaandtheyaremainlyconcernedwith economicprob-lems.The mostcomprehensivestudiesareon the textile industry,the handloomandbatik industries(Fisk, 1962;Nik Abdul Rashid,1969;alsoGullick 1952;Hill, 1949).Thesestudiesthrow importantlight on the generalfeaturesof the cottageindustryor traditionaltechnology.Comparedtothe rest,thesongket andbatik industriesare better organised and structured, having much bigger capitaloutlayand having the biggestmarketof all theproductsof tradi-tional technology in the country. The middle-range cottageindustries— pandanusweaving, brassworkand traditional pot-tery — havebeenchosenfor thepurposeof this papernotsomuchbecausesongketand batik havebeendelvedinto in greaterdetailbut ratherbecausethe textile industriesare alreadycommercia-used and some have acquired certain features of the factorysystem(StaleyandMorse,1965).

Traditional technologyactually is aresidualtechnology,that istosayit is a residueof the pastsurvivingin thepresentbecauseofa numberof factors. In PeninsularMalaysia, traditional technologyhassurvivedwhere village life has not changedvery much. Fiskhasrightly pointedoutthat thelocation of cottageindustriesdoesnot necessarilyfollow the accessibilityof the marketof the pro-ductsnor the raw materials(Fisk, 1962). In the caseof the hand-loom industry, for instance,the raw materialsare imported, themarketis notconfinedtothelocality butwidespread,andalthoughit musthavestartedaroundthe courtsof Sultanswho were once

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the patronsof the industry, this is no longerso, andyet the con-centrationof the industry is in KelantanandTrengganu,wherelow labourcostsinsteadwould seemto be compellingreasonsforthe location.

The capital turnoverandthe income accruedfrom songket andbatik aremuch higherthan theothercottageindustries,butwhencomparedto factoryproduction,theyarestill very low. In 1967,in-comefrom the batik and songketproduction amountedto $8.7million or only a quarterof thetotal incomeof the textile industryin PeninsularMalaysia(Nik Abdul Rashid,1969),far from givingthetrue pictureof the cottageindustry in the country. Comparedto otherproducts,batik hasawideruseandlargermarket,andhasalsoapproximatedto the factory system.Thefigures for songketare more in line with the economicstandingas a cottageindustry.According to Fisk, the handloom industry of the east coast ofMalaya is the largestand most important of the surviving cottageindustriesin the Federationof Malaya(Fisk, 1962),but this wasinthemiddle of the fifties before batik madeits impact in the earlysixties. There is an importantdifferenceto be remembered.Al-thoughbatik arthasbeenknownto theMalaysfor a long time, theimpetusto make it a paying industry camefrom Indonesiaonlyafterthe SecondWorld War. With songketit is different; it is anindustryof considerableantiquity andoccupiesa specialplaceasanindustrybecauseit alsoenjoysa specialpositionin thetraditio-nal life of the Malays.

PandanusWeavingThecottageindustryinvolving the weavingof pandanusleaves

us an exampleof how traditional technologyis closely linked withpeasanteconomyandwayof life andalsowith thenaturalenviron-ment. It is not knownwhenmanin SoutheastAsia first learnttheartof processingplant-leavesand weavingthem into mats,bas-Iets, dish-covers,hats, boxesand otherobjects which they use intheir daily life. Weaving of pandanusleaveshas been the bestknown for it hasdevelopedinto anart althoughit musthavebeenborneout of man’snecessitytoo. Otherleavesbesidesthe pandanus,bambooandrattanarealsowoveninto objectslike hats (terendak),fish traps,basketsor screensto serveaswalls of rural dwellings.Thereare two typesof thepandanuswhichareusedby Malaysianweavers:the biggervariety of the family is known as the meng-kuang, and the smaller variety is calledpandan. While the bigmatsandbasketsfor everydayuse (eg. for drying or storingrice)

230

are madeof mengkuang,the finer articlesare madeof pandan.Traditionally,everyhouse-holdwould beableto turn out matsandbasketsfor its own useas householdgoodsandotherneeds.It issomethingthe women learn as part of their socialisation. In factweavingpandan and mengkuangleavesis learntinformally fromchildhood.Theknowledgeandskill are handeddown from mothertodaughter.It is only recentlythat suchweavinghasceasedto bewidespreadin Malay vallages.While weavingof the pandanusisknown all over the country, only a few areascan be identified asthe centresfor producingfine handiwork as in TrengganuandMalacca.RIDA (later Majalis AmanahRakyat or MARA) estab-lished a pandanusweavingcentrein Rusila, Trengganu,wheretraining was given in weaving and the trainees later becameinstructorsatvariousothercentres.

RawMaterialsRaw materialsareobtainedfrom the pandanuspalmsthat grow

wild in the vicinity of the village. Theseplantsare almostnevercultivated:they are found in groveson the banksof the river orfurther inland.Recently,whenvast areasof land wereput undercommercialcropslike oil palm and the wild pandanushadto becleared,the authoritiesinvolved had replantedthe pandanusinsomeareassothat the leavescould still be availableto thosewhowantedto continueweavingmats,basketsetc. While mengkuangor pandanleavesaregenerallyavailableto theweavers,it may benecessaryto travel somedistanceto get the choicestleaves.Thusin Malacca,a typeof pandanusknown asPandanMinyak in regar-dedashavingthefinest texture,andweaversgo far into theforesttoobtain theseleaves.

TechniquePandanusleavesarecut at thebasesoasto gain the maximum

lengthandstrippedof their thornyedgeson the spotby meansofa sharpknife (parang).The leavesarethengathered,bundledto-gether, and carried back to the house. If the objects to bewoven are mats or baskets,the weaver tends to use the meng-kuang leaves, but if they are to be of finer quality, then shewould haveto look for the pandanleaves.For certainobjectslikethe dish-cover(tudungsaji) or utility baskets,otherraw materialsarealsoneeded,suchasreeds,bambooorrattan.

On reachingthe house,the leavesare trimmedat the tip andgraded for length. Although the ideal would be to have leavesof

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equallengthandbreadth,it would bepracticalto saveasmuchofthe leavesaspossibleand, therefore,eventhe odd-sizedonesareseldom thrown away. The length requiredalso dependson theobjectsto be woven, but in actual weaving the length doesnotcountvery muchbecausewhenastrandis short it can bepleatedwith anotherstrand.Theonly setbackis thatsuchjointsare ratherclumsyandweakenthewovenfabric somewhat.

Thenextstepis to renderthe leavespliable, andthis is done byheating the leavesover an openfire. The weaversimply gathersdry twigs andcoconuthuskswhich aboundin the compoundof aMalay houseandsetsfire to them.Thenshegathersa few leavesandholdthemoverthefire in sucha way that ultimatelyevery partof the leaveshasbeenheatedover. Thisprocessis calledmelayur.

The next step is to split the leavesinto strips. This is called meng-jengka. The width of the strips also dependson the article oneintendsto make. The spliting is done by meansof a simple tool(jengka): a flat piece of wood with three or fur nails or sharpedgedmetalembeddedin it with the endsprotrudingout.Holdingthis in onehand,theweaversplits the leaf by running thenailsorthe sharpmetal through the leaf. The idea is not merely to splitthe leavesinto strips, but also to havethe strips in a standardwidth. Thisia animportantprocess~rd the metalstripperson thewoodarecarefullymeasuredsothat theyaresetat equalintervals.For practical purposes,the leavesare split only to a point, thusthestripsare still joined at oneend.This makesthe handling of theleavesin laterprocesseseasier,especiallywhen it comesto dryingtheleaves.

It is furthernecessaryto softenthe leavesby beatingthemwitha stick. This is called menitik. This is a delicateprocesswhich isalso donebecausethe beatingwould rid the leavesof the greencolouringfaster,especiallywhentheleavesare them immersedintubsof water.In Malacca,the leavesare immersedfor threedayswith the water being changedevery day. After the leaveshavebeentakenout they are thendried in the sun.There is a short-cutto theprocess;insteadof immersingthem in the water the leavesareboiled,andthan dried. In somecases,the leaves,after beingsplit, are put through the processof melurut, which is actuallypressingthemtightly againstapieceof woodheldin onehandandpulling themthroughwith theotherhand.The ideaisthe sameasheatingthem,thatis to makethe leavessupple.In Malacca,wherethebeatingis preferred,melurut is doneaftertheleavesaredried.Theleavesarethendried outin bundles,eitherhung up or left on

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the ground.

Socio-EconomicAspectWeaving of the pandanus leaf is the occupation of women.

This is a part of the traditional division of labour in Malay eco-nomic life. Until recently, when women were employed bygovernmentagenciessuchasthe HandicraftBoard,weaving hasneverbeenregardedasa full-time occupationalthoughit may beregardedas the primary occupationamongthe women-folk be-cause the income from weaving, relative to others,is an importantcontributionto thefamily’s income,or at leastto theweaver’spri-vateincometobespentassheplaeases.Ordinarily, weavingof thepandanusis, however,notregardedasacashearningactivity,formost womenlearn to weavefor their own householdpeeds,andperhapsalsofor theirneighboursin returnfor cashor in exchangefor othergoods.As the womenwould haveto attendalso to theirotherchores,it would takeamonthor two to finishamat. In Rusilaor in Malacca,weavingmatsfor saleoutsidethe weaver’svillagehasbeena long standingpractice,buteventhen the womenalsowork on their rubbersmallholdingsor their rice-fields.The mendohelp in someof the processes.Out of 90 adult women listed byRosemaryFirth in her1963surveyin Prupok,Kelantan,28 statedmat-makingastheir occupationwhich brought an additional in-come,andthis wasthebiggestnumbercomparedto other typesofoccupationsuchas shopkeeping,dressmakingor making fishingnets(Firth, 1966). HeatherStrangein herstudy madein 1965/-1966in Rusila,Trengganu,found thatoutof 137 able-bodiedadultwomen, 112 womenwere engagedin weavingon a regularbasisandsold someor all of their products (Strange, 1971). Anotherstudy made in Malacca, coveringtwo villages, one just outsideMalaccatown and the other 32 km away, revealedthat weavinginMalaccawasnotasextensivelydoneas in Trengganu,butcompa-red to placesoutsidethe two states,the activity could still beregardedas vigorous (Abdul Karim, 1971). Of the 489 householdssurveyedin Bachang,just outsideMalaccatown, only 30 wereactivein weavingbut, asusual,noton a full-time basis.However,mostof thewomenabovethe ageof 20 in this village knew how toweave, but did so only very occasionally. In Kampung Baru,almostevery oneof the 65 householdswereengagedin weaving.Girlsat theageof tenhadalreadystartedto learnto weave,andattheageof 14 andabove,they wereproficient andbeganto parti-cipateactively in the trade.Betweenthe two villages, it is more

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likely that the art of weavingwould be ableto survivebetter inKampung Baru becausethe children were encouragedto takeit up.

A comparisonbetweenRusila in Trengganuandthe villages inMalacca show that governmentalaid and encouragementhavegivenahigherexpecatationfrom theweaversthan in placeswhereweavinghasbeenmerelya tradition and peoplehavebeenwea-ving for their own needsandwith lowerexpectationof cashreturn.This hasa bearingon the quality of the products too. In Rusilaexperimentationswith designsand colourshaveturned out moresophisticatedresults than in Malacca, even in Kampung Baru,wherethe productsareusuallyfor sale.Thereis a greatervarietyof patterns(kelerai) to beseenin the matsfrom Rusilathan fromKampong Baru. The weaving centreset up by the HandicraftBoard in Rusilaandthe settingup of shopsto caterfor the touristtradealong the main roadare factorswhich havenot only encou-ragedweavingin the areabut havedevelopedthe art further sothat theareais now theforemostpandanusweavingcentrein thecountry.

The term ‘part-time’, ‘full-time’, ‘primary’, or ‘occasional’occupationcan be misleadingwhen applied to weaving as thewomen’soccupation.Very few women makeweavingtheir ‘full-time’ occupationin the sensethat they spendeveryworking hourweaving. In Rusilaandin Malacca,weavingmaybethe ‘primary’occupationof the womenfolk, but this merelymeansthat it is anoccupationtheytaketo after they havedonetheir main economicandhouseholdchores.Weavingistakenup if certainfactorsallowfor it. Thus,for example,awomantakesup weavingbecauseit canalso be done at night, after supperandbefore bedtime,and ifasked,shewould statemeavingasheroccupation.This is true inthesensethat the otherchoresare takenfor granted.The alterna-tive is not doing it at all, as in Rusila, where HeatherStrangefound that just being a housewife and not being involved inweavingcouldconferstatusin that the husbandis agoodproviderfor thefamily (Strange,1971).

If theearningfrom weavingis to bemeasuredin termsof work-hours, it mayseemthat the monetaryreturnis notcommensuratewith thetimespenton it. Forexample.it takesabouttwo weekstowork on a mat, which the weavermay sell for just about $5.00Malaysian.However,the moneyis consideredasearned,for thetime spentotherwisewould bring in nothingandthe labour is notcomputed.

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Theprice of a productto the ultimate purchasermay be manytimes over, for the marketing processmay be multi-tiered. Themarketingsystemof KampungBarufor instancecanbe illustratedasfollows:

Weaver Peddler __ LocalMiddleman shopkeeper

Middle Men in SubBigger Towns Middle Men Consumer

Exceptfor RusilaandKampongBaru andafew otherplaces,thewovenobjectsare to meetlocalneeds.However,ahouseholdmayneedan aritclefor its own useand noneof its memberscan findtime to weave,or when the objectsare neededfor specialocca-sionslike weddingsor festivals where expertweavingwould bedesired,thenordersare placedwith thosewho are known in thevillage asskilledweavers.The orderor tempahanis accepted,butit will be oneor two mothsbeforethe goodscanbe delivered. InSungai Baru orders are also placed by peddlersand usually anadvanceis given so that weaversare encouragedto finish thegoods earlier. In Rusila the sale channelsare better organisedthroughthe HandicraftCentreor touristshops.Newproductslikesatchelsfor conferences,containersfor eggswhich are given toguestsat Malay weddings,and table-matsare speciallyorderedthroughthe HandicraftCentre,andthe ordersdistributedto theweaverswilling to meetthem.

HeatherStrange(1971) observedcertainfeaturesof the incomeof threeweaversoveraperiodof oneyear. First, the incomewasirregular from month to month. Secondly,the income was low.Thus weaverA managedto earn M$146.20 during the period,weaverB M$57.80andweaverC M$90.70. In the caseof weaverA, herproductswere mainly orderedthroughthe Centre,whileweaverC producedmainly fansorderedthroughthe middlemen.Weaver B, however,sold herproductsat the Centreitself. Theproductsrangedfrom new articleslike handbags,table-matsandrunnersandbook coversto the traditional productslike ordinaryprayermats.Theincomewasaslow as$2.40for the saleof 2 fans,while thehighestwas$24.00for thesaleof 2 prayermats.

While furniturehasbecomestandardequipmentin Malay hou-ses, even in the Ulus (upriver), neverthelessthe mat is still need-ed. While the male guests sit on the furniture in the verandah,thewomenguestssiton thebestmat in theinnerhail of thehouse.

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Of the otherobjectsproduced,the dish-cover (tudungsaji) is indemandalways,especiallyfor thefasting monthwhere in Muslimhousesthe dishesare coveredwith tudungsaji before the azansignalsthebreakingof the fast.The box containers(rombong)areusedto storeclothing in homeswherecupboardsarea luxury. Intheoldendaysthe rombongwasusedto carrythebelongingswhenpeoplemovedfrom place to place.The rombong is usedalso tostorebabyclothesanddiapers,while thesmall rombongisusedasa lady’s sewingbagor tokeepsmallobjects.

At the RusilaCentre,weaverscomingfrom variouspartsof thecountry were trained. According to Abdul Karim, the peopleofSungaiBaru werenotenthusiasticwhenonetraineereturnedandopenedherclassesin the village (Abdul Karim, 1971).The reasongivenwasthatshehadnothingmuchtooffer that thelocalsdid notalreadyknow. The presentcentre in Kuala Trengganu,besidestraining girls - in the art of weaving, also experimentswith bettermethodsof processingpandanusleavesand tries to developtheindusrtyby introducingnew and moreattractivepatterns,colourschemesand also new objectsto meet modern demandso thatwider marketscan be found for the industry. But the attemptseemsto be confinedto decorativearticles, such as big colourfulbutterfliesfor wall decoration,containersin the shapeof fruits,handbags,glassholders,table-matsandmodernhats.The innova-tions caterfor the limited demands,however,of tourists.A fasterand moreefficient way of processingthe raw materialand methodof weavingarealsobeinglookedinto.

Brasswork.Theartof brasscastinghasbeenknown to thepeopleof South-

eastAsia for centuries.Thecentresof brassworkin the pastwerethe Sultanateswhere the rulers andtheir nobility provided thepatronage.OnesuchcentrewasBrunei wheretheartof brasscast-ing becamevery elaborateas evident from the highly decorativeandwell sculpturedbrasswareswhichoncebelongedto the BruneiSultanate.~Judgingfrom thedecorativemotifs, like the dragonandtheserpent,it is possiblethat the Brunei craftsmenwere influen-cedby Chineseart motifs. Oncethe royal patronagewaslost, theartof elaboratecastingdisappeared.However,the techniquestilllives on, althoughby 1975,only sevenpeoplewho wereconnectedby family ties were left working on brassworkin Brunei (Lim andShariffuddin,1976).

Thesametrendcanbe foundin PeninsularMalaysia,andit is,only

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in the Stateof Trengganuwherebrassworkindustryseemsto havesurvived. In the past it was necessaryfor the royal courts to haveelaboratebrasswaressuchas kettles,trays,bowls, etc. aspart of thetrappingsof royal statusand power. Today, thereis no longertheroyal patronage.The demand today mainly comes form thetraditional needsof the Malay household.The items include thecooking pot (periuk), tray (dulang), incenseburner (tempatbarat),betel-tray (tempat sirih). dispenser for scented water (bekas airmawar), candlestand(kaki dian), spitton (ketur or tempat ludah),circular tray (ceper)and the tray with a stand (paha). The betel-trayis centralto Malaysocial life just asthetea-setis to the Englishhome.Nowadaysnot manyMalays in the urbanareastaketo betel-leaves,but in the villages,wheneverfemalevisitors cometo the house,thebetel-trayis pushedceremoniouslybeforethem.Both the visitorsaswell as the hosts will thenchew the betel leaveswhile conversing.The spittoon is, of course, an important item at such times. Thebetel-trayand the otherobjects featurealso in Malay ceremoniessuch as bethrothal, wedding and funeraryrites. Hence, a Malayhomeis seldomwithoutthesebrasswares.

New objectsarealso manufacturedtoday. Thus flower vases,ash-traysand someother decorativeobjectsare partof the pro-ductsof today’sbrasswareindustryin PeninsularMalaysia. TheHandicraffCentrehas tried to introduceobjects like trophiessothat the manufacturerscanfind newmarketsaswell aswiden therangeof their production,but the innovationandmanufactureofnew productsare constrainedby many factors,not leastby thetechiqueof manufacturethroughtheoldlost-waxprocess.

Morgan reported that in 1950 brassand white metal work was‘still a vigorous kampung (village) industry in Trengganu althoughthe technique used had remainedunchangedfor hundredsofyears (Morgan, 1951). By the 1970’s cooking pots and other kit-chenutensilswereno longermanufacturedby manyof the existingmanufacturers.In KualaTrengganu,the industryis mainlyconfi-nedtoonesectionof the town knownasLadang.It is hereth~tthemanufacturershave their workshops,although someparts of theprocessmay be farmedout to workers in otherpartsof the town.Thus polishing is also done by villagers in between tending totheir rice-fieldsand livestock.Evenin Ladang,oneseldomcomesacrossthe manufacturingof kitchenutensilsexceptfor the openbrasspan (genseng),for mostof the manufacturerstoday preferto makesmalleritemswhichcanselleasily.

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TechniqueThe lost-waxprocessis traditionallyusednot only in Malaysia

butalsoin otherpartsof the Malay Archipelago(Lim andSharif-fuddin, 1976).Theprocesscanbesummarizedasfollows:i) The first stepis to makea woodenmodel of the object or

partsof theobject. Thusasimpleflower vasecanbe madeup of threeparts:thebase,thebodyandthetop. Eachpartis shapedin wood.

ii) Thewoodenmodel is thendipped in hotwax andwhenitcools down the wax is removedfrom the woodenmodel.The wax now assumesthe shapeof thefinishedproductor partof it.

iii) Thewaxiscoveredwith clay, which is availablein quantitylocally, to make the mould (sarang).Three layers arenecessaryto makethe mould: the first is just mud, thesecondwith sandandfinally mud mixed with rice husk,The mouldsarethendried.

iv) When they areproperly dried they are fired in the furnace.At thesametime the waxin the mouldsis meltedand themouldsarereadyto receivethemoltenmetal.

v) The-alloy is melted in the furnacewhich is workedby thetraditional bellow (musang). The metal brass, nickeland zinc — is placed in crucible. There is no temperaturegauge,butby practice,themoltenalloy isdeemedreadytobe pouredinto the mouldswhenthe fire gives agreenishhue.

vi) Themoltenalloy ispouredinto themouldswith the helpofapairof longpincers.

vii) Themouldsare left tocool for sometimeandthenthey arebrokenleaving thebrasscasting.The partsare;weldedto-gethersothatthefinal form of theobjectisachieved.

viii) As theobjectsarestill roughandjaggedat thejoints, theyarethen polishedon the lathe,a processcalled rnelarik

The machinesfor melarik are either electrically operatedormanually worked. Similarly, some manufacturersare now usingelectricity to work thebellows, but moststill employ thetraditionalmethodof pumpingair into the furnacewhich is underground.

Socio-EconomlcAspectAs in weaving,exactfiguresof peopleinvolved in brassworkare

difficult to obtain,butaccordingto theTrengganuStateEconomicDevelopmentCorporation,a body chargedwith promotingecono-

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mic developmentin the State, 13,669 personsare en9agedinvarious forms of cottageindustries, that is, manufacturingandprocessinggoodssuchasbrasswares,batik andsongketcloth andweaving of pandanusleavesfor objects like mats, dish-covers,basketsetc. Thepercentageof the total numberworking in cottageindustriesis about 10 percentof the State’s total population, ascomparedto 48.9percentengagedin agricultureand8.0 percentin fishing. The workersare mainly peasantswho havetheir ownrice-fieldsto tendto, andhaveotherchoresto performbesidesthework theydo atthework-shops.Mostworkers4n cottageindustriesin Trengganuaremen. Availablefiguresshow360 malesandonly9 femalesareengagedin brasswork.

The brasswareindustry is localized and small-scale A listof manufacturersis kept by the Associationof BrasswereManu-facturersof KualaTrengganu.Thereis a list kept by Batik Malay-sia Berhad,and thereis yet anotherlist kept by the HandicraftCentre.From theselists, thereareat least 145 manufacturersinKualaTrengganu,mainlyconcentratedin theLadangarea.

A typical exampleof a brassworkindustryasa family businessis run by Wan Ismail bin Osman.Heinheritedthe businessfromhis father, and the businesshas now beenin the family for fivegenerations.While WanIsmail looks after the production,his wifetakeschargeof the business.And onecan sensethat amonghisworkerstoo, especiallythe longstandingones,the attitude is thattheyareworking in their own family business.The workshopitselfis situatedunderhis house,while processeslike melting the alloyandcastingaredonein a shedin the compound.The sitting roomof the houseis usedasthe showroomand it is herethat WanIs-mail’s wifetransactsbusinesswith customers.He employs20 full-time workers,but farmsout someof the work to individualsin thevillages nearby.Although the workers are supposedto be full-time, theyarenotpaid wagesbutratherby piece-rate.They haveno contractwhatsoeverwith Wan Ismail. Even thosewho havebeenworking for yearsand who are regardedasskilled are stillpaid bypiece-rate.

This arrangementseemsto suit bothsides,althoughlessto themanufacturer.As statedabove, the workers also work on theirpadi fields. Whenthetimecomesto transplanttheseedlingsfromthenurseriesto thefield or to harvestthe crop, theworkerssimplystopwork at the workshop.During festivals,noneof the workerswould turn up for work Even during the harvestfestival (mainpantai), the leastimportantof festivalsin Malay life, the workers

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would stopwork for oneweek.Thereis little that Wan Ismail cando, evenif suchstoppagemay cost him a greatdeal. The family-like relationshiphas to be maintainedfor the workers are neigh-boursandkinsmen,somethoughonly veryremotelyrelated.

Apprenticeshiptakesabouttwo to threeyears,but training is onthejob. It takesaboutonemonthto learnthe rudimentsof thejob.Theworkersusuallystartwhenthey leaveprimaryschool,at about12 to 13 yearsold. Theincomeof the workervarieswith the type ofwork doneandalsothe numberof pieceshe canfinish in oneday.Thusthe manwho looksafterthe furnace,melting the brassalloyandpouring it into the moulds, is paid $1.00Malaysianfor everycompletedprocess.He can completethe processmore than 15timesa day.The manwho makesthe wax-castsis paid $6.00for100 pieces,andhe canfinish about150 a day,thusearningaboutM$9.00aday.However,the actualamountearnedvarieswith thecomplexityor intricacyof thework involved; the moreintricatethecast,thehigheris thepaymentfor eachpiece.Thereis nopensionschemefor the workers,andit is doubtful if the workersor emplo-yers contributetowardsthe Provident Fund Scheme,the socialsecurityorganizationrun by theMalaysianGovernment.

RawMaterialsToday, the brasswarecottageindustry has to dependon the

quasi-governmentalagency,Batik MalaysiaBerhad, (BMB), forits raw materials.There is definitely a scarcity in the supply ofbrassin the countryat the moment.The supplyusedto beobtai-nedfrom theChinesetraderswho importedthe metal from Singa-pore, 2 but the metal is so scarcetoday that the BMB obtainedthemetal from spent cartridgesfrom the Ministry of Defence. Sodependentare the manufacturerspn BMB that when supply isscarce,the BMB has to distribute raw material to the manufac-turerson its list in amountsproportionateto the productioncapa-city of the workshops.Without governmentalhelp, the brassindustryis in dangerof disappearingfor the reasonthat raw mate-rial is difficult to comeby on the free market. The higherqualitywarestoday are in the proportion of 1 part brass, 1 nickel and¼zinc, and the lower quality 4 parts brass, 1 part nickel and¼zinc. The higherthe nickel contentthe higher is the quality ofthefinishedproduct.

The Market.Themarketfor brasswareproductsis mainly local. According to

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WanIsmail, the tradefrom foreign touristsaccountsfor not morethan5 percentof the market. However, the local demandis suchthat it is sometimesdifficult for the manufacturersto meet theorders.The productsare usually channelledthrough middlemenwho in turn supplythe retailersthroughoutthe country.However,manufacturersalso dealdirectly with buyerswho cometo theirworkshops. Wan Ismail’s workshop, for example, is on theitinerary of foreign tourists who visit Kuala Trengganu, butWan Ismail does not personallyfavour having foreign touristsvisit hisworkshop.Accordingtohim theypurchaselittle andworsefor him, they do not takeoff their shoeswhenthey comeinto thehouse.~

As with theothermanufacturersit wasdifficult to getfrom WanIsmail the exact turnoverof his husiness.The total wagesof theworkerswith variousskill andexperiencewould cometo M$900.00a week,while thepurchaseof rawmaterialswould be at an aver-ageof M$4,000.00amonth. WanIsmail isconsideredasoneof thebigger manufacturersof brasswaresin Kuala Trengganu,andthereforethe figures that he gavewere not necessarilytypical.Othermanufacturerswork with muchlesscapitalandturnover.

Thebrasswareindustryis acottageindustrywhichhasthecha-racteristicsof the ‘putting outor dispersedfactorysystem’ (StaleyandMorse, 1965).Asidefrom hiredworkerswhowork in thework-shop,it hasbeenmentionedthatpart of thework in the workshop,is dispersed among smaller units in the neighbourhood.The techniqueemployed is traditional, except for the useof electricity which is in fact an extension of the householdsupply. In spite of the encouragementgiven by the HandicraftCentrein KualaTrengganu,the manufacturersarenot very keento improve their productioneither in quality or in diversifyingtheir products.Themanufacturingof brasswarethereforeremainsnot only traditional in techniquebut traditional in businessapproachaswell. In factWan Ismail is ratherapprehensiveof thefuture in that the manufacturingof brasswarescould pass intothe handsof Chineseentrepreneurswho will thenbuild factoriesandrun thebusinessasamodernindustry.

The nett profit for the manufacturersis not much, and in factmany manufacturersdo not get much more than their workers.According to Wan Ismail a manufacturermay get M$150.00 amonth nett profit, and not many of the 145 manufacturercangetoverM$300.00nett profit a month.Someof the hired workerswhoarepaid by piece-ratecanevenget more. A fatherandson teamof

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Kampung Gong Tok Nasib who do the grinding and polishing(mengindik) for Wan Ismail earned$26.00for 100 piecesof smallitems and $37.000 for 100 piecesof bigger ones. They havetwo lathes, the father working on the traditional lathe workedby foot and the son working on an electrically poviered machine.The traditional machine cost them only $40.00 as capitaloutlay and the electric one $250.00. On the traditional machinethe father can polish about 30 piecesa day while the son onthe electricone50 piecesa day.According to Wan Ismail it is betterto havethe electricpoweredmachinebecausethe rate of absen-teeismof thoseon theelectricmachinehasbeenmuch less thanofthoseon traditional machines.Working on the foot-poweredlathemay also adversely affect the workers’ health in the long run.Although the industrial ratefor electricityconsumptionis lowerthanthe householdsupply, mostmanufacturersor thosewho work athomewould not like to install a separatemeterfor the capitaloutlayis high andthebureaucraticpathwaysto get oneinstalledare simplytoocomplicated.

Traditional PotteryEvidencesof potteryhavebeendatedto the Neolithic period in

the Malay Peninsula(Winstedt,1962).Goodquality pottery,how-ever,seemsto havebeenmostlyimported,especiallyfrom China,for at least a thousandyears.Porcelainand ceramicshavebeenexcavated from many archaeological sites and big earthenwarejars havepenetratedfar upriverinto the heartof Borneoandhavebecomeprizepossessions,both in the presentaswell asthe nextworld, of theIbans, Kenyahs,Kayans,Murutsandotherpeoplesof Borneo. Local pottery as a technology has not made muchadvancementoverthecenturiesalthoughjust to thenorth, in Thai-land, archeologistshave recently come out with convincing find-ings that not only was pottery a very ancient technology inSoutheastAsia but ahighly developedonetoo.

Potteryis still madeby Malaysusingrathersimpletechnology,for example,in villagesalongthePerakRiver. A fewdecadesago,the industrywasmorewidespread.At KualaTembeling,Pahang,for instance,therewasa ‘piece bearingstampsof superiordecora-tive quality and in Malaccawereproduced‘water-jarscolouredadull brownishblackandstampeddeepto look like florid woodcar-ving’ (Winstedt,1962).Otherplacesknown to haveproducedpot-tery includedProvinceWellesley,Johore, Alor Merah in KedahandKualaPilahin NegeriSembilan(SingaporeArt Society,1951).

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Wray, then thecuratorof PerakMuseum,wroteapaperon potteryin Perak(Wray, 1903).According to him theart musthavearisenfrom greatantiquity becausethe pottersneverusedthe potter’swheel. Even then in Perak,only certain areascould boastof pot-tery, in Lenggongin UpperPerak,Sayongin Kuala Kangsar,theseatof the PerakSultanate,and in Pulau Tiga in Lower Perak,buttoday, it is only in SayongandPulauTiga that the arthassurvivedto someextent.

On thebanksof thePerakRiver, aboutfive kilometersfrom thetown of Kuala Kangsar,and abouteight kilometer from Sayong,the HandicraftBoardhasset up a potterycentrerun on the samelines asthe handicraftcentresalreadymentionedin this paper.The centre is equippedwith the most up-to-dateequipmentforpotteryfrom the electrickiln tovarioustypesof the potter’swheel.And thetraineeswho arepaiddaily allowancesarechildrenof thetraditional pottersaroundthearea.The idea,as in the othercent-res, is to developthe talent andinterestalreadytheresothat pot-tery in the area can be transformedfrom a traditional industryusingtraditionaltechniquestoa modernone.Thus,theHandicraftBoard envisagesthat by the time the youngsterstake over fromtheir elders,therewill be a changein the cottagepottery industryin Sayong.The productswill no longerbe the simpleblack vesselcalled labu (gourd) or the earthenwerecooking pot, but rathermoresophisticatedpiecesof potterywith surrealisticdesignsandcolour patterns.It follows that the socialand economicenviron-mentin which thetraditionaltechnologyexistswill haveto changeto accomodatethe new potters.While the traditional pottersarepart of thepresentpatternof vallagelife, their childrenwho aregraduatesof the pottery centre would not be satisfied with thesamekind of economicandsocialenvironment.

Raw MaterialsIn 1903, theclaythat thepottersof Sayongusedfor their trade

wasobtainedfrom Temong,furtherup the river. Theclay, packedin small matbags,wasbroughtdownthe river by boatandsoldtothepotters.Todaythe raw material is obtainedlocally. However,thepottersarestill guided by tradition with regardthe their con-ceptof good clay. For example,the potters in Sayongprefertheclay from ant-hills becauseit is supposedto be ‘sticky’ (bergetah),althoughthemanagerof the HandigraftCentre,who is a ceramicgraduateof the MARA Institute of Technology, thinks that othertypesof clayfound in thevicinity areequallygood,the difference

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beingin thewaytherawmaterialisprepared.

TechniqueThetechniqueusedby thepottersin the village of KepalaBen-

dangin Sayongis still the sameto a large extent as that describedby Wray. Theclay isfirst driedandthenpoundedinto a fine pow-derin apounder,eitherthe commonrice-pounderworkedby handor the tilt-hammertype workedby foot. The clay is then sievedforimpurities. After that it is mixed with water to form a stiff clay andkneadedlike dough from time to tome to get rid of air bubbles.Theday is now readyfor use.

Thepottersof Sayongdo notusethepotter’swheel.Theyuseanearthenwareor tin plateon which theyshapetheclay. Thetechni-que usedis coiling and pinching. What th�potterdoes is to buildup the clay by coils and as eachcoil is added,it is pincheduntil itis welded to the part already shaped.The processis repeated,but at the same time the potter shapesthe clay into the formdesired.The traditional form is the gourd with a bulbousbody, aneckwhich is slightly bulbousin shapetoo, and aflaring mouth.The nearestthat the pottershadcometo usingthe potter’swheelis the contraptiondescribedby Wray, but it is no longer in usetoday.Thereis little useof decorationson the productsexceptforincisionsmadeon the body of the articles in the form of simpledesigns.The finished products are kept aside until t~iereareenoughfor firing. However, the firing is also done on a collectivebasis:the productsof two or threepottersare broughttogetherforfiring. -

While theHandicraftCentreis equippedwith a modernkiln, thetraditional methodis simple. First of all, a small pit is dug in theground.Thena scaffoldingis built over thefire pit strongenoughto supportthefinishedpieceswhicharestackedon it. A small fireis then lightedfor theideais to heatthepiecesbeforefiring them.If theyarefired straightaway,the chancesare that they will crack.It takesaboutthereto four hoursto heatthe piecesover the firewhich is kept low all the time. In order to keepthe heat in, thearticlesaresometimescoveredwith mattingmaterials.

After the heatinghasbeendone,thepiecesare broughtdownand the scaffoldingdismantled.The pit is then lined with driedbamboo.It is interestingto note that wood is not usedto fire thepottery. Thepiecesarearrangedcarefully over the bamboo,in away that they do not roll overor move while firing is done.Thebiggerpiecesarestackedin themiddleandthesmalleroneson the

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fringe or in between.Then split bamboois againarrangedandpiled on the pieces.The reasonwhy bamboois usedrather thanwood is becausesplit bamboois light and when burnt only theashesare left behind.Thefiring lastsaboutoneor two hours,andwhenthebamboois all burntup, the potterypiecesare left smoul-dering in thepit. Withoutwaiting for theobjectstocool,the piecesarepickedup bymeansof a longpoleandplacedto oneside.If thepieceis to havea darkhue,then it is straightawaysmotheredin aheapof padi husk. By tradition, the water vesselin the shapeofthe gourd (labu) is always blackened.Those which are not to beblackenedarenot treatedin thesameway. Theyarepickedout ofthe pit all thesameandplacedaside.While thepiecesarestill hot,damar or resin is rubbedon thebottom. Thisis said to renderthepotterywater-proof.

Socio-EconomicAspectThe labu is thetraditional productof Sayongpotteryandis used

to storewaterfordrinking. As it is cool, it maybeclutchedto one’sbody during the hot spellsor to bring down one’stemperatureduring illness. Other articlesare also made, like flower vases,cooking utensils, incenseburnersand evenash-trays.Althougharticleslike ash-traysor flower vasesareattemptsat introducingnew products,it is still the traditional labu andpotswhichare themainstayof theindustry.

Comparedwith thetwo cottageindustriesdescribedearlier,pot-tery is definitely on thewane.The traditionaldemandfor the labuandpotsis still therebutratherlimited now. Oneof the usesof awatervessel(buyong)whichhassurvivedtill todayis to holdwaterin shamanicritual connectedwith the propitiationof the spirits. Itis significantto note that Wray hadpredictedan early demiseofpottery in Sayongfor eventhen therewereonly aboutten housesinvolved in the industry,andtheyoungerwomendid not seemtobe interestedin the art~a fact which was much deploredby theoldergeneration.

The pottersare mainlywomen.The peopleof KepalaBendangin Sayong,forexample,rely on their padi-fieldsandrubbersmall-holdingsfor their living. Thus pottery,like pandanusweaving,isregardedas an occupationwhich brings in an extra income. How-ever, accordingto an informant,Cik Hasnah,the earningsfromherpotteryhadhelpedto bring up her children. The menusuallyassistby bringing in clay, drying it or poundingit, but the coilingand pinching and firing aredoneby women.Among the traineesat

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the centre in Kuala Kangsarare a few boys who are paid a dailyallowance,whichmayform an importantsourceof incomefor theirfamilies.

The incomefrom pottery for the pottersin Sayongis not muchmorethanthatof thepandanusweaversin Trengganuor Malacca.But sometimesthe satisfactioncomesfrom oneor two salesthatthe pottersmakeat handicraft shows.Cik Hasnah,for example,thought that the emotionalsatisfactionsheexperiencedwhenherpottery wareswere clearedout in a short time at exhibitions inKualaLumpur or Genting Highlandswasworth much more thanthe monetaryreturn she actuallyrealized. Wray’s prediction onthe extinction of pottery in Sayonghas not materialized.In factthere is interest in traditional pottery from certain quarters. Forexample, local tqurists would ask for the labu rather.than themodernpiecessoldat theHandicraftCentre.However,thefearforthe extinction of the traditional industryis felt today not becauseof the competitionfrom the HandicraftCentrebut rather the factthat thechildrenof the pottersarenow trained in new techniquesto produce modernpottery. If there is still a demandin ten ortwenty years’ time for the traditional pieces,at least for customaryor magicaluses,therewill notbethepeopletomakethem.

The marketingsystemhasremainedunchanged,andit is simi-lar to the othercottageindustriesin Malaysia. The productsarechannelledthroughthe middle-menwho in somecaseshavepaidpart of thecostsin advance.Accordingto Cik Hasnah,thenormalsized labu fetchesaboutM$1.00 whencollectedat the village bythe middlemen,but it issoldfor$2.00to $2.50in the marketplace.The productsare usually carrieddown theriver by boatandscaldatthe roadside in Telok Anson and other towns along the PerakRiver. As a comparisonthe pricesof modernpiecessold at theHandicraftCentrerangefrom $4.00for asmallpieceto $50 to $60for biggeror moreintricateones.Obviously, thevaluesattachedtothe two different typesof potteryarequite different.While tradi-tional pottery has eitherutilitarian value, including ritualistic valueasstatedabove,or intrinsic value for the decorationof urbanhomes,modem pottery has mainly aestheticvalueattachedto it althoughonemay arguethat utilitarian value is also presentas in the ash-trayor flower vase.

Characteristics of Traditional TechnologyFrom the abovediscussion,somecharacteristicsof traditional

technology can be observed.In the first place1 human energy

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seemsto bethe primarysourceof powerusedto work the simplemachinesand tools. Domesticatedanimalsare anothersourceofenergyto work the contraptionslike the ploughor grinder, whilewateror wind is harnessedto work the wheelsandgearsin tradi-tionalmills.

Raw materialsusedin the productionof goodsareusuallyavai-lablein thelocality, althoughin somecasesthey haveto be impor-ted.The latter pointsto thefactthatsomecottageindustrieshavebeenpartof thecommercialtraffic evenin the past.In thecaseofsongket, batik andbrasswork,manufacturersaresodependentonimported raw materials that if the governmentagencieshad nothelped,theproductionwould havestopped.

Anotherfeature is that learningof the craft is not by formalinstructionbutratherby meansof apprenticeshipor indirect lear-ning. It is only naturalfor a girl to pick up the art of weaving,eitherof cloth or mat,aspartof hergrowingup process,or a boy tohandletheploughor thefishing net. Thetechnologicalknow-howto be learntandabsorbedthusbecomespart of the total fabric oflife. Theconceptof beingspecializedin oneparticularskill or tradehaslittle applicationin traditionaltechnology.

In the caseof cottageindustriesin Malaysia, the manpowerinvolved in traditional technologyis rural and localized.The peopleinvolved arealso engagedin othereconomicoccupations.In fact,traditional technologyis ancillaryto the main economicactivities:besidesworking on thehandicraft,they havealso to attendto theirprimary activities like tending their rice-fields or rubber small-holdings,doing householdchoresor helpingout in their family’sor, in the caseof women,their husbands’economicoccupation.Theworkersare alsolocalized; most of them work at home or in thevicinity of their own homes.While skilled workersarea little moremobile in the sensethat their expertisemight bring them furtherawayfrom homefor moreattractive returns, mostof those invol-ved in traditional technology tend to work in or around theirplacesof residence.Hence,the ‘dispersedfactory’ or ‘putting-out’systemfits into this pattern. Theworkers will stay put while theowneror the managerof an establishementdistributesmaterialsto be producedamongdifferent small work-placesor productionunits,eitherto work partof the processor thewhole process,andhe paystheworkersby piece-rate. -

Another characteristicof the humanresourceconnectedwithtraditional technologyin Malaysia,andalso in most countries,isthe involvementof a largenumberof women.In the manufacture

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of householdarticles or evenfor use in economicactivities likefishingnetsor fishingtraps,thewomenvie with men in expertise.But weaving, eitherthe songketor the pandanusleaves, is thewomen’s enclave. Pottery in Sayong is also the speciality ofwomen. Besidesthe fact that they are engagedin theseactivitiesto fill in thetime betweendoing their main householdand econo-mic chores,theyalso do it for economicreasonsto help out in thefamily expenditure.The other industriesaremainly carriedout bymen, like brassware,silverwareor batik. But women,alsoparti-cipate.Thus in the batik industry, themajorprocessesaredonebymen as full-time workers, while the minor processesare done bywomenwho areusuallyemployedascasualworkers.4

Another aspectof manpower is the level of education. It isobservedthat the level of educationof most of thoseinvolved intraditional technologyis low. Fisk, for instance,foundthat3,170or96 percentof the weaversin the handboomindustryin Trengganuwere illiterate, 60 or 2 percentcouldreadthe Jawi scriptonly and110 or 3 percent who could read andwrite Jawi and romanizedscript (Fisk, 1962).However,thelevelof educationis morerelatedto thegeneralavailability of education,andsinceeducationalfaci-lities haveimproved in Malaysiasince the time of Fisk’s report,one can expect a higher level of educationamong thoseengagedin traditionaltechnology.In Rusila, HeatherStrange(1971) repor-ted that 49 percent of the young children attendedsecondaryschool(mostlyArabic-medium),while mostgirls stoppedafterpri-mary education.The boys involved in the brasswareindustry inKualaTrengganuareusuallythosewhohavestoppedschoolingatprimarylevel.

The manufacturingof goodsby meansof traditional technologyactuallymeetsa limited demand,which Isusuallylocal. In thecaseof Malaysia, cottageindustriesproducingbrassand silverware9,pottery, matsand basketshavesurvivedbecausethe needsforsuchgoodsare still dictatedby thecustomsand folkways andalsoby thepatternof traditionaleconomicactivitieslike rice cultivationor fishing. Now therearealso new demandscreatedmainly fromtourism. Of the cottageindustriesh~Malaysia, only the batikindustryhasachieveda statewherethe market is widespreadinthe country,and in someinstancesit hasevensecuredan exportmarket.

Working conditionssurroundingtraditional technology do notimposedemandswhichcan upsetthepatternof life for they blendvery well with tne rhythmof life wherethe main economicactivi-

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tiesareagriculturalandfishing. It doesnotnormally interferewiththe familial andother social obligationsof everydaylife such asbirths anddeaths,weddings,festivalsand religious observances.Industrieswhich employ traditional technology do not seemtohave a highly organisedset-up.One of the reasonswhy modernfactoriesfind it difficult to deal with workers from rural areasisthat theworkersareproneto takeleaveto meettheir familial andsocialobligations.

On the economicside,traditional technologyis consistentwiththe economicfactors which prevail in rural life: limited capital,cheaplabour costs, low profitmotivation, unsophisticatedcon-sumerdemandandlackof technologicalknow-how. The economicextensionof traditional technologyto the urbanmarket is smallandlimited, mainly in theform of tourist tradefor handicraft,cul-tural demandsas in the caseof songketandbrasswork and theappealof thebatik asclothing material.

Anothercharacteristicof traditional technologyis that althougha particular industrytendsto be clusteredin oneparticulararea,partly dueto economicreasonsand partly to tradition, it may bedispersedin termsof theproductionunit. A whole village may bemadeup of little workshopssituatedunderneaththe housejust asDetlev Karstenhassaid, ‘the traditional crafts-are typically, car-riedout in idealdecentralisation,’unlike themodernfactorywherethere is a centralisation in production organisation (Karsten,1972).A greaternumberof peoplethereforeare involved in rela-tion to production when comparedto a modernfactory, a factwhich induces Karsten to describe handicraft production as‘labour intensive technology’ as opposed to ‘capital intensivetechnology’of the highly developedcountries.

A PlaceFor Traditional TechnologyThe futureof traditional technologyin Malaysiawould depend

on anumberof factors,but Governmentpolicy on it would be themost important Cottage industries have always been associatedwith rural Malay economyand as such they were given dueattention when the governmentof the day establishedRIDA.When RIDA was reorganisedin 1968 into another organisationcalled Majlis Amanah Rakyator MARA, cottageindustrieswerelaterput underaboardwhich wasestablishedin 1973, the Handi-craft Boardof Malaysia. The Boardhasas its objectives(LembagaKraftanganMalaysia,1977):

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i) to develop local handicraftby introducing innovations intechniquesandmethodsof production;

ii) to overseeandcontrol the standardof local handicraftpro-ductionsothat the high standardof Malaysianhandicraftcanbe maintained;

iii) to step up the marketing of local handicraft, locally orabroad;and

iv) to encouragethosewho are under-employedto take up ahandicraftindustryasasourceof income.

To implementthe abovepolicy, theBoardhassetup five centresandintendsto set up a few moreduring the Third MalaysiaPlan.The five centreswereestablishedin areaswheretherehadalreadybeena traditional industry. Exceptionsare the centresfor wood-work and rattan in Temerloh, Pahang,and rattan and bamboowork in KualaPilah, NegeriSembilan.Thus acentrewasestabli-shedin Kota Bharu for silverwork, ironwork and batik in an areatraditionally engagedin thesecrafts: in Kuala Trengganuforbrasswork,batik, handloomindustryandpandanusweaving, alsoan area well-known in these industriesand in Kuala Kangsar.Perakfor pottery where there hasbeensince the turn of the cen-tury and perhapseven long before that a tradition of potterymaking.Thecentresin Temerloh,PahangandKualaPilah, NegeriSembilan,do notdealsomuch with traditional industriesbutrat-herwith experimentationin usinglocalmaterialsfor newcrafts. Inthe otherthreecentres,the rationalewasnot somuchto conservetraditionalcraft, but to ‘stimulateand rehabilitatetraditional skillandcraftsmanship’.Thesecentresundertakeresearchnot only inthetechniques,methodsandprocessingof raw materials,b~talsoin the marketingof theproductsespeciallywith the ideaof expor-ting thehandicraftabroad.Thecentresfirst of all provideadvisoryservice.However, in order to carry out its work, the centresalsohavetraining programmesandcarryout productionof the articlessoasto providedesignsor modelsfor the local artisansaswell asentrepreneurs,especially with the view of improving theirproducts.

The centresalso serveas facility centresespeciallywith regardto providing help in acquiring raw materials,andgiving adviceasto thequalitiy of raw materialssuchas dyesandotherchemicals.Thus,Batik MalaysiaBerhadundertakesto supplybrassworkmanu-facturerswith the metal. It is also envisagedthat the centreswouldprovide facilities such as the use of special machinesso that thecraftsmencouldperformcertainprocessesmoreefficiently.

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In spiteof the objectivesstatedabove, it can be seenthat thephilosophybehindthe whole exerciseis to retain the useof tradi-tional technologyandalso to introducecertainmodificationsbothin techniqueaswell as in businessmanagementsothat industriescanrealizea higher incomefor thoseinvolved. If thereis anyplantoconvertcottageindustriesinto asmall scalefactory system,it isnot very clearly enunciated.The idea, it seems,is to encouragecraftsmenand manufacturersto stay where they are, and withgovernmentalaid, theycan raisetheir incomelevel throughdoingthesamething, butbetter.This would alsoentaila transformationof techniqueas in the ideaof training the children of the present-daySayongpottersin moderntechniquesof production.

Oneneedsto distinguishthose techniquesand methodswhichare conducive to improvement from those which by their verynaturewould not lendthemselvesto improvement.Technologyasusedin the handboomindustry, batik, brassandothermetalworkor potterymay still meantraditional techniquesbut someof theprocessescanbe improvedby the useof new methodsof proces-sing or electricityand other froms of power.The bestexamplewould be brassworkandpottery. In the caseof brasswork,newmethodsof castingcanbeintroducedandelectricpowercanbeofgreathelpin working thebellowsandlathe. In thecaseof pottery,the introductionof thepotter’swheel,abettertechniqueof prepa-ring theclay andmorescientificmethodsof firing would increasetheoutputandimprovetheproducts.Thesenew techniqueswouldbring abouta transformationin theindustryandin the typeof pro-ducts,andthereforethe traditional artistic value would be lost,and new artistic valuesintroduced.In the caseof brasswork,it isthe finishedproductthat countsratherthan the technique,for theconsumerswould onlybeneedingincenseburners,betel-traysandothertraditionalarticlesfor their own usewithoutaskinghow theyweremade.

Thoseindustrieswhich are not easily adaptableto the use ofmachinesare thoselike pandanusweavingor bamboowork.5In thecaseof pandanusweaving, the use of betterdyesmay be intro-duced,butfor theprocessingof theraw materialsandtheweavingitself, it is doubtfulif machinescando the work better.In thecaseof bamboocraftor woodwork, the productsare mainly for homeconsumptionand as such it would not be economicallyviable tointroducemodernmachineryfor the purpose.Usually the intro-duction of new products like trophiesand table-decorationsforbrassware,for instance,hasto beaccompaniedby betterproces-

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singmethods,andthis would meana betterselectionof raw mate-rials, use of more efficient machineand an increasein the capitaloutlay. Where, however, a more efficient method of productioncannot be introduced, the centres try to improve the productsbyenhancingtheir artisticquality, or by introducingnewdesignsandpatterns.

In the introductionof machines,lack of capital and the unwil-lingnessto expandtheenterpriseseemto be the constraints.Thegovernmentthroughtitsagency,MARA hasprovidedcreditfacili-tiesaspart of the generalrural developmentprogramme,and infactsuchfacilities arebeing madeuseof by the~manufacturers.A30 percent sampling of the batik industry in Kelantan in 1976showedthat 94.1 percentof the respondentshad plansto expendtheir industry,but only 14.7 percentof them hadconcreteplantodo so in 1976,while theresthadno definite plans(MalaysiaCentrefor DevelopmentStudies,unpublishedreports,1976). About two-thirds (69.3 percent)had the bank in mind as the sourceof theloan, and onethird (30.7percent),othersources.In fact the mainproblem is capital: 16.6 percentsaid that they had no problem inrespectof additionalcapital, 24.4 percentindicatedthat it wasdifficqlt to raise loans,6.8 percentsaid they had collateral for theloans, and 53.3 percent that they lacked capital to expandtheirenterprises.

The lessonfrom traditional crafts is in fact extendedto newcrafts. The raw materialswhich aboundin the country have tradi-tionally beenusedto manufactureobjectsfor everydayneedsandfamily consumption.Throughthesecentres,it is plannedthat newhandicraftcanbeintroduced.The local furniture industrycantakethe formof a small-scalefactorysystemin the ruralareasemploy-ing full-time craftsmenfor wages,or the bamboocraftcan followthe exampleof the pandanusweavingindustrywhere it is done onpart-timebasisto supplementthefamily income.Hencethe Han-dicraft Boardhas no single approachtowardstraditional techno-logy in itsendeavourstoraisetheincomeof thoseinvolved in it. Infact it has to havea multidimensionalapproachand entertainawider scope, for the question is not merely to put traditionaltechnologyto a more productiveuse but to relateit to the totalproblemof socio-economicdevelopmentof the poorersegmentofthe country’s population. However, the survival of traditionaltechnologyin Malaysia today, and for sometime to come,is basedon two majorfactors: the cultural (including aesthetic,customaryandevenritual) demandfor its productswill continueandthe fact

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that the industrialisation programmeof the countryseemsto con-centratemoreon the establishmentof new factoriesandhasgivenlittle or no attention to the possibility of transforming the existingtraditional technology systemto serve a modern systemwherevillage cottageindustriesbecomeruralsmall-scalefactoriesto manu-facturenew goods,generatingemploymentanddevelopmentin theprocess.

Notes1. According to Baharil lnsanbin Hashim in his graduationexercise.RIDA TO

MARA (Faculty of Economics,Universityof Malaya. 1969). ‘During the pre-independenceand immediatelyduring thepost-independence- -- the functionsof RIDA were mainly in constructing the infrastructureand concentratinginnative industries such as mengkuang weaving. belacan manufacturing.silverwaresand other handicraft.Post-independenceleadershad moreinterestin industrialisationand turning RIDA to a more commercialestablishment’(p.54)- It was to give a bigger scopein dealing with the problemof upliftingrural ~alay economythat MARA wassubsequentlyformedto replaceRIDA.

2. According to Wan Ismail, asfar back ashe can ascertain,the supply of brassandothermetalshadalwayscomefromthelocalChinesemerchants.

3. It is a Malaycustomthat onetakesoff one’sfootwearon enteringa house.4. Figuresgivenby Nik Abdul Rashidfor June1968:

Full-time ParttimeMen Women Men Women

Kelantan 1.250 816 1.504Trengganu 385 — 615 100

5. The bamboowork referred to here is the traditional one, not the modernbambooworkbeing experimentedwith by the HandicraftCentresin TemerlohandKuala Pilah.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abdul Kanm Ismail (1971), PerusahaanMengkuang:Kajian Di Duo Buah TempatDi Negara Melaka(MengkuangIndustry: A Studyat Two Locations in Malacca),(Unpublished Graduation Exercise, Departmentof Malay Studies, Universityof Malaya,Kuala Lumpur).

Baharil Insan bin Hashim (1969). RIDA to MARA (UnpublishedGraduationExercise,Facultyof Economics.Universityof Malaya,KualaLumpur) -

Firth, Rosemary(1966), HousekeepingAmongMalay Peasants(London).Fisk, E.K. (1962),“The Economicsof theHandloomIndustryof theEastof Malaya,

“Journal oftheMalayanBranchoftheRoyalAsiaticSociety,Vol. XX)UIM, Pt.4. pp.1—72.

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Gullick. J.M (1952),‘A Surveyof the MalayWeaversandSilvermithsin Kelantanin1951’.Journalof theMalayanBranchof the RoyalAsiatic Society.Vol. XXV, Pt. 1.pp. 134—148.

Hill. A. H. (1949), ‘The Weaving Industry in Trengganu’.Journal of the MaiayanBranchof theRoyalAsiatic Society.Vol. XXII. Pt. 3, pp. 75 84.

Hoselitz. Bert F. (1968). The Role of Small Industry (The Hague— Paris).Karsten, Detlev (1972, The Economics of Handicrafts in Traditional Societies

(Munchen).Knight. Melvin M. (1932), ‘Handicraft’, in (ed.) Ed~nR.A. Seligman. Encyclo-

paediaof theSocial Science(New York), Vol. VII, pp. 255 — 260.Lembaga Kraftangan Malaysia (1977). Anggaran 1977 (Handicraft Board of

Malaysia: Estimatesfor 1977). (KualaLumpur. unpublished).Lim. J.S. and Shariffud~n.P.M. (1976). ‘Brunei Brass: The Traditional Method

of Casting.’ The BruneiMuseumJournalVol. Ill, No. 4.MalaysianCentrefor DevelopmentStudies(1976).UnpublishedReports.Morgan. G.T.M. deM. (1951). ‘Brass andWhite-Metal Work in Trengganu’.Journal

of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. XXIV. Pt. 3.pp. 114— 119.

Nik Abdul Rashid bin lsmai-l (1969). PerusahaanBatik dan Kajian Aspek-aspekPemasarannya (Batik Industry and Its Marketing Aspects). (UnpublishedGraduation Exercise, Faculty of Economics. University of Malaya. KualaLumpur) -

Shetty. M.C. (1963). Small-scale and Household Industries in a DevelopingEconomy: A Study of Their Rationale. Structure and Operative Conditions(Bombay.Calcutta.etc.).

SingaporeArt Society (1951). A Definitive Exhibition of Malay Arts and Crafts(British Council Centre.Singapore).

Staley. E. And Morse. R (1965). Modern Small Industry in DevelopingCountries(New York).

Strange. Heather (1971). The Weaver of Rusila: Working Women in a MalayVillage (UnpublishedPh.D. thesis.Universityof New York).

Winstedt.R.O. (1962). The Malays:A Cultural History (London).Wray. L. (1903). ‘The Malayan Potteryof Perak’. The Journalof theAnthropological

Instituteof GreatBritain and Ireland. Vol. XXXIII. pp. 24—25.

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16RELIGION AND BUREAUCRACY: THEDEVELOPMENT AND OF~GANISATION OFISLAMIC RELIGIOUS ADMINISTRATIONIN PENINSULA MALAYSIA

The developmentof religious administrationafter the advent ofBritish rule or protectoratecan generally be divided into twoperiods.The earlier period before 1948 is not so well-defined.Enactmentsandordinancespertainingto marriageanddivorce,ortheappointmentof religiousofficials werepromulgatedby the Sta-te Councilsat varioustimes,but the administrationon other mat-ters was not very clear.Matters pertaining to religion were intheoryunderthe directpurviewof theSultan,and it hasbeenthegeneral pattern that the ruling housesin each state keep closesupervisionon religious affairs. It is often that we find membersofthe ruling householding responsiblepostsin the religious affairsdepartment.

Thedetailsof religiousadministrationin the Malaystatesbefore1949 differed from stateto state.However, the most significantwasthat of Kelantan.As earlyas 1915, Kelantanestablishedanindependentnon-governmentalbody called the Council for Reli-~ious Affairs to advisethe Sultanon mattersrelatingto religion.Right at its inception, it wasenvisagedto function asa corporatebodywith fundsof its own andto participatein businessventuresin maintainingits activities. The revenuewas mainly from thezakat andfitrah collectedfrom theMuslim populationof the state.

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The objectivesof theCouncil were not only confinedto religiousactivities suchas the building andmaintenanceof mosques,thepropagationof Islamic teachings,publication and translationofreligiousworks andlookingafterthepooranddestitute,butalsotofostereducationboth in Malay and English. In fact, the earliesteducationin Englishin thestatewasconductedby the Majlis. TheMajlis rana school in EnglishandMalayon its premises,besidesreligious classes.Many a leading public figure today in Kelantanhad his early education in the classesrun by the Council.Scholarshipswhich enabledstudentsto study abroad were alsoawardedby the Majils. While the Council funtionedas an inde-pendentcorporatebody, the office of the kadi and syanah courtsstill formedpartof thegovernmentadministration.It is significantthat it wasthe Kelantanreligiousadministrationwhich becamethemodelfor the structureof administrationof religiousaffairs in theotherstatesafter1948.

In the case of Penangand Malacca, there were no religiousaffairs departmentswhen thetwo stateswere British StraitsSett-lements.Thekadis were themainofficialsinvolved in the adminis-trationof Islamic law, especiallywith regardto matterspertainingto marriageanddivorce. Howeverthe powersof the Kadi in Ma-laccaandPenangwerereally limited: in most instanceslike dispu-tesover inheritanceof property,the kadi couldonly advisefor hisdecision was not enforceable. In Malacca, the kadis were evenregisteredunderthe Society’s(or Associations)Ordinance.In thecaseof the two former Straits Settlements,the changedid notcomeuntil after1957,whenthecountryachievedits independenceasthe Federationof Malaya.

As hasbeensaidabove,themain structureof religiousadminis-tration today is somewhatbasedon the Kelantanmodel. On theonehandthereis theCouncilof ReligiousAffairs which isset up toadvisethe Sultanon mattersrelatingto religion, andon the otherthereisthe Departmentof ReligiousAffairs which is adepartmentcoming within the stateadministrativemachinery.The Presidentof the Council,who is usuallyappointedby the Sultan,is also theHeadof Department,while the Secretary,who maybeastatecivilservantservesboth. Usually,the syariah court, mattersrelatingtoteligiouseducationespeciallyin governmentschools,registrationof marriagesand divorcesbelong to the Department.while mat-ters concerning fatwa (rulings on religious problems). propa-gation of religious teachings, religious education in privateschools,thecollectionof zakatdand fitrah. andthe administrationof

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endowedproperties(wakaf) areusuallyassignedto the Majlis. Al-thoughit appearsthat the Council is a policy-makingbody whosemembersareappointedby theSultanandarenotemployeesof thegovernmentexceptfor the President,the Secretaryand the ex-officio memberslike the Multi (or the Kadis and Imans who maybe appointedby the Sultan for one reasonor another)and theDepartmentas theexecutivebranch,it doesnot actually in prac-tice conformto sucharrangement.While the closestrelationshipand cooperationare maintained,especiallyas the Presidentandthe Secretaryof the Council are also the Head andSecretaryforthe Department,the Council andthe Departmentmaintaindiffe-rentstaffandoffices.

Although this can be saidto be the basic model, therearecer-tain differencesfrom onestatetoanother.Kelantan,whosestruc-ture it wassaid to be thebasic model for the otherstates,hassixseparategovernmentdepartmentsrunning variousreligious mat-ters, from the syariah courtsto the departmentfor the preventionof immorality (pencegahan maksiat). The Council, on the otherhandis a corporatebodywith its own funds,accruednotonly fromthe collection of zakat and fitrah, but also from businessinvest-mentsin properties.It hasa staff of its own and is divided intodepartments: thecollection of zakat and fitrah, thesupervisionofmosquesandmosqueofficials, thetrusteefor endowedpropertiesand propertiesleft by dead Muslims ~Mthoutinheritors, the publi-cation of religiousworks, andthe supervisionof private religiousschools.KedahandPerlis, for instance,hasthe zakat collectedbya committeedirectly responsibleto the StateSecretary.Themainreasonfor this appearsto be the fact both thesestatesareexten-sive rice areas,and incomefrom the zakat is reallyconsiderable.However, mostof the revenueis usedfor mattersrelatingto reli-giousactivities, includingscholarships.While in the Malaystates,theSultansarethe Headsof Religion, in MalaccaandPenangit isthe Yang di-PertuanAgung,andnotthe Governorof thestates.Sothe appointmentsof the membersof the Council of ReligiousAf-fairs in thesetwo statescomesfrom theKing. In Perak,asanotherinstance,the membershipof the Council is basedon the represen-tationof five categoriesconceivedof the Muslim pøpulationin thestate : the rajas or nobility, the chiefsor noblemen,the religiousscholarsor ulama, the common peopleand the non-MalayMus-lims. There are many other differences in the actualorganisation,andthis is matchedby the discrepenciesin the religious law andenactmentsin all thestates.

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It is becauseof this factthat moveswere madein 1969to estab-lish a council for religious affairs at the nationallevel in order tocoordinate and streamline the religious administrationfor thewhole of the country. However, becauseof the very nature of theconstitution,born out of a historialpast peculiarto its own, theproblem was not as straightfotward as one would think Mattersof religion andMalay customshadalwaysbeenleft, in theoryatleast,tothe Sultansof theMalayStatesduringBritish colonialruleandthis wascontinuedafterindependence.The Council of Rulers(Majlis Raja-Raja) wastheonlybodywhich hadthepowerto touchon religiousmatterswhich concernthecountryasawhole.In 1968,however,the Council of Rulers at its meetingon 17th. October,agreedto the establishmentof aNationalCouncilof ReligiousAf-fairsforPeninsularMalaysia.However,thefunctionof theCouncilappearstobelimited to giving adviceto the Councilof Rulers,theStategovernmentson the statereligious affairs councilson mat-tersof Islamic law, administration,eduationandwith theultimateaim of encouragingandachievinguniformity in all thestates.Evenwith sucha limited function,KedahandPahangdid not sendanyrepresentativeto sit on the Councilwhen membersof the Councilwereannounced.Thus, althoughthe intention wasto coordinatemattersrelatingto religiousordinancesandotheraspectsof admi-nistration,theconstitutionalrightsof thecomponentstatesin rela-tion to the Federationhaveto besafeguarded.The roleof the Na-tionalCouncilof ReligiousAffairs isthereforedefinedassuchthatit actsonly asanadvisorybody to theRulersCouncil andthe reli-gious authorities of the states,and even then if its advise issought. The effectivenessof the Council is therefore doubtful,although the possibility of its becoming a coordinationbody tostandardiseIslamic religious legislations among the membersta-tes is always there,provided that all the statescooperateandsupportit.

It is at the state level that the Islamic religious administrationhasreally becomein~titutionalised.The bureaucraticcharacteris-tics of the administrationat the statelevel arebecomingclearer.The Majhs andthe Departmenthavea hierarchyof officials whoholdauthoritiesin their states.Besidesthosewhohaveall the timeexistedir~the Islamic religious administrationlike the Mufti andKadi, thereareotherswho are lay-officials buthavingauthoritiesto administermattersrelatedto religion. Thustherearethe enfor-cementsofficerswho havethe authority to arrestthosewho havecommittedoffencesaccordingto the syariah law, supervisorsof

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religiouseducationandreligious teachers,collectorsof zakat andfltrah and others.Officials like the Multi and Kadi and the lay-officials, havetheir authoritieslegitimatedby the CouncilandDe-partment.And theCouncil hasthe authority to issuefatwa (rulingon religious problems)and the taullah without which one cannotteachreligion outsideone’sownfamily. In fact, within the state,itis thecouncil, in the nameof Sultan,which is the highestauthorityin a state.In short, it hasthe power andauthority to prescribethedogmas in the form of fatwas; it is a bodywhich Iegitimisesnot onlythe authoritiesof thoseworking for theCouncilas officials or lay-offi-dals, but also provides legitimation for other things concerningreligion; it applies sanctions through its kadi courts and others.With thesecharacteristics,thereis every possibilityto say that Is-lam, in sofar as it concernsthe memberstates,haswhatin socio-logical terms would be called a “church”. And one result of thisis that not only are the authoritiesbecomingclearly definedto theadherents,butalsotheapplicationof sanctions.Offenderson reli-giousmattersareliable to bearrestedby officials belongingto theCouncilandDepartmentor by thelay-officials like the imam in thekampungs.Failureto complywith therulingsof theCoundlof ReligiousAffairs of the state is a punishable offence. Hence, while theremaybe dissenton certain rulings of the Council, a Muslim whoresidesin the state is obliged to acceptthat ruling of the Councilevenon controversialquestions.The day on which the First ofRamadhanfalls (the fasting month) or the first of Shawal (Id—ul-----Fitri) maynotbeobservedprivatelyfor onemaynotagreewith theuseof mathematicalcalculationsbutwould ratherrely on thesigh-ting of the moon, butpublicly onehasto complywith the officialruling. As the administrationhasbecomemore institutionalised,thereis aclearerdefinitionof authorities,especiallywith regardtothe administrationof sanctions.Henceonecan expecta greaterdegreeof conformity in thereligious behaviourof thecommunity.

The other implicationscan also be observed.The structureoftheadministration,we havenoticed,providesfor theCouncil to beoutside direct governmentcontrol. It is regardedas a corporatebodywhichcaninvestin propertiesor takepart in businessactivI-ties. When the Islamic Economic Congress in the country, forexample, decidedto accumulatecapital from Muslims, whichactuallymeansMalays,aspartof the governmentpolicy to secure30%of Malayparticipationin commerce,theCouncilsof ReligiousAffairs of the Stateprovideda ready-mademachineryto implement

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thisproject.Thus,eachMuslim family wasobliged to contributeasumbesidespayingthe obligatory fttrah duringtheRamadhanlastyear.Anda recentstatementby the Council of ReligiousAffairs ofPerak that it would soon go into businessventuresand madeinvestmentsfurtherunderscorethepointmadehere.

The institutionalisationof religious administrationasembodiedin the Council andDepartmentof ReligiousAffairs in eachstatealsoencouragedthe formation of social-actiongroups.The main-tainanceof mosques,the collection of zakat and fitmh, and reli-giouseducation,in the form of regular private schoolsand Quraninstructors,employ either directly or indirectly a good number ofpeople.In thepast,all theseactivitiesweremainlyconfinedto theimmediatecommunitiesthemselves.But with the Counciland theDepartmentof ReligiousAffairs now having direct control overthem,disputesover wages,allowancesandothermattersare dealtwith by the Council andthe Department.It is in the contextof suchdisputesthat thereligiousschoolteachersandthemosqueofficialshaveformedassociationsto look aftertheir interests.Theassocia-tion of mosqueofficials in Kelantan,for example,oncetookup thecaseof their percentageof the zakat collectionwith the Council ofReligious Affairs, Kelantan, most vehemently.Similarly, therehavebeenmanyinstancesof religiousteachersin thedifferentsta-tesstakingclaimsfor higherwagesandbetterconditionsof servicewith the stategovernments.In thesecircumstances,a lot of poli-ticswerethrown in, andevennon-Muslimmembersof the opposi-tion parfiestook up the cudgelon behalfof theteachers.

Sowhile ideally Islamin theorywould haveno needfor anorga-nisationwhich issociologicallydefinedasa“church” theadminis-tration of religious affairs in PeninsularMalaysia, through theinstitutionsof the Council andDepartmentof ReligiousAffairs ineachstatedoesshowcertaincharacteristicsof the “church”.

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17ISLAMISATION OF THE MALAYS:A TRANSFORMATION OF CULTURE

G.E. von Grunebaumhaspointedout that theconversionot theArabstoIslambeginningin theseventhcenturyA.D. alsomeantatransformationof their culture. The new religion not only broughtnewvaluesandidealsbutalsosuccessfullyprovided new solutionsto old problemsand helpedto “legitimize answersthat seemeddisrupting or otherwise inacceptablewithin the supersededsystem”.1 The transformationof a culture through a change inreligion is possiblebecauseIslam stressesnot only correctbeliefbutalsoright conduct.In Islam,beliefandconductare ideally one.But scholarswho havedealt with the Islamisationof the MalayArchipelagoarequick to say that Islam is but a thin veneeroverthe indigenousIndonesiancivilization.2 As J.C. van Leur puts it,

drawinga parallelbetweenthe Islamisationandthe Indianisa~ionof the Archipelago, “both theseworld religions were only a thin,easily flaking glaze on the massive body of indigenous civili-zation”.3 On the otherhand, it hasbeensuggestedby C.A.O. vanNieuwenhuizethat “neither outwardly nor inwardly were thosewhobecamethe adherentsof theIslamiccreedneedbeforcedintoasituationof conflict”. And Nieuwenhuijzeobservesfurther that“if thesepeopleregardthemselvesfor all practicalpurposesMus-lims, it is difficult to maintain thatscientific researchhas cometothe conclusion that they are not”.4 Many theories have beenadvancedregardingthespreadof Islaminto thearea,andit wouldtakemuchspaceto gointo them in detail for, afterall, theseques-

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tions havebeendealt with by many competentscholarsin thefield.5 What we shall examineis the impact of Islamic civilizationon thepeoplesof theArchipelago,particularly theMalays.

Islam penetratedinto the Archipelagoalong the traderoutes.Arabsand otherMuslim merchantshad beenknown to be in theareasincethe ninth centuryA.D., but the spreadof Islam did notbegin in earnestuntil after thefourteenthcentury.One explana-tion of this has beenadvancedby Dutch scholarswho seethespreadof Islamas an integralpart of the commercialactivitiesinthearea.B. Schriekearguesthat it wasthe Portuguesewho provi-dedthestimulusfor theacceleratedexpansionof thereligion. TheMuslim traders— both localandforeign — reactedto Portugueseencroachmentby intensifying proselytisation,especially in theeasternpart of the Archipelago.6The local trading interestswerevestedprincipally in theroyalcourtsandcommercialports,andassiich the fight against the Portuguesefor control of trade waswagedmostly by the local Muslim princes.It has also beensug-gestedthat the rise of local Muslim power was instrumentalinacceleratingthe downfall of the Hinduised states.Thus the dec-line of Hindu dynastiesincentralJavaisattributedtothe activitiesof Local Muslim principalities on the northencoastof Java.7Theinterpretationis that political motivation wastied up with that oftrade. Islam, it seems,wasa convenientweaponto wield in at-temptsto attainpolitical andcommercialgoalsagainstthe Portu-guese.

The spreadof Islam in the MalayArchipelagohasbeenlinkedwith the princely courts since Islamic scholarshipand Muslimprestigewereassociatedwith theroyalcentres.Not only did Mus-lim theologiansand sscholarsfrom the West flock to thesecentres,but the princelycourtsalsoprovideda basefor proselytisationbyMuslims in the area.Too muchemphasison the roleof the royalcourts,however,tendsto misrepresentthesituationof Islamin theArchipelago.It is temptingto liken thepositionof Islamamongthepeopleto thatof Hinduism in the precedingperiod. ScholarslikeB.H.M. Vlekke andJ.C.Van Leur havesuggestedthat just asSi-vaism had provided the religlo-magical charismatic aura for theHinduisedrulers, Islamhadcometo serveasimilar functionin thepost-Hindu period.Vlekke shows that this wasthe casein Java-nesepolitics in the fifteenth century. Islam hadprovided a newsourceof magic for the rulers.8Van Leur haspresenteda similarview. According to him, Islamisationwas dictatedby “politicalsituations and political motives.”9 The dynasty of Malacca, for

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instance,adoptedIslam with theideaof usingthe newreligion asa“political instrument” against Hindu traders, Siam, China, andthe “Hindu region on Java.“10 The Hindu concejt of Devaraja or

divine kingshipwhich wasthe cornerstoneof thepolitical structurefeaturingthe organisation of the statewith the raja at the apex,wasperpetuatedbutgiventheIslamicform of legitimisation.

Theviewpoint asrepresentedby VlekkeandVan Leur hasbeencriticisedon the groundsthat it tendsto reduceIslam to the levelof a pragmaticsubterfugeto promoteworldly ends. It is sugges-ted,ontheotherhand;that the spreadof Islam in the Archipelagoshouldbeviewed in the light of the new valuesintroducedby theteachingsof the new religion. Thus Islam did not succedsolelybecauseit servedthe political, economicor class interestsof thearistocrats.It succeededbecauseits teachingsappealedto thepeople. Scholars like AP. Wertheim, C.AO. Neouwenhuijze,andS. HusseinAl-Atas havesuggestedthat Islam wasattractivetothe peopleof theArchipelagobegauseit emphasizedademocra-tic ideology as apposedto caste-boundHinduism.” Al-Atas, forexample,evengoesfo the extent of suggestingthat the adoptionof Islamby thepeopleof theArchipelagowasaresultof a “revolu-tion from within.”12 In otherwords, it wasa dissatisfactionwith theHinduised social systemthat made the people readily acceptIslam.

It is true thatbetweenthe Islamisationandthe Indianisationof theArchipelago therewas one importantdifference. After more than amillennium, Hinduism had remainedalmostan exclusivecult of thepriesis and pnnces, whereas Islam, however nominally it waspractised in reality, had been the professedbelief of the massesand kings alike. But it would be extremelydifficult to ascertainthedegreeand natureof social conflict in the Indianisedsociety prior toconversionto Islam. It is, moreover,importantto notethat the socio-political structureinheritedfrom the Hindu period by the newMalay Islamic stateshadbeenretainedmoreor lessunchanged.TheHindu conceptof devaraja,forexample,hadbeenmodifiedbythe Islamic view of king as “God’s shadowon earth.” This is theessentialdifferencewhichshouldbe noted: while the basicstruc-ture, featuring the rulers and the aristocratsat the top of thepyramidwith thecommonpeople— the rakyat — at the base,hadremained intact, the meaning attachedto the differential statusesandroleshadbecomedifferent.The notion of divine kingshiphadbeen replacedby the idea of just and benevolentkingship, al-though the institution was no less sacrosanctIn fact, Islam crea-

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teda newsocial class,that of theArab claiming to be descendantsof the Holy Prophet.Thesepeoplewereaccordeda statusequiva-lent tothe localpopulationof royal birth. Especiallyin the Philippi-nes,thecreationof stateasa political organisationdid notactuallybegin with Hindu influencebutwith the introductionof Islam intothe southernislandsby Arabsscholarsand merchants’3in the fif-teenthcenturyA.D.

What shouldbe emphasizedregardingthe role of the Islamicideology in the Islamisationof the people, therefore,is not somuch its “democratic” doctrinesbut rather the fact that newvalueswerecreated.This is particularlytrue when it comesto selfindentity of an individual. As W.F. Wertheimhas rightly pointedout:

Islam gavethe small man a senseof individual worth asamemberof theIslamic community. According to Hindu ideo-logy he wasmerelya creatureof lower order than the mem-bersof the highercastes.Under Islam he could, as it were,feel their equal, or even, in his quality as a Moslem, thesuperiorof such of them as were not Moslems themselves,eventhoughhe still occupied a subordinateposition in thesocialstructure14

Anotherpoint thatshouldbe stressedis the recognitionof one’spiety andknowledgeof religion in a Muslim community.It is oftensaidthat theconversionto Islam~senoughby thetongue,that is tosay,it is enoughby just pronouncingone’sbelief in Allah andHisProphet.We haveto bearin mind that Islam putsstresson rightconductin additiontoprofessingbelief in its teachings.An indivi-dual’s conducthasto be in accordancewith the prescriptionsandproscriptionsof thereligion.In actualpractice,however,thereareusuallygradationsin the observanceof Islamic dogmasb~yindivi-dual Muslims. But the ideal is usually the objective, thus it isexpectedthat believerswill strive for the orthodox perfection inthe observanceof religious tenets.And this doesnot meanonlypiousobservancesof the rituals, but also strict adherenceto themoralconductandeversearchingscholarshipfor thetrue meaningof God’sword andtheteachingsof His Prophet.Thus Islamintro-ducedtotheMalay societynotonlyamonotheisticreligion butalsoanethicalsystemwhich madea demandnotonly on the rakyatbutalso on the rulers. From the thirteenthcenturyon, scholarshipinMalay societywas onewhich emphasisedreligion. It was not confi-nedto theologyalone,butotheraspectsas well, especiallymatterspertainingtogood governmentandjust society.Solearningin the

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IslamictraditionprogressedasC.W.J.Drewesnotes:The Islamisationof Indonesiais still in progress,not only inthesensethat Islam is still spreadingamongpagantribes,butalso in that peoplewho wentover to Islam centuriesagoareliving up moreand moreto the standardsof Muslim ortho-doxy As theIndonesiansgrewbetteracquaintedwith thereligious literature of Islam, the dividing line not only bet-ween orthodoxy and heterodoxybut also betweenwhat wasconsistentwith Islamin Indonesiansocietyandwhatwasnot,becameclearer.’5

Another factor that forms a backgroundto the Islamisationofthe Malay Archipelagois Sufism, or Islamic mysticicm. It is saidthat theideasandpracticesconnectedwith mysticim in Islamwerethe result of an earlycontactwith the religious of India.’6 It is notsurprisingthatwhenIslam spreadto India, sufismfound a fertilegroundin whichto develop.In the Archipelago,it wasclaimedthattheteachingsof theSufis hadacceleratedtheproselytisationof Is-lam.’7 The period of the spreadof Islam in the Archipelagocoinci-dedwith thetime of unifying roleplayedby theSufis afterthefallof the BaghdadCaliphatein the middle of the thirteenthcenturyA.D. The efforts of the Sufis in propagatingIslam in the MalayArchipelagohavebeencharacterisedasfollows:

They (theSufis) taughta complexsyncretictheosophylargelyfamiliar to the Indonesians,but which was subordinateto,althoughan enlargementof the fundamentaldogmasof Is-lam: they wereproficient in magic and possessedpowersofhelding: and not least, consciouslyor unconsciously, theywerepreparedto preservecontinuitywith thepast,andto usethe terms and elements of the pre-Islamic culture in anIslamiccontext.’8

It is saidthatthemainsinglecontributionattributedto the Sufisin facilitating conversionto Islam in the Archipelago had beentheir ability to syncretiseIslamic ideas with existing local beliefsand religious notions and their tolerance towards these pre-Islamic beliefs.But oneshouldalsobearin mind thatSufismconti-nuedto bepractisedlongafter the initial conversion.In this case,Sufism hadnothingto do with theattemptto accommodateearlierbeliefs, but hadcometo function asan approachto religion, even ifits doctrineswere regardedas heretical by some schools in Islam.The writingsof the seventeenthcenturyIndonesianSufis in northSumatraare a case in point. As A.H.Johnsputs it in anotherpaper,“in thisinstance(thesewritingsare)notamatterof syncre-

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tism with primitive cults, buta deviationthat waspartof the Islamictraditionitself.”9

Thisbrings ustoan importantpoint in understandingthe back-groundof Islamamongthe Malays.TheSufis, andalsootherearlypropagatorsof Islam in the area,brought with them popularbe-liefs which, properlyspeaking,standoutsidethestrict teachingsofIslam. Mostof thesepopularelementsarosenot only when Islamspreadfrom Arabia to Persiaandthen to India, but also throughearlierArabic contactswith the Egyptians, Hebrewsand Chris-tians in the West Local elementstendedto be addedto the everexpanding Islamic civilization, and Islamic elements themselveswere proneto begiven new meaningsand functions. It wasine-scapablethatsuchsituationsshouldariseasIslam imposeditselfon alreadyestablishedbelief systems.The practiceof mysticismhelped to facilitate such processes.In the Archipelago Islamicid~ascameto beidentified with existingbeliefs.The spreadof Is-lam also brought with it magical beliefs and practicespopularamongthe PersiansandIndian Muslims. Someof the textson Is-lamic magicarestill todayregardedasKitab, a termusuallyreser-vedfor religiousbooks.One of the mostcelebratedworks held inhigh esteemby the Malay peasantryis Taj-u!-Muh.ik, which is of-ten regardedasa standardreferencefor Islamic magic. Besidesmagic, Taj-ul-Muluk also containschapterson curing illnesses.Besidesthe Taj, thereare many otherversions which deal withmagicandcuresfor illnessesand they are collectively known asKitab Tib. Saint-worshipor the worshipat the gravesideof holymen,which is quitewide-spreadin otherMuslim areas,is anotherexampleof the productof Islamic mysticism. This complex of be-liefs is known askeramat-worshipamnngthe Malays. Like otherfolk or popularbelief traditions,thereare manyforms andversionsofkemmat-worship.However such beliefs and practicesare informalaspectswhich havenotbeenacceptedor recognisedformally. Hencethey are on the peripheryof Malay life, toleratedbut not officiallyrecognisedby the learnedor ukima.

The Malays today belongto the orthodox Sunni sect, but thetotal impact of Islamic culture had come from many defferentdirections.IslamicMalaycultureis actuallywovenfrom numerousdiversestrands.The earlypropagatorscameprincipally from In-dia, from theMalabarcoastsandfrom Gujerat.Richard Winstedt,for example,suggeststhat conversionto Islam wasfacilitated bythefactthat theearly Indian missionarieswereableto syncretiseIslamic teachingswith existingbeliefs.20 It is interestingto note in

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this connectionthat the Sanskritterms for some religious notionshavebeenappliedto Islamic practicesinsteadof adoptingArabicterms. Sanskritwords such as puasa for “fasting,” neraka for“hell”, and syurga for “heaven” are representativeexamples.Eventhe word for religion is takenfrom Sanskrit, that is agama.SufismandpopularIslamicelementswerebroughtto the Archipe-lago from India to a much greaterextent than from PersiaorArabia. However, whetherthey had comedirectly or indirectly,Persianinfluenceon thecultureof the Malayshasbeenparticular-ly strongespeciallyon the Malay royal courts.Malay court cere-monies,the title “Syah” for the Sultansor rulers, literatureandideason statecraftandkingship, the literary styleof court litera-ture, religious literature of Shi’ite tradition, Sufi writings, andpopular narratives,all bearindelible marks of Persianinfluence.2’

In additiontothe IndiansandPersians,theArabsalsoplayedarole in bringing to beartheinfluenceof Islamic civilization on theMalays.By theseventeenthcenturyA.D. therewerealreadyper-mament settlementsof Arabs in the Archipelago, and “wanderingArabtraders,adventurers,andreligious scholarshadbeenafea-ture of Malay life for many hundredyears”22 As statedabove, inthePhilippinesaswell asin otherpartsof theArchipelago,thesta~tus accordedthe “Sayyid” (descendantdof the Holy Prophet)enabledsometo carveoutkingdomsfor themselvesand rule overthe Malay subjects.As descendantsof the Holy Prophetas theyclaimedthemselvesto be,theywereregardedasha~/ingnot only acharismabutpiety andknowledgein religiousmatters.TheArabswereofteninvolved in local politics andwith the esteemthey wereheldby the localpopulationthey oftenen4edup in the position ofadvantage.Butstill their contributionhadbeenin the field of reli-giousknowledgeassuggestedby William Roff:

the Malays had for centuriestendedto look upon allArabs, whatevertheir origin, as the direct inheritors of thewisdomof Islam,andon Sayyidsin particular asposses-sedof unexampledpietyandreligiousmerit.23

As opposedto theearlierpropagatorsof Islam from IndiaandPer-sia who were responsiblefor the spreadof pantheistcmysticismandotherpopularelementsof Islam, the Arabs had familiarisedthe Malayswith the orthodoxteachingsof the religion. This doesnotmeanthat theArabshadno handin the spreadof popularIsla-mic beliefsand practices,for itinerantArab mendicantsperform-ing magicanddivination havebeenknownin theArchipelagofor ~longtime. In fact mostof the keramatworshippedby the Malays

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are thegravesor sitesonceconnectedwith Arab tradersor adven-turers. And Arab merchantswho travelledfrom village to villagewould often havesemi-preciousstonesand talismenwhich theyclaimedhadspecialmagicalqualities.

Moreimportantthantheroleof theArabsin advancingorthodoxteachingsis the closercontactthe Malaysenjoyedwith the Arabworld during the last two centuries.Two phenomenashouldbesingledout: the first is the “Wahhabi” reformation,a movementwhich sweptthe Arab world in the middle of the eighteenthcen-tury, andthesecondis the “modernist” movementstartedin thelast century by scholars like Sa~idDjamal al-Din Al-Afghaniand Muhammad ‘Abduh of Egypt. The main aim of the “Wah-habi” movementwas to return to the purity of Islamic mono-theism. Thus it campaignedandattackedvigorously any form ofpracticeor belief that might havecontaminatedtheseideals.Thepre-Islamicsurvivals,magicalpracticesand saint-worshipwhichhad come to attach themselvesto the religious practicesof theMuslims, were condemnedand attacked.The influence of themovementin furthering the characterof orthodoxy among theMalayshad beenquite considerable.The secondmovementtoohadits rootsin the“Wahhabi” ideals,but thestresshadbeenmoreon“modernistic” reforms. In Indonesia the reform movements likeMuhammadiahandotherswerenot only interestedin furtheringthe teachingsof Islam but hadbuilt up organisationswhich alsoserved the public by establishingschools and hospitals.24In thePeninsula,the reformersof the modernistschoolwere referredtoasKaumMuda andthey lashedawayatboth the Malaypeasantryas well as thearistocracyfor subscribingto un-Islamicbeliefsandcustomsof the past, which featurea greatdeal not only in theritualsandceremonialsbutalso in theeverydaylife of thepeople.

Of the cultural influencethat Islam hadbroughtto bearon theMalays, thosein the field of literature havebeenthe most pro-found. The literary heritageof the Malays has beenexclusivelywritten in the Perso-Arabicscript, including those literary workscarriedover from the Hindu period. The connectionof literaryactivity with the royal court is richly reflected in the literature.Treatiseson dutiesof kingshipandconceptsof statearerepresen-ted in bookslike Taj-us-Salatin (The Crown of Kings) andBus-tan-us-Salatin (TheGardenof Kings). Theologianswho flockedto the royalcourtstranslatedandwroteworkson Islamicjurispru-dence,theology,andhistory. Eventhestatechronicles,whichclai-meda sacredorigin for the ruling dynasties,were modelledon

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Persianor Indian works suchasSyah-Namehand Akbar Nameh.Islam also introduceda wealth of writings on mysticism to theMalay world. Thesewritingsdo not representattemptsof syncre-tism with polytheisticbeliefs.They aredoctrinalexercisesin thetraditionof Islam. Talesof heroeswereamongthe earlieststoriestobeintroducedtothe area.Winstedtclaimsthat “the first task ofthe missionarieswasto substitutefor th~Hindu epicstalesof theheroesof Islam”.25 Thesehero talesfitted into the feudal structureof thesocietyasdid the Mahabhrata andRornayanain the Hinduperiod.From the Muslims’ landsof Persiaand IndiacameworksbearingShi’ite influenceandspurioustreatmentof Islamichistoryand theology. Talesof the lives of the prophetsbasedon popularlegends,Sufi thoughtscouchedin simplistic term’~,and treatisesonmagicanddivinationhadbeencirculatingin theMalayArchipelagosincethe early days of Islam. It is from thesesourcesthat popularIslamicnotionswereintroducedto the Malay masses.

As far asthebasictenetsof Islamwereconcerned,the impactofIslan~icideology hadbeenfelt in theroyal courtsaswell as in thevillages. Butthe totalimpactof Muslim civilization apparentlyhaddifferent meaningsat the different social levels. Thus literatureabout statecraftor doctrinal discussionson points of theologywould principallybelongto courtly circles,while popularreligiousliteratureandthe romanceswould inevitably find their way to themasses.Thepoint to be madeis that the scholarlytraditionof Is-lam was nurtured within the precincts of the royal courts,26or ifthere was no royal patronage,there would have been schoolsestablishedbyscholarsof reputeandto thesescholarsthe aspiringyoung studentswould flock to study religious knowledge. ThePesantren(as it is known in Indonesia)usedto be the centresofreligious instruction. Althought such schools later becamethesrrongholdof theconservativescholarsasagainstthe teachingsofthe so-called“modernisticreformers”,they hadservedfor a longtimeasthe pointof referencefor Islamic knowledge.The peasan-try on the otherhand,while subscribingto the basictenetsof Is-lam werequite often unawareof the scholastictraditionsof reli-giousknowledge.

Thecharacteristicsof the earlyperiod of conversionhaveto becontrastedwith the subsequenttrendtowardsorthodoxyandrigo-rous applicationof Islamic teachings.Retentionsof pastbeliefsstill form apartof theMalay’s beliefsystem,andpopularIslamicelementsarestill toleratedin everydaylife. Yet, the Malayshas-tentoclaim that theyaregood SunniMuslims. Toddy, Islam isthe

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declaredofficial religion of Malaysia, although Malaysiaitself isnot a theocracy,and freedom to worship any other religion isguaranteedby the Constitution. In the componentMalay statestherehadbeenestablishedgovernmentdepartmentswhich dealtwith the administrationof religious affairs in all aspects.In theperiodof Britishadministradition,religiousaffairsandlocal Malaycustomswereunderthe jurisdictionof theSultansandthesewereadministeredthrough either a department,a council or the Sul-tan’soffice. Butafter1948,everystatein theFederationof Malayahadestablishedareligiousaffairs department.Muslims in Malay-siaarealsosubjectedto Islamic law which is appliedas“personalstatuslaw”, and subjectedto the jurisdiction of religious courts(mahkamahspariah)whicharepresidedoverby religiousjudges.At thesametime Islamic religious educationin Malaysiahasbeengiven a new dimensionwith the establishmentof religious facul-tiesanddepartmentsin theuniversities.

In the light of thesenewdevelopments,it is difficult to say thatIslam has not transformedthe cultural values of the,people.SnouckHurgronje hadobservedthat conversionto Islam amongthepeoplesof theMalay Archipelagowascharacterizedby expan-sionratherthanintensification.But suchastatementseemsto beapplicableonly to theearlyperiodof Islam in the Malay world. Itdoesnotgive anaccuratepictureof Islam in its subsequentdeve-lopment.Nevertheless,asubstratumof olderbeliefsandaculturalheritage(usuallysubsumedunderthe Arabic derivedterm ‘adat)hascontinuedto existamongthe Malays.To say that .theMalaysareeclecticin their religiousobservanceisto missthepoint. Thereareconflictsto besure,butsuchconflictscanbestbe describedintheway P.E.deJosselinde Jongviews the position of customarylaw (‘adat) andIslamiclaw (syara’) in aMalaycommunity:

The conflict is betweentwo systemof ideals and practices,both of which were consideredby the society concernedasbeing an integralof its culture,bothapplicableto the entiresociety,andbothperceivedasasystemby inhabitantsof thesociety27

We may add, furthermore,that eachsystemservesa differentfunction in the total culture of people. But since the fourteenthcenturyAD. onwards,it can safelybe said that Islam hadtrans-formedthe cultureof the Malays. From thenon, it is the Islamicbeliefand ethosthathavebecomethe foundationof theculture.oftheMalays.

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Notes

1. ‘Transformation of culture as Illustrated by the Rise of Islam.” in L. Brayson.L. PinklesteinandR.M. Mac Iver,(eds.),Conflict of Power in Culture, Proceeding ofthe Seventh Conference ofScience, Philosophy, and Religion. NewYork,1978.pp.218—224.

2. See, for instance, K.P. Landon Southeast Asia: Crossroad of Religion,Chicago.1949.pp. 134—164.

3. Indonesian Trade and Society, The HagueandBandung1955,p. 169.4. Aspects of Islam in Post-Colonial Indonesia. The Hague and Bandung,

1958.pp. 39—40.5. See for instance Caesar Adib Majul. “Theories on the Introduction and

Expansion of Islam in Malaysia”, in The International Association of Historians ofAsia, Second Biercial Conference Proceedings. Taipei, 1962pp. 339—398.

6. Indonesian Sociological Studies, TheHagueandBandung1957,pp. 234—236.7. B.H.M. Vlekke, Nusantara: A History of Indonesia, rev. ed., Hague and

Bandung. 1959. p. 86.8. Ibid.9. Indonesian Trade and Society, p. 122.

10. Ibid., p. 112.11. See W.F. Wertheim, Indonesian Society in Transition, The Hague &

Bandung. 1959. pp. 196—197 and C.A.D. van Nieuwenhuijze, op. cit..pp. 35—36.

12. “On the need for a study of Malaysian Islamisation”, Journal of South EastAsian History, lV (March 1963) pp. 68—81.

13. See Eric Casino The Jama Maupun: A Changing Samal Society in theSouthern Philippines, Quezon City 1976, p. 25.

14. Indonesian Society in Transition, p. 196.15. “Indonesia: Mysticismsand ActMsm,” in G.E. von Grunebaum(ed.) Unity and

Variety in Muslim Civilisation. Chicago,1955,p. 292.16. Murray,T., Titus, Islam in India and Pakistan, Calcutta,1959, pp. 153—156.17. A.H.. Johns. “Sufism as a Categoryin IndonesianLiterature and History.”

Journal of South East Asian History, Vol. II (July 1961),pp. 10—23.18. Ibid., p. 15.19. ‘Aspectsof Sufi Thoughtsin Indonesia’,Journalof theMalayan Branch of theRoyal

Asiatic Society. XXVIII. 1 (1955) 70—77.20. The Malays: A Cultural History, New York, 1950 pp. 35—36.21. See G.E. Marrison, “Persian Influences on Malay life”, Journal of the

Malavan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, XXVIII (1955)pp.52—69.22. William R.. Roff. ‘The Malay-Muslim World of Singaporeat the Close of the

NineteethCentury”. Journal of Asia Studies, XXIV (1964).P. 80.23. Thid, p.81.24. SeeDelia Noer, The Modernist Muslim Movement in Indonesia. 1900/1942.

Singapore,Kuala Lumpur, 1973.25. The Malays: A Cultural History, p. 145.26. SeeMohd. Taib Osman.“Raja Ali Haji of Riau: A Figure of Transitionor the

Last of the Classical Pujanggas?”in Bahasa Kesusasteraan dan Kebudayaan

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Melayu: Esei-Esei Penghormatan kepada Pendeta Za‘aba, Kuala Lumpur,1976,pp. 136-160.

27. “Islam versus Adat in Negeri Sembilan (Malaya)”, Bijdragen-Iot de Taal-land~enVolkenkunde, Deel CXVII, 1, (1960),p. 203.

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18THE CONCEPT OF NATIONAL CULTURE:THE MALAYSIAN CASE

The SecondWorld War has beenthe water-shedin more waysthanone in the history of mankind.The momentumin theadvan-cementof technologywhich startedwith the industrial revolutionin the lastcenturyhasbeencarriedforwardat agreaterspeedthanever before since the endof the War. But the most meaningfulevent hasbeen the creation of so many new statesor nationswhich, on the one hand,solved the problem of decolonisationofterritories once governedby the Western powers, but, on theother, createdproblemsfor thesefledgling statesas well. Theproblemwhich hasreceivedmuch attention from scholars,espe-cially thoseof theWest,is how thesestatescopewith theproblemof modernisation.Underthis aresubsumedsuchproblems~seco-nomic development,technologicaladvancementand social uplift-ment of the population. In a nutshell, the problem is that thesenew nationsor statesareeconomicallypoor, technologicallyback-wardandsocially impoverishedsothat they areoften regardedasnot the equalof the establishednationsof the West: hencethetermunder-developedcountriesis usedfor thesenationsas acon-trast to the developednationsof the West. Onemeasureof thecomparativestatusthatexistsamongnationsis in the form of theso-calledaidsgivenby oneset of nationsto another.(I saidthe so-calledaids becausesuchaids,especiallythe military kind, enduponly with the receiving countrybeing trappedinto some kind of* Thepaperwas originally readat the Asian Associationof National Languages

Conferencesheldin Manila.4—9 December.1978.

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political blackmailandbondageto the donor country.) However,this seemingly practical relationship has psychologicalimplica-tionsaswell, forotherwiseit would nothavebeennecessaryto re-sort to sucheuphemismas “developingcountries”or “emergentnations”. Whateverit is, it is clear that the relativeeconomicandtechnologicalstatusof the new nationsin an internationalsettinghasto be off-setby othermeans.Thus it is the concernof thenewnationstopresentthemselvesasrespectablemembersof the inter-national family of nationsthrough their own cultural identities.This is onewaytoasserttheir presenceintern,ationally.

We may call this the externalneedfor a cultural identity. Buthow to project this identity externally is also a problem becausewhile a newnation hasto projectan imagewhichwould symboliseits uniqueness and dignity, it hasto do this from asituationwhereno suchidentity hadexistedbefore.Too often the new nation orstate inherits the territory left behind by the colonial master,butbesidesthe territorial boundaryandthe governmentalinfra-struc-turethat thenewnationinherits,thereis nothingmuch in termsofsocio-psychologicalidentity of onenessor social identification asonecommunitythat the new nation canfall backon for this pur-pose.In mostinstances,it wasthe deliberatepolicy of the colonialpowersto keepthe populationdivided and differentiatedsothatcolonial rule could be maintaniedeffectively. “Divide and Rule”was the cornerstoneof colonial policy. Thus to projecta commonidentitybasedon thesocio-culturaldiversity of its populationis notaneasytask,but it hasto bedoneconsciouslyandjudiciously.

The externalneedto projectsuchidentitymay not be as impor-tantasthe needreally tofulfil andbuttressthis identitywith a sen-se of unity andbelongingamongthecitizensof a new nation.Toooften, thepeoplewho makeup the new nationshadneverhadtheexperienceof belongingto a singlesocio-political community.Be-fore theadventof Westernrule, the socialorganisationhadbeenin theform of separateanddifferentgrouping,be it tribal, villageconglomeration,longhouseor townships,and eachalmostindepen-dentof the other.The mostsophisticatedform of socialorganisa-tion wasperhapsa Kingdom, a territorywith ratherunclearboun-dariesandruledby a king. Affiliation and loyalty hadbeenby eth-nic, linguistic and local oiientations.The territorieswhich hadoncebeenunderthe colonial rule, andwhich came to be inheritedby the new states,were thusarbitrarily defined,the boundariesbeingdeddedby armed conflict, commercial competition or political in-fluence. The thread that held the different piecestogetherwas the

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effectiveandefficient machineryof the colonial government,andironically the first foothold that a new governmenthas,by wayofproviding the unity for the new state, is this very governmentalinfra-structure.Even if independencehasbeengainedthrough arevolution as in the case of Indonesia,the colonial governmentmachineryis notdismantled,butratherrebuilt or modified to suitthe new needsand direction. Such infra-structurewould includenot only the civil servicepersonnel,the legal system,an admini-strative network coveringthe whole country, revenuecollectionandeducationsystembutalso, to acertainextent, industrial,eco-nomic and communicationbuild-up. It shouldbepointedout thatall theseserviceswereratherminimal for the aim wasnotsomuchto developthe colonial territoryand its people,but to strengthenthe economyof themothercountry.On gaining independence,thenew nation has to rely a greatdealon this governmentalinfra-structure,butat thesametimenewpolitical needshavetobecrea-ted,bothexternaland internal,andthereforenewdirectionhastobethoughtoutandformulated.In someinstances,preparationhadstarted long before independencewas gained. This was donethrough nationalistic and other political movements.One suchexampleis the Pujangga Baru literary movementin Indonesiainthethirties. Althoughthiswasanelitist movement,its ideaof pro-moting atruly Indoneisanliterature,both in the use of one com-mon lanquageandthe expressionof modernisticsocial concepts,thustranscendinglocal languagesand parochial cultural expres-sions, wasoneof the importantelementsin the developmentof acommonIndonesianculture.Thus the exampleof Pujangga Baruillustratesthe fact that the concern to createa nationalculturetranscendingthelocal oneswaspresentevenlongbeforeindepen-dencewasachieved.

In the caseof Malaysia, the needto havea nationalculturehasbeenmotivatednotsomuch by the ideaof projectinga distinctiveculturalidentity abroadbutmoreby the factthatherviability asanationalentitywould haveto dependon the inter-groupharmonyof its populationwhichis madeup of thethreemajorethniccategories:(a) the indigenous peoplescomprising the Malays as well as theKadazan,Murut, Bajau,andothergroupsin Sabah;andtheIban,Bidayuh, Kenyah,Kayan, Melanauand numerousothergroups inSarawak,(b) the Chineseand (c) the Indians. However, the twoproblems are inter-relatedbecausethe conceptof a national cul-ture transcendingthelocalandethnicculturesis thevery onethatis supposedtoprojectthe identity of the nation internationally.In

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a countrywherethe indigenouspopulationmakesup 54.7% of thetotal populationof abouttwelve milloin and the rest madeup of34.2% Chineseandabout 10.6% Indians,1 the problem is reallyacute.To makethesituationmorecomplex,thecompartmentali~sa-tion of the different ethnic groups into economicspecialisationsunderthecolonialrule, separatedthemajor groupsevenfurther.

TheFederationof Malayawhichwasmadeup of nineMalay Sul-tanatesand two British settlementsof Penangand Malaccawasgiven independenceby the British on 31 August 1957.On 16 Sep-tember1963,thetwo Britishcoloniesof SarawakandSabahjoinedtheFederationandthe newenlargedstateis calledthe Federahonof Malaysia. Onecharacteristicof thepolitical deve~opmentof thecountrysince independencehas been the comparativestabilityachievedthrougha governmentformed by a partnershipof threemajor ethnic parties — UMNO, MCA, and MIC.2 Except for theracial riots which took placeafter the generalelections of 1969,therehasnot beenanything untowardhappeningin the countryapartfrom the communistinsurgencywhich, however,hasbeenwell containedby thearmedforcesandconfinedto somesjoradicandfar-betweenskirmishesalongtheThai-MalaysiaborderandinPahang.However,racialovertonesarestill strong in political acti-vities. While the governmentpolicy in achieving stability isthrough redressingthe economicimbalancebetweenthe ethnicgroups,especiallybetweenthe poor indigenouspeople and thebetter-offimmigrant groupswho had benefifted from the favour-able situation created by the British, the rumblings of dissatisfac-tion expressedby the non-indigenouspolitical parties,especiallythosewho do not join the government,only go to underscorethe

factthat in spiteof theoutwardharmonyandunity, thereisalwaysthe dangerthat the stability of the countrycan be upset.That isthe reasonwhy a morepermanentsolution hasto be found; thecountrycannotrelyindefinitely on thepragmatismandexpedienceof checks and balancesbetweenthe interestsof the variousgroups.

The rise of Malay ‘nationalism’ in the Peninsulacan be tracedback to the modernist Islamic movementswhich started fromabouttheturn of thecentury.But, in effect, the nationalisticsenti-ments,until the thirties, were notespeciallypronouncedbecausethe emergingmovementswereconfinedto mostly socio-religiousissues.However,political consciousnesswas nurturedamongtheyoung teachersandothereducatedyoungpeople,especiallyin thethirties.3 Kesatuan Melayu Muda (Young Malays Union) which

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wasformedin 1938wasthefirst directexpressionof Malay politi-cal consciousnesswith anti-colonialsentiments.It shouldbe ex-plainedthat anti-colonialfeelingsdid not find suchstrongexpres-sion in the Malay statesbecause,in theory thesestateswereBri-tishprotectoratesundertheir own sovereignsultans,andthereforewere supposedly independent.That is the reasonwhy Malaynationalismsuddenlysurgedforth into the surfaceunderDato’Onn bin Jaafar, in 1946, when the British coercedthe Sultanstoagreeto surrendertheir sovereigntiesto the British so that the Malaystates, together with the British Settlementsof Penang,Malaccaand Singaporecould be transformedinto a MalayanUnion underdirect British rule. It was this awakenedMalay nationalismwhichgatheredmomentumandsaw the MalayanUnion dismantledandultimately won independencefor the country, but without Singapore.

Among the Chineseand Indiansin Malayaand Singapore,be-fore the SecondWorld War, political activity tookthe form of anextensionof the activities of the mother-countries.The strungglebetweenCommunistand Kuomintangfactions in mainlandChinaspilled over into Malaya amongthe Chinesepopulation.The In-diansin Malayaalsoechoedthepolitics of Indiaespeciallytheacti-vities of the Indian Congressor the Indian Muslim League.Thepartition of India andPakistan,for instance,wasalso markedbyHindu-Muslim clashesin some urbancentresin SingaporeandPenang.Similarly, the Communistand the Kuomintangstrugglefor supportamongthe NanyangChinesewassostrongthat it wasoncesaidthateveryChinesehouseholdin Malayahadtwo flags —

oneCommunistand the other Kuomintang — readyto be flowndependingon the turn of eventsin China. Henceamongthe Chi-neseandIndians,political awakeningwith regardto the local Ma-layansituationcameratherlate. Evenif it existed,it wasconfinedto a few. Among the Chinese,for example,consciousnesswithregardto their stakein their new adoptedhome wasconfinedtotheEnglisheducatedandthe local-born.

It is againstthis historical backgroundthat the conceptof natio-nal culture in Malaysiashouldbe examined.Right at the oUtset,evenbeforeindependencewasachieved,theawarenessamongtheMalaysof thefact that theyhadto asserttheircultural identity,be-sides their political position asthe indigenouspopulationof thecountry, wasvery strong.The opposition to the MalayanUnionwas, toa greatextent,motivatedby the fearthat the British wereaboutto give immediatecitizenshipto the Chineseand IndiansinMalaya.In theeyesof the Malays,sucha provilegeshouldnot be

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given before loyalty andsenseof belonging to the adoptedcountryhasbeeninculcatedandtested.Awarenessthatculturewasgoingtobean importantelementin the life of the new nation was expressedin the cultural, languageand literary conferenceswhich were heldevenbeforeindependencewasachieved.The sentimentsusuallyexpressedwith regardto Malay culture included amongothers:the identification of the culturewith the Malay cultureareaas awhole; the indigenousstatusof Malayculture in the areaand therich heritageof the cultureespeciallyin the arts.But the defina-tion of ‘Malayculture’ in this respecthasalwaysbeenelusive,andlong hourshadbeenspenttodiscussin concreteterms what ‘cul-ture’ meantandsoon. Theformulationhadnotbeenclearbecausethe conceptof ‘culture’ differedamongthosewho tookpartin suchdiscussions.However,to themajority of them ‘culture’ wasmainlythe arts.Also, therewasthetendencyto be prescriptiveasto what‘culture’ shouldbe.

In the earlyyearsof the conceptof nationalculturein Malaysia,the mostvociferouswithregardto its formulation werethe literaryandartisticgroups.While thereis provis’ion madefor the Nationaland Official Languagein the country’s constitution,and whilethereis alsomentionof the official religion, thereis no mentionofculture.Thisis to beexpected,for, logically, while onecanidentifyaparticularlanguageor religion, it is quitedifficult to defineacul-turein concreteterms.However,a Ministry of Culture,Youth andSportswasestablishedon 16th May, 1964, but its statuswasref-lectedby thefact that it washeadedby anAssistantMinister rat-herthanafull Minister.Theaim at thetime wasto haveagovern-mentagencyto look afterprogrammesinvolving youth, sport acti-vities andcultural performancesduringcelebrationsandvisits ofstateguests.Thus,while therewas a consciousmanifestationonthe part of the literary andotherconsciousgroupswith regardtothe developmentof a nationalculture, it receivedlittle priority ingovernmentplanning.

The turning point camewhen racial riots broke out in KualaLumpur two daysafter the generalelectionsin May 1969. Whilethe country was placed underemergencyrule, a great deal ofthoughtwasgivento the factorswhichbroughtaboutthetrauma-tic event.While theimmediatesolution wasthe introductionof theNewEconomicPolicy whereingreatereconomicopportunitiesandadvancementfor the indigenouspeopleswere planned, no lessimportantwasthe formulation of National Principles (Rukun Ne-

278

gara) to promoteinter-racialharmonyin Malaysiaandthepromu-lgationof laws tocurb seditionsandirresponsiblepublic utterancelikely to incite racial animosities. It wasthen that the long-termpoliciesof restructuringsocietyandtheinculcationof loyalty to thenation abovethe moreprimeval loyaltiesto ethnic and immediatesocialgroupingsbeganto emergein earnest.The Ministry of Cul-ture, Youth and Sportsfor the first time appointeda Director ofCulturewho waschargedwith the responsibilityof promotingcul-tural activities consonantwith the needsof the nation. His firsttask wasto organisea nation wide congresson nationalculture.This washeldin August1971at theUniversityof Malaya.Assistedby someacademicsfrom the University, the Ministry organisedthecongressin sucha way that it first of all discussedthe princip-les to be adoptedin formulating a nationalculture for Malaysiaandthen proceededto discussthe stateof affairs of the differentiadigenousart forms and how thesecould befurther nurturedsothat they could play a role in the developmentof the nationalcul-ture. While the latterwasmorepracticalin nature,the formerwasmoreabstractandtheoretical.The formulationof the nationalcul-ture. aswasagreedat the congress,consistedof threemain prin-ciples:~

(a) thenationalcultureof Malaysiamustbe basedon the cul-turesof thepeopleindigenoustothe region;

(b) elementsfrom othercultureswhich aresuitableandreaso-nablemaybe incorporatedinto thenationalculture;and

(c) Islamwill bean importantelementin thenationalculture.The principleslaid down may appearsimpleand straightforward,but thereareagreatdealof ramificationswhich may arisefrom it.Eventhe PrimeMinister’s speechat the openingof the congressreferredto thefact that while the nat4onalculture wasto bebasedon indigenouscultures, theelementsto be adoptedwould havetobevigorousandpositive,especiallybearingin mindthe pluralisticnature of the Malaysian society.5 Even without consideringthemulti-ethniccharacterof theMalaysianpopulation,thequestionofperpetuatingtraditional elementswould haveto be consideredinthe light of the presentday reality. It is understandablethat thenewly emergingstateswould haveto fall back on their gloriouspasttoprojectrespectability,buttheyalsohaveto gainrespectabi-lity as twentieth century modernstates.6Thus the Prime Ministerrightly warnedthat the” ‘purity’ of village life adulatedby someofour writerscannotbeacceptedin thecontextof thedevelopmentofour Malaysiansociety in future”. It is obviousthat someof the

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traditional institutions, like the economicsystemand technology,areout-dated,andthereforecannotbe revivedfor any reason.Butthatpart of the congressthat dealtwith the varioustraditional artfromsdid comeout with recommendationswhich, to someextent,smackedof revivalism. In a way, therewas, in fact, a rediscoveryof traditions which had been neglectedand unappreciatedwhenMalay societyw~sunder-goingthe processof modernization.Sofor the first time the beautyof traditional arts beganto dawn onthe Malayelite who attendedthecongress.

It is clearthat thequestionof selectivityis, abpveall, important.Thefocuson symbolicaspectsof cultureespeciaflythe artsto pro-ject nationalidentity doesnot comeinto conflict with the modernsocial institutions or eveneconomicand technologicaldevelop-ments. However, here lies the problem of the level of culturalexpressiontobeselectedfor thepurposeof projectingthenationalculture.7 Actually the questionof level would include both thelevelof culturetheitem is takenfrom andthelevelof cultureof theaudiencetowardswhom the item is aimed. As experiencedbycountriesin Europewhentheyfirst wantedto identify whatin theirculturecould beregardedasreally representativeof their “natio-nal souls,” the elementswerechosenfrom their traditional folkcultures.Malaysia’sculturalplannersandpromotersalsoresortedto thetraditional folk culturesof the indigenouspeoplesof Malay-sia for inspiration.It hasbecomeindeedarevivalbecause,for thefirst time, dances,songs,music, costumesandgameswhichwereonceconfined to the folk communitiesof Malaysia were broughtout tothefore andgivenandunprecendentedstatusandtreatmentas items for cultural presentation at the national level.Festivals are held at both local and national levels andtheseare given wide publicity by the massmedia. Dancegroupsare formed and traditional dances are choreographedtosuit the modern audience. Traditional music and instrumentsare improved upon to suit more critical ears. Even simplecostumesusuallyworn by womenat homeandat work, (e.g. theso-calledBaju Kedah)havebeenelevatedastruly representativeof Malaysiancostumes.Competitionsamongperformersof folkartsareorganised,and some,as for instancethecompetitionsinfolk musicand folk songs,are annually organisedby Radio andTelevision Malaysia and featured as regular programmes.All thiscan be said to be at the popular level of culture, espedallythefestivals which are held locally. Apart from governmentoffidals,politidans and culture enthusiasts, such festivals are not

280

usually attendedby the elite of the Malaysian society. Even whensuchfestivalsareheldin KualaLumpur.e.g. thepesta budayasta-gedby the New StraitsTimes,the largestnewspaperorganisationin Malaysia,thethousandsthat turn up aremainlypeoplefrom thelower incomegroup, andMalaysat that. This is anotherproblemthat hasarisen sincemostof the itemsaredrawnfrom the indige-nouscultures,such festivals and shows hardly interest the non-indigenousgroups.Evenwhenspecialprogrammes,suchasthoseheldduring theChineseNewYearandDeepavali,wherethe majorbulk of theprogrammesis madeup of Chineseand Indian items,the responsefrom theChineseand Indians is not as enthusiastic,comparedto, for instance,the responsegiven to cultural troupesfrom Hongkong,Taiwan, Madrasor Bombay. It is in fact a majortask for the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports to get a betterparticipationin its programmesfromthe ChineseandIndian popu-lation. Whenthefolk artsarepresentedthrough the massmedia,they should, in theory, reachall levelsof audience,and,at thereceivingend,the way theaudienceexercisetheir selectionsmustultimatelydecidehow effectiveor influential a programmecanbe

In Malaysia,the problemdoesnotrestsolely on thequestionofcultural level; how ethnic traditionsandpreferencescanbe trans-cendedis equally important.The multi-cultural reality is reflectedin the massmedia. Besidesthe English press,there are news-papersin Malay, ChineseandTamil. In addition, the newspapersinSabahalso include one or two pagesin Kadazan,oneof the nativelanguagesof Sabah.Even the government-runRadioandTelevisionMalaysia hasseparateprogrammeson the radio for Malays, English,Chineseand Tamils. In Sabah,news is also read in various nativelanguages.However, attemptsare madeto introducethe “national”element Thus commentaries,introductionsand announcementoftime-signals are in the national language.As for television, thefirst channel is supposedto be the National Channeland,therefore,apart from the cannedprogrammesimported from abroad,others,including advertisements,are in Malay.

At theelite culturallevel, the ideaof promotingtraditional cul-tural itemsasseedsfor the developmentof a nationalculturehasgainedsomefoothold — at theuniversitiesandin someelitistcul-ture activities. Researchesinto the folk arts are conductednot onlyas part of the coursestaughtbut as full higher degreedissertationsin the various universitiesand colleges. If at one time the univer-sities in Malaysia preferred to~confine their activities to givingonly academiccourses, today, with Universiti Sains Malaysia as

281

values,such as democracyand egalitarianism,are today prefer-red. Thus while theSultanateof Malaccais usedas an inspirationof its greatnessin the past, its feudalistic social valuesare criticised.Henceinsteadof acceptingHangTuah, the ideal figure of a war-rior who gaveunstintedloyalty to hisking, as a hero, thereis atendencyto elevateHangJehat, the rebel who defiedhis king inupholdingrighteousness,tc the idealistic position. This is just anillustrationof a situationw’~erehistoryis offsetby otherconsidera-tions,such as modern idealistic values. However, historicalpro-cesseshavebeena strongargumentfor the formulationof a natio-nal culture. It hasbeenpointedout that the indigenousculture inthe pasthad beenvery receptiveto foreign influencesas evidentfrom the many foreign elementswhich have beenacculturated.Thus the indigenousculture which forms the basefor the forma-tion of a national culture will easily incorporatethose ‘lementsfrom the culturesof the immigrant peoplein the process.How-ever, this is only theoreticaland simply used as an exampletoshow that indigenouscultures haveshown their capacity to absothelementsfromothercultures.

Theconceptof a nationalculturein Malaysia includesthe useofa nationalandofficial languageas a common meansof communi-cation amongthe various ethnicgroups in the country. It is evenwritten into the constitution of the country. In fact, if there is anymeasureof successso far in the conceptof nationalcultureit hastobejudgedfrom the degreeof notonly theacceptanceof Malay asthenational and official languageby the peopleof Malaysiabut also theextensivenessor the use of the languagein everydaylife. Oneothercriterion of successwould be the useof Malay asthe mediumof ins-truction in schools.10 In short, the conceptof nationalculturecannotignore theplaceof a nationallanguagein its formulation.

The conceptof culture has always beenabstractand elusive.Even amonganthropologistswho havemade it their businesstostudy what is called ‘culture’, thereis no agreementas to whatactually constitutesthe subjectof their enquiry. Although therehavebeenformulations,guidelinesandprogrammesin the nameof creating a national culture, it is not easyto define it in concreteterms.This is particularly true at the popular level,and as such it

easilybecomesa political weapon.In fact, the issueis often projec-ted asa threatagainstthe existing non-indigenouscultures, thatis, the creationof a nationalculture will meanthe demiseof Chi-neseand Indian cultures. Manifestly the question of national cul-ture can generateextremist feelingsalthough it is little realised

284

usually attendedby the elite of the Malaysian society. Even whensuchfestivalsareheld in KualaLumpur.e.g. thepesta budayasta-gedby the New StraitsTimes, thelargestnewspaperorganisationin Malaysia,thethousandsthat turn up aremainlypeoplefrom thelower incomegroup,and Malaysat that. This is anotherproblemthathasarisensincemostof the itemsaredrawnfrom the indige-nouscultures,such festivals and shows hardly interestthe non-indigenousgroups.Evenwhenspecialprogrammes,suchas thoseheldduring the ChineseNewYearandDeepavali,wherethe majorbulk of the programmesis madeup of Chineseand Indian items,the responsefrom the Chineseand Indiansis notasenthusiastic,comparedto, for instance,the responsegiven to cultural troupesfrom Hongkong,Taiwan,Madrasor Bombay. It is in facta majortask for the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sportsto get a betterparticipationin its programmesfrom theChineseandIndianpopu-lation. Whenthe folk artsarepresentedthroughthe massmedia,they should, in theory, reachall levels of audience,and, at thereceivingend,theway the audienceexercisetheir selectionsmustultimately decidehoweffectiveor influential a programmecanbe.

In Malaysia,the problemdoesnot restsolely on thequestionofculturallevel; how ethnictraditionsandpreferencescanbe trans-cendedis equallyimportant.Themulti-cultural reality is reflectedin the mass media. Besidesthe English press, thereare news-papersin Malay, ChineseandTamil. In addition, the newspapersinSabahalso include oneor two pagesin Kadazan,one of the nativelanguagesof Sabah.Even the government-runRadioand TelevisionMalaysiahas separateprogrammeson the radio for Malays, English,Chineseand Tamils. In Sabah,news is also read in various nativelanguages.However,attemptsare madeto introducethe “national”element Thus commentaries,introductionsand announcementoftime-signals are in the national language. As for television, thefirst channel is supposedto be the National Channeland, therefore,apart from the cannedprogrammesimported from abroad,others,includingadvertisements,arein Malay.

At theelite culturallevel, the ideaof promotingtraditional cul-tural itemsasseedsfor the developmentof a nationalculturehasgainedsomefoothold — at the universitiesandin someelitistcul-ture activities. Researchesinto the folk artsare conductednot onlyas part of the coursestaughtbut as full higher degreedissertationsin the various universities and colleges. If at one time the univer-sities in Malaysia preferred to~confine their activities to givingonly academiccourses, today, with Universiti Sains Malaysia as

281

values,such as democracyand egalitarianism,are today prefer-red. Thus while the Sultanateof Malaccais usedas an inspirationof its greatnessin the past, its feudalistic social valuesare criticised.Henceinsteadof acceptingHangTuah, the ideal figure of a war-rior who gaveunstintedloyalty to hisking, as a hero, thereis atendencyto elevateHang Jehat,the rebelwho defied hisking inupholding righteousness,t the idealistic position. This is just anillustration of asituationw’~erehistoryis offsetbyotherconsidera-tions, such asmodern idealistic values. However, historical pro-cesseshavebeena strongargumentfor the formulationof a natio-nal culture. It hasbeenpointed out that the indigenousculture inthe past hadbeenvery receptiveto foreign influencesas evidentfrom the many foreign elementswhich havebeen acculturated.Thus the indigenousculture which forms the basefor the forma-tion of a national culture will easily incorporatethose ‘lementsfrom the culturesof the immigrant peoplein the process.How-ever, this is only theoreticaland simply used as an exampletoshow that indigenouscultures haveshown their capacity to absothelementsfrom othercultures.

Theconceptof a nationalculture in Malaysiaincludesthe useofa nationalandofficial languageas a common meansof communi-cation amongthe variousethnic groups in the country. It is evenwritten into the constitution of the country. In fact, if thereis anymeasureof successso far in the conceptof nationalcultureit hastobejudgedfrom the degreeof not only theacceptanceof Malay asthenationaland official languageby the peopleof Malaysiahut also theextensivenessor the use of the languagein everydaylife. One othercriterion of successwould be the useof Malay as the mediumof ins-truction in schools.10 In short, the conceptof nationalculturecannotignore theplaceof a nationallanguagein its formulation.

The conceptof culture has always beenabstractand elusive.Even amonganthropologistswho havemade it their businesstostudy what is called ‘culture’, thereis no agreementas to whatactually constitutesthe subjectof their enquiry. Although therehavebeenformulations,guidelinesand programmesin the nameof creatinga national culture, it is not easyto define it in concreteterms.This is particularlytrue at the popularlevel, andas such it

easilybecomesa political weapon.In fact, the issueis often projec-ted asathreatagainstthe existing non-indigenouscultures, thatis, the creationof a nationalculture will meanthe demiseof Chi-neseand Indian cultures. Manifestly the questionof national cul-ture cangenerateextremistfeelingsalthough it is little realised

284

that the issuehasbeencloudedoverbecauseit istoo much politi-cised. Whatis usuallyforgottenis that evenwhenIslam is statedas the official religion and Malay as the national and officiallanguagein theconstitutionof the countrytherehasnotbeenanyloss in religious freedom nor in the use of languagesother thanMalay. Theconceptof nationalculturein Malaysiaisa processto-wardsattainingstableandviablenationhoodasa political commu-nity. While theexternalneedto projectthecountrywith adistinc-tive identity in a family of nationsis to be fulfilled, there is the lar-gerneedfor achievinggreatersocialcohesionwithin the countryitself. The delicatebalancein populationamongthe major ethnicgroupsmakesit imperativethat theconceptof nationalculturebeformulated. Through it, socio-cultural differentiations can bereduced and primeval loyalty to ethnic groups diminished.Through it also loyalty to the supra-ethniccommunity, the nationitself, canbe inculcated.

Notes

1. Third MalaysiaPlan. Kuala Lumpur: Govt. Printers,1976.pp. 138—139.2. UMNO: UnitedMalay NationalOrganisation.

MCA: MalaysianChineseAssociation.MIC: Malaysian Indian Congress.

3. See William R.Roff, The Origins of Malay Nationalism. Kuala Lumpur:Oxford University Press.1967.

4. Asas KebudayaanKebangsaan. Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Culture, YouthandSports.pp. vii.

5. Ibid.. p. 7.6. SeeMcKim Marriot. “Culture policy in the new New States”in Clifford Geertz

(edt.). Old Societies and New States. New York/London. 1963. pp.27—56.

7. Fora discussionof thisproblem.seealsoMarriot’s articlecitedabove.8. 1-us speechat Kota Bharu, Kelantanon 16th July 1975. quotedby Ismail Zain

in his paper Masalah Kebudayaan di Malaysia (Problems of Culture inMalaysia).Ministry of Cultural. Youth andSports.n.d.

9. See example, my Tun Sri Lanang Lecture, Asas dan PertumbuhanKebudayaanMalaysia.publishedby Ministry of Culture. Youth andSports.

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