Malayan Literature | Page 2

the
country of Palembang, and its time after the arrival of the Europeans in

the Indian archipelago, but suggest that the legend must be much older
than the poem.
The "Makota Radja-Radja" is one of the most remarkable books of
oriental literature. According to M. Aristide Marre, who translated it
into French, its date is 1603. Its author was Bokhari, and he lived at
Djohore. It contains extracts from more than fifty Arab and Persian
authors. It treats of the duties of man to God, to himself and to society,
and of the obligations of sovereigns, subjects, ministers, and officers.
Examples are taken from the lives of kings in Asia. The author has not
the worst opinion of his work, saying distinctly that it is a complete
guide to happiness in this world and the next. He is particularly copious
in his warnings to copyists and translators, cautioning them against the
slightest negligence or inaccuracy, and promising them for faithfulness
a passport to the glories of heaven. This shows that the author at least
took the work seriously. That there is not a trace of humor in the book
would doubtless recommend it to the dignified and lethargic orientals
for whom it was written. Bokhari seemed to consider himself prophet,
priest, and poet-laureate in one. The work has a high position in the
Malayan Peninsula, where it is read by young and old. The "Crown of
Kings" is written in the court language of Djohore. The author was a
Mohammedan mendicant monk. He called the book the Crown of
Kings because "every king who read and followed its precepts would
be a perfect king, and thus only would his crown sit well on his head,
and the book itself will be for him a true crown."
La Fontaine and Lamartine loved stories. The schoolmates of the latter
called the latter "story-lover." They would have loved the story of the
Princess Djouher Manikam, which is written in a simple and natural
style and is celebrated in the East, or, as the Malays say, in the "country
between windward and leeward."
From the "Sedjaret Malayou," worthless as it is as history, one may
obtain side lights upon oriental life. Manners are portrayed in vivid
colors, so that one may come to have a very accurate knowledge of
them. Customs are depicted from which one may learn of the formality
and regard for precedents which is a perspicuous trait of oriental

character. The rigid etiquette of court and home may be remarked.
From the view of morals here described, one may appreciate how far
we have progressed in ethical culture from that prevailing in former
times among the children of these winterless lands.
The readers of this series are to be congratulated in that they are here
placed in possession of a unique and invaluable source of information
concerning the life and literature of the far-away people of the Indian
archipelago. To these pages an added interest accrues from the fact that
the Philippines are now protected by our flag.
The name Malay signifies a wanderer. As a people they are passionate,
vain, susceptible, and endowed with a reckless bravery and contempt of
death. The Malays have considerable originality in versification. The
pantoum is particularly theirs--a form arising from their habits of
improvisation and competitive versifying. They have also the epic or
sjair, generally a pure romance, with much naive simplicity and natural
feeling. And finally, they have the popular song, enigma, and fable.
And so we leave the reader to his pleasant journey to the lands of
Djinns and Mantris and spells and mystic talismans. He will be
entertained by the chrestomathy of Bokhari; he will be entranced by the
story of the winsome and dainty Bidasari.
CHAUNCEY C. STARKWEATHER
CONTENTS
BIDASARI:
Song I
Song II
Song III
Song IV
Song V

Song VI
SEDJARET MALAYOU
THE PRINCESS DJOUHER-MANIKAM
MAKOTA RADJA-RADJA
THE EPIC OF BIDASARI
Metrical Translation by Chauncey C. Starkweather, A.B., LL.B.
BIDASARI
SONG I
Hear now the song I sing about a king
Of Kembajat. A fakir has
completed
The story, that a poem he may make.
There was a king, a
sultan, and he was
Handsome and wise and perfect in all ways,

Proud scion of a race of mighty kings.
He filled the land with
merchants bringing wealth
And travellers. And from that day's report,

He was a prince most valorous and strong,
Who never vexing
obstacles had met.
But ever is the morrow all unknown.
After the
Sultan, all accomplished man,
Had married been a year, or little more,

He saw that very soon he'd have an heir.
At this his heart rejoiced,
and he was glad
As though a mine of diamonds were his.
Some
days the joy continued without clouds.
But soon there came the
moment when the prince
Knew sorrow's blighting force, and had to
yield
His country's capital. A savage bird,
Garouda called, a very
frightful