Malaysian Literature

Nenek bongkok tiga

2012-01-04T05:45:00.000-08:00

Image credit: http://www.trailershut.com/movie-posters/Bell-Witch--Movie-Poster.jpg

Nenek-nenek
si bongkok tiga
Siang mengantuk malam berjaga
Mencari cucu di mana ada
Nenek ku kahwin dengan anak raja

Sun Mechanic

2011-12-25T11:02:00.000-08:00

Sun Mechanic, mechanic,
Sunflower.
In the lawn
In the lawn

Cha cha cha
Chi chi chi

Even though this rhyme sounds like it is supposed to be in English. I still think that it is a lagu rakyat. I asked most of my friends from different part of Malaysia and most of them recognise this rhyme. I wonder about its origin because it is so weird that people remember this from their childhood but they dont know where and who they learn it from.

Jong jong Inai (by anonymous)

2011-08-18T00:06:00.001-07:00

"ibu kaki" does mean the big toe.

"raja wali" is a bird. but in Malaysia, it's the kingfisher bird.

"jong jong inai"- doesn't that refers to the word "hujong" (hujung) where normally people "inai" their fingers?

"mak ipong" can mean the mother of Ipong or the name of the lady herself. Ipong, to my knowledge, is a Javanese name.

and "wali-wali" (the pious ones)didn't come to Malaysia but to Indonesia.

-mak ipong the eagle?
-ipongs mother the king of pious people?
-mak ipong the kingfisher???

i seriously do not know!!

probably a song of traders back then.

Jong jong inai
Mak ipong waja wali
( 2X )

Jong jong inai
Mak ipong waja wali
Sepak tunggul inai
Berdarah ibu kaki
( 2X )

Semangkuk jerluk
Sepinggan dagang
Tak cukup pulut
Tambah nasi dagang
( 2X )

Jong jong inai
Mak ipong raja wali
( 2X )

lo and behold, the full version!!

Tangan Panjang

2011-08-18T00:03:00.000-07:00

Tangan Panjang = long hand

someone who loves to steal things. kleptomaniac.

buai laju

2010-10-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

buai laju laju
sampai atas atap
belum tumbuh gigi
sudah pandai baca kitab

literal translation

Swing faster and faster
until you reach the rooftop
even before teething
already know how to read scriptures

Note: Im trying my best to translate all these beautiful Malay traditional songs. If you have better version or translation, please do share.

Paklang

2010-06-05T18:31:00.001-07:00

Pak, paklang,
lang bontot,
lang buntal,
anak ayam masuk kampung
chik chiok, chiok

Lan Botak

2010-04-04T04:25:00.000-07:00

Lantak,
Lan Botak,
Lan makan taik katak

Direct translation

Let it be,
Lan is bald,
Lan eats frog's feces

Discussion

I think this is some kind of nursery rhymes. This rhyme is like the opposite of pantun. Because the pembayang comes after the content/message. Usually in the pantun, pembayang comes first.

the death of a poem / kematian sebuah puisi

2009-04-07T20:24:00.000-07:00

Focus tomorrow’s horizon
Sorrow means no future
Cover my face
With my guilty hands

It’s the season the trees die
The birds don’t sing anymore
The rivers never come back
Nature dies out

This tragic figure
destined to hurt never heal
What end can save me
What good gives me an end

Nothing is innocent
Nothing is fair
I keep wondering
How did I end up like this

First passion
Now is lost
A dramatic dead story
I killed all I have
My sadness is
Translated into madness
I spell meaningless words
A poem for sorrow and death

Lihat ufuk hari esok
kesedihan tidak memberi maksud
pada makna masa depan
selindungkan wajah
disebalik tangan-tangan
yang bersalah

inilah musim pohon-pohon mati
burung-burung tidak lagi bernyanyi
sungai-sungai tidak lagi berpergian
alam mati

susuk tragis ini
ditakdirkan untuk melukai
tidak pernah merawati
apakah penghujung
yang mampu menyelamatkan
apakah kebaikkan
yang ada di hujung jatuh nanti?

tiada apa yang naïf
tiada apa yang adil
membingitkan persoalan
bagaimana begini?

ghairah pertama
kini telah hilang
kisah kematian
membunuh segala yang ada

kesedihan
diterjemahkan dalam kegilaan
mengatur kata dan diksi
untuk kesedihan dan kematian
sebuah puisi…

Usman awang's piece

2009-04-06T22:54:00.000-07:00

Melayu itu orang yang bijaksana
Nakalnya bersulam jenaka
Budi bahasanya tidak terkira
Kurang ajarnya tetap santun
Jika menipu pun masih bersopan
Bila mengampu bijak beralas tangan.

Melayu itu berani jika bersalah
Kecut takut kerana benar,
Janji simpan di perut
Selalu pecah di mulut,
Biar mati adat
Jangan mati anak.

Melayu di tanah Semenanjung luas maknanya:
Jawa itu Melayu, Bugis itu Melayu
Banjar juga disebut Melayu,
Minangkabau memang Melayu,
Keturunan Acheh adalah Melayu,
Jakun dan Sakai asli Melayu,
Arab dan Pakistani, semua Melayu
Mamak dan Malbari serap ke Melayu
Malah mua'alaf bertakrif Melayu
(Setelah disunat anunya itu)

Dalam sejarahnya
Melayu itu pengembara lautan
Melorongkan jalur sejarah zaman
Begitu luas daerah sempadan
Sayangnya kini segala kehilangan

Melayu itu kaya falsafahnya
Kias kata bidal pusaka
Akar budi bersulamkan daya
Gedung akal laut bicara

Malangnya Melayu itu kuat bersorak
Terlalu ghairah pesta temasya
Sedangkan kampung telah tergadai
Sawah sejalur tinggal sejengkal
tanah sebidang mudah terjual

Meski telah memiliki telaga
Tangan masih memegang tali
Sedang orang mencapai timba.
Berbuahlah pisang tiga kali
Melayu itu masih bermimpi

Walaupun sudah mengenal universiti
Masih berdagang di rumah sendiri.
Berkelahi cara Melayu
Menikam dengan pantun
Menyanggah dengan senyum
Marahnya dengan diam
Merendah bukan menyembah
Meninggi bukan melonjak.

Watak Melayu menolak permusuhan
Setia dan sabar tiada sempadan
Tapi jika marah tak nampak telinga
Musuh dicari ke lubang cacing
Tak dapat tanduk telinga dijinjing
Maruah dan agama dihina jangan
Hebat amuknya tak kenal lawan

Berdamai cara Melayu indah sekali
Silaturrahim hati yang murni
Maaf diungkap senantiasa bersahut
Tangan diulur sentiasa bersambut
Luka pun tidak lagi berparut

Baiknya hati Melayu itu tak terbandingkan
Segala yang ada sanggup diberikan
Sehingga tercipta sebuah kiasan:
"Dagang lalu nasi ditanakkan
Suami pulang lapar tak makan
Kera di hutan disusu-susukan
Anak di pangkuan mati kebuluran"

Bagaimanakah Melayu abad dua puluh satu
Masihkan tunduk tersipu-sipu?
Jangan takut melanggar pantang
Jika pantang menghalang kemajuan;
Jangan segan menentang larangan
Jika yakin kepada kebenaran;
Jangan malu mengucapkan keyakinan
Jika percaya kepada keadilan.

Jadilah bangsa yang bijaksana
Memegang tali memegang timba
Memiliki ekonomi mencipta budaya
Menjadi tuan di negara Merdeka

(In the process of translating and finding the source) Thanks Faizal.

Malays are intelligent people

Their naughtiness is always coated with jokes

Their attitude and politeness always at its best

Their rudeness is always coated with politeness

even when lying, they lie politely

When 'kissing ass' they know how to cover it with their hands.*

Malays are brave when they are wrong

scared when they are right

Promises are kept in the stomach

secrets are revealed through their mouth

let the tradition die

but dont let the children die

The definition of Malays are very broad

Javanese are Malays,

Bugese are Malays,

Minangkabau are Malays,

The Achehs are Malays,

Jakun and Sakai Asli are Malays,

The arabs, The Pakistani, all are Malays,

Mamak and Malbari Malays,

Even the Muallaf(newly converted) are considered Malays

(after circumcision)

In its history

Malays are sea explorers

(Melorongkan jalur sejarah zaman)

Very broad border of district

too bad, its vanishing.

Malays are rich with philosophy

proverbs are its heritage

roots of kindness are sowed in effort

(Gedung akal laut bicara)

unfortunately, Malays are good in shouting

too excited with fiesta and party

but the village have been sold to others

(Sawah sejalur tinggal sejengkal)

(Tanah sebidang mudah terjual)

Still translating this, if you have suggestions in translating the ones in brackets, please do share. Thanks.

Badan Binasa

2009-02-09T09:21:00.004-08:00

Kerana Pulut,

Santan binasa,

Kerana Mulut,

Badan Binasa

Literal Translation

Because of glutonous rice,

The coconut milk is spoiled,

Because of the mouth,

The body is spoiled.

*Meaning one can get hurt by saying the wrong things. This pantun is used in the olden Pendekar movies when a pendekar is giving warning to his enemy. He recites this pantun before he starts to beat up the bad guy. So basically this pantun is a flowery version of saying "Shut your mouth before I beat you up".

Sikit dan bukit

2009-02-06T09:00:00.001-08:00

Sikit-sikit

Lama-lama jadi bukit

Literal Translation

little by little

Time goes by it will become a hill.

Bumi ku pijak

2009-01-12T03:33:00.000-08:00

Di mana bumi ku pijak,

Di situ langit ku junjung.

Translation

Wherever land(earth) that I step on,

That is where I will hold the sky.

*This deals with the issue of taking responsibility.

Air Pasang pagi

2008-10-29T12:52:00.001-07:00

Air pasang pagi
surut pukul lima
nyonya bangun pagi
siram pokok bunga

pokok bunga melor
tanam tepi batas
itik bertelur
ayam menetas

Encik baba
jatuh dalam parit
Encik aminah
ketawa jerit-jerit

cats

2008-09-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

dua tiga kucing berlari
mana nak sama si kucing belang
dua tiga boleh ku cari
mana nak sama kau seorang

Literal translation
two three cats seen running
never the same as the striped cat
two three (person) I could find
never the same as you

Gosh, its interesting to see that after we directly translated these pantuns it sounds like a highly sophisticated haiku.

Polis Entry

2008-05-27T13:40:00.000-07:00

Polis Entry
want to jaga
Polis Mati
Pencuri Jaga

Bersenang Kemudian

2008-04-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

berakit rakit ke hulu
berenang-renang ketepian
bersakit-sakit dahulu
bersenang-senang kemudian

literal translation

rafting along to the river ends
swimming along to the side
take the pain first
having it easy afterwards

Inferential Analysis

In this pantun, we could see the theme of delaying gratification. The Malays have this concept years before we even read any motivation books that discusses about delaying gratification. The message here is that it is okay to have it hard at first, as long as in the long run, it will be easier.

the first two lines which is the pembayang foreshadows the message that it will bring in the third and fourth line. Rafting along the river and swimming to the side shows the hardship of a journey. Instead of showing the easy way to travel- which is on a sampan, this pantun shows the harder way to travel-which is by rafting and swimming. So here we could see that not all pembayang are useless. The creater of this pantun must be really good in his language as he could use meaningful words to create such a genius rhyme.

telinga tikus

2008-03-22T02:12:00.000-07:00

cah kelenting telinga tikus
sudah kencing
harap jirus

literal translation

cah kelenting(dont know what it means) rats' ears
after peeing
please flush.

inferential analysis

like usual, the pembayang is intended to make the pantun rhymes even though it does not make any sense. As for the meaning, it means that after u have used the bathroom (peeing to be exact), you have to take the responsibility to flush. Meaning that if you have done something, you must be responsible for it. the Malays always have pantun that is related to the theme responsibility.

Malays back then always have this honor of being responsible for one's own act. never to blame anyone for one's own doing and to take the responsibility. If not, there is another saying of 'tak mengaku berak di tengah jalan'. Meaning: not admitting that one had done number two in the middle of the road.

Buah Cempedak

2007-11-06T06:41:00.000-08:00

buah cempedak di luar pagar,
ambil galah tolong jolokkan,
saya budak baru belajar,
kalau salah tolong tunjukkan

Literal Translation

there are jackfruits on the other side of the fence,
take a bamboo stick and please pluck for me,
im still a kid learning,
if i do anything wrong, please show(teach) me

* This is a classic Pantun that most Malaysians would probably know. Its about learning a new thing and not afraid of making mistakes. It shows the 'optimistic' mind of the Malays back then.

The pembayang is probably intended to make the Pantun rhymes. however, its interesting to note that most pembayang consists of objects that could be found in pastoral setting. for example cempedak, pisang, galah and semut.

Ram Ram Pisang

2007-11-05T14:04:00.001-08:00

Ram ram pisang,
Pisang Masak layu,
jatuh dalam lubang,
di sambar bapak u

* This is actually a song that i learn when i was a kid. honestly i have no idea what it meant. it only discusses about bananas getting cooked, falling into a hole and getting attacked by a father shark. (malays have this thing about bananas that they keep mentioning it in their songs and pantun)

Sumur di Ladang

2007-11-05T13:54:00.000-08:00

kalau ada sumur di ladang,
boleh kita menanam padi,
kalau ada umur yang panjang,
boleh kita berjumpa lagi

Literal Translation

if there are 'sumur' on the field,
we can plant rice paddies,
if we live long enough,
maybe we might meet one day

*sorry, i dont know what 'sumur' means, somekind of plant maybe.

eating and learning

2007-06-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

sorong papan tarik papan

buah keranji di atas perahu

suruh makan, dia makan

suruh mengaji ia tak mahu

Literal translation

sorong papan tarik papan- strolling wooden plank, pulling wooden plank
buah keranji di atas perahu- Keranji fruit on top of a boat
suruh makan dia makan- if ordered to eat, he eats
suruh mengaji ia tak mahu- if ordered to learn, he refuses

Interpretation

I think the problem with many youngsters nowadays (or even back then) is that they hate to learn or study new things. but when being asked to eat, they will never refuse. its normal..

Bananas and debt

2007-06-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

pisang emas dibawa belayar

simpan sebiji di atas peti

hutang emas boleh dibayar

hutang budi dibawa mati

Literal translation
pisang emas dibawa belayar-sailing along with bananas
simpan sebiji di atas peti- save one(banana) on top of a chest.
hutang emas boleh dibayar- debt in form of gold can always be paid
hutang budi dibawa mati- debt in form of favour will be taken to death.

Interpretation

The message here is clear. Debt can be easily paid if it is in form of money or material. But when it is in form of a favour, malays believed that they are in debt forever.

Jong Jong Inai

2007-06-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

jong jong inai

mak ipong raja wali

tersepak tunggul inai

berdarah ibu kaki

Literal translation

jong jong inai - lets go, lets go henna

mak ipong raja wali- mother of ipong is the king of the pious

tersepak tunggul inai- if accidentally kicked a henna stump

berdarah ibu kaki- your foot will bleed

Interpretation

It is important to note that that a pantun usually consists of four lines. the first and second lines are usually meaningless, it is called pembayang which is intended to prepare for the real message. This is to make the pantun rhymes and sounds nice. But this is not always true... old folks have their own way of conveying their real message. We might want to interpret the pembayang because the Malay have this concept of kias, meaning to say something indirectly ( a way of being polite)

On the first line, I still do not understand why anybody would want to invite henna. with the saying 'lets go, lets go henna, we could say that most malays back then practice animisme. Maybe they believed that plants could understand what humans are saying.

I do not know what or who is Ipong. so lets just say that Ipong is someone's name. mak ipong raja wali probably means that Ipong's mother is the king of the pious. This clearly shows that women played a major role in politics and religion in the Malay society back then. This can be seen by the existence of minang culture which is more matriach than other culture in the Malay region.

The third and fourth line could be interpreted as cause and effect. with the kicking of henna stump, there might be a probable chance of our foot to be injured or bleed. This clearly shows that Malays back then are already thinking logically. The foot would not bleed if there is no cause for it to bleed. Maybe this pantun is meant for all of us to understand that for something to happen, there must be a reason or cause for it.

Maybe that is why when something unwanted happen to Malay people, they usually say.. takpe, mesti ada hikmah sebalik kejadian nie ( its ok, there must be a reason why things happen).

Introduction

2007-06-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

first of all, i would like to say welcome to Malaysian literature. this blog is created for the purpose of discussing a part of Malaysian Literature that have been left behind by most Malaysian writers. Mostly writers would only write reviews on novels, short stories and poems. what is being left behind is the most important part of Malay or Malaysian literature which is pantun and lagu rakyat( people's songs).

My reviews will only be based on my opinion and my research with friends and old folks. I have lived most of my living years in Malaysia and my mother tongue is in fact bahasa Melayu. so I would assure you that i know my Bahasa Melayu more than i know English itself. so, lets just say that this research is just a point of view of Malaysian literature from a true Malaysian.

different from other literature, Malaysian literature or malay literature is made by common man for common man. if literature from other culture or languages was only made for those of high rank and the riches, Malaysian literature was maybe created and passed down through generations of peasants and common man.

The main problem is that most Malaysian literature was rarely been written down, this causes people to think that pantun and lagu rakyat is not a form of literature. Literature is widely perceived as written artwork or piece. Literature: NOUN: 1. The body of written works of a language, period, or culture. Therefore, most pantun and lagu rakyat still fall in the category of something that is not literature.(but hey, maybe people back then was not 100% literate)

Pantun and lagu rakyat is an important part of Malaysian art and should never be left behind. therefore, the effort to record it should be made by Malaysians themselves. so please contribute your comments if you have any... thank you ..