It was also prominent among Malay scholars to describe historical events, philosophy and religious teachings through syair. The popularity of syair (poetry) continued until the Second World War, however, later, people tend to choose sajak as a medium to express their emotions and thoughts. Hamzah Fansuri’s syair had been translated by Sir Richards Winstedt into English accordingly:Īnd yourself is the wax resolved in the flame,Īnd smooth in the end you will find life’s game. This syair (poem) narrated above is one of the earliest classical manuscripts which survived until today. It is crucial to noted here that syair can be a narrative poem because of its continuous idea from the beginning to the last stanza. The syair is a literary effort of an individual that made up of four line stanzas and it is recited aloud with certain tune. Syair or poetry also was very important in Malay literature. Other than that, the romantic hikayats such as “Hikayat Marakarma,” “Hikayat Jaya Langkara” and “Hikayat Indera Putera” were derived from India. Among other stories are the narratives of “Hikayat Nabi Wafat” and “Hikayat Bulan Berbelah.” “Kitab Tajul Muluk” and “Kitab Mujarrabat” are the examples of classical Islamic books that still exist until today. The significant lesson from storytelling is related to spreading of the good values that can be learned from the tale.īesides, Islamic literature was very popular around 1600 AD, especially “Hikayat Nabi Yusuf” which is considered as one of the oldest texts in Malay language. There are also epics that were adopted from India like “Hikayat Sang Boma,” which is actually the story of Bima. The setting for tale was in touch with local places, but the main characters were from other countries like Rawana from India, Mat Jenin and Abu Nawas from Arabia and Persia. Penglipor-lara was an expert in arts of lying to attract villagers to listen to his story. They entertained villagers with tales such as about the journeys of heroes to fight with monsters, and stories of good looking princesses like the moonlight, Pak Pandir, Pak Belalang, and Sang Kancil. Penglipor-lara or story-tellers became important in Malay villages. Ramayana, the Indian epic is also was translated into Jawi script and named as “Hikayat Seri Rama.” It is important to note here that the blending of diverse foreign cultures and literature into Malay made it more colourful. For instance, Sanskrit words like neraka, syurga and agama are still used in modern Malay literature.

History has witnessed that Malay culture had been influenced by Indian and Arab, especially in terms of literature.

Syiir abu nawas