A brief introduction to the Sejarah Melayu

The Sejarah Melayu, or"The Malay Annals" as it became known in colonial scholarship, is regarded as one of the great classics of Malay literature, and chronicles the genealogies of rulers and kings in the Malay Archipelago, over a period of about six centuries. Its title bears the indelible mark of colonial intervention: the original title of the work was actually Sululat-us-Salatin, or roughly,"The Origins of Kings", but race-minded colonial philologists preferred to see it as a classic history of"The Malays", where arguably none such racial category could have been said to exist so certainly at the time. By introducing it into the colonial curriculum in these terms, they helped to solidify that particular category, with profound modern consequences. Today, Malaysian schoolchildren all know it as the Sejarah Melayu -- the elision is politically convenient.

I wanted to excerpt one of the most famous sections of the Sejarah -- as a little pre-Hobbesian social contract scenario, but more generally, as a small introduction to Malay court history (for that is what the Sululat-us-Salatin was: a royal history, probably commissioned specifically to impart legitimacy to the Malay rulers). It's an exchange between Sri Tri Buana, a Srivijayan prince of supposedly supernatural origin who is supposed to represent the Malay Rulers, and Demang Lebar Daun, who is a prince of Palembang, but who in the text is supposed to represent"the common people". This short but significant conversation is one of the earliest recorded negotiations in the Malay World concerning the terms of the proper relationship between the ruler and the ruled.

Incidentally, it is also supposed to be the earliest recorded instance of the use in Malay of the royal"I" and the commoner's"your humble servant" (hamba and patek respectively). These first person pronouns are distinguished from the more democratic"saya" or"aku", which are the terms for"I" used between relative equals.

NB: This is my own loosely stylized translation, from the romanized transcription of the Sejarah Melayu by Abdul Rahman Haji Ismail (Kuala Lumpur: MBRAS, 1998), pp. 86-87. I include the original Malay in italics.

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Context

The King, SRI TRI BUANA, wishes to marry DEMANG LEBAR DAUN's beautiful daughter, but it is widely known that the King's previous 39 wives all contracted a terrible disease upon sleeping with him, causing him to abandon each of them one after the other. (The nature of this illness remains unknown, and is described only as 'kedal' in the text. Syphilis?) Demang Lebar Daun is reluctant to give his daughter to this fate, and somehow believes that he can prevent his daughter from succumbing to the this illness by making the following covenant with the King. (It is not clear why he thinks this). The conversation runs as follows:

DEMANG:"If my lord takes this humble servant's daughter to wife, she will surely be afflicted by that terrible illness. But if my lord makes a covenant with your humble servant, then shall his daughter be offered for your Majesty's acceptance."
(Jikalau anak patek tuanku peristeri, nescaya kedal ia. Tetapi jikalau tuanku mahu berwa’adat (berjanji sumpah setia) dengan patek, maka patek persembahkan anak patek ke bawah duli Yang di-Pertuan.)

SRI TRI BUANA:"What do you desire of me?"
(Apa yang dikehendaki oleh bapaku itu?)

DEMANG:"My lord, the descendants of your humble servants are ready to be the subjects of your Majesty's throne, but my lord must do well unto them. If they sin, however great their sin, do not disgrace them, or revile them with evil words. If their sin is truly grave, let them be put to death, but only in accordance with Shariah law.
(Adapun tuanku, segala anak cucu patek sedia akan jadi hamba ke bawah duli Yang di-Pertuan; hendaklah ia diperbaiki oleh anak cucu duli tuanku. Dan jika ia berdosa, sebesar-besar dosanya pun, jangan difadhihatkan, dinusta dengan kata-kata jahat. Jikalau besar dosanya dibunuh, itupun jikalau berlaku pada hukum Shara’.)

SRI TRI BUANA:"I will make this covenant with you. But I too require a promise from you..."
(Akan minta bapa itu hamba kabulkanlah. Tetapi hamba minta satu janji pada bapa hamba...)

DEMANG:"What would this promise be, my lord?"
(Janji yang mana itu, tuanku?)

SRI TRI BUANA:"That to the ends of time your descendants shall never be disloyal (derhaka) to my descendants -- even howsoever my descendants might oppress and tyrannize them."
(Hendaklah akhir zaman kelak anak cucu bapa hamba jangan derhaka pada anak cucu kita. Jikalau ia zalim dan jahat pekerti sekali pun.)

DEMANG:"Very well, my lord. But if your descendants depart from the terms of this covenant, then so shall mine."
(Baiklah tuanku. Tetapi jikalau anak buah tuanku dahulu mengubahkan dia, maka anak cucu patek pun mengubahkanlah.)

SRI TRI BUANA:"Very well, I will make this covenant with you."
(Baiklah, kabullah hamba akan wa’adat itu.)

And they took a solemn oath that whosoever departed from the terms of their pact would have their houses overturned by Almighty Allah, their rooftops laid to the ground, their columns and pillars inverted. Thus it has been granted by Almighty God to the Malay Rulers that they shall never put their subjects to shame, and that those subjects, however gravely they offend, shall never be bound or hanged or disgraced with evil words. If any ruler puts a single one of his subjects to shame, that shall be a sign that his kingdom will be destroyed by Almighty God. And thus it has also been granted by Almighty God to the Malay subjects that they shall never be disloyal or treacherous to their rulers, even if their rulers behave evilly or inflict injustice upon them.

(Mereka pun bersumpah-sumpahan serta berteguh janji, barang siapa yang mengubah perjanjian itu dibalikkan Allah bumbung rumahnya ke bawah, tiangnya ke atas. Itulah sebabnya maka dinugerah akan Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala kepada segala raja-raja Melayu, tiada penah memberi aib pada segala hamba Melayu; jikalau sebagai mana sekalipun besar dosanya, tiada diikatnya dan digantungnya dan difadihatkannya dengan kata yang jahat. Jikalau ada seorang raja memberi aib, itu alamat negeri akan dibinasakan Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. Syahadan segala hamba Melayu pun dinugrahakan Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala tiada penah durhaka dan memalingkan mukanya kepada rajanya, jikalau jahat sekalipun pekertinya dan aniaya sekalipun.)

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