Happy Malaysia Day! On this date the Federation of Malaysia was formed, uniting the territories of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore. Bye-bye Singapore, and the Federation was left with East and West Malaysia, the only country in ASEAN that consists of substantial territories in both mainland and maritime Southeast Asia. To celebrate, here are a few pantuns about the places in East Malaysia: 1) Dari Perlis pergi ke Sabah, Datang ke Sabah berjalan kaki; Biar mati bertumpah darah, Namun kuundur tidak sekali. From Perlis one goes to Sabah, At Sabah one travels by foot; Let me die and spill my blood, But I will never retreat. 2) Dari Acheh ke Kinabatangan, Dari Johor berdagang sabut; Penyakit datang dari tuan, Tuanlah juak menjadi ubat. From Aceh to Kinabatangan, From Johor to trade in coconut coir; The illness comes from you, kind sir, So you yourself are the cure. (Aceh is at the northern tip of Sumatra; Kinabatangan is an area in East Sabah named after the Kinabatangan River, the second-longest river in Malaysia. Many of these pantuns provide a map of the Malay archipelago, and reveal how the Malays who composed them did not conceive of traveling from one place to another within the archipelago as migration to unknown or foreign territories. While the legacy of colonialism has dismembered the archipelago into separate nation-states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, the pantuns preserve the coherence of the Malay world.) 3) Datang sudah kapal Suluk, Singgah merapat Sandakan; Berapa tinggi bunga dijolok, Baik budi mendapatkan. Here sails the Suluk ship, Stopping near Sandakan; However out of reach the flower, Good character will fetch it down. (The Suluk people are an ethnic group once united under the Sulu Sultanate. Now they are scattered throughout the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. Sandakan is an area in East Sabah, the second-largest town after Kota Kinabalu. The pantun is about courting a woman; only those with good breeding stand a chance.) 4) Kinabalu gunung mengawan, Makin direnung makin terharu; Kalau rindu pandangkan bulan, Pesan kirim di angin lalu. Mount Kinabulu is wreathed with clouds, The more I behold it the more I am moved; If you miss me then gaze at the moon, Send a message through a passing wind. (There are many more pantuns about Mount Kinabalu, the spectacular mountain of the Crocker Range in Sabah. It is known for its cloud forests of remarkable biodiversity, and is revered by the Kadazandusun people as a resting place for ancestral spirits.) 5) Saya ke Kuching ke Gunung Matang, Asap meliput dari udara; Kepalaku pening bingungku datang, Bawa mengenang gambarmu kakanda. I go to Kuching to Mount Matang, Smoke shrouds from the air; My head spins and confusion arrives, When I recall your image, my love. (Kuching is the capital of Sarawak, its largest city, built on the banks of the Sarawak River. The Gunung Matang range is located in the Kubah National Park, Kuching.) 6) Dari Bau jalan ke Miri, Sambil menumpang kereta api; Mana saya tahu main tak jadi, Sebaik hidup baik mati. From Bau I travel to Miri, While taking a ride on a train; How would I know my plans would fail, Rather than live it is better to die. (Bau is a gold-mining town in West Sarawak, birthplace of Olympic medalist diver Pandelela Rinong. Miri is the second-largest city in Sarawak, just West of Brunei, and the birthplace of Malaysia’s petroleum industry. Zee Avi is a Miri girl!) 7) Kapal Beruas ke Singapura, Singgah berlabuh di Kuala Rejang; Tidaklah puas kita berdua, Janganlah abang kembali pulang. The ship from Beruas travels to Singapore, Stopping to harbour at the Rejang Estuary; Both of us have yet to be sated, So please, my love, don’t yet depart. (Beruas is in Perak; the Rejang/Rajang River is in Sarawak and the longest river in Malaysia. So Sarawak has the longest, Sabah has the second longest, Kinabatangan, and the third longest is the Pahang River on the Peninsula.) 8) Sayang Sarawak sungainya sempit, Buah nanas lambung-lambungan; Hendak kubawa perahuku sempit, Tinggallah emas tinggal junjungan. Alas the Sarawak River is narrow, Piles of pineapples stacked high; I wish to bring along but my boat is narrow, Thus I leave behind gold and treasure. (The pantun is explicitly a lament about parting, and implicitly about a breakup—the man expresses his regret at being poorer than the woman, and thus unable to execute his responsibilities as a proper husband. The pantun is used for the lyrics of the asli song ‘Sayang Sarawak/Seri Sarawak’, which has been sung by the likes of Sudirman and Siti Nurhaliza.)
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 10:50:56 +0000
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