History, Memory and Remembering: An Exploration of Cultural Memory in the Historiographical Tradition of Malay Poetry
(Sejarah, Ingatan dan Kenangan: Penerokaan Memori Budaya dalam Tradisi Historiografi Kepenyairan Melayu)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37052/ml.30(1)no1Abstract
This article discusses Malay poems, especially as reflected in the syair of the Riau region, which have been classified as history poems. Two syair, Syair Kisah Engku Puteri and Syair Sultan Mahmud di Lingga, which each concern characters from the royal court of Riau-Engku Puteri Raja Hamidah and Sultan Mahmud Muzaffar Syah-will be focused upon. Tales about these two characters also appear in the historiographical text Tuhfat al-Nafis. On the whole, history poems are about events such as wars, travels, deaths, and marriages, and concern particular historical figures with the aim that these events are recorded. Using the concept of cultural memory to explore the relationship between history poems and memory, this article shows that the writers of both syair use their individual memories in their works. This is done in order to retain and store a private remembrance, and transforming it to produce a collective remembrance while shaping the public view of a fragment of history not captured in Tuhfat al-Nafis.
Keywords: history poems, individual memory, collective memory, cultural memory
References
A. Samad Ahmad (peny), 1985. Kerajan Johor-Riau. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Abu Hassan Sham, 1987. “Pengarang-pengarang Dari Kalangan Bangsawan Keturunan Bugis di Riauâ€, dlm Cendekia Kesusasteraan Melayu Tradisional. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, hlm 178-212.
Abu Hassan Sham, 1995. Syair-syair Melayu Riau. Kuala Lumpur: Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia.
Andaya, L. Y., 1975. The Kingdom of Johor 1641 – 1728. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.
Andaya, L. Y., 1975. “The Structure of Power in Seventeenth Century Johorâ€, dlm Pre-Colonial State Systems in South East Asia: Monographs of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, No. 6 (1975) hlm 1-11.
Begbie, P.J. 1967. The Malayan Peninsula. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.
Buyong Adil, 1971. Sejarah Johor. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Erill, A., 2011. Memory in Culture. Unitd Kingson: Palgrave Macmillan.
Erill, A. & Rigney, A. 2006. “Literature and the Production of Cultural Memory: Introductionâ€, dlm European Journal of English tudies. 10, 2 (Ogos 2006) hlm 111-115.
Hassan Junus, 2002. Raja Ali Haji: Budayawan Di Gerbang Abad XX. Pekanbaru: Universiti Islam Riau Press.
Koster, G.L., 2007. “The Making of a Memorable Epoch: On the Syair Perang Johor.†Leiden: ICAS. Paper presented at the 5th International Convention of Asia Scholars.
Leonard Y. Andaya, 1975. The Kingdom of Johor 1641- 1728. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press.
Matheson, Virginia, 1972. “Mahmud Sultan of Riau and Lingga (1823-1864)†dlm Indonesia, 13 (Apr 1972), hlm 119-146.
Matheson, Virginia, 1987. “Kemantapan Syair Sebagai Satu Genre Dalam Kesusasteraan Melayu Dengan Catatan Khusus Mengenai ‘Syair Peperangan Pengeran Syarif Hashim’ (Penyengat 1870)â€, dlm Cendekia Kesusasteraan Melayu Tradisional. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, hlm 123-177.
Nikmah Sunardjo & Muhamad Fanani, 1992. Syair Sultan Mahmud di Lingga dan Syair Perang Banjarmasin. Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa.
Raja Ali Haji, 1991. Tuhfat Al-Nafis. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Rosenthal, F., 1962. “The Influence of the Biblical Traditions on Muslim Historiography†dlm Historians of the Middle East, London, hlm 35-45.
Rosenthal, F., 1968. A History of Muslim Historiography. Leiden: E.J. Brill
Syed Muhammad Naguib al-Attas, 1968. The Origin of the Malay Sha’ir. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Za’ba, 2002. Ilmu Mengarang Melayu. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
