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Sejarah Melayu
Also known as The Malay Annals. Malay literary work which covers a period of over 600 years that chronicles the, then and now, Genealogies of Rulers in the Malay Archipelago. This work was believed to have been commissioned in 1612 by the Junior King or Regent of Johor, The Yang di-Pertuan Di Hilir Raja Abdullah (Raja Bongsu), later, by the office title, HRH Sultan Abdullah Mu'ayat Syah ibni Sultan Abdul Jalil Syah).
There are various versions of Sejarah Melayu compiled by different scholars. This is the W.G. Shellabear edition.
There are various versions of Sejarah Melayu compiled by different scholars. This is the W.G. Shellabear edition.
262 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published January 1, 1975
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 12, 2013
Dry and laborious read, but saved by the breadth of historical period that it covers. I would suggest that fans of Malay history start with other historical texts or hikayat (such as Anggun Cik Tunggal or Panji Semirang) before trying this one.
August 20, 2022
Arakian, maka dianugerahkan Raja Iskandar akan Tuan Puteri Syahrul Bariyah kembali kepada ayahnya Raja Kida Hindi. Maka dianugerahi oleh Raja Iskandar akan Puteri Syahrul Bariah persalinan seratus kali, dan dianugerahi harta daripada emas dan perak dan ratna mutu manikam dan daripada permata dan harta benda yang indah-indah dan yang mulia-mulia, tiada terhisabkan
lagi banyaknya. Maka Raja Kida Hindi pun menjunjung duli Raja Iskandar. Maka dipersalin baginda pula seratus kali daripada pakaian baginda sendiri. Setelah itu maka dipalu oranglah genderang berangkat, dan ditiup oranglah nafiri, alamat Raja Iskandar berangkat. Maka baginda pun berangkatlah dari sana, seperti adatnya dahulukala, kasadnya hendak menaklukkan segala raja-raja yang belum takluk kepadanya seperti yang termasyhur itu.
- Al-kisah cetera yang pertama (Sejarah Melayu by Tun Sri Lanang)
.
.
I figured i have to read Genealogy of Kings in its original language before i read its english translation done by MHS. Bearing many names, it can be known as The Malay Annals / Sejarah Melayu / ملايو سجاره or originally titled as Sulalatus Salatin. Before i proceed to my review, let me tell you that reading the text in Old / Classic Malay is a laborious activity (Not gonna lie, i almost gave up). It takes me back to the school time which majority of us have to learn ‘Prosa Tradisional’ in Komsas. If you are already familiar some of the stories , chances are you may read it smoothly as you already know how the story goes and how it ended. For example, the story of Badang, Tun Mamat , Tun Teja and even, the story Hang Lipo Princess. The difficulty came when you never heard some of the stories / maybe you have heard it but you forgot - either way, the language used will be there to confuse you even more. You try to understand the plot but classical way of writing kept throwing you off. Although Malay is my mothertongue , this book literally made me question myself ‘Am i not Malay enough?’ 🥲. Thank goodness, i persevered even it took me a week to finish this book. It has 34 stories and it told the stories of Malay Kings and its continuity of the kingship that took place in Melaka, Johor, Pahang, Kedah, Perak and to other Neighbouring States/ countries. We can see how ‘Sejarah Melayu’ connected Both Peninsular Malaysia to the modern day of Indonesia , Singapore and Thailand especially when the tales mentioned of The Javanese Empire, The Sultanate of Pasai and even Siam and Langkasuka Kingdom. Most of the conquests done by multiple marriages to strengthen ties seems to be the main focus of these Malay Kings to assert their power. I cant help but felt that it was so male-centric and patriarchal to the point i am wondering where are the strong / badass women in this text. They only mentioned women when an alliance (of marriages) was needed. The duality of these kings is so bizzarrely clear - on one side the preaching on Islamic Teaching, on another side - he killed all the men that failed to protect his son (*mmmkayyy) - Please refer Al-Kisah Cetera Yang Kedua Puluh Tiga. There’s also rape mentioned casually in Al-kisah Cetera Yang Ke Dua Puluh Tujuh. Whats gotten worse the woman voice was silenced as her father (Sri Nara Diraja) decided to marry her (Tun Manda) off with the rapist (Patih Adam) and all was forgiven because it mentioned that he was a good husband. Excuse me, sir - are you sure that this is not Alaf 21 novels (Not all but some Alaf 21 novels really centered on marrying the rapist). Other than that, It was interesting to see some contradictory on ‘Sejarah Melayu’ with ‘Hikayat Hang Tuah’, after all we were led to believe that it is Hang Tuah that manipulated Teja to fall in love with him and later, she were married off to Sultan Mahmud once she eloped with Tuah. ‘Sejarah Melayu’ on the other hand insisted that it was Hang Nadim. It applies the same with Hang Jebat that was known as someone that ‘Derhaka’ then Hang Tuah killed him under the command of the sultan but in ‘Sejarah Melayu’, it was Hang Kasturi. At the end of the day, ‘Daulat’ , ‘Tulah’ , ‘Derhaka’ was widely used and referred in this text, to amplify the supremacy of Malay Sultanate ages ago. Thats what makes them almost God-like in The Malay Annals. Warning ahead, there will be countless of Killings (peasants specifically) , Wars, Deceptions and Betrayals were part of these stories and once you passed 100 pages, you already got used to it. The stories were arranged whichever it fits thus you will find that it shifted abruptly and it was not done in sequential manner. Only The last 3 stories connected as it foreshadowing Portuguese fleet attack on Melaka and that event led to the end of Malay Kingship in Melaka. Overall, a highly recommended reading especially for Malaysians - read it for the culture, history and tradition. If you feel language might impose some barrier, go for the translated version. I would have given this 5 if my feminist brain was not so critical with these stories.
lagi banyaknya. Maka Raja Kida Hindi pun menjunjung duli Raja Iskandar. Maka dipersalin baginda pula seratus kali daripada pakaian baginda sendiri. Setelah itu maka dipalu oranglah genderang berangkat, dan ditiup oranglah nafiri, alamat Raja Iskandar berangkat. Maka baginda pun berangkatlah dari sana, seperti adatnya dahulukala, kasadnya hendak menaklukkan segala raja-raja yang belum takluk kepadanya seperti yang termasyhur itu.
- Al-kisah cetera yang pertama (Sejarah Melayu by Tun Sri Lanang)
.
.
I figured i have to read Genealogy of Kings in its original language before i read its english translation done by MHS. Bearing many names, it can be known as The Malay Annals / Sejarah Melayu / ملايو سجاره or originally titled as Sulalatus Salatin. Before i proceed to my review, let me tell you that reading the text in Old / Classic Malay is a laborious activity (Not gonna lie, i almost gave up). It takes me back to the school time which majority of us have to learn ‘Prosa Tradisional’ in Komsas. If you are already familiar some of the stories , chances are you may read it smoothly as you already know how the story goes and how it ended. For example, the story of Badang, Tun Mamat , Tun Teja and even, the story Hang Lipo Princess. The difficulty came when you never heard some of the stories / maybe you have heard it but you forgot - either way, the language used will be there to confuse you even more. You try to understand the plot but classical way of writing kept throwing you off. Although Malay is my mothertongue , this book literally made me question myself ‘Am i not Malay enough?’ 🥲. Thank goodness, i persevered even it took me a week to finish this book. It has 34 stories and it told the stories of Malay Kings and its continuity of the kingship that took place in Melaka, Johor, Pahang, Kedah, Perak and to other Neighbouring States/ countries. We can see how ‘Sejarah Melayu’ connected Both Peninsular Malaysia to the modern day of Indonesia , Singapore and Thailand especially when the tales mentioned of The Javanese Empire, The Sultanate of Pasai and even Siam and Langkasuka Kingdom. Most of the conquests done by multiple marriages to strengthen ties seems to be the main focus of these Malay Kings to assert their power. I cant help but felt that it was so male-centric and patriarchal to the point i am wondering where are the strong / badass women in this text. They only mentioned women when an alliance (of marriages) was needed. The duality of these kings is so bizzarrely clear - on one side the preaching on Islamic Teaching, on another side - he killed all the men that failed to protect his son (*mmmkayyy) - Please refer Al-Kisah Cetera Yang Kedua Puluh Tiga. There’s also rape mentioned casually in Al-kisah Cetera Yang Ke Dua Puluh Tujuh. Whats gotten worse the woman voice was silenced as her father (Sri Nara Diraja) decided to marry her (Tun Manda) off with the rapist (Patih Adam) and all was forgiven because it mentioned that he was a good husband. Excuse me, sir - are you sure that this is not Alaf 21 novels (Not all but some Alaf 21 novels really centered on marrying the rapist). Other than that, It was interesting to see some contradictory on ‘Sejarah Melayu’ with ‘Hikayat Hang Tuah’, after all we were led to believe that it is Hang Tuah that manipulated Teja to fall in love with him and later, she were married off to Sultan Mahmud once she eloped with Tuah. ‘Sejarah Melayu’ on the other hand insisted that it was Hang Nadim. It applies the same with Hang Jebat that was known as someone that ‘Derhaka’ then Hang Tuah killed him under the command of the sultan but in ‘Sejarah Melayu’, it was Hang Kasturi. At the end of the day, ‘Daulat’ , ‘Tulah’ , ‘Derhaka’ was widely used and referred in this text, to amplify the supremacy of Malay Sultanate ages ago. Thats what makes them almost God-like in The Malay Annals. Warning ahead, there will be countless of Killings (peasants specifically) , Wars, Deceptions and Betrayals were part of these stories and once you passed 100 pages, you already got used to it. The stories were arranged whichever it fits thus you will find that it shifted abruptly and it was not done in sequential manner. Only The last 3 stories connected as it foreshadowing Portuguese fleet attack on Melaka and that event led to the end of Malay Kingship in Melaka. Overall, a highly recommended reading especially for Malaysians - read it for the culture, history and tradition. If you feel language might impose some barrier, go for the translated version. I would have given this 5 if my feminist brain was not so critical with these stories.
August 18, 2015
Buku ini mempunyai bahasa yang sangat sastera dan berat, dengan perkataan-perkataan silam yang sukar difahami tetapi sekiranya dibaca dengan penuh fokus dan penghayatan mendalam, ceritanya masih boleh difahami. Bermula dari sejarah awal penjelajahan Iskandar Zulkarnain dari Rom ke Tanah Arab, sehinggalah Pemerintahan di Tanah Indonesia sampai ke Tanah Melayu, ke Melaka dan akhirnya serangan Portugis ke atas Melaka.
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January 10, 2017Setelah baca Sejarah Melayu, barulah aku faham sedikit sebanyak tentang kebodohan yang bermaharajalela hari ini.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews