A participant from Bengkalis regency, Riau province, challenges his rival group from Serdang Bedagai during the final session of a pantun competition at the Southeast Asian Pantun Festival, at the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural center in Central Jakarta.
Any discussion of the Malay people will naturally involve the term cluster or group, as in Malay Cluster, in reference to the widespread influence of the Malay culture in the Southeast Asian region.
This influence is not limited to the Riau archipelago. It stretches into the land of the Minangkabau (West Sumatra); Jambi; Palembang, South Sumatra; Lampung; Deli Serdang; Malaysia; Brunei Darussalam; Kalimantan and a segment of South Thailand. There is evidence of Malay cultural influence in various regions of Cambodia and Vietnam as well.
And although Indonesia's political and administrative map takes little note of this cultural grouping, it is clear the Malay diaspora, as a clearly defined cultural group in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, has a role to play here too, at least as far as culture is concerned.
So what is it, exactly, that binds this far-flung ethnic grouping within a particular cultural fold? Each of the Malay clusters throughout the region exhibits clear similarities despite the specific differences that makes each unique.
Among the most obvious defining elements of Malay culture is the matrilineal tradition still strongly apparent in the Minangkabau tribal grouping and the traditional dances Serampang Dua Belas Melayu Deli and Tarian Zapin that are widely found on scattered island groupings and in coastal regions.
Another link among these groups is the Malay storytelling, or literary, tradition of which the well-known Gurindam Dua Belas by Raja Ali Haji is a prime example. Malay history, as well as that of the history of the Riau archipelago, is also full of family tree connections among the various kings throughout Malay-influenced regions.
Yet, if we want to pinpoint one particular cultural icon that is a readily recognizable element of the Malay cultural heritage it would have to be the pantun, or quatrain (a poem made up of four lines of verse), as pointed out in the recently published book Negeri Pantun (The Land of Quatrains) by Maman S. Mahayana. The pantun is ubiquitous even today in all areas touched by the Malay diaspora.
This was seen clearly in the Malay Pantun Festival held from April 25-29 at the Taman Ismail Marzuki Jakarta Art center, which provided a forum not only for people of Malay descent to enjoy a much-loved traditional art form, but also a way to achieve the more extensive exposure of this traditional art.
And to ensure this process continues, the festival featured the Negeri Pantun book and a website dedicated to this form of folk poetry.
These efforts, including the crowning of Tengku Nasyaruddin S. Effendy (Doctor Honorus Causa from Kebangsaan Malaysia University), who has written 65 books and 45 scholarly papers on this art form, as the "King of the Pantun", and the mayor of Tanjungpinang, Suryatati A. Manan, as "Queen of the Pantun", will create a better and deeper understanding of the history and the culture of the Malay people as evidenced in the traditional Malay quatrain.
The Malay people of earlier times have left few other traces throughout time as strong or as easily recognizable as a cultural reference as the pantun, a uniquely Malay tradition.
Even so, if one should inquire as to when and where this verbal and written tradition began, it would be very difficult to pinpoint any specific time or place. The only answer forthcoming would be that this form of poetry has been around for as long as anyone cares to remember.
Since 1688, when the book Studies on Malay Pantun by Francois-Rene Daillie was published, a long line of scholarly research texts on this subject have been printed, read and discussed. This indicates the attractiveness of the Malay quatrain and the strong interest in this folk art form particularly among researchers.
Hoesein Djajadiningrat, in a speech made to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the establishment of the Institute of Justice in Batavia (now Jakarta) on Oct. 28, 1933, said, in reference to this long history of interest in the pantun, that: "The meaning of the Malay quatrain is a mystical thing".
A thought backed up by the fact that of the many volumes written about the pantun, at least 20 papers on this subject have set forth the erroneous analysis that this particular form of quatrain is little more than a variation on poetic structures developed in the West. Most of these researchers and writers were quick to reject the idea the pantun could be anything other than a generally romance-laden improvisation.
The following example of a pantun, perhaps can help to illustrate how this assumption might have come about.
The dyed fabric is folded neatly
The sarong lost at the riverside
If you are charming enough sir
The bird is sure to surrender
However, according to Maman S Mahayana, the pantun stands out as an iconic form of poetry because it transcends location, age, gender, social class, and regional ties, especially when compared with other Malay art forms. In his thinking, the pantun reaches across space, time and mood to create an atmosphere of fellowship or connection.
In Indonesia, this perception is strengthened by the fact that even high-level state officials will include a pantun or two in their weighty speeches. Regional elections have been known to spur the more creative politicians to weave them into their campaign oratory, as can be seen in the following example:
Bayan Island, Penyengat Island
The Bulang Linggi sails
If you are wise and clever, sir
You will vote for Number Three
Sowing rice in the morning
The grains are selected carefully
Use your conscience
So you will not make a wrong choice
In general, among the various folk arts of the Malay people, the pantun is the most likely to convey sociocultural values and criticism.
In this context, the pantun can probably best be understood within the context of the Malay folklore rooted in the tradition of oral story telling.
The dendang, a form of song with lyrics in a quatrain format is only one example of this. In Minangkabau, this type of pantun is often accompanied by traditional Malay wind, string and percussion instruments.
The pantun, in both its musical and its recitation forms, is a common element during traditional gatherings, and tends to focus on matters of romance and counseling, as well as providing a convenient vehicle for teasing, jokes and even riddles.
For that reason, the pantun is currently also often used to convey public service announcements concerning government programs for family planning and modernization. This ancient form of poetry clearly remains contextual in this era of development.
Yet, however popular the pantun remains among people of Malay descent and culture, a lot of the meaning gets lost in translation when it is translated into dialects or languages that are not Malay-based.
Many Western observers tend to view the initial two lines of these traditional Malay quatrains as "nonsense", or words empty of meaning. There are several reasons for this, among them being that in translation, the rhythm of the poem and the rhyme are lost, and any metaphorical, symbolic or mystical reference is obscured.
There is also the matter of perception of the purpose of language that can become confused across cultural lines. Within the context of the Malay culture, this "nonsense" makes perfect sense as an expression of wisdom, intellectual capacity, and the ability to communicate.
The customary leaders of the Minangkabau people, for example, perceive the ability to cleverly construct the first two lines of so-called "nonsense" as a sign of intelligence, while the last two lines reveal a message in much plainer language that anyone could understand.
The reason the pantun is perceived as a sign of the strong intellectual capacity of the person using a quatrain to express his or her thoughts is because very often the composition of the pantun happens right on the spot.
However, it must be kept in mind this creative process is based on ancient patterns and often initiated by familiar lines of "nonsense" usually full of cultural references, and talk of the flora and fauna that are so much of the lives of the people.
Following is an example of a pantun that has remained popular in the Malay community over time:
The sweet fragrance of the bay flowers
Reaches up to the mountain peak
Like an umbrella in a man's hand
There is shelter from the sun and rain
The sweet smell of the jimson blossoms
Is more fragrant than that of a mixed bouquet
The heart's desire to embrace the mountain
Outreaches the stretch of one's arms
