MALAY LITERATURE SERIES No.5,

HIKAYAT,

AWANG SULONGMERAI-I MUDA

EDITED BY

A. J. STURROCK A?W R. O. WINSTEDT

F. M. S. Civil Service. .

I.' I

II., Q00

1957PRINTED AT THE MALAYA PU8LISHING HOUSE LIMITED

SINGAPORE

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I

HIK A YA T

Awang Sulong Merah MudaEDITED BY

A. J. STUHHOCK

AND

It O. WINSTEDT

[ormerlsj F. iII. S. Civil Service

3rcl EDITION, REVISED

1957PRINTED AT THE MALAYA PUBLISHING HOUSE LIMITED

SINGAPORE

THE TALE OF THE RED PRINCE

I n Old Terengganu th e Independ ent, th er e was oncea p rince th e Hawk of Mawai, who had four daughter s,the eldes t called princess Mother th e Dog ; the princesscall ed the Pride of rrer engganu, the princess called th eDark Lady of th e Lon g Shore, and yo ungest of all th eprincesse s called Hawk of the Man grove. P rince Hawkof Mawui died and th e hu sband of princess the P ride ofr:rer engganu succeeded to hi s throne.

Princess Hawk of th e Man grove had wedd ed a land­less prince call ed Hawk of HlP. Sea. And he sa iled awa ywith his consort and her eldes t sis te r to th e count ry ofBandar Mengkaleh ; because it wa s acountry without aprince rul ed by Batins only, Batin 'Alum, Batin Suugeru,Batin Laksamuna, Butin Bon gsu. Th ese foul' chiefsgave him a palaee i--;

Nine th e spaces ' tween it s pillars:Ten to th e short verandah post s;To th ' eaves of outer-way elevcn ;Twelve to th ' high 0 'er-huuging bal cony:'I'h ' Eight Vizi er s name 0 ' th e comer pillars ;The tallest call ed Mah ' raja Lela ;Hollers named th e An gry Serpents,:~~ ach rafter dubb 'd th e Bowing Princess,Curving down lik e hawk a-swoop;Ridge-pole carved lik e a writhing snake;Painted red its carved top-angles;Stained red too wer e the door-posts:'Hove th e royal portal ca rvi ng,Work of craftsmen come f rom .I ava,F'lowcrs knit and interwoven,Like grains of salt th e beaded pattern,

6 AUXl1lg Sulong i erali Muda.

(Salt from off a cap tain's table):Very like to life th e carving:W orms had ate the pictured blossoms.

Bati n 'Ala m, chief of the world, married princessMoth er the Dog. Prince Hawk of th e Sea and princessHawk of t he Mangrove were childless. So, one day theHawk of th e Sea bade his 'I'rusty Page summon all theBatins, and the twelve l elllbaqa, th e court: dignitaries,an d all the peopl e to th e palace.

Came the halt upo n thei r crutches;Cam e th e blind u-gropiug groping;Qui ck th e deaf to ask and question :Xl.others brought th ci I' babes in arms;Child ren hurr-i ed pressing pu shing;A nd th e shor t folk craned a-tiptoe;And the sick tailed off to leeward.Came the deaf to fir e the cannon:Came the blind to blow th e mortars;Came the halt to drive th e chicken;

And the scrofulous and those afflicted with ring­wo rm were appointed out-door tasks drying clothes, andca rrying bamboos, ta sks suited to their respective com-plaints. .

They did homage, and asked: "What business istowa I'd, your highness,

'I'hat the royal drums are beaten :And th e call of summons sounded;And th e gong is st r uck so loudlyThat the drums is ev 'ry ka 11/POUll'I'hud in answer one by one .'Where the fo eman that is coming ?"Where th e hank tha t totters down!Where th e fort you'd have us hatter?Wher the powder we must dry?

Au:ong Sulong Merali Muda . 7

'Where the guns you 'dhave us shoulder ?'Where the dyk e that's broken through ?Or bamboo-clump that would be tended tOr what embassy ha s' come?

'I'hen prince Hawk of the Sea answered: ' , No foemanis coming, but we would sail to the sea of the TeakHeadland in our wind-swift vessel the Attar of F lowers,to pay our vows at th e shr ine th ere: and we would haveyou prepare firewood and rice and escort us ." So, theprince with hi s consort sailed out, visited the shrine,bathed as ceremony ordains, burnt magic incense andmade his invocation to Allah. "Lord God, the only trueGod: if in sooth I am the grandson of prince Hawkof Mawai, whose tomb is on monnt Ophir, th e grandsonof prince Simbang Gerda, the flags of whose tomb waveagainst the gate of Allah's temple at Mecca and deter ­mine righ and wrong th e lawful and unlawful : we be­seech thee vouchsafe us a child, but one male child. P

'I'hen there wa s feasting and music and the royal partyturned homewards. But princess Hawk of the Mangrovesaw a yellow mangrove leaf floating in the sea, ate halfof it and gave half of it to princess Mother the Dog.Within a month, both the princesses were with child.

'When princess Hawk of th e Mangrove had beenwith child three months, she longed for a white mouse­dee r, mal e, with young! And prince Hawk of the Seatook nin e hunting dog's and went in search of the deer;at mid-day reached/ the deep Mer e of Hollow Dene.The nine dog s yelped.

Sun shone and rain-storm pattered:Forks of lighting Hashed and flickered:'I'hunder shot it leven -bolts.

A white manse-deer, male, with young, leapt downand was caught by the prince, and taken home. Theprincess ate the flesh but saved the bones.

8 Aux/Ilg Sulong Merali Mutla.

Wh en seven months had pa ssed, the princess longedfor a terub ok fish, male, with young. A whol e day theprince sp ent fi shing hut in vaiu : so, at night he donnedmagic raiment :

Botched the ski rf It huudred patches;Botched the coat a thousand patches;Patches not to mend the fabricPatches full of magic meauing :K er chief twi st ed like th e twineUsed hy folk to tether fowl.

And he burnt magic incense, and fumigated theraiment, and made invoca t ion to Allah, beseeching thathe might catch a i erubok. fish made with young. Th enhe went to sleep, and at mid.nisrht came a saint of God,

Bearded far as to th e wai st,Robe down-reaching to hi s f eet :

And said: "Oh, p rin ce Hawk of th e Sea, wouldstthou get a t crubok fish mal e, with young, take a silkennet with golden cord and fish in th e sea of th e TeakForeland." On th e monow, the prince did so :

Sun shone and rain-storm pattered :Forks of lightning flashed and flickered:'I'hunder shot its leven-bolt s.

'I'he fi sh wa s caught, taken hack to th e princess;th e fl esh eaten and th e bones preserved.

Now, one day prince Hawk of th e Sea sa id to hi scousort: <' Seven months have pa ssed. It is meet wefeast and bathe tog ether in sta te as custom enjoins andcall th e mid-wives." All kind s of amusement were pro­vided:

F encer s came expert in fencing:Fiddlers came and played thei r viols.

Aw al/.!!, Sulong Mcrali Mud a. 9

'I'he 'Erusty Page

'I' ook a tray and betel-ca sk et s,Made by craftsme n of Ma ca ssa 1' ;W ra ppe d in gay and frin ged lin eu.B et el-leaf 011 go lde n stalk ;A reca nu t that 's cleft in foul';F'in ost lim e and scente d water;'I'obacco cling ing to its ste m :­These th e contunts of th e caske ts.

And he went to th o house of th o eld est mid-wife andstood under a coconut tree.

Decoy cock cro wed and struiue d hi s tether ;Crowed the fighti ng cock iu chorus ;'I'he ring-dove cooe d three notes of welcome:Signal th ese a st range r ca me.

'I'h c old mid-wife invit ed him up in to her hou se,li sten ed to th e ro yal behest and declined to 0'0:

No ne th ere is to watch my homestead ;None to pen my goats a nd kino:Non e to house my geese and chi cken.

(The real rea son wa s that she kn ew ca la mity mustattend th e magic birth and was afraid). But th e TrustyPage returned and told th e prince how the midwiveswould not com o. 'I'h c prince decreed th e usual punish ­ment for th o di slo yal: "'I:o-molTow my cap tains sha llslay th e seven midwives, scatte r th eir possessions , burnth eir homos, and destroy th e soil whereon th ei I' hou sesstood, and their house-pillars shall be turned upsidedown. " Just then th e midwives came running up:

S Ollie had come and left their child ron ;Others run till th ey were foot-sere:Others ca me with hail' di sh evelled,Clothes down-slipping at th e waist.

,

10 Auxmg Sulong Merah Mucla.

From afar they did obeisance j

Drawing nearer bowed in homage;At each step th ey raised th eir fingersRangod like betel-leaves in or derClosed the ir hand ' lik e folded palm-roots:Bent their necks and soft their speeches,Crown of head declined in homage."Sell us prince and make us ca pt ive j

" Hang us high up on th e gallows j

"Drown us in th e depths of ocean;"Burn us utterly in fire. "

'I'hey received th e royal pardon, and requested thatfea sts, water for the ceremonial purification, palm-leaflids and trailers for the water pots and a litter be pre­pa red. The prince and princess donned magic costume.The prince donn ed

Silken trousers tight at ankle;Round the feet a hundred spangles :Round the wai st a thousand spangles ,Coat of blue and varied pattern j­

Hung to dry its fabric moistens,Dryer g rows if soaked in water. ­Round his brows he wore a kerchiefFolded bright with varied colours :Cha rms inwoven at each corner,Tn each pattern charms for beauty.

All th e officials of state assembled, holding royalumbrellas and yellow pennons :

Right and left were lances clanking;Hight and left the fencers fenced.

Prince and princess were carried in a litter, inprocession down to the bathing stage j bathed j and thenhome to th e palace. When princess Hawk of the Mall-

Awa ng Sulong Merali Muda. 11

grove had been pregnant twelve mon ths (the time ahornbill goes with young and the papaya an d sago treetake to bear f ruit.) she felt the pangs of child-bir th.

Twixt the Sunday an d the Monday,On the twelfth day of th e moon ,Shadows falling twelve feet long:

She bore a son of super natural stature an d int elli-gence.

Seven floors were split and shatteredBands of seven roof-trees broken;Sun shone and rain sto rm pattered ;Fork of lightning flashed and flicker ed ;'Gan to blare the royal trumpets,'Gan to thud the royal drums.

The infant wa s named Awang Sulong Merah Muda,the F'irst-born the Red P rince.

Now one day prince Hawk of the Sea gathered hissubjects to clear a hill ri ce-field .

In a da y they did the clearing:In a day they did the felling!Far as eye could reach, th e clearing :Bullet could not travel furth er ,Horse accomplish longer course .

Three months brough t the dry seas on ami medicine­men were summoned to burnt the logs of the clearing.The fire of that burning lasted seven days and seve nnights:

Burnt the leaves and lesser branches;Then cons umed the larger branches;Burnt th e trunks, the stumps , and tree roots;Reached the ground, died down: the clearing'Wide and clean as stretch of carpet.

12 AWGl1g Sulong ill erali 'Mutla.

Then prince Hawk of the Se a summoned th e royalmidwife to make holes and plant th e ri ce-seeds. Themidwife came and did her task with some head-shakingove r th e unprop itious omen s;

Hawks in heaven quick-r etiring;Up above the branches falling;On th e g round th e apes a-chattering.

A ri ch crop wa s ga the red an d th e r oyal party sailedoff to th e sea of th e 'I'eak H eadland to fea st and fish. Onthe ir return, princess Hawk of th e Mangrove f ell sickand vomite d a mangrove leaf. After three days' sick­ness she di ed. Seven days later, princess Hawk of theSea died al so. Awang Sulong Mcrah Muda was adoptedby Chief of th e 'World and hi s cons or t princess Mothert he Dog, and brought up along with their daughter prin­cess Nu rumah. H e was taught. t he Korun and all secularlearning, showing miraculous aptitude after seven daysof ba ckwardness in each case. His adoptive father,Chief of th e 'Worl d, next taugh t him fencin g and thesec re ts of invulnerability. Afte r that he was circ umci seda mid the usual fes t ivit ies .

Cocks in ba tttlo night am] day'I'ill th e pits were st re wn with feathers ;F' lowcd in streams th e boiling water,H eaped in mounds th e offal ri ce:E gg-plants sprouted on th e rafters,Turmeric g rew upon th e she lves,Loman-grass within th e kitchen,For so long th e fea sting last ed.

T he ni od isi is summoned. Awang Sulong MerahXluda dons

Rob e of linen fine in texture,Robe down-reaching to the feet:'I'urban green from looms of Mecca;