Malay Folklore refers to a series of knowledge, traditions and taboos that have been passed down through many generations in oral, written and symbolic forms among the indigenous populations residing within the Maritime Southeast Asia. They include among others, themes and subject matter related to the indigenous knowledge of the ethnic Malays and related ethnic groups within the region.
The stories within this system of lore often incorporate supernatural entities and magical creatures which form parts of the Malay mythology. Others relate to creation myths and place naming legends that are often inter-twined with historical figures and events. Ancient rituals for healing and traditional medicine as well as complex philosophies regarding health and disease can also be found.
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The oral forms of this lore are transmitted primarily through nursery rhymes, folksongs and stories that are commonly told from mother to daughter and from father to son. Nomadic storytellers that often roam the marketplaces, temples and palace courts also play a large part in the insemination of the oral traditions throughout the populace, often accompanied by music as well through forms of composed poetry and prose. The oral traditions are often integrated with moral values and some may also include stories of talking animals not unlike those of Aesop's Fables.
Of all the forms of transmission, the oral forms in the form of music appear to be most pervasive in Malay society. Songs and melodies from times of old are sung and resung on a regular basis during festivities such as weddings, celebrations of motherhood and childbirth, rites of passage and at cultural or religious celebrations. They are also utilized in the occasional ceremonial functions in royal weddings, in rites of ascension (or coronation) and royal birthday celebrations; in the form of the more refined court music.
Every region or each of the states may employ different versions of oral transmission but the most popular is in the form of folk-singing or Lagu rakyat. The Ghazal can be heard in the southern Malaysian state of Johor especially is the district of Muar. Poets and singers consisting of often females and sometimes males vocalize popular love poems and riddles in the form of pantun to the accompaniment of a composition of music made for a six-stringed Arabian lute (see Oud), Indian tablas, Western violins, accordion and marracas.[1]
Forms of nursery rhymes and lullabies are also sung at weddings and cultural festivals in the state of Melaka by the Malay speaking Peranakan communities and the Malays themselves. The contents of the songs are mostly to do with advise on love, life and marriage and are affectionately known as Dondang Sayang in Malay meaning: Love Song or Song of Love.
The Boria, a form of dance and singing are popular in the northern state of Penang and are usually performed during the Muslim new year[2] celebration and involves a large group of people with a leading singer, known for their synchronized dance moves as well as similar clothings that are worn.
Within each of these folk-songs, messages and stories are told, a kind of informal handing down of wisdom from the old to the young in the form of beautiful poetry which may include any of these:
A large collection of folksongs exist within the Malay folklore. Many of these songs are in the form of stories, weaved into poetry, probably by story tellers, bards and court musicians as a form of story telling, performance and also as entertainment. These folksongs continue to be sung and a sizable number of them are included in the albums of modern-day singers, often with improvisations in terms of melody and more complex musical arrangements to suite a larger accompaniment of musicians as well as singers.
Among the more well known Malay folksongs include:
A number of these folksongs originally belong to a certain region within Maritime Southeast Asia and are sung by the populations within the area. However, due to the nature of inter-mingling and mutual co-migrations within these area the folksongs may also be heard in places so far flung from their original geographic origins.
Stories of love and romance of princes and princesses, kings and queens, and heroes and their damsels in distress (and often, damsels and their heroes in distress) have long filled the imaginations of ethnic Malays. The fact that numerous royal courts existed and still exist in Maritime Southeast Asia supplied the basis of the stories. Although many of these stories are replete with additions (or reductions) and may contain a certain measure of exaggeration as well as the expected variations that existed from one story teller to another, the value and the wisdom behind each story cannot be ignored.
These stories are often told by professional story tellers or bards which the Malays call Penglipur lara, which roughly translates to reliever of sorrows. The penglipur lara often carry the stories from one kampong (village) to another, making the occasional stops at marketplaces, village squares as well as royal courts. The essence of the stories remain the same but sometimes, adjustment are made to accommodate the local culture as well as to steer clear of taboos that may exist the populations. In more ways than one, these bards also serve as transmitters of one culture to another by interweaving the stories with his or her own observations which has been collected slowly along the path of journey.
Among the well known stories that may fall into this category includes the following:
Many of these stories are also condensed and made into poetic songs. A fixed melody is set for each story to the extent that if a melody is played or sung in the absence of its wordings, a Malay would be able to instantly recall the title of the story or at least the name of the characters in the story.
At bedtime, Malay children are usually told bedtime stories to make them more relaxed and go to sleep faster, a tradition not unlike those in other cultures. As tales of heroism and legends are considered too 'heavy', lengthy and often violent, short stories involving animals are usually told instead. In almost all instances, the animals in these stories are portrayed as talking animals, with the ability to reason and think like humans, similar to the well-known Aesop's Fables.
The kancil or mouse-deer serves as the main character in a number of the stories. The Malays regard this humble animal in the highest esteem due to its ability to overcome obstacles and defeat adversaries despite of its rather small and benign appearance. The kancil apppear in the state herald of Melaka and is thought to be present in the day of the founding of Malacca.
Below are listed some of the common Cerita Binatang as well as their approximate title translations. (Note that the word Sang, meaning revered, an honorific in Old Malay, appears in all instances preceding the name kancil to indicate respect)
Like all other cultures, the Malays also possess a large collection of ghost stories which are thought to be created in order to control children's behaviour or discourage the violations or entry into certain private areas. It may be noted that the Malays do believe, to a certain extent, the actual existence of (some of) these ghosts. It must be stressed that due to the animistic root of Malay folklore, these ghosts are seen as sharing the plane of existence with humans and are not always considered as evil. However, when the delicate line that separates the boundaries of existence is crossed, or a transgression of living spaces occurs, a conflict ensues that may result in disturbances such as possessions.
The Malay word for ghost is hantu. However, this word also covers all sorts of demons, goblins and undead creatures and are thought to have real physical bodies, instead of just apparitions or spectres.
One of the most famous ghost in Malay folklore is the Pontianak, a female wandering spirit that is believed to have died during childbirth and seeks vengeance on those who violates her properties or disturbs her family.
Another one is the langsuir, a female banshee-like creature that rides on the back of locusts, also in vengeance when its territory is violated, or when something that belongs to her that she wanted to be returned.
Below are listed other popular supernatural beings and ghosts as well as their descriptions.
Malay folklore that appear as written traditions are often called Hikayat, Kisah and Dongeng. Many of them were written down in the prevailing scripts of the time but most are then written in the Jawi script upon the arrival of Islam. Words within the Hikayat are a mix of Old Malay, Sanskrit and Arabic and during this time, the Malay royal courts became the centre for learning where scribes record the genealogy of kings and queens as well as historical events.[3]
The Hikayat or in English, Heroic Tales or Epics are collections of stories and legends of heroism that often involve mythological and also a number of historical figures in a setting usually engaging the role of protagonists and antagonists. The Hikayat Hang Tuah and the story of Hang Jebat are among the most well known Hikayat among the Malays are often told and retold in various forms such as in children's book and many have also been made into films, theatre plays and musical productions. These two stories appear in Sejarah Melayu and Hikayat Hang Tuah. The choice of who were to be portrayed as the protagonists and who were to be portrayed as the antagonists usually lies with the alignment of the storyteller or bard, although most commonly, bards tend to maintain a stance of neutrality and dispassion in their story telling. In the stories of Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat for example, the lawful Hang Tuah may be portrayed as the hero, while sometimes, the non-lawful Hang Jebat may assume that role.
Other notable Hikayats include:
Kisah dongeng are a loose collection of bedtime stories, fables as well as myths that involves human or non-human characters, often with superhuman powers along with talking animals, an unearthly setting and other characteristics similar to many Western fairy tales.
In this category, the story of Puteri Gunung Ledang or (Princess of Mount Ledang), Bawang Putih Bawang Merah and Batu Belah Batu Bertangkup is well known by the Malays. All three have been made into movies, albeit with differing interpretations and settings. Many of these fairy tales exhibit marked similarities in terms of storyline as well as the characters involved with a number of European fairy tales.
Characters with human-likeness abound in these stories and some of them are listed below:
Characters with half-human bodies:
Transforming humans (humans that are able to take human and an animal form, usually, as a result of a curse), somewhat akin to werewolves, detailed in the legend of Pancha Delima:
Monster-like creatures, but not necessarily evil:
Apart from the stories and songs, Malay folklore also includes traditions, rituals and taboos related to the physical as well as the more metaphysical realms of the Malay world view. Such knowledge are usually presented in the forms of symbols and signs inscribed or built into temple walls, palaces, houses and often appear on stone inscriptions as well as grave markers. Natural symbolism are also important such as flowers, trees, animals, the sea as well as celestial objects such as the moon and stars. The ancient Malays also have knowledge of a series of constellations that are markedly different from that most commonly associated with the ancient Greeks, Indians or even the Arabs. Object symbolism such as wood carvings of animals, ancestral images, mythical beings and masks are also common in Malay society.
Symbolic forms of folklore are usually the domains of the spirits and are therefore often employed by the traditional medicine men and women, shamans as well as spiritual healers and are well documented in Malay as well as some Western[4] writings. The Malays have been known to employ supernatural forces for healing as well as in the aiding of child-birth, the curing of poisons and in the warding off of spirits.
The Malaysian dream doll is an example of a symbolic lore manifested in physical form which has been used by the Malays to indicate a certain meaning, both hidden and obvious but also may hold special powers.
The 1995 movie Batman Forever, a third in an installment of the Batman movie series featured a brief mention of the Malaysian dream doll. The dolls are usually made using a combination of ivory and ebony and have half-black and half-white faces and bodies. The dream dolls also appeared in an earlier movie, a 1987 horror movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. According to one of the characters played in the movie, the doll were supposed to bring good dreams to its owner. The dolls are probably used in lucid dreaming, a form of intentional dreaming which is practiced by the Malays and the Orang Asli in order to receive guidance, healing or even to communicate with the deceased.