Hikayat — Dutch/Atjehnese spelling of standard Indonesian hikayat, from Arabic ḥikāya (حكاية), “story, narrative, tale” — is the principal form of classical Malay prose, a generic term covering a very wide variety of prose works: prose romances of Hindu or Persian origin more or less Muslim in colouring, prose histories of Malay royal houses, prose memoirs and travel journals, prose legends of Muslim saints, and even prose collections of animal fables. The form is named in Dr. Van Naerssen’s chapter Omtrekken van de Indonesische litteratuur in Wat Indië Ontving en Schonk (1946).
Van Naerssen’s account
Van Naerssen introduces the hikayat in his survey of the genres of Malay literature: “Of the very great variety of Malay literary genres, we can here only name a few. Very diverse prose works are denoted with the Arabic word hikayat. For example the *Hikayat Hang Tuah*, in which the adventures of the Malay hero of that name are described; many romances of Hindu or Persian origin more or less Muslim in colouring, such as the Amir Hamzah stories of the Muslim knight; reworkings of the stories of the Thousand and One Nights; but also historiographies, such as the Hikayat raja-raja Pasei (of the Pase kings); memoirs and travel journals of Abdoelah bin Abdoelkadir, moensji (i.e. language teacher), which saw the light in Singapore about a century ago, strongly influenced by the European environment; Muslim saints’ legends; yes, even the above-named dwarf-deer stories.”
Significance for Atjeh
For the Atjeh-focused reader, the hikayat is significant as the prose counterpart to the *sja’ir* (the poetic form), together constituting the two principal literary forms in which the rich Atjeh literary treasure was composed. Van Naerssen’s specific Atjeh reference, in the same chapter, names “the several versions of the *hikayat prang sabi*, books on the holy war, one of which ends with the words: ‘How many traditions of the Prophet say it: fighting along God’s way stands high reward, great reward and high honour, for God grants on the day of battle the Paradise’.” The Atjeh hikayat tradition also includes the Hikajat Sultan Atjeh Marhoem (the Hikayat of the late Sultan of Atjeh), the *Hikayat Eitia Toedjoh* and the *Hikayat Pochut Muhamat* — all of which are prose narratives in the classical Malay hikayat form. The mention, by Van Naerssen, of the Hikayat raja-raja Pasei (of the Pase kings) further places the Pase region — the immediate predecessor of Atjeh on the north Sumatran coast — at the head of the historical hikayat tradition in Malay.
Dutch terms used in this article
- Wat Indië Ontving en Schonk — What the Indies Received and Gave
- Wereldbibliotheek N.V. — World Library Ltd.
- litteratuur — literature
- Omtrekken van de Indonesische litteratuur — Outlines of Indonesian literature
- kadi — religious judge
- sja’ir — Malay poetic form (quatrain with uniform end-rhyme)
- hikayat — Malay prose romance
- Sadjarah Malajoe — Malay Annals
- moensji — language teacher
- Hikayat prang sabi — Book of the holy war
- Atjeh — Aceh
- Acheh — Aceh
- Sumatra — Sumatra
- Pasei — Pasai
- Pase — Pasai
- Dr. — Doctor
See Also
- Sja’ir
- Hikayat prang sabi
- Hikajat Sultan Atjeh Marhoem
- Hikajat Eitia Toedjoh
- Hikayat Pochut Muhamat
- Hikajat Radja Radja Pasei
- Sadjarah Malajoe
- Pasei
- Acheh
- Wat Indië Ontving en Schonk
- F. H. van Naerssen
Source
Wat Indië Ontving en Schonk, onder leiding van Dr. C. W. Wormser (Amsterdam: Wereldbibliotheek N.V., 1946), p. 182 (chapter Omtrekken van de Indonesische litteratuur door Dr. F. H. van Naerssen).