In the Light of Modernity
by Izzalina Binte Mohamad Ali
Buah saga buah bidara (9)
Tumbuh elok merata-rata (9)
Wahai adik wahai saudara (9)
Mari dengar hamba cerita (9)
Terbang bebas si bayan nari (9)
Hinggap Sebentar di pohon jati (10)
dulu lahir dari naluri (9)
sayangnya kini di ambang mati (10)
Kembang elok di pohon kenanga (10)
Harum semerbak mengundang nuri (10)
Cakapnya belit berbunga-bunga (10)
Flora dan fauna tema diberi (10)
Burung Jentayu milik si parsi (10)
datang ke mari bertubi-tubi (10)
puisi bukan sebarang puisi (10)
pantun berkerat Rima ber A-B (10)
The Malay pantun is a traditional form of oral poetry. It is first used in the Malay Archipelago as far back as the 15th century. However, there are no records as to who invented pantun as a genre of literature.The first examples recorded appeared in the ‘sulalatus salatin’ (malay Annals) and ‘Hikayat Hang Tuah’. Regarded as a form of poetry invented by the Malays, the pantun is guarded with much pride till today.
According to anthropologist Dr Liaw Yook Fang, pantun originated as a form of literature of the masses, otherwise known as ‘sastera rakyat’. Unlike other forms of literature, pantun was used in daily conversations. Even before the Malay masses were literate and knew how to write letters, pantun was used to capture memories and exchange messages. As such, authorship for classical pantun are often unknown but are regarded as the property of the society.
Fixed structure of the pantun
A form of oral literature, pantun is the past was usually recited or sang out for all to hear. Its mandatory rhythimic scheme of A-B-A-B within each stanza made pantun catchy and easy to remember. Each line consists only of 4 to 6 words within 8 to 12 syllables. Each stanza also must have a ‘pembayang’ (imagery, literary expression, symbols etc) followed by the ‘maksud’ (meaning/message).
An Example of a classic ‘romance’ pantun (followed by a translation by Katharine Sim):
Tanam selasih di tengah padang (A),
Sudah bertangkai diurung semut (B),
Kita kasih orang tak sayang (A),
Halai-balai tempurung hanyut (B),
I planted sweet-basil in mid-field
Grown, it swarmed with ants,
I loved but am not loved,
I am all confused and helpless
The beauty of pantun lies in the heavy usage of symbols and similes. In this case, the ‘sweet basil’ symbolised a lover while the swarming of ants captured the pains of unrequited love. Since the pembayang traditionally has a ‘nature’ theme, the writing of pantun not only requires a flare in language but also a substantial knowledge of ecology.
Functionality in Poetry
However, unlike the past, today pantun is rarely used on the daily basis. Usage of pantun is reserved only during the performing of certain adat practices; such as the adat merisik. Adat merisik is a pre-engagement affair where the groom’s family ask the bride’s family for her hand in marriage.
Traditionally, intentions and negotiations by the two parties’ ‘wakil’ (representative) are put across in the form of pantun. Pantun is used here because the Malays believe that they should not be too forward in portraying their heart’s desire. The aesthetical aspect of pantun also helps to brighten the mood of the occasion.
Mr Ishak Mohd Zain, 51, often becomes the ‘wakil’ (representative) of interested parties. He often represents even distant relatives because there are not many in the family that are comfortable conversing using pantun. However, he claims that even ‘wakils’s today limit conversing using pantun to delivering the intention of their visits. People no longer find it practical to “jual beli” pantun when it comes to negotiating the terms and cost of the wedding.
Selling of pantun stating intention:
“Bukan kacang sebarang kacang
Kacang melilit si kayu jati
Bukan datang sebarang datang
Datang membawa hajat di hati”
Buying/respond pantun:
“Bila kacang melilit jati
ambil parang pembelah pinang
Bila ada hajat di hati
Mana tepak tanda meminang”
Mr Ishak speculates that “People today want to avoid confusion because pantun can have different meanings”. The rationale behind using pantun is to “cakap beralas” (delivering a message indirectly by coating it with beautiful words). This might hamper the efficiency of the discussion.
In addition, people today have lost the ability to respond to a pantun being sold spontaneously. A such, to avoid awkward pauses and embarrassment, the pantun are usually exchanged only at the introductory conversation where they can be prepared beforehand.
Identity through Poetry
While some value pantun today only for its aesthetics, others still have faith in its functionality. According to Mr Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, a pantun plays a crucial role in shaping the malay collective identity. Pantun reflects and keep check the values treasured by the community.
Bahtera mudik masuk muara (10)
Nakhoda hilang kelasinya (9)
Mari dengar pemimpin bersuara (10)
Hawazi Daipi gerangannya (9)
“Terbang burung selatan
Dipukul angin santai bayu
Bukalah surat dari lipatan
Lihatlah pantun bahasa melayu”
Kelapa tua di pinggir desa (10)
Sangka tuan tiada isinya (9)
Pantun gesa berbudi bahasa (10)
Jangan sangka tiada fungsinya (9)
Ikan gelama di dalam kali (10)
Renang santai di serentak nadi (9)
Kalau melayu kau tak kenali (10)
Itu dia anak berbudi ! (9)
Firstly, Mr Hawazi feels that the pantun culture shows that the Malays are polite and take pride in keep-checking their manners. With the use of pantun, one is able to relate messages and feelings in an often ambiguous way that allows the receiver some “wriggle room” to make their own interpretation. Pantun heavily makes use of symbolism which relies on shared knowledge and memory for the message to be comprehended.
As such, even the most sinister remarks could be relayed without a knee-jerk offended reaction from the receiver. The Malays have a saying “Beralah tidak semestinya lemah, berlembut tidah semestinya kalah” (handling matters using a soft approach does not mean you lose). In a way, pantun functions as an additional layer of resistance to avoid conflict.
Secondly, the usage of pantun by the Malays implies that we give due respect to the people we are addressing. The Malays emphasize the value of “hormat-menghormati” (respecting one another) because Malays traditionally live in a close knitted commune (ie kampong) where social relations are of utmost importance for harmony. By adopting this softer approach and aesthetically beautiful way of communicating, there is lesser chance of being offensive.
Relevance of poetry in modernity
Burung camar menghiasi langit (10)
Terbang melayang ke tanah rata (10)
Zaman kini pertarungan sengit (10)
Adakah tempat budaya kita? (10)
“Pantun masih relevan sebagai warisan kreatif melayu yang masih mempunyai peranan. Pantun mempertajamkan kebolehan EQ yang merupakan suatu modal social.”
Mr Hawazi firmly believes that pantun is still relevant in today’s context. Even though the benefits are subjective and may not be felt substantially (ie materially), pantun plays an important part in sharpening one’s emotional Quotient (EQ).
Mr Hawazi greatly emphasized that this emotional quotient is crucial social capital that gives one a cutting edge especially in terms of securing job opportunities.
On the flip side, NUS undergraduate Miss Nursheila Muiz, 22 has trouble relating to Mr Hawazi’s optimistic point of view. She feels that the benefit of pantun is very intangible; that too limited to creating awareness for one’s heritage. “Honestly, I do not find pantun very relevant because it is no longer practical. Still, it is undeniably a very important part of our culture that should be preserved.”
Pesta pantun PBMUKS
True to her stand point, Miss Nursheila is in the organizing committee of PBMUKS (Persatuan Bahasa Melayu Universiti Kebangsaan Singapura) and directed the prestigious ‘Pesta Pantun 2013) (PP2013) competition this year. PP2013 is a 2-weeks pantun workshop followed by a competition targeted at tertiary students.
Running for the 17th time this year, PP2013 aims to ensure that the younger generations are exposed to adat berpantun and are confident to use them correctly. Even though most of the competitors take Malay literature (sastera) as an A level subject in school, most came without any background knowledge of pantun per se.
PP2011’s best pemantun and this year’s guest judge, Muhammas ‘Arif Tan, expressed his exasperation, “It is disappointing that pantun is left out of our sastera syllabus when it is the most relevant and the most unique (form of sastera). Pantun was used by practically everybody in the past. Why is it not worth studying?”
This exclusion brought about grave effects to the preservation of our culture. According to Cikgi Djamal Tukimin, the head judge and course conductor for PP2013, students today do not even know the rhythimic scheme of a pantun should be A-B-A-B when it is the most identifiable characteristic of pantun. No other form of malay literature has such a structure.
As an old-timer in the literary industry, Cikgu Djamal expressed regret at this knowledge gap but is hopeful that this trend could be reserved.
Highlighting Muhammad ‘Arif and Nursheila as role models, Cikgu Djamal feels proud that there are youths that work hard to spread the knowledge and passion for pantun. “Saya bangga ada kesedaran ingin megekalkan pantun sebagai tradisi melayu yang tulen dan murni.”
To romanticize the prevelance of pantun in the past, PP2013 went beyond the formal ‘jual-beli’ setting. The organizers included acting and singing rounds to the competition which allowed competitiors to experience the spontaneity in the past when pantun was integrated into everyday speech.
For example, Tampines Junior college was given the topic ‘kenangan silam’ (memories) under the overarching theme ‘negaraku gemilang’ (My glorious nation):
“Hari panas Aiskrim cair
Jah…tolong buat air
Atas meja ada alas
Eh Abang mat sangat malas
Semangat diri berkobar-kobar
Ayuk nenek apa khabar?
Dari geylang mahu ke bedok
Eh marilah kita duduk
Kucing makan ikan lohan
Dulu kita banyak kesusahan
Bunga ros subur mekar
Dara banyak dirogol askar!
Masuk hutan Nampak gajah
Datang British kita dijajah…
Menjahit baju menggunakan benang
Kau bersyukur banyak dah senang
Tidur malam atas tilam
Teruk sungguh masa silam”
The inclusion of acting and singing also proved to be successful in attracting the youths. The more interactive and fun means of using pantun made the topic less academic and more relatable to them. Competitor Ahmad Helmi Bin Muji, 19, shared that he has been waiting a long time to be part of the exciting PP2013. Helmi is from Madrasah Wak Tanjung Al-Islamiah (MWTI) who was the champion school of the competition. He shared how the juniors in his school looked forward to their senior year to be eligible for the yearly Pesta Pantun.
Their spirit of memantun can be seen from the dedication of MWTI. Because the response from students each year is overwhelming, MWTI would host a mini Pesta Pantun to ensure they send only the best.” Pesta Pantun is one of the highlights of our school calendar. I joined not only to represent my school but also because as an audience for many years, I found it exciting.”
During the PP2013 finals, Mr Hawazi Daipi expressed happiness when he realized that the audience grew each year. He congratulated PBMUKS for their success in rekindling the interest for pantun amongst the Malay youths.
“Pantun jadi nadi budaya”: The future of pantun
Echoing the optimism of Mr hawazi, Cikgu Djamal noticed that the quality of pantun by the contestant improved each year. This shows that the younger generations still have the aesthetical depth in them to indulge in the art. Determined to keep this up, Cikgu Djamal confessed that for the 12 years he was involved as a judge, he has been compiling the pantun made by the students. This year, he hopes to publish the compilation as a book to show the rest of the community that pantun is still very much alive. “(Biar) Pantun jadi nadi budaya”
The future of pantun lies in the hands of the future generation. Whether totally discarded, merely romanticized or actually practiced, no one could tell for sure. The older generation represented by Cikgu Djamal could only hope that the affinity to poetry lies skin deep. For the future of pantun in light of modernity depends greatly on how the young sees it as an indispensable part of their malay identity.
Tetap megah pohon cemara (9)
Walaupun badai datang melanda (10)
Usah mengalah harus mara (9)
Pantun-memantun warisan nenda (10)