Melayu by Usman Awang
Translated by Audra Roslani
Melayu are a perspicacious lot
Mischief embroidered jokes
Excessive benevolence
Rudeness still respectful
Even lies are still polite
Smartly they ingratiate with courteous gestures of the hand
Melayu is courageous even when wrong
Shrinking in fear for the truth
Promises kept in stomach
Always broken at the lips
Traditions, they may let demise
As long as their children give rise
Melayu in the Peninsula has wide implications:
The Javanese are Melayu, the Buginese are Melayu,
The Banjarese also called Melayu,
The Minangkabau definitely Melayu,
The Achehnese descendents are Melayu,
The Jakun and Sakai, aboriginal Melayu,
Arab and Pakistani, all Melayu,
The Mamak and Malbari absorbed as Melayu,
Even the converts are defined as Melayu
(After circumcision of the whatchamacallum)
In the past
Melayu were great seafarers
Paving the way for their yesteryears
Across the vast regional borders
Shame today, it is lost on the youngsters
Melayu are rich in philosophy
A heritage of proverb and analogy
Roots of kindness laced with ability
Repository of wisdom, sea of colloquy
Unfortunate, that the Melayu cheers loudly
Exorbitantly enthusiastic with festivities
Whilst villages are being pawned
Strips of paddy fields left the size of a span
Pieces of land sold easily
Despite possessing wells
Their hands still clutching the rope
While others reach for the pail
Thrice over, the banana tree bears fruits
Yet the Melayu still dreams
Universities, they have attended
Yet they engage in trade from home still
Fighting the Melayu way
Dueling in pantun
Defiance in smiles
Anger in silence
Belittle, never kowtowing
Boasting, never patronising
The Melayu character rejects disputes
Their loyalty and patience know no boundaries
But when infuriated, concealed
Enemies sought to the ends of the earth
If not held by the horns, pulled by the ears
Dignity and religion never to be insulted
The greatness of their amok spares no foe
To make peace the Melayu way is most divine
For their kinships are pure
An apology expressed, always answered
A hand extended always received
Wounds acquired, no longer scarred
The kindness of Melayu has no comparison
Everything they own they would offer
Thus the birth of an allegory;
The trader walks past and rice is boiled
The husband returns hungry but is not served
The monkey in the jungle is breastfed
The child on the lap dies, deprived.
How does the 21st century Melayu
Still stoop bashfully?
Never be afraid to break taboos
If taboos obstruct progress;
Never withdraw from prohibition
If confident of the truth;
Never shy away from expressing confidence
If there is conviction in justice
Emerge as a wise society
Holding the rope, holding the pail
Owning economies, creating cultures
Becoming masters of an Independent land
Translated by Audra Roslani
Melayu are a perspicacious lot
Mischief embroidered jokes
Excessive benevolence
Rudeness still respectful
Even lies are still polite
Smartly they ingratiate with courteous gestures of the hand
Melayu is courageous even when wrong
Shrinking in fear for the truth
Promises kept in stomach
Always broken at the lips
Traditions, they may let demise
As long as their children give rise
Melayu in the Peninsula has wide implications:
The Javanese are Melayu, the Buginese are Melayu,
The Banjarese also called Melayu,
The Minangkabau definitely Melayu,
The Achehnese descendents are Melayu,
The Jakun and Sakai, aboriginal Melayu,
Arab and Pakistani, all Melayu,
The Mamak and Malbari absorbed as Melayu,
Even the converts are defined as Melayu
(After circumcision of the whatchamacallum)
In the past
Melayu were great seafarers
Paving the way for their yesteryears
Across the vast regional borders
Shame today, it is lost on the youngsters
Melayu are rich in philosophy
A heritage of proverb and analogy
Roots of kindness laced with ability
Repository of wisdom, sea of colloquy
Unfortunate, that the Melayu cheers loudly
Exorbitantly enthusiastic with festivities
Whilst villages are being pawned
Strips of paddy fields left the size of a span
Pieces of land sold easily
Despite possessing wells
Their hands still clutching the rope
While others reach for the pail
Thrice over, the banana tree bears fruits
Yet the Melayu still dreams
Universities, they have attended
Yet they engage in trade from home still
Fighting the Melayu way
Dueling in pantun
Defiance in smiles
Anger in silence
Belittle, never kowtowing
Boasting, never patronising
The Melayu character rejects disputes
Their loyalty and patience know no boundaries
But when infuriated, concealed
Enemies sought to the ends of the earth
If not held by the horns, pulled by the ears
Dignity and religion never to be insulted
The greatness of their amok spares no foe
To make peace the Melayu way is most divine
For their kinships are pure
An apology expressed, always answered
A hand extended always received
Wounds acquired, no longer scarred
The kindness of Melayu has no comparison
Everything they own they would offer
Thus the birth of an allegory;
The trader walks past and rice is boiled
The husband returns hungry but is not served
The monkey in the jungle is breastfed
The child on the lap dies, deprived.
How does the 21st century Melayu
Still stoop bashfully?
Never be afraid to break taboos
If taboos obstruct progress;
Never withdraw from prohibition
If confident of the truth;
Never shy away from expressing confidence
If there is conviction in justice
Emerge as a wise society
Holding the rope, holding the pail
Owning economies, creating cultures
Becoming masters of an Independent land
1 comment:
and yes i was here!
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