The Wisdom of the Malay Proverbs

(Transcribed Article ) Malay proverbs are traditional wisdom, which are constructed under different forms, patterns and images with the assistance of different rhymes and beautifully arranged rhythms. They can be obtained in various forms: from the shortest (but isolated) one-word proverb (e.g. terijuk) to the most common two-word simpulan bahasa30 (e.g. panjang tangan, kaki bangku); and from a simple single perumpamaan (e.g. seperti isi dengan kuku) to a lengthy and complex proverbial saying (e.g. adapun buah pria itu, kalau ditanam di atas batas sagu, dan dibaja dengan madu lagi disiram dengan manisan, serta diletakkan di atas tebu sekalipun, apabila dimasak pahit juga ‘You may plant the bitter cucumber on a bed of sago, and manure it with honey, and water it with treacle, and train it over sugarcane, but when cooked it will still be bitter’ [MBRAS 3: 14]). Therefore, the common definition of proverb as “sense, short, salt” does not fit in the Malay context. Even though it is very rare, proverbs sometimes do also appear in the form of a quatrain, or known as pantun in Malay. Pantun in its most basic form is a four-line verse. Each line is normally composed of between eight to twelve syllables and usually about four to five words. Physically it is divided into two sections. The first two lines are called pembayang (foreshadower) by the Malays (or sampiran by the Indonesians); the latter two lines are known as maksud or meaning. The external music of the poem depends on its ab-ab rhyme scheme. There are a handful of examples quoted in MBRAS (1992): Bangsal di hulu kerapatan, Sayang durian gugur bunganya; Sesal dahulu pendapatan Sesal kemudian apa gunanya? Have a hut upstream hard-by, alack, the durian has shed its blossom: Repentance in time is profit, repentance afterwards – of what use can it be? (MBRAS 29: 37) Anak angsa mati lemas, Mati lemas di air masin; Hilang bahasa kerana emas, Hilang budi kerana miskin. The gosling died drowned, it died drowned in briny water; Wealth ruins courtliness, and poverty ruins discretion (MBRAS 9: 47) In terms of the Malay proverbial patterns, there are two which are rather commonly found: (i) Proverbial comparison; and (ii) Cause-effect proposition. Proverbial comparison or analogous proverbs are proverbs which use comparative markers like bagai [e.g. bagai pinang dibelah dua ‘like an areca nut split in two’ (MBRAS 175: 87)], bak [e.g. bak anjing tersepit ‘like a dog that is sandwiched’]31, laksana [e.g. laksana bunga dedap, sungguh merah berbau tidak ‘like the dedap flowers, crimson but scentless’ (MBRAS 47: 179)], seperti [e.g. seperti pinang pulang ke tampuk ‘like a betel nut which returns to its calyx’ (MBRAS 175: 89)], ibarat [e.g. ibarat dakwat dengan kertas, bila boleh renggang terlepas? ‘like ink on paper, when can the two be sundered and parted?’ (MBRAS 57: 12)], umpama [e.g. umpama kijang dirantai dengan mas, jikalau ia lepas, larilah ia juga ke hutan makan rumput ‘like a deer secured with a golden chain, which if set free runs off to the forest to eat grass’ (MBRAS 113: 168)] and pantun.32 These kinds of proverbial comparison are normally known as perumpamaan. The use of simile and analogy are quite common among the Malays. The state of poverty is to be compared like a fowl: seperti ayam kais pagi makan pagi, kais petang makan petang ‘like a fowl which eats in the morning what it scratches up in the morning, and eats in the afternoon what it scratches up in the afternoon’ (MS 100). A state where people are left without a leader is said to be seperti anak ayam kehilangan ibunya ‘Like chicks losing their mother’ (MS 57). The use of dog as analogy in Malay proverbs is quite numerous. The situation where brothers are always engaged in a quarrel is metaphorically compared to the relationship between a dog and a cat: Seperti anjing dengan kucing ‘like dog and cat’ (MS 46). The person who is very happy to get what he wanted is described as bagai anjing berjumpa pasir ‘Like a dog finding a sandbank [running heedlessly hither and thither for sheer joy]’ (MS 122). There are also proverbs which are metaphorical like masa itu emas ‘Time is gold.’ The richness of analogous proverbs can be shown through the own words of the compiler of Mestika Bahasa (1965), Muhammad Yusof Mustafa. According to him in his preface, it is difficult to arrange proverb collections alphabetically as there are just too many proverbs which use the comparative marker (e.g. seperti, bagai). As he put it: “banyak benar peribahasa yang berawalkan dengan perkataan-perkataan tersebut” (too many words begin with those words) (1965, vi). Cause and effect proverbs are proverbs that stress on the causal relationship between two inter-related events. This causal relationship is presented either through a hypothetical proposition or a nonhypothetical proposition. Hypothetical causal proverbs are proverbs confined to the use of the hypothetical “if” (jika, seandainya, kalau, jikalau, sekiranya) or “if… then…” (Jika… maka…; Kalau… masakan…) to elaborate a relationship. These can be seen in proverbs like: kalau benih yang baik jatuh ke laut menjadi pulau (if a good seed falls into the sea, an island will spring up – MBRAS 93: 29) and kalau tidak dipecahkan ruyung di mana boleh mendapat sagu? ‘If you do not split the trunk of the palm, how can you get the sago?’ (MBRAS 95: 38).33 Causal relationship sometimes can also be presented without the use of a hypothetical marker. Such proverbs are ada gula, ada semut ‘where there is sugar, there will be ants’ (KIPM 1: 10; MS 223), ada bangkai, adalah hering ‘where there is a carcass, there will be vultures’ (KIPM 1: 4; MS 223), siapa makan cabai dialah merasa pedas ‘he who eats chillies will get his tongue burned’ (MS 9) and siapa makan nangka dialah kena getahnya ‘He who eats the jackfruit will get sticky fingers’ (MS 9) (For a detailed analysis of logical proverbial patterns, see Chapter 4). Besides having their own identity of forms and patterns, Malay proverbs also demonstrate the colourful choices of local images like plants, animals and objects that can be available in their surrounding or of what they have experienced in life. The image of plants or flora can be found quite commonly in their sayings. A few examples can be quoted here in order to elaborate how the Malays have been creating their proverbs by using the richness of their environment – plants (e.g. pohon/pokok/ tree, rumput/ grass) and certain parts of a plant (e.g. duri/thorn): Kalau tidak kerana angin, masakan pokok boleh bergoyang ‘If not for the wind, how could the tree sway’; Bicarakan rumput di laman orang, di laman sendiri rumput sampai ke kaki tangga ‘To concern oneself with the weeds in someone else’s garden and have them growing up to the doorstep in your own garden’ (MS144); adakah duri dipertajam? ‘Does one sharpen torn?’ (MS 29); Umpama Akar seruntun, sungguh pahit menjadikan ubat ‘Like a handful of roots, though they be bitter, they make good medicine’ (MS 39), vegetables (e.g. cendawan/mushroom, mentimun/ cucumber): Seperti cendawan tumbuh selepas hujan; Mentimun dengan durian ‘Like cucumber and durian,’ fruits (e.g. amra, kedundung, cempedak, nangka, tembikai/ water-melon, durian): Amra jangan sangka kedondong ‘Do not mistake a hog-plum for a kedondong’ (MS 6); daripada cempedak baik nangka ‘The nangka is better than the cempedak’ (MS 99); bagaimana tembikai nak berlaga dengan durian? ‘How is a watermelon going to take on a durian?’ (MS 215) and rice and things that are related with it (e.g. padi, nasi, kerak, dedak, beras, sekam): Ada beras taruh di dalam padi ‘If you have rice, keep it among the unhusked grain’ (MS 185); ada nasi di balik kerak ‘There is (edible) rice behind the kerak’ (MS 40) and api di dalam sekam ‘Like fire in chaff’ (MS 104). There is no doubt that rice (and things that related with it) becomes the favourite choice in Malay proverbs as the Malays are an agrarian society. They earned their living mainly through the paddy industry and rice is also their main food. Malay proverbs sometimes also exploit the behaviour of animals to represent the meaning of life or situation. Animals which get the attention of the Malay proverbs are mammal types (e.g. especially dogs, elephants, tigers and buffaloes as well as cats, deer, badak/ rhinoceros, kera/ monkey, kuda/ horse, kaldai/ donkey, pelanduk/ mouse deer and babi/ pig): Gajah sama gajah berjuang, pelanduk mati di tengah-tengah ‘When elephants meet in conflict, a mouse deer that gets between them is sure to perish’ (MS 97); seekor kerbau membawa lumpur, semua kerbau terpalit ‘If one buffalo is muddied, the whole herd becomes dirty’ (MS 48); asal kuda itu, kuda juga; dan kaldai itu kaldai juga ‘If you are born a horse, a horse you are; and if you are born a donkey, a donkey you are’ (MS 73); anak badak dihambat-hambat ‘Chasing a young rhinoceros’ (MS 80); anak kera nak diajar memanjat ‘Giving lessons in climbing to a young monkey’; berhakim kepada beruk ‘go to the monkey for justice’ and anak harimau menjadi kucing ‘The tiger cub has turned into a pussy’ (MS 89). Proverbs that are related with birds (e.g. ayam, bangau, itik, enggang, helang, pipit, gagak, kukur): Burung gagak pulang ke benua, hitam pergi, hitam balik ‘The crow goes home: black he goes forth and black he returns’ (MS 152), bangau kekasihkan kerbau ‘The paddy bird’s sweetheart is the buffalo’ (MS 138) and bagai pungguk rindukan bulan ‘Like the owl moping for the moon’ (MS 107). Fishes (e.g ikan/ fish, ikan belida/ catfish, seluang, sepat/ sprat, cencaru/ horse-mackerel, yu/ shark, setoka/ ray,haruan/ a kind of freshwater fish, channa striatus) also attract their attention and play a significant part in the Malay proverbs; for example: Ada air, adalah ikan ‘Where there is water, you will find fish’ (MS 222); ikan belida, sisik ada, tulang pun ada ‘The catfish has scales as well as bones’ (MS 222); cencaru makan petang ‘The horse mackerel feeds late’ (MS 19); anak seluang tipu umpan ‘The young seluang cheats the bait’ (MS 153); anak sepat ke tohor ‘like a sprat in the shallows’ (MS 52) and belut jatuh ke lumpur ‘the eel falls into the mud’ (MS 71). Proverbs that are related with amphibians (i.e. kura-kura/ tortoise, katak/ frog) are: Kura-kura memanjat kayu ‘tortoises can climb trees’ (MS 166) and seperti katak di bawah tempurung ‘like a frog under a coconut shell’. The use of reptiles (e.g. ular, sawa, buaya) as images can be seen from: Seperti ular kena palu ‘Like a stricken snake’ (MS 227); ular menyusur akar tidak akan hilang bisanya; Adakah buaya menolak bangkai? ‘Is a crocodile going to say no to a carcass?’ (MS 31). Insects (e.g. nyamuk/ mosquito, lalat/ fly, semut/ ant, belalang/ grasshopper) and other types of invertebrate (e.g. udang/ prawn, lintah/ horse leech, pacat/ leech), even those that cannot be seen through our eyes (e.g. tungau/ mite, kuman/ mite) are also included in the Malay proverbs that bears testament to the colourful features of the Malay animal kingdom. These include: Marahkan nyamuk kelambu dibakar ‘angry with the mosquitoes, mosquito net gets burned’, Ada gula, adalah semut ‘Where there is sugar, there will be ants’ (MS 223); lalat cari puru ‘The fly flies straight to a sore’ (MS 223); ada padang, ada belalang ‘Where there is a grassy plain, you will find grasshoppers’ (MS 222); lintah menghisap darah ‘Like a horse leech sucking blood’ (MS 199); banyak udang, banyak garamnya ‘Many prawns, many flavourings’ (MS 53); macam pacat, sudah kenyang tanggal ‘Like a leech, which falls off the victim when it has had its fill of blood’ (MS 28) and seekor kuman di benua China dapat dilihatnya, gajah bertenggek di batang hidungnya tak sedar ‘A mite in China can be seen, but an elephant sitting on one’s own nose escapes notice’ (MS 144) (For the most dominant images appearing in the Malay proverbs repertoire and their frequency, see Table 4.3). Conclusion The Malay proverbs are part of the Malay worldview. They have been created as the result of how the Malays perceive the relationship between human and human, between human and nature and also between human and the supernatural. The conception of good and bad values which they believe have given rise to do’s and don’ts is as suggested in the content and meaning of proverbs. Various forms, patterns and images have been used to convey these messages in the form of proverbs and this wisdom of the past has been used by authors and speakers from all walks of life and in different genres of writing and speaking. Despite the challenges ahead, proverbs continue to be a part of Malay culture that has displayed the values of kehalusan (fineness) and budi bahasa courtesy of that race.