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192 SOUTH AFRICAN The Lincoln Library of Essential Information

period; Breytenbach remains one of South , transcended the boundaries of to laud the lives and deeds of members of Africa’s most outspoken and experimental modern Asian nations, represent- the court. Such biographies (or hagiogra- . Signifi cant contemporary novelists ing larger patterns of infl uence. Scholars phies) became part of the literary canon of in Afrikaans, some of whose work is avail- oft en resort to Indian terms to describe these Southeast Asian countries. able in English , include Karel infl uences, suggesting they existed as over- Early forms of “texts” included etching Schoeman (1939– ), Jeanne Goosen (1938– ), lapping “mandalas.” on palm leaf or bamboo. A sharp knife was Eben Venter (1954– ), Etienne van Heerden In the more recent period, the term used to inscribe the surface, and then dark (1954– ), and Marlene van Niekerk (1954– ), “Southeast ” came to prominence ashes were rubbed on to make the cuts who is author of two critically lauded , to describe an area commanded by Lord stand out. Other forms of recording include Triomf (1994, translated in 1995), and Agaat Mountbatten in World War II. In the writing on animal skins and etching on (2004, published in English in South Africa 1960s, we came to know this region for its hammered sheets of metal. Because such as Agaat, 2006, and in Britain as Th e Way of perceived communist threat, focusing largely forms were oft en subject to the vicissitudes the Women, 2007). on the War, as well as the locus of of nature, recopying and reconsideration was See also . “secret wars” in and , whose an ongoing process. Th is reconsideration remnants reverberate into the present. While became a license for creativity and revision. Essential Works of South we have tended to refocus on this region due Some early scholars characterized Southeast 5 to fl uctuating politics, it would be a mistake as naive and formulaic African Literature to characterize its literature as a vehicle of love stories and heroic epics; but this tends Th e Story of an Afr ican Farm (1883), Olive expression at the whims of relative permis- to express a Western bias rather than help Schreiner. siveness or repressiveness. Oft en entangled us understand the subtleties involved in Th e Conservationist (1974), Nadine in politics, literature ultimately expresses a regional aesthetics. Oft en the beauty of Gordimer. hope of being disentangled. a tale did not reside in the uniqueness of Mhudi (1930), Solomon T. Plaatje. Interest in the trade routes and resources the theme, but rather in how well it was Disgrace (1999), J.M. Coetzee. of has continued into the embellished. Agaat (2006), Marlene van Niekerk. modern era: the British in Burma and the Th e authorship of most premodern litera- Malaysian , the Dutch and the ture was unknown. It was not until modern Portuguese in and , the times that writers became known for creative Further Study French in Laos and Vietnam, as well as themes and the personal character of their Attridge, Derek, and David Attwell, eds. Cambridge the Spanish in the . Th ailand, writings. Th e advent of printing presses gave of South Afr ican Literature. New York: alone, claims to have never been colonized. rise to ephemeral literary arts magazines, Cambridge University Press, 2010. Especially in postcolonial Southeast Asia, which tended to publish creative writing in Chapman, Michael. Southern Afr ican . the origins of the people and the integrity of serial form. A coveted award for emerging Scottsville, South Africa: University of Natal and literatures can quickly become artists is the SEA (Southeast Asian) Write Press, 2003. a matter of national pride. Kannemeyer, J. C. A History of Afr ikaans Literature. Award. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa: Shuter & Th e development of literature in Various forms of performance also convey Shooter, 1993. Southeast Asia involves elements of this a body of literature: volumes can be read in crossroads of infl uence. We presume that the demeanor and gestures of dancers, in —By Andrew van der Vlies, Lecturer in South Afr ican Indian and Chinese infl uence brought the shadows and silhouettes of leather-cut Literature, Th e University of Sheffi eld with it Hinduism, Buddhism, and puppets, and in the lilt of chants, recita- Confucianism; and these major religions tions, and commentaries. Cliff ord Geertz’s dovetailed with certain preexisting beliefs suggestion that parts of Southeast Asia can related to animism, the importance of the be viewed as a “Th eater State” points to the family, and a sense of “duty,” a recognition fundamental importance of the link between SOUTHEAST ASIAN of gratitude towards nature (and natural literature and performance. spirits) and one’s lineage. Later on Islam and LITERATURE Christianity were adapted into this mix. Th e continued ritual recognition of aboriginal The Spirit of Buddhist beliefs infuses the “drier” teachings and texts Overview of world religions with a lively richness. Mainland Literature Th e nation-state is a relatively modern In Southeast Asia, literature is not bound Early infl uences on Southeast Asian litera- concept in the history of Southeast Asia. by . Early on, oral traditions, riddles, ture in Burma, Th ailand, Cambodia, and Th e region now comprising Burma, puns, proverbs, legends, and stories of Laos can be traced to two main sources: Th ailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, cosmologies were etched into the minds of indigenous and Indic. Th e epic Indian tale , , Indonesia, Vietnam, and listeners. Only later were tales set in the form of the captured the imagination the Philippines is viewed as a major cross- of stone inscriptions and bas-reliefs. Th e of many and had a most pervasive impact. roads of commerce, ideas, and ideals. Early verses of historical charters or constitutions Th e epic has been modifi ed and localized documents describe the area as a “Land of are oft en included in the very open defi ni- in a number of Southeast Asian countries Gold” (Pali, Suwannabhumi). Its richness tion of literature in Southeast Asia. and is known by the following names: Yama of resources made it a point of conver- Th e royal court was oft en the setting for Zattdaw (Burma), Ramakian (Th ailand), gence for early Indian, Chinese, Arab, and literary invention and reinvention: murals Ramakerti (Cambodia), Phra Lak Phra Persian traders. Such interests left a complex were redone, reconsiderations of texts and Lam (Laos). Th e infl uence of this epic is of cultural legacies in their wake. Early commentaries were commissioned, and, of also found farther down the peninsula in kingdoms, such as Funan, Dvaravati, and course, court historians draft ed grand works the (Malaysia) and Serat Literature of the World SOUTHEAST ASIAN LITERATURE 193

Rama (Java). Th e tale of the virtuous Rama development and modernization, the fore- cults of ancestors, and Confucianism. All and Sita is told in shadow-puppet perfor- runner of globalization. Gift s to the village, of these elements, while infl uenced by the mances and acted out in dance . rewards from the central authorities in Chinese, imbue Vietnamese life and litera- Th e canon of Th eravada Buddhism trav- Bangkok, arrive in the form of hybrid chick- ture with a richness of spirit; and these are eled to the area via and Sri Lanka. A ens the size of vultures and pigs the size of values they have tenaciously wanted to popular form of literature from this tradi- buff aloes. Th e wife in the story ultimately make their own. Th ere has been, therefore, a tion is the didactic Jataka Tales, or so-called wonders about the size of the “endow- perennial tension between Chinese ancestry Buddhist Birth Stories. Th ese stories, ments” of the foreign donors. In a similar and a vision for Vietnamese autonomy and ranging in a sort of karmic succession, vein, “Wednesday Nan” (1993), by Burmese integrity. portray the natures of animals and . author Khin Hnin Yu, recounts how a Th e Tale of Lady Kieu is considered a Th e Jataka Tales function in ways similar woman tries to decide the relative merits of masterpiece of . It is to Aesop’s , oft en ending with a moral her attachment to a car, a symbol of modern- a lengthy poem about a woman of talent message. Th e most famous of these tales is ization, while searching for answers to her and beauty, which is enhanced by aspects that of the penultimate birth of the Buddha, dilemma in astrologically auspicious symbols of Chinese tradition and syncretic spiritual known as “Th e (Prince) Vessantara Jataka.” around her. beliefs. Th e protagonist, Kieu, goes through Th is Job-like deals with a prince whose From 1973 to 1976, when student unrest a number of trials related to karma, the fortitude is tested by being banished (like and new intellectual ideas turned many nature of duality, and faith in fi lial piety, Rama) and having his material wealth and hierarchical aspects upside down, Naowarat as well as the steadfastness of love and family taken away from him. His constancy Phongphaiboon published a landmark devotion to duty and truth. In the past, in the face of adversity leads to the return of modern poem refl ecting tradition as well major portions of this poem were oft en all that was lost. Th is tale is also performed as the mood of this tumultuous time in chanted by roving (blind) troubadours, who in annual ceremonies. Th ai history. His “Mere Movement” (1974) would accompany themselves on stringed Various forms of chronicles a promi- is carved out of subtle observations of instruments. nent role in the literature of this region: movement in nature, animating a sense of Th e history of Vietnamese literature For example, there are chronicles of royalty Buddhist impermanence, along with a hope is closely linked to the country’s ongoing and regional areas (Th ai, phongsawadan; for positive change. political struggles. Voices and sentiments Burmese, ya-zawin), Buddhist chronicles in literature can cut along regional divi- (Th ai/Lao, tamnan; Burmese, thamaing), sions in Vietnam, ranging from Ho Chi and chronicles with a prophetic dimension Vietnam Minh’s declaration that the should (Khmer, buddh damnay; Th ai, phuttha- be a soldier for the communist cause, to the thamnai). An interest in maps, geomancy, Even though Chinese infl uence in Southeast post-reunifi cation disappointment of writers and cosmology is also evident; a promi- Asia has been pervasive, the situation in in the former . Resistance nent example is the Th ai Th ree Worlds Vietnam is unique for the region. Th e against French and American forces sets the According to King Ruang (also infl uential Vietnamese have a history of struggling tone for a good deal of modern literature. in Cambodia). “Th e Founding of Angkor against nature. Floods in low-lying areas In addition, part of the modern literature of Wat” stands as a major piece of Cambodian surrounding the Red River Delta presented Vietnam includes works of writers in exile in literature. formidable challenges, as did incursions of France or the United States. Th e lengthy poetic Th ai epic of Khun Chinese neighbors. Chinese infl uence in In the early 1930s, Vietnamese literature Chang Khun Phaen is another example of Vietnam dates back to over 2,000 years ago, took a great leap forward, which involved shared interests and embellishment; its infl u- and began to infl uence its literature breaking out of the constraints of classi- ence spread to neighboring Burma and Laos. more than 1,000 years ago. Th e Chinese cal Chinese styles. In 1932, a movement Th e story deals with the rich and portly cultural infl uence on this region extends to called Th e New was born. A reac- Khun Chang and the handsome but poor and education. Sino-Vietnamese tion against the strict style of Chinese T’ang Khun Phaen, who both vie for the love of was the language of literature and govern- poetry, the New Poetry moved to more the same woman. Th e tale was recorded in ment, employing . Th e open expression and an elastic style. the 18th century from recitations of trou- romanized script, called quoc-ngu, is a rela- Incorporating desirable aspects of a foreign badours and later embellished by King tively recent invention, becoming established infl uence, this time French Romanticism, Rama II and King Rama III, as well as in the 19th century. Th e early system of the New Poetry expressed more personal Sunthorn Phu. Th emes range from heroism education for government offi cials involved emotion and subjectivity. to ribald and include passages of primarily the study of ; of Prior to French infl uence, fi ction in lyrical beauty still recited by schoolchildren secondary nature were documents and forms Vietnam was largely composed of courtly today. Th ere remains a method of recita- of communication necessary for future romances. French infl uence can also be tion still associated with this poem, called civil servants. Th e Temple of Literature in found in the advent of the form. sepha, employing clacking wooden sticks for Hanoi, founded in 1070, was dedicated to In the early 1930s, debates over ancient emphasis. Confucius, but it also stands as a memorial versus modern, “art for art’s sake,” and “art Th e rise of the modern short story to graduates of this imperial examination for life” also emerged. About 1935, a strain of involves a shift from Romanticism to social system. Realism emerged in relation to documentary concerns. Th ai writer Khamsing Srinawk Th e form of Buddhism that reached this writing, which included features portraying illustrates, with puns and wordplay, the region is that of the Northern School of the real lives of rickshaw drivers, prostitutes, mixed emotions involved in encountering Mahayana and Zen. As in many other parts and others. Nguyen Cong Hoan (1903– new forces of cultural change. “Breeding of Southeast Asia, however, the religion 1977), from , was one of the Stock” (1958) explores the persistence of of everyday people is an entanglement of more prolifi c advocates of critical realism. traditional beliefs juxtaposed with rural various threads: animism, magic, Taoism, Th e pathos of a good deal of Vietnamese 194 SOUTHEAST ASIAN LITERATURE The Lincoln Library of Essential Information

fi ction is evident in his portrayal of “Tu Ben classics. Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not, nist, Merah Silu, meets Muhammad in a the Actor,” in a story about an actor torn 1887) and El Filibusterismo (Th e Filibuster, dream and the knowledge of Islam is magi- between duties to his craft and his (fi lial) 1891) were originally written in Spanish and cally transmitted to him via an exchange of concerns for a passing father. enjoyed only a relatively limited audience. saliva. Th e birth of the in Vietnam also When these novels were translated into Th e Sejarah Melayu (, stems from the early 1930s. Th emes in novels Tagalog, they became required reading for c.1536–c.1612) is of major literary and tend towards three main types: Romantic, many students in the 1950s. historical signifi cance. Th e prominent aim of socialist-realist, and a more scholarly type Th e short story arose from American this work is to laud the greatness of sultans that seeks to keep Vietnam’s ancient cultural infl uence but has been craft ed into a more of and highlight the importance heritage alive. meaningful in the early 20th century. of this major trading crossroads. Th is work In “How My Brother Leon Brought Home a includes valuable information on matters of Wife” (1940) by Manuel Arguilla, the city is foreign relations as well as works of literature The Philippines left behind and a colorful picture of the local that were read to the Malay warriors before countryside is painted in this account of they went into battle, and suff ered defeat Th e Philippines, a nation of over 7,000 bringing a bride home to the family. In addi- at the hands of the Portuguese, in 1511. Th e islands, is named aft er King Philip II, a tion, Amador Daguio’s “Wedding Dance” work, however, omits portrayals of common, 16th-century king of Spain. A former colony (fi rst published in 1953 while he was studying peasant life, a feature that will come to the of Spain and, later, the United States, at Stanford) explores cultural participation fore in more modern literature. the Philippines is predominantly Roman and gender roles. Th e Hikayat (c.1688–c.1710) Catholic. As David Steinberg has suggested, is considered a high point of classical Malay the Philippines is paradoxically a singular In the modern urban setting, a mode of transportation unique to the Philippines, the literature. It is an epic tale of valor, heroic and a plural place, and it is still in search of a deeds, diplomacy, duels, and the ultimate character of national literature. Jeepney, is oft en bedecked with proverbs and caricatures from folk epics as ever-present apotheosis of the protagonist Hang Tuah. Th e literature of the Philippines is usually reminders of the journey of literature. Modern Malay literature is considered delineated along the lines of three languages: to have begun with the works of Abdullah Tagalog, Spanish, and English. As with many bin Abdul Kadir Munsyi (1797–1856), a other places in Southeast Asia, the poetic Malaysia Malaccan Malay of Arab and Indian descent. tradition of Tagalog literature grew out of While his style was not very experimental, proverbs and riddles concerning the Th e literature of Malaysia is infused with his descriptions of contemporary life as well condition and one’s relationship to the folk tales, Indian and Javanese infl uence, as his criticisms of Malay society and sense of environment. In the 17th century, a written and Muslim (Persian-Arab) infl uence. individualism make him stand out as a writer Tagalog literature developed a metered style Th ese infl uences brought on a dynamic ahead of his time. His more autobiographi- known as ladino, with alternating lines of process of selective adaptation resulting in cal Hikayat Abdullah is deemed a monumen- Tagalog and Spanish. Spanish missionaries localized literary styles, which include the tal work. were some of the fi rst to develop this style, hikayat (grand stories that contain elements Another major phase of development and the Passion of Christ (pasyon) was one of chronicles, romance and epic heroism), of modern literature occurred between of the fi rst works in this form. Th e pasyon syair, and (four- poetic verses of the 1920s and the advent of World War II. captures the imagination of Filipino people a proverbial nature, oft en used in courtship). During this time there were an increasing in a way that is similar to the epic Ramayana Th e beauty of these forms is meant to be number of novels and short stories dealing in other parts of Southeast Asia. People heard, and so such works are recited as well with the everyday life of Malay people. Th e participate with great fervor in an annual as read. Most early hikayat were passed down fi rst novel in Malay was published in 1926, public performance of the pasyon, which from anonymous sources. Hikayat Faridah Hanum by Syed Sheikh has oft en been viewed as a metaphor for the Th e Hikayat Bayan Budiman is indica- Al-Hady, and it is actually an adaptation of suff ering of a colonized nation. tive of the kinds of cultural exchanges in this an Egyptian work. While the novel follows Other forms of poetic performance part of the world. It is a Malay adaptation the love themes of other hikayat, it is unique are also experiencing a revitalization. Th e of a Persian story based on Indian Sanskrit in its portrayal of human beings living in sarswela, composed of dramatic perfor- sources (some of the tales can be found in modern society. Abdul Rahm Kajai is viewed mances in poetic adapted from the Jataka Tales, for example). Th is hikayat is as the father of the short story. Kajai, a jour- Spanish zarzuela, continues to express the based on the Sanskrit Shuka Saptati (Th e nalist, followed the style of Syed Shiekh and hopes of Filipino people. Similarly, the Seventy Stories of the Parrot), and it is published many of his works in newspapers. balagtasan, named aft er the poet Francisco possible that early versions could have been Even into the modern period the tradi- Balagtas (1788–1862), is a combination of known to since the time of the tional verse forms of the syair and pantun are entertainment, public debate, and display of Hindu-Buddhist infl uence in the peninsula. still prominent. Newspapers oft en feature wit in poetic verse. Performers demonstrate Th is hikayat instructs by means of enter- pantun competitions, for example. Speeches their skills at weaving stanzas and reciting tainment. A woman’s pet parrot, by telling and auspicious occasions are oft en spiced up long verses with fl air. Th e rise of this form a story every evening, delays the woman with the inclusion of a pantun. It was not has been linked to a reassertion of self and from going down the wrong path until her until the late 1930s, and especially aft er the the preservation of Filipino heritage in the husband returns. war, that a new, more experimental free-verse face of the former American occupation. One of the earliest works in Malay, dating form, the sajak, broke with traditional forms Th e writer Jose Rizal (1861–1896), who from the 14th century (c.1350–c.1511), is the of verse. was executed by the Spanish for his revolu- Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai. Dealing with the By the 1960s, Malay literature was freeing tionary views, is considered a national hero. fi rst Malay-Islamic kingdom of Samudera- itself from traditional forms; and in the His anticolonial writings stand as modern Pasai, this hikayat explains how the protago- 1970s there was already a revitalization of Literature of the World 195

tradition and a turning back to the value of Malaysia are also well known in Indonesia. Essential Works of older forms. Muhammad Haji Salleh, for Th e syair and the pantun are also found in 5 example, wrote a series of poems based on . In 1928, the Malay Southeast Asian Literature the Sejarah Melayu entitled Sajak-Sajak language was proclaimed the offi cial Th e Ramayana (especially in any of its Sejarah Melayu (Poems for the of Indonesia, and it was dubbed Southeast Asian incarnations). Annals, 1981). Bahasa Indonesia. Th e Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen. Salina (1958), by Samad Said, is deemed It is diffi cult to discuss Indonesian litera- Translated and edited by Chris Baker the fi rst sizable, international novel. It is a ture without mentioning colonization and and Pasuk Phongpaichit. Chiang Mai: work of Realism portraying the protagonist various other forces that have been brought Silkworm, 2010. Salina, a prostitute, and other victims of to bear on Indonesian society. Modern Th e Malay Annals (c.15th–16th centuries), circumstance residing in a shanty town. Th e writers attempt to make valuable aspects of Sejarah Melayu. hope of this work involves people changing Th e Tale of Lady Kieu (early 19th century), their destinies. Human renewal is linked to precolonial literature stand in contrast to Nguyen Du. the pain of struggle and the political inde- the models and ideals proposed by colonial pendence of Malaysia and Singapore, with a forces. Th e study of literature is marked by Th is Earth of Mankind (1980), Pramoedya portrayal of Malays attempting to seek a new “Generations” (angkatan) of writers who, Ananta Toer. beginning in Singapore. in response to particular political pressures, have presented counterarguments to colonial hegemony and challenges to national iden- Further Study Indonesia tity. Some of the styles of these Generations Yamada, Teri Shaff er, ed. Modern Short of are characterized by experimentation with Th e area of Indonesia covers over 17,000 Southeast Asia: A Literary History. Ann Arbor, Romanticism, Realism, and socialism/ MI: Association for Asian Studies, 2009. islands, 6,000 of which are inhabited. Th ere communism. Braginsky, Vladimir. Th e Heritage of Traditional are hundreds of languages spoken through- Malay Literatures. Singapore: Institute of out the islands, and thus any literature in Literature is taken very seriously and authors can easily end up in jail. Th is was Southeast Asian Studies, 2004. Indonesian is, by defi nition, national litera- Yamada, Teri Shaff er, ed. Virtual Lotus: Modern ture; there is very little modern literature in especially true aft er 1965, when an abor- Fiction of Southeast Asia. Ann Arbor, MI: Th e any regional language. tive communist coup was suppressed by Press, 2002. Th e Indonesian national motto is itself Suharto; in the wake of his fall in 1998, the Smyth, David, ed. Th e Canon in Southeast Asian an expression of mythological, mystical, literary scene opened up considerably. A Literatures. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, and practical dimensions: bhinneka tunggal prominent example of a writer jailed for 2000. ika—“the many are one” or “unity in diver- his work is Pramoedya Ananta Toer. One Herbert, Patricia and Anthony Milner, eds. South- of Prameodya’s most famous works is his Languages and Literatures: A Select sity.” Th is motto, expressed in Old Javanese, Guide. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, quotes from a kekawin, a form of poetry novel Th is Earth of Mankind (volume one 1989. based on Sanskrit kavya. of his Buru Quartet). Written in the late Durand, Maurice and Nguyen Tran Huan. An Kekawin poetry borrows most of its 1970s while he was a prisoner on the island Introduction to Vietnamese Literature. New York: subject matter from Hindu sources. Indian of Buru, Pramoedya’s work is an important Columbia University Press, 1985. infl uence is especially clear in Old Javanese, discourse on the colonial experience. His Nguyen-Dinh-Hoa et al. Some Aspects of Vietnamese and many Sanskrit-inspired works appeared protagonist is a young elite Javanese man Culture. Monograph Series 11. Carbondale, IL: in this language from the latter part of the educated in Dutch schools in . First Center for , 1972. fi rst century on. Th e Hindu epics of the entranced by how this education opens up —By Grant A. Olson, Department of Foreign Languages Ramayana and the carry a his world, he soon suff ers the restrictions and Literatures, Northern Illinois University great deal of importance. Aspects of these placed on his (and Indonesia’s) autonomy epics have been popularized in dance perfor- by the same Dutch colonial power. His mances, shadow-puppet plays (wayang) and disillusionment, and impulse toward inde- poetic recitations of kekawin (mabasan). pendence, echoes the life experience of Jose Th e historic 14th-century kekawin, the Rizal in the Philippines (and Ho Chi Minh SPANISH LITERATURE Nagarakeratagama, is known as an excep- in Vietnam), suggesting a certain amount of tional example of this form of poetry. pan–Southeast Asian solidarity of political As in many other parts of Southeast Asia, consciousness. Th e Spanish language, like the French, is a the division between religious and secular descendant of the popular Latin spoken by Especially during periods of state suppres- texts oft en is not very clear. Th e recitation soldiers and colonists brought into Spain of riddles may serve a religious function or sion, literature can oft en function as thinly by the Roman conquest. Th is conquest, carry a merely profane message. Folk tales disguised critiques of political systems. One completed by Augustus, changed the derived from Indian infl uences abound. One example of a short story incorporating tradi- language of the country as thoroughly as it example is the “mouse deer” cycle of allegori- tional themes and is “Interview with changed the customs. During the period of cal tales, which is popular in Indonesia and Ravana” (1982) by Yudhistira Ardi Noegraha the empire, Spain gave to Rome not a few Malaysia. Th e mouse deer, a small animal (pseudonym, Yudhistira ANM Massardi). Latin writers, the greatest of whom were of prey, plays the role of a trickster off ering Drawing on characters and epic notions of Martial, Quintilian, Lucan, and the Elder advice about survival. evil from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Younger Seneca. Th e languages of Indonesia shares a great deal of language and the wayang shadow-puppet theater, the Germanic origin, introduced into Spain by overlap, as well as blurred literary genres, story satirizes modern Indonesia and corrup- the barbarian invasions of the fi ft h century, with Malaysia. Many of the hikayat from tion within the Suharto regime. gradually changed the character of the Latin