Malaysia and Indonesian

Literature

• they have a single common linguistic ancestor. Before the coming of Islam to the region in the 14th century, Javanese had been the language of culture; afterward, during the Islamic period, Malay became the most important language—and still more so under later Dutch colonial rule so that, logically, it was recognized in 1949 as the official Indonesian language

• Early Malay literature was influenced by Indian epics, such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana

• Hikayat Mara Karma, Hikayat Panca Tanderan and Hikayat Gul Bakawali

• Malay romantic tales were also sourced from the Panji cycle of Hindu Java

• By the 19th century, oral literature on the Malay peninsula was superseded by written literature

• This was attributed largely in part to the introduction of Islam to the Peninsula by the 15th century and the adoption of the Jawi script.

• This tradition was influenced both by earlier oral traditions and Islamic literature from the Middle East

• Works during this time ranged from theological literature and legal digests, to romances, moral anecdotes, popular tales of Islamic prophets and even animal tales, which were written in a number of styles ranging from religious to the Hikayat form.[

Division of Indonesian literature according to periods

• Chronologically Indonesian literature may be divided into several periods:

• Pujangga Lama: the "Literates of Olden Times" (traditional literature)• Sastra Melayu Lama: "Older Malay Literature"• Angkatan Balai Pustaka: the "Generation of the [Colonial] Office for

Popular Literature" (from 1908)• Angkatan Pujangga Baru: the "New Literates" (from 1933)• Angkatan 1945: the "Generation of 1945"• Angkatan 1950 - 1960-an: the "Generation of the 1950s"• Angkatan 1966 - 1970-an: the "Generation of 1966 into the 1970s"• Angkatan 1980-an: the "Decade of the 1980s"• Angkatan Reformasi: the post-Suharto "Reformation Period"• Angkatan 2000-an: the "Generation of 2000s"

• The literature produced by the Pujangga lama (literally "the old poets") was mainly written before the 20th century, but after the coming of Islam. Before that time, however, there must have existed a lively oral tradition

• Genres• In written poetry and prose, a number of traditional

forms dominate, mainly:—• syair (traditional narrative poetry)• pantun (quatrains made up of two seemingly

disconnected couplets)• gurindam (brief aphorisms)• hikayat (stories, fairy-tales, animal fables, chronicles)• babad (histories

• Works• Some of these works are:• syair Syair Bidasari, Syair Ken Tambuhan, Syair Raja

Mambang Jauhari, Syair Raja Siakpantun scattered items found all over the Indonesian Archipelago, and also incorporated in other works (e.g., Sejarah Melayu) [4]hikayat Hikayat Abdullah, Hikayat Andaken Penurat, Hikayat Bayan Budiman, Hikayat Djahidin, Hikayat Hang Tuah, Hikayat Kadirun, Hikayat Kalila dan Damina, Hikayat Masydulhak, Hikayat Pelanduk Jinaka, Hikayat Pandja Tanderan, Hikayat Putri Djohar Manikam, Hikayat Tjendera Hasan, Tsahibul Hikayat

• in the 1920s, Indonesian literature came to be dominated by fiction (both short stories and novels)

• and Western-style drama and poetry, which gradually replaced the earlier syair, gurindam, pantun and hikayat

• Merari Siregar's Azab dan Sengsara was the very first modern novel appearing in Indonesian, constituting a break with the Malay romance tradition.

Thai Literature

• Thai Traditional Literature is essentially religious• Most of the literature in the old days consisted

of works on Buddhism and Hinduism directly or indirectly

• Whatever culture the Thai people brought with them from their homeland in Southern China where they had been in contact with Chinese culture for centuries was adapted to its later conception of Buddhism, their adopted religion

• Most of the works of emotive literature were written in veerse in various patterns.

Five prominent examples of such works

• 1. The Romance of Khun Chang Khun Phaen - • 2. Ramakian • 3. The Romance of Inao• 4. Sam Kok.• 5. Phra Aphaimani. This is a romantic tale

written in verse by one of the most famous and popular poets of Thailand.