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The System of Classical Malay Literature.
... This article has studied the system of classical Malay literature. In doing so, it has depended mostly on Braginsky's (1993) analysis of the system of classical Malay literature and Muhammad Haji Salleh's (2000) Puitika Sastera Melayu. A study of the system of classical Malay literature is essential in the understanding and appreciation of the central notion of beauty and "the beautiful" (indah) in Malay literary writings, the concept of "self-awareness" and the concern of Malay writers for "the spiritual benefit" embedded in their writings. ...
... The author argues that these two types of romances demonstrate the substantial influence of religion in their textual elements. Braginsky (1993) argues that as Islamic awareness deepened, its influence on the literary process became ever stronger. As a result, many new religious, didactic, belletristic and historical works came into being. ...
... G.E. Marrison (1995) emphasised that the work of Braginsky (1993) raises two fundamental questions on classical Malay literature. The first question is if an inherent system can be found in Malay literature, or for that matter, in any literature. ...
The objective of this article is to understand the classical Malay literary framework through the analysis of different Malay literary texts. The study is based on an analysis of the works of Vladimir Braginsky and Muhammad Haji Salleh, along with the interpretation of selected classical Malay texts. The article seeks to highlight the critical systems in classical Malay literature and in Puitika Sastera Melayu. The study shows that in Braginsky's work, the author identifies the significance of studying classical Malay literature for understanding its central notion of beauty and "the beautiful" (indah) in Malay literary writings, as well as the concept of "self-awareness" and the concern of Malay writers for "the spiritual benefit" that is embedded in their writings. But in the works of Muhammad Haji Salleh, on the other hand, the author argues that the Malay literary theory, Puitika Sastera Melayu, was preconditioned by the inner structure of the society, which was embedded in the Malay language, milieu and philosophy.
... Tradisi Islam yang masuk ke Tanah Melayu memperkenalkan tugas 'pekerjaan kalam' (The deeds of the reed pen) kepada pengarang Melayu (Braginsky 1993). Pengarang Melayu mulai disedarkan mengenai kepentingan sastera dalam kehidupan mereka yang diistilahkan oleh Braginsky (1993; sebagai 'literary self awareness'. ...
... Tradisi Islam yang masuk ke Tanah Melayu memperkenalkan tugas 'pekerjaan kalam' (The deeds of the reed pen) kepada pengarang Melayu (Braginsky 1993). Pengarang Melayu mulai disedarkan mengenai kepentingan sastera dalam kehidupan mereka yang diistilahkan oleh Braginsky (1993; sebagai 'literary self awareness'. Kesedaran sastera' yang lahir bersama perkembangan agama Islam ini membawa masyarakat agar mengetahui matlamat, tujuan, intipati, hakikat, jenis, proses penciptaan sastera sejajar dengan perkara-perkara yang berhubungan dengan 'pekerjaan kalam' ini. ...
This study was aimed at identifying the author’s perspective of the colonialists, and to analyse her relationship with one of them in her poem. The British colonisation of the Malay world in the nineteenth century gave rise to various reactions and attitudes among the indigenous communities, the majority of whom were opposed to colonisation, as recorded in traditional Malay literary works. Most of these works expressed the anxiety and hardships they encountered in life under the colonial government. Therefore, it would have been disturbing if any Malay writer were to heap praises on the British colonialists, more so if the writer happened to be a female, as according to the patriarchal system that dominated the conventional Malay literary world, women should be ‘silent’. Nevertheless, this tradition was broken by Hajah Wok Aisyah Nik Idris from Terengganu with her writing of Syair Tuan Hampris, in the early twentieth century. Ironically, in her poem, the author appears to have forgotten the miserable state of the Malays in the other states under the British administration. As such, did Hajah Wok Aisyah have her own reasons for writing the way she did? Was the author of Syair Tuan Hampris captivated by the British administrator? Did the British administrator, J. L. Humphreys, succeed in winning the hearts of the Malays in Terengganu? The method of text analysis was employed in this study, guided by the eight ways proposed by the first British Resident-General of the Federation of Malaya, Sir Frank Swettenham, to Syair Tuan Hampris. This study found that Syair Tuan Hampris invites its readers to savour the unique spectrum of relationships that existed between the colonised people, and the colonialists. The colonialists are no longer regarded as individuals who brought ruin and destruction to the local community, but instead, all their actions are held as being honourable. Thus, the author, being a woman, was able to perfectly explain her closeness to one such colonialist in the verses of her poem. In conclusion, Syair Tuan Hampris is strong and direct proof that women had a voice in the community at that time, even though they had to go against the conventions of Malay literature.
... Ketiga fungsi ini tidak hanya terdapat pada satu kelompok saja, tetapi bisa juga terdapat pada kelompok lain. Hanya saja, bobot fungsi pada masing-masing kelompok berbeda (Braginsky, 1993). Ketiga lingkaran fungsi tersebut memenuhi tugasnya dengan pertolongan "struktur genre". ...
... Karya-karya yang termasuk dalam fungsi ini tidak seperti yang termasuk dalam dua fungsi di atas memenuhi fungsi membuka hati nurani sehingga setelah membacanya, pembaca seperti mendapat berkah kemampuan berkontemplasi pada tingkat yang lebih tinggi. Karya yang termasuk kesempurnaan jiwa meliputi kelompok cerita tentang orang-orang suci, termasuk tentang para nabi, sahabat-sahabat nabi, musuh-musuh nabi, dan kelompok sastra kitab (Braginsky, 1993). ...
Hikayat Indraputra (HI) adalah salah satu karya sastra Melayu yang sangat populer. Jumlah naskahnya yang banyak dan telah diterjemahkan ke dalam tiga bahasa lain menunjukkan pentingnya naskah itu untuk dikaji dengan mendalam. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengungkap model pengasuhan anak usia dini dalam naskah HI, dengan menggunakan metode penelitian lingkaran fungsi Braginsky dengan beberapa indikator tertentu sebagai pedoman operasional. Fungsi yang dimaksud di sini adalah apa yang dituju oleh pengarang dan signifikansi teks-teks tertentu dalam keseluruhannya. Penelitian ini berusaha menemukan bentuk pengasuhan anak pada keluarga kerajaan yang hidup pada masa lampau, yang tentu terdapat banyak perbedaan lingkungan sosial budaya dengan bentuk pengasuhan pada masa sekarang. Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa, isi cerita yang mempunyai konteks pengasuhan anak usia dini yaitu bentuk pengasuhan yang diterapkan oleh Maharaja Bikrama Bispa kepada anaknya antara lain adalah ketika Maharaja Bikrama Bispa bersyukur dan bersukacita atas kelahiran, memberi nama yang baik, memberi perlindungan, mengenalkan agama, menjaga kebersihan, membahagiakan, dan mendoakan anak. Temuan atas indikator-indikator pengasuhan anak tersebut direduksi dari data inti aspek-aspek pengasuhan yaitu asuh, asih, dan asah.
... According to V.I. Braginsky (1993) one of the characteristics of a properly 'coordinated' [Malay] literary work, and one much more important than beauty, is 'benefit' (V.I.Braginsky 1993: 36). ...
... In contrast, writings, which assimilate evil influences on the reader, are therefore bad literary work irrespective of whether the intention of the writer was initially good or bad (Yusof, 1973: 13). Yusof's assertion on literature as the expression of the "hati nurani", soul and his emphasis on the function of literature and its influence, benefit and impact on the reader concur with Prof. V. Braginsky's (1993) assertions on the three spheres in the system of Classical Malay literature (V. I. Braginsky, 1993: 1-2). ...
The Islamic theory of literature 1 and its practices are studied in the context of Qur'anic examples. As the Qur'an is a comprehensive guideline to life, and considers the human soul, feelings, thoughts and actions, it gives basic rules and outline to Islamize the literature. Muslim scholars have discussed the Islamic literature based on the stories in the Qur'an and the way of its narration. The Qur'an does not define Islamic literature, however it provides rules and outline through the examples contesting both form and content to the extent of maintaining complete musical effect. Islamic literature has been developed by Muslim scholars, based on this Qur'anic concepts and the style in which it presents its message. Thus, Islamic literature not only carries ethics and values but also addresses the basic human needs and feelings for enjoyment and pleasure.
... Upon landing in Serendib, Adam wept pitifully over the fate that had befallen him, so much so that all the beasts and birds quenched their thirst therewith, and when his tears sunk into the earth, and, as they still contained some of the juices of his food he had consumed in Paradise, produced the most fragrant flowers, spices and medicinal plants on the island of Serendib. (Baring-Gould, 1871: Chamberlain, 1896Liaw, et al. 2013). "Learn from your great-grandfather Adam, when he lost the marriage, the tears that streamed down his face filled Ceylon's valleys with fragrant spices and herbs" as Rūmī eloquently puts it in his poem "It Was Adam Who Wept" which vividly captures Adam's agony. ...
Sri Lanka, famously called the ‘pearl of the Indian ocean’, is an island nation located in the tropics, lying off the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent. Given her favourable geostrategic position at the crossroads of major maritime routes, Sri Lanka, which is richly endowed with natural resources, has since time immemorial, been a major player in International trade. Known formerly as Serendib, Saheelan and Seylan among the Türks, Arabs and Persians, Sri Lanka, on which prophet Adam is believed to have descended when expelled from Paradise, has been immortalized in the works of numerous scholars including Mawlana Rūmī, and Katip Çelebi. Despite the fact that Süleyman the Magnificent's reign heralded the beginning of contacts between Sri Lanka and Ottoman Türkiye, official diplomatic relations were not established until Sulţan Abdül Aziz's reign in 1864. The Muslims of Si Lanka revered the Ottoman Sulţāns to the point of mentioning their names in the ‘khutba’, or sermon, during Friday prayers, and this age-old tradition continued until the reign of Sulţān Abdül Hamid II, after whom the first Muslim Boys’ School and a road in Sri Lanka are named. Unfortunately, limited research has been done on Sri Lanka-Türkiye historical relations, a subject that, despite its relevance, has received little attention. Therefore, this article, which examines Sri Lanka-Türkiye relations from ancient times to the twentieth Century, intends to enlighten the readers about the largely untold and unknown facets of our shared history and heritage. Given that Sri Lanka is one of Türkiye's important allies, raising awareness of this topic is timely, and pertinent.
... However, several local and foreign scholars have studied and understand the governance guidelines in the Taj Us Salatin (Mahkota Raja-Raja) such as Marrison (1955), Khalid M. Hussin (1966, Brakel (1970), Fatimah Embong (1982, Mohd. Aris Othman (1983), Siti Hawa Haji Salleh (1992 and2010), Braginsky (1993 and2000), Jelani ), Khalif Muammar A. Harris (2011), Shah Rul Anuar (2012 and Rahimah Hamdan and Arbaie Sujud (2017). ...
... 'The deed of the reed pen' refers to deep-rooted Malay literary activities following the arrival of Islam to this region (Braginsky, 1989;1993, p. 1). Starting from here, the Malay community became aware of the importance of literature in their life, which was termed by Braginsky (1993; as 'literary self-awareness'. Now, in order to produce a literary work several criteria had to be met to fulfil this 'literary self-awareness' such as the objective, purpose, essence, facts and type so that the modus operandi for the creation of literary works would become increasingly clear. ...
This paper was aimed at identifying the guidance to parenting that emerged in the first Malay autobiography, the Hikayat Abdullah, and subsequently, to analyse those instructions on parenting in the context of the traditional Malay society of the 19th century. The recognition accorded to Abdullah Munshi as the Father of Modern Malay Literature has attracted various reactions from scholars. Some scholars regard Abdullah Munshi as the one who brought renewal to Malay literature through his courageous criticism of the customs and culture that had been in practice for generations. On the other hand, there are scholars who disapprove of that recognition being given to him and who consider Abdullah Munshi’s criticisms in his works as a deviation from the reality expressed in previous works. Nevertheless, not a single study has suggested that perhaps Abdullah Munshi firmly emphasized those criticisms with the intention of providing some sort of guidance. Hence, by analysing certain texts in the Hikayat Abdullah and by reviewing the evidence from the perspective of Swettenham (1895), who objectively evaluated the thinking and culture of the Malay community, this study was able to rectify the image of Abdullah Munshi, who, all this while, was considered to be pro-British because of his harsh criticism of the Malay community. Moreover, those criticisms were meant to provide guidance for the family institution, especially for parents. This indirectly proves that Abdullah Munshi took a serious view of parenting and believed that improvements were necessary to produce a dignified and civilized generation. In conclusion, the autobiography, the Hikayat Abdullah, was not just a new form of writing that deviated from the conventions of traditional Malay literature, but was the fruit of the wisdom of the author that was meant to benefit his readers.
... It is based on elfawareness among the community about the realities of human existence in this world as Abdullah (servant of God) and Khalifatullah (representative or vicegerent of Allah on earth). Thus, they begin to realise their duties and responsibilities in relationships among creatures and devote themselves to the Divine and to achieve the standard of a perfect human being (insan kamil or insan adabi) (Braginsky, 1993(Braginsky, , 1998. ...
This paper discusses the functions of traditional Malay literature as a platform for generating knowledge to contribute towards human civilisation and fulfil his/her responsibility as Allah’s representative on earth. The traditional Malay literature is rich in knowledge of various types. Consistent with the goal to produce a perfect human, knowledge is important to produce individuals who successfully achieve real perfection either spiritually or physically. Data studied involves a multiple genre of traditional Malay literature produced or copied from the 15th to 19th century including Sejarah Melayu (Sulalatus Salatin), Hikayat Raja Pasai, Syair Perang Siak, Syair Perang Mengkasar, Hukum Kanun Melaka, Taj al-Salatin, Bustan al-Salatin, Sirat al-Mustaqim, Sabil al-Muhtadin, Syair Perahu, Syair Dagang, Surat al-Anbiya, Hikayat Abu Syahmah and Hikayat Ibrahim ibn Adham. In establishing the functions of traditional Malay literature as a platform for generating knowledge, this study applies Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas’s (2001) framework on adab. The study demonstrates that traditional Malay literature has played an important role of generating knowledge towards producing a noble, well-balanced individual, spiritually and physically, in this world and the hereafter. Traditional Malay literature is apparently conceived by its readership as providing enlightening principles in seeking a guided relationship both with their Creator (hablumminaLLah) and fellow human beings (hablumminannas) as well as explicating the divine purposes of every living human being in this world to become His vicegerent and servant. Knowledge contained in this traditional literary text could produce a perfect human being that has the ability to fulfil his obligations as Allah’s representative on earth and His righteous slaves.
... Van Ronkel's description subsequently became Standard textbook wisdom. The Syair Alif-Ba-Ta is now known in the secondary literature as a poem dealing with ethical questions in an allegorical way (see, for example, Braginsky 1993:55). Hooykaas (1947:77) described it as an 'alphabet poem, with 30 maxims'. ...
... 8 Architectural and stylistic changes in temple construction and the plastic arts tend to be more visible and therefore easier to trace than changes in philosophy and literature, the determination of which I must leave to experts in these particular fields. Ultimately, they will have to decide whether my remarks about a possible connection between the traumatic historical event of the eviction of the S´ailendras and the comparatively early transfer of literary functions from Sanskrit to Old Javanese (see Braginsky 1993: 16) has any factual basis or not. The same holds for my more speculative linking of this event with the growing preference of the Javanese for the Mahabharata over the Ramayan . ...
Archaeologists and art historians generally agree that most of the 8th- to 9th-century Buddhist temples in central Java were constructed by the rulers who claimed to belong to the Śailendra dynasty. But the unsolved question preying on the minds of scholars for many decades now is the origins of this dynasty. Drawing on a variety of arguments this study contends that the present popularity of the Śailendra dynasty's Javanese origin is ill-founded, and urges a resumption of research into its foreign origins, whether in India, Sri Lanka or mainland Southeast Asia.
... Van Ronkel's description subsequently became Standard textbook wisdom. The Syair Alif-Ba-Ta is now known in the secondary literature as a poem dealing with ethical questions in an allegorical way (see, for example, Braginsky 1993:55). Hooykaas (1947:77) described it as an 'alphabet poem, with 30 maxims'. ...
... With reference to their arrival, I mentioned among other things the introduction of the new Pre-Nagari script (also known as siddhamatrka), the earliest issue of silver Sandalwood-Flower coins, bearing legends in the same script, and the dominance of Buddhism as reflected in the sudden increase in the number of Mahayana Buddhist temples built, as well as the magnificence and beauty of these monuments. In contrast, the departure of the Sailendras was followed by such developments as the fall of Buddhism from royal favour, as may be inferred from the dramatic halt to Buddhist temple-building activities, the change from Sanskrit to Old Javanese as a literary medium (Braginsky 1993(Braginsky :16, 1996Pollock 1996:218, 226-8), the growing preference for the Mahabharata over the Ramayana (Braginsky 1993:20), and the shift from silver coinage to an indigenous gold currency (Wicks 1992:248, 259). ...
A Lasting Vision is dedicated to the Mirror of Literature (Kāvyādarśa), a Sanskrit treatise on poetics composed by Dandin in south India (ca. 700 ce) and to its remarkable career throughout large parts of Asia. The Mirror was adapted and translated into several languages in the southern Indian peninsula (Kannada, Tamil) and the island of Sri Lanka (Sinhala, Pali), as well as in the Tibetan plateau far to the north (Tibetan, Mongolian). In all these receiving cultures, it became a classical text and a source of constant engagement and innovation, often well into the modern era. It also traveled to Burma and Thailand, where it held a place of honor in Buddhist monastic education and intellectual life, and likely to the islands of Java and Bali, where it contributed to the production of literature in Old Javanese. There is even reason to believe that it reached China and impacted Chinese literary culture, although far more peripherally than in other parts of Asia. It also maintained a prominent position in the Sanskrit learned discourses throughout the Indian subcontinent for at least a millennium. This multi-authored volume, organized by region and language, is the first attempt to chart and explain the Mirror’s amazing transregional and multilingual success: what was so unique about this work that might explain its near-continental conquest, how it was transmitted to and received in the many different environments, and what happened to it whenever it was being adopted and adapted.
KH. Shaleh Darat is a cleric figure who has a big share in the spread of Islam on the North Coast of Java, especially in Semarang and its surroundings. His father, KH Umar, was a prominent scholar whom Prince Diponegoro trusted in the Javanese war against the Dutch in the north coast of Java. After receiving religious knowledge from his father, little Pious began to wander, studying from one scholar to another. KH Syahid Waturaja was recorded (studying fiqh books, such as Fath al-Qarib, Fath Al Mu’in, Minhaj al-Qawim, and Syarb al-Khatib). Kiai Shaleh Darat studied religion with major ulama figures such as KH M Sahid who was the grandson of Shaykh Ahmad Mutamakkin, from Kajen Village, Margoyoso, Pati, Central Java who lived in the Mataram Kartosuro era around the 18th century. By translating many books of fiqh and tasawuf in Javanese, KH Sholeh Darat conveyed the message of da’wah at the house of the Regent of Demak who was the uncle of R.A. Kartini. From behind the veil, Kartini was amazed by Al-Fatihah’s interpretation in Javanese so that Kartini understood. R.A. Kartini urged her uncle to meet KH Sholeh Darat. After meeting, to the kiai, Kartini asked that the Al Quran be translated. At the call of the da’wah and Kartini’s request, KH Sholeh Darat translated it using Arabic Pegon. The book is recorded as the world’s first translation of the Quran in Javanese. The first book of interpretation in Javanese Arabic Pegon is named Faidhur Rohman. Faithur Rahman’s tafsir book is a Javanese interpretation, written the world’s first pegon. Together with the manuscript Syarah Al Hikam KH Sholeh Darat Al Faithur Rahman kept by the takmir of the Sholeh Darat Mosque, Dadapsari, Semarang. What is interesting about Faithur Rahman is his translation in the letter Al Fatihah which explains how the belief system and tarekat (the straight path) in Islam. Then what are the characteristics of pious people in the beginning of the letter Al Baqoroh. With this Javanese translation, it finally made it easier for Javanese Muslims to learn Islam. The ease of learning Islam is what gives a wind of harmony in religion.
The many modes of mediation, including strategies of resistance as well as assimilation, to what was foreign and new marked all aspects of South Asian and Southeast Asian cultures. The decline of Sanskrit and the trajectory of political power in terms of Islamic rule thus both mark off the period approximately from 1200 to 1800 as a coherent segment. Subsequent victories of Muslim rulers against Muslim and Hindu rebels and further Muslim invaders are recorded from the victor's point of view in successive court chronicles in Persian, which lay a truth‐claim as being strictly historical accounts rather than poetry and are anyhow written in prose. The characteristic literary expression of Bhakti are songs; they are its signature form. The chapter focuses on the mainland and on narratives drawn from Indian‐based religious texts, the Ramayana and Buddhist tales, and the blossoming of more secular, literary forms.
Studies of the languages and literatures of the Malay world of Nusantara have long been shaped by the collections of manuscripts held in western institutions, which strongly reflect the interests of colonial officials who formed them. A very different picture of the writing traditions of maritime Southeast Asia emerges from a survey of manuscripts still held in local communities digitised through the Endangered Archives Programme and DREAMSEA. Primarily concerned with Islamic topics and often written in Arabic, the study of these newly-accessible collections has the potential to lead to a remapping of the intellectual landscape of the region. 'IN THEIR OWN IMAGE': WESTERN COLLECTIONS OF MALAY AND INDONESIAN MANUSCRIPTS 1 For the past century, studies of the languages, literatures, and writing traditions of the Malay world-the largely Islamic archipelagic lands of Southeast Asia, comprising present-day Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, and the southern parts of Thailand and the Philippines-have been fundamentally shaped by the collections of manuscripts held in western institutions, as well as those in the region founded during the colonial era. These collections, mainly developed from the early 19th century onwards, strongly reflect the preoccupations of those who formed them, predominantly European scholars and government officials. Influenced by Enlightenment ideals and ideas, the collectors avidly sought out original literary, historical and legal compositions in vernacular languages, primarily in Malay, but also in other local languages such as Javanese, Balinese, Bugis/Makassar and Batak. Conversely, Enlightenment neo-classical sympathies and an ensuing nostalgic empathy for a vanished Hindu-Buddhist 'classical' era manifested in a lack of interest in and even antipathy to works on Islam. As a result, there are relatively few Islamic texts from Southeast Asia in western public collections. The older British Library collections inherited from the British Museum and India Office Library contain five Malay manuscripts of undang-undang, legal codes rooted in customary practices, but not a single Malay text on fiqh, Muslim jurisprudence. These public collections were usually reasonably well catalogued and open to scholars, and the advent of digitisation as a staple library activity over the past decade has further broadened access to a previously unimaginable extent. Ever increasing numbers of Malay and Indonesian manuscripts, which for centuries had been held in locations far from the lands of their origin and from the majority of their potential readers can now be accessed freely and fully on the internet, by anyone with the inclination and linguistic skills. The British
Building on Amin Sweeney’s study of Authors and audiences in traditional Malay literature (1980), this article sets out to investigate the artists who created illuminated Malay literary manuscripts, and the audiences for whose visual delight they were produced, through a focus on paratexts in the volumes: scribal or authorial notes or annotations, and ornamental and other graphic details. While distinctive regional artistic schools associated with Qur’an and other Islamic books from Southeast Asia have been identified in locations such as Aceh and the east coast of the Malay peninsula, most illuminated Malay literary manuscripts were produced in the burgeoning urban centres of Penang, Melaka, Singapore and Batavia, areas without a strong tradition of religious book production. The very different artistic profiles of these two broad groupings of manuscripts may therefore be linked with their contrasting physical and social locales. A detailed study of two illuminated manuscripts from Perlis then reveals, for the first time, the name of a Malay manuscript artist – Encik Muhammad, son of Raja Indera Wangsa – and casts valuable light on the mechanics of book production in the northern Malay peninsula in the early 19th century.
Studies of the languages and literatures of the Malay world of Nusantara have long been shaped by the collections of manuscripts held in western institutions, which strongly reflect the interests of colonial officials who formed them. A very different picture of the writing traditions of maritime Southeast Asia emerges from a survey of manuscripts still held in local communities digitised through the Endangered Archives Programme and DREAMSEA. Primarily concerned with Islamic topics and often written in Arabic, the study of these newly-accessible collections has the potential to lead to a remapping of the intellectual landscape of the region.
The book traces a change in the perception of the work of Peter Weir that has been under way in recent years, marked by a shift from interpretations focusing on spiritual themes to approaches emphasising the situation of the author immersed in the context of “Global Hollywood.” It also presents the most important aspects of wanderings undertaken by Weir’s protagonists, who search for a deeper dimension of existence that could help them define their identity and alliances in the world where “everything begins and ends at exactly the right time and place.” It expresses the conviction that the origins of both motives – transgressive and transnational – may be found in the dichotomy of the Other / Alien, conspicuously present in Weir’s films. For this reason, while focusing on the figure of the outsider, the book draws attention to the nature of transgressions that are taking place in Weir’s works. On the one hand, there is confrontation with whatever is mysterious. Exploration of different states of consciousness leads through the world of dreams and myths – a path that Weir’s protagonists travel to face their own weaknesses and limitations imposed by the oppressive system of culture. On the other hand, Weir’s films never stop mediating between the points of view of national and trans- national identity, between the genre cinema and the artistic cinema, and between creativity and convention, thereby consolidating the unique position of the film director as an Alien, both in Hollywood and in Australian cinema. The dynamics of these tensions have determined the character and the form of this book. Peter Weir’s works are not discussed here in a strictly chronological order, a more important criterion being the evolution of selected story threads and their related contexts which define the unique element in his work. Chapter One is concerned with the two most famous Australian films by Weir: Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) and The Last Wave (1977), which established the range of themes he often returned to in later works. Next chapter offers interpretations of Gallipoli (1981) and The Year of Living Dangerously (1982). If the former is perceived as a realisation of the idea of Australian national cinema, the latter marks Weir’s accession to mainstream world cinema. Chapter Three is devoted to his Hollywood films. The analysis of Witness (1985), The Mosquito Coast (1986), and Fearless (1994) draws attention to the point of view of an Alien who observes America and American culture from a certain distance. This theme is then continued in Chapter Four, which focuses on the figure of the outsider – a character typical of Weir’s films, who can be seen in statu nascendi in Dead Poets Society (1989) and The Truman Show (1989). Finally, Chapter Five brings together analyses of Green Card (1990), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), and The Way Back (2010), in which the transnational motives receive more prominence than in other films by Weir. The interpretations offered in this volume provide an argument for the claim that the work of Peter Weir is a fruit of the genre cinema and the artistic cinema coming together, as well as of the interaction between Australian cinema and Hollywood (and, in the background, European cinema). In the light of most recent research, it appears as a transnational phenomenon, a result of a combination of themes borrowed from various systems, not only cinematographic but also cultural.
Abstrak: Artikel ini bertujuan untuk mendiskusikan bagaimana citra sastra petualangan turut berperan penting pada masa peralihan Hindu–Islam dalam struktur masyarakat Lombok. Salah satu contoh karya sastra peralihan yang masyhur di tengah masyarakat Lombok adalah teks Puspakrema. Sedangkan di dunia kesusasteraan Melayu, Hikayat Indraputra populer pada masa peralihan Hindu–Islam sejak abad ke-15. Kedua karya sastra ini termasuk ke dalam genre sastra petualangan Nusantara. Pendekatan sastra bandingan digunakan oleh peneliti untuk menemukan berbagai persamaan dan perbedaan baik struktur maupun motif cerita dalam kedua karya sastra ini. Secara umum, persamaan keduanya sebagai karya sastra petualangan adalah perjalanan tokoh utama demi mencapai tujuan kebaikan bagi sesamanya. Persamaan juga terlihat pada unsur-unsur cerita seperti penggunaan ikan dan burung merak sebagai simbol universal dalam kesusastraan Nusantara. Adapun perbedaan-perbedaan yang ada dalam kedua karya sastra ini seperti adanya tokoh Singandarung atau singa bersayap yang berasal dari tradisi Hindu‑Bali dalam Puspakrema. menunjukkan kesusastraan Islam yang memiliki unsur kesusasteraan Hindu Bali tetap populer di kalangan masyarakat Sasak sebagai bagian dari identitas dan kekayaan khazanah kesusastraan di Lombok.
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Abstract: This article aims to discuss how adventurous literary images play an important role in the Hindu-Islamic transition in the structure of Lombok's society. One of the famous classical literature in Lombok is the text of Puspakrema. Whereas in the Malay literary world, Hikayat Indraputra was popular during the Hindu-Islamic transition since the 15th century. Both of these literary works belong to the archipelago adventure literary genre. The comparative literary approach is used by researcher to find various similarities and differences in both the structure and motives of stories in these two literary works. In general, the similarity of the two as adventurous literary works is the journey of the main character in order to achieve the goal of kindness for each other. Similarities can also be seen in story elements such as the use of fish and peacocks as universal symbols in Nusantara literature. As for the differences that exist in these two literary works such as the presence of Singandarung figures or winged lion originating from the Balinese Hindu tradition in Puspakrema shows that Islamic literature has elements of Balinese Hindu literature remains popular among the Sasak people as part of the identity and wealth of literary treasures on Lombok.
Chapter 5 looks at institutions and other policies created by the British to address Muslim affairs. The Majlis Ugama Islam (Islamic Religious Councils) was one of these. Although modeled upon British experience in Egypt and India with the aim of bureaucratizing Islam in Malaysia, these institutions were also platforms for the propagation of Islam as local Muslims collaborated with the British in restructuring Muslim lives. Orientalism under the sponsorship of colonial states also helped to create deeper appreciation on the part of the Muslims about their own faith and history. Although regulated, the hajj continued as an avenue where reformist and modernist ideas flowed into and out of Malaysia. Colonialism was, in hindsight, Islamization by other means, or “colonial Islamization.” This chapter provides a counterargument against previously held beliefs that colonialism in Malaysia arrested the infusion of Islam. The reverse held true, though it must also be acknowledged that colonialism did result in fragmentation of the Muslim community into Anglophones and British-compliant elites. Divide and rule was the British way of keeping Muslims in check.
This brief paper discusses one of the classical literary texts of Islamic Nusantara entitled Kitab Seribu Masalah (the book of a thousand problems). This study uses a philological and textual approach to reveal the relationship and linkage between text and context, which then leads to efforts to produce interpretations related to the history of the Islamization process in the archipelago. This research is conducted to answer three problems, namely: How the KSM manuscript description, what is the content of the text, and how the context behind the birth of the work.From the idea side, Kitab Seribu Masalah contains dialogue between two people: First, the figure of Muhammad saw. in the manuscript is described as an end-time prophet of God's messenger, who calls to believe in Him. He is believed to have abundant knowledge from Allah swt., so that it can answer various problems that are considered and faced by Humans. Second, the figure of Abdullah ibn As-Salam of the Tribe of Thamud illustrated as a clever Jewish clergyman, very pious to the contents of the Torah, Gospel, Zabur and earlier books. He is so trustworthy and has a large fanatic followers of up to seven hundred people. The dialogue at least explores the problem of the relationship between God and His Messenger, regarding cosmological issues, about eschatology, testing the intelligence of the end-time prophet, the puzzle, the meaning of numbers, and others.Keywords: Kitab Seribu Masalah, Hikayat, 'Abdullah bin Salam, Islamization of the Archipelago Tulisan singkat ini membahas salah satu teks klasik Islam Nusantara yang berjudul Kitab Seribu Masalah. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendeÂkatan filologis dan tekstologis untuk mengungkap hubungan antara teks dan konteks, yang kemudian bermuara pada usaha-usaha memproduksi interpretasi-interpretasi terkait sejarah proses Islamisasi di Nusantara. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk menjawab masalah kandungan isi naskah KSM, dan konteks yang melatarbelakangi lahirnya, serta kaitannya dengan proses Islamisasi Nusantara.Penelitian ini berkesimpulan bahwa terdapat 13 buah naskah yang berjudul KitÄb Seribu MasÄ’il atau Hikayat Seribu Masalah. Dari tiga belas naskah tersebut, 9 naskah ada di PNRI Jakarta dan 4 naskah ada di Universitas Leiden, Belanda. Ketiga belas naskah yang dimaksud adalah naskah ML 19, ML 59, ML200, ML 442, W 82, W 83, W 84, W 85, W 86, KL.26, 6064 D, OPH 72, dan Cod. Or. 1960. Setelah melakukan perbanÂdingan akhirnya peneliti memilih naskah ML 19 sebagai obyek untuk dilaÂkukan penyuntingan dan edisi kritis.Dari sisi ide, KitÄb Seribu Masalah berisi dialog antara Nabi Muhammad saw. dan Abdullah bin Salam. Abdullah bin Salam adalah seoÂrang tokoh dari Suku Tsamud yang diilustrasikan sebagai seorang pendeta Yahudi yang cerdik-pandai, alim akan isi Taurat, Injil, Zabur dan kitab-kitab terdahulu. Ia begitu dipercaya dan mempunyai banyak pengikut fanatik hingga lebih dari tujuh ratus orang. Dialog tersebut berisi masalah relasi Allah dan Rasul-Nya, kosmologis, eskatologis, ujian kecerdasan Nabi, teka-teki, arti bilangan, dan lain-lain.Kata Kunci: KitÄb Seribu MasÄ’il, Hikayat, ‘Abdullah bin Salam, Islamisasi Nusantara
This chapter examines Hamka’s writings about the place of women in Islam and in societies across the Malay world. Hamka was engaged in the project of “recasting gendered paradigms,” which involves reinterpreting, reconceptualizing and reconfiguring various dominant understandings about the roles, functions and responsibilities of women in Islam as reflected not only in the Qur'an and the adat (traditional customs), but also in modern discourses about women's empowerment. The chapter shows that Hamka’s commitment to advocating for women’s rights and critiquing prevailing ideas about the place of women in religion and society was a product both of his personal experiences and of the profound social and intellectual shifts that characterized his day and age.
Taking pre-colonial period as the subject of study, this article argues that Islam is part of Malay culture and politics. Islam strongly engaged in the formation of Malay kingdoms, mingled with maritime commerce, and contributed to the formulation of Malay ideas of power and political management. Yet, it should be noted that the important role of Islam is to be explained by the fact that the religion gave emphasis to the idea of omnipotent ruler (raja), as was expressed in the Islamized language of politics, such as khalifa (vicegerent) and zill Allah fi al-alam (the shadow of Allah on earth). It was the ruler, with Islamic honorific titles and attributes, which appeared as the most determinant actor in the statecraft of kingdoms. Being as such, Islam could not be conceived of as an evaluation for rulers’ political conduct. Instead, Islam served as a religious justification for the rise of the absolutist kingdom of the archipelago, which culminated in the kingdom of Aceh in the seventeenth century.The ruler had paramount position over the subjects (rakyat) and the economic elites (orang kaya). [Artikel ini menjelaskan bahwa pada periode pra-kolonial, Islam merupakan bagian dari kebudayaan dan politik Melayu. Islam sangat berpengaruh dalam struktur kerajaan Melayu, campur tangan perdagangan laut, dan berperan dalam pembentukan konsep kekuasaan kerajaan Melayu dan manajemen politiknya. Tetapi perlu digarisbawahi bahwa peran penting Islam secara faktual adalah agama memberikan penekanan pada konsep raja yang dalam bahasa Islam politik disebut dengan khalifa dan zill Allah fi al-alam (wakil Tuhan di bumi). Sang raja, sebagaimana gelar dalam Islam, merupakan tokoh yang paling berkuasa dalam pemerintahan sebuah kerajaan. Sebagaimana yang terjadi, Islam tidak dapat diterima begitu saja sebagai koreksi terhadap perilaku politik sang raja. Alih – alih Islam justru menjadi justifikasi agama untuk kekuasaan mutlak raja, dimana puncaknya terjadi pada Kerajaan Aceh abad 17. Raja mempunyai kedudukan paling atas melampaui rakyat dan kaum borjuis.]
Konstruksi nilai-nilai kultural suatu bangsa, suku, dan kelompok masyarakat terus menjadi permasalahan mendasar di era globalisasi: Apakah suatu kelompok masyarakat masih mempertahankan kearifan bahasa yang mewadahi warisan nilai-nilai budayanya? Bagaimanakah konstruksi nilai-nilai falsafah hidup masyarakat Muna yang tercermin dalam bahasanya? Apakah masih relevan menghadapi tantangan persaingan global? Kearifan bahasa dalam suasana kehidupan multi-lingual dan multi-kultural menerpa dan mempengaruhi pola pikir, pola tindak, dan pola tutur seseorang. Demi keteraturan dan kebersamaan dalam kehidupan, maka pengetahuan kebudayaan dan kebahasaan perlu terus dipelihara dan diwariskan dari generasi ke generasi pendukungnya. Manusia sebagai subjek dalam kehidupan ini, diragukan untuk secara arif mempertahankan keseimbangan, keteraturan, dan keharmonisan hidup bumi ini yang kian terancam, sebaliknya, sistem ide dan nilai-nilai filosofis hidup yang terekam dalam bahasa sekalipun akan mengantar seseorang pada pemahaman dunia secara utuh dan mendalam, seakan takberdaya di tengah percaturan wacana dan pola pikir, pola tindak, dan pola tutur yang kian mengglobal.
The arrival of Islam in the Malay World has resulted in the beginning of intellectualism and rationalism among Malays especially in the 17th century Aceh (1511-1650). One of the prominent scholars of Aceh is Nuruddin Muhammad bin 'Ali bin Hasanji bin Muhammad Hamid al-Raniri al-Quraisyi al-Shafi'i, known as Nuruddin al-Raniri (d. 1658). Al-Raniri was an 'ulama, sufi, jurist and man of letters as well as a historian during the rule of Sultan Iskandar Thani (1636-1641). As a historian, al-Raniri contributes greatly to the development of a new form of Malay historical writing through his concept of universal history and the concept of Islamic history that are manifested in his work on history entitled Bustan al-Salatin fi Dhikr al-Awwalin wa al-Akhirin (The Garden of the Kings on the Recollection of the Past and Present). Therefore, this article attempts to accentuate Bustan al-Salatin as a book of Islamic history through the discussion about the structure of Bustan al-Salatin and al-Raniri's purpose of writing Bustan.
Tidak dapat dipungkiri bahwa saat ini hampir semua negara di dunia telah mengalami dampak dari globalisasi. Sebagai sebuah "ruang interaksi", era globalisasi bisa dilihat sebagai arena kontestasi yang terjadi antarberbagai elemen kehidupan manusia di seluruh negara dunia. Dalam proses ini, globalisasi memberikan dampak yang mendua. Di satu sisi, globalisasi memberikan ruang keterbukaan terhadap setiap negara untuk mempromosikan nilai-nilai budayanya kepada negara lain. Akan tetapi, di sisi yang lain globalisasi menjadi ranah pertarungan bagi nilai-nilai yang ada di dunia. Nilai yang lebih dominan akan berkuasa dan yang tidak akan tunduk atau berakulturasi dengan yang menang.
Annotation is a paratextual element of Malay manuscripts that has been little studied. This preliminary investigation draws on recently digitised material to survey the varieties of annotation in both literary and kitab manuscripts, highlighting the significant differences between the two manuscript corpora. The main categories of annotation in literary manuscripts include ownership marks, doodling and probatio pennae, warnings about the contents of the texts, pictorial annotation, and, rarest of all, readers’ responses to the text. However, annotation is found in far greater quantities in kitab manuscripts, suggesting that the surau or similar religious establishment was the more definitively literate milieu – in spite of the central importance of oral instruction and of personal relationships between teacher and student. Annotation in kitab manuscripts consists mainly of scholarly glosses, including cross-references to other works or authorities, and translation into Malay, along with notes taken down by a student while being instructed by a teacher, and occasional more personal comments. The article concludes with a case study of annotation in a kitab compendium from the collection of Surau Syeikh Abdurrahman in Lima Puluh Kota, West Sumatra. Digitised as part of an Endangered Archives Programme project, the manuscript is heavily annotated in a number of hands. The earlier annotation, including scholarly references, translation glosses and ‘lecture notes’, is typical of kitab manuscripts and of Islamic manuscripts more generally. The most recent annotation, dating to the 1990s, reveals an apparent collapse in that pedagogic tradition, most likely related to the controversies of Minangkabau Sufism that occured over the manuscript’s life.
In the first part of the paper I introduce stanzas 95-126 of Sarga 24 and the whole of Sarga 25 of the Old Javanese Rāmāyaṇa, which present the most difficult and least understood pieces of poetry in the whole of Old Javanese literature. The two sections, displaying a close relationship between each other on account of several shared lexical items and corresponding motifs, describe in allegorical terms animals, birds and plants in order to satirically represent ascetic and political characters of mid-9th century Central Java. Because of their idiosyncratic language and style, and because of their allegorical content which find no correspondences in the Bhaṭṭikāvya or other Sanskrit versions of the Rāmāyaṇa, they have been for long regarded as a ‘corpus alienum’ in the poem. The thesis of interpolation was criticized by Hooykaas (1958a/b/c), who, however, did not rule out the possibility of their having been composed by a ‘second hand’. Having tried to distinguish the various textual layers that characterize those sections, I turn to analyse their contents along the lines set out in the masterful article by Aichele (1969) ‘Vergessene Metaphern als Kriterien der Datierung des altjavanischen Rāmāyaṇa’, discussing the allegories depicted there in comparison with the contemporary Śiwagṛha metrical inscription. By taking into account additional Old Javanese textual and visual documents, I suggest a fine-tuning for some of the identifications advanced by the German scholar. In particular, I argue that the character of Wibhīṣaṇa (instead of Lakṣmaṇa, as argued by Aichele) in the poem could allegorically represent King Rakai Kayuwaṅi, and that the satirical descriptions of various kinds of water-birds of the heron family deceiving the freshwater fishes are to be taken as a critique directed to historical figures representing covert agents of the Śailendra prince Bālaputra disguised as Śaiva (and not Buddhist) ascetics. My conclusion is that the satirical themes displayed in the stanzas represent a case of ‘localization’ of materials widespread in Sanskrit literature, which should be taken into due consideration in order to understand the identity and religious affiliation of the ascetic figures allegorically represented in Sargas 24 and 25.
The pau-paunna Indale Patara is a Bugis literary work about the vicissitudes and quest of a young prince, written in free prose style with beautiful language. The story is based on the well-known Malay hikayat Inderaputera, itself derived from an earlier Indian work, but was adapted and transformed by the Bugis in order to make it meaningful to their own society. In this article, I discuss various cultural concepts that the Bugis introduced and embedded within the story and manifest in the character of the hero, Indale Patara. In the story, these concepts interact with the mystical form of Islam that the South Sulawesi rulers converted to at the beginning of the 17th century. In particular, Ibn al-Arabi's concept of the "perfect man." I demonstrate the Sufiaspects of the story and show that only by combining Islamic and Bugis qualities and characteristics could Indale Patara become the perfect man.
This article examines the active roles played by Muslim activists in agitating for the expansion of the functions of Sharia (Muslim legal and ethical code) within a given country's constitution and in society at large. Using the Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) – the largest Muslim youth movement in Malaysia – as an illustrative case study, the article examines a process which I term as “demarginalizing the Sharia” by Muslim activists, which connotes an endeavour to reformulate and reassert the position of the Sharia to cover all aspects of the country's laws. Building upon recent works on Islamic activism and drawing from various strands of social movement theory, this essay attempts to conceptualize and explain the various tactics which Muslim movements such as ABIM had adopted to make the case for the Sharia to wield a wider influence in the public domain. Among the tactics which will be discussed are institutional subversion, ideological collaboration and dramatic contention, all of which have been utilized by Muslim activists since the advent of global Islamic resurgence in the 1970s.
This paper discusses the functions of traditional Malay literature as a platform for the formation of human civilisation to create a just leader in fulfilling his responsibility as a caliph of Allah on earth. Justice in Islam means to put something in the exact, right and proper position in all aspects of human life. Justice becomes one of the important pillars in human life, especially for a leader. The data of this study involves the edited texts of traditional Malay literature, consisting of a variety of genres produced or copied from the 15th to 19th century, namely Hikayat Maharaja Ali, Hikayat Raja Pasai, Taj al-Salatin, Bustan al-Salatin, Thamarat al-Muhimmah, Hikayat Abu Syahmah, Hikayat Raja Jumjumah and Hikayat Ibrahim ibn Adham. This study explores and analyzes the texts of traditional Malay literature by using an adab approach based on the Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas (2001) frame work. As an adab literature, this study demonstrates that the works of traditional Malay literature could assume as a major role in forming the just leader. Traditional Malay literary works serve as planters of noble manners to create a balanced human both mentally and physically. Elements of justice presented through the traditional Malay literary works have become guidelines for audience in seeking for a guided relationship both with their Creator (hablumminaLLah) and fellow human beings (hablumminannas) as well as explicating the divine purpose of every living human being in this world – to become His vicegerent and servant. Every leader has to implement this dual role with just and balanced. As His servants, the leader needs to obey all His commandments and use their wisdom to guide their lives. As His vicegerent, the just leader needs to perform their duties and responsibilities with trust, and fairness in resolving the problems and sentencing.
L.Y. Andaya
Cet article cherche à montrer, ce qu'on a longtemps méconnu, qu'Aceh a été un important État malais, dans la lignée de Srivijaya et de Melaka. À son apogée, il offrait un nouveau modèle de société malaise, caractérisée par des liens exceptionnellement forts avec l'ensemble du monde musulman. L'appartenance à l'islam était devenue un élément capital dans la définition d'Aceh en tant qu'Etat malais, et c'est ce qui a permis à l'islam de devenir synonyme de «malayité». Un grand nombre de coutumes et de modes de gouvernement en vigueur à Aceh entre le début du XVIe et la fin du XVIIe siècle tiraient leur origine de modèles musulmans. Lorsque Johor est parvenu à supplanter Aceh en tant que force politique et culturelle dominante au sein du monde malais, c'est Johor qui est devenu la référence de la malayité. Et c'est à partir de ce moment que dans l'historiographie des Malais de la Péninsule tout comme dans l'historiographie coloniale, on a cessé de reconnaître le rôle historique d'Aceh au sein de la communauté culturelle malaise et qu'on l'a considéré comme une entité à part au sein de l'Archipel.
The thesis examines traditional sources of power, control and indigenous socio-political systems
in the Malay world. In doing so, it looks at the north-western Malaysian kingdom of Kedah,
acknowledged as the oldest unbroken Malay royal line and one of the oldest in the Muslim world.
The study explores Kedah’s unique geopolitical, spiritual and environmental features. It
argues that Kedah does not follow, and in fact, often seems to contradict what has been
commonly accepted as the “typical model” of the traditional Malay state. Thus it concludes
that the ruling dynasty has historically exploited a wide range of unique environmental
conditions, local traditions, global spiritual trends and economic forces to preserve and strengthen
its political position. The thesis attempts to offer a new understanding, not only of Kedah, but of
the political and cultural development of the entire Malay world and of its relationships within its
continental and maritime settings.
Penubuhan Universiti Nanyang (Nantah) dilihat lebih bersifat destruktif daripada konstruktif oleh pemerintah kolonial dan pihak lain yang tertentu, berikutan penubuhannya pada ketika politik di Singapura dan Tanah Melayu bergelora dengan isu pembinaan identiti kebangsaan. Tetapi, senario itu telah mencetuskan semangat mahasiswa Nantah untuk mempelajari bahasa dan sastera Melayu dengan gigih dan konsisten sehingga berjaya melahirkan beberapa orang sarjana, peneliti dan pengamal bahasa Melayu yang disegani masa kini. Namun, sumbangan dan peranan mereka jarang diketengahkan secara tegas dalam wacana ilmiah pengajian Alam Melayu, apatah lagi penobatan dengan sewajarnya. Rencana ini cubs mendokumentasi ke- sarjanaan dua orang tokoh lepasan Nantah dalam membentuk fahaman dan tanggapan masyarakat Cina secara umum terhadap bahasa dan sastera Melayu, selain melihat ciri-ciri yang boleh dirumuskan daripada bentuk dan proses penglibatan mereka. ABSTRACT The establishment of Nanyang University (Nantah) was seen to be more de- structive than constructive in the eyes of colonial masters and others, because the timing coincided with the political whirlwind surrounding the develop- ment of national identity in Singapore and Malaysia. That scenario interest- ingly aroused a keen interest among the students of Nantah in learning Malay language and literature. As a result, several respectful scholars and research- ers in these two fields appeared. Nevertheless, their contributions and roles have seldom been publicized in the academic discourse on Malay world stud- ies until now This article attempts not only to review the scholarship of two prominent figures from Nantah in moulding the understanding and opinion of the Chinese community about Malay language and literature, but also to summarize the characteristics they shared in their involvement.
The literature on the cultural interrelations of East and West published up to the present time is enormous. Even so, every new scholarly study in this field cannot but provoke interest, so important is the topic, particularly today in the era of so-called globalization. The books under review here, edited and introduced by Andrew Gerstle (SOAS) and Anthony Milner (ANU),1 are based on papers presented at conferences held by the Humanities Research Centre of the Australian National University. The theme of the conferences—‘Europe and the Orient‘—attracted a great number of specialists in art history, musicology, anthropology and history, Asianists and Europeanists, from Europe, the United States and Australia. It is worth noting that the most of the papers are based on published works in which their authors have discussed the same or closely related topics. In presenting the principal ideas of those publications, these collections of papers form a ‘miniature library’ of works on East-West comparative cultural studies. The interdisciplinarity of the articles—their extraordinary ‘polyphony’, the diversity of their often mutually contradictory and polemical approaches, judgements and evaluations—reveals the complexity, multifacetedness and theoretical difficulties which are only too characteristic of the study of comparative culture. The reader is here provided with quite a complete picture of the contemporary state of the field, as well as of the strong and weak sides of its investigations. This breadth of coverage is one of the main strengths of the volumes.
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