In my earlier posting on the adat, the wisdom is found mostly in the sayings such as below:-
Memusat dari bumi
Perpuncak dari langit
Berjinjang naik
Bertangga turun
The verse above is the potrayal of order in society, for everything there must be a proper way of doing it, not arbitrarily. Every person in society has a function, regardless of one's handicap as shown below:-
Yang cerdik teman berunding
Yang bodoh disuruh arah
Yang buta menghembus lesung
Yang patah menunggu jemuran
Yang pekak mencucuh meriam
Yang berani kepala lawan
Yang alim tempat bertanya
Yang kaya tempat bernaung
Things which we take for granted, such as the house where we spend most of our lives in, has a role in adat as mentioned below:-
Rumah dibuat menurut adat
Rumah berdiri kerana budi
Rumah bangun kerana santun
Rumah ditunggu dengan ilmu
In adat perpatih, great importance is placed in proper conduct and manners in social interactions as mentioned in the sayings below:-
Kok ribut runduklah padi
Padi cupak Datuk Temenggong
Kok hidup tidak berbudi
Samalah tegak berdiri condong
Yang merah saga
Yang kurik kundi
Yang indah bahasa
Yang elok budi
Berjalan pada yang lurus
Berkata pada yang benar
Berhukum pada yang adil
Menuntut ilmu pada yang patut
Mengaji ilmu pada yang terpuji
Belajar pada yang benar
Mencontohi pada yang senonoh
Memakai pada yang sesuai
Thus if only one goes deeper into the pearls of wisdom which have been inherited through generations and take a leaf in the lessons taught in them, adat perpatih is not just a legacy from the past, but is a guide for a lifetime.
It is a small village in the kecamatan of Tambusai, Kabupaten Rokan Hulu in the Province of Riau, Sumatra. During the Padri Wars of 1830's , Tuanku Tambusai (aka known as Fakeh Hj Muhammad Salleh ) fought the Dutch forces together with Imam Bonjol and Tuanku Rao in West Sumatra and in Northern Sumatra .The last defence was in Benteng 7 Lapis,Daludalu which fell in 1838. He escaped capture and came to Malaya. He was buried in Rasah in 1882.
4 comments:
DEar Hal,
Beautiful take! Another great revelation on a heritage not easily found but not forgotten. This is a process of learning of a culture. May help better if favoured with a translation if possible!
Hank
Dear Hank,
Good suggestion and will attempt to translate the maxims from the Adat wherever possible.
It is getting better as you start putting your thinking cap on the subject which has been firmly planted in your memory bank all the years. You have lived your life alongside the practices outlined by your elders.
Many books have been written on the subject which I suggested to you. I cannot help feeliing many of those books were written by researchers or young writers. How many of them have had the education plus the job experience you have had in life - plus being in the midst of those cultural practices? If you think about that I am sure you would want to make a start from a point none of those writers ever had but research and hearsay.
My only wish now is that you are more enthused to make this a worthwhile project to rejuvenate the wilting plant, so to speak.
All the best, my friend.
Dear Pakcik,
I am indebted to you for giving me the confidence to dwell on a subject which is not given much attention by the younger generation in Negri Sembilan due to its perceived misconceptions of its relevance to modern society.
I will attempt to relate its relevance to present-day life of the Malays not just in Negri Sembilan, but for all the Malays since social interactions touch on correct behaviour and courtesy irrespective of your domain.
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