Hang Tuah and the Prophet Khidr - some miles out from Mecca, a long, long time ago

My very own copy, almost 50 years old.
A gift from Heche...

Hikayat Hang Tuah (The Tale of Hang Tuah) is an ancient manuscript of old Malay literature. It has been approached more for its literary style and depth, rather than as a historical document, as 'fables' and 'tales' often are, such as the tale of King Arthur and his Excalibur.

When I mentioned to a dear friend recently, that I am currently reading this opus, he wryly commented, "Well, you know... its all tahyul (superstition and fantasy)." I kept my peace but I thought (silently to myself), "But isn't God the biggest 'tahyul' of them all? Tahyul in the context of something that cannot be seen and verified by the human eye? Him and His angels and the droves of Djinn that as Muslims, we are still bound to believe in?" But I felt it best to leave the metaphysical debates aside (for now), and we chatted on to other matters.

Well, to begin with, Hang Tuah is the hero, the Malay arch-type of virtue, courage and loyalty in the Malay consciousness, myth and history. Myth because some of the events which he took part in are of true supernatural nature, but historical because he was referenced by chroniclers of the old Melaka Sultanate. He was a warrior, palace captain, statesman and admiral of the Sultan. And he was also very much a human being, as is depicted in the narrative of the Hikayat. The Hikayat itself is not very descriptive and is told more as a narration as you will see in the excerpt below. I do not guarantee the accuracy of some of the old malay words, but I think I managed to get the gist of the meaning.

I find this particular story interesting because it involved Hang Tuah (known here as the Laksamana, meaning an Admiral or Commodore) on a very long journey from Melaka to Constantinople (Istanbul) as the head delegate of the Sultan of Melaka to the Caliph. Along the way however, the Laksamana and the Maharaja Setia (I think he's a courtier and ambassador of the Sultan) along with their delegation and crew of a few hundred men landed in 'Judah' which is in fact present day Jeddah, the port city that serves the holy city of Mecca and Medina. From there they decided to visit Mecca. It was so hot, the Hikayat recalled, that the caravan only traveled at night and it was in this journey, still some way from Mecca that this excerpt continues. Where the Laksamana Hang Tuah found himself in the presence of the Prophet Khidr -

"Thereupon, the Laksamana walked towards a secluded place to relieve himself. And along the way he saw an old man sitting upon a white rock ( that is as white) like washed cotton. And when the old man saw the Laksamana coming near, immediately the old man came down and walked towards the Laksamana, with greetings of salam (peace) upon the Laksamana. And verily did the Laksamana return the courteous salutations of the old man. "O' Laksamana (said the old man), please lend me a silver tale, for I am a hungry poor dervish (darwish) unable to buy even bread.

Looking at the old man closer, the Laksamana felt, "This is no dervish, to my mind, this is either a Prophet or a Saint of God." The Laksamana then took two to three silver riyal from his pocket and offered them to the old man. But the old man only took one riyal and thereafter he embraced the Laksamana and kissed his head while saying, "My son Laksamana, please take this chembul (a pot or small receptacle to keep liquid) and when you are unable to speak the language of the people (that you will meet), pour out some of the water in this chembul and wipe it on your lips and your ears, that you may converse with them. I am the Prophet Khidr.

Whereupon the old man vanished into thin air..."

Did you say Khi.... *poof*

Khidr is an ancient Prophet of old. There is some tale of him that I am aware of, and most famous is his encounter with the red-haired, red-bearded and fiery Prophet Moses. That's what I mean, he's been around for ages. And according to my friends, Khidr is with us still... doing all sorts of stuff for God and Prophet(pbuh), tweaking events and people on earth as per Divine Orders. Fascinating stuff.

I really must disappear now (like Khidr). Thanks for dropping in, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Ghosts, mini Gollums, Vampires and Ponti-babies!

That is not Gollum. That is a Toyol. Entrepreneurial Malays often employ such supernatural creatures
to burgle houses. They are not actually scary but more of a nuisance. If found out however, the
enterprising owner is often chased out of the village. 

Ghosts! In Malay tradition, the role of the supernatural creatures is often cast in a woman with long black hair called a pontianak. I do not know if she would actually drink blood, but she can do some psychological damage, and sometimes even physical damage. The types that do actually drink blood are what is known as toyol, which is kinda like a mini-me version of gollum. The toyol is normally a kept creature, and the owner would often use him for theft and mischief. If the toyol does not get its fill, the owner would have to give his own blood for his little employee. Why, even a Toyol deserves minimum wage. I think they are unionised. 

Maya Karin, acting her role as a Pontianak. The Pontianak is often  said to have died
in a violent death or often enough during labor. There she is carrying her dead child
and looking mightily pissed off. 

Pontianak! Many eons ago when dinasours roamed the Earth, my brother used to hang out at his friends' house where they listened to music, played guitar and smoked the occasional weed. On one particular night, most of the guys were downstairs watching TV when suddenly they heard a friend, whom I shall discreetly call Mr. Pink shouting from the 2nd floor, "Ponti-baby! Ponti-baby! Ponti-baby!" They rushed up and found Mr. Pink in a state of mild surprise, cheerfully sharing that while he was sitting by the window, an apparition of a Pontianak appeared floating outside. (anak is child or baby in Malay). He wasn't actually terrified, in fact Mr. Pink appear amused by the incident.

From the Japanese movie 'RINGU' later adapted by Hollywood into 'The Ring'.
She looks like a pontianak too. I think it's an Asian thing...

Clawed from behind! The house where they liked to party was on a hill with jungle all around it, and neighbouring houses pretty distant from one another. They were old government quarters from the time of the British empire. One of my brother's friend's house is actually in the area and one night he chose to go back alone. The guys were standing by the door watching him, Mr. Blue walking away into the dark night, along the stretch of road barely lit and pressed on both sides by the jungle. As they looked on suddenly they noticed that directly above Mr. Blue, was a figure in white with long black tresses sitting or standing on the branches of the jungle canopy that stretched across the road. They looked on in stunned silence as Mr. Blue, blissfully ignorant, walked beneath the Pontianak. But after a couple of yards further the ghostly figure floated down from the trees behind him and moved with great speed towards Mr. Blue's retreating back, "Hey! Hey! Hey! Watch out...!!!" The boys shouted but to no avail. The next thing they witnessed was Mr. Blue sprawled on the ground. The Pontianak was gone. They ran as fast as they could to him and found him groaning with some pain, "Oh...oh.. what the hell happened?" sputtered Mr. Blue. My brother found the back of Mr. Blue's shirt torn and on his back were red welts and scars akin to someone clawing their talons into his back.

Mother? Which is Mother? On one bright afternoon in the same house, the mother wanted to go out and asked her son to drive. Mr. Green was a bit tired, but being the dutiful son that he is, grumbled, "Okay... okay, I am coming." He trudged downstairs and looked out to the front yard and found his mother, obviously in a hurry, already waiting in the car. Raising an eyebrow in surprise, he found the keys on the side table and hurried to the car. "Where are we going anyway?" He mumbled as he got into the driver seat next to his mom. He turned the ignition and the old car faithfully started to roar into life. Suddenly the front door of the house opened and his mother was shouting at him, "Where do you think you are going, son?! I am still getting ready!" ... Uh Oh. If that is his mother there, then who the heck is he sitting next to? Mr. Blue quietly turned off the engine, got out of the car and went into the kitchen for a calming glass of water.

Hehehe. I actually wanted to write a short review of two horror books I read recently. I somehow got diverted I guess, reminiscing on the few ghost stories my brother once shared with me. I will do the books next time. Hope you enjoyed this brief diversion.

Have a beautiful day, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will find a Way