Sirih Penang

Sirih junjung sirih pinang

Sirih kami susun bertingkat
Adat dijunjung pusaka dikenang
Bangsa berbudi hidup muafakat

Sirih junjung sirih pinang

Sirih kuning diberi nama
Adat dijunjung pusaka dikenang
Hidup berbudi muafakat bersama

Sirih kuning sirih dara

Sirih tanya berserta cincin
Hidup beradat aman sejahtera
Budaya lama tetap terjamin

Sirih kuning diberi nama

Sirih tanya berserta cincin
Hidup berunding muafakat bersama
Bangsa mulia budaya dijamin

Orang Jawa turun ke dusun

Singgah sejenak di pinggir kota
Kami bawa sirih tersusun
Sudilah sepiak pembuka kata

Pantun
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The pantun is a Malay poetic form. The pantun originated as a traditional oral form
of expression. The first examples to be recorded appear in the 15th century in the
Malay Annals and the Hikayat Hang Tuah. The most common theme is love.

In its most basic form the pantun consists of a quatrain which employs an abab rhyme
scheme. A pantun is traditionally recited according to a fixed rhythm and as a rule of
thumb, in order not to deviate from the rhythm, every line should contain between
eight and 12 syllables. "The pantun is a four-lined verse consisting of alternating,
roughly rhyming lines. The first and second lines sometimes appear completely
disconnected in meaning from the third and fourth, but there is almost invariably a
link of some sort. Whether it be a mere association of ideas, or of feeling, expressed
through assonance or through the faintest nuance of a thought, it is nearly always
traceable" (Sim, page 12). The pantun is highly allusive and in order to understand it
readers generally need to know the traditional meaning of the symbols the poem
employs. An example (followed by a translation by Katharine Sim):

Tanam selasih di tengah padang,

Sudah bertangkai diurung semut,
Kita kasih orang tak sayang,
Halai-balai tempurung hanyut.
I planted sweet-basil in mid-field
Grown, it swarmed with ants,
I loved but am not loved,
I am all confused and helpless.

According to Sim, halai-balai tempurung hanyut literally means "a floating coconut
shell at sixes and sevens". Selasih (sweet basil) means "lover", because it rhymes with
kekasih. Other frequently recurring symbols are the flower and the bee meaning the
girl and her lover, the squirrel (tupai) meaning a seducer, and the water hyacinth
(bunga kiambang) meaning love that will not take root. Pantuns often make use of
proverbs as well as geographical and historical allusions, for example the following
poem by Munshi Abdullah:

Singapura negeri baharu,

Tuan Raffles menjadi raja,
Bunga melur, cempaka biru,
Kembang sekuntum di mulut naga.
Singapore is a new country,
Tuan Raffles has become its lord,
Indian jasmine, frangipanni,
Blossoms one flower in the dragon's mouth. (Translated by Sim, p.40)

This alludes to the foundation of Singapore in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles. The last
line means a girl who is protected by a powerful man and Sim suggests this may refer
to Raffles' wife Olivia.

Sometimes a pantun may consist of a series of interwoven quatrains, in which case it

is known as a pantun berkait. This follows the abab rhyme scheme with the second
and fourth lines of each stanza becoming the first and third lines of the following
stanza. Finally, the first and third lines of the first stanza become the second and
fourth lines of the last stanza, usually in reverse order so that the first and last lines of
the poem are identical. This form of pantun has exercised the most influence on
Western literature where it is known as the pantoum.
Mula Berpantun / Beginners' Pantun:
Malaysia (Negeri Sembilan)
Saya tidak pandai menari,
Sebarang tari saya tarikan;
Saya tidak pandai menyanyi,
Sebarang nyanyi saya nyanyikan.
(Pantun Melayu, bil. 1, Wilkinson and
Winstedt)
Kita menari keluar bilik,
Sebarang tari kita tarikan;
Kita bernyanyi adik beradik,
Sebarang nyanyi kita nyanyikan.
(Pantun Melayu, bil. 2, Wilkinson and
Winstedt)
Cempedak di luar pagar,
Tarik galah tolong jolokkan;
Saya budak baharu belajar,
Kalau salah tolong tunjukkan.
(Pantun Melayu, bil. 3, Wilkinson and
Winstedt)
Indonesia
Buah ara, batang dibantun,
Mari dibantun dengan parang.
Hai saudara dengarlah pantun,
Pantun tidak mengata orang.
(Pantun Melayu, bil. 1, Balai
Pustaka)
Mari dibantun dengan parang,
Berangan besar di dalam padi.
Pantun tidak mengata orang,
Janganlah sak di dalam hati.
(Pantun Melayu, bil. 2, Balai
Pustaka)
Berangan besar di dalam padi,
Rumpun buluh dibuat pagar.
Jangan sak di dalam hati,
Maklum pantun saya belajar.
(Pantun Melayu, bil. 3, Balai
Pustaka)