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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 11, No. 1
Publication Date: January 25, 2024
DOI:10.14738/assrj.111.16361.
Effendy, C. & Asrori, M. (2024). The Existence of Classical Malay Literature in the Era of Industrial Revolution 4.0. Advances in Social
Sciences Research Journal, 11(1). 208-220.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
The Existence of Classical Malay Literature in the Era of
Industrial Revolution 4.0
Chairil Effendy
Study Program of Indonesian Language
Faculty of Teacher Training and Education
Universitas Tanjungpura, Pontianak, Indonesia
Muhammad Asrori
Study Program of Guidance and Counselling
Faculty of Teacher Training and Education
Universitas Tanjungpura, Pontianak, Indonesia
ABSTRACT
This study aims to investigate the structure of Syair Gulung that are still being
created, the materials, themes, the publics’ acceptance and the effectiveness of syair
gulung. The Syair Gulung were studied from three books, namely Syair Bunga
Jambu, Syair Gulung Ketapang and Kumpulan Naskah Lomba Syair Gulung. The
heuristic and hermeneutic reading methods were used in this study. The findings
indicate that the structure of Syair Gulung was relatively similar to the hundred- years-old general verse pattern: the opening and closing stanzas were formulaic,
consisting of four words, rhyming a-a-a-a. Some of the materials that were
processed into poetry came from folklore and some from daily social activities. The
themes of Syair Gulung were related to love, greed, preservation of Malay culture,
love for Islam and the Prophet of Muhammad as well as effort to create and maintain
the harmonization of the nation and state. At the same time, given the fact that until
present, Syair Gulung are still being created and sung on various occasions, even
being contested among students and the general public. It can interpret that Syair
Gulung are still effective in carrying out the function as a medium for conveying
certain messages.
INTRODUCTION
The Indonesian modern literature was divided into large groups, namely prose and poetry.
Prose was divided into many genres such romance, novel, novelette, short story and sketches,
while poetry divided into poems, rhymes, and gurindam. Prose delivered in the form of poetry
was usually called rhythmic prose or lyric poetry [1].
Poem is genre of Indonesian poetry. In the history of Indonesian literature, poem was grouped
as old poetry alongside traditional poetry, gurindam, karmina and rubai. Not a few Indonesian
literatures have long used poetry as a vehicle for conveying various importance messages.
Various forms of saga among Malay community in the archipelago (Nusantara) are usually
presented in the form of poems, for examples Hikayat Hang Tuah, Hikayat Nabi Bercukur,
Hikayat Nahkoda, Hikayat Aceh, Hikayat Pangeran Diponegoro, and Hikayat Sultan Syarif.
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Effendy, C. & Asrori, M. (2024). The Existence of Classical Malay Literature in the Era of Industrial Revolution 4.0. Advances in Social Sciences
Research Journal, 11(1). 208-220.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.111.16361
In ancient times, poetry was commonly sung and listened to together in various places, such as
palaces, village hall, wedding, circumcisions, seven months pregnant congratulations, baby hair
cutting congratulations, etc. Fragments of poetry are even sung or hummed in melodious voices
by mothers in the villages while putting their children to sleep on their laps or in swings [2].
In line with the development of modern times, in pockets of Malay culture, both in Kalimantan
and Sumatera, the existence of poems, especially poem activities, is decreasing over times. The
causal factors, perhaps humming poem requires special skills, requires a melodious voice, and
must be good at reading Jawi letters. This phenomenon is different from pantun. Rhyming
remains popular and always colors various important activities of the Malay community. The
activities of proposing to the bride and groom, holding wedding and nuptials, official events in
offices are always accompanied by the delivery of rhymes. Even the government of Indonesia
and Malaysia at the end of last year received recognition from UNESCO regarding pantun as an
Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Research Problem
Syair Gulung is a very interesting cultural phenomenon in Malay society, considering that this
cultural activity has been going on for a long time. It is not surprising that Syair Gulung has
become the cultural identity of the Malay people who were once under the auspices of one of
the oldest sultanates in West Kalimantan Barat, namely the Matan Sukadana Sultanate.
In the midst of an era of very rapid societal changes, where regional cultural forms are
disappearing little by little, the existence of Kangkreangan poem which continues survive, even
develop, is interesting to research and study in more depth. Therefore, this research problem
was formulated in the following research questions:
1. Is it possible that as a means of communication, Syair Gulung if effective in conveying
the message sent?
2. Is it possible that the various message conveyed, including criticism, can be accepted
because they are expressed artistically so that they are not painful for those who hear
them, or even feel entertained?
3. What materials are commonly used as topic or theme in Syair Gulung?
4. Does the Syair Gulung still follow the standard of writing poetry as was common in
poetry forms in the past?
5. As a narrative poem that has a story, what stories are contained in the Syair Gulung?
Research Purpose
This research on phenomenal Syair Gulung in the Malay community of Ketapang, West
Kalimantan aims to examine in depth the following matters:
1. Structure of Syair Gulung
2. Material used to compose Syair Gulung
3. Themes of Syair Gulung
4. Material contained in the Syair Gulung
5. Standard rules for writing Syair Gulung
6. Stories told in the Syair Gulung
THEORETICAL REVIEW
Literature is actually a social fact. It grows, great and develops amidst the development of
society. It is produced by someone as a member of society. The literary work that has been
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 11, Issue 1, January-2024
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
produced is then sung if it is oral form. Rather, it is printed, published and read alone or
together by members of community. In this increasingly advanced and complicated world,
literature a social fact involves more elements, namely the selection of publishers, critics and
others. Some literary works are then adopted into theatre, films, or also the themes of certain
songs. Literary activities are then related to other social activities, such as tourism, religion and
the market economy.
Literary raw materials vary, but of course they start from human life as a social fact as well.
Material which will later be processed using artistic techniques so that it emerges in the form
of a literary work manuscript, it can take any form, such as romance with all its intricacies,
conflict and hostility, the sorrow of humans living in a country devastated by war, education in
the household or at school, socio-cultural and religious practices of one community in one
region and so on.
Indonesia is a country with a very large area, covering more than 17,000 islands, has hundreds
of ethnic groups, have more than 700 regional languages and cultures. With a vast territory and
the variety of language and culture that exist, it is not surprising that there are many literary
works, both in traditional and modern forms, in the form of oral and written literature. Even
though the influence of the modern world has reached remote areas in rural areas, traditional
literature in the form of oral and written literature has not disappeared. These two forms of
literature continue to coexist and contribute to each other.
There are many forms of traditional literature in this region of Indonesia. There is what is called
folk literature, Indian Epics, Panji stories, framed stories, book literature, historical literature
and literary works in the form of poetry such as rhymes and poetry [3]. Within each of these
genre divisions, there are many treasures of Indonesian literature. Some literary works that
came from the past have been collected and preserved to this day, but quite a few have been
damaged or become extinct. There are many factors causing this, such as humid air, being eaten
by termites, burning, being destroyed by floods, and so on. Some of those saved are in the
country, but some are abroad, stored in museums and libraries around the world, such as in the
Netherlands, England, Germany, Russia, Malaysia, and others.
Some of the old literary works that have been saved have been read and researched or studied,
but for the most part they are still lying around untouched by experts to examine them. Such
condition can occur because fewer people do not understand the ancient scripts and languages
used as literary media, such as Javanese, Lampung, Bugis-Makassar and Arabic-Malay scripts
(pegon letters). Thus, there is still a wide-open field for the study of traditional Indonesian
literature and the archipelago (Nusantara). He is waiting for the presence of experts who want
to greet, touch, read and research him [4]. There is still a lot of information about Indonesian
and Indonesian culture in the past that has not yet been opened and told to the nation’s children
today.
Poem as a genre of traditional literature or classical Malay literature is interesting to pay
attention to. It is said by Vladimir Braginsky that poetry is: "The main genre form of classical
Malay poetry, with the evolution, functions, thematic varieties, and stylistic features of
narrative poems. That the genre forms a syair was used in all functional spheres of classical
Malay literature” [5].