Malay proverbs
W.E. Maxwell published this second collection of Malay proverbs in the Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1883, drawing primarily on the earlier French and Dutch lexicographical works of Abbé Favre and Klinkert while supplying his own English translations and interpretive glosses. The article represents a continuation of Maxwell’s 1878–9 series in the same journal, and its overarching purpose is to make a substantial body of Malay proverbial wisdom accessible to English-speaking students who lack proficiency in French or Dutch.
Summary
Maxwell’s introduction explains that the proverbs now published are all found in the works of Favre and Klinkert, but that he has departed from their explanations in many instances and takes responsibility for all commentary printed in small type (p. 31). He omits items that Favre classifies as proverbs but which Maxwell considers merely rhetorical expressions or idiomatic phrases. The collection is arranged alphabetically and uses a system of cross-references: Kl. with a numeral points to Klinkert’s work, M. with a numeral refers to Maxwell’s own 1878–9 collection in the Journal, and Hk. Ab. indicates a source in the Hikayat Abdullah by Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir, Munshi (p. 31).
The body of the article presents numbered proverbs in Romanized Malay (with Jawi script in later entries), followed by an English translation and a brief explanatory note. Maxwell frequently supplies regional variants, particularly from Perak, and draws parallels to biblical sayings, Siamese proverbs, and European literary sources. For instance, the elephant proverb (No. 125) is traced to a Siamese origin via Pallegroix and Low, while “The tree is known by its fruit” (No. 120) is identified as a probable translation from the New Testament rather than a genuine Malay saying (p. 54). Maxwell also corrects errors in his predecessors: he notes that Favre has misunderstood umang-umang (No. 118), that Klinkert and Favre give an incorrect form be-rasa where the proper reading is sa-rasa (No. 260), and that the Perak form of a word is mangmang rather than the amang given by Marsden (p. 40).
The collection spans the alphabetical range from Ada through Harum in the pages provided, encompassing over 260 numbered entries. The proverbs cover a wide thematic range—social conduct, the futility of certain actions, the nature of human character, and practical wisdom—often illustrated through vivid natural imagery such as crabs in shells, elephants stumbling, salt thrown into the sea, and bait exhausted without catch (pp. 54–80).
Key Findings
- The collection comprises over 260 numbered proverbs, all sourced from Favre’s Dictionnaire malais-français and Klinkert’s work, with Maxwell’s own English translations and interpretive glosses (p. 31).
- Maxwell identifies at least one proverb (No. 120, “The tree is known by its fruit”) as a translation from the New Testament rather than an indigenous Malay saying, raising questions about the authenticity of items in earlier collections (p. 54).
- The elephant-stumbling proverb (No. 125) is traced to a Siamese origin, with the Malay version described as “second-hand,” and corroborated by Pallegroix and Low (p. 54).
- Maxwell documents regional linguistic variation, noting that Perak speakers use una-kan for chorah-kan (No. 263) and mangmang for amang (p. 40), and that the Perak version of the “pull the hair from the flour” proverb differs from the standard form (p. 37).
- Several proverbs are cross-referenced to the Hikayat Abdullah, demonstrating that this literary text served as a significant repository of proverbial language in the early nineteenth century (e.g., Nos. 2, 3, 44, 123, 125, 250).
- Maxwell corrects specific errors in Favre and Klinkert, including a misidentification of umang-umang as a verb meaning “to shake” rather than a noun for the soldier-crab in a shell (No. 118, p. 54).
Conclusion
Maxwell’s collection stands as a foundational reference for the study of Malay proverbial language in the colonial period, demonstrating both the richness of the tradition and the problems of attribution that arise when proverbs circulate across linguistic and literary boundaries. His method of cross-referencing multiple sources—Favre, Klinkert, the Hikayat Abdullah, his own earlier collection, and regional fieldwork in Perak—establishes a model of philological rigor that distinguishes genuine Malay sayings from borrowed or misattributed items, while his corrections of earlier authorities underscore the value of independent verification in lexicographical work.
Context
- The Hikayat Abdullah, referenced throughout as Hk. Ab., is the autobiographical work of Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir (c. 1796–1854), a Perak munshi, and serves as one of the earliest substantial Malay prose texts to preserve colloquial proverbial usage.
- This article forms part of the JSBRAS’s early programme of publishing primary-source linguistic materials, with Maxwell’s 1878–9 series in the same journal constituting the first instalment of his proverb collection.