Hikayat Seri Rama — The Malay Ramayana Harry Aveling Writers Workshop Rs.900; Pages 287 Shekhar Sen (The Book Review) The remarkable story of the Indianisation of South-east Asia is an instance of historical spontaneity. Hinduism and Buddhism travelled there with indomitable traders, adventurers and priests carrying along their religion and culture which the local populace accepted enthusiastically. What impressed them most was perhaps tales from the two Indian Sanskrit epics. These permeated their social customs, religion, literature, folklore, art, sculpture and architecture. In time, they had their own Ramayana and Mahabharata. The Ramayana underwent changes here to include local stories, non-Valmiki lores which sailors, traders and travellers heard during their visits to Indian ports. Thus we have Rama Zadtaw/Rama Thagyin (Burma), Ramakien (Thailand), Reamkien/Ramakirti (Khmer), Pha Lak Pha Lam (Laos) along with Phra Ram Sadok (a Buddhist Jataka version), Ramayana Kakawin (Indonesia), Ramacavacha (Bali), Hikayat Seri Rama (Malaya), and Maharadia Lawana (Philippines). As Hindu and Buddhist influence waned in South-east Asia, by the early 16th century its Islamisation was almost complete. Interestingly, though the dominant religion changed, cultural traditions did not, but minor changes were brought in: “…the text was written down for a Muslim court… which was still conservative enough to like the old tales of the Hindu period, provided they were presented in a form which Muslim pundits could condone”. The Ramayana was Islamised in Malaya and named Hikayat Seri Rama (HSR), meaning, ‘The Story of Sri Rama’. The script was Arabic and Allah replaced the Hindu Triad and his Prophet was named Adam/Nabi who blessed Rawana. Sita asked Hanuman to pay his respects to the stone on which Nabi Adam landed on earth; the roots, leaves and bark of the tree planted by Nabi Adam were medicines to revive Rama; and Dasharatha was Nabi Adam’s great-grandson. Of the two major versions of the book extant in South-east Asia, author Harry Aveling chose HSR the older one, “an edition of the Malay manuscript… presented in 1633 by William Laud to the Bodleian Library at Oxford”, edited by WG Shellabear and published in 1915. HSR follows the Valmiki Ramayana mainframe but woven into the narrative are motifs which can be traced back to Indian non-Valmiki stories and local tales. Travelling through time and space, a lot of confusion involving the characters and incidents entered the narrative. Dasarata (HSR spelling) is still Rama’s father who marries Mandu-dari, not Kaushalya, finding her in a bamboo bush, has two sons from her, Rama and Laksamana, and two from Bali-dari (Kaikeyi), a concubine, Bardan (Bharata) and Chatardan (Shatrughna). Since Rama is naughty, Dasarata, at Mandu-dari’s suggestion, gives the kingdom to Bardan. It is also a reward to Bali-dari for saving the royal couple from a fatal accident and relieving the King’s pain by sucking pus out of a boil. The Manthara-Kaikeyi conspiracy is absent. Mandu-dari is Maha Bisnu’s daughter. This provides Rama with a great ancestry: on one side he descends from Maha Bisnu and on the other from Nabi Adam. Sita is…
