Back to Table of Contents 8 
To next Page

Annon: Hikayat Bayan Budiman, (Tale of the Wise Parrot)

(15th or earlier)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taken from: The Malay Tale of the Wise Parrot by Annabel Teh Gallop.

                         THE HIKAYAT RAJA BUDIMAN, edited by CLIFFORD

 

(Dating based on The Malay Tale of the Wise Parrot by Annabel Teh Gallop, 2015 Lead Curator, Southeast Asia  - British Library) It is based on a Persian original, the Tuti-nama


Khoja Maimun is married to the beautiful Siti Zainab. One day he buys a rare parrot, which can speak and foretell the future, and a mynah bird. The wonderful stories the birds tell of far-away places lead Khoja Maimun to sail off to seek his fortune, leaving his wife in the care of the birds. While her husband is away Zainab falls in love with a prince, and in order to stop her committing adultery, the parrot begins to tell a story. Carried away by the narrative, Zainab forgets her assignment, and morning comes. The next evening the parrot commences another story, and in this way he keeps Zainab rooted to her house until her husband Maimun returns from his travels.

 

(In one of the tales)

The king then asked him what he lacked, whereupon the Dragon replied that he was anxious to go to the great sea, the deep lake, where the pauh janggi grows (lautiang besar tasek tang dalam pauh janggi), as he desired to take up his abode there.

On the Pao Jengki – Pau Janggi see: Note on Pao Jengki – Pauh Janggi.