The Construction of the Malay Hero as Conceived in Hikayat Hang Tuah

  • Rahmah Bujang University of Malaya

Abstract


This article is an exposition of the legendary character of Hang Tuah in the traditional Malay literary work titled Hang Tuah edited by Kassim Ahmad (1964), which is based on the manuscript Hikayat Hang Tuah from the collection of Dewan Bahasa and Pustaka. It traces the experiences of Hang Tuah, the main character, focusing on the development of his heroism. The concept of the construction of a hero is based on Joseph Campbell's prototype model of the hero, whereby in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (first published 1949, third edition 2009), he summarizes every step of the hero's journey into three stages: departure, initiation and return. The objective of the article is to examine Hang Tuah as a heroic figure using Campbell's model as an archetype. The analysis will show the similarities in the treatment of the hero entity as an extraordinary person in Malay literature, while at the same time highlighting the most noticeable differences. The backbone of the construct is the contention that Hang Tuah's heroism runs in tandem with the concept of king and kingdom in Malay tradition.


Keywords: Hang Tuah, legendary warrior, Malay hero, hero's journey


Author Biography

Rahmah Bujang, University of Malaya

Academy of Malay Studies

References

Cheah Boon Kheng, 1998. Sejarah Melayu. Malaysian Branch Royal Asiatic Society.

http://www.svsoft.com/Archetypes,%20Myths%20and%20Characters.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hero_with_a_Thousand_Faces

Kassim Ahmad, 1964. Hikayat Hang Tuah. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Joseph Campbell Foundation, 2008. The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Collected Works of Joseph Campbell Series). California: New World Library.

Morton A. Kaplan (ed.), 2000. Character and Identity: The Sociological Foundation of Literary and Historical Perspectives. Professor World Peace Academy, U.S.A.: Paragon House Publishers.
Published
2012-12-08
How to Cite
BUJANG, Rahmah. The Construction of the Malay Hero as Conceived in Hikayat Hang Tuah. Malay Literature, [S.l.], v. 25, n. 2, p. 177-197, dec. 2012. ISSN 2682-8030. Available at: <https://jurnal.dbp.my/index.php/MalayLiterature/article/view/5346>. Date accessed: 24 nov. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.37052/ml.25(2)no3.