Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Achehnese Vol II. - tr. Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan (1906).djvu/83



Under the head of Achehnese literature we comprehend all that has been composed in their own language for the pleasure, instruction and edification of the people of Acheh. I say purposely composed and not written, since the hard and fast distinction between what is and what is not preserved by means of letters cannot be consistently applied to the productions of Achehnese writers whether past or present. To make this clear let us take one or two examples.

Two heroic poems (Malém Dagang and Pòchut Muhamat) dealing with historical facts and legends of the past of Acheh, have been known in written form as far back as the memory of the people extends. Another, which in form and character quite corresponds with the two mentioned above, and which celebrates the heroic deeds of the Achehnese in their war with the Dutch, was composed gradually by a man who could neither read nor write, and was first reduced to writing in its entirety at my own instance. Yet it would be captious criticism to include the first two and not the last under the head of literature.

In the literary works of the Achehnese, pantōns are frequently introduced. There are however many other pantōns, such as those recited at the ratébs and other similar occasions, which are only transmitted by word of mouth; and yet these have often a much higher significance in relation to the intellectual side of Achehnese life than those which are interwoven in stories. Equally absurd would it be to reckon the latter only as forming a part of the literature while excluding the former.