Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Achehnese Vol II. - tr. Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan (1906).djvu/94

 (nasib and kisah) of the recitations in the plays called ratéb. An account of these will be given later, in the chapter on games and pastimes.

Last, but not least, the hikayats are composed in sanjaʾ, or we might rather say, all that is composed in this metre, except the pantōns and nasibs and kisahs above referred to, is called hikayat. This word, which is derived from the Arabic, entirely loses in Achehnese its original signification of "story", which it has retained in Malay. The Achehnese apply the term hikayat not only to tales of fiction and religious legends, but also to works of moral instruction and even simple lesson-books, provided that the matter is expressed in verse, as is in fact the case with the great majority of Achehnese literary productions.

Another of the recognized characteristics of a hikayat is that it should commence with certain formulas in praise of Allah and his Apostle, to which are sometimes appended other general views or reflections of the author's own, till finally the actual subject is reached. This transition is almost invariably introduced by the words ajayéb sōbeuhan Alah which in the Arabic, signify "O wonderful things! Praise be to God" but which in Achehnese literature have grown to be no more than an entirely meaningless introductory phrase. The syllables are usually divided thus ajayéb sō | beuhan alah || and the fact that sōbeuhan is all one word is quite lost sight of.

A new subject or a new subdivision of the main theme is introduced by the poets as a fresh "kurangan", which latter word is equivalent to the Malay karangan, i. e. literary composition. The usual form is: ama baʾadu | dudòë nibaʾ nyan || laʾén karangan || lōn chalitra || = "Now I pass on to another subject". But kurangan has also preserved in Achehnese the meaning of a writing or essay.

Our remarks on the form of Achehnese literary works would be incomplete without some mention of the nalam. This word is the Achehnese pronunciation of the Arabic naẓm, meaning poetry. The Achehnese however understand thereby writings composed in a metre imitating one of those employed by the Arabs. I say imitating, because the Achehnese language, possessing no settled quantities, does not lend itself to the absolute application of an Arabic metre.