Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Achehnese Vol II. - tr. Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan (1906).djvu/96

 his doings in verse (sanjaʾ) with the requisite flavour of exaggeration, and the name of ruhé is given to such a composition.

The name is however also applied to humorous poems, the object of which is to move the listener to laughter without any evil intent, like John Gilpin's Ride. Such tales are more often transmitted by word of mouth than in writing.

One of the best known hikayat ruhé is the Hikayat guda (I), "the poem of the horse." This consists of some 30 verses only, and describes in humorous style how some friends slaughtered and divided among them an old horse, and what each of them did with the part that fell to his share. Thus of the tail a cheumara or native chignon was made, and one of the ribs became a princely sword, while an old woman excited laughter by her fruitless endeavours to boil soft the portion she had acquired.

Of a like nature is the Hikayat leumò (II), "the poem of the bull," containing what appear to be the disconnected reminiscences of one who was a constant frequenter of the glanggang (arena for fights of animals). It consists of a series of laughable anecdotes about famous bulls and their owners and celebrated juaras. These could however have only been properly appreciated by the coevals of the author, whose name is unknown.

Another very short story is the Hikayat ureuëng Jawa (III) which describes the crack-brained dream of a male favourite of a Javanese (or Malay) teungku. The hidden meaning seems to be that the latter had begun to neglect his favourite, who expresses his resentment of the wrong done him.

The Hikayat Pòdi Amat (IV) is much more prolix. The hero, a student in the gampōng of Klibeuët, has a dream which predicts him success in whatever he may undertake. Thereupon he goes on a journey to pursue his studies and enjoys the teaching of one Malém Jawa. But Fate has higher things in store for him. The daughter of the king of