Hikayat Abdullah
Encyclopedia
Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir
Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir , also known as Munshi Abdullah, was a Malayan writer of Indian origin. He was a famous Malacca-born Indian munshi of Singapore and died in Jeddah, then part of the Ottoman Empire ....
, a Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
-born Munshi
Munshi
Munshi was the Hindi-Urdu name of a contractor, writer or secretary, used in Mughal Empire and later British India of the native language teachers or secretaries employed by Europeans....
of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. It was completed in 1845 and first published in 1849, making it one of the first Malay literary texts being published commercially. Abdullah’s authorship was prominently displayed in this text and the contents were conveyed in simple, contemporary Malay. Unlike typical classical Malay literary works that contains fantasies and legendary stories, the Abdullah’s work dealt with realism.
The work has been described as Abdullah’s autobiography and contains his personal but perceptive view of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
society at the beginning of 19th century. It recounts a glimpse of his early childhood in Malacca, his own experiences like an operation performed upon him by an English surgeon or his visit to an encampment of Tiandihui
Tiandihui
The Tiandihui is a fraternal organization that originated in China. The Hongmen grouping is today more or less synonymous with the whole Tiandihui concept, although the title "Hongmen" is also claimed by some criminal groups.As the Tiandihui spread through different counties and provinces, it...
, a Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
secret society in the interior of Singapore, and about events like the founding of Singapore Institution, the demolition of the old A Famosa
A Famosa
A Famosa is a Portuguese fortress located in Malacca, Malaysia. It is among the oldest surviving European architectural remains in Asia. The Porta de Santiago, a small gate house, is the only remaining part of the fortress still standing....
fort in Malacca, and the visit of Lord Minto, the Governor-General of India
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
to Malacca. Most of the work also contains his personal observations of the personalities of his time, the officials of the English East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
like Sir Stamford Raffles, Colonel Farquhar
William Farquhar
Major-General William Farquhar was an employee of the East India Company, and the first Resident of colonial Singapore.-Early life:Farquhar was born at Newhall, Aberdeenshire, near Aberdeen in 1774, and joined the East India Company as a cadet when he was 17...
and John Crawfurd
John Crawfurd
John Crawfurd , Scottish physician, and colonial administrator and author, was born in the island of Islay, Scotland...
, Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor Sultanate
Johor Sultanate
The Sultanate of Johor was founded by Malaccan Sultan Mahmud Shah's son, Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah II in 1528. Johor was part of the Malaccan Sultanate before the Portuguese conquered Malacca's capital in 1511...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
missionaries and traders, and the Chinese merchants of the early Singapore days. The book was published in Roman script in 1915 by William Shellabear
William Shellabear
William Girdlestone Shellabear was a "pioneer" scholar and missionary in Malaysia. He was known for both his appreciation of Muslim society and also his translation of the Bible into the Malay language...
.