Tengku Prabu and Abdul Kadir
The syair titled “The syair was romanized by Muhammad Haji Salleh in 1994. See M. H. Salleh (1994) Syair Tantangan Singapura Abad Kesembilan Belas, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur.Syair Tĕnku Pĕrabu di nĕgĕri Singapura" can be found in Mal.-pol. 91 and Mal.-pol. 96, they are a part of the 287 Malay manuscripts stored in Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris. The syair has 162 quatrains and a concluding envoi that contains 9 quatrains (the envoi was specifically dated Note that Sultan Husain died on Wednesday, 2 September 1835 (i.e. 10 Jumada-I 1251, approximately 9 months after this syair was composed) and was buried in Tengkera, Melaka. Tengku Prabu was buried next to her husband in Tengkera in 1842.3 January 1835 = 3 Ramadhan 1250, while the earlier stanzas are signed with Ramadhan 1250).
Based on the clues given in Hikayat Abdullah, the identity of the secret lover of the Queen in the syair is probably a certain Abdul Kadir bin Ahmad Sahib. The name of the Sultan referenced in the opening stanza is not explicitly mentioned but we know he must be Sultan Husain because in [6] Di dalam kenangan tidak berputus, segala raja-raja utus-mengutus, bergaji sebulan tiga belas ratus, habis terjahanam bagai dihembus.Quatrain 6, the monthly stipend of The monthly remuneration was revised to 1,300 dollars on 19 November 1824 (Treaty of Friendship and Alliance, signed between Sultan Husain and John Crawfurd. On top of the monthly payout, Sultan Husain was also given a lump-sum payment of 33,200 dollars.)1,300 dollars was called out.
The relationship between the Queen and her lover was first mentioned in [11] Mula-mula orang menampalkan pelekat, di pintu kota konon dilekat. Tenku Perabu dengan Tambi duduk berdekat, dilihat orang suata tempat. [12] Gemparlah sekalian hamba dan sahaya, setengah orang tidak percaya, sampailah kepada miskin dan kaya, banyak yang melihat mengatakan ia.Quatr. 11 and 12. Later in [13] Hatta beberapa dianui Keling, Tenku Perabu berasa empat bulan bunting, segera dipanggil bidan yang asing, masuk ke bilik pintu dikancing. [14] Disuruh buangkan anak celaka, ditanamkan di bawah pohon cempaka, dibuangkan itu Tambi tak suka, Tenku Perabu digocoh kena di muka.Quatr. 13 and 14, we see how their 4-month-old anak celaka was aborted and buried under a Cempaka tree.
The scandal was discovered by a certain Raja Khatijah from Riau in [16] Adalah kepada suatu hari, Raja Khatijah pulak kendiri, dilihat-lihatnya laku and peri, Tenku Perabu dengan Tambi rupanya mencuri.Quatr. 16. But Raja Khatijah was forcefully dispelled from Kampung Gelam and her angry emotion was captured in Quatr. 22:
We learnt from [124] Terkena tikam Tambi memekik, katanya, Sianu menikami patik, ramailah orang datang menilik, Tenku Perabu pun berlari keluar dari bilik.Quatr. 124 that Abdul Kadir was stabbed but apparently he survived the assasination. From here, we fast-forward to a series of scenes in Melaka, which revolve around the failed attempt of Tengku Abdul Jalil was a 22-year-old man in 1835 while his half-brother Tengku Ali (mothered by Tengku Prabu) was only 11-year-old.
The throne of Sultan Husain was passed to the son of Tengku Prabu in September 1835, but his territory was restricted only to the area between Kesang River and Muar River. Sultan Ali died in 21 June 1877.
About two years later, a civil war broke out, which resulted in the handover of the Kesang-Muar fief to Temenggong Abu Bakar.Tengku Abdul Jalil (1813 - 1870) to see his ailing father, because he was blocked and prevented by Tengku Prabu. In [160] Hendaklah engkau mengakunya saudara, dunia akhirat jangan bercidera, budinya sedap sudah ketara, adik engkau dengan aku bolehlah dipelihara.Quatr. 160, the condition imposed by Tengku Prabu was that status of Abdul Kadir must be upgraded from secret lover to royal consort to the Queen. And the Queen's justification was given in the last stanza.
Comments