Muhammad Haji Salleh Poetry Analysis

Keywords: si tenggang homecoming

Wikipedia defined that self-identity is the mental and conceptual understanding and persistent regard that sentient beings hold for their own existence. In other words, it is the sum total of a being’s knowledge and understanding of his or her self. Components of the self-concept include physical, psychological, and social attributes, which can be influenced by the individual’s attitudes, habits, beliefs and ideas. These components and attributes can be condensed to the general concepts of self-image and the self-esteem.

In our own culture and society, we are taught by our parents and the elderly to value or own culture and custom and must not feel that we are superior to others after we had accumulated a lot of new knolwedges and experiences. We should not turn our back to our own society, roots and land after we had been abroad but we should be proud of our own identity. This is what is lacking in most of us in our community. We tend to forget our roots and we are not proud of being part of a particular culture or race.

In this research paper, I have choosen to analyze two masterpiece from our Malaysian writer.This study is based on Muhammad Haji Salleh’s poems, which is “si tenggang homecoming” and “the traveler” .The overall aim of this paper is to analyze and discuss the portrayal of the theme searching of self-identity. In this research paper, I will also include the two poems implications of using these two poems towards education.

2.0 Background of the author

Muhammad Haji Salleh (1942- ) is a well-known Malaysian poet, critic, translator, editor and researcher. He is the sixth Malaysian Laureate. He was born on 26th March 1942 in Taping, Perak. Muhammad had most of his education in Malaysia; he received his early education at Bukit Mertajam High School and Malay College Kuala Kangsar. However, he did his teacher training at Lodge Teacher Training College in England. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Malaya (Singapore), Masters of Arts from the University of Malaya in 1970 and a Ph.D from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States of America in 1973. In 1977, he was a Professor under the Fullbright-Hays programme and taught at the North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA. He is a professor at the Department of Malay Letters in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and was once appointed as the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities as well as Head of Institute of Malay Language and Literature. Muhammad Haji Salleh is the only Malaysian poet who is studied in the Literature English programme.

3.0 The Author’s Writing Career

Muhammad Haji Salleh began writing poetry in 1963 when he was a student at the Malayan Teachers’ College, Brinsford Lodge, England. Muhammad started writing much earlier but only towards the late 1960s that he became well known in Malaysia. Muhammad has lived much of his life abroad in the United States while he is pursuing his studies and most of his poems are written in English. As his educational background was centered on Bahasa Malaysia and English language, he writes in both languages. Later, he devoted much of his time to write in Bahasa Malaysia. He often translated his own Malay poems and other local Malay poems into English. T.S.Eliot and W.H.Auden who he admired influenced the English poems that he wrote. The beauty of the language and the messages convey in the poems written by these two poets had inspired Muhammad Haji Salleh to write English poems.

Muhammad Haji Salleh has received various awards for his works, both at national and international levels. Muhammad won the Asean Literary Award in Bangkok, Thailand. A Number of his poems won various prizes and in 1972, he was awarded the Asean Literary Award for his anthology of poems Perjalanan si Tenggang II, which was subsequently translated in English in 1979.He was made a National Laureate in 1991 and was awarded the Hadiah Sastera Kebangsaan in 1976, the Australian Cultural Award to Asian Artists in 1975 and the Asean Literary Award (Poetry) in 1977. Writing both in Bahasa Malaysia and English, Muhammad has devoted his life to the development of the Malaysian literary tradition. He is not only well known as a poet but also as a literary scholar.

As a post-colonial poet and a professor of literature, Muhammad is known for his passionate quest for identity. In fact, the quest of identity is reflected in his poems especially in the outstanding collections of Poems of the Outsider (1973), The Travel Journals of Si Tenggang II (1979), Time and Its People (1978), Poems from the Malay Annals (1981) and Rowing Down Two Rivers (2000).

4.0 Background of The Poems: si tenggang’s homecoming and the traveler

Muhammad is known for his passionate quest for identity through his writings. It is very clear that his works explore the human condition and problems related to individuality and community life. These two poems: si tenggang homecoming and the traveler are able to portray Malay traditions, culture and beliefs because it deals with a universal theme, which are the issue of identity, selfhood and the essence of being oneself. Both of these poems reflect the poet’s concern for the Malay society and explore the human condition and problems related to identity.

Muhammad consistently wrote about the theme of seeking for self-identity because he lived most of his life abroad and influenced by the western world, where he stayed there for many years but he never forgot that he belongs to the Malay society; his mother tongue is Malay which is the language of his native land. Although he writes in English but he still talks about the village life, the city and its people and the Malay society as a whole. That is why both of these poem generally consist of encourages criticisms or opinions that differ from the Malay culture. It is because traditional society generally does not encourage criticisms or opinions that differ from accepted beliefs or those, which have been taken to be a way of life.

5.0 Discussion on si tenggang’s homecoming and the traveler.

Si tenggang’s homecoming poem consists of six stanzas. Upon closer study, it is a reflection of si tenggang’s experiences as a traveler, who had been abroad for a while and returned to his homeland. The persona is telling the reader that in the process of discovering himself; he has not lost his sense of inheritance and roots. This can be seen through stanza 3, line 31-34,

look, I am just like you,

still malay,

sensitive to what

i believe is good

In si tenggang’s homecoming, the persona asserts that he is still Malay at heart; sensitive to what he believes is good for the race. The persona has not turned his back on his people, his land or roots. On the contrary, after being estranged for a long time, he came back eager to know the culture that he had left behind and eager to more about himself. Stanza 3, lines 20-38,

but look,

i have brought myself home,

seasoned by confidence,

broadened by land and languages,

i am no longer afraid of the oceans

or the differences between people,

not easily fooled

by words or ideas.

the journey was a loyal teacher

who as never tardy

in explaining cultures or variousness.

look, I am just like you,

still malay,

sensitive to what

i believe is good,

and more ready to understand

than my brothers.

the contents of these boats are yours too

because i have returned.

This shows the persona having to cope with all kinds of difficulties besides losing touch with traditional customs and manners that self put emphasis on respect, politeness and self-discipline. The persona feels that his personality has been enriched by his experience overseas. He has become more confident and is no longer afraid of venturing into the unknown, which is away from what is safe and familiar. He has changed and chose to come home. He has not grown away from his people, in fact what he has learnt from his travels has broadened his outlook and he is therefore ready to share his knowledge with his people. He has brought home with him his knowledge and broadened viewpoints that may benefit his people. In stanza 6, lines 55-68,

i am not a new man

not very different

from you;

the people and cities

of coastal ports

taught me not to brood

over a foreign world,

suffer difficulties

or fear possibilities.

i am you,

freed from the village,

its soils and ways

independent, because

i have found myself.

The persona has come to accept the fact that the world is a very big place and its full of different kinds of people. He has learnt to cope in different situations. The persona has learnt that there are many new ideas that seek to explain things in an entirely different perspective. He does not accept what the traditional culture has to offer but questions them and seek for further explanation from the elderly. He is more open-minded and a mature man. Although he has changed, he is still very much the same. He is still part of the family and community he had left behind for a while; but he has also learnt to be an individual, to be himself. He has not grown away from his people. He is still very much one of them except that he has become more independent and liberated in his thinking. Hence, instead of blindly following the ways of his people, he questions and understands what his culture has to offer him.

This poem is written in the first persona. It represents the point of view of the persona, si tenggang. It is also reflects the poet himself, who has also spent some years abroad while pursuing his studies. The poem also depicts a state of mind in which the persona reflects on his situation of being home again after having traveled aboard. Despite having accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experiences through exposure to new ideas, a person must not reject his/her culture, custom, ways of live and philosophy.

Our outlook often changes as we grow, but our roots must always be part of us as our customs and traditions are very precious to us. Through exposure, new ideas and attitudes can sometimes conflict with our traditional beliefs; hence the need to be selective when we adopt new ideas. Finally experience, knowledge and learning should not make us an arrogant person.

This is a speech taken from Muhammad Haji Salleh’s speech during the Malaysian Laureates ceremony. He said that although someone had went abroad to further his studies or working. They will always come back to their own roots because that is where they belong. They should not turn back to their own roots after they have gained new knowledge and experiences.

This is where they should return. Nevertheless, my own experience took a longer path and I returned after journeying far- at this point. I feel it is a move that is although not a loss. A writer ought to return to his culture before or after his departure.

(Muhammad Haji Salleh’s speech, “Our people must sail the seas of the world”)

The traveler poem consists of only four stanzas a shorter poem compare to si tenggang’s homecoming poem. The traveler generally reflects the life of the persona view to open up his mind and answering his doubts of wanting to live in the village and in the city. The persona approaches to life as a traveler in constant search of his self-identity in the city. It is equally true with the poet himself where the need to travel as it provides him a better view and broadened one’s mind. It also helps the poet to acquire new knowledge and experiences. Cruel streets are a symbol about journey of life, the hardship that the persona has to face while he was in the city searching for him and adapting to the lifestyle in the city.

6.0 Similarities and differences between Si Tenggang’s homecoming and the traveler.

Both of these poems, the poet include the aspect of humility. Muhammad uses small capital letters throughout his poetry. The words “i” is to show that the poet is humble. As Ruzy Suliza Hashim states, “certainly humbleness is one of them because many of Muhammad’s poems show an “i” persona who is unassuming and self-effacing.” (Ruzy S. Hashim, 2003, p88). Muhammad uses the first person persona to allow greater reader participation. Most of Muhammad’s poetry does create awareness in his readers on the issues that are affecting them especially evolves of the Malay society. It also avoids using irony and uses serious tone. Its have a distinctive mixture of joy and sorrow, which is one of the feature characteristics of Malay culture, that Muhammad’s uses in writing both of these poems. Besides that, these poems also lacked a flowery presentation and an expression of emotions. It deals with the intellectual, not sentimental where the poet presents his poems puts an emphasis on the mind and not the heart. The choices of words used by the poet are very direct and non-emotional.

Both of these poems written in the first persona where the traveler poem voices the links between identities, meaning and urban existence while si tenggang homecoming represents the point of view of the persona, si tenggang. The persona reflects the poet himself, who has also spent some years abroad while pursuing his studies. The poem also depicts a state of mind in which the persona reflects on his situation of being back to his homeland after being abroad for a while.

The poet uses symbols such as ocean, village and fatherland. “i am no longer afraid of the ocean”(stanza 3 , line24) refers to the obstacles that si tenggang needs to overcome while he is traveling to gain experiences and knowledge. I believe that only through traveling that a person can gain knowledge and expand his/her views. The obstacles that he had gone through had taught him a lot and have been a dedicated teacher where he gains knowledge about the different cultures and outlooks of life. Village refers to si tenggang’s Malay culture and his roots, “which returns me to my village”(Stanza 4, line 46). It shows that although si tenggang has been abroad for a long time but has never forgotten about his culture and roots. “transport of the self from a fatherland” (Stanza 1 , line 3 ). It refers to the native land where si tenggang came from. This refers to si tenggang who has moved from homeland to foreign land to get new knowledge and experiences.

The poet also uses personification such as “the journey was a loyal teacher who never tardy” (stanza 3, line 28-29) which refers to the journey that si tenggang had gone through had been a devoted and passionate teacher to him while he was abroad. “in the country that alienated me” (stanza2 ,line 14 ) refers to the native land has rejects si tenggang. I personally think that the society cannot accept the changes that they have seen in him where his views and he is brave enough to voice out his opinions. That is why society sees him as a rude person and has go against the Malay culture.

The differences that can be found on both poems are si tenggang homecoming is where the persona has not grown away from his people, in fact what he has learnt from his travels has broadened his outlook and he is therefore ready to share his knowledge with his people. He has brought home with him his knowledge and broadened outlook that may benefit his people. The persona has learnt that there are many new ideas that seek to explain things in an entirely different perspective. Although he has changed, he is still very much the same, still Malay. But now, he has become more liberated in his thinking. He is still part of the family and community he had left behind for a while; but he has also learnt to be to be himself. He has not grown away from his people.

In the poem the traveler the persona migrated to the city and in search for his himself but at last he felt that the city was not what he called “home”. The persona cannot adapt to the city life because the city has taken everything from him, his identity as an individual. The city is forcing him to be apart of them but the persona just do not fit and adapt himself with the city life. Thus, in the process of discovering himself in the city, he has lost his sense of his own heritage. The persona has lost his self-identity, “where the heart cannot stay” (stanza 2, line 12). This shows that the persona does not belong to the city and he wanted to go back to his homeland, the land where he found the essence of being himself.

7.0 Conclusion

From the two poems, we see how Muhammad conveys the theme of searching for self-identity. The poet manages to use the language of our former oppressors to set free his new selfhood. The colonialism has helped Muhammad to unravel our identity and culture. In the wake of the post-colonial theory, Muhammad’s work is viewed as a “vibrant and powerful mixture of imperial language and local experience”(Childs, 1999). His roots encourage him to draw readily upon a heritage relatively intact, thriving and kept authentic because our Malaysian community shares it. Though pressed by political, economic and social changes, the essential Malay culture retains its powers of instruction through broad sweeps and by how its details form themselves in the individual life.

Both of these poems deal with the common problem that faced by individuals in our society. Muhammad is highlighting this problem through his writing. His work certainly displays the language and the Malay culture. It also depicts the process of an individual growth in searching for his/ her identity in our multiracial society.

8.0 Implications for Education

Education plays an important role to shape students to become an educated and who are intellectual, spiritually, emotionally and physically balance individual. Besides that, it is through education that teachers should instill valuable values to students so that students will be able to contribute to the society and nation.

Si tenggang’s homecoming and the traveler have a lot to offer in terms of valuable messages that can be conveyed from the poem itself to the students. It also serves as an authentic text, which allows students to apply the values of being proud to be oneself to their real life situation. It teaches the students not to forget their roots and be proud of whom they are. It also helps to make students aware of their own self-identity and through the experiences and knowledge that they have, should not make them proud and egoistic.

Both of these poems also provide opportunity for highlighting universal values such as value one’s self-identity. It has becomes a means of enhancing inter racial understanding and exposing to our students to the Malay culture that is depicted in si tenggang homecoming. It also helps to create better understanding among Malaysians. Teachers can also help to expose our students to different cultures in our own country.

Most students have little interest in the English language. By introducing Malaysian writers and their works to the students, it will provide a more familiar setting and also present cultural elements that are familiar to the students or at least are not totally alien to them. It would encourage the students to read local literary works, as they would easily and more readily to identify the issues and characters that can be found in the text.

Lack of students’ awareness about the importance not to forget their roots will lead them to become a proud citizen and does not appreciate one’s uniqueness of being a Malaysian. Muhammad’s poems help to educate students not to abandon one’s tradition and lose one’s identity. Therefore, students should have the ability to maintain one’s individuality while remaining as a member of one’s society irrespective of race and colour. They should strike a balance. In search for selfhood, students should not forget their roots while there are embracing new knowledge and experiences. Furthermore, the students should also be educated to appreciate their culture, custom and roots. They should be proud to be a member of the society as a Malaysian irrespective of race, colour or creed and live in harmony in our multiracial country.

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