The Turkic-Turkish Theme in Traditional Malay Literature is the first detailed study of the representation of the Turkic peoples and Ottoman Turks in Malay literature between the 14thâ19th centuries. Drawing on a wide range of texts, Vladimir Braginsky uncovers manifold metamorphoses and diverse forms of localisation of this Turkic-Turkish theme. This theme has strongly influenced the religious and political ideals and political mythology of Malay society. By creating fictional rather than realistic portrayals of the Turks and Turkey, imagining the king of Rum as the origin point of Malay dynasties, and dreaming of Ottoman assistance in the jihad against the colonial powers, Malay literati ultimately sought to empower the Malay âselfâ by bringing it closer to the Turkish âotherâ.
Vladimir Braginsky, Ph.D. (1975) in Asian literatures, is Professor Emeritus at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. Among his many publications on Malay literature, comparative literature and Sufism are The Comparative Study of Traditional Asian Literatures (Curzon, 2001) and The Heritage of Traditional Malay Literature (KITLV Press, 2004).
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Illustrations and charts
A note on transliteration
Introduction
Chapter 1: The first acquaintance in absentia: Turkic warriors, lovers and the barber of Istanbul
Chapter 2: The first face-to-face encounter: stories of the embassies sent to the Ottomans
Chapter 3: Kings of Rum, their heirs and vassals (1): Turkey in the dynastic space of the Malay world and beyond
Chapter 4: Kings of Rum, their heirs and vassals (2): if Iskandar of Istanbul is unavailable, a Turkish prince or nobleman will do nicely
Chapter 5: Two hundred years after the first embassy: Turkey, its useless Western allies and Russian enemies â the worst of kÄfirs
Conclusion
Postscript
Bibliography
Appendices
Index
Academic libraries, researchers and post-graduate students of Malay, Indonesian and Turkish literatures, specialists in Asian studies interested in cross-cultural interface, pre-modern political doctrines and inter-relations of Islamic nations, educated laymen and representatives of Indonesian and Turkish diasporas.