CATALOGUE OF MALAY MSS. (4-5)

On ff. 1 3V and 14 names of chapters are written at the side of the page at right angles to the text.

F. I4''''. Date on which the sun enters the signs of the zodiac (? for a. h. 117,5), with notes in pencil by an Enghsh reader.

These if. have their contents marivcd with Latin letters, by some English reader.

Ff. 18—74. A treatise on divination (Ar. Kitdb al-qarati), styled Kitdb ramali by its author, Sheikh Shaddadiyyah of Yemen, who tells us in some introductory Malay verses that he wrote it before he was thoroughly an adept in either Arabic or Malay, at the order of the Sultan, the Pengiran Ratu of Palembani, A. H. 1175 (a. D. 1761). In these verses he defends the science on grounds of predestination.

Beg. Bahua ini kitdb ramali namd-nia

Kardng-an sheikh Shaddadiyyah namd-nia Negri Yemen tempat ka-didm-an-nia Telah meshahur-lah di-dalam zemdn-nia

The treatise, which claims to be used when lots are to be cast, consists of diagrams, astronomical and religious, invocations to God, under His various names, and to the prophets, a sort of index (ff. 34'''-54), and directions and information (ff. 54"^— 74) arranged under sections such as Taj-ud-Din, Qutb-ud-Din, &c. The index-headings and diagrams correspond in part.

End Bahuas-nia yang ghd'ib itu ddtang ddlam sejahtrd-nia ddn bahuas-nia kembdli tya kapada tempatiiia.

F. \62 contains two figures ('magic squares') of sixteen squares each, marked with numbers which, when added horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, give the same result.

History :

Bought by the Bodleian at the sale of ' the library of the late Dr. ' William ' Curran (removed from Hammersmith) ' at Puttick and Simpson's, May 20, 1892, lot 985 (sale-number on binding).

Inside the end cover is a memorandum containing a short notice of the MS. signed P. L. V., and bearing

(in a different and probably earlier ink) the marks P^

II, and some figures which appear to be 1733.

On f. 161'^ is written ' S*- Johns wood'.

The MS. once belonged to dr. William Marsden : see p. 305 of the Bibliotheca Marsdeniana.^ He is said to have given his Oriental MSS. in 1835 to King's College, London.

Teclinical description:

Measurement of sides of binding: io-|- X 8 in. (26-6 X

20-3 cm.).

' Marsden's ownership was discoyered by Mr. Winstedt.

Binding : Pasteboard covered with reddish-brown leather ornamented with centre- and border-patterns of gilded paper. Lined at ends with striped Oriental paper.

Material: Paper, watermarked with one of the following devices —

(i) Crown, with horns at sides, surmounted by a fleur-de-lis, over shield bearing a fleur-de-lis and standing on a truncated cone, in the centre of which is a I (^)— below, J H & ZOON (where H doubtless = Honig, see MS. Malay e. 2 (R)). The watermark J. Honig et Zoon is found in paper bearing writing of the year 1762 (del Marmol, Bict. des filigranes, p. 24). (2) Was this paper made by the Dutch

A East India Company ? The Bodleian

^ has a copy of Brouwer's Malay N. T., 1668, given to the Library by a London merchant in 1677, which has stamped on its vellum binding (back and front) the letters VOC similarly arranged. This N. T. was published by the Company in question, which is called in the preface Fereenighde Nederlandtsche Oost-Indische Compagnie. The A above may indicate Amsterdam as the place of manufacture.

No. of leaves and gathering : 1 62 quarto leaves, normally gathered in tens. The gatherings ending on fF. 27'"'^, 37''', 47'5', ^yv^ 67'^ were numbered with Malay figures, representing respectively the numbers 1—5, but that at foot of f. 37"*" has been trimmed off in binding. A (blank V) leaf is lost at each end : the original number was consequently 164. The bulk of the volume consists of blank paper. F. 2 has a Javanese note containing date ii87 = a. d. 1773. On f. 3 is the offset of two divinatory diagrams which lay loose at some time between the leaves.

Ornamentation . red, or black and red, borders.

Writing: Neskhi. Ff. ii'*'-i4 have the writing arranged in various compartments. F. 14^ is by a different hand acquainted with Persian models. F. 18 contains a poem in four columns. Ff. 20'^— 24 consist each of 1 1 X 5 oblong compartments ; ff. I9''', 20, 24''''-34 of circular diagrams. Ff. 34'^- 74 are in 2 cols, of 7f X3A in. (18x8 cm.), having between them the numbers of the paragraphs. Ink, black (which has run into the paper, probably from having too much vitriol), and red — the latter for numbers, beginnings of paragraphs, important words, parts of diagrams, &c.

5— MS. Douce Or. e. 5 Arabic letter, Malay letter, about 1602

Contents :

I, f. I. Copy (or draft) of end of letter from 'Ala-uddin, Sultan of Acheh (Acheen) to Queen

f^

c^^Ji^^e-^t^j^j) ^]cAi

^S%f!i:i!^plyii>^>,'I^^

L^-^/.-^'^'r-"

;'-'4^i';r.)

' ''i

MS. DOUCE OR. ('. 4

(teading-pekmit from 'ala-uddin shah, sultan of acheh, to sii; harey middleton, a.d. 1602)

9

CATALOGUE OF MALAY MSS. (5-6)

10

Elizabeth, written a. h. loii (a, d. 1602), containing a commercial treaty against the Portuguese. In Arabic.

Beg. Fi md inna sultan al-Afranji . . . End ahda 'ashrah ba'd al-alf'adad al-islam.

A translation of the whole letter (by William Bedvvel) is printed in Purchas hit Pi/grimes (1625), pt. I, ill, 3, ^ 5. This MS. contains the original of the part ' And for that you doe affirme in them that the Sultan of Afrangie' (according to Purchas, Spaine, but used generally for non-Mohammedans of the West ; here Portugal), ' is your enemy ' — ' peace be vnto you.'

II, ff. 1V-3V, Copy or draft of letter from the Sultan of Acheen ('Ala-uddin) to an English captain (perhaps Sir James Lancaster, as suggested by the Rev. W. G. Shellabear), consisting of a treaty granting the English rights of trade and residence in the territory of Acheen, Sammudara (posgibly the old town in north Sumatra, the island being generally called piilau Percha, but sometimes Samatra), and dependencies of Acheen. It bears no date, but is probably connected with Sir J. Lancaster's proceedings at Acheen in 1602. See Marsden's History of Sumatra, 1783, p. 355, 'Two of the nobles, one of whom was the chief priest, were appointed to settle with Lancaster the terms of a commercial treaty, which was accordingly drawn up and executed, in an explicit and regular manner.'

Letter headed Jam yang di-persembahkan kapitan Jnggris Itu [lit. the vernacular copy, which was presented to the king by the English captain].

Beg. dku raja yang kudsa yang di-bawah angin ini yang memegang takhta ka-rajd-an negrl Acheh dan negrl Sammudara . . . End maka kdmu hukumkan Sfperti hukum Isi negrl.

The MS. is described by the Rev. W. G. Shellabear (under A) in Some old Malay Manuscripts (Singapore, 1901).

History :

Bequeathed by Francis Douce, who died March 30, 1834.

Technical description:

Measurement of sides of binding : 8jX jf in. (21 X 17-4 cm.).

Binding : recent Bodleian cloth.

Material: European paper. Watermark, crowned jug with handle.

No. of leaves and gathering : 2 fF., a single sheet.

Writing: i col., 7f x6 in. {ig-^xi^-i cm.), 21 II. Hand neater than Malay Neskhi, probably European.

There is no ' Finis ' (as there is in modern Malay). Sammudara is always spelt with Arabic vowel-points and tashdid, as also (with points only) an unusual name for the English, orang InglUir, and (with vowelpoints) even many ordinary Malay words, e. g. perbaik-i (f. i'"', 1. 13), shaudagar (modern suddgar) sometimes. 3 is always written with three dots below the letter, as in a letter from the Kapitan Laut of Buton to the governor-general of Batavia (Shellabear, Malay MSS. (D), A. D, 1668), and another native document (MS. Douce Or. e. 4). ^ is written with an additional dot above the letter, which Shellabear thinks a mere freak of the European copyist, i (pa) is generally written here with two dots. Plurals are written out in full, not as in modern Malay by adding r (i. e. 2), wherever reduplication is wanted, after the singular.

6— MS. Douce Or. e. 4 Malay trading-permit, A. D. 1602

Contents :

A letter from 'Ala-uddin Shah, Sultan of Acheh (Acheen), to Sir Harry Middleton, authorizing hiin to trade with the natives along the bay and coasts of Acheen (dalam telok rantau Acheh Itu), probably in 1602, when Sir Harry, who had come out in 1601 with Sir James Lancaster, was appointed captain [kapitan-nia berndma Hdri Midiltun) of the Susan [see Purchas his Filgrimes (1625), pt. I, iii, 3, ^ 3], returning to England with a cargo of pepper from Priaman, a seaport half-way down the W. coast of Sumatra. 'Ala-uddin was murdered or died in 1604, and as his seal is affixed to the document, no later voyage of Middleton's can be referred to.

Beg. Dengan anugrah (Sansc. anugrahah) Tuhan serwa 'dlam sakalian sabda yang mahd melia ddtang kapada segala penglima negrl dan pertuah segala negrl yang ta'aloK ka-Acheh . . . End wal-saldm.

The MS. is described by the Rev. W. G. Shellabear (under B), in Some old Malay Manuscripts (Singapore, 1901),

History :

Bequeathed by Francis Douce, w ho died Mai ch 30, 1834.

Former Bodleian shelfmark : MS. Malay d. 2.

Technical description:

Measurement of sides of cover : i4-| X 2j in. (36'8 X 7-2 cm.).

Measurement of sides of box: 8|-X3 in. (22-5 x 7-7 cm.).

Binding : m long narrow green silk bag (native), enclosed in cloth box (recent Bodleian).