Collective Representation & Economic Development

52
MODERNIZATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE
TABLE II-B*
Percentage Distribution of Economically Active Population

by Occupation for Each Ethnic Group
OCCUPATION
Professional, Technical and

Related Occupations
Administrative. Executive and
Managerial Occupations
(excluding those in agricultural
and retail trade)
Clerical Occupations
Sales and Related Occupations
Agricultural Occupations
Miners, Quarrymen and
Related Occupations
Transport and Communication
Occupations
Craftsmen. Production Process
'Vorkers and Labourers n.e.c.
Service. Sport. Entertainment
and Recreation Occupations
TOTAL
Workers not classified by

occupation
Gainfully Employed
Persons not working but
looking for work
TOTAL Economically Active
TOTAL
Malays
Chinese Indians
Others
TOTAL
2.6
_ 3.2
2.3
11.6
3.0
0.4
1.6
2.8
72.8
negli
gible
2.0
3.7
15.6
37.7
1.0
3.9
9.8
49.2
3.5
7.4
4.0
17.2
1.1
2.2
8.4
55.4
0.6
0.1
0.1
0.3
2.7
3.5
3.4
2.4
3.1
7.6
23.7
20.7
5.7
15.2
7.1
(97.7)
97.6
7.9
7.5
8.5
97.9
97.9
46.4
(98.4)
98.3
0.4
(98.1)
98.0
0.4
0.3
98.3
1.9
100.0
1.7
100.0
Chapter 3
97.8
98.2
0.5
(98.9)
98.8
98.2
1.8
100.0
1.1
100.0
1.8
100.0
0.4
"'I wish to acknowledge the help granted to me by the Economic Research

Centre, University of Singapore. who assisted in the compilation of the
statistical tables listed in this paper.
COLLECTIVE REPRESENTATIONS
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
It has been increasingly recognized that economic activity,

development and theorizing are conditioned by social, cul
tural and historical frameworks. The forms of economic life
and the theories concerning them are to a great extent
determined by social, cultural and historical factors. There
has been some discussion regarding the relation between
economic and non-economic factors in the economic activity
of different societies. As a matter of fact, it is impossible in
certain instances to draw a distinction between economic
and non-economic factors. In this paper we are primarily
interested in certain, prerequisites of economic development
which have been traditionally considered as outside the
scope of economics. Broadly speaking these prerequisites
can be classified into two groups-one directly influencing
economic action, the other indirectly conditioning such
action.
When a society is confronted by serious economic problems
and some thinking members of that society attempt to grapple
with them, we may view their effort as pertaining to different
phases of problem solving. The first phase involves a general
survey of the problems and the available resources required
to bring about the solution; the second phase, a drawing up
of a plan, a strategy for action directed to solve the problems;
the third phase, the problem of implementing the plan in
54
question. Here the relation between economic and other

factors is of crucial importance.
Science and the content of man's mind derived from his
religious, philosophical, magical and cultural orientations
are two of the factors which continually impinge upon
economic development. The second factor can directly con
dition economic development or indirectly influence it
through its effect on, for instance, science, since the applica.
tion of science and technology is a vital prerequisite of
economic development. One sector of the content of man's
mind is of particular interest to us here. For the sake of
clarity it will be useful to go into certain conceptual
technicalities from the sociology of knowledge based on the
works of LevyBruhl.
.
In Malaysia and Indonesia, to cite two familiar instances,
the content of the layman's mind is to some extent dominated
by what LevyBruhl calls collective representations. Collective
representations are concepts or ideas formed concerning
objects or events which differ from those derived from
ordinary empirical experience without any magico-religious
or occult admixture. Such representations share in common
the following characteristics:
(a) They are transmitted to all or a large section of the
members of a social group through an unbroken seri-es of
successive generations.
(b) They are felt to possess power and to influence the
individuals, awakening in them the sentiments of respect,
awe, fear, adoration, etc.
(c) They are not the product of reason and discursive
reasoning for they ignore the logical law of contradiction.
(d) The constituent elements of the concepts are fixed
upon the empirical objects and are empirically non
verifiable.
(e) They are not reducible to impressions generated from
individual psychological experiences as such. 1
(f) In assigning causes to particular events, anyone cause
may be chosen without discrimination in terms of its
relevance within the context of causal relationship.
An example of collective representation is the idea of
REPRESENTATIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
55
invulnerability against bullets and other deadly weapons.
This idea is of some military interest in South-East Asia in
view of the fact that in the past it has proved to be of
practical significance. During the Indonesian Revolution
against the British and the Dutch in 194547, many Indo
nesian patriots fought the British and Dutch troops with
courage and confidence despite their apparent inferiority in
arms and ammunition. In Malaya a similar belief in the
possibility of invulnerability is held by a great number of
people from all sections of the population, including those
from the educated class and government servants.
Collective representations cover such items as myths,

. superstition, magic, occultism, religious practices, customs,
habits, behaviour, events and others. The practical con
sequences of these are so impressive that they deserve special
treatment, which is not attempted here. I would, however;(
like to note one consequence which is of great practical
significance to us, that is, the slow birth and development
of the scientific attitude in South-East Asian societies in the
past, and the impediments to its spread at present.
Until about the beginning of the 19th century, South-East
Asian societies, unlike those of Western Europe following
the Industrial Revolution, did not take the trouble to
develop a dominant scientific orientation to solve the prac
tical problems of life. Two main causes--one from within,
the other from without-have impeded the emergence of a
scientific orientation in South-East Asian societies. In terms
of our theme, the absence of direct acculturation involving
science, between South-East Asia and the modem West
probably until the 19th century, has deprived South-East
Asian societies of the stimulus which can stir the pool of
collective representations. The cause from within is the
domination that this pool of representations has exerted on
the mind of South-East Asian man in the past. An animistic
trend in South-East Asian popular belief considers certain
natural objects-stones and plants-as the abode of ghosts
and spirits. Certainly with such an attitude it is not easy
for geology, botany and other related sciences to develop
indigenously for the simple reason that experimentation with
56
nature is considered to be fraught with danger, since scien

tific experiment at times involves the destruction or dis
placement of such objects.
The basic philosophical foundation of a world of thought
dominated by collective representations is what Levy-Bruhl
has called the mystic participation. The individual believes
in forces, influences and actions which, though imperceptible
to the senses, are nevertheless considered as real. For want
of a better term Levy-Bruhl calls these mystic forces. The
individual stands in some kind of relationship with these
mystic forces. He can participate in the formation and
alteration of these forces. The universe is considered as an
ensemble of hidden forces which influence and are influenced
by man in a manner different from that which we regard
as logical and empirical. Man can participate in this
ensemble. He can transmit qualities from one object to
himself through the process of mystic participation. 2 For
instance, by using the skin of a leopard it is believed that
the qualities of the leopard can be transferred: man can
therefore share the qualities of the leopard. Man can also
participate in upsetting the harmony and equilibrium
surrounding a given situation. A certain drought at Laudana,
in the Congo, was once attributed to the missionaries wearing
a certain kind of cap during services.a During Skeat'~ time
in Selangor, Malaya, the success or failure of a rice crop was
on some occasions attributed to a change of district officer.
At one time an outbreak of ferocity among man-eating
crocodiles was explained by the somewhat unsympathetic
attitude of a zealous and able representative of the govern
ment. Traditional Malay society attributes to the monarch
personal power to influence the works of nature, such as the
growth of the crops and the bearing of fruit-trees. 4
Collective representations in the realms of politics,
medicine, technology, agriculture, fishing, reclamation of
lands, building, transportation, etc., with their mystic par
ticipation, are, to my mind, one of the great influences
bringing about the stagnation and underdevelopment of
South-East Asian societies. a They possess the greatest of
significance in the day-to-day life of the people. Before we

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57
can hope to achieve large scale and positive changes in the

social and economic conditions of the South-East Asian
peoples, we must bring about a change of outlook, a mental
revolution. 6
Great economic changes in the history of any society have
always been accompanied by a change of outlook amongst
an influential section of that society. The religious, cultural,
social, political and philosophical frameworks of society have
to be receptive to the change before success in that direction
can be achieved. This requires an understanding by the
planners of the process of social change of the kind studied
by sociology and anthropology.
During approximately the last one hundred years there
has been an increasing dissemination of science in Malaysia
and the surrounding regions. Though it is true that science
is disseminated and accepted throughout the world, yet in
some places it is confronted by impediments and obstacles.
The clearest instance is in the realm of medicine. In Malaysia,
for example, there are still many people who decline to be
treated in hospital or to be operated upon because of certain
collective representations. The interesting fact is that this
group of people uses modern medicine when other thera
peutic necessities arise. The fear of surgery and hospitaliza
tion has its root in what we may call psychic contagion.
When an unpleasant or horrifying event occurs at a certain
place it is believed that a certain psychic residue will remain
there, and that this will be capable of infecting or harming
others. As hospitals and operating theatres are often asso
ciated with the deaths of some patients, it is believed that
they are contagious, that they are 'infected' with death.
There are numerous isolated instances where the belief
in psychic contagion has had a direct economic consequence.
One such is the case of Lubok Batu Seratus, a deep pool in
the Perak River near Kampong Enggor. This deep pool was
. avoided as a fishing ground, and the bank along the area
not used for planting. Instead it was covered by a thick
jungle growth until a few years ago when Pekan Ahad was
:opened.7 A local belief relates an event, which occurred
generations ago, of a fisherman who was dragged into the
\---:
58
water by a big fish and kept there for a day and a night.
The fisherman was released by the fish and returned home
to find that his people were conducting the mourning and
prayer ceremony for his death. To prevent a recurrence of
such an incident Lubok B:itu has since been avoided by the
fishermen.
Another instance refers to Kampong Jamuan, approxi
mately four miles from Kuala Kangsar. It is believed that
the founder of the kampong, a certain Moyang Kiam, once
killed a jungle ghost or spirit (Hantu Rimba). As a result
of this a feud started between the descendants of the Hantu
Rimba and Moyang Kiam. The descendants of Moyang Kiam
are not supposed to enter the jungle unless they have with
them a golok or a piece of iron. Should this condition be
ignored the ghost may attack and at nightfall the person
will suffer illness or insanity. This story has a definite effect
on the villagers living in the vicinity. They dare not gather
atap or wood from the area alleged to be the location where
Moyang Kiam killed the Hantu Rimba, and the land in that
area is left undeveloped.
In yet another field of activity we have the dear instance
of how collective representations influence padi-planting in
the Tanjong Karang area of Selangor. In the sections of
Sawah Sempadan and Sungai Burong, planting may not.take
place on certain days of the year. The seed may be planted
only during moonless nights, and special days are also chosen
for sowing. For those who are not adept in calculating the
right days, their own birthdays or those of their children
may be used instead. There are also rules and taboos
connected with the semangat padi (the soul or spirit of the
padi) which is believed to be responsible for the success of
the crop.s
Another instance which we can cite here is that of
Kampong Vlu J elin, about 30 miles north of Seremban,
Negri Sembilan. This village has approximately two hundred
inhabitants. The houses are all located on a plain, surrounded
by padi fields. The main occupations are rubber tapping
and padi planting. The reason why all the houses are located
on the plain is apparently due to the need to avoid gorges,
59
valleys, huge stones, trees and thick jungles, for these are
all likely to be the haunts of ghosts and evil spirits. 1I
This mental outlook toward the environment is not con
ducive to the growth of the developmental spirit, where
nature is seen only as a means for the attainment of human
objectives and is divested of all personified entities which
awaken a subservient and hesitant attitude.
The examples we have so far selected showing the relation
between collective representations and economic develop
ment require further elaboration. Instances of this nature,
though abundant throughout rural Malaysia, do not affect
the major trends in the economic process. They do not, for
instance, inhibit the process of monetization in the rural
areas,l(} neither do they affect the trends in prices and demand.
In short, there is a wide range of economic activity which is
not affected in any significant way by the collective repre
sentations of the kind discussed above. However, this kind
of representation does have an indirect effect on economic
development. Before further discussion it is perhaps necessary
to make one or two points on social causation to avoid the
impression that we are simplifying the issue of collective
representations and economic development. To begin with,
events and processes surrounding such phenomena as
economic development or any other in the social and cultural
life of man always involve a complex network of causation,
conditions and ramifications into the diverse aspects of social
and cultural life.
There is, however, one major aspect in economic develop
ment which is susceptible to influences from the kind of
collective representations discussed earlier. We shall call
these negative representations as oppose(.i....,1:o positive repre
sentations which we shall later discuss. They are negative
in terms of their total effect on economic development. They
inhibit or are not conducive to behaviour traits essential for
economic development, such as self-confidence, the need
for achievement, industriousness, perseverance, rationality,
efficiency, discipline, orderliness, acquisitiveness, inventive
ness, courage to take reasonable risk, ability to' make
decisions, etc. No doubt the effect of negative representations
~,
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60
can be neutralized if other determinants of economic

development are present and exert a stronger influence, but
in communities where these other determinants are absent
or weak, negative representations can be an influential factor
in inhibiting the birth or growth of those determinants.
Broadly speaking, the determinants of economic develop
ment can be classified, for our present purpose, as (a) the
historico-sociological, (b) the geographical, (c) the strictly
economic, (d) the political, (e) the psychological, (f) the
cultural, and (g) the representational aspect, in terms of
both positive and negative collective representations. In the
concrete texture of reality they are interwoven and do not
lend themselves easily to such a scheme of classification, but
nevertheless for purposes of analysis and clarification we will
find it useful.
When using the term 'historico-sociological' we mean all
the sociological and historical factors, such as the state of being
immigrants and having to struggle hard for survival, or the
state of being a suppressed minority debarred from other
activities except commerce and industry (as were many of the
Protestant groups in Western Europe following the Refor
mation) . A multitude of other factors also come under this
heading. The 'geographical' refers to the surface of the
region, as well as resources for raw materials, and .other
factors that contribute to or furnish resources for develop
ment. 'Strictly economic' includes such factors as capital,
skill, manpower, organizations, infra-structure, location,
supply and demand, etc. By the 'political' we mean all
government laws, regulations, policies and state philosophies
that have a bearing on economic development. 'Psychological'
covers such traits and prerequisites as competitiveness,
acquisitiveness, desire for luxury, need for achievement,
incentive to work and struggle, the spirit to pioneer and
take risks, etc. By 'culture' we refer to all those values, norms
and ethics conducive to or aiming at economic development,
and finally under 'representational' fall those religious,
philosophical, magical, mythical, folkloristic components of
man's thought and behaviour which possess extra-empirical
and extra-rational foundations.
61
Economic development should then be considered as the

combined effect of all these determinants. In this article we
are primarily concerned with that aspect of economic
development related to collective representations within the
Malaysian context. We have shown instances of collective
representations from the life of rural Malays and noted that
the direct effect of those representations on the major pro
cesses of development is negligible. However, the indirect
effect of those representations, bearing in mind the number
intruding upon the life and thought of their believers at
different points of their day-to-day life, is certainly of some
importance.
In the case of the negative collective representations found
among rural Malays, the indirect and consciously unintended
effects, to my mind, are the following:
(a) Inhibition of self-confidence for the mastery of nature,
entrepreneurship and invention. The belief in a universe
full of animistic and demonic forces impinging upon daily
life, together with the passive and subservient attitude
required to live in harmony with these forces and all the
fear they awaken, makes it highly improbable that a
creative, dynamic and enterprising spirit will arise under
the influence of such a belief.
(b) Reliance on magico-animistic practices inhibits the
growth of a scientific orientation towards life. The familiar
world of taboo and magic provides a ready explanation
for mishaps, and recourse to this ready explanation dis
penses with the need for further enquiry. For instance, it
has been communicated to me recently that on the 13th of
June, 1956, a youth was drowned in Lubok Batu Seratus.
According to some, he was a descendant of the fisherman
who was dragged into the water generations ago. This
recent incident tends to justify the taboo of avoiding the
deep pool in the river. Furthermore there is a ready
explanation as to the cause of drowning-violation of the
taboo.
(c) Passive resignation: the types of negative representa
tion found among Malays favour an attitude of passive
resignation and self-reproach. A person who feels seriously
62
ill and attributes his malady to the revenge of a ghost or

spirit takes the blame of the illness upon himself for
doing something wrong which has angered the ghost or
spirit.
.
When traits such as lack of self-confidence, passivity and
reliance on magico-animistic practices are unconsciously
cultivated in a community for successive centuries, they are
bound to have an impact on any sphere of activity where
the opposites of those traits are required. In the causation
of social phenomena it is often the case that several causes
from different channels converge to produce a phenomenon.
This is particularly the case when the lack of self-confidence,
enterprising spirit, inventiveness, methodical and rational
organization of activity, acquisitiveness, the desire for
achievement, etc., converge to form an inhibition towards
economic development.
As noted earlier, collective representations can be positive
as well as negative in their effect. So far we have dwelt upon
the negative type. It would be interesting to examine positive
representations and their relation to economic development.
The representations I have in mind are drawn from the
Chinese community in Malaysia. l l
Once again it has to be stressed that positive representa
tions alone would not be sufficient to release vigorous
economic activity without the influence of other factors.
Nevertheless, at some points in the history of a group of
people collective representations can be decisive in determin
ing the course of development. 'When the Chinese immigrant
labourers of the 19th century first arrived in Malaya, they
had practically nothing with them. The change of economic
status in the second and third generations was to a great
extent facilitated by their cultural values which were linked
with collective representations, the obligation to honour
their dead ancestors by raising their own statuses here. In
raising status, wealth and good deeds are considered essential.
In addition to this, impressive public and private events
such as the celebration of the New Year, weddings and
funerals, or the commemoration of the dead, are associated
with wealth and money. Notice the use of paper money in
63
Chinese folk religion, and the functional gods of wealth.

Many of the taboos are also associated with wealth and
good luck. On the first day of the Chinese New Year it is
considered undesirable to sweep the house since this can
have the effect of driving away prosperity. For the celebration
of New Year certain objects are considered as the symbols
of certain values such as wealth, happiness and long life. A
Chinese orange symbolizes wealth as it has a golden colour;
carp symbolizes profit and surplus; the New Year's cake
(nien koh) symbolizes success and increase in status. 12 Such
representations centre around the achievement of wealth,
status, health and happiness. There is further the deification
of the dead who in their own lifetime used their wealth for
humanitarian purposes.
A comparative study of the role of collective representa
tions in different societies or different ethnic groups within
the same society would entail an analysis of numerous
variables. It would be necessary for us to perform a functional
analysis of the representations in the context of economic,
social, political, cultural, geographical, religious, demo
graphic, technological and educational structures and pro
cesses. I have attempted in this paper to show the relation
between economic development and collective representations
in Malaysia. I have not, however, attempted to grade the
influence of those representations in a scale consisting of
other determinants of economic development. In the rural
as well as the urban areas of Malaysia no research or even
systematic data collection has been done on the interaction
between collective representations and economic develop
ment. Such being the case, at this stage, it is not possible
for us to go further than to stress the relevance of the
problem and the necessity of research.
I have, in this paper, also omitted the relation between
Islam and economic development in Malaysia, for the
following reasons: (a) The theme is sufficiently complex to
justify a separate treatment. (b) The collective representa
tions in Islam belong to a distinct category. As a whole they
are positive towards economic development though the effect
64
is inhibited by other factors as far as the Malay Muslims are

concerned. IS
In conclusion I would like to summarize this paper as
follows. Traditional collective representations in Malay
society, particularly in the rural areas, exhibit traits which
are not conducive to economic development. These repre
sentations do not condition major trends of development in
the strictly economic field but they do have an effect on
the social-psychological sector of economic activity. In this
sector traits such as self-confidence, acquisitiveness, rational
calculation, thrift, sustained effort, organization, inventive
ness, exploitation of natural resources, etc., have a highly
significant bearing on economic development. It is here that
negative collective representations hamper economic develop
ment by encouraging traits which are the opposite of those
conducive to development.1 4 Though such is the situation,
the hold exerted by negative representations can be broken
with the coming into play of other determinants of develop
ment. Similarly, positive representations alone would not be
sufficient without the accompanying influence of other
determinants.
Chapter 4
MODERNIZATION AND NATIONAL

CONSCIOUSNESS IN SINGAPORE
'What among other people is a matter of habit, instinct, we

can only get into our heads by hammer strokes. Our memories
go no further back than yesterday; we are, as it were,
strangers to ourselves. We walk through time so singly that
as we advance the past escapes us forever. This is a natural
result of a culture based wholly on borrowing and imitation.
There is among us no inward development, no natural
progress; new ideas throw out the old ones because they do
not arise from the latter, but come among us from heaven
knows where. Since we accept only ready-made ideas, the
ineradicable traces which a progressive movement of ideas
engraves on the mind and which give ideas their forcefulness
makes no furrow on our intellect. We grow, but we do not
mature; we advance, but obliquely, that is,' in a direction
which does not lead to the goal. We are like those children
who have never been made to think for themselves; once
they have come of age they have nothing of their own; all
their knowledge is on the surface of their being, their whole
soul is on the outside. This is exactly our situation. (Peter
Yakolevich Chaadayev, 1794-1856*)
Chaadayev is a well known Russian philosopher of the non
materialistic but religious type. He was referring to the Russia of his
time with all its problems of entering the modern era. Some of his
views and the problems he faced are relevant to the developing area.
The extract is from James M. Edie, James P. Scanlan, Mary-Barbara
Zeldin (eds.), Russian Philosophy, vol. 1, p.' ]]2, Quadrangle Books
~ ,.
{O.
Chicago, 1965.
rr;l-o ""-"'1..,5
V, { .
CIAL CHANGE
and the Dancing Goblin: A Theory or

rican Anthropologist, p. 77, vol. 66,
'een Islam and magical ammlsm, the

lade by a British administrator: 'The
s not that civilization of British rule
.Ipon the native belief in this respect.
laking the inhabitant of the Peninsula
d less of a Malay. The more he learns
! realises how impossible is the corn
ved to exist for the last four or five
ruhammadan beliefs and the precepts
In Malay Forests, p. 305, Blackwood,
;ian Society in Transition, Van Hoeve,

ontributed in large measure to tile
an customs', p. 196. The individualiz
,tion of Roman law on the protection
rejection of the intermediary.between
l the denial of any autonomous com.
[am gave the small man a sense of
this sense it was the fermenting agent
)nary process.
5imilar observation on Java. 'External
raged by the chiefs, who generally
)roduce to the utmost. In consequence
ive for the peasant to increase his
: whole no question of large surpluses,
le irrigated areas was usually sufficient
structure of Javanese princes, residing
'aton (princely court) towns.' Ibid.,
s certainly not the only pre-condition
::ldernization. But nevertheless it is a
the smooth operation of other pre
:e of the rule of law in the birth of
Reischauer, 'Japanese Feudalism', in
~udalism in History, Princeton Uni
i.
:fer again to Santillana. 'Islamic Jaw
y, and holds in great esteem agricul
ld of work; it censures all those who
ltenance, requires every man to keep
.s own labour, and does not despise
tn may keep himself independent of
aw and Society', in T. Arnold, A.
201
NOTES
Guillame (eds.), The Legacy of Islam, Clarendon Press, Oxford,

1931.
50. H. O. S. Tjokroaminoto, Islam dan Sosialisme, Bulan Bintang,
Djakarta, 1951. (This work was written in Mataram, November,
1924.)
51. Mohammed bin Daud Patani, Semangat Penghidupan, Majis
Ugama Islam dan Adat Istiadat Melayu, Kota Bahru, KeIantan,
1922. (In Malay Arabic script, 2nd edition.)
Chapter 3
1. L. Levy-Bruhl, How Natives Think (tr. L. A. Clare), Washington
Square Press, New York, 1966. Though reference is here made to
Levy-Bruhl, it does not imply an agreement with his theory of
pre-logical and logical mentaliti~s, which he subsequentl~ withd:-ew.
The term collective representatIOn has also been used WIth a WIder
connotation by Durkheim and others.
2. Despite criticism from certain quarters, many of Levy-Bruhl's
findings are sound and illuminating.
3. Levy-Bruhl, op. cit., p. 71.
4. W. 'V. Skeat, Malay Magic, p. 36, Macmillan, London, 1900.
5. As will be discussed later, not every collective representation is
detrimental to social progress.
6. This paper was written in 1965. In 1970 the ruling Malay party in
Malaysia, the United Malays National Organization, published a
book, Revolusi Mental (Mental Revolution) .
7. Reference informant: Meor Ahmad Azam bin Hussin, II year
(1965) undergraduate in Malay Culture.
8. Reference informant: Mohd. Amir bin Jaafar, II year (1965)
undergraduate in Malay Culture.
9. Reference informant: JOhari bin Hassan, II year (1965) under
graduate in Malay Culture.
10. On monetization and rural development in Malaysia, see Ungku A.
Aziz, 'Poverty and Rural Development in Malaysia', Kajian
Ekonomi Malaysia, VoL 1, No. I, June, 1964.
II. It is entirely fortuitous, that negative representations have been
selected from Malay society and positive instances from Chinese
society. Both cultures contain abundant instances of negative as
well as positive collective representations. See Chapter 2 on
positive representations amongst the Malays.
12. Reference informant: Tham Seong Chee, III year (1965) under
graduate in Malay Culture.
13. See Cll. 2.
14. An earlier observer made the following remark concerning the
relation of collective representations to economic activity in rural
Malaya: 'In conclusion I cannot refrain from remarking that it is
idle to hope for the economic progress of the Malays so long as
this and similar beliefs prevail among them'. Dato Sedia Raja,
Ab.:l . . . Ittt "I

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The Author
Ms Sharifah Maznah Syed Omar obtained her Bachelor of Arts

and Masters of Arts degrees from the National University of
Singapore (NUS), where she is currently attached to the
Department of Malay Studies. Her research areas include Malay
. myths, values and ideas and their impact on society (this was
the theme of her doctoral dissertation) and Malay literature and
development.
Introduction
This is a study on the nature and functions of Malay myths. The

study of myths is useful because it helps us to understand the
fundamental values and thinking of the groups that create them.
The groups mainly responsible for the creation of Malay
myths were the traditional Malay ruling classes. Their outlook
on life has greatly influenced the development of the Malays.
Many contemporary problems of the Malays such as a lack of
scientific orientation towards life, the romanticizing of feudal
heroes and the feudal past and the blind loyalty of the masses to
leaders are feudal continuities l originating from the myths
created by the ruling classes of the past. Hence an understanding
of the nature and functions of these myths will enlighten us
about the deeper nature of the problems that are peculiar to the
Malay world.
Of Positive and Negative Myths

Throughout history myths have been evaluated both positively
and negatively. Positive evaluations of myths are made by
those who see myths as having allegorical, religious and
philosophical truths. In spite of his disapproval of the myths
created by poets because of their undesirable effects on the
harmony of the soul, Plato employed myths allegorically.z Vieo,
whose interpretation of myth is regarded as the most profound
of his century and certainly the most originaJ,3 saw myths as
poetic wisdom and the product of vigorous imagination.4 His
vi
vii
Introduction
Myths and the Malay Ruling Class
work, the New Science, inspired important Romantic writers

like Herder, Goethe, Michelet and Schelling. In the nineteenth
century myth was venerated as the spring of human culture. 5
The positive value of myth was also recognized by
pyschoanalysts, such as lung, Kerenyi, Neumann and Campbell.
They considered myths as universal human archetypes. 6 Among
historians of religion, particularly Eliade, myth is considered as
sacred history.7
There are many others, however, who do not regard
myths as revealing fundamental truths about human existence.
They see myths instead as fictions, lies, fables, chimeras,
phantasies of what cannot really exist. The origin of the critiques
of myth goes back to fifth-century Greece. Great thinkers like
Xenophanes, Pin dar, Thales, Heraclitus severely criticized
Homer's and Hesiod's mythological conceptions of the gods
because the two men, said Xenophanes, ascribed to the gods all
deeds that among men are a reproach and a disgrace: thieving,
adultery, and mutual deception. s
Myth is criticized not only for its immoral notions, but
also for its irrational character which resists the growth of
scientific thought. It is when the Greeks made a gradual break
from their mythical past, from "mythos", and adopted "logos"
(word or rational faculty or an account of truth) that they
managed to make tremendous progress in philosophy and the
natural science. 9
Rational criticism of myths is also indebted to Thucydides
who criticized the mythological conception of history as inferior
and ephemeral compared to factual history of the kind he was
writing. This is what he opined: "The absence of romance in
my history will, I fear, detract somewhat from its interest; but
if it be judged useful by those inquirers who desire an exact
~i
~"
k'
&
knowledge of the past as an aid to the interpretation of the

future, which in the course of human things must resemble if it
does not reflect it, I shall be content. My history has been
composed to be a possession for all time, not the show-piece of
an ephemeral hour."IO In the eighteenth century, enlightened
men like Voltaire, Fontenelle and Bayle revived the rational
criticism of myths of the ancient Greek thinkers. II
It is when myths are used by the ruling classes and
interested groups to maintain or wield power that their dangerous
and destructive powers are recognized by many. The religious
myths created by the ruling classes of ancient Rome l2 and the
feudal myths of the European middle ages are two prime
examples. Barrows Dunham, in his book Man Against Myth,
comments on the feudal myth of medieval Europe: "The
aristocrats, who ruled feudal society (as was then believed) by
divine appointment, buttressed their own dominion with an
elaborated structure of myths concerning the nature of the
physical universe. They looked with no tolerance whatever
upon the early scientific discoveries. Bruno was burned and
Galileo was threatened, not because they said true things about
the world, but because the saying of the true things about the
world, was incompatible with the lordship of aristocrats. Physical
science was one of the weapons which the middle class forged
against the aristocracy: the aristocracy had to do all in its power
to prevent the weapon's being forged. For Galileo to assert that
the earth is a sphere rotating upon an axis, when feudal myth
held it to be stationary and flat, was as 'subversive' as for a
sociologist to assert today that wars originate from the nature of
capitalism."13
In spite of its technological and scientific developments,
the twentieth century has also see the rise of spurious myths 14
Introduction
or secular myths l5 or modern myths,16 such as the Myth of the

Aryan Race or the Myth of the General Strike which deceived
the masses. The use of myths in politics leads to a dangerous
consequence of what Cassirer decries as "the transvaluation of
all our ethical values".17
In the Malay world, the destructive effects of the myth of
the lazy native on the Malays in the post-independence period
are discussed by Professor Syed Hussein Alatas in his book
The Myth of the Lazy Native. The myth is created to project a
negative image of the natives and to justify colonial capitalism
and its exploitation. IS This kind of myth, which is devoid of
magic, is not however the concern of this book.
This book is concerned with the negative aspects of
Malay myths such as their irrational character, distortion of
history and abuse by the ruling class as reflected in the Malay
historical narratives. The kind of myths I am analysing is the
product of the ruling class. It is created by the authors of the
historical narratives as an attempt to glorify the rulers who
commissioned their writing. We can call the myths in the
historical narratives as Malay feudal myths defined here as
stories or tales with no semblance to reality and displaying the
following traits: They make reference to the magical, the
miraculous, the supernatural and the fantastic; they are a non
logical product of the mind; they command belief and they
serve the vested interests of the ruling class at the expense of
the masses.
broad categories. They are myths performing an explanatory

function and myths performing a justification or validatory
function. 19
Explanatory myth, also known as aetiological myth, offers
an explanation of the natural or physical world. 20 Usually it
explains the origin of a custom, a name, an object, an event or
a phenomenon. In such cases, the myth can also be considered
an origin myth.
It has been said that explanatory myth is a kind of proto
science in that it reflects primitive man's curiosity of his
environment. As the primitive man is believed to be mentally
inferior, he formulates nonlogical explanations to enable him to
understand and control his environment. All, or almost all of
them, says Lang, obviously aim at satisfying curiosity about the
causes of things, at supplying gaps in human knowledge and
conveying information about matters outside practical
experience. 21
On the Functions of Myths

The views of scholars on the function of myths, though
formulated in different ways, can be summed up under two
t
I;
~t
!,
In Malay historical narratives there are many explanatory

or origin myths which explain the origin of princes and
princesses, place-names, customs, objects and beliefs. The
purpose of these myths, however, is to serve not just as mere
explanations but also as justifications of certain vested interests.
The chief exponent of the justification function of myth
is Bronislaw Malinowski. He dismisses the idea that a myth
intends to explain or satisfy curiosity and asserts that its function
is to serve as a charter of belief, custom, institution, rite, etc.
Myth, he says, "is not an explanation in satisfaction of
scientific interest, but a narrative resurrection of a primeval
reality, told in satisfaction of deep religious wants, moral
cravings, social submissions, assertions, even practical
requirements. A myth fulfils an indispensible function in
~'f
,1 ~
Xl
primitive cultures: it expresses, enhances, and codifies belief; it

safeguards and enforces morality; it vouches for the efficiency
and contains practical rules for the guidance of man ...
it is not idle tale, but a hard-worked active force; it is not an
intellectual explanation or an artistic imagery, but a pragmatic
charter of primitive faith and moral wisdom."22
Malinowski's theory of myth is one of those monolithic
theories which have attracted serious criticism from scholars
such as O.S. Kirk. The latter argues that there is no single
theory of myth. Other theories are equally valid. 23 Similarly,
Percy Cohen points out that the different theories are not
conflicting but complementary since they explain different
statements about a myth.24 Correspondingly, there is no one
function of myth. Myths are multifunctional and posit different
levels of meaning. 25
Adopting the broad approach of Kirk and Cohen, I do
not deny the explanatory role of myths, nor do I claim that all
myths are justifications. Nevertheless, within the context of my
study of the historical narratives, I argue that the justification
function of myths is significant in the Malay context.
Malinowski's observation on the role of myth in a social
group is relevant to this study. For example, in his study of the
Trobrianders, Malinowski notes how a myth can be used to
satisfy one's craving for power or to glorify a certain group. It
is used, according to Malinowski, always to account for
extraordinary priviliges or duties, for great social inequalities,
and for severe burdens of rank, whether it be very high or low. 26
Myths can also be used to justify and account for an
anomalous state of affairs or statuses. It functions especially
where there is a sociological strain, such as in matters of great
difference in rank or power, matters of precedence and
xii
'''1'
Introduction
~
~
subordination, and unquestionably where profound historical

changes have taken place. 27
This function of glorifying a certain group and justifying
an anomalous status stands out clearly in the Malay feudal
myths. It is my contention that these myths are used to sanctify,
validate and legitimize the ideology of the traditional Malay
ruling class.
By the term 'ruling class', I refer to the ruler, the ministers,
the warriors and the court officials. The creator of Malay feudal
myths himself belongs to the court. By virtue of his membership
in the ruling group, he speaks the language of his group and
thinks in the manner in which his group thinks. The role of the
individual as an advocate of his group or as one reflecting the
group's mind is studied by Karl Mannheim. In his sociology of
knowledge, he expresses an insight into the dynamics involved:
"Men living in groups do not merely coexist physically as
discrete individuals. They do not confront the objects of the
world from the abstract levels of a contemplating mind as such,
nor do they do so exclusively as solitary beings. On the contrary,
they act with and against one another in diversely organized
groups, and while doing so they think with and against one
another. These persons, bound together into groups, strive in
accordance with the character and position of the groups to
which they belong to change the surrounding world of nature
and society or attempt to maintain it in a given condition. It is
the direction of this will to change or to maintain, of this
collective activity, which produces the guiding thread for the
emergence of their problems, their concepts, and their forms of
thought."28
In addition to his membership in the group which colours
his thinkinl! along that of the group, he has the personal
xiii
obligation of representing the aristocratic world-view or the

cultural ideals of his lord, as his livelihood and his sense of
personal honour and prestige depend primarily on the latter.29
Myth and Ideological Justification

Having clarified the position of the court writer as an ideologue
of the ruling class, let me now define the term ideology. By
ideology, I mean a body of beliefs containing the following
characteristics: 30 (a) it seeks to justify a particular political,
social and economic order; (b) in this attempt, it distorts the
part of the social reality likely to contradict its main
presuppositions; (c) it exists primarily in the form of a manifest
thought content which is different from its latent content; Cd) it
is authoritative in nature; (e) it expresses the interests of a
distinctive group; (f) when it is dominant it creates a false
consciousness among the group it represents as well as the
group it dominates; (g) it can draw its ideas from any source,
science, religion, culture, economics, history, etc.; (h) it arises
out of the conflicting interests of separate groups, in a society
with a pronounced division of labour and social classes and
(i) its major ideas are eventually conditioned to a large extent
by the mode of production in a given time and place.
The myths in the Malay historical narratives sanctify
the ideology of the ruling class by projecting three ideal
images of the class. Our classification of myths in this book is
based on them. The three ideal images with their corresponding
myths are as follows: The first ideal image represents the past
as great and glorious. This is the myth of the golden age
discussed in Chapter Two. The second ideal image portrays the
king as divine. This idea is propagated in the myth of divine
xiv
Introduction
kingship discussed in Chapter Three. The third ideal image

presents the group or dynasty as the most superior and this
.' theme of dynastic myth is developed in Chapter Four.
When the ideological beliefs in the myths are analyzed
in terms of their manifest and latent functions, a discrepancy
.emerges between the ideal images and actual conduct. This is
because the various ideal images are mere rationalizations of
certain hidden or latent motives. The exposure of hidden motives
behind these ideal images or the unmasking of vested interests
behind their creation reveals the real nature of a situation, the
true recognition of which would not be in accord with the
(power holder's) int~restY
Rationalizations behind the creation of the myths are
either conscious or unconscious. Conscious rationalizations are
justifications and distortions which the ruling class is fully
aware of, and which it exploits in order to preserve its power
and dominance. This mQtive is hidden from the subject class. In
this sense the latter can be said to be in a state of false
consciousness and not aware of the real motive of the ruling
class. It accepts as true and valid the ideology of the ruling class
and mistakenly regards it as an expression of their interest.
Unquestioning loyalty for example is an ideal political
tool for safeguarding the vested interest of the ruling class.
Myth, with its strong emotional appeal, legitimizes this value
above questioning and critical reflection, thus serving that
political goaL
On the comparative level, there are similarities between
the functions of Malay myths and those of the Romans. Michael
Grant in his book, Roman Myths, states that even if they (Roman
myths) made use of a certain amount of folklore, they were on
the whole invented, adapted or adjusted at the top, and steps
xv
were then taken to ensure that they flowed downwards. He

asserts that the people who took the vital steps towards the
fonnation of the mythology were already members of the ruling
groups, or their spokesmen. These group would arrange matters
to impress and restrain the masses. 32
Unconscious rationalizations, on the other hand, fulfil
the psychological needs of the ruling class. Myths in the Malay
texts serve not only to justify political purposes, but also to
compensate for lost glory and pride, inferiority complex and a
sense of insecurity. In addition, they fulfill the need to justify
dual morality, weaknesses and decadence of the ruling class.
In this respect false consciousness betakes the ruling
class itself, and not just the subject class in that ulterior
motivations are not seen as the factors conditioning the creation
of the myths. Only the political purposes are felt to be more
obvious. The compensatory and insecurity factors arising from
certain social-historical conditions remain at the unconscious
level as far as the thought content of the ruling class is concerned.
These unconscious rationalizations betray themselves in the
exaggerations, inconsistencies and contradictions in the ideal
images created by the myths.
In this sense, the false consciousness of the ruling class
is a form of self-deception. Mannheim comments on the process
involved as follows: "As examples of 'false consciousness'
taking the form of an incorrect interpretation of one's self and
one's role, we may cite those cases in which persons try to
cover up their 'real' relations to themselves and to the world,
and falsify to themselves the elementary facts of human
existence by deifying, romanticizing or idealizing them, in
short, by resorting to the device of escape from themselves and
the world, and thereby conjuring up false interpretations of
xvi
Introduction
~xperience.
We have a case of ideological distortion, therefore,

when we try to resolve conflicts and anxieties by having recourse
to absolutes, according to which it is no longer possible to live.
. s is the case when we create 'myths', worship 'greatness in
, avow allegiance to 'ideals', while in our actual conduct
are following other interests which we try to mask by
~,llllUL<lU115 an unconscious righteousness, which is only too
easily transparent."33
In the case of Malay feudal myths, they idealize fifteenth
century Malacca, a period which is far from a great and glorious
one. The king, though eulogized as being divine, fair, just and
the protector of the people, commits many immoral and cruel
crimes. Despite claims of superiority and greatness, the group
short of the ideal standards of excellence advocated and
't,D}omed by its religion.
The conscious and unconscious motives behind the
.... <;reation of the myths are by no means exclusive of each other.
.Both moti ves can exist in a single myth. For example, the myth
of the golden age functions as a compensation for lost glory as
well as for the political purpose of sanctifying authority.
When the conscious and unconscious motives behind
the creation of the myths are exposed, baring the contradiction
between the ideal-images painted and the reality they hide, we
get a clearer picture of the character o~ the social group
responsible for the myths concerned.
Scholars have pointed out how a myth can reveal the
character of a social group or class. In his study of totemic
myths, Durkheim contends that the myths of a social group
give it an identity different from that of other groupS.34 Hallowell
shows how psychoanalysts like G. Roheim, A. Kardiner and
E.H. Erickson analyzed the character of a people by studying
xvii
their myths. 35 H,J. Rose, in his study of Greek myths, points out
how they reflect the national character of the Greeks. 36
What do the Malay feudal myths reveal of the character
of the group behind them? In my opinion they indicate a group
with a decadent ideology.
In studying Malay historical narratives as the main
sources of Malay feudal myths, we are not denying the
importance of a critical edition of texts. Every piece of evidence
in the texts, though trivial, unhistorical, exaggerated or fictional,
has the value of an important fact. What Brentano says of the
chronicles and annals he uses in the study of feudal France is
relevant here: "Even if this story should lack authenticity the
fact of its having been noted down by a man living at the time
is not the less significant."37
Finally I need to clarify that if this study carries a
negative tone, it is largely determined by the materials. I am
not, however, making a generalization that all myths have
negative connotations. As has been pointed out the negative
connotation arises when myths are exploited in favour of the
interests of certain groups above others, which is the case with
the myths in the Malay historical narratives. I am, further,
aware of the negative connotation of the term 'myth' itself.
Such connotation is derived from a long history. Bel Halpern
appropriately observes that myths took on negative
connotations as far back as the Homeric epics, which are
regarded as implicit critiques and reformulations of earlier
myths and the subsequent criticism of myth by monotheistic
iconoclasm. The long succession of critics of myth finally
stamped on the word the meaning of unfounded fantasy
which it has since retained. 38 David Bidney similarly asserts
that myth is not a scientifically neutral term; on the contrary
xviii
Introduction
. it is a value-charged term which implies a negative evaluation. 39

I do not base my criticism of Malay myths, however, on
given premises. I base my criticisms solely on their
;'i,nature, function and social and political implications.
On the subject of feudal continuities with reference to Malaysia

see Syed Hussein Alatas, "Feudalism in Malaysian Society: A
Study in Historical Continuity", in his Modernization and Social
Change, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1972. Also refer to
Chandrasekaran PiIIay, Some Dominant Concepts and Dissenting
Ideas on Malay Rule and Malay Society from the Malaccan to
the Colonial and Merdeka Period, Ph.D. Thesis, University of
Singapore, 1978; Shahilruddin Maaruf, The Concept of a Hero
in Malay Society, Eastern University Press, Singapore, 1984.
See I.A. Stewart. The Myths of Plato, Centaur Press, London.
1960; M,D.C. Tait, "Plato's use of Myth", UniVersity ofToronto
Quarterly, vol. 26,1956-1957, pp. 165-179; Gerald D, Stormer,
"Plato's Theory of Myth", The Personalist, vol. 55, 1974, pp,
216-223.
3.
Burton Feldman and Robert D. Richardson, The Rise ofModern

Mythology (1680-1860), Indiana University Press, London,
1972.
Giambattista Vico, The New Science (tr. by Thomas Goddard
Bergin and Max Harold Fisch). Cornell University Press, Ithaca,
1948.
Some of the works of these thinkers are not available in the
library. I have depended on the excerpts made by Feldman and
Robertson which Ackerman describes as "no passive collection
of source documents ' .. There will be nt book like it in English
for some time to come", "Writing about Writing about Myth",
Journal of the History ofIdeas, vol. 34, p. 153. The article is a
book review of Feldman's and Robertson's book.
xix

28.
Karl Mannheim, Ideology and Utopia, Routledge and Kegan

Paul, London, 1979, pp. 2-3.
29.
For the traits of feudalism, see Syed Hussein Alatas, "Feudalism

in Malaysian Society: A Study in Historical Continuity," in his
Modernization and Social Change, op. cit., pp. 100-101. On
personal honour and prestige in feudal society, see Marc Bloch,
Feudal Society, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1961; Iohan
Huizinga, The Waning of the Middle Ages, E. Arnold, London,
1927; Frantz Funck-Brentano, The Old Regime in France, E.
Arnold, London, 1929. For a study of Malay feudalism see
Shaharuddin Maaruf, "A Study of Malay Feudal Values" in his
book Malay Ideas on Development, Times Books International,
Singapore, 1988, pp. 1-23.
30.
Syed Hussein Alatas, The Myth of the Lazy Native, op. cit. p. 1.
31.
Mannheim,op. cit., p. 49.
32.
Michael Grant, Roman Myths, Charles Scribner, New York,

1971, pp. 221, 226 and 227. For the political uses of Greek
myths, see Martin P. Nilsson, Cults, Myths, Oracles and Politics
in Ancient Greece, C.W.K. Gleerup, Lund, 1951.
33.
Mannheim,op. cit., pp. 85-6.
34.
Emile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life,

Collier, New York, 1961.
35.
Irwing Hallowell, "Myth, Culture and Personality", American
Anthropologist, vol. 49, 1947, p. 551.
36.
H.J. Rose, A Handbook ofGreek Mythology, E.P. Dutton, New

York, 1950, p. 14.
37.
Brentano,op. cit. p. 154.
38.
Bel Halpern, '''Myth' and 'Ideology' in Modem Usage", History
and Theory, vol. 1, 1960-1, p. 131.

39.
xxii
...~::------
.'
David Bidney, "The Concept of Myth and the Problem of

Psycho-cultural Evolution", American Anthropologist, vol. 52,
1950, p. 22.

6.
7.
C.G. Jung and C. Kerenyi, Essays on a Science of Mythology

(tr. R.F.C. Hull), Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1963;
Erich Neumann, The Origins and History of Consciousness,
Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1954; Joseph Campbell,
The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Bolligen Series XVII,
Princeton University Press, New York, 1968.
Mircea Eliade, the Myth of the Eternal Return, Princeton
University Press, New York, no. 7, 1971; Myth. Dreams and
Mysteries, Harvill Press, London, 1960; Myth and Reality,
George Allen & Unwin, London, 1963.
8.
Quoted from W.K.C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy,

vol. 1, Cambridge University Press, New York, 1962, p. 371.
For discussions on the immoral elements of Greek Myths, see
the chapter, "The Gods on Trial" in H.G. Rose's Ancient Greek
Religion, Hutchinson's University Library, London 1946, and
"The Immoral Elements in the myth", in Wilhelm Wundt, The
Fact ofthe Moral Life. George Allen and Unwin, London, 1922,
pp.65-71.
9.
See Ernst Cassirer, "'Logos' and 'Mythos' in Early Greek

Philosophy", The Myth of the State, Yale University Press, New
Haven, 1946, pp. 53-60; also the Chapter on "From Myths to
Philosophy?" in G.S. Kirk, The Nature ofGreek Myths, Penguin
Books, 1982, pp. 276-304.
10. Quoted by E. Cassirer from Thucydides, The Peloponnesian

War, op. cit., p. 53.
.
11. See Feldman and Robertson, op. cit.
12. W. Warde Fowler, Roman Ideas ofDeity, Macmillan, London,
1914; L.R. Taylor, The Divinity ofthe Roman Emperor, American
Philological Association, Middleton, Connecticut, 1931.
13. Barrows Dunham, Man Against Myth, Little Brown, Boston,
1949, p. 17.
14. Carl Kerenyi, "Myth and Technique", Diogenes, no. 49, 1965,
p.29.
xx
Introduction
David Bidney, "Myth" in Theoretical Anthropology, Columbia
University Press, New York, 1953, p. 325.
Jacques Ellul, "Modern Myths", Diogenes, no. 23, 1958.
Cassirer, op. cit., p. 203.
Syed Hussein Alatas, The Myth of the Laz:y Native, Frank Cass,
London, 1977.
19.
G.S. Kirk states that there are three functions of myth. The first
function is primarily narrative and entertaining; the second
operative, iterative, and validatory; and the third speculative
and explanatory. I believe that the narrative function is common
to all myths and cannot be classified as a separate function. Kirk
himself admits this fact: "Yet myths that are exclusively narrative,
and seem to have no speculative or operative content whatever,
are rare." Refer to G.S. Kirk, Myth: Its Meaning and Functions
in Ancient and Other Cultures, Cambridge University Press,
London, 1970, pp. 253-4.
Andrew Lang's assertion that myth is explanatory is a reaction
against Max Muller's theory of myth. Muller suggests that
myths are formed as a resultof a misunderstanding of names or
what is popularly known as "a disease of language". See Andrew
Lang, Myth, Ritual and Religion, vol. I & II, Longmans, Green,
London, 1913.
21. Andrew Lang, op. cit, vol. U, pp. 300-301.
Bronislow Malinowski, Magic. Science and Religion and Other

Essays, The Free Press, Glencoe, Illinois, 1948, p. 79.
G.S. Kirk, op. cit., chapters one and three.
24. Percy Cohen. "Theories of Myth" in MAN. New Series, vol. 4,
no. I, 1969, pp. 336-7.
Ii'
25. Kirk and Cohen, ibid.

26. Malinowski, op. cit. p. 64.
27. Ibid., p. 103.
xxi

28. Karl Mannheim, Ideology and Utopia, Routledge and Kegan
Paul, London, 1979, pp. 2-3.
29. For the traits of feudalism, see Syed Hussein Alatas, "Feudalism
in Malaysian Society: A Study in Historical Continuity," in his
Modernization and Social Change, op. cit., pp. 100-101. On
personal honour and prestige in feudal society, see Marc Bloch,
Feudal Society, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1961; Johan
Huizinga, The Waning of the Middle Ages, E. Arnold, London,
1927; Frantz Funck-Brentano, The Old Regime in France, E.
Arnold, London, 1929. For a study of Malay feudalism see
Shaharuddin Maaruf, "A Study of Malay Feudal Values" in his
book Malay Ideas on Development, Times Books International,
Singapore, 1988, pp. 1-23.
30. Syed Hussein Alatas, The Myth of the Lazy Native, op. cit. p. 1.
31. Mannheim,op. cit., p. 49.
32. Michael Grant, Roman Myths, Charles Scribner, New York,
1971, pp. 221, 226 and 227. For the political uses of Greek
myths, see Martin P. Nilsson, Cults, Myths, Oracles and Politics
in Ancient Greece, C.W.K. Gleerup, Lund, 1951.
33. Mannheim,op. cit., pp. 85-6.
34. Emile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life,
Collier, New York, 1961.
35. Irwing Hallowell, "Myth, Culture and Personality", American
Anthropologist, vol. 49, 1947, p. 551.
36. H.J. Rose, A Handbook of Greek Mythology, E.P. Dutton, New
York, 1950, p. 14.
37. Brentano, op. cit. p. 154.
38. Bel Halpern, '''Myth' and 'Ideology' in Modern Usage", History
and Theory, vol. 1, 1960-1. p.l3l.
39. David Bidney, "The Concept of Myth and the Problem of
Psycho-cultural Evolution", American Anthropologist, vol. 52,
1950, p. 22.
xxii
Magie in Malay Myths
Malinowski calls myths which endow the performance of magic

with worth and validity as myths of magic. I Central to this type
of myths is a conception ofa world which makes no consistent
.demarcation between its separate realms. For example, Hikayat
Merong Mahawangsa. a Kedah annals whose date of authorship
.is unknown, opens with a magical world in which animals can
... speak and interfere in the affairs of man, where rain, thunder
and lightning can be brought down at will and where arrows
can turn into flame. 2
The well-known Malay chronicle, Sejarah Melayu,
written most probably in the latter half of the sixteenth century,
. relates the story of Raja Suran descending into the ocean. There
. he discovers a kingdom, marries a princess, and has children.
He returns from the. ocean on a flying horse. His three sons
return to the Malay world riding a white sacred cow. Their
arrival at Bukit Siguntang Mahameru turns padi grains into
gold, leaves into silver and stems into gold alloy. And from the
spew of the cow emergs a man called Bat. 3
Free movement between heaven and earth is related in
Hikayat Hang Tuah, a court epic written in the early eighteenth
century. The text relates the story of a heavenly king who
1
Myths ami the Malay Ruling Class

Magic in Malay Myths
descends to earth and marries a mortal princess. The king

and his consort later return to the heavenly kingdom, leaving
their son Sang Sapurba to rule the earth. Sang Sapurba
meets a princess whose origin is from the spew of a white cow.
To inform his parents of his proposed marriage to the
magical princess, Sang Sapurba commands one of his
ministers to ascend to the heavenly kingdom. His parents
frequently descend to earth to visit their grandchildren. 4 In the
tale, Bukit Siguntang functions as the center of the world
where heaven and earth converge. 5
In the mythical world of the Malay historical narratives
the manner of demarcating phenomena like heaven and earth,
land and sea, man and animal, animate and inanimate, the
natural and the supernatural does not conform to empirical
observation. The mode of thinking giving rise to such
classification is described by Ernst Cassirer as being
governed by the "characteristic law of the concrescene or
coincidence of the members of a relation"6 and is thus indifferent
to the various levels of objectivization, which are distinguished
by empirical thinking.? The law of the concrescence or
coincidence of the members of a relation referred to by
Cassirer, in explaining a mythical mode of thinking, is based on
the law of sympathetic magic discussed by Edward Tylor and
developed by James Frazer. Frazer's theory of magic is relevant
to our study of the Malay myths of magic. He distinguishes
between magic and religion as well as between magic and
science. Magic seeks to compel the world of the supernatural
to do its bidding. The failure to get results is attributed to
errors of procedure or to a stronger counter-magic being brought
to bear. 8 It involves the element of coercion or constraint as
opposed to religion, which involves the element of propitiation
or conciliation of powers superior to man, believed to direct

and control the course of nature and of human life. 9
Frazer is not the only one to make such a distinction
;;~tween magic and religion. Van Baal notes that in all
of magic, early investigators noticed an element of
or automatic effectiveness due to the skilful
of esoteric knowledge which has so little to
with humility or dependence on supernatural beings. 10
Van Baal himself defines magic as "ritual acts, preferably
Qf a simple character, executed to promote the realization of
a concrete end".ll On the distinction between religion
and magic, he says: "The actions of superhuman beings
be incalculable as such, and their power necessarily
an attitude of dependence among the believers, an
flatly contradicted by a magician's reliance on strict
The Compounding of Magic and Religion

jn many Malay myths magic and religion are not distinguished.
. The two elements seem to blend. A good example of this is the
myth on the conversion of Pasai and Malacca to Islam. In both
.cases both the rulers of Malacca and Pasai were converted to
Islam through dreams in which they met the Prophet
,!Muhammad. The description of the dream in Hikayat Raja
Pasai (pasai Chronicles) is as follows: "He (Merah Silu)
a person standing, his chin cupped in his hand; his eyes
covered by his four fingers. The person said, 'Merah Silu,
recite the words of the profession of faith.' 'I do not know how
to recite them,' replied Merah Silu. 'Open your mouth,' said
. the person. Merah Silu opened his mouth and the person spat
:--";.---
Myths and the
Ruling Class
into it. The taste was rich and sweet. Then he said to Merah
Silu, 'Your name shall be Sultan Maliku'} Saleh. From now
on your are a Muslim and will recite the words of the profession
of faith .... In forty days' time a ship will arrive from Mecca.
The words spoken by the people on board and all their
observances which are in accordance with the institution of
Islam, these you must follow without deviation. And you must
obey all their instructions.' On waking, Merah SHu discovered
that he had been circumcized and was able to read the thirty
sections of the Quran without a single fault. And the ship
arrived to formalise the proselytization."13 A similar myth is
14
related in Sejarah Melayu.

These myths represent a fusion of magical and religious
elements. Another example of the lack of distinction between
magic and religion is the myth concerning the origin of
Malay rulers. In Sejarah Melayu, the Malay rulers trace
their lineage to two main ancestors. One is Raja Iskandar
or Alexander the Great, a historical personality alleged to
have been religiously appointed by God to rule the kingdom
on earth,IS and the other Sang Sapurba, a magical ancestor
who ascended from the ocean. The magical and the religious
ancestors are included in the same genealogy without an
awareness of the contradiction between the two.
R.R. Marett argues that magic has anti-social
possibilities, as opposed to religion which is always approved
by the group. He states that it is possible to treat magic as a
general name for all the bad kinds of trafficking with the
occult and supra-sensible in vogue in a given society, while
conversely, religion may be taken to comprehend all the
good kinds of such traffIcking. 16 He further states that it is
religion that has all the organization to itself, because public
approval affords it every chance of free expansion. Magic, on

the other hand, as the enemy of organized cult and, indeed, of
the soCial organization as a whole, must lurk in dark places. 17
Marett's observation of magic, however, is true only
for evil magic 18 which is usually practised in private. This is
not the case for public magic. Public magic is considered
beneficent magic practised in order to secure benefits for the
community as a whole. It is usually employed for healing
purposes or to promote human activities like hunting, fishing,
gardening and determining the weather.
In the Malay feudal courts, magic was given state
recognition. It was sanctioned by rulers, performed and
practised in the court. Magicians enjoyed high status in
court life. They were accepted as part and parcel of court
life and encouraged to exhibit their magical prowess. For
example a certain Saiyid, a man of Arab descent, helped a
ruler of Malacca defeat Siam by shooting an arrow from
Malacca in the direction of Siam, which by thought and
desire was believed to have killed the king of Siam. 19 The act of
sorcery in this instance was not practised in the dark but in
the open. A certain Yogi performed magical acrobatics before
Sultan Ahmad of Pasai with his approvapo Sometimes Malay
rulers were themselves portrayed as magicians who
demonstrated their magical abilities publicly to illustrate their
superiority over others. Examples of this are seen in the story
of Sultan Mansur, who dipped his feet into the water which
was then drunk by the ruler of China, which cured the latter's
skin disease,21 and of the myth of Sang Sapurba, who was able
to convert sea water into fresh water by dipping his feet in
it. 22
5
4

The Law of Sympathy Underlying Magic

It is generally believed by scholars that magic works according
to certain laws or is based upon an association of ideas. In this
respect, magic is considered to be akin to science. Frazer calls
the law governing magic as the law of sympathy. Two principles
make up this law. One is the law of similarity which gives rise
to homeopathic or imitative magic and the other the law of
contact which underlies contagious magic. The law of similarity
assumes that like equals to like or that an effect resembles its
cause. The law of contact assumes that apart is equal to its
whole or that things which have once been in physical contact
with one another continue to act on one another, even after the
contact has been severed. From the first principle, namely the
law of similarity, the magician infers that he can produce any
effect he desires merely by imitating it. From the second, he
infers that whatever he does to a material object will similarly
affect those that the object has been in contact with, regardless
23
of whether it forms part of his body or not.

Examples of imitative magic at work are the myths
concerning the foundation of cities. Pasai, Samudera
Singapura were named after a dog, an ant and a lion respectively.
It is a mythical mode of reasoning which considers the display
of courage, strength and tenacity by these creatures not only as
propitious signs but also as an argument that cities built on the
very spots where the animals appear will actually draw the
qualities exhibited by these creatures. The reasoning runs as
follows: As the animals display positive qualities, by the
principle of like producing like, so will the cities. Logically
speaking, there is no causal connection between the sudden
appearance of the animal, their display of positive qualities by
the creatures and the subsequent character of the cities. However,

it is the illogicality of magico-mythical thinking that leads to
such false association of ideas through the law of sympathy.
A similar mode of thinking can be discerned in Maharaja
Dewa Sura, the ruler of Pahang captured and imprisoned by the
king of Malacca, when he attributed the defeat of his country to
the missing nail of his favourite elephant. Sejarah Melayu
relates the following: "It happened one day, after Maharaja
Sura had been imprisoned for some While, that the elephant Ya
Kenyang was led past the prison-cage on his way down the
river to be bathed. Sri Maharaja Sura called him and when the
elephant carne to him, he examined him and perceived that one
of his nails was missing. And he said, 'To think that after all
these years this is the first time I have looked at my own
elephant like this. No wonder I lost my country."'24
In contagious magic, on the other hand, the whole and
the part share a contiguity that is in no way disturbed by
separation. A whole person can be reconstituted from one of his
parts. In a battle with a Malaccan warrior named Hang Tuah,
Sang Winara, a Majapahit warrior was slain by the former. His
decapitated head, still alive, fled from the village and was
rescued by four disciple warriors. In a will he left his disciples,
he ordered that his head be buried at the foot of a mountain and
be dug out after seven years. He would then return to life,25
The resurrection of the whole from the part also implies
that lifeforce resides in different parts of the person. Hikayat
Raja-Raja Pasai relates how the soul or spirit of Princess
Betung was locked in a single thread of her golden hair. When
Merah Silu, the ruler of Pasai, plucked it out during her sleep,
"blood poured out of the hole where the hair had been - white
blood which went on pouring out continuously. At last the flow
7

of the blood stopped. But by that time the princess was dead."26
Here the personality of a being is considered indi visible, residing
27
as a whole in each of its parts.

These parts need not refer only to the human body. It
may be anything which has come into contact with the person.
To secure these parts is to invoke the whole personality with
which the parts have come into contact. The seat of Tun Teja,
a beautiful lady desired by the ruler of Malacca, for example, is
inseparable from her whole personality. Thus, in order to bewitch
her into falling in love with the ruler of Malacca, Hang Tuah
applied love potion to her seat. The effect was miraculous. Her
contempt for the ruler suddenly turned to extreme passion.
Magic and Science Distinguisbed

The association of ideas underlying sympathetic magic has led
many to believe that magic is like science. Both are said to be
a technique, a formula or a rule of procedure intended to produce
resultS. The only difference is that the association of ideas in
magic is based on false analogies which must therefore be
2
regarded as false science or primitive science. & It must be
noted that magical causality is different from experimental
causality and does not constitute the essence of magic. In ruling
out the association of magic with science, Marett states the
following: "The magician surely does not postulate 'that the
same causes will always produce the same effects.' On the
contrary, his art is based on the supposed possibility of miracle
_ on what might be termed supercausation as contrasted with
normal causation. In other words, he seeks to help out ordinary
action by means of an increment of power from a suprasensible
William Howells similarly points out that the doctrines

of magic are different from those of science. Science, he says,
wants to know whether a given method will work, and why;
from knowing why, it will go on to devise other methods for
other things. Magic also wants to know whether a thing will
work, and is much interested in why; but it is willing to make
assumptions as to why, and does not insist on digging out
physical causes; it is content to let the causes remain invisible
and so, possibly, supernatural. In magic apparent conflicts of
fact are not fought out but evaded, and if they seem serious,
further explanation may be simply invented to reconcile them.30
The need to distinguish between magic, which dominates
the life of primitive man, and science, which is an integral part
of modem man, has led Levy-Bruhl to postulate two types of
thinking. He says that primitive man has a pre-logical mentality
while modem man possesses a logical or scientific or rational
mentality. Unlike modem man whose thinking is governed by
the law of contradiction, the thinking of the primitive man is
governed by the law of mystic participation. 31
The criticism brought against Levy-Bruhl is that being
an armchair philosopher who never saw a primitive man, he
overlooked the fact that the primitive man was clearly capable
of logical thinking when dealing with the practical affairs of
life. It was only when facing the unknown or the unaccountable
that he applied magic. This is the standpoint adopted by
Malinowski: "Wherever there is danger, uncertainty, great
incidence of chance and accident, even in entirely modem
forms of enterprise, magic crops up .... Magic is to be expected
and generally to be found whenever man comes to an ubridgeable
gap, a hiatus in his knowledge. or in his powers of practical
control, and yet has to continue in his pursuit."32 Marett shares
source:'29
9
8
a view similar to that of Malinowski. According to Marett: "It

is mainly at the crisis, periodic or occasional, in the social and
individual life that the need to draw on unseen sources of
support is felt. In the intervals the workaday world of actions,
guided by the routine of sense-perception, stands in the
foreground of attention; and this is the world in which science
in the sense of natural science has always been at home."33
Similarly, Paul Radin, in a conscious attempt to discount Levy
Bruhl's theory, illustrates the capacity of the primitive man to
philosophize and rationalize: "There is not a slightest indication
of the existence of any fundamental difference in primitive
people's emotional nature as compared with ours. I think we
may confidently assume that the same differentiate of ability
and temperament holds for them that holds for US."34 Though
the antithetical distinction made by Levy-Bruhl, between modem
and primitive thinking may not be valid, the difference between
the two still holds if one does not regard them as evolutionary
concepts but instead sees them as a question of dominance. In
primitive society, the pre-logical mentality dominates the
thinking of its members more than scientific, rational mentality,
and vice-versa.
Mystic Participation and Magic

Having clarified Levy-Bruhl's standpoint we can now go into
his theory of primitive mentality and note its relevance to our
study. According to him what makes a social group share a
close connection with a given animal for example is due to the
group belief that mystical properties are inherent in all things.
The relationship between them is therefore a mystical relation
governed by a law known as the law of mystic participation.
lO
This law operates differently from the law of causality or

contradiction which governs the thinking of modem, rational
man. The basic difference between the two is that the primitive
mode of thinking does not bind itself down to avoiding
35
contradiction. The law of mystic participation corresponds to
Frazer's law of sympathetic magic. Both work by the idea
of similarity and contiguity. However, while Frazer's law of
sympathetic magic refers to the erroneous application of the
association of ideas, Levy-Bruhl's law of mystic participation
refers to the collective representations of a given social group.
The characteristics of collective representations have been
summarised by Syed Hussein Alatas as follows: 36 1. They are
transmitted to all or a large section of the members of
social group through an unbroken series of successive
generations. 2. They are felt to possess power and to influence
the individuals, awakening in them the sentiments of respect,
awe, fear, adoration etc. 3. They are not the products of reason
and discursive reasoning for they ignore the logical law of
contradiction. 4. The constituent elements of the concepts are
fixed upon the empirical objects and are empirically non
verifiable. 5. They are not reducible to impressions
generated from individual psychological experiences as such.
6. In assigning causes to particular events, anyone cause may
be chosen without discrimination in terms of its relevance
within the context of causal relationship.
In the Malay myths, there are many accounts of men or
things changing or transfOrming themselves, involving the idea
of mystic Participation. In these myths of transformation or
shape-shifting, the most diverse of genus or species can move
from one category to another without seeming conflict or
contradiction. Sang Winara, a Majapahit warrior, in a duel with
11
Hang Tuah, a Malaccan warrior, changed himself into a log, a

dog, a man again, an insect, a cat, a tiger and back to his usual
self. Hang Tuah changed himself into a tiger, chased Sang
Winara in the form of a dog and later changed to his normal
self.37 In another attempt to defeat Hang Tuah, Petal a Bumi,
another Javanese warrior, shape-shifted himself into a cat, a
log, a dog, a tiger and a monster. Hang Tuah responded by
transforming himself into a tiger and then back to his ordinary
self.3s In Sejarah Melayu, a whole padi field miraculously
transformed into a field of gold and silver due to the presence
of a divine ruler. 39 Merah Silu of Pasai boiled worms which
40
turned to gold and their spume into silver. Rice, blood and
41
human being could turned into stones. In Hikayat Merong
Mahawangsa, a Kedah court annal, an arrow changed into a

mythical bird, a Garuda, supposedly a descendant of a heavenly
ruler. 42
The Idea of Transference in Magic

Mystical participation also involves the idea of transference.
Firstly, pre-logical thinking embodies the belief that a person's
attributes such as his strength, power, life, death, sickness and
health, can be intimately linked to certain objects of close
possessions. The loss of these objects or absence of contact
with them will diminish the attributes concerned. Secondly, the
attribute or quality believed to be residing in the object is
capable of transference to another person or object coming into
contact with it. 43 Let me give some examples.
Hikayat Hang Tuah relates how Hang Tuah's fate or
well-being was closely linked to his magic kris, Taming Sari.
The bond between Hang Tuah and the kris was significant in
the sense that the possession of the kris marked a new turning
point in his career as a warrior. Coming into possession of the
kris, he was knighted as an admiral.44 Anyone wishing to defeat
him had to first deprive him of his weapon. When he was
brought back from exile and ordered to kill the treacherous
Hang Jebat, his first request to the ruler was the return of his
kris Taming Sari. However, since the weapon was in the hands
of Hang Jebat, the ruler offered Hang Tuah another weapon
which he accepted reluctantly. He expressed pessimism about
defeating Hang Jebat with the new weapon. 45
Given this idea of mystic association between man
and a certain object he comes into contact with, adherents of
such an idea believe that in order to defeat an enemy they
must gain possession of his weapon or for that matter anything
upon which his strength or life depends. In a duel with Hang
Jebat, Hang Tuah had only to seize the magical kris from
Hang Jebat to render Hang Jebat vulnerable to weapons. 46
Hikayat Hang Tuah also relates how Hang Tuah's health
gradually deteriorated after losing his kris in an undersea
battle with a white crocodile. Likewise the health of
Sultan Mahmud, the Malaccan ruler, deteriorated after his
crown fell into the sea. 47 Sejarah Melayu also records a
mystic relation between the royal crown and a storm. It is
related how during a severe storm the ship of Sri Tri Buana
began to sink. In order to save the ship from sinking all
things were thrown overboard. This measure however
failed. It was then believed that the floundering of the
ship had something to do with the royal crown, and that unless
it was also thrown overboard the ship could not be saved. It is
recounted how once the crown was thrown overboard, the
storm suddenly abated and the ship regained her buoyancy
r
f
and landed safely.48 The sanctity of the crown is believed to

have the mystical effect of calming the storm upon contact with
the stormy sea.
The Preoccupation with the Concrete

and the Particular
The belief in the transference or mystic participation indicates
one important trait of the prelogical mentality in Malay myths;
its weakness in abstraction and its emphasis mainly on the
concrete and.the particular. Abstract notions like pain, sickness,
luck and strength are regarded as substances which are capable
of transference. Hans Kelsen associates this 'substantialing
tendency' as an aspect of primitive thinking. He states that a
primitive man does not distinguish, as we do, between the body
and its conditions, its qualities, the forces which move it, or the
relation in which it stands to other bodies; he rather imagines
these qualities, conditions, forces and relations as substances.
In as much as he fears certain qualities or conditions or wishes
to obtain them, he considers the thing feared or desired as
somehow an infection, or as an emanating substance contagious
through touch. 49
Examples of this trait are replete in the Malay texts.
Sejarah Melayu relates how the ruler of China was struck with
a skin affliction which could be cured only by drinking the
water used by the king of Malacca to wash his feet. 50 The
sanctity of the king was believed to have been transferred into
the water and was therefore capable of magical therapeutic
effect. A similar case is illustrated in the myth how Sang
Sapurba transformed sea water into fresh water. In this case his
magical quality was transferred into the water making it SO.51 In
14
Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai a story is told of Tun Beraim Bapa,

the son of the ruler of Pasai, consuming the poison gi ven by his
father: ''The poison was so strong that soon he was writhing in
agony. His whole body itched. He told his friends Perman Isap
and Orang Tikar to scratch him. But as soon as they started
scratching Tun Beraim Bapa's back their nails peeled off and
they fell dead. Tun Beraim Bapa could not endure the torment
any longer. He went up to the Kulau tree and rubbed his back
against the trunk. But the entire bark peeled off, all the leaves
fell and the tree died instantly."52
The primitive conception of qualities as substances

capable of transference is not only confined to bodily or
physical attributes but also includes moral qualities such as
good and evil. Sin or guilt is transferable to those things
with which the individual has close contact. This leads to the
idea that the expiation of a crime committed by an individual
must include the destruction of his possessions. Many
Malay myths contain such primitive beliefs. For example, when
Sultan Mahmud discovered the treacherous act of
Raja Mendeliar, a businessman, the latter was ordered to be
killed and thrown into the sea together with his entire
household. Kitul, who was involved in the slander leading
to the death of Bendahara Seri Maharaja, was slain together
with his wife and children, and the soil on which they were
executed was discarded into the sea. 53 For his crime of
betraying Singapura to Majapahit, Sang Rajuna Tapa and his
wife turned into stones. The retribution spread to his other
possessions, as if they too were guilty and thus deserving
punishment. His house collapsed and his rice turned to sand.54
On Hang Kasturi's death for being treacherous to the ruler, his
body was thrown into the sea. His wife and children were
15
executed and the soil on which his house stood was dug out and
thrown into the sea. 55
We have seen how physical and moral attributes are
substantialized. This preoccupation with the concrete,
the material and the substantial is an important trait of
mythical thinking. Hang Tuah's strength for example was
concretized in a kris, the king of Malacca's in a crown. The
origin myths in the Malay historical narratives relate how
certain creations originated from simple, concrete substances.
56
Bat was issued from the foam spewed by a white COW.
In Hikayat Hang Tuah a white cow, the incarnation of a
heavenly being, vomitted foam from which emerged a
beautiful woman. 57 Putri Junjung Buih originated from
foam,58 as did Putri Seluang59 in Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa.
Putri Buluh Betung60 in Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai and Raja
Betung 61 in Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa emerged from
bamboos. Cassirer points out that even when enquiring into
genesis and origin, mythical thinking normally links the
'genesis' with a concrete, given substance. It knows and
apprehends the process of action, only as a simple change from
one concrete individual substance to another. 62 He calls this
tendency the 'material-substantial view of action'.
The Inherence of Magical Forces

Basic to the prelogical or mythical mentality is the belief that
magical forces are inherent in all things. It believes in a world
of animation in which plants, animals and even objects are
endowed with souls and the capacity for speech and action,
thus endowing them with a supernaturality capable of affecting
the lives of men. Man in turn looks up to these forces with
16
reverence as they instill in men fear and hope, terror and

beneficence, omen and prophecy. There are many instances in
the Malay myths where these forces replace human judgement.
They are considered as the bearers of infallible wisdom to be
relied upon.
In Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, for example, the kris
Lela Mesani was described as possessing supernatural strength.
When placed in front of men, it instilled such fear in them that
nobody dared to raise his head. 63 Raja Merong Mahapudisat the
Kedah ruler, entrusted this magical kris and a sacred elephant
with the responsibility of guarding and protecting his daughter.
The decision where to build a city was entrusted to the elephant
in a solemn ceremony. According to the Kedah annals, the
elephant "raised its head and set off moving towards the place
where the sun rises, followed by the ministers, the chiefs, the
people and the troops. Through the vast primeval forests they
went, across wide plains and over hills and mountains, led by
the elephant Gemala Johari. After many days' journey to a
place near the coast they came to a broad river which led
straight to the sea. And in that place, where the ground was
even, the elephant halted. The ministers, the chiefs and all the
people stopped and set to building a palace .... "64
The same faith was placed on an elephant in choosing a
new ruler to replace Raja Bersiong when he disappeared into a
bamboo. Upon hearing its name being uttered through magical
rites, Gemala Johari, the elephant, immediately presented itself.
After some rituals, it was whispered into its ear that it was the
only one who could determine a worthy successor to be installed
in Kedah, with the assurance that whoever it chose, whatever
his qualities, would be worshipped by ministers, warriors, and
subjects. 65
17
Such blind faith in the capacity of inanimate objects to

decide for men is illustrated in the story of Raja Merong
Mahapudisat's son shooting an arrow by the name of Indera
Sakti with the promise that wherever the arrow landed he
would build a city there. 66 In Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai, Tun
Beraim Bapa requested his body to be buried where his javelin
had landed. 67 In another story, Badang, a slave, entered into a
contract with a demon who promised that if Badang ate his
68
vomit, he would draw superhuman strength from it. The
animation of nature was described in Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai.
When Tun Beraim Bapa struck a sabasana tree, it gave a shrill
cry and shed blood rather like a human being. When he impaled
a beluru tree with his javelin, it emitted a loud sound and
human blood flowed from i1. 69 Bamboo and foam were endowed
with the function of giving birth to a human being. Generation
and birth in primitive thinking, according to Cassirer, are not
seen as purely natural processes subject to universal and fixed
70
rules; they are essential magical occurrences.
Thus far, we have seen that the Malay myths in the
historical narratives contain many elements of primitive
thinking. The world-view behind the myths with its emphasis
on magic is irrational and unscientific in the sense that it
displays the following traits: lack of logical reasoning in terms
of cause and effect in the scientific sense, its inability to make
clear-cut distinctions of phenomena of disparate nature, its
emphasis on the concrete, the particular and the substantial, its
weakness in abstraction, and its reliance and trust on fetishes
and animals as sources of guidance.
The primitive thinking behind the myths is actually a
reflection of the thinking of the ruling class which produces
them. I mentioned earlier that primitive mentality is governed
18
by the law of mystic participation, which in turn is determined

by the collective representations of a given social group. Myth
is one form of collective representation. The myths in the
Malay historical narratives however are significantly the product
of the ruling class. What then is the relationship between the
collective representations of the Malays and the myths peculiar
to the Malay historical narratives? What the creators of the
myths seem to have done is to exploit the collective
representations of the people, the prevailing magical-mythical
ideas of the time, and to use them to construct a court ideology.
In doing so, they ensured the effectiveness of ideology of the
ruling class since these myths incorporated ideas which were
appealing or acceptable to the thinking of that time. As the
ruling class belongs to that historical time, its members
themselves are not at the same time free from adhering to such
ideas.
Why did the feudal ruling class of the past think in terms
of myths and magic? Why did it propagate or endorse such
ideas or beliefs to its subjects? To answer these questions, we
turn to subsequent chapters.
Notes
1.
Bronislaw Malinowski, Magic, Science and Religion and Other

Essays, Beacon press, Boston, Massachusetts, 1948, p. 63.
2.
Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa (ed. Siti Hawa Salleh), University

of Malaya Press, Kuala Lumpur, 1970, Chapter l.
3.
Sejarah Melayu (ed. W.G. Shellabear), Fajar Bakti, Kuala

Lumpur, 1979.
4.
Hikayat Hang Tuah (ed. Kassim Ahmad), Dewan Bahasa &

Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur, 1975, pp. 1-11.
19

Mircea Eliade states that the symbolism of the centre forms
part of the archaic belief in celestial archetypes of cities and
temples. The archetypal symbolism of the centre may be
fonnulated as follows: 1. the Sacred Mountain - where heaven
and earth meet - is situated at the centre of the world; 2. every
temple or palace - and, by extension, every sacred city or royal
residence - is a sacred mountain, thus becoming a centre; 3.
being an axis mundi, the sacred city or temple is regarded as the
meeting point of heaven, earth and hell. See Mircea Eliade, The
of the Eternal Return, Princeton University Press, no. 7,
1971, p. 12. Also refer to Robert Heine-Geldern, "Conceptions
of State and Kingship in South East Asia", The Far Eastern
Quarterly, vol. 2, 1942.
5.
6.
Ernst Cassirer, The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms, vol. Ill,

Mythical Thought, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1955,
p.64.
7.
Ibid., p. 37.
8.
James Frazer, Magic and Religion, being chapters I to VII of the

abridged edition to "The Golden Bough", Watts, London, 1945,
pp. 79-97. Also please refer to Mischa Titiev, "A Fresh Approach
to the Problem of Magic and Religion" in Reader in Comparative
Religion: An Anthropological Approach (ed. William Lessa &
Evon Vogt), Harper and Row, London, 1965, pp. 430-431.
9.
14.
Sejarah Melayu, op. cit., p. 55.
15.
Ibid., p. 5.
16.
RR Marett "Magic" in Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics

(ed. James Hastings), Charles Scribner, Edinburgh, 1937, p.
248.
17.
Ibid., p. 250.
18.
I have avoided using the tenn "black magic" because of its

racial connotation.
19.
Sejarah MeJayu, op. cit. p. 73.
20.
Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai, Opt cit. p. 77.
21.
Sejarah Melayu, op. cit., p. 97
22.
Ibid., p. 25.
23.
Frazer, op. cit., p. 18.
24.
Sejarah Melayu or Malay Annals, an annotated translation

c.c. Brown, Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur, 1970, p. 85.
25.
Hikayat Hang Tuah, Opt cit., p. 169.
26.
Hikayat Raia-Raja Pasai, Opt cit., p. 50.
27.
lt is interesting to note that the magical association between the

part and its whole anticipates modem genetics.
28.
"Legitimately applied these same principles yield science;

illegitimately applied they yield magic." Frazer, Opt cit., p. 81.
29.
RR Marett, op. cit., p. 250.
30.
William Howells, The Heathen, Doubleday, Garden City, New

York, 1948, p. 8.
31.
Lucien Levy-Bruhl, How Natives Think, Washington Square

Press, New York, 1966.
32.
See Malinowski's article in Lessa and Vogt, Reader in

Comparative Religion, op. cit., pp. 65 and 68.
Ibid., p. 81.
10.
Jan Van Baal, Symbolsfor Communication, Van Gorcum, Assen,
1971, p. 1.
11. Ibid., p. 55.

12. Ibid., p. 75.
13.
20
Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai, a revised romanization and English

translation in Journal of the Malayan Branch, Royal Asiatic
Society, vol. 33. part 2, June 1980, pp. 36-58. Author of the text
is unknown. The text was most probably written in the fifteenth
century at the court of Pasai.
21

33. R.R. Marett, op. cit., p. 250.
49.
34. Paul Radin, Primitive Man As Philosopher, Dover Publication,

New York, pp. 364-65. Also refer to "The basic similarity of
primitive and modern man" in Jan Van Baal's Man's Quest For
Partnership, Van Gorcum, Assen, The Netherlands, 1981, pp.
44-51.
50.
Hans Kelsen, SOCiety and Nature. Routledge and Kegan Paul,

London, 1946, p. 13. He argues that mythical thinking is not
governed by the law of causality but by the law or principle of
retribution.
Refer to note no. 21.
5!.
Refer to note no. 22.
35. Levy-Bruhl, op. cit., p. 63.
52.
Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai, op. cit., p. 91.
53.
Sejarah Melayu, op. cit. p. 196.
36. Syed Hussein Alatas, "Collective Representations and Economic

Development" in Modernization and Social Change, Angus
& Roberson, Sydney, 1972. p. 54. Alatas attributes the
dominance of collective representations to be one of the great
influences bringing about the stagnation and under
development of Southeast Asian societies. In Malay society, for
example, the traditional collective representations exhibit traits
that are not conducive to economic development.
57.
Hikayat Hang Tuah, op. cit., p. 7.
37. Hikayat Hang Tuah, op. cit., pp. 166-8.
58.
38. Ibid., pp. 194-5.
59.
39. Sejarah Melayu, op. cit., p. 17.
60.
40. Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai. op. cit. p. 51.
61.
62.
42. Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, op. cit., p. 10.
63.
54. Ibid., p. 53.
55. Ibid., p. 101.

56. Ibid., p. 18.
Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, op. cit., p. 82.

43. Refer to the work of Marcel Mauss, A General Theory

Magic (tr. Robert Brain), The Norton Library, New York,
1972.
Ibid., pp. 61-3.
44. Hikayat Hang Tuah, op. cit., p. 147.
Ibid., p. 38.
45. Ibid., pp. 333-4.

46. Ibid., p. 346.
47. Ibid., p. 356.
Ibid., p.
40.
67.
68.
69.
22
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52

MODERNIZATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE

Percentage Distribution of Economically Active Population

Professional, Technical and

Workers not classified by

"'I wish to acknowledge the help granted to me by the Economic Research

AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

It has been increasingly recognized that economic activity,

MODERNIZATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE

question. Here the relation between economic and other

REPRESENTATIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

invulnerability against bullets and other deadly weapons.

This idea is of some military interest in South-East Asia in

view of the fact that in the past it has proved to be of

practical significance. During the Indonesian Revolution

against the British and the Dutch in 194547, many Indo

nesian patriots fought the British and Dutch troops with

courage and confidence despite their apparent inferiority in

arms and ammunition. In Malaya a similar belief in the

possibility of invulnerability is held by a great number of

people from all sections of the population, including those

from the educated class and government servants.

Collective representations cover such items as myths,

Asian societies, unlike those of Western Europe following

the Industrial Revolution, did not take the trouble to

develop a dominant scientific orientation to solve the prac

tical problems of life. Two main causes--one from within,

the other from without-have impeded the emergence of a

scientific orientation in South-East Asian societies. In terms

of our theme, the absence of direct acculturation involving

science, between South-East Asia and the modem West

probably until the 19th century, has deprived South-East

Asian societies of the stimulus which can stir the pool of

collective representations. The cause from within is the

domination that this pool of representations has exerted on

the mind of South-East Asian man in the past. An animistic

trend in South-East Asian popular belief considers certain

natural objects-stones and plants-as the abode of ghosts

and spirits. Certainly with such an attitude it is not easy

for geology, botany and other related sciences to develop

indigenously for the simple reason that experimentation with

MODERNIZATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE

nature is considered to be fraught with danger, since scien

REPRESENTATIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

can hope to achieve large scale and positive changes in the

MODERNIZATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE

REPRESENTATIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

MODERNIZATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE

can be neutralized if other determinants of economic

REPRESENTATIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Economic development should then be considered as the

entrepreneurship and invention. The belief in a universe

full of animistic and demonic forces impinging upon daily

life, together with the passive and subservient attitude

required to live in harmony with these forces and all the

fear they awaken, makes it highly improbable that a

creative, dynamic and enterprising spirit will arise under

the influence of such a belief.

(b) Reliance on magico-animistic practices inhibits the

growth of a scientific orientation towards life. The familiar

world of taboo and magic provides a ready explanation

for mishaps, and recourse to this ready explanation dis

penses with the need for further enquiry. For instance, it

Collective Representation & Economic Development

Collective Representation & Economic Development