Introduction

Aesthetic
Aesthetic in general can be defined as a branch of philosophy dealing with beauty, and taste. The
word aesthetic was derived from Greek word aisthanomai, meaning "I perceive, feel, sense".
There are various statements suggested by many scholars and philosophers regarding the
definition of aesthetic and its relation to art, psychology, metaphysic and ethics. Aesthetic exist
in all civilization and its can be found in their art and craft but each civilizations doesnt
necessarily shared the same view on aesthetic.
Aesthetic view in Malay world can be stated as a combination of ethical values, religion and the
observation on nature. (Drs Sidi Gazalba 1977) Art is born from religion. And ethic existed
none other than to summarise the teaching of religion about the good and bad, through the view
of goodness, art is not only creating an interrelated relation with religion but also with ethics.
Ethics in Malay can be traced by the term Budi. The term Budi was actually originated from
the Sanskrit word Buddhi which mean intellectual, wisdom, and humbleness. (Aminudin
Mansor) Budi is good attitudes, good behavior, and a perfect character with intellectuality. Budi
can also represent a good human characteristic, and good deeds toward other human beings.
Through Budi the perfect language and deeds will be established in everyday life
Budi or ethic in Malay philosophy is one of the major things that govern the development of
Malay traditional art. It can be traced in various material and non-material culture, for example,
(Nordin Selat 1975) philosophy of Adat have state that the only things that stays beautiful in this
world is Budi and Bahasa
Yang kurik itu kendi
Yang merah itu saga
Yang baik itu budi
Yang indah itu bahasa
The research aims to talk about the role of nature and ethical value that govern the development
of Pantun and to show that the aesthetical aspect of pantun is actually based on the ethical
philosophy and faith of the Malay people

Pantun
Pantun is one of the oldest and famous forms of verbal tradition in malay culture. From the
written records , the tradition of pantun can be trace back to 400 years but we can agreed that the
tradition of pantun existed in much more older period than that. The record that the local and
western researchers collected and referred to which is most dominantly from sulalat al salatin
and hikayat raja-raja pasai can be considered as an already mature form and sophisticated
tradition, so it was quite doubtful if we assumed that the tradition of pantun started in the period
of Melaka or Samudra-Pasai Sultanate.
Pantun is a form of verbal/oral tradition that can be considered as non-narratives unlike hikayat
or cerita rakyat which is more about story telling (narrative). Pantun is also unique because it
was shared and practiced by almost all parts of malay archipelago. This form of verbal culture
existed in various subs and forms, according to its function and purposes . Among several types
of pantun is gurindam, seloka, teromba and teka-teki.
The pantun is the oldest mode of verse and Malay in its origin. Even before the Malays knew
how to write they were already well-versed in the pantuns and were used to answer each other in
that form. Even now the pantun is an original mode of poetic writing used by village Malays to
describe their sad thoughts and the shades of their beautiful emotions, as in the graceful teasing
and love making. ( Za ba 1934)
Among the most famous and perfect of pantuns is the following poem where a network of
sounds ,parallels, assonance, alliteration, repetition of sounds and words produce a symphony of
music and connotations.
Air yang dalam bertambah dalam
Hujan di hulu belumlah teduh,
Hati yang dendam bertambah dendam
Dendam dahulu belumlah sembuh.

Budi In Pantun
The ethical value or Budi is one of the major component in the development of Malay
traditional art, including pantun . (Aminudin Mansor) Budi is good attitudes, good behavior,
and a perfect character with intellectuality. Budi can also represent a good human characteristic,
and good deeds toward other human beings. Through Budi the perfect language and deeds will
be established in everyday life
like various form of malay traditional art, pantun doesnt exist without no function , it was not a
wasteful existence, like what zakaria ali listed in the principle of Malay traditional art, function is
one of the most essential aspect which constitute Malay traditional art, and the functional aspects
can be seen clearly in pantun.
Sebagai artifak pantun mempunyai fungsi yang dimainkan dalam kehidupan orang Melayu.
Sebagai puisi ia merupakan pernyataan melalui bahasa indah satu-satu pemikiran seperti pepatah
petitih. Untuk berfalsafah terhadap hidup manusia,mengutarakan nasihat, menyatakan isi hati
atau sekadar untuk menyerikan majlis adalah antara penggunaan pantun.
(Mohd Taib Osman, 1996: 5)
Pantun have always served as a media of conveying advices and it was conducted in a very
sophisticated and unique ways.Pantun Nasihat for example is one of the sub or type of pantun
that developed by the elders , solely as a means of providing the younger generation advises and
code of ethic
Air melurut di tepian mandi,
Kembang berseri bunga senduduk;
Elok diturut resmi padi,
Semakin berisi semakin tunduk.

Budi and ethical value can also be seen through the selection of subject matter and how the
malay was able to compose the pantun which is always soft and graceful. Regardless of any
circumstances and situation Pantun always retains its moral and ethics developing the form and
that is the main factor why pantun is always beautiful even if it was made to harass people or to
be used in a fight
Cemperai di pohon delima,
Anak tupai berpuak-puak;
Bermisai kusangka panglima,
Rupanya misai penapis tuak.

Ambil kapak belah ke kundur,

Baik terbelah si ibu kaki;
Walau setapak saya tak undur,
Itu adat anak laki-laki.

Through all examples given we can agree that pantun was made or developed based on the
malays sets of values and ethics (budi) . Ethical aspects which existed inside the malay culture
such as patience, humbleness, bravery, and softness constitute the form and meaning of the
pantun. It was these ethical values, that makes the pantun so beautiful and aesthetically pleasing.

Role Of Nature
Nature is an important aspect on the development of malay traditional culture,it have been a
source of inspiration and also a source of knowledge in malay society since the very beginning of
malay civilisation. the role of nature is so significant in interpreting and analyzing malay
traditional art because nature was the major subject that was developed and used in all form of
malay traditional arts, weather non-material or material culture. Hamka have stated in his writing
that the origin of bahasa melayu also came from the the malays observation and relation with
nature .
Orang melayu lahir di tanah yang dikelilingi oleh gunung ganang,hutan belukar, laut dan langit
yang biru. Semua keindahan alam itu berkesan ke dalam jiwa mereka, terbenam menjadi
makna,lalu keluar menjadi lafaz, atau membenam menjadi budi, lalu berlepas daripada mulut
menjadi bahasa. Bertambah tinggi budinya, bertambah tiggi kesuburan bahasanya. Bertambah
tumbuh rasa keindahan di dalam batinya, bertambah indah falsafah fungsi puisi klasik kalimat
dan susunan kata yang ducapkan (Hamka 1977)
The malays have long made the nature as a source of collecting knowledge .some of the lines in
the pantun especially in teromba even proclaim nature as a teacher , which have a vast amount
of knowledge and always ready to teach
Penakik pisau seraut
Ambil galah batang lintabung
Selodang jadikan nyiru
Air setitik jadikan laut
Tanah sekepal jadikan gunung
Alam terkembang jadikan guru

Natures in the context of patun have always been a source of creating intrinsic meaning. The
things collected or seen from nature such as flower, trees, rivers, fishes and skies always served
as symbols or metaphor which is used to generate the meaning of the pantun.

Antara pembayang dengan maksud yang sebenar itu ada perhubungan lain juga daripada
perhubungan bunyi ;jika pantun yang cukup elok boleh dilihat pembayangnya memang
mengandungi maksud pantun itu dengan cara kias dan bayangan disambilkan kepada gambarangambaran alam dan sebagainya.Tujuan yang dimaksudkan itu telah ada terbayang di situ tetapi
tiada terang seolah-olah sengaja ditudung (Zaba 1962)

Kalau tuan mudik ke hulu

Carikan saya bunga kemboja
Kalau tuan mati dahulu
Nantikan saya di pintu syurga

Ku semaikan pepohon kemboja

Yang bunganya adalah hatiku
Semadilah dalam kedamaian
Semangatmu tetap bersamaku

This two different pantun was made in different era and time but through close observation, we
can see that the usage of bunga kemboja as a symbol is the same. The usage of bunga kemboja in
these particular painting suggested a melancholic meaning, kemboja tree and kemboja flower is
one of the most celebrated flower in Malay culture, and it was famous as a flower which served
as a symbol of death, this can be seen through the practices of old Malay people which always
planted this specific type of flower on the graveyard and burial ground. The usage of this
particular flower as a symbol in these pantun creates a very powerful expression and meaning,
this show the Malays appreciation toward nature and the unlimited creativity of the Malay in
creating something aesthetical and meaningful at the same time.

Conclusion
Pantun have been one of the most important form of non-material culture that ever existed in
malay tradition , honestly some of the most valuable input that I have come across in course of
this research is how the concept of Budi or ethical and moral value, have been the most
significant source or aspect in developing the pantun . Without Budi the pantun will not be as
beautiful as it is . And this research also kept me thinking on why does this particular concept
Budi seems to disappear in Malaysian art scene, and why the Malay nowadays was more
interested in creating artwork with meaningless expression and controversial issue rather than
focusing on Budi to creates beautiful form.
Another thing that I deemed significant in this research is how the nature have from the very
beginning served as a main teacher on inspiring and educating the Malays. It was very interesting
to see how a beautiful form could be developed from things as common as leaf and flower, this
shows how much the Malays appreciate nature and what is close to them.
As a conclusion, this research has been a very inspiring and a good learning process for me. It
also provides answers that I have been looking for, which is the role of ethics and nature in
Malay verbal tradition but it also create new question on how we can applied these method and
concept that have been develop inside pantun in the todays art scene. I would like to end this
research with a pantun

Disana padi, di sini padi

Barulah nama sawah dan bendang
Disana budi, disini budi
Barulah sempurna menjadi orang

References

Drs Sidi Gazalba,1977, Pandangan Islam Tentang Kesenian, Bulan Bintang

Jakarta

Mohd Rosli Saludin,2009,Teromba Dalam Puisi Melayu Tradisional, Karisma Publication SDN.
BHD Shah Alam, Selangor

Dr. M.G Emies,1975,Bunga Rampai Melayu Kuno, Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka,Kuala Lumpur

Maniyamin Ibrahim, 2009, Konteks Sastera & Budaya Melayu, Karisma Publication Sdn.Bhd.
Shah Alam, Selangor

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA (UiTM)

FAKULTI SENI LUKIS SENI REKA
AESTHETICAL ASPECT OF PANTUN

VCL 615

MOHD HANIF HAFIZ BIN MD SHAMLAN

FOR: PUAN FADILAH ABDULLAH

2011626192