Roger TOL
Master scribes : Husin bin Ismail, Abdullah bin Abdulkadir Munsyi, their handwriting and the Hikayat Abdullah *
This article deals with two prominent persons in the world of Malay letters who worked closely together in Singapore in the 1830s and '40s. One of them, Abdullah bin Abdulkadir Munsyi gained recognition and fame right from the start during his lifetime. His autobiography, Hikayat Abdullah, and other writings are enjoyed up until the present. The other person, the Buginese Husin bin Ismail - possibly the most productive scribe of Malay manuscripts ever - is far less well known. An examination of their handwriting styles may lead to solving the puzzle of " two " Hikayat Abdullah manuscripts now kept in New Zealand. This examination is based on a promising technique for investigating jawi handwriting, which it is hoped will contribute to the discussion on jawi handwriting identification.
Abdullah bin Abdulkadir Munsyi and Husin bin Ismail
For malaici there is actually no need to introduce Abdullah bin Abdulkadir Munsyi, this great man of letters, who was born in 1797 in
* This article is a slightly revised version of a paper presented at the XXXVIth International Congress of Asian and North African Studies (ICANAS), Montréal, 27 August - 2 September, 2000. It is a pleasure to thank Ian Proudfoot, Henri Chambert-Loir, Tim Behrend, Jan Just Witkam, Henk Maier, and Annabel Teh Gallop for their comments. As a matter of course, all errors are mine.
Archipel 61, Paris, 2001 pp. 115-138
