Di Tanjung Katong

Today's Malay song can be downloaded here. Di Tanjung Katong is a marriage of song and poetry. This is not just a song that reminisces about Tanjong Katong. The lyrics comprise pantuns, a literary form which originated in Malaysia and is commonly used to express love. For more information, look here and here. Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Thank you and God Bless!

P.S. I happen to find this really interesting article by Alfisn Sa'at on Facebook which I have copied and pasted here. Enjoy!

Alfian Sa'at

15 June 2013 · 

If you don’t already know, the lyrics to the folk song ‘Di Tanjong Katong’ is composed of pantuns. These classic pantuns, passed down as oral literature, were then set to music. The composer was Osman Ahmad, who worked at the Shaw Brothers Malay Film Productions studio. (Zubir Said himself was a composer with the Cathay-Keris studios). The melody of ‘Di Tanjong Katong’ is itself rather unconventional, because it begins with the up-tempo chorus, followed by the slower verse.

For my non-Malay-speaking friends, here’s an elucidation of the pantuns:

1) Di Tanjong Katong, airnya biru,
Di situ tempatnya dara jelita;
Duduk sekampung, lagikan rindu,
Kononlah pula nun jauh di mata.

At Tanjong Katong, the waters are blue,
That is the place to find pretty maidens;
We live in the same village, yet I pine for you,
What more if you’re beyond my eyes’ reach.

‘Tanjong’ (updated spelling after the 1972 spelling reform is ‘tanjung’) is ‘headland’ or ‘cape’, which is the part of the coastline that extends into the water. From ‘tanjung’ we get the word ‘semenanjung’, which is a peninsula (a very large headland!). ‘Katong’ (updated spelling is ‘katung’) is the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). ‘Cape of Turtles’ then.

Interesting to note that P. Ramlee’s song ‘Nak Dara Rindu’ (Lovelorn Maiden) also contains this pantun (with a different melody). The lyrics vary slightly, but the main difference is the second line, which is rendered as ‘Tempat mandi nak dara jelita’ (The bathing place of pretty maidens). Other versions are:

‘Tempat orang bermain mata’ (The place where eyes flirt)
‘Di situlah tempat mencuci mata’ (The place where people ‘wash eyes’)

So quite obviously Tanjong Katong was a seaside promenade that was conducive to serious ogling and amorous encounters. :)

2) Pulau Pandan jauh ke tengah,
Gunung Daik bercabang tiga;
Hancur badan dikandung tanah,
Budi yang baik dikenang jua.

Pulau Pandan is far away in the middle of the sea,
Mount Daik has three peaks;
The body crumbles in the earth’s womb,
But good character is always remembered.

‘Pulau’ is ‘island’ and quite likely Pulau Pandan was named because of the abundance of pandan plants in the area. It is actually not very far from Singapore; it lies southwest of Singapore, near the island of Karimun, which was the island Raffles considered as a port before he traveled on to Singapore.

Mount Daik, on the other hand, is situated on the island of Lingga, which lies south of Singapore, further south than the Riau archipelago islands Batam and Bintan. Indeed it has three peaks, thus named from tallest to lowest: Daik, Pejantan (‘male’) and Cindai Menangis (while ‘cindai’ is used to refer to a type of textile, the term ‘si cindai’ also means ‘pontianak’. It is possible then that this name means ‘the crying pontianak’). The name ‘Lingga’ is from ‘lingam’, the Sanskrit word for phallus, and is in reference to Mount Daik’s highest peak.

Of course Singapore was once part of the Johor-Riau-Lingga empire, before the British and Dutch dismembered it and created artificial boundaries. The native inhabitants of Riau and Lingga speak a ‘pure’ form of Malay (instead of the ‘baku’ pronunciation of Bahasa Indonesia) and in some areas actually pepper their conversation with pantuns that have been committed to memory. The ‘Sijori’ (Singapore-Johor-Riau) Growth Triangle project, unfortunately, has mutual economic exploitation as its primary motive, and is therefore silent on the question of cultural re-integration.

3) Kalau ada jarum yang patah,
Jangan disimpan dalam peti;
Kalau ada silap sepatah,
Jangan disimpan di dalam hati.

If there is a broken needle,
Don’t keep it in the wooden chest;
If there is a wound caused by words,
Don’t let it fester in your heart.

The song as a whole seems to consist of two disparate parts: the chorus speaks of distance and longing, but the verses are of a morally didactic nature. I have a feeling that the ‘Tanjong Katong’ pantun was chosen simply because of its reference to a place in Singapore. There is, however, a version of ‘Di Tanjong Katong’, sung by Kartina Dahari, where the pantuns curated for the verses match the chorus in terms of sentiment; this one I prefer for its consistent--and insistent--through-line on romantic yearning:

1) Kalau tidak kelapa puan,
Tidak puan kelapa bali;
Harap hanya pada tuan,
Kalau tak tuan siapa lagi?

If I can’t have the young coconut,
Then give me the oil palm fruit;
I can only put my hopes in you,
If not you then who else can it be?

2) Kiri jalan kanan pun jalan,
Di tengah pohon melati;
Kirim jangan pesan pun jangan,
Kalaulah rindu datang sendiri.

Walk on the left and the right as well,
In the middle, a jasmine shrub;
Don’t send me letters or messages,
If you miss me then send your self to me.

3) Putik pauh delima batu,
Genggam di dalam tangan;
Tuan jauh berbatu-batu,
Hilang dipandang di hati jangan.

The Malaysian mango bud, the pomegranate,
Grasp them tightly in your hand;
You are miles and miles away,
Your eyes may lose me but not your heart.