My favorite definition of poetry is “Compact Emotion”. So when I found that my translations are mulitiplying the word count at least three or five times, I knew right there I’m losing something. This is the last of the lyrical pieces on the “Pelita Hidup” album, and for me it was the hardest. I think I’ll go back to nursery rhymes after this; it’s more at my level. Anyone know where to get lyrics for “Bangau O Bangau”?
Tag Archives: bahasa malaysia
More Nasyid Translations
Continuing on with English translations from Hijjaz’s wonderful Pelita Hidup album, here is the next in the series, Kala Subuh:
Mata Hati
Hijjaz – Mata Hati Pandangan mata selalu menipu Pandangan akal selalu tersalah Pandangan nafsu selalu melulu Pandangan hati itu yang hakiki Kalau hati itu bersih The vision of the eye always lies The vision of the intellect always errs The vision of the ego always strays The vision of the heart will be true If […]
Pelita Hidup
One of my favorite Nasheed albums is called Pelita Hidup, by the Malaysian group Hijjaz. It is filled with beautiful duas, zikr, and nasheeds, very much a meditative album. Many of the songs deal with the certainty of death and the life of the grave. I’ve translated them and passed them on to Nasheed World. […]
Puteri Santubong
Mount Santubong is the subject of a local legend that was put to song. Brother Affendi kindly chased down the lyrics. I’ve supplied a translation for your reading pleasure. Puteri Santubong, Puteri Sejinjang, Penjaga gunung negeri Sarawak, Manis sik ada dapat dilawan, Anak dak dewa turun kayangan. Princess Santubong, Princess Sejinjang, Spirits of the mountain […]
Overeating
Tracking down new and exciting foods and eating them has been my principle preoccupation since arriving in Malaysia almost six months ago. But I’ve also been happy to find old comfort food from my childhood that was tough to get back in the States. I lived in India for four years as a kid, and […]
Bup Kudus
A religious controversy came and went here in Sarawak before I even heard about it. The Bup Kudus, the translation of the Holy Bible into the Iban language, was banned two weeks ago, and dis-banned today. The Sarawak Tribune I picked up was so information-poor, I could not discern from the article why they banned […]
Cooties
Girls have cooties. Every young boy can tell you this. Girls may claim that it is in fact boys who have cooties, but that is preposterous. I spent much of second, third and fourth grade avoiding cooties. I also had a number of hand-made cootie catchers, but for some reason, they did not catch or […]