Hikayat Nakhoda Muda: An 18th Century Malay Biography

The essay will give focus on the earliest biographical work, the Hikayat Nakhoda Muda, written by a Minangkabau Malay in Bangkahulu around the year 1766 on the behest of Mr. Butter Hunnings, the British Resident in Bangkahulu at the time. In the Malay socio-cultural and political history, the 18th century (in fact 17th to 19th century) was nicknamed as the transitional era (Traditional-Modern), associated so to speak, with the European presence and colonialism in the Malay world. In literature particularly, the era witnessed the shift in patronage, authorship and Malay literary genres. The literary genre, the so-called biography and the text Hikayat Nakhoda Muda are examples of the products of the Malay encounter with the European culture during the era