Hikayat Parang Puting 
By KR. 0) Winstepn Dorr (Oxon) 
All the recorded MISS. of this tale are in English libraries. 
There are two copies in the library of the India Office and one in 
King’s College Library (J. &. A. S., S.. B., No. 825, 19200ps ios 
Essays relating to Indo-China, 2nd series, vol. II, p. 53). Mr. R. J. 
Wilkinson has given a MS. of it to Cambridge University Library. 
The present paper is founded on a MIS. in the possession of the 
Committee for Malay Studies, Kuala Lumpur. This MS. is 
modern (1920 A.D.) written in Singapore but exhibiting in patek 
apa to express the plural “all your servants” traces of a Kedah 
copyist: it fills 1389 pages of a note-book. 
There are no references to Allah or Islam in the valle Betara 
Brahma is the Supreme God and the world is governed by the 
“high great gods” (dewata mulia raya). There is mention of a 
silambara (Skt.) where a princess chooses a husband from a crowd 
of rivals. 
There are only two quatrains in the tale, uttered by the hero 
when he is on the princess’ raft beset by dragons :— 
Dian dua, damar pun dua, 
Langlong di-rumah Dewa Laksamana. 
Diam juga, sabar-lah jua, 
Ada untong tiada ka-mana. 
Enche’ Baya sélendang batek, 
Panda méngarang bunga di-ukir. 
Adoha tuanku! junjongan patek! 
Jangan-lah tuanku bérbanyak fikir. 
The process by which a pleasance is created by a magic stone 
is described as putting the stone exposed on the spot where the 
pleasance is wanted: by taking it up the hero causes the pleasance 
to disappear (Maka Mambang Dewa Kéindéraan pun méngambil 
guliga hikmat-nya yang di-tambangkan-nya pada taman itu: maka 
taman itu pun ghaib-lah déngan sa-kétika wtu juga.) 
There are numerous Indian parallels for the main plot, tales 
of a prince who buys a snake, a parrot and a rat (Jataka, No. 73. 
vol. I, p. 178) or kitten and snake, or cat, otter, rat and snake, 
and is taken in all the tales by the snake to his father the kine of 
the snakes who gives the hero a ring that will create a palace and 
kingdom and bring him a royal bride. (The Story of Madana 
Kama Raja: Natesa Sastri, p. 20; Bodding’s Folklore of the Santal 
Parganas p. 88; Thornhill’s Indian Fairy Tales p. 67; Mrs F. A. 
Steel’s Tales of the Punjab, p. 185; Knowles’ Folk-Tales of Kash- 
mir, 2nd ed., p. 20; Parker’s Village Folk-tales of Ceylon, vol, ILI, 
pp. 127-131.) 
Jour. Straits Branch 
