Novel · A way to begin
Mahkota Berdarah
Not translated into English
Yura Halim · 1951
Synopsis
In the seventeenth century, after a cockfight, a son of Sultan Muhammad Ali kills the son of the Bendahara, one of the great dignitaries of the kingdom. The Bendahara demands justice; the prince flees, and the sultan, who offers his own life, is put to death. The Bendahara then ascends the throne under the name of Sultan Abdul Mubin, but a Kedayan chief urges vengeance, night attacks trouble the capital, and Brunei slides towards a civil war between two sultans.
Context
The novel came out in 1951 in Jawi script, the year of the coronation of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien, who welcomed it with a preface; cuts had been made in it, under the British protectorate. It follows the outline of a royal chronicle, the Silsilah Raja-Raja Brunei, adding depth of character and invented scenes, and refuses to side with either of the two sultans. Regarded as the first novel of Brunei, it was reissued in Latin script in 1961, then by the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka in 1985 and 1987.
Who it is for
For entering the history of Brunei through a founding novel, which judges power without taking sides.
Prizes and reception
Prefaced by the sultan himself on its publication, reissued several times and partly adapted for the stage in 1982.
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