Song in the Sumatran Highlands

Text: The Bee and the Flower

The following pantun is an example of a pantun baku ("a frozen verse") or stock verse that many padendang and audience members know. While technically the two halves are not attached to each other except through the rhyme scheme and one can theoretically exchange out a batang for another, in a pantun baku the two halves are typically connected. Once a padendang has started delivering a specific pantun, the audience knows what isi will be delivered. I heard this pantun in a number of contexts: the metaphoric meanings are consistent, but sometimes implied to hold to a specific instance. 

All the instances where this text was noticed are tagged. Note that it is often but not always used in the same song. 

Batang


Minangkabau:
Ka balai mambali kain  
Mambali sitin ba karatan 
Di Payokumbuah hari akad 
Lah dapek kain saukuran 
Baguntiang bajaik balun
Dek tuan tolong manyudahkan 
Talatak apo kagunonyo 

Indonesian:
Ke pasar membeli kain. 
Membeli kain satu potong
di pasar Payakumbuah hari minggu
sudah dapat kain satu ukuran
sudah bergunting belum dijahit
dek tuan tolong menyudahkan
terletak apa ke gunanya 

English:
Going to the market to buy cloth
To buy a length of cloth
At the Payokumbuah market on Sunday
I got one measure of cloth
It was already cut but not yet sewn
Sir, please help me finish it
To be put into place the use for it. 

Isi


Minangkabau:
Ambo mandapek kaba angin 
Lah kambang si bungo intan 
Pamenan allah jo Mohamad
Biarlahnyo bungo larangan
Kumbang baniak nak ka kiyun
Tagak dek balun dapek jalan
Kini mamadang jauah sajo

Indonesian:
Saya mendapat berita. 
Sudah kembang si bunga intan
Hadiah Allah dengan Muhammad
Walaupun itu bunga larangan
Kumbang berniat ke sana
Tapi karena belum dapat dijalan
Sekarang memadang dari jauh saja. 

English:
I’ve received some news
The bungo intan (jewel of a flower) is already flowering
It's a gift from God
However, it's a forbidden flower. 
The bee is interested in searching there
But because he has not yet received any (nectar) in his journey. 
He’s forced to look from afar. 

Interpretation of Pantun 


Batang: This text is largely descriptive, about buying cloth at the market for a project, and the padendang suggesting the person listening should define a need for it. It also makes mention of a specific place. 
Isi: This text could be read on many levels. On one, it can be taken quite literally: a bee looking for nectar in a flower. On another, it could taken metaphorically to mean a man looking for a woman. 

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