The first division which is poetry was at first only the language of the scholars and great thinkers.
The composing of poetry allows the poet to express his thoughts to the question of metaphysic that can be connected with the imaginary world, at that time considered a myth.
The first poem considered to be written was a syair using old Malay, carved in a mixture of archaic Sumatran/Malay, Sanskrit and Arabic, on a tombstone at Minye Tujuh in Aceh in the Indonesian province dated all the way back to 1380.
The exact poetry inscribed:
|
Hijrat Nabi Mungstapa yang prasida |
Malay translation:
|
Setelah hijrah Nabi, kekasih yang |
The verse records the death of a Muslim Malay princess from a royal household that ruled Kedah on the Malay Peninsula and Pasai on the island of Sumatra. This clearly indicates that the usage of Malay had been widespread and that Malay society by then was fluent in various aspects of literary culture.