Hikayat, translatable as romances, is a genre of literature popular in Malay and Sikh literature, written in both verse and prose and meant to be publicly performed. Malay hikayat relate the adventures of heroes from kingdoms across the Malay Archipelago or chronicle their royalty, heavily romanticizing stories based on history; the Hikayat Muhammad Hanafiyyah, a translation of a fourteenth century Persian text, may be the oldest example. Hikayat also appear in Sikh literature of the Indian subcontinent, of which eleven or twelve are associated with Guru Gobind Singh.
Facts
Place of OriginMalay Archipelago (Indonesia and Malaysia, especially Sumatra) 1 Notable ExampleHikayat Muhammad Hanafiyyah 1 Defining TraitMeant to be publicly performed and often self-referential 1 Sources
1. Hikayat - Wikipedia
Lead section, paragraph on Malay hikayat
Malay hikayats relate the adventures of heroes from kingdoms across the Malay Archipelago
Lead section, oldest example sentence
The Hikayat Muhammad Hanafiyyah, originating as a translation of a fourteenth-century Persian text, may be the oldest example of the hikayat genre.
Lead section, opening definition
Texts in this genre are meant to be publicly performed and are also often self-referential.
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