Two Malay Letters from Ternate in the Moluccas, Written in 1521 and 1522

Extract

The two letters with which this article is concerned were written in the name of Sultan Abu Hayat of Ternate. when he was about 7 years old, and are of peculiar interest as being, perhaps, the oldest Malay letters extant. The first, which is catalogued under the reference Gavetas 15–16–38 in the Lisbon archives known as Torre do Tombo, appears to have been written between 27th April and 8th November, 1521. The second, preserved in the same archive under the reference Gavetas 15-15-7, was probably written early in the following year. These conclusions are based on what is known from other sources about the history of the Moluccas in this period, combined with the internal evidence of the letters themselves. Unfortunately their style betrays the fact that they were not writtenby a Malay, but by some scribe (or, as seems more likely, two scribes)probably indigenous to Ternate and certainly very imperfectly acquainted with the Malay language.