The following is a guest post by Dr. Joshua Kueh, the Southeast Asia reference librarian in the Asian Division of the Library of Congress. His research interests cover Malay manuscripts, and topics related to Southeast Asian history, particularly migration and trade in the 1500s to the 1800s.
The Library of Congress has a small but significant collection of rare Malay printed books and manuscripts. The catalog of these items—most of which were acquired for the United States Exploring Expedition (1838-1842) and amongst the first documented Asian books in the Library of Congress—has been little changed for years. However, very recently, a handwritten volume containing Malay laws in the Jawi script emerged in the rare book collection of the Law Library.
The manuscript in question bears the binder’s title Malay Code of Law and has not attracted much attention to date. It was unknown to the scholarly community and would have likely remained so were it not for the unearthing, at the Smithsonian Institution Archives, of lists of Malay books and manuscripts purchased by the American missionary, Alfred North, for the United States Exploring Expedition. In tracking down the items on the list, I became aware of the existence of the Malay Code of Law.
The unassuming covers of the book, once flipped open, reveal a beautifully illuminated panel. The gold-lettered title reads Bahawa ini kitab undang-undang qanun yang dipakai dalam Negeri Johor, which can be translated as “This is the book of qanun [Islamic law] used in the State of Johor.” On the adjacent page is a note that would be of great interest to scholars of Malay literature: “Copied by Abdullah ben Abdulkadir, at Singapore