Si Tenggang Homecoming

About The Poem

1. The poem has 6 stanzas.
2. Literally the poem is a reflection of Si Tenggang's return to his homeland after his journey overseas. The journey has widened his perspective of life.He had learnt to to think differently and was eager to share his new-found knowledge with his people. He tried to convince them that nevertheless he is still a 'Malay' at heart and had never abandoned the Malay culture.
3. Unfortunately, his people could not understand the change in him and they were afraid that his experience and knowledge will threatened their customs and familiar ways of life.
4. The name Si Tenggang is taken from Malay folk tale.
5. The Writer for si tenggang isn’t the same to the person in the folk tale.
6. Muhammad doesn’t use capital letters for his persona’s name to show that he’s a different person.
7. Muhammad’s si tenggang is different.
8. His someone who has returned after years of travel, ready to share his knowledge and experiences with his people.
9. Although his travels have changed him, but he is still a Malay, ready to fit again into society.

STANZA 1

My travel overseas have changed my life and character. I now have new knowledge and a different way of looking at life

STANZA 2
I have been discourteous to my elders but only because they do not understand my problems. They find it difficult to accept the changes in me. In the foreign country I turned to my wife in my loneliness. Now I cannot return to my old way of life completely because I have changed.

STANZA 3
I come home now feeling more confident. I am wiser and have learnt many new things. I am no longer afraid of other cultures and the differences between people. I am now less easily fooled by clever talk. But I am still Malay. I believe in good things. Moreover, I am now more tolerant than people who have never been abroad. Now I want to share my new knowledge with others.

STANZA 4
My travels have made me look for sincerity. I will not make demands that are against my own principles. I have learnt to choose and make comparisons. I believe that the wisdom of my ancestors will guide me.

STANZA 5
Now I am able to argue fiercely and with reason. But I am still humble and respectful.

STANZA 6
I am not a new person and I am not really different from you. My foreign experience has taught me to cope with anything. I am not afraid of the challenges of the future. I am the same as you but I have been freed from narrow traditional ways. I have become independent and this is my true self.

The important changes in si tenggang are :

He has a broader outlook in life

He is more tolerant

He has to learn to accept people who more different

He is not fooled by clever words

He is able to tell whether people’s views are sincere or not.

He will not give up important values

Moral Values

Travel broadens the mind.

- the persona is forced to look at new cultures and new ways of life. This makes him re-examine his own culture. He learns tolerance through this.

Do not be afraid to experience cultures outside our own.

– see how others live and learn from their way of life. At the same time we should keep what is good in our own traditions.

We should not be afraid of the outside world because we can learn from it.

We should respect people who are different.

We should be humble even if we are cleverer than others.

We should share our knowledge with people who have fewer opportunities to learn.