What is pantun berkait?
Well, we already know pantun, the characteristics and all. We also have looked into what types of pantun exist based on the number of lines (kerat) each stanza has. Well, if you haven’t gone through our discussion, you may want to have a short visit through it.
Today, in this entry we’re going to introduce to yet another type of pantun. But instead of characterised by the number of lines in a stanza, it is characterized by how it’s structured.
The name is pantun berkait. At a glance, a pantun berkait looks like a group of common pantun 4 kerat, but there’s actually more to it.
Pantun berkait is a group of pantun 4 kerat that functions to carry a line of narrative or a message or could also be a group of pantun 4 kerat that share the same style throughout.
Each rangkap in a pantun could stand on its own, however, it will be more meaningful and complete if it’s taken as a whole.
All the rangkap in pantun berkait are interwoven. Now, there are 2 ways the rangkap can be interwoven or berkait.
Berkait secara langsung
Berkait melalui tema
What we mean by berkait secara langsung (directly interwoven) is that the 2nd and the 4th line of a rangkap in the pantun berkait will be the 1st and the 3rd line of the following rangkap.
Lebah terbebar terbang sekawan, Hinggap di celah kayu berduri; Alangkah cabar rupanya tuan, Dagangan indah tidak terbeli. Hinggap di celah kayu berduri, Kepayang tumbuh di dalam dulang; Dagangan indah tidak terbeli, Sayang sungguh nyawanya hilang. Kepayang tumbuh di dalam dulang, Burung merpati terbang ke awan; Sayang sungguh nyawanya hilang, Tidak seperti raja pahlawan.
As you can observe from the pantun above, the 2nd and the 4th line of the first stanza becomes the 1st and the 3rd lines of the 2nd stanza respectively. And the same goes to the 2nd stanza; the 2nd and the 4th line of the 2nd stanza becomes the 1st and the 3rd line of the the 3rd stanza respectively.
This is what we meant as berkait (interwoven). This is the common type of pantun berkait. If there’s a mention of pantun berkait, most of the time what is meant is this form of pantun berkait.
There is another form, which are those that have their stanza interwoven through similarity of themes and pattern (style).
Anak ayam turun tiga, Mati seekor tinggal dua; Cik kelasi baharulah suka, Bongkar sauh berlayar semula. Anak ayam turun dua, Mati seekor tinggal satu; Bongkar saur berlayar semula, Hendak menuju gedung batu. Anak ayam turun satu, Mati seekor habis sudah; Hendak menuju gedung batu, Jual barang harga yang murah.
In the second example, it is obvious that the 2nd and the 4th line of the 1st stanza are not exactly repeated in as the 1st and the 3rd line of the second. The same goes with that of the 2nd stanza and the 3rd.
However, there are things similar (common feature) that are echoed in each stanza. The first one is from how the pembayang mention the initial number of anak ayam and then continue with how one of it dies and then the pembayang state how many are left. This pattern stays consistent throughout the stanzas. Even the number of anak ayam reduced in each stanza is constant i.e. seekor (one).
But that’s not all. All three stanzas narrate the same theme. And it is observed too that the last line of the stanza becomes the 3rd line of the next stanza.
The similarity in pattern is enough for the pantun to be considered as pantun berkait. But it will be better if the pantun berkait share the same topic too. Below is another example for this ‘pantun anak ayam’ that didn’t have the exact repetition of lines, but the pantun talked about one theme: importance of knowledge. And the message in the last line of a stanza is echoed as a starting premise of the next one.
Anak ayam turun sepuluh, Mati seekor tinggal sembilan; Mari belajar bersungguh-sungguh, Supaya kita tidak ketinggalan. Anak ayam turun sembilan, Mati seekor disambar helang; Kalaulah kita dah ketinggalan, Ilmu tak ada kawan pun kurang. Anak ayam turunlah lapan, Mati seekor ditangkap musang; Tiada ilmu tiada kawan, Hidup merana ditimpa malang.
Another example of this type of pantun berkait is pantun burung kenek-kenek. Now, we have lots of variation of the kind of pantun, so we’re going to sample an extract from one of it:
Burung kenek-kenek, Hinggap di atas dahan; Pesan datuk nenek, Patuh perintah Tuhan. Burung kenek-kenek, Hinggap di atas pagar; Pesan datuk nenek, Rajin-rajinlah belajar. Burung kenek-kenek, Hinggap tepi perigi; Pesan datuk nenek, Bangunlah pagi-pagi.
It is a pantun berkait. Why? The entire stanzas have the common feature of ‘burung kenek-kenek’ perching on something. And the maksud line of each stanza begins with ‘pesan datuk nenek’ (advise from grandparents). This in turn shows that all stanzas have one theme i.e. to serve as a lesson to kids (patuh perintah tuhan, rajin belajar and bangun awal).
Other than that, each stanza will follow the same rule for a pantun (pairing of pembayang and maksud, end rhyme abab, etc.) I have never see a case where pantun berkait is made up of pantun with more than 4 kerat. So, it will be safe to say that pantun berkait is a series of interwoven or linked pantun 4 kerat.
We'll discuss and bring more examples of pantun berkait in future entry. So, stay tuned.
Till then.