Page 4 - Hikayat-Patani-The-Story-Of-Patani 1

PREFACE

The stimulus for the joint venture of which the present book is the
visible result was provided by the discovery of a Malay manuscript of
the long lost Hikayat Patani by one of the authors, and the publication,
quite independently, of a Thai version of the same text by the other.
The authors, who were not acquainted with one another before this,
“found” each other at the suggestion of Professor O. W. Wolters, to
whom they are grateful for the idea.
The preparation of the book took place on both sides of the Atlantic,
with a frequent exchange of letters containing the results of the work
of each author. In August, 1969, Teeuw was given the opportunity to
visit Cornell University, where in a fortnight’s most intensive contact
and concentrated research all the drafts were checked, supplemented,
rewritten and improved, and the definitive arrangement of the book
decided on. The work on the manuscript was completed in the following
four months, again in geographically separated spheres. The actual
manuscript was rounded off at the beginning of 1970.
Looking back the whole undertaking was a hazardous experiment in
many respects. Not only were the authors not personally acquainted
when the work was first begun, but neither spoke the other’s language —
Malay and Thai — and even though their respective disciplines may be
related, they differ on many points. In view of the developments in the
study of Southeast Asian historiography it was far from certain at the
outset that this confrontation between the philologist and the historian
would not lead to conflict rather than synthesis.
It is not for the authors to judge to what extent their efforts have
been successful. Personally they are convinced that in any case the
attempt has been worthwhile and that it has become apparent once
more that in principle cooperation between specialists from different
disciplines and on different areas in Southeast Asia is fruitful and
necessary. Their experience has taught them that the contrast between
Buddhist Thailand, which is orientated more towards mainland Asia,
and Muslim, Indonesia-oriented Malaya is not as absolute as is often
suggested. If the publication of this Story of Patani contributes in any
way to the interpenetration of mainland and insular Southeast Asian