The Ramayana
The oldest known version of the Hikayat Seri Rama, predating 1633, is in Archbishop Laud's collection at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, England.
The Indian epic of the Ramayana was brought to the Malay Peninsula over a thousand years ago. Originally written in Sanskrit, the tale was translated into Malay and enjoyed through both oral storytelling and shadow play performances. There are now two leading versions of the story in Malay, the Hikayat Seri Rama being the literary version, and the Hikayat Maharaja Wana used in shadow play.
- Information in the full article includes
- Heritage
- Themes
- Written forms
- Ramayana tales in Malay folk theatre