ofthe SAME TREE

76 Chapter 2
issue of Sulaiman, the Prophet of Allah, May Peace be upon Him, then nothing
more is required. The Minangkabau “heirloom” (pesaka) Si Bujang [i.e.,
Raja Kecil] himself will be more than adequate. 124
The special qualities attributed to Raja Kecil are also emphasized in the contemporary
VOC sources. 125
Other well-known examples of adoption are found in the Hikayat Hang
Tuah. The Bendahara observes the skills of five young men of sakai (Orang
Laut) origins and brings them to Melaka, where they are adopted by the Bendahara’s
wife. 126 When Hang Tuah is banished by the ruler of Melaka, he goes
to Indrapura, where he is adopted by the milk mother of the Indrapura princess.
127 He is later restored to his former position, and his son is then adopted
by the ruler of Melaka. 128 Another striking case comes from the Raffles 18
recension of the Sejarah Melayu. When the commander of the Portuguese
forces arrives in Melaka, he is adopted by the Bendahara and given robes of
honor. 129 The practice of adoption was not uncommon and was an effective
method of neutralizing potential threats from outsiders and incorporating
them into the family. There are many examples in Jambi and Palembang in
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries where the rulers of these kingdoms
adopted the Dutch head of the VOC trading post in order to assure his support
as a member of the ruler’s family. 130
The examples cited above highlight certain features in the practice of
adoption in the Malayu world. First of all, adoption occurs not at birth but
later in life when the individual’s character has already been determined. For
this reason there is a cautionary note in the Hikayat Bayan Budiman advising
parents to adopt a child of good breeding whose deeds would stand close
scrutiny. 131 Secondly, the adoptive parents belong to the elite of Malay society,
and thirdly, the individuals adopted are clearly outsiders whose incorporation
would be beneficial to the group. Through adoption a group not only
increases its membership but also benefits from the infusion of fresh blood
and talent. Nevertheless, an ambivalence toward the practice is captured in
the Malayu saying quoted above about the sugar palm. Adoption raises both
the prospects of extending the limits of the group but also the specter of conflict
resulting from the overlap of families at the edges.
Sibling relationships—whether established through blood, milk, or adoption—form
the core and the strongest bonds within a kinship group. The
depth of this relationship is captured in the Salasilah Melayu dan Bugis, which
speaks of the very close ties among the five Bugis brothers, who were primarily
responsible for establishing Bugis presence in the Malay world in the eighteenth
century. According to the Salasilah, written by the descendants of these
Bugis brothers, siblings are said to love one another from an early age, shar-