''Tuhfat al-Nafis'' (;

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

: The Precious Gift) is a work of Malay literature written by the

Bugis The Bugis people, also known as Buginese, are an Austronesian ethnic groupthe most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassarese and Torajan), in the south-western province of Sula ...

Raja Ali Haji Raja Ali Haji bin Raja Haji Ahmad (1808/9–1869/75) was a 19th-century Bugis-Malay historian, poet and scholar who wrote Tuhfat al-Nafis, ''Tuhfal al-Nafis''. He was elevated to the status of National Hero of Indonesia in 2004. Haji has bee ...

in Jawi in around 1866–1870. who is of Malay-

descent. It records and chronicles events, especially those of the 19th century, that occurred in several Malay states. Some of the events recorded in the work include the founding of the state of

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu) is a sultanate and States and federal territories of Malaysia, federal state of Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l-Iman (c ...

, the murder of Sultan Mahmud Shah II of

Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...

and of explaining the relationships between the Bugis and the kings of

and Sumatra. Tuhfat al-Nafis means "the precious gift" in the

Arabic language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. There are four manuscripts of Tuhfat al-Nafis. A manuscript copied in 1890 and published in 1923 is in the Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, London. Tuhfat al-Nafis begins with a summary taken from the Sulalatus Salatin (

Malay Annals The ''Malay Annals'' ( Malay: ''Sejarah Melayu'', Jawi: ), originally titled ''Sulalatus Salatin'' (''Genealogy of Kings''), is a literary work that gives a romanticised history of the origin, evolution and destruction of the Malacca Sultanat ...

), and then tell a more detailed history of the

Riau Riau (Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Barisan Mountains to the Malacca Strait, including s ...

Sultanate. Tuhfat was a dynamic figure in the Bugis principality, who with military and diplomatic dexterity managed to gain an important position in the Riau states,

Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...

, Sambas and Matan-Sukadana. A recurrent theme in the first half of Tuhfat al-Nafis is conflict between the

Minangkabau people Minangkabau people (; ; ) are an Austronesian people, Austronesian ethnic group native to the Minangkabau Highlands of West Sumatra, Western Sumatra region on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The Minangkabau's West Sumatera homelands was th ...

of Riau as well as Bugis and Malay alliance forces. The conflict occurred both in the provinces of Riau and in

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman (دار الأمان; Arabic for 'The Safe Abode') and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of ...

, Siak and

Kalimantan Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...

. The second half covers the middle of the 18th century until 1864, showing the growing hostility between the Bugis and Malays in Riau, and two raids led by the Bugis people of Malacca to the Dutch in 1756 and 1784. The last attack ended when the Dutch signed a treaty with the Sultan of Riau who conceded his kingdom as a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

References

Malay-language literature Malaysian books History books about Indonesia {{Indonesia-hist-book-stub