''Tuhfat al-Nafis'' (;

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: The Precious Gift) is a work of

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

literature written by the

Bugis The Bugis people (pronounced ), also known as Buginese, are an ethnicity—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassar and Toraja), in the south-western province of Sulawe ...

Raja Ali Haji Raja Ali Haji bin Raja Haji Ahmad (1808–1873) was a 19th-century Bugis- Malay historian, poet and scholar. He was elevated to the status of National Hero of Indonesia in 2004. Haji has been described as one of the most important Malay writ ...

in Jawi in around 1866–1870. who is of

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'', Jawi: ), formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu, is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l- Īmān'' ("Abode of Faith"). ...

, the murder of Sultan Mahmud Shah II of

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...

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 Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

. 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), and then tell a more detailed history of the

Riau Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Accord ...

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 its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

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

Minangkabau people Minangkabau people ( min, Urang Minang; Indonesian or Malay: ''Orang Minangkabau'' or ''Minangkabo''; Jawi: منڠكبو), also known as Minang, are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the Minangkabau Highlands of West Sumatra, Indonesi ...

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 and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...

, Siak and

Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...

. 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 (; la, feudum) 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 Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

References

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