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Saturday, May 1, 2010

Poem of Malacca

I came across the following beautiful Kristang poem & its English translation. I have no idea who wrote it or when was it composed. If you know its origins or if you know someone who might know of its origins, please let me know.


Poem of Malacca

Keng teng fortuna ficah na Malaka,
Nang kereh partih bai otru tera.
Pra ki tudu jenti teng amizadi,
Kontu partih logo ficah saudadi.
Ó Malaka, tera di San Francisku,
Nten otru tera ki yo kereh.
Ó Malaka undi teng sempri fresku,
Yo kereh ficah atih moreh.
English translation:
Who is lucky stays in Malacca,
Doesn't want to go to another land.
In here everyone has friendship,
When one leaves soon has saudade (saudade or saudades is a Portuguese and Galician word for a feeling of nostalgic longing for something or someone that one was fond of and which is lost).
Oh Malacca, land of Saint Francis,
There is no other land that I want.
Oh Malacca, where there's always freshness,
I want to stay here until I die.

1 comment:

  1. Just came across yr post on the Kristang poem. Interesting. Im Eurasian fr KL and I worked in KB Brunei 15 years!! R Lesney

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