| Summary: | The Malay communities themselves often considered the traditional literature including
syair as nothing more than an expression of feeling and lovely phrasing. This statement
showed that the Malay community looked literary tradition as not involving ‘the
treatment of mind’(akal budi). In the context of this study, ‘the treatment of mind’
carried the meaning of maintaining a healthy mind. Therefore, this study classified and
analyzed the mind treatment using an old Malay manuscript of Syair Ikan which was
stored in the Library of Leiden, Netherlands. The Budi Theory and the Poetic of Malay
Literature Theory would be used in the study. The findings of the study showed that
there were three dominant ways to treat the mind in Syair Ikan, namely religion, family
and symbols of animals. These three dominant ways are used to convey messages,
reprimands and as advice to the society.
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