Nguyên tác tiếng Chăm, Ariya Bini – Cam và bản tiếng Việt của Inrasara, trong Inrasara, Văn học Chăm I – Khái luận – văn tuyển, NXB Văn hóa Dân tộc, H., 1994, tr. 296-321.
Translated by William B. Noseworthy
Sinh viên thạc sĩ – Lịch sử Đông Nam Á
UW-Madison Wisconsin

I.
And so I came from Mecca
As you passed through Harok Kah Harok Dhei (Quang Binh)
And arrived at Ma Lâm (Pajai)
Before returning home by sea
with the great waves of the South China Sea knocking on the side of your boat
and the thin fragile sails following the wave off into the distance
Oh how they were so thin, like the wings of a termite
Wings, carrying my lover away
So the lover slips to a land unseen
and oh how it is vast and lush
From Ma Lâm all the way up to Harok Dhei
From the immense paddy fields to the lush mountain forest
This poor country alone can not bind you
So I sat there alone on the sand
with the vast ocean, with the immense waves
and the sail, (fading in and out of sight unseen) fading in and out of smoke
and we cried, our hands wet with tears
As one (more) quiet sunny afternoon faded from sight
The afternoon shadows grow long
and a bird in the forest calls here and there
and then it flies away. Then silence covers the whole area!
The moon arose
and the waves calmed
With horses stomping on the side of the street
So sadness spreads, and the legs of the horse are weighted
It takes only two steps and then stops
Galloping, it doesn’t want to do it, it doesn’t hope to do it
So it returns and then tries to listen
Under the sound of the waves there are others that cannot be heard
He is ;ooking back to the forest: but the canopy covers all from view
And everything is lonely and dark
And the horse arrives at Ma Lin
So the heart still thinks about the lost people and the legs don’t want to walk
(We are) at the end of the country
The roots are broken and the forests are shriveled and dry!
Oh birds have you seen my lover?
I step gently
Oh clouds have you seen my lover?
My lover’s eyes are as clear as the water in the stream
Oh moon have you seen my lover?
Fragrant incense is everywhere
So the horse arrives at Châu Hanh
It gallops, and then neighs, and then does something crazy to forget
Who are you missing the tower Po Dam?
The highest tower looks for old people
For them to go to paradise
The memories are still kept in this cold desert
And the spirits wander about
He can hear the sad sound of the Quoc bird (sadness), and the casceda (complaints)

II.
Did he go away with the war?
His hometown, was destroyed, poor people, misery
Don’t complain to me!
As you are the vessel of Islam
If you love me
Convert to Islam, instead of your younger sister
Oh people! A life we strive for
Forgot my parents and my friends to follow you
The top of the mount Harok Dhei the head of my hometown
The far away street, my country is skinny and weak
I will follow you and my body is exhausted
The horse shoe is worn, the step is familiar with the desert forest
Two shoulders bear two weights
Love for the motherland, and a love for my lover
One is only forgotten with a heavy heart
As I remember my place in the cycle of life
The horse returns to Thanh Kiet, steps quickly
And they are tired when it arrives in Lam Giang
The drainage ditch is dry- and the path is still long
There is a stray deer lost on the way to Bblang Kaxa
There were people carrying water on their heads far away
Walking gently as my lover used to do
The horse passed by Phan Ri and begin to day dream
The horse and the rider cross the forest to return to the motherland
The Horse stops at the port Bal Caung1
Around the Nhong birds2 chime singing happily
Weeds through the rain overflow
Horses graze on grass, and the rider can rest on a flat stone
Sitting sadly seemingly to wait for someone
I look up to the peak of Po Nai3 bear in the light
My heart was suddenly bored by this existence
I wish that I could follow to the path of the Buddha
That I could be a Caramai4
And if I fall from the branch I won’t feel pain
Rather like the sacred bird, the chim Baratot5
In the morning I will perch on the Bodhi tree
In the evening singing by the Bayon tree
I accept to be the dry leaves in the forest
To cover the path for the path of the people, which will create a sad sound
I want to be a tree (sung) with no worries
I want to be the tassel of maize, like the flower of the bean
to have no pain no sorrow no sadness
So, he doesn’t stop his wandering to miss someone
He hasn’t gone to look for her for a long time
The footprints have disappeared down a long path
(oh the sound of) My lovers voice
(Her) speech, (the way she) talks, (the way she) smiles, I was a long time ago, in the old palace
The capital is destroyed, broken, and abandoned
And memories are blurred under the harsh rain
There are faint traces of the ruins under the grass and mold (the old palace- has these things around it)
Where is Xah Bin6? Where is his his powerful spear?
In this Koho area the people don’t know who you are …
The after sun is going down
Who still knows the tower of Po Rome?7
Bia Ut8 in the wilderness is upside down
Ironwood tree is sad far from the home country
Sunny or rainy the color of the leaf is not fresh!
Horses go to Danaw Panrang (Bầu Trúc – Ninh Thuận)
The horses stop and the people are sad because no one is around
Muk Cakling Ong Paxa9-cries “Oh my mother land!
You protected me and brought me up” (from the cradle to the grave)
The country to me is like my love to you
I hope that the two will grow together – you and my homeland
Oh my slender hands and the small finger
Whole hand, and my heart is heavy
The back of the foot is was so small and smells like jasmine (flower)
He could keep it carefully in his palm
Thank the heaven for letting us unite again
So the homeland will blossom again
Even the rural people in their misery will have good crops
Love the country
Your royalty loved the country as well (?)
Did he forget you!?! Allah’s words abound
The sacred charms are of all of the gods
and of the promised land
And yet I cannot accept
I simply hug you close with my begging hands
Ask for me and I promise you
I beg for you and you must insist
There is an earnest voice as the tongue of our nation
She shook her head ever more intensely
But did not look up without speaking
and then rode on an elephant away
The great elephant rides as fast as the wind
My gaze follows you to the horizon
The Horses and so the horses arrived in Tuan Tu
And the footprints in the yellow sand were washed away
Elephants go on to Nha Trang
They left Phu Yen, and then (went) on to Ninh Hoa
and so I did not follow my parents advice
And you are royalty, body is built with gold, but you suffer
And I will follow10 you everywhere
My life is filled with grief or sadness, my hometown is destroyed
Bal He (Phan Rang) is insecure- and the war is spreading from here
The gap between Bini and Cham has been widening for many years
With you and your elephant going to one side and me and my horse going to another
And the countryside is submerged in darkness
With an invading army taking advantage of this conflict- this time
Cham go up to Mưdren11 Bini on south Phan Ri
Blood pours down, flooding across the heel of the horse
Exhausted elephants stood still around the skull
Hey stranger from afar that we love
Talk to me! Have saved the normal people, who are miserable
I give up, I did…
Oh, my love! Please open your mouth

III
So I remember the Mecca of old
Land of magic, mystery, and fairytale
(We are) sent on the way, but the heel stops at the port of Harok Dhei
The shape of your body is so charming, the heart is filled with love
Collectively his own beliefs, his quiet mind
(Are) thinking about the country and the lover is no longer a conflict
The god gives the soul of the country (as the spirit to a person)
You are soft with beautiful hair
With eyes so intelligent, with gentle cheeks
With the dream that my heart always carries with it
Thinking about this since the ancient time- now it awakes
Now the gap, a divide in the homeland
The hands lift carefully with love
Lift me up to the highlands
And look down upon the entirety of the homeland
Looking up toward the wilderness and the rolling expanse of mountain forest
Looking down toward the vast region of the sea
Oh she comes (here from the) holy city of Mecca
To save and help the people in a difficult situation therefore she came to this area
With you to Xribanưy12
With my horse, walking slowly side by side the person who lives far from his homeland (the poet)
And the East Sea wind is no longer stormy but calm/gentle
So the hair gives a wonderful fragrant smell
Made by the elephant Hanguw Bal13
Strange and wonderful to brighten this part of the country (this area makes the whole country famous
and feel proud of it)
Tower by tower- built up, the citadel is one hundred meters, surrounded by a wall
And something shines (glitters) in the air, a yellow dragon
The vast fields of rice are ready for harvest
There forest is vast with straight trees
And the dams split the water (constructing the fields- restricting/controlling the flow)
And the shrimp and the fish gather around
I have so much love for our country
Love the poor people dreaming about something that will never happen
Little princesses are dreaming about the lands far away
Was she looking for someone? Was it her love (hero/good man)?
Or is she missing the sunlight in the home village of the her father
And what else (something more)?
Thinking it over with her sad eyes
Elephants to Bal Angwei14 she is still suffering but not speaking
Elephants to Bal Hul Bal Lai15
The homeland and culture and submerged in darkness
There is a citadel made a mistake
Loss of the sacred to the profane- the mind to madness!
And Phú Yên, near the sea with the waves
You stop at the place marking the first arrival
Oh people of Mecca do not forget!
Though our spirit is strong (Though we have many gods), our people are few (and scattered)
Poor me, I am suffering, please have sympathy for me
(Allah) Have mercy for me and for my soul!
And I have already been left to my loneliness
And you did the same thing (you went away and you left me lonely- without saying anything at all)
Present sorrow. Just insist on one word- or one phrase
Oh heavens, please save me!
They think I am mistaken, but know nothing of what I have suffered (nothing of what I have seen)
I am ready to carry this burden, (I am ready to bear this mark)
I just pray that good things happen in the future
And the page boy
And you and the elephants turned and went up to the west
And the page boy turned the horse to go there as well
The elephants can go across the water
And the horse are going side by side and then galloping down
Elephants and you straight towards Nha Trang
Nha Trang has no clouds surrounding it, it sunny
Its a fertile land where plants can grow up easily, with sugar cane
The East Sea waves are the most beautiful, the most pristine blue
The afternoon sunlight shines down upon the island
Temple tower of Po Nagar, holy, powerful, the spirit,
Surrounded by a forest of green color of the coconut tree
Horse goes neigh loudly
The horse didn’t gallop or run
Side by side, stopping by the sand the horse rests
My liver is dried up, and rotten because I miss you so much
I am so bitter, broken because of waiting, because because the gall bladder is broken
Looking for the white crane flying over (away)
Waiting to send a message (so the message can fly with the crane)
The afternoon sun is covered by smoke and cloud
Which resembles your image
I will miss you one thousand years without stopping
Recording each memory with every step
Remembering each strand of hair
I remember the socks you were wearing
Remember the way your smile and your eyes
I remember your shirt
When I wander
I can not stop missing you, and I carry with me a heavy load (love)
Swans feed on the surface of the water (lake)
Oh this just like your step lightly over the grass?
Ri birds singing among the trees
Their song reminds me of the sweet sound of your voice
The horses went to Bal Riya16
poor for Mih Ai,17 a stranger in a strange land
The husband will not return
The first time I stepped here (I felt unfamiliar)
Đại Việt is far way that when they die we have to keep the corpses here
River waves wash her soul away
Oh far away people, do you understand my faith?
Today I weep for myself
Am I crying for the departed (the dead)?
Or am crying for my lover, who knows?
(I am) drunk (with) love, (but) the lover is so wise
Oh, please do not plant a trap for me!
His heart hurt, he’s fleeing, in exodus
The country is divided, the people are full of misery
Bini with Cham, the are going from friends to enemies
This afternoon I sat quietly alone
Vang’s surrounded by the birds chirping
in the western sky, wild animals in harmony
Where is my destination? Will I come looking for you?
I am hurt just like anybody else from our suffering people
look up the hill tower of Po Klaung Garai with the beetle leaf
The summer sunlight burns the leaf and the leaf fall down, so it just has the branches left
Who can understand my pain?
Alone in the streets, seven paths, but which one should I take?
The far path is wet with tears
I pray that the heaven can understand my love
Follow by Huh18 downstream
The Holy Tiger Tower19 protects or guards the sacred forest
Her body is tattooed with the symbol of talisman
I just wish away mountains and rivers
Across the beach the horse is suddenly sad
Seagulls play sideways, losing, playing in the dark waves
Bucket split wave forestry workers
Soft mist particles as blurred sea
Waves break, the buckets of rain
Soft particles, such as the eyes, glaze deep tears
Wave breaking titles, overflowing the buckets
Echo as they themselves in any expectation
And the trotting horse goes over the sandy hills
Villages far away have already set in the afternoon sun
The psace is covered by a lot of pink dust- covered by the sun
The sand sticks to the feet and they don’t want to say goodbye to the horse
There is so much missing in the heart
The horse has already gone to Bblang Kaxa20
And you headed to Bal He, with your elephant slowing down
So my horse follows you as the body with the shadow21
So the woman has the figure of the bee22
So he hugs her- to fill the emptiness of a along time apart
So her hair is let down- and the good smell fills the air
His hand has built up a cover, like a net
and her hand gently lifts her hair
And her eyes are clear like the water in the well
Appearing as diamonds in the water
His spirit, his love, drowned because of her eyes
No one pulled me out (but he is not in the well yet) or lifted me up (after he fell in)
Remembering a long time ago, Harơk Dhei Harơk Kah
So we changed this for a king who is Việt – Kinh
So she (you) left the house in order to wander someplace, placing your love in the wrong hands
your career has been destroyed by love
So which love have you kept with you? (country, career, or love of the lover)
something is missing
The assets that you have given to the next generation is misery
The crazy lover is easy come and easy go
The lover has passed by Phan Ri and gone on to Nha Trang
Up to the highlands, and half of the souls died
Long lasting love (one thousand times) who wrote that love as a poem
This love, my love, is it similar to the love of kings passed?
Will their be a reunion? Or will it depart?
Definitely, absolutely, the kings love is a mirror for me (the man) to look at
Because of the lover, I put it (?) under my feet
Then you return with the fragrance
My lover followed and his love now lost, who knows?
My love is on the top of the highest tree (shaking)
On the back of the buffalo, or in the river
His love followed the duck step in the paddy field
Which is covered by the brick towers and hidden under the forest leaves
Wandering, as a small boats lost on the water
Wandering on top of the sea waves
The waves push and flap against the love, and the love is broken
Half is in mouth of the fish, and the other half is lost
And I am someone that has lost my spirit and then left wandering23
And the hall of the old Mosque is filled with worshippers, offering food and animals to the Yang24
Our country of origin, Panduranga
The people of this country are lost, and the home towns are abandoned25
What’s left in my hands?
A bird lost his way, and disappeared

_______

1. A làng or village in Ninh Thuận
2. A bird that can imitate peoples voice
3. A female Cam spiritual leader
4. A kind of tree
5. A kind of nesting bird
6. A general who fought during the riegn of Po Rome
7. Built in the 17th century
8. The Vietnamese Wife of Po Rome
9. A Mythic Figure Raised by King Po Klaung Garai
10. The Vietnamese translation uses the term chase, as in to pursue a woman
11. Di Linh – Lâm Đồng
12. A Cam capital in Bình Định
13. Quảng Nam
14. Quảng Ngãi
15. Phú Yên
16. The làng village of Bính Nghĩa – Ninh Thuận
17. Also known as the cult of Mị Ê
18. The làng or village Cát Gia – Ninh Thuận
19. Yang Pakran or Ba Tháp – Ninh Thuận
20. Bình Thuận – this place is still called by the same name, or rather a Vietnamese transliteration
21. (the elephant is the body, and the horse is the shadow)
22. An hour glass figure
23. Blinded by love, comparable to the modern American colloquialism “sprung”