Teresa Ciapparoni La Rocca: Mishima Monogatari: Un Samurai Delle Arti. 416 pp. Turin: Lindau, 2020. €32. ISBN 978 88 3353 466 4.

Abstract

sources bearing the title Hikayat Patani or Sejarah Patani. These texts date from later times, but they differ substantially from other accounts and are essential for reconstructing Patani’s past. Besides that, the authors briefly refer to several sources in East Asian languages as, for example, the relevant entries in Da Ming huidian 大明 會典 and the Ryukyuan collection Lidao bao’an 歷代寶案. The last chapter of the introduction outlines Patani’s historiography. This mostly follows a chronological arrangement. The authors cite a large number of scholarly studies, including important books on Southeast Asia with individual segments on or references to Patani. Alves’ article on Patani and the Portuguese, which comes next, is an excellent survey. It shows that one cannot understand Portuguese activities in and around Patani without considering Pasai, Melaka and other places. Certain individuals, especially from the Gama family, played a key role in this complex arena. Alves also tells us there was strong competition between Melaka and Patani. One element within that matrix was the pepper trade to China. This links to another chapter of Patani’s past: its relations to early Macau. Until today, there is an area on the west side of the Macau peninsula, which bears the name Patane (Shalitou 沙梨頭 in Chinese). Clearly, the first Portuguese going there were in close contact with Patani; this included some of their Chinese partners. One may add, there is an interesting study by Wu Hongqi 吳宏岐, Shikong jiaozhi de shiye: Aomen diqu lishi dili yanjiu 時空交織的視野:澳門地區歷史地理研究 (Beijing, 2014), which provides further details on the Patane region of Macau. From the late sixteenth century onwards, several queens ruled over Patani and the sultanate experienced various changes. Based on many texts, and archaeological evidence, Perret’s article tries to identify the spatial features of Patani’s capital during this era. It also describes local offices and government titles and tries to disentangle biographical issues related to the aforementioned queens. The final parts of the article investigate social aspects. Patani was a cosmopolitan place where one would encounter many foreigners, languages and religions. The relations between men and women is a further theme. Much of what we know on that comes from the Dutch material cited in the appendix. To round off these remarks, one may state that both articles, along with the introduction, offer a detailed panorama of Patani’s internal setting, its external relations, and the relevant documents, many of which appear in the appendices. Finally, the book also contains a useful glossary, a rich bibliography and a reliable index. Thus, the overall impression is very positive. Indeed, one ought to thank the editors for having published such a fine research tool.