The Malaysian Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Goose Girl

Just finished reading Bidasari and the Djinn by Ninot Aziz; a retelling of the classic Malay epic. Hikayat Badasari is not a folktale, it is an epic poem, authored by someone from the past, but it may have been based on a Malay folktale.

Anyway, according to the blurb, Bidasari is the Malay 'Sleeping Beauty.' I was suitably impressed, I need to know more about the Malay Sleeping Beauty. However, after reading the story, I realised that clearly Bidasari is the Malay 'Snow White.' The theme of the jealous Queen (older woman) hell bent on destroying a fairer and younger woman, is too obvious. Thanks to the Queen, who is also skilled in arcane magic, Bidasari goes into a deathlike sleep during the day and wakes up at night.  Snow White for sure...

For good measure, I decided to read the original translation of Bidasari as well (all in one afternoon!) I liked Ninot's version better, at least it explains the creation of the Horcrux (yes, Potterheads, Bidasari has a Horcrux!) This beautifully illustrated book is a must have for collectors of fairy tales. Both books are available at SilverfishBooks. #MalaysianChildrenBooks #Bidasari #Horcrux #SnowWhite

So who is the Malaysian Sleeping Beauty? There is a candidate - Puteri Tupai or The Tree Shrew Princess. This story is retold as The Unnamed Princess, in Timeless Tales of Malaysia (unfortunately, out of print) and also The Magic Urn and Other Timeless Tales of Malaysia. Here the innocent princess is cursed by a Nenek Kebayan (a Baba Yaga like old crone with shamanic powers i.e. a witch) during her naming ceremony, which is a coming-of-age rite. The princess is cursed, all because of the fact that her parents had offended Nenek Kebayan, probably betrayed the witch, as we see what happened in Maleficient. In this case, the princess does not sleep for a 100 years, she is turned into an animal. But this animal-like state is a form of sleep, in the sense that she lost self-awareness and was lived outside of human society. To break the spell, someone has to say her true name out loud; by someone who loves her...

And yes, I know. Princess Tupai is also the Malay Beauty and the Beast...

So who is the Malay Goose Girl? In the Grimm's fairytale, The Goose Girl is the unfortunate young princess, on her way to meet her prince. She must be very poor indeed because she is only accompanied by a maid, who takes over her place and pretends to be the princess when they reach the palace. The princess ends up caring for the geese in the royal keep. In the story of Princess Trailing Hairknot, also from The Magic Urn and Other Timeless Tales of Malaysia, a princess loses her station in life and her inheritance when her parents pass away suddenly. Although she is regarded as plain, her hair is extraordinarily long, thick and unruly. She ends up living in a cottage in the forest and having to fend for herself. One day she had to journey upriver to escape a menacing man, and she lends a helping hand to a young woman who ends up accompanying her. They are eventually stopped by soldiers and brought to the palace of a neighbouring kingdom, because the prince had a dream about about a princess with long hair. However, as in the case of the Goose Girl, the maid claims to be the princess and the real princess has to work as a bird chaser in the royal rice fields...

Read these stories and more in The Magic Urn!

The Magic Urn can be ordered from Kinokuniya Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

And also from these links:
https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Urn-Other-Timeless-Malaysia/dp/9814771163

https://www.amazon.in/Magic-Other-Timeless-Tales-Malaysia-ebook/dp/B01N97CEFM

Malaysia's National Flower - Bunga Raya or Bunga Tanjung?

Hibiscus elatus, the magnificent flower of the mahoe tree

The tiny but fragrant Bunga Tanjung is native to Malaysia

Having lived in Cuba for three years, (2009 - 2011) I realised that the hibiscus (Bunga Raya) should not be the national flower of Malaysia (gasp!) But I have good reasons for stating this - the Hibiscus is native to the Caribbean - the mahagua/mahoe (Hibiscus elatus) is the national flower of Jamaica and Cuba. In the Caribbean, the hibiscus is a mighty tree, not the puny shrub we think it is. The hibiscus common in Malaysia gardens, is an import; unable to achieve it's full potential in alien soil. This in itself should tell us something - that it is not native to Malaysia. There are no hibiscus plants or trees growing in the wild in Malaysia or Asia.
So what should be our national flower? I believe it should be the Bunga Tanjung. This flower is mentioned in Malay folklore and there are songs about the Bunga Tanjung. In fact, there is a charming fairytale in Timeless Tales of Malaysia (republished as The Magic Urn and Other Timeless Tales of Malaysia,) called The Tanjung Blossom Fairy. As far as I know, there are no stories about the Bunga Raya in folklore; only hantu raya! 

The Magic Urn is available in Kinokuniya Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and also from Gerakbudaya Bookstores in Petaling Jaya and Penang.You can also order the book from these linkshttps://www.amazon.in/Magic-Other-Timeless-Tales-Malaysia-ebook/dp/B01N97CEFM https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Urn-Other-Timeless-Malaysia/dp/9814771163:






😆 #folklore #Malayfolklore

Featured in the New Straits Times - 16 March 2019

https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/pulse/2019/03/469718/wife-former-diplomat-looks-horror-inspire-children

Farewell Draco!

Farewell, Draco (January 2006 - 12 November 2018.) 

Our eldest doggo (beloved of Shona Yean,) passed away this afternoon. It was not unexpected. He lost the ability to walk a few months after his brother, Choji, passed away in December, 2017. Draco was born with severe hip dysplasia and somehow, forced himself to walk, to keep up with Choji, until he was twelve years old. He showed incredible endurance for a dog, being able to walk for so long, when less handicapped Golden Retrievers would have given up. 

Draco and Choji, were both born in Malaysia. They followed us to two countries in succession - Havana, Cuba and Zagreb, Croatia. Life was tough in Cuba for Choji, the weather was hot and humid and good dog food was scarce. But Draco had a fairly productive life as a guard dog at the Havana Residence in Siboney. I think he enjoyed his role there. However, they both enjoyed Zagreb and getting to experience snow for the first time in their lives! There was an apple tree in the backyard, and Draco loved munching apples in the autumn.

We have been caring for Draco for the past nine months. But he was diagnosed with cancer, six months ago and had a stroke last Wednesday. The end was inevitable. Still, I felt 'empty' entering our home without being greeted by a dog. 

Nevertheless, he was a gorgeous dog. When a puppy, he had the usual golden colour. This colour deepened and in his youth, Draco had flaming red-gold fur. The colour mellowed to a warm gold as he matured but he never faded into grey. He was the most stubborn, intelligent, irrepressible and high-spirited dog, we've ever known.

Vale old friend. You are no longer in pain. Seek your brother, Choji, on the other side of the rainbow bridge. May you two have great adventures together chasing squirrels and guinea pigs!

CATS IN FOLKLORE

Cats play a significant role in folklore from around the world and so, I've decided to assemble some of the stories here:

1. Il Gato Mammone: The Italian Tale of the Cat King

Source: https://folklorethursday.com/

Once upon a time, there was a woman. She had two daughters, one incredibly ugly and the other one astonishingly beautiful. In a rather surprising twist, the woman loved her ugly daughter more than anything, including the beautiful one, whose beauty drew their jealousy and ire. One day, filled to the brim with envy, they decide to send her to ask the fairies for a sieve, the fair folk being known for their trickery and curses.

On her way to the castle of the fairies she meets an old man whose adherence to folk tale rules would make Vladimir Propp proud.  He tells her exactly how to behave, with a strict and perhaps nonsensical etiquette, that if followed would help her find the object she sought after.

Most important of all, she must help the cats in the castle do their housework. The Gatto Mammone, who lives in the castle, is thankful and gives her what she asked for, along with a warning: on her way back home, she must not turn at the call of the donkey, but only when she hears a rooster. As she does so, a beautiful star is magically embedded in her forehead.

You can easily imagine the rest of the story: her sister goes through the same ordeal, but her pride gets the best of her and she’s shunned away by the cats. On her way back, she turns at the bray of the ass, and a donkey’s tail is magically embedded in her forehead.

2. Bayun Cat

Cat Baiyun/Bayun Cat. Illustration by K. Kuznetsov from the collection “Russian folk tales” 

Bayun Cat is a fascinating character of Russian fairy tales. It is a huge man-eater with a magical voice. When he spins his magical tales, travelers are lulled into complacency or even sleep by his  hypnotic voice. Those of them who do not have enough strength to resist his magic or who are not prepared to battle with him, will be ruthlessly killed by the cat-sorcerer. But those who can capture a Bayun cat will find salvation from all diseases and illnesses - the tales of Bayun are healing.

Word Bayun means "talker narrator talker" from the verb bayat  - "tell talk" (cf. also verbs. Cradle , lull in "put to sleep" value) ^[1] [2] . In fairy tales it is said that Bayun sits on a high, usually iron pillar. The cat lives in distant lands in the thirtieth kingdom ^[3] or in a lifeless dead forest, where there are no birds or animals ^[4] . In one of the fairy tales about Vasilis the Beautiful, the Bayun cat lives with Baba Yaga .

There are a large number of such fairy tales, where the main character is given the task of catching a Bayun Cat; as a rule, such tasks were given in order to destroy a good young man. Meeting with this fabulous monster means inevitable death. To capture the magic cat, Ivan Tsarevich puts on an iron cap and iron mittens. Winning and catching the animal, Ivan Tsarevich delivers him to the palace to his father. There, the defeated cat begins to serve the king - telling fairy tales to heal the king with lulling words ^[5] .

3. Cats of Witchcraft
In ancient Scotland, it was believed that witches could shapeshift into #cats. However they had to be careful, as once they had shifted for the ninth time they could not shift back.

In ancient times on the festival of Samhain/Halloween, dishes of milk were left outside houses for a witch who could change into cat form; she’d bless each house in return. But if you didn’t leave an offering of milk, you’d be cursed and your cows’ milk would dry up.

In Wales, the cat was thought to be a capital weather glass. If she stood or lay with her face towards the fire, it was a sign of frost or snow; if she became frisky, bad weather was near. If the cat washed her face and ears, then rain was sure to come."

Casa del Rio in Malacca

Casa del Rio 

Saturday, 13 Oct 2018. On a day trip to Malacca,  we had lunch at the Casa del Rio, a vintage boutique hotel in Malacca, located by the Malacca River.

This is the only place in Malaysia which reminds me of the grand old mansions in Havana, Cuba. The food was mediocre, though. It's only worth going for the tiffin lunch on weekdays.

Book Launch in Malacca

Book Launch of Stories of One Malaccan Family.

On Saturday, 13 October 2018, we attended a book launch at the Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum in Malacca.  The museum is located at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Loke (Heeren Street), a part of the historic inner city which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. An immersive experience in the Peranakan culture- a hybrid of Chinese and Malay. Enjoyed the beautiful museum, the performance and the food. Met Lee Su Kim, the author of the Nyonya Trilogy; and Bert Tan, the founder of the Malaysian Heritage & History Club. And the book, Stories of One Malaccan Family, by Melissa Chan and Preethi Nair is a treasure!

Melissa Chan is the author of the book.
The Chans are Peranakan - a hybrid culture combining Chinese and Malay elements and this is reflected in their beautiful traditional costumes. The top, known as a kebaya is hand-embroidered traditionally (but machine embroidered now), while the sarong is made from batik.

Entitled, Stories of One Malaccan Family, it is about the Chan family and their remarkable ancestral home. Being an outstanding example of the Straits Settlement Shophouse architecture located in a historic part of the city, the clan decided to turn it into a museum.

Preethi Nair is the illustrator

Yean and Henry Chan at the book launch

The Chan family's ancestral home is now the
Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum

Guests were served an array of
Nyonya delicacies at the launch.
The pastries are pineapple tarts, a Nyonya invention?

The lavishly illustrated book, Stories of One Malaccan Family is by Melissa Chan with her father, Henry Chan, and illustrated by Preethi Nair. It took Melissa and Preethi five years to complete this gorgeous book, which was written in honour of the Chan family, and their remarkable home. The collection of stories about the Chan family covers four generations - before the Second World War, during the war and after. While the First World War had little impact on this part of the world, the Second World War had a huge impact. The country, then Malaya, and almost the whole of Southeast Asia was occupied by the Japanese Imperial Army. The Chinese who have settled in this part of the world were especially adversely affected.

The book, entitled Stories of One Malaccan Family
is a collectible Malaysiana