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!
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!
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