HIKAYAT FROM THE ANCIENT MALAY KINGDOMS BY NINOTAZIZ. (English)

The writer ninotaziz, has lifted the heavy veil behind which lies so many interesting stories from traditional Malay folklore; the epicenter of Malay literature written down on paper centuries later. The assortment of stories in the book keep extending with one’s imagination and creativity. With such diversity, we have stories both in prose and poem. This book happens to represent a selection of all the stories known to the Malay people in the past. In this book we have spellbinding myths borne from the collective imagination and creativity of the Malay storytellers and authors. Without their imagination and creativity, many of the stories will be flat, dry and unattractive. I am proud that [the writer] has taken us into another world of fantasy by stepping into some of the various stages in storytelling.

I am pleased to find so many indigenously Malay characters in the book. They include Anak Panah Gade Wat Ekor, Berantai Kepala Naga, Tuan Lindungan Bulan, Tengku Malim Deman, Si Kembang China, and Sepit Bentala Sang Naga Maha Gangga. Their appearance means so much to the authenticity of the tales in the books. They are certainly pre-Islam, thus help to push these stories back to their original sources before the coming of Hindusism at least in 100 BC and Islam in the 13th century.