Читать книгу Malaysian Children's Favourite Stories - Kay Lyons - Страница 6

Every country in the world has its own folktales based on its own culture and environment. Long before books were widely available, such stories were traditionally told by parents to their children, who told their children, who told their children. Malaysia is no exception to such traditions. These tales were told not only, I imagine, after the day's work was done, but also at other quiet times—perhaps while waiting for fish to enter traps or nets, while resting near the rice fields during the fiercest heat of the day, or at night by a fire near the durian trees, waiting for the ripe fruit to fall.

Storytelling was not confined within families. It also played an important role in village entertainment, especially at festival times. On these occasions storytelling took many forms. Villagers retold the tales of their ancestors, often accompanied by local musicians and dancers. There were "professional" storytellers who moved from village to village reciting the familiar tales. Puppet shows, a very popular method of storytelling in many countries, in Malaysia are usually wayang kulit (shadow play) with colourful leather puppets. These performances are held on a specially constructed stage at night, so that the light behind the puppets throws their shadows on the white screen. Music played on traditional instruments adds to the drama of the stories.

Malaysia has a particularly rich store of folklore because of the many ethnic groups in the country. As a tropical country covered in rainforest, the animals of Malaysian folktales are those of the jungle, such as tigers and elephants. Stories of these animals teach children to be cautious of them—many are dangerous—or give explanations of why they have certain characteristics (why the tapir is black and white; why the leopard has a long tail). However, the very favourite animal of Malaysian folktales is not at all dangerous. It is the tiny mousedeer, usually called Sang Kancil, a very wily creature. He may be small, but he can outwit the larger animals of the forest, time and time again.

Mountains seem to hold special significance in Malaysian folklore—particularly Kinabalu, Santubong and Ledang—and many stories are centred on them. These tales often feature those universal favourites—princes and princesses, kings and queens. Of course, no collection of Malaysian folktales would be complete without heroes, those men and women who are able to surmount all obstacles.

—Kay Lyons