Emissary from Langkasuka Detail from a larger Chinese painting showing various emissaries to the Chinese court of Liang dynasty (502–587). Song Dynasty copy.  [Source]

Illuminated letter in Malay from Engku Temenggung Seri Maharaja (Daing Ibrahim) of Johor to the Emperor of France (Napoleon III) Singapore (1857) [Source]

The British Library reports:

This beautiful royal Malay letter (Or.16126) from the ruler of Johor, Temenggung Daing Ibrahim, to the Emperor of France, written in Singapore in 1857, is a triumph of style over substance. Its thirteen golden lines pay effusive compliments to Napoleon III but little else, as can be seen from the translation (see link given below). The letter was accompanied by a handsome gift of Malay weaponry.

It is hard to know what either side hoped to gain from the despatch of such a magnificent missive, for in the mid-19th century French interests in Southeast Asia were primarily focused on Indochina, while Johor’s allegiance was firmly with the British. In the letter the Temenggung makes no requests of the French, and adroitly expresses his greatest praise for Napoleon III in terms of the Emperor’s cordial relations with Queen Victoria, ‘both sides thereby gaining in such strength that no other nation can match them, as long as the sun and moon revolve’ (bertambahlah kakuatan antara kedua pihak tiadalah siapa bangsa yang boleh bandingannya selagi ada perkitaran bulan dan matahari). It is most likely that the French envoy named in the letter, M. Charles de Montigny, who was in 1857 based in Singapore, procured the letter for his own personal or professional advancement.

O is for Orang Bunian - Benevolent beings from Malaysian and Indonesian folklore, who are completely invisible except to those with “spiritual sight”. They are also said to have power over time which can be really useful if you keep forgetting to charge your gadgets.

Overview and History

Á Bao A Qu is a creature which may have been created by Jorge Borges, as the source he cites is difficult to find, or does not exist at all. This source is a supposedly 1937 book called On Malay Witchcraft and is written by a C.C. Iturvuru. Even so, all creatures begin somewhere, and so the Á Bao A Qu will be discussed as one of the many mythological creatures in existence, even if it only exists in imagination. Borges will be considered the major source for this information, as he is the earliest source for information on the Á Bao A Qu, and all others so far have looked back to him for their information.

In sum, the Á Bao A Qu is an amorphous blob-like creature that glows blue, and sits at the bottom of the Tower of Victory. It awaits the pilgrim who wishes to ascend the tower, and it follows them during their journey. It does not interact with the pilgrim at all, and its only goal seems to be to achieve perfection by reaching the top with the pilgrim. If the pilgrim does not make it to the top of the Tower of Victory, than the Á Bao A Qu also cannot reach the top.

The Hantu Air is a spirit of the water in Malaysian folklore. Described as the unseen inhabitants of rivers, lakes and oceans, they are associated with and blamed for calamities including drownings and floods.

The Hantu Air is sometimes said to be an unguided or lost spirit. They can disguise themselves as tree trunks, fish and beautiful women in order to lure in victims.

Image source.

Monster master list.

Made a video reacting to the national costume segment of Miss Grand International 2021!

Some were seriously mindblowing - the Southeast Asians and Latin Americans absolutely SLAYED.

(Miss Grand Ecuador)

(Miss Grand Mexico)

(Miss Grand Malaysia)

(Miss Grand Thailand)

But then….the Europeans….did not understand the assignment…..

France??? What’s going on????

Ulek Mayang

Zen Cho’s Spirits Abroad Malaysian and Malaysian-diaspora fantasy shorts collection brings extremely intimate and personal concepts into the sphere of fantasy fiction–like unexpected difficulty in schoolwork or performing arts after being at the top of your class, or blooming into your suppressed bisexuality. Far from being the fantasy of broad, sweeping, epic stories about clashes between dynasties or magical orders, this is the fantasy about household magic, about supernatural creatures that have the same feelings and hopes and family structures we mortals do, and about one-on-one friendships and relationships. They even enjoy the simple, hedonic pleasure of food.

Other key themes of the book’s fifteen stories include Malaysia’s multiculturalism, with Chinese traditions coexisting alongside Christianity and Islam plus all the legends and fantasy creatures that are uniquely Malaysian, and women, both mortal and supernatural, interacting with their female family members, especially across the generations. I was fascinated, incidentally, by the variety of undead within Malaysian mythology, with the type of ghost varying by gender, manner of death, etc.

Some of my favorite moments:

“The House of Aunts”, which is available to read for free here, is a sweet YA paranormal romance starring a teenage vampire who lives with all the protective, overbearing yet nurturing female relatives of her family who share her condition while posing as a living student at school. At one point in the story she won’t let the Muslim boy she has a crush on share her lunch, telling him that it’s pork. (Readers: it’s not pork.) This is just so goddamn cute and grisly at the same time that it made me smile, and also is a model way to recognize ethnoreligious diversity in a spec fic setting.

“The Perseverance of Angela’s Past Life”, also available free, is about a young woman who suddenly acquires a supernatural shadow: her own self, as a teenager. Through a series of amusing or poignant moments she interacts with her old self as she travels to Japan to teach English and learn Japanese, until finally the two selves merge again and she becomes the whole person she was meant to be from the beginning. This is one of the anthology’s two stories about women who like women.

The other one is:“The Mystery of the Suet Swain”, in which a lesbian fights a demon Nice Guy. I mean all of that literally, including the demon part! The story leaves it unclear whether or not she and the “I said no to the last eleven guys who asked me out” best friend will date after the main character rescues her, but I think it’s a good story either way (and I say yes, sure, they date.)

This one is a darker moment, but there’s a part in the self-harm/self-destructive metaphor story “The Fish Bowl” where the MC is struggling with performing music she hasn’t practiced, so as a price for the magic to make her get through the piece, the titular magic fish drains blood from her in a way that shows up as four angry red streaks down her arm representing the four strings running down our fingerboards. As a violinist, this is a sharp and accurate piece of imagery. In fact when I read that line I immediately fired off a tweet to the author saying “you get us.”

There are so many other creative ideas in this book that I could go on and on — including the old favorite fantasy setting of an English boarding school but still populated by Malaysian diaspora characters, and another one where a troupe of Chinese dancers in England are secretly ghostbusters also, but hopefully by now I’ve convinced whoever’s reading this to give the book a whirl. Every once in a while I add a line to my reviews to the effect of “if you like my books, try–” and this is one of them.

Also, since the free story links in the original post no longer work, here’s a re paste:

The Penanggalan or ’Hantu Penanggal’ is a variation of the vampire myth found in Southeast Asia. It is described as a maiden who can detach her head and organs from her body while hunting at night. Afterwards, she will immerse her entrails in a vat of vinegar in order to shrink them for easy entry back into her body.

From Wikipedia: the Penanggalan is a detached female head capable of flying about on its own. As it flies, the stomach and entrails dangle below it, and these organs twinkle like fireflies as the Penanggalan moves through the night.

Betrayal, tragedy, and undying loyalty: all three are hallmarks of the story I’m about to tell you today. Gather round the metaphorical campfire, friends.

This is the tomb of Hang Jebat, one of Melaka’s most legendary warriors. Hang Jebat was part of a group of five, along with his friends Hang Tuah, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekir and Hang Lekiu. Works of literature tell us that Hang Tuah in particular was famed throughout the region for his skills as a fighter, and earned many accolades and titles in service of the sultan during the 15th century.

Jealous of the beloved Hang Tuah’s accomplishments, a rival falsely accused Hang Tuah of adultery with one of the king’s maids. Without a proper investigation, the sultan ordered Hang Tuah killed. Fearing the wrath of the people, the Bendahara (a vizier) spirited Hang Tuah away to a cave without anyone knowing.

In grief for his friend, Hang Jebat rebelled against the sultan by running amok in the villages, injuring and killing scores of people. With the sultan’s forces unable to restrain him, the sultan came to regret Hang Tuah’s death sentence, and so the Bendahara immediately revealed Hang Tuah’s existence. It was believed that only Hang Tuah could stop his friend from hurting more people.

So Hang Tuah was immediately recalled and instructed to stop his friend. Hang Jebat explained that he had committed these acts in order to demonstrate his anger at the sultan’s unjust sentence, but the damage was done: Hang Tuah could not accept this explanation, as Hang Jebat’s actions had put him in direct revolt against the sultan, and that was unacceptable. So the two warriors fought for seven days, with Hang Tuah eventually gaining the upper hand and slaying his close friend.