Nusantaran Folklore

The term "Nusantara" has a number of different definitions. For the purposes of this page, it is defined as the region containing Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, southern Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, East Timor, and Taiwan.

Nusantara has a great multitude of different cultures, owing to its large area, and its position as a bountiful source of resources has historically made it something of a melting pot of different ideas. Despite all this, there are a number of cultural similarities that many of these groups on the islands share, which are vaguely similar to those of Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia.

## Cultural Links

There is much cultural continuity between Nusantara and other parts of mainland south-east Asia, as well as with India. South-east Asia is due to Nusantara's geographical proximity resulting in diffusion of beliefs between the two regions. The continuity with India is due to centuries of trade between India and Nusantaran nations. This has led to Nusantaran forms of the *Katha Sarit Sagara*, *Mahabharata*, *Ramayana*, *Panchatantra*, *Jatakas*, and *Arabian Nights* being created, amongst other similar imported stories. Hindu and Buddhist colonists arriving in the early 1st millennium CE helped establish a number of kingdoms in Nusantara. These kingdoms at times extended into large parts of south-eastern Asia and into southern Asia, bringing in an influx of new cultures as they did so. Cultural elements that were originally Indian changed rapidly into their own styles by combining the Indian elements with Nusantaran elements, along with those of other conquered peoples. In addition to conquest, maritime trade was also a major influx of early ideas, owing to the trade routes between the Indian and Pacific oceans passing through this region. Bali, even in the present day, is mostly Hindu, and locals worship a combination of the Hindu deities, local nature spirits, and dead ancestors. Most of their heroic epics are done either in the style of a traditional Hindu epic, or in a style reminiscent of the *Arabian Nights*.

In the style of the *Pachatantra*, there are many stories of anthropomorphic animals, each with their own title signifying a social rank or relation. The Tar Baby is included in these stories, which often have meanings similar to Aesop's fables, particularly about slow, weak, or clever animals overcoming their adversaries.

Eventually Muslims from India and south-west Asia entered the region and started spreading Islam there, gaining great political power by the 15th Century CE. In terms of local beliefs, this seems to have had minimal impact (other than crippling the pig farming industry in Muslim-heavy areas), with the sole exception of epic romances, which started to be written in the Arabic style.

Starting with the Dutch, European (and later American) Christians started coming to the area, leading to Christian groups emerging in a number of places.

The Chinese have been coming to Nusantara since before we have records, often to trade porcelain.

As a general rule, the closer a community is to the sea, the more outside influence they will have had.

## Shared Beliefs

Common beliefs shared throughout Nusantara by aboriginal communities include:

* Nature spirits
* Magic
* Ancestral spirits about whom cults and other beliefs are dedicated
* Chinese porcelain jars have magical properties, including speech
* There were multiple heavens, from which the gods would through down material to form islands in the primordial sea.
* Birds are the assistants of the gods
* Humans were either created directly by the gods, or originated as other things in nature (such as plants, trees, eggs, and bamboo joints)

## Filipino-Specific Beliefs

Among the Tinguian people, all culture-heroes are expected to be able to magically multiply the number of Chinese porcelain jars in their possession either ninefold or eighteenfold in order to win a bride.

One of the most well-known Tiguian stories is about Aponitolau and Aponibolinayen (Sir Tolau and Madame Bolinayen) and their son, Kanag, who was born when his mother pricked an itchy spot on her little finger. He was told by the mother of the girl he loved that he could only marry her if he filled a spirit-house with Chinese porcelain jars nine times and then strung a golden bead on a spiderweb surrounding the town.

Amongst the Igorot, Ifugao, and Tinguian peoples, there is a belief that the world has always existed, and that in the distant past there were great floods that destroyed everything, with the world having to be rebuilt after each one.

In the Igorot beliefs, Lumawig, one of the pre-eminent deities, created humanity by laying down reeds in pairs, which became human couples, each with a different language. His sons caused a great flood, leaving only a brother and sister alive. Lumawig then forced them to marry each other against their will, with modern humanity being their descendants. Lumawig taught humanity the arts after this.

## Other Beliefs

Amongst the Dyak peoples of Indonesia and Malaysia the greatest hero is Klieng, who was adopted after being found in the knot of a tree. He was devoted to war, travel, and pleasure, and could transform himself into anything. Chanting the story of his war-raid on the sky is said to take an entire evening.

Ritualised mythic retellings are used by both the Tinguians and Dyaks to invoke supernatural beings from the myths. These figures perform feats that the typical human is unable to replicate.

## Further Reading

* *Research on southeast Asia: problems and suggestions*, R. Heine-Geldern
* *Chinese pottery in the Philippines*, F. Cole & B. Laufer
* *The Pagans of North Borneo*, O. Rutter
* *The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo*, H. Ling Roth
* *Traditions of the Tinguian*, F. Cole
* *The Peoples of Malaysia*, F. Cole
* *Oceanic*, R. Dixon
* *A history of Malay literature*, R. Winstedt
* *The Bontoc Igorot*, A. Jenks
* *Die tiere auf der wanderschaft*, A. Aarne
* *The Andaman Islanders*, Radcliffe-Brown
* *Filipino popular tales*, D. Fansler
* *Peoples of the Philippines*, A. Kroeber
* *Volksverhalen uit Oost-Indie*, J. de Vries
* *Volksdichtung aus Indonesien*, Bezemer

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Luomala, K. (1972). "Indian and Persian folklore and mythology", in Leach, M. (ed) *Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend*. 3rd ed. p.518-521