Southeast Asian Folktales have similarities as they share unique, common cultural and moral values. In addition to that, some of the folktales share similar elements, such as the existence of supernatural beings and the use of animals as main character.
The story of Nyi Roro Kidul (Indonesia)—which depicts a beautiful goddess who guards the Southern Sea—and The Legend of Hantu Raya (Malaysia)—reflect Southeast Asia's society strong belief in supernatural realms and the connection with human's activities.
Here are three most popular folktales in Southeast Asia that share similar elements:
Malin Kundang
The story of Malin Kundang—a man who was cursed into a stone for not recognizing his mother after he was wealthy—is one of the most famous folktales in Indonesia. The morale value of the story is we must not forget our roots no matter how successful we are.
In Malaysia, the story of Si Tanggang resembles that of Malin Kundang. It is about a man who forgot his poor mother after getting rich. His mother is angry and cursed him into stone.
Brunei also has its Malin Kundang version called Nahkoda Manis. It is about a man named Manis who returned to his homeland after sailing for years. Manis did not want to recognize his poor and old mother.
His mother feels disappointed and prays. Then, Manis was turned into stone.
The three countries claim they have proofs about the places where those stories took place. Malin Kundang's stone is located at Air Manis Beach, Padang, West Sumatera.
While the Si Tanggang stone is believed to be located at Batu Caves. It is told that the place is where the blood of Si Tanggang flows.
In Brunei, the stone of Nahkoda Manis is located at Jong Batu.
Bawang Merah dan Bawang Putih (Red onion and garlic)
The story of Bawang Merah dan Bawang Putih is popular in Indonesia, often dubbed an Asian version of Cinderella. It is about Bawang Putih, who received bad treatments from her stepsister Bawang Merah and her stepmother.
Bawang Putih is gentle and helpful, while Bawang Merah is lazy and greedy. One morning, while Bawang Putih was washing clothes in the river, her stepmother's clothes were swept away. She felt worried and decided to find them.
Then, Bawang Putih met an old woman who kept the missing clothes. The old woman would return it to Bawang Putih after the girl helped do housework.
Bawang Putih helped the woman happily. The woman then gave the gift; two pumpkins. The small and the big ones. As Bawang Putih is not greedy, she chose the small one.
Returning home, Bawang Putih got scolded by her stepmother, who later threw the pumpkin. Everyone was surprised to see that the pumpkin contained jewelerry.
The stepmother told Bawang Merah to throw the clothes in case she got a bigger pumpkin. Yes, Bawang Merah got the big pumpkin from the same older woman Bawang Putih previously met.
However, Bawang Merah was shocked when she opened the big pumpkin; poisonous snakes were inside. Bawang Merah and her mother realized their mistakes and apologized to Bawang Putih, who sincerely forgave them and sold the jewellery for her family's needs.
Vietnam also has a similar Cinderella story, Tam and Cam. Tam, the Bawang Putih version of Vietnamese folktale, received bad treatment from her stepsister Cam and stepmother.
The plot twist of the story is about the reincarnation of Tam, who died after falling from the tree chopped by her stepmother. Cam replaced Tam as the prince's wife. Tam surprisingly showed up for revenge.
The Mousedeer and The Crocodile
The story of the mousedeer and the crocodile is one of Indonesia and Malaysia's most famous bedtime narratives. The moral of the story is cleverness is more important than physical strength.
Despite its small size, a mousedeer can outsmart crocodiles by telling them to form a line across the river like the King of the Forest would come. But that mousedeer cunningly jumped on their backs to get cucumbers he wanted to eat.
The Kancil story had existed in Java before the written tradition. According to R.B Dixon in his book titled The Mythology of All Races: Oceanic, the Kancil folktales existed in Indonesia's region with a strong Hinduism influence and had something to do with the Javanese Hindu Kingdom from the 7thcentury to the 13th century.
In addition to Indonesia, the Kancil narrative was also available in other ASEAN nations with a tight connection to Hinduism. However, the book does not explain why such a story could exist for centuries or its role as a cultural expression in diverse societies.
Phillip Frick McKean, in his book The Mouse-deer ("Kantjil") in Malayo-Indonesian Folklore: Alternative Analyses and the Significance of a Trickster Figure in Southeast Asia, concluded that all Kancil tales reflect the ideal type of Javanese and Melayu people who prioritize harmony and avoid conflict in resolving problems.
Does anyone know any other Southeast Asia's folktales with similarities?
