Putra And His Silver Keris

By Shih Yen Chang

Putra is a fisherman's son. He lives with his parents by the banks of a powerful river. Life is good, but one day, the River Goddess takes Putra's mother into her watery world. Putra enters this underwater world to save his mother. Armed with only a Malay dagger known as a keris, Putra must navigate this strange world to search for his mother. In this children's book (for ages 8-12), Malaysian author Chang Shih Yen blends original story with beasts from Southeast Asian mythology.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chang Shih Yen
• Release date: Jul 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9780473681845

Book preview

Putra And His Silver Keris

By Chang Shih Yen

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Putra And His Silver Keris

Text copyright © Chang Shih Yen, 2023.

Cover art © Koreen Liew-Young, 2023.

Cover design and map © Ario Smith, 2023.

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-473-68183-8 (paperback)

978-0-473-68184-5 (Ebook)

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Contents

Introduction                              5

Map of the Southeast Asian Region            7

Explanatory Notes                        8

One – Life By The River                  11

Two – The Wrath Of The River Goddess      16

Three – An Ancient Ritual                  22

Four – Is This A Dream?                  27

Five – In The Palace Of The River Goddess      33

Six – The Underwater Forest                  46

Seven – The Maze Of Caves                  52

Eight – The Wastelands Of The Water

In The West                        59

Nine – The Ancient Battle                  69

Ten – The End                         77

Introduction

Dear Reader,

Thank you for picking up this book. This is the kind of book that I would have liked to read as a child, featuring weaponry and mythical creatures from the Southeast Asian region where I grew up. Books like these didn’t seem to exist when I was a child. So now that I’ve grown up, I decided to write my own story for the child that’s still in me.

This is a work of fiction, but some things in this story are real. For example, the keris is a traditional Malay dagger and they are real. Nowadays, keris are used more for ceremonial purposes, rather than used in combat. These days, keris are most commonly seen worn by the groom in Malay weddings. The ancient rituals associated with the keris are real. The fireballs in the Northeast of Thailand are also real and remain unexplained.

Some aspects of this story are made up, like the River Goddess and water maiden. And some things may or may not be real, such as the mystical powers of the keris, and the mythical creatures in this story, like naga and garuda. The naga and garuda feature in many myths and legends in the Southeast Asian region.

The next page shows a map of the region where this story takes place, followed by some explanatory notes on the story.

I hope you will enjoy this story.

Chang Shih Yen

2023

Map of the Southeast Asian Region

Explanatory Notes

Keris – Keris (pronounced ‘kerr-reese’) is a traditional Malay dagger unique to countries of the Malay Archipelago, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and parts of Southern Thailand and Southern Philippines. The keris is a double-edged dagger and its blade is usually wavy.

Naga – Naga (rhymes with ‘saga’) is a creature from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. The naga is generally depicted as a dragon or snake-like creature. Some naga live on land while others, like the one in this story, are water-dwellers. The enemy of the naga is the garuda.

Garuda – Garuda (pronounced ‘ga-roo-da’) is a creature from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. The garuda is generally depicted as part-man, part-bird. The garuda is an enemy of the naga because it considers the naga as food. Garuda is the national symbol of both Indonesia and Thailand.

Naga’s fireballs – On the Mekong River in the Northeast of Thailand, along the border with Laos, fireballs really do fly a few hundred metres into the air before disappearing. So far, there has been no scientific explanation for these fireballs. Locals in the area consider this proof of the naga’s existence. In late October or early November, there is a Naga Fireball Festival in Thailand. During the festival, people gather along the river to see these fireballs.

One

Life By The River

Putra was a fisherman’s son. He lived with his mother and father by the banks of a mighty river. They lived in a little wooden house that stood on stilts by the side of the river. Putra loved the river and everything about living by the river. He loved swimming in its deep waters.