Preface

AT THE OUTSET I wish to declare that I am not an anthropologist. 

I am, however, deeply interested in mythology. What fascinates me about the mythic tradition is that it has proven to be an effective way of preserving important archetypal images and ideas for thousands of years, merely through oral transmission down the generations. Like nursery rhymes imbibed in early childhood, a myth once heard is never forgotten, even if a few minor details get added or subtracted along the way. 

In this respect I perceive myths as organic time capsules of the tribal superconscious. More precisely they are a semiotic time-travel device: “reality spores” designed to survive eons of incomprehension or indifference, only to germinate anew as soon as favorable conditions occur. To bring the stories back to life, you only have to add the water of empathy, of emotive resonance. Of course, it helps greatly if you also have “genetic access” to the stories. For each story, like a life, has its own specific genealogy. But in the end, all stories can be traced to a single source - the Mother Lode of Stories - which I comprehend as the deep memory of the Earth herself. 

An old Malay saying, illustrated by Antares

MYTHOLOGY, folklore, and grandmothers' tales are by definition non-logical story forms, meaningless to the rational mind and subject to no “scientific proof.” Characters tend to appear and disappear without rhyme or reason, and their actions and reactions are generally an unfathomable mystery - until one adds the essential ingredient, subjectivity. The fact that “mystery” and “myth” both contain the key word my is highly instructive. One has to own them, take personal possession of these transpersonal, extra-dimensional truths, before they yield their secret kernel of meaning. More specifically, one has to incorporate the mythic system into one's vision quest, so that the sense of revelation which follows the sudden flash of insight becomes an intensely intimate experience. For whom does the bell toll, if not yourself?

In attempting to piece together the few Temuan myth fragments that I chanced upon, I have had to apply a liberal amount of interpretative glue. It is certainly not my intention to present this as some sort of “definitive” Temuan gospel. The shreds of tribal lore that have survived, at least amongst the Temuan I know, are too tattered and incomplete to reconstitute into any meaningful whole - unless one matches them with myth fragments from other native traditions. But essentially I just want to share my own insights and opinions - and the exquisite tingle of quiet excitement that each discovery brought - with whomsoever may be interested.     

The gods and heroes of antiquity are, in truth, fragments of our own mystery, our own unfolding story in space and time. We need only take the initiative to reclaim them from the myopia of our throwaway consumer culture and the self-destructive forgetfulness of our times. 

Bibliography/Reading List

Apart from works with immediate relevance to my research for Tanah Tujuh, I have included a reading list of supplementary references which may be useful to readers who wish to embark on their own research; or who may be curious to know what eclectic inputs have (for better or worse) influenced my current ‘mythic perspectives.’

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BENJAMIN, GEOFFREY (National University of Singapore, Department of Sociology). Personal facsimile communication on the possible origins of the Malay Language, 4 November 1997.

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CAMPBELL, JOSEPH. The Masks of God, Vols. I-IV. New York: Viking Penguin, 1959-1967. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New York: Doubleday, 1969. With BILL MOYERS. The Power of Myth (Betty Sue Flowers, ed.) New York: Doubleday, 1988.

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TANAH TUJUH (PLANET #7): A short documentary I put together in March 2007 for the launch of my book Tanah Tujuh ~ Close Encounters with the Temuan Mythos that offers a slightly romanticized glimpse of Pertak Village, Ulu Selangor, where I have grown a deep root since 1992. Music courtesy of Akar Umbi & Kilema (Madagascar).