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KUCHING, June 26: The ‘Sarawak Folktales Story For All’ series has been launched, with five books comprising folktales from various ethnic groups, including the Iban, Bidayuh, Malay, Chinese, and Punan ethnic minorities.
According to a press release, the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts (MTCP) Sarawak has fully supported many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and individuals in realising their talent and creativity through cultural and art-related products produced under the Sarawak Heritage, Arts, and Culture Facilitation Fund.
“The Ministry, through its art and culture wing, promotes Sarawak culture, including folk stories, through storytelling with picture story books as a tool, ensuring the continuation of local folk stories can be passed down from generation to generation, making sure the diversity of Sarawak’s ethnic culture survives through time.”
As per the press release, Tay Yit Ping, project leader and producer of the ‘Sarawak Folktales Story For All’ series, told the media that Sarawak has a rich culture, but people have forgotten it by stopping telling the stories.
She observed that there are very few Sarawak folktales written or created specifically for children on the market.
“Over the past ten years, through organising children’s activities, I’ve met storytellers from a variety of countries, and I’ve also participated in international storytelling events in a number of nations.
“When I listen to storytellers from other countries, I get upset and repeatedly ask, ‘Why can’t we bring Sarawak’s folktales to the international stage?” Tay explained that it was the main reason for creating the series of folktale storybooks, as many Sarawakian folktales had been forgotten.
“The presentation of the storybooks increases children’s interest in reading while allowing local storytellers to bring Sarawak’s folktales to an international audience.
“In the past, the older generation orally passed down folktales to the younger generation.
“Unfortunately, intermarriage between ethnic groups has altered the culture of society, and it is inevitable that there will be multiple versions of some stories among the populace, as well as a difficult-to-identify source.”
As stated in the press release, four of the folktales collected in the series were gathered by Dr Elena Chai, a local anthropologist, during her research in the local community, and an old Iban mother contributed the other Iban story.
“The primary audience for this series is young children. Therefore, these stories were rewritten from a child’s perspective to appeal as much as possible to young readers.”
Furthermore, Dr Rosalind Sia, the other co-producer for the folktales storybooks, mentioned in the press release that the production of the storybooks had enriched the tourism contents for Sarawak’s tourism industry as the storybooks identified some of the beautiful places in scenic spots in Sarawak, such as the stone longhouse in Simunjan and the Datuk Gong Temple in Sebauh.
“We also released a folk story brochure in conjunction with the release of this series of folk story picture books so that tourists can learn more about local culture from the stories and enhance their travel experience.
“We believe these books will be the best souvenir tourists can bring home for their children after visiting Sarawak.
“It is worth noting that this series has been specially funded by MTCP Sarawak.
“It is hoped that more picture book series will be launched in the near future, allowing our society to rediscover Sarawak’s gradually lost folktales.” — DayakDaily
