Overview

History is basically a compendium of past events and experiences. But without learning it we would not truly know who we really are, what made the present the way it is for us, who our ancestors were and where we actually derive from. A novel of the Historical Fiction (HF) genre is then, besides providing a low cost mode of entertainment, also another means of introducing history to the lay reader, one done in a casual, informal and pleasurable way, avoiding the dullness and tedium often associated with an academic textbook.

 

Because history gives us the benefit of hindsight, among the virtues of knowing history, whether the dry plain form from a textbook or the glossy, prettied up version from a HF novel, is that we are able to analyse, at least to a certain extent, the sources and causes of both the strengths and successes, as well as the faults and failures, of cultures and societies preceding ours, especially those of our own ancestors. That could indeed sometimes provide us, therefore, with opportunities to make wiser and more informed judgements when we are called upon to make decisions of major significance in the present.

Any current discussion of the ancient history of the Peninsula would too often tend to be, unfortunately, by this author's opinion, overly dominated by the mainly 15th century Melaka Sultanate which fell in 1511, while marginalising other more ancient kingdoms which in their own time were at least equally as magnificent and equally as rich historically, that had prevailed many centuries earlier. That they were pre-Islamic kingdoms should not at all detract from their importance. They were still kingdoms of our ancestors, therefore an integral and undeniable part of our national heritage, small but proud kingdoms nevertheless each in their own right, that we should not simply put away into some convenient compartment. The ancient history of Java in Indonesia is not premised on Majapahit alone. Neither is that of Sumatra based on Palembang only. Likewise, that of the Peninsula should not revolve around Melaka exclusively.

The kingdoms of Langkasuka, Pan Pan and Chi Tu/Raktam Rttika, for example, were attested to in ancient Indian and Chinese chronicles, to a degree at least equal to that given to Melaka if not more. Indeed, this author believes that the Melaka Sultanate for some reasons is over-aggrandised and over-lionised, despite its brief lifespan, at the expense of other earlier kingdoms, thereby effectively relegating the latter to positions of secondary importance historically in the minds of many. This is an error as well as an imbalance which should be seriously addressed by the powers that be, perhaps beginning with a revamp and reconstruction of the history of the Peninsula. This would entail further and stronger research in the fields of both history and archaeology, the fruits of some of which have indeed fortunately come to the fore.

The latest archaeological discoveries by researchers from Universiti Sains Malaysia, for instance, have in fact unearthed further supporting scientific evidence pointing to an ancient civilisation, relatively advanced for its time, in the Sungai Batu area of Lembah Bujang in Kedah Negara (Kataha Nagara in Tamil chronicles). It housed a riverside port of regional importance, a temple of worship, an administrative building, as well as an iron smelter which attained furnace temperatures of 1,000 degrees Centigrade and produced ingots using ore extracted from Gunung Jerai.

The ingots were exported to as far as the Konkan kingdom of India, in the territory of today's Maharashtra state. These were dated all the way back to 50 BC. All in all an admirable achievement whichever way one looks at it. While some time later steel swords made in Kedah Negara were bought by Indian merchants and resold in places as far as Arabia, where the locals called them saif-ul-hind, meaning literally swords from India, because they assumed that either: (1) the blades were made by Indians in India; or (2) Kedah Negara was a part of India and that its natives were ethnic Indians. Both assumptions, of course, would have been way off the mark. That, however, would have been quite reasonable at a time when Indian cultural dominance prevailed over much of South East Asia.

Dharma Kusuma, Defender of Langkasuka is a trilogy of novels in the HF mould. The major protagonists are all personal inventions of the author. Although the story is set in the 11th century, the name of the fictitious leading protagonist, Shakranta, is inspired by the real, historically documented Raja Sakranta of the 13th century Ligor-based Malayur empire, successor kingdom of Negara Seri Dharmaraja (the Thai rendition of which has produced the name of the modern Thai city, Nakhon Si Thammarat, located on the site of the former ancient city Tambra Linga or Ligor), who had to retreat southward under pressure from newly ascending rival kingdom Sukothai.

While Shakranta's mother, Kembang Seri Wangi, is a nod of sorts to Puteri Arduja Wijaya Mala, better known as Cik Siti Wan Kembang, daughter of Raja Sang Tawal and granddaughter of Raja Sakranta, remembered in history as a warrior queen of ancient Kelantan kingdom who also kept kijang as pets in her royal garden. On the other hand, many of the most prominent supporting characters, including the kings of Palembang, Mataram, Kahuripan, Kediri, Gangga Negara, Tambra Linga, Kambuja Nagara, China, Goryeo, Singhala Dvipa, Chola Mandalam, Bhangala, Ghazna, Parsistan, Byzantium  etc., as also many high profile events, such as major battles and conquests, were inspired by real historical personages and events that, respectively, actually lived or occurred in the times that formed the setting of the story.

So many nations on this earth, some of whom have attained great heights of glory and splendour, have also at times suffered periods of occupation and oppression by foreign conquerors. It is thus only reasonable that any story with a theme of struggle against occupation would arouse that natural instinct for freedom and independence that is inherent in every human being.

Theories abound regarding the relationship between the Palembang-based Sri Vijaya empire or confederation and its close Javanese ally Sailendra, on one hand, and the Isthmusian and Peninsular kingdoms, on the other. So much so that scholars such as J. L. Moens, Majumdar, Quaritch Wales and Slamet Muljana were even inclined to believe that an early instalment of Sri Vijaya indeed arose in the Peninsula, in Kelantan specifically, before shifting to Palembang, ostensibly under threat from the ambitious, expansionist Khmer kingdom of Chenla.

This author, however, holds the view that a combined Sri Vijaya-Sailendra fleet - led by Dharmasethu of Palembang and Sang Rama Dhanan Jaya (a.k.a. Dharanindra a.k.a. Maharaja Vishnu) of Sailendra - invaded and subjugated Tambra Linga (Ligor), capital of Negara Sri Dharmaraja, in the Isthmus around 775 AD, as evidenced by the Ligor Inscription. From there they gradually swept southward, riding on their formidable military might, swallowing up prasanga by prasanga all the lands of Kadaram, i.e. Langkasuka and Gangga Negara, in the northern and north-eastern parts of the Peninsula. After all, Sri Vijaya itself was founded on imperialist militarism, its first establishment in Palembang made on the strength of a 20,000-man all-conquering army led by Dapunta Hyang Sri Jayanasa, as recorded in the Kedukan Bukit Inscription.

On one hand, this creation is a work of fiction intended mostly for the entertainment of the reader, with neither offence nor malice nor disrespect intended, whatsoever, to  any party or individual. At the same time, it is also something strongly inspired by history and meant as a sincere tribute to everyone who has been involved in the past, whether directly or otherwise, in any noble struggle to resist and fight any form of foreign colonisation of or hegemony over their homeland.

Dharma Kusuma, Defender of Langkasuka

3 exciting stories to be enjoyed in the Dharma Kusuma Trilogy:

Book 1: TURMOIL IN THE SOUTH EAST

Book 2: A DREAM DEVASTATED

Book 3: WARRIOR OF 7 KINGDOMS

A series dedicated especially to history enthusiasts and fans of historical fiction.

 

An exciting tale packed to the brim with challenge and struggle, turmoil and conflict, courage and valour, compassion and brutality, confrontation and cooperation, war and peace, friendship and loyalty, enmity and betrayal, happiness and pain, travel and adventure, and love most exquisite. Weaved into a backdrop of real events that happened and real kingdoms that existed in the Golden Peninsula, Suvarna Bhumi and Suvarna Dvipa, plus some regions beyond, in the 11th century, presented in the form of a trilogy of novels.



Indulge yourself in a trip into the ancient past.

Read how the last surviving heirs of the Dharma Kusuma Dynasty draw on ancient wisdom and philosophy and blend them with their own life experience, individual heroism and personal resilience to earn respect and maintain leadership, craft strategies and build alliances, win trust and inspire loyalty, as well as embrace friends and outwit foes, in their quest to win back their family's lost dynastic throne and restore their fallen kingdom.

Dharma Kusuma, Defender of Langkasuka. Where history and legend fuse together and come alive, bringing to you an absorbing tale of struggle, courage, valour and the great sacrifices of the sons and daughters of the lands in the north and east of the Golden Peninsula, who rose to fight, beat and oust not one, but two, immensely powerful foreign colonial powers from their beloved motherland in a time in the distant past.

Caution:
This draft novel is still a work in progress. The author writes in both English and Malay. His latest story ideas can suddenly occur to him in either language, sometimes while sipping teh oh ais laici, munching roti canai, nasi lemak or a McDonald's beefburger, browsing through some newspaper or magazine article, riding the LRT train, surfing through and chatting in an online forum, or sometimes even in a dream. About half of the chapters in this instalment of the Dharma Kusuma trilogy are still in Malay, while a few are still in their bare-bones stage of construction. Please bear with any inconvenience pending this novel's final completion, after which the author hopes it would eventually make it to the bookstores.

Malay Version:
For those who would like to read in Malay, the draft Malay version of book 3 of this Dharma Kusuma trilogy, tentatively titled Pahlawan 7 Kerajaan, is about 25% complete. It is available for you to browse through at:
http://pertiwipurba3.blogspot.com

Happy reading.

Tari Asyik
To get the aspiring reader in the mood, here's a video clip of Tari Asyik, a mesmerising traditional court dance originating from the north east of the Golden Peninsula, the Kelantan-Patani region, that has put many an unsuspecting spectator in thrall, with its graceful movements depicting animals and their environments, the rythmic rising and falling of waves, birds flying in the air, fishes swimming in the water, elephants marching in the forest etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXDH4EMiRHY

Enjoy!