Local book on Makyong to hit Italian stores

PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian author’s book about the Kelantanese traditional dance, Makyong, is set to be launched in Italy on July 21.

Bentala Naga by Zaliha Abdul Rahman (pic), 58, and published under her pseudonym, Ninot Aziz, is a retelling of an old Makyong dance narrative adapted for modern readers.

At the Frankfurt Book Fair 2022, Bentala Naga attracted the attention of Italian publishing group LetterarieMenti, that expressed intent to publish a translated version of it in Italy.

“(The book fair) was amazing. The friendships I made there, the cultural exchanges and the experience will be etched in my mind forever,” said Ninot.

The book will soon be released in Italy as Bentala – Regina dei Naga (Una Leggenda Makyong)”.

Ninot’s inspiration for the book was a Makyong performance she watched at an event.

“(The event) was where I first met the primadonna of the Makyong world, Khatijah Awang. I fell in love (with Makyong) from that moment. Ever since the event in 1996, I have wanted to write about Makyong.”

Ninot said she began to collate Makyong stories because of how much the audience enjoyed the narrative and performance.

She then hit on the idea to combine three stories – Endeng Tejali, Anak Raja Gondang and Bongsu Peiang Peribut – and share them on an international platform.

Ninot believes that Malaysian culture deserves more appreciation from local and international audiences.

“It is my life’s vocation to promote our beautiful culture. My daughters were the reason I focused my writing on Asian folklore.

“They were too exposed to Western, Greek and Egyptian tales and knew nothing of our legends and epics.”

The main challenges she faced when writing her book were getting the stories and retelling them, as well as coordinating the illustrations, that were drawn by Walid Muhammad.

The English and Bahasa Melayu versions of the book have been selling very well. However, Ninot believes Malaysian literature needs more media attention.

“The literary scene is growing, mainly due to the passion shown by industry players. More writers, established ones and new talents, need to be featured and book prices need to be reduced to encourage Malaysians to support the local writing industry.”

Ninot encourages Malaysians to further support authors by attending their events, asking bookshops and libraries to bring in stocks of local books, visiting book fairs and reviewing local books on the Goodreads website.

She is currently working on a new novel about a young teenager who time-travels between 16th-century Malacca and the Uthmaniyah (Ottoman) Empire in search of a mysterious treasure.

She has also recently collaborated with writers from eight countries, including Turkey, Egypt and Germany, to create an anthology of dragon-themed stories, titled Dragonlore.

Apart from being an author, Ninot is a public relations consultant and said she does both jobs with deep passion.

“I am lucky that my career in PR and my chosen path to champion arts and culture allow me to write and be creative.

“Through writing, I have managed to produce animation movies and short films, and made friends worldwide.”

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