Majapahit Launch

On a busy Saturday afternoon at Kinokuniya KLCC, we were all entertained and enthralled in equal measure by the imaginative presentation given by Dutch author Herald van der Linde at the Malaysian launch of his new history of the Majapahit Empire.

Many thanks to Ms. Yong Jet Yan and the Kinokuniya team for their organisation and support!

Herald in full flow entertaining the audience with his stories and colourful Powerpoint display

Many thanks for the great turnout as well as to those who stood throughout the event when all the seats were taken! It was an excellent location in the bustling store on a Saturday afternoon. Your support is much appreciated!

Question Time led by Rose Gan

Majapahit is an excellent read, as much of a page turner as any novel, yet a work of impressive scholarship all the same. Herald Van Der Linde has trawled the complex and esoteric source material with rigour bringing the story of the Majapahit era to the page with his entertaining style. Majapahit sources are varied, scant and incomplete; there are many gaps in the extant knowledge. It is in those areas that Herald particularly excels by making use of legend, folklore, tradition and the evidence of the built environment of East Java in its wonderful legacy of temples and statuary to complement our understanding. ‘Majapahit’ reveals a turbulent epoch of war, betrayal, love, loss and treachery. It is not, however, without humour and its endearing characters, like the famous author of the contemporary Negerakertagama, Mpu Prapanca, with his penchant for palm wine and his lack of success with the ladies!. We are also introduced to several queens who wielded unexpected power and influence, and were in their way the ‘power behind the throne’ such as Ken Dedes, Gayatri, Tribhunadewi and Suhita. This truly is Indonesia’s own ‘Game of Thrones’!