AS a melting pot of cultures, ethnicities, beliefs and religion, Malaysia â and the rest of Southeast Asia â has been rich with history for thousands of years, or even longer.
In tandem with the aforementioned, this region of Asia has no shortage of stories concerning the unknown, the shadows in the trees, and the voices in the woods.
Collecting tales from her formative, younger years, Malaysian-born author Kopi Soh recently released her third book, Looking After the Ashes that compiles old wivesâ tales, taboos and childhood superstitions peddled by adults.
âGrowing up in Malaysia, I am also naturally surrounded by Malay and Indian tales, superstitions and taboos. In order to respect one anotherâs culture, we had to first learn what they were. The selection process wasnât a conscious one, I just let it all pour out of me,â she said when explaining how she selected her stories.
Unsurprisingly, Kopi Soh is as mysterious as her book, as the author operates under a pseudonym and has kept her identity secret for a very long time, beginning with her blog when she migrated years ago.
