All for a Son

In Tanah Abang, South Sumatra, after girls marry they would leave their parents’ hut to go live with their in-laws. If a husband-and-wife didn’t have any sons, who would take care of them in their old age? Despite being over 40 and already having 14 daughters, Maryam is determined to have a baby boy.

in-en, fiction, fiksi, next generationEliza HandayaniJanuary 24, 2016intersastra, indonesia, indonesian author, short story, south sumatra, sumatra, childbirth, midwife, girlchildComment

The Embrace of the Rengas Tree

Gema’s brother was found dead after entering the sacred ancestors’ forest. Everyone in Gema's village in Kalimantan thought that he was cursed, but Gema remembered him telling her about strange men whom he had spied on in the sacred land, chopping down trees.

in-en, fiksi, fiction, next generationEliza HandayaniJanuary 16, 2016dwi ratih ramadhany, rengas, borneo, illegal logging, kalimantan, indonesia, indonesian fiction, indonesian author, indonesian literature, diverse indonesia next generation, linda lingard, marjie suanda, intersastra Comment

Baluembidi

Little Banta has heard this warning all his life: don’t swim in the river, or the evil spirit Baluembidi will drown you. After military men with strange accents rode into his small hometown in Aceh, and his father disappeared, Banta went to the river.