Majapahit by Herald van der Linde

Majapahit is a historical account of one of Southeast Asia’s most powerful empires, told in a way that is surprisingly readable for a topic that includes dates, kings with very long names, and lots of political drama. The author admitted that he took a lot of creative storytelling freedom to keep the book engaging enough, even for schoolchildren to enjoy. In the meantime the book has been translated into bahasa Indonesia too.

The book focuses on the Majapahit Empire, which ruled large parts of what is now Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia during the 13th–15th centuries and was basically a
regional trading superpower.
It explains how Majapahit rose to greatness under strong leaders like King Wijaya and, later, Hayam Wuruk with his famous prime minister Gajah Mada (raging elephant). Gajah Mada is portrayed as extremely ambitious, especially dedicated to unite the archipelago. Until today Gajah Mada is considered a historical hero in Indonesia.
What makes the book interesting is that it doesn’t treat Majapahit as a flawless golden age. Internal conflicts, succession problems, and political betrayals are explained clearly, showing that even powerful empires can collapse due to problems from within (a lesson history loves to repeat).

Overall, Majapahit is an informative and balanced book that helps readers understand why the Majapahit Empire is so important to Indonesian history. It’s serious enough to be educational, but truly engaging so it doesn’t feel like you’re just memorizing facts for a test.

Eleven of us met on January 30th at Cindy’s residence and her technical team made it possible to connect via video conference with the author who kindly took almost an hour of his time to answer some of our questions. We all felt that Herald is a very passionate part-time author who loves to dig into Indonesia’s history. He is currently working on a new book which will probably be published later in the year.

By P Pamela de Lange-Storc