Krakatau: The Tale of Lampung Submerged

by Muhammad Saleh

In August 1883, massive volcanic eruptions destroyed two-thirds of Krakatau islands, located in the Sunda Strait between Sumatra and Java. It was the day the world exploded. Tsunami wreaked havoc in the region, causing countless deaths. Shock waves were recorded around the world. Ashes from the eruptions affected global weather patterns for many years to come. Since that historic eruption, Krakatau became the subject of more than 1,000 reports and publications, both scholarly and literary. Now, the only surviving account of the event written by an eyewitness has found its way into English translation. Written in the form of syair, a classic Malay rhymed-poem, The Tale of Lampung Submerged sheds a light on the widespread devastation in the region and enriches our knowledge of the disaster.