Akai dai, aku nemuai ngagai apai tuai Jawa bejanggut baka ulama Pas di Samarinda!

Yes, I'm back home from a week of market research and promotion to Pontianak, Balikpapan and Samarinda. If you have problem with your geography, these three cities are in Kalimantan. Pontianak is the capital of West Kalimanatan or Kalbar (which stands for Kalimantan Barat), Balikpapan is in East Kalimantan or Kaltim (Kalimantan Timur) and Samarinda is the capital of Kaltim.

My first trip to Pontianak was in 1990. Then dilapidated huts made of bamboo and palm leaves lined the main street leading to the city. Plots of sawah padi were tucked behind the huts and people bathed by the roadside, mandi ai parit. What I remembered of the city was the dust, lots and lots of beca and grimy shophouses. So when we left Kuching via Batavia Air to Pontianak last week, it was not without some amount of trepidation on my part. Kena aku menyamai ati diri, aku lalu madahka ka pin enda, udah pengawa. Ukai aku aja kin, tang CEO kami bc enggau and dua iku pemesai ari sister company kami nyengkaum nembiak aku empu bc enggau - 5 iku kami.

Pontianak ke maya tu jauh amat udah berubah. Bisi kedai, shopping mall & nadai agi langkau umai tauka sawah semak pasar.Jauh udah maju, muti agi kamah gaya bandar enti dibanding enggau kitai ditu. Kami diau ba Hotel Santika, kira ke 3 star hotel lalu Consul Malaysia, En Aznor Mahat, nguluka kami betemu enggau kempeni & upis ke deka di lawa din. Ba dialogue ke dia atur enggau Malaysian oil palm planters lemai siti, there were about 30 who came and one of them was an Iban from Kapit, an estate manager with Sime Plantations.

Siku ari sida ke datai bansa tambi (bc lima enam iku sida tambi ari Malaya)Maya sida ka mupuk, tambi nya (bc berumur 50 taun) lalu nanya aku, nanya ka ari ni penatai, laban iya sigi nyangka aku ukai indu laut Malaya. Kebuah pia, iya udah ninga aku bejaku - aku nyadi Mary Bajang enda lama, ngelaluka penatai bala temuai, introduce CEO kami lalu udah CEO tembu meri presentation, nyadi Mary Bajang enda lama baru ga, maya CEO nyuaka tanda pengingat ngagai Consul. Aku nyaut apai tuai tambi nya, madahka diri Iban ari Sarawak, nya ia bc nyebut utai manah ba aku. Ukai nundi aku iya. Nya meh, lebuh ke bejalaika pengawa, kadang-kadang bc utai nyadi ke tau ngerangsingka ati, kadang-kadang bc ga utai ngasuh kitai bingung.

Aku nadai shopping ba Pontianak, laban kain sutera ke manah ka buya mar. Muti aku bc meli kain songket Palembang. Kenu ku bini Consul, songket Palembang sigi tebilang, laban ia alus amat. Aku meli selayah, ka di frame aku, ila ngantung ba dinding. Tu churak kain, ia ke gadung bekilat di pegai bini Consul ke duduk sepiak aku. Indu ke bajik semak CEO kami nya ke datai ngagai hotel nyual songket ngagai kami.Nama iya Linda, ia bisi darah Pashtun ari Pakistan.


Ari siti kami ngagai Balikpapan tang meh to go there we had to fly to Jakarta. We flew Garuda and the flight from Jakarta to Balikpapan was less than 3 hrs. Balikpapan sama time zone enggau kitai di Malaysia.Balikpapan was indeed a pleasant surprise. Bandar nya beresi amat, bc kayu and bungai ditanam sebelah tengah & tisi jalai. Bangunan ia lawa, mayuh atap sida ia lunchung ke atas, nunda gaya arhitecture Belanda. Bangunan baru-baru, jalai besai & beresi, nya meh mayuh amat eating outlets ke classy, ukai utai ke kedai makai pia aja. Balikpapan tu seaside city, bordered on one side by the Straits of Makassar.

Kenu ku industry players ke enggau kami betemu, Balikpapan is the cleanest city in Indonesia and urang ke diau dia mayuh cultured, educated people. Kebuah pia, laban Balikpapan tu endur kempeni minyak Indonesia, Pertamina, nudukka logi minyak bepuluh taun ti ke udah.Nya alai mayuh urang datai gawa din, nyengkaum urang kulit burak. Tu ke ngasuh utai din jauh lebih maju, beresi, itah enda baka Miri meh, nyadi cultured city beduduk ari pemayuh bansa luar ke gawa enggau Shell, mai adat basa enggau chara pengidup sida ke maju ngagai menua ke baru numbuhka diri. Pertamina nirika rumah endur bala pekerja iya diau, ngaga endur rekreasi, nirika sepital, enggau mayuh utai ke dipeguna bukai. Tu sekeda gambar Balikpapan. Aku enda tentu ulih ngambar laban kami berumban ngagai one appointment to another.3 iti gambar ke dudi tu sekeda ari bangunan ba Samarinda.


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Kami ke Samarinda ari siti. Penyauh Samarinda lebih kurang 2 jam 20 minit ngena kerita. Din urang ke enggau kami betemu nya ke baka ulama Pas ku aku tadi. Nya, peda kita gambar ke terubah di engkah aku ba pun posting tu. Nama iya Masum Abdullah Mohd, kepala DINAS Pekebunan - tauka Land Development Board enti dipulaika ngagai jaku urang putih. CEO enda enggau kami ke Balikpapan & Samarinda, laban iya bc pengawa di Labuan, tang kami disempulang Consul Malaysia (ia ke duduk tengah-tengah ngena kot ba gambar kedua di atas). Pak Masum benung baum ba bilik siti maya kami datai, kami nganti bc 10 minit, nya baru iya pansut nunga kami. Kami lalu ka buya techenggang magang, meda gaya iya begari, enggau janggut, enggau enda nabi aku laban ke indu, sigi nemu aku langkan iya urang Islamic fundamentalist. Rawan ati aku, enggaika iya enggai bekerjasama meri information ketegal aku ke indu, maklum sida selam sigi meda urang indu baruh ari urang lelaki, udah ga aku kapil munyi ku sida. Kenu ku Sudan, enti bala Malaysian students ngena gari ke bc ngayan ke tubuh mimit tauka ngechat buok, di kumbai sida pengajar "jelek" (jai ku kitai). Berasai aku tu di kumbai iya jelek ketegal ke enda betudung ku ati aku din. Modest ga asai gari aku, shantung ala kurung moden. Dear Lord Jesus, come to my aid, ku aku.

Mula iya Pak Masum duduk ba kerusi ke tinggi agi, laban kerusi ke baruh mula ia enda chukup, nya ku iya "saya duduk di kerusi yg lebih tinggi bukan beerti saya lebih tinggi drp bapak2 dan ibu". Oops, ku aku, bc basa apai tuai tu, jaga2 aku bejaku lagi, enggai ka enda baruh didinga iya, ku ati aku din. Iya lalu nanya ke pejalai kami, aku lalu nyaut. Udah nya pemesai ari sister company kami lalu nerangka facilities sawit kami di Bintulu. Udah nya baru Pak Masum madahka batang penguji ke nuntung sida ia ngemajuka kelapa sawit din sigi ari smearing campaign bala NGOs, ke udu mantah perintah ke munaska temuda & kampung puang ngambika bc endur betanamka sawit. Pak Masum nusi diri bedailog enggau bala NGO enggau pengajar ari siti universiti tebilang di Indonesia. Dailog nya kira belaban penemu senentang pemanah enggau penyai ngemajuka kelapa sawit ba rampa menua. Nya iya nusi diri nanya ka nama utai kena sida mansang ngagai aum nya, semua madahka ngena kerita. Nya ku iya, jai kerita, ngeluarka asap tang dikena kitai meh, bakanya meh ke nanam sawit, taja bc environmental impact, tang ngenataika pemanah ke mensia laban mayuh utai ulih digaga ari buah sawit. "Pokoknya kita perbanyakkan manafaat dan mengurangkan mudarat" ku iya. Ish, philosophical apai tuai tu, ku ati aku din - that I can handle, laban aku ngembuan mayuh data,jerita & pemansang industri sawit ari research ke digaga aku kenyau ari taun 2002 suba.Ulih aku betukar penemu enggau apai tuai jawa tu lagi ku ati aku.

Ngenyadika iya ka meri kami mayuh information ke dipeguna kami, aku lalu enda kedekut ga, madahka iya pasal pemansang sawit di Malaysia sereta penanggul ke nuntung industri sawit ditu. Iya lalu nyaut, amat competitior kitai, tang ku nabi Muhammad, lebih baik lawan yg kuat daripada rakan yang lemah. Uh, nya enda aku nyaut, enggai ga aku madahka kitai dipinta Jesus rinduka pangan diri baka ke rinduka diri empu, laban sida selam muti ngambu sida ke sama selam bersaudara. Kedua enggai tak salah anggap iya, ninga aku nyebut pengerindu enggai tak ke bukai runding sida.

Pia mega pemesai ke enggau kami nemu ga nusi jerita side story, ke ngasuh ketawa. Nyau lama kelama mayuh meh utai di padahka Pak Masum, iya lalu ngasuh dua iku staff ke enggau iya meri kami additional info. Iya kami nyau ka pulai, Pak Masum lalu nguing ngagai aku, ku iya "Pasti ibu Rita takut sama saya, sebab saya macham orang Pas!" Aku lalu jampat nyaut iya, "itu yang dapat dilihat dari luar Pak, di dalam nya mungkin enggak gitu". Apu, ku ati ku din, nemu iya aku ke ngembuan pengerawan tadi. Nasit meh tudah tuai manah. Aku lalu kempang ga nanya ka senentang gari ke dikena iya, kumbai aku uniform sida, tang ukai ku iya, nya kena iya ari satu aja, laban ia member of the army reserve. Udah tama dalam kerita & mupuk baru aku berasai lega ku urang. Bala kami sebuat lalu nundi aku, ngumba ka jaku Pak Masum, berasai indu Malaysia nya nemuai asuh kitai enda betudung ku sida iya. Kami lalu release tension bendar amat makai ba restoran ke nyual nasi padang.

Ari siti kami mulaika diri ngagai Jakarta. Bemalam semalam dia. Tu nyah, gambar aku ba boutique hotel ke endur kami diau Sari Pan Pacific. Siti gambar aku ba lounge di airport.


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Tu meh sekeda jerita aku. Ila aku nusi baru, bc jerita sensasi. Diatu mupuk aku, ka berandau enggau Igat, iya baru pulai carolling & dadi baru udah pulai ke bilik tinduk.

My childhood years in rumah panjai

At last, I can now breath easy, the household chores are done, husband and son are fed, I've done my Ini-Yang-ngabas-bala-uchu part cos Kunchi, mom, ika & Kumang are away holidaying in Langkawi and I was asked by big sister to pop in once in a while to check on Amum and her brood. My, what a brood, the twins are so adorable, so sumo-like and they are so well-behaved. As long as they are fed (every 2 hours mind you, so its little wonder they look like little sumo warriors)and comfortable, they would nod off to slumberland. The not-so-well-behaved child is of course the eldest, Aaron Jaul. Word has it that his paternal grandpa, who is a pagan, ever gave him mandi with batu kera upon his birth, to the dismay of Kunchi, ika and ini wai. Seeing as how Kunchi is a Christian manang in her own right, ika a faithful disciple of Christ and ini wai a staunch believer in the Lord, I jokingly told them to call on the Holy Spirit to descend upon their uchu/ichit and wash his stain. That they did, but Jaul is still as manchal as ever, so we unanimously concluded that Jaul is sigi manchal, enda bula manchal, period. Ann-Marie Jeburi is as lovely as ever but after two weeks of not going to the physiotherapist for her exercise, she has turned lazy - she would just sit on her walker or lie down and refused to walk. Igat attempted to walk her round the sitting room but she was not co-operative. Muntai was there, volunteering her help, tho I did not see much evidence of it. Well kids are kids, and town kids who grew up with indons to do their bidding are the worse - I know so, I've been living with three such kids. In retrospect, seeing as how the girls turned out to be okay, I mean from the photos they posted on their blogs - that do indicate they know how to cook, clean and take care of themselves, perhaps dad and I should've done away with the indons before..(ahem.. the last sentence is a redeeming grace, just in case I got bombarded with "mami..mami..how could you" calls from them after they read this posting).

Now I tell you of my childhood years in rumah panjai. You might wonder why I chose Indu Rumah Panjai as my url. Well, I am what you may call you-can-take-the-girl-out-of-the-rumah-panjai-but-you-can't-take-the-rumah-panjai-out-of-her. Indeed, the rumah panjai values are so deep-rooted in me. Indu rumah panjai of my times were brought up to be bagas, to be indu asi, indu ai, to be gracious to temuai, to be respectful of our elders, to be generous to others, to be caring and supportive, to be loving to our children and at the same time to discipline them. See, in those days, indu dara and bini urang woke up early, as early as 4.30 am to do the laundry and berapi for breakfast and tapau lunch to be brought to the kebun/umai. Then came the time to serve breakfast, sent the kids to school, tidied the bilik and set off to the kebun/umai. They worked alongside the men and when it was time to prepare lunch, they stopped and prepared lunch. Then it was off to toil again, to go back home by about 5.30pm. Along the way, they picked ripe buah letup and whatever buah babas to bring home for their kids. And the kids would go jengkak-jengkak when they saw their parents coming, hoping for some treats..well buah letup, buah kubal, and when its fruit season, buah lumok, buah temedak, buah kemanti, buah ma.

The evening ritual was to mandi and masu gari. I loved the mandi time, cos that was when you could socialise with others and to be with your parents. While indai brushed and banged the laundry against the hard board of the jelatong, apai would turned himself into John Travolta's Powder - his body would be covered with suds from top to bottom.. and then it was time to dip in the river to get rid of the suds, and to play with the kids. Apai would toss me up and up, and I would fall, stayed in water as long as I could hold my breath, and then popped up again. Then came the merus daki ritual - I hated this part. It was the time when indai stopped the play, got hold of me and scrubbed me with some rough, used piece of cloth, from top to bottom. But the best part was when indai, after she had washed herself, got in the river, pumped air into her sarong which caused the sarong to balloon up and then I would climb from behind, numpang indai itit. My, it was so cool...

Back from mandi, the indu dara and bini urang cooked and the apais minded the children until its makai time. After the dishes were done, its time to ngelipat gari and later, socialise. Some elderly women with menantu and anak dara to do the chores normally busied themselves beranyam after dinner. Sometimes, when its jagung season, the adults would bring big baka and dried corns in the cobs to the ruai and we gotong-royong picked the ears of the corn out of the cobs. The jagung were then stored - some for cornmeal, but mostly for pemakai manuk.

We were told to be gracious to visitors. When they came, we were not allowed to ask whether they have eaten, cos people might be malu to say they have not eaten and instead they said yes and ended up hungry. Rather, we were told to prepare food and serve visitors at any time of the day. The second rule is to mela as quietly as possible. If we make a lot of noise - from clanging pots, plates and spoons, it would indicate to the visitors that we were not pleased in preparing their meal, so they would not feel welcomed. The third rule is not to meda urang makai, enggai ke urang malu. So it would be the elders to sit and eat with the temuai. If the indu dara have not eaten, they got to eat later, after the temuais had their meal.

We were told that its disrespectful to call people by their given names. So depending on the relationship, we either addressed the men as aya, ika, adi, aki or by the names of their eldest children - apai Bulau, for instance. Women were addressed as ibu, ini, ika, adi or indai Bulau.

We were trained to be clean. So at about 4.30 pm, it was time to nyauk and mugal periuk. We took the pots and pans to the Niah river, we used sand and dried daun kemplas or sometimes daun lumok (when we ran out of the berus dawai alus) to scrub the pots and pans till they shined, till we could see our faces mirrored on their surfaces. We proudly held out our pots and pans to the passing motor chalo, and the urang kapal showed their black pots and pans at us. We made faces at them, and they made faces at us.

We scrubbed the papan dapur, tempuan and underneath the dapur, clean. We nyapu abu from the dapur and threw the ashes away. We cleaned and scrubbed the shelves holding the pinggai mangkuk. We cleaned the water bottles regularly (we used glass F & N bottles) and to prevent dust from settling on the clean plates and bottles, we covered them with clean towels. Our jemari pinggai was the envy of many, cos dad was great at making those things. Many came to seek his favour to make sarang pinggai for them. He obliged them all, but he could only make them during the night as he was busy during the day.

When the neighbours were in need of sugar, coffee, tea, garam, biching, pusu, minyak and sabun, it was the norm to lend and they would repay later. If the neighbours were hardup, we never expected them to pay back, nor did we nagih them. If someone still had a lot of padi to be harvested while others had completed their harvests, the folks would gotong royong to assist with the harvest. If someone fell ill, their bilik would be full of folks coming in to ngabas, gave comfort, ngurut if the illness was urutable, and just to be there, for company. If someone died, all would gotong royong-the men to make the santubong, the women to cook. People would sleep on the ruai and the ruai of the dead was always full of relatives and if there were not many relatives, the longhouse women made sure that they kept vigil with the immediate family members.

Skilful women were and still are held in high regard. Women learned to weave, ngaga pua, nusuk manik, beranyam, learned to ngaga penganan semut, kuih chap, kuih buah ulu, penyaram, ngaga tuak. So as best they could, longhouse women of my times learned to acquire these skills. With all these attributes, bagas gawa, bebasa ke urang, manah ulah, they became what is known as indu asi indu ai. Such women built a name for themselves, so they became very good wife material. More so if they have the looks, that upped their value in the longhouse community.

These values are still held dear by the Iban community until today, tho sadly, I see less and less women are of indu asi, indu ai material these days. With modern conveniences available even in the longhouse now, one could still see some biliks need a lot of an indu asi indu ai's touch. It 's no longer shameful to wake up late, some don't know how to address people according to adat and basa, some don't even know how to converse with guests and some don't see the need to learn to make penyaram, penganan semut, kuih chap, those so Iban must-haves for Gawai - leave it to the indai or ini to do. True, some might say, why make, why not buy, but to me, if you have the time, its fun and very fulfilling to make one's own, especially for the husband, kids and relatives to chomp on.

What had those years in the longhouse taught me? A lot, it taught me to work hard, it taught me tenacity, it gave me a lot of courage, it taught me to be resourceful, it taught me to be resilient and it taught me to be a hostess to make my husband proud. I still hold those values dear today, and as best I could, uphold those values and impart them to my children (tho I nunga my visitors makai, not left them alone). I know I don't merit the gelaran indu asi indu ai as I fall short in many things, but I know I set those values as benchmarks for the things that I do and say. I am blessed I have a bilik in the longhouse that I could put those values into practice in its original setting. I am blessed that my parents and kaban belayan taught me well so those attitude came in good stead now that I don't have a helper or when I face seemingly daunting tasks. Oh, I am lazy at times, especially after a hard day's work in the office. So that's when I would do the minimal household chores and leave the rest for Saturday, like today. Today I woke up at 6 am, housecleaned, laundered, until 10 am. I don't mind the hard work, as it gives me great pleasure to see my house spick and span. It is therapeutic, and best of all, over long periods, it help to get rid of some unsightly bulges.

I thank God, now when I am mentally and physically drained, we would head to the Kopitiam (the veritable Chinese semua ada), Popular Corner (anything Malaysian), Apple (standard Chinese food), Blueberry (the usual sidewalk cafe fare), Mount Zion (for mix of western and oriental), Ezy Plus (for Japanese food) Marco Polo (for some high end dining), Capitol restaurant (for some old world atmosphere, great fried mee sua and deep fried duck) Everly (for olang tengok olang only, the food is not to our taste), Peace Garden (for ikan bakar) Spring Garden (for deep fried chicken feet and fried perut babi that are to die for, never mind the less than ahem ahem environment) Pizza Hut and KFC (when we have to pander to Igat's whims) Plaza Regency (well, when we need just a different environment), Riverfront cafe (to makai ramai-ramai with the evening mass crowd on Sunday) 888 (for bak kut teh) Lily Insol (for kampua, laksa, loh see fun & the usual, both for taste and sisterly support ahem her stall is behind the new Sing Kwong's supermart ahem ahem)and lately, the new seafood beside the Christian cemetery at Tg Batu. Their ikan and sotong bakar are great and the price of food is very reasonable. To top it up, dadi and I would sip our favourite red wine and I would pop in my favourite chocolate. Ah, the blessings of modern life, ooh, the blessings of education, to enable a middle aged woman with ati agi tubah ati indu rumah panjai to savour the comforts not available then to the older womenfolk. The Lord be praised indeed.

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Now I tell you about my Aki Lakam aka Stanislaus Belayong ak Ju

Apart from my dad, the other man in my childhood years who touched my life was my maternal grandpa, whom we affectionately called Aki Lakam. How the name came about I do not know, cos his real name is Belayong ak Ju. The Stanislaus part was given while he was at death's door - yes, he was baptised as he was dying. Aki Lakam had a rugged, craggy face, he was tall, fair-skinned and altogether a very attractive man. He had bungai terong tattoos on his neck, shoulders and upper back. Other tattoos covered many parts of his body.He had pierced, elongated earlobes that I used to poke and pull.

Aki Lakam came from Sg Sut, Kapit. Now his longhouse is headed by TR Isa. According to my mom, Aki Lakam was a fearless headhunter and to this day his "trophies" are still hanging at his longhouse. As was the custom of the Ibans in those days, young men went on a "bejalai", that legendary journey to seek fame and fortune. They travelled far and wide and their wandering took them many years away from home. Some never came back, rather they got married and settled in their new "menua". When they came back, it was customary to bring the tajau, bronze items, cannons, whatever items of value in those days, cos those purchases were testimonies to their success in ngiga nama ngiga reta.

Aki Lakam was no different. His wandering took him to Anap, Tatau, a district in present day Bintulu. He met and married my grandma Sudan aka Brigitte Sudan ak Batok and their first-born, Dian aka Edward Jeli, was born in Tatau. My grandma Sudan was a descendant of Aki Berasap, another headhunter (I wonder whether they chose each other for compatibility considering they shared the same bloody background). After Aki Berasap's death, his descendants feared that his munsuh would take revenge and ngayau (headhunt)them. Thus Ini Sudan's eldest brother, Pasang, brought the clan to pindah to Niah. They first settled at Sungai Keriuk, and if you are familiar with Niah, Sungai Keriuk is situated near Ngu's supermarket. We still have relatives living there now.

Aki Pasang chose Niah as it was reputed to be fertile - it was indeed and still is - going by the abundant harvests of today - padi, sawit, pisang, buah, sayur..My mom, Jeburi or nama glamour Cecilia Jeburi aka indai Bulau and my aunt, Janggau or dua bali nama Perpetua Janggau aka indai Joe, were born in Niah. My mom was born in 1930, so she is 77 years old now. Times were hard, according to my mom. Their abode was a dampa. They had hardly settled down before the Japanese came and occupied Sarawak. Misfortune came to the family - Ini Sudan caught leprosy, a much dreaded and misunderstood disease in those days. Well if you read the bible, 2,000 years ago lepers were treated as outcasts, uncleaned, and such prejudice was apparrently still prevalent in the 1940's. Consequently, Ini Sudan was sent to the leper colony in Kuching. Two young girls were left motherless - by then, moved by poverty, Dian had gone on a bejalai to eke a living.

Mom said Aki Lakam tried as best he could to look after her and indai Lutong (that's what we call my aunt). Once, indai Lutong caught chicken pox and the sores were terrible. A cousin of ini Sudan, ini Mayang (I still remember the late ini Mayang, we used to visit her when I was small, her longhouse was at Sg Kara, about 3 km away from our longhouse), helped my mom to take care of indai Lutong. They stripped her and laid her on banana leaves. Soon indai Lutong was healed. However one misfortune led to another - this time they faced famine, lapar pungkang. The brutal Japanese regime did not allow for much entepreneurial endeavours common to those days - the cultivation of padi and other subsistence crops. My mom said they survived on sago, cassava, and whatever edibles they could laid their hands on.

Concerned for the plight of two motherless young girls, ini Sudan's brothers (Pasang, Narang) and her cousin, ini Mayang, persuaded Aki Lakam to take another wife. Ini Sudan was more or less "written off" - nobody knew how she was, nobody knew whether she was dead or alive,nobody knew how to get in touch with her and even if they knew, nobody got the means to do so. Most importantly, a leper was an untouchable and ini Sudan no longer belonged to the community. According to mom, Aki Lakam was not keen but pujuk punya pujuk, he finally married a woman whom his in-laws found for him. It was customary (and I believe still is, among some Iban communities)for the groom to visit the bride's longhouse a few days after tying the knot, in what is termed as "nganjung bini nemuai". Aki Lakam had to leave my mom and indai Lutong behind to send his bride to nemuai. As aki Lakam and his bride were leaving in a boat, Mom said indai Lutong started to cry and my mom had to carry her, piggy-back. They walked along the river bank to follow the couple and aki Lakam rowed the boat slowly, in tears, equally in pain at leaving his daughters. Perhaps the sight of his crying girls, or the lack of chemistry between him and his bride or his still deep love for ini Sudan or a combination of all these influenced his decision a few days later - he divorced his bride. Apai and anak-anak rejoiced, according to mom, and they somehow managed to get by.

After the end of the Jap occupation, Dian with his industriousness and pioneering spirit, somehow got ini Sudan home. By then she was healed, though deformed - well it was mostly her hands and feet. Laki and bini were reunited and soon my mom got married to my dad. My eldest sister was born in 1947 - tho in her birth cert, her birth year was stated as 1950. Indai Lutong also got married to a Shell employee, Simon Maja ak Guyang and they lived in Lutong. Dian got married to indai Piasau, a maiden from Ng Geremai Kanowit. My mom bore 5 kids, indai Lutong, 5, and Dian, 4.

Now back to Aki Lakam. He and ini Sudan decided to di ibun indai Lutong. So they went to live in Lutong. At the same time they also built a bilik next to ours in the longhouse. Then the Pasang clan had moved to a place beside the Niah River, now about a kilometre away from the resthouse at the Niah National Park, Pengkalan Lobang. Aki Pasang became our Tuai Rumah and our longhouse was about 40 doors.

While ini Sudan could adapt to and liked the new life, aki Lakam did not like to live in the city. So he came back to live with us in Niah and only came to visit ini Sudan and indai Lutong once in a while. Sometimes ini Sudan also came to Niah but for a short stay. Aki Lakam farmed, he built a langkau at his umai and hordes of his Batang Rajang relatives on their bejalai stint came to dwell with us. They were Jugah, Lugat, Maran,and others I do not remember. Most bore magnificient tattoos - bungai terong on their forearms, necks, legs.. It was my favourite past time to admire their tattoos. I would sit on their laps and traced the tattoos and they all loved it. Our batang rajang kaban inevitably went to Dian for help and help he did - they got jobs in Brunei, nyadi jerman etc..etc.. .

Oh, and by the way, aki Lakam named me Jumau - he said its a Batang Rajang name. He named my eldest sister Kunchi, my second sister Kerepau and my brother, Lugat. So now in our melancholic moments, we still call each other by our Batang Rajang names.

As he was getting older, both my mom and indai Lutong persuaded aki Lakam not to farm anymore. So he stopped farming, and instead he took a new interest which later on turned into a passion - he took fishing.That's how and when we started to connect - aki Lakam and I. But that's another chapter which I will write later. Now its time to pack, the three stooges are going to Miri tomorrow morning. Sebugey will miss the free breakfast I promised her cos she's off gallivanting to Kuching numpang senang with her husband.

Strange, but for Sebugey and I to think of our dads at about the same time

Aku baru udah macha blog Sebugey. Iya ngenang niang apai kemari at about the same time aku ngenang niang apai aku. Malam kemari aku laun mulai kediri ke bilik, nyau ka pukul 1 pagi laban nembuka commentary daily readings ke ka dikeluarka ba Q1/2008 issue of Imanuel. Udah aku gali, mata enggai tinduk, nyau kasak-kasak. Nya aku mutap kediri, ngenang diri ke enda tetagangka diri ngirup kopi o maya kami tiga ke nurun supper ba Kopitiam. Benung ke ka nindukka diri, aku ngingatka ari lima tu kami tiga ka ke Miri, laban ka sembiang ba kubur niang apai. Tu bulan sebelas, lalu sebulan-bulan bala Katolik sembiang ke urang mati, awakka sida dilepas ari api penuchi sereta diau begulai enggau Allah Taala di serega. Dia lalu enda berasai ai mata aku nyaya, sinu ngenang niang apai. Gamal iya agi terang dipeda mata aku, iya duduk enda bebaju ngena seluar tarit churak biru, megai gayung besai ngirup nestum. Tiap kali aku ngenang iya, sigi bakanya gambar ia pansut ba pikir aku. Tiap kali aku ngenang iya, tiap kali aku nyaya ai mata. Pun bulan tu kemari, maya aku gali ba bilik hotel di Kuala Lumpur, aku tekenang ke iya, ngingatka diri lalu bedau ngabas kubur iya.Tiap kali kami menyanak ngabas kubur iya, tiap kali aku nyaya ai mata, kadang-kadang enda tetembuka leka sampi, nyau dadi enggau bala anak nembuka leka sembiang. Aku sinu laban aku sayau amat ke niang apai aku. Nadai kami sebilik (kelimpah ari dadi n bala anak aku) nemu aku mengkang rindu (miss) ke niang apai aku dataika saritu.Aku semak agi, begulai agi enggau niang apai aku ari aku ke begulai enggau indai aku. Kebuah pia, ari mit kelia maya kami agi diau ba rumah panjai, niang apai nganjung aku sekula nepan perau ngena injin Johnson 20 kuda. Injin bechurak burak. Lebuh iya enda ulih nganjung aku, aku bedarat enggau bala anak kami serumah ke bukai. Enti iya ngambi aku pulai sekula, tua iya selalu duduk ba kedai runcit niang bini guntin makai cindol. Enti aku ka makai telu segala, apai aku meli ke aku telu. Enti aku ka makai ruti kachang lengak ke manis, apai aku meli ke aku. Udah aku tembu nyamu nyawa diri baru kami duai pulai. Selalu bisi urang nepan, kami serumah ke pulai ari pasar. Aku rindu duduk ba depan perau, laban rindu ngasaika ribut muput buok, tang apai aku selalu enda ngasuh, aku di asuh iya duduk semak enggau iya, enggai ke aku labuh ke ai ku iya. Aku nemu nyemerai ku aku. Gamal dik ku iya, kumbai enda bisi baya sungai niah ku apai.

Rumah panjai kami endur Paderi Father Knapen nudukka RC mission di Niah, maya nya taun 1965.Nya meh maya Krismas, mayuh urang ari rumah panjai bukai ngagai rumah kami laban Father ngatur sembiang missa dia. Rami amat kami, nyau belanda ke setak setak kami anak mit laban gaga ati. Apai aku selalu ngambi sereta nganjung urang pulai udah nya. Aku selalu enggau enti ia ngambi, laban ari agi tawas, kira pukul 4 lemai. Ia malam enggai iya mai aku.

Aku ingat sekali bisi rami sekula ba LA Batu School. Tuai (short for indai Tuai- that's what my children call my eldest sister)bisi pulai chuti ari Miri- Tuai diau enggau sida Sebugey. Tuai rindu nyait baju, iya bisi nyait ke aku baju gaun, short sleeves, polka dot burak, ba kain churak kuning. Skirt ia pandak, bisi cherut ba punggung. Kasut aku churak burak, kasut getah ke bisi betaul ba tengah-tengah. Naka pengelawa asai aku ngena baju nya. Nya meh aku tak kulu kili nepan perau enggau niang apai ngangkut sekeda kami serumah ke mansang meda pengerami sekula. Nya meh Tuai enggau Dut (that's my second sister) nganu aku, di kumbai seduai iya engketik aku. Ni aku beduli, aku seronok nepan perau, seronok ngena baju baru.

Mula aku sekula, aku di anjung sida iya ngagai sekula cina ke semak rumah panjai kami, enggau urang pre-school, umur aku bedau manggai 6 taun maya nya. Aku enggai sekula dia laban bala anak cina udu amat muli, nyau tetingkap belama kitai diipa ke sida ia kaki laban tesangkut. Aku ngaga kebuah tiap ari enggai sekula. Madahka Lapil (petunggal aku ke benama Raphael)nganu aku, madahka sida Sinam ngetil aku, mungkang ngunsutka tanah luchak ba baju, ngumbai diri terap ngambi ulih pulai ke rumah enda sekula. Aki Lakam seruran bisi di rumah, iya enda nganu aku ke enggai sekula. Indai aku nemu ulah aku lalu ngelunsin aku, di irit iya nengah jalai sekula aku lalu dilunsin iya ngena dan kayu ke mit-mit ke ulih dikeraut iya sebelah tisi jalai. Aku rauh-rauh nyabak, madahka diri enggai agi sekula dia, ka bakani kati sida iya ngelunsin aku. Apai aku lalu ngaum aku, aku enggau sabak-sabak besemaya ba mua iya aku ka sekula enti sida iya nganjung aku ngagai LA Batu School, ia nya sekula jaku urang putih. Apai aku nyebut au, tang taun baru ila baru aku ulih sekula din laban umur aku bedau chukup. Aku enda ingat bakani ke seduai ia indai - sekalika seduai iya becheregay pasal nya tauka enda, laban udah nya aku gaga amat, laban enda ibuh sekula agi.Ngamatka jaku aku, aku besekula masuk LA Batu School ba taun 1968. Aku kena espress class, nya alai setaun aja nembuka Pry 1 & 2. Udah ari keterubah maya iya ngatur aku masuk sekula, aku enda ngiruh apai aku. Aku enda minta wan sida ia, enda baka sekeda pangan aku ke di wan apai indai sida ia bisi seminggu dua.

Tiap kali ujung taun niang apai bisi enggau maya nyuaka perais ba sekula. Tudah pangan laban ke rindu macha selalu endar mai utai pulai ke perais English enggau Malay.Niang apai enda nemu jaku urang putih, tang meh iya ninga Cikgu Majid nyebut nama aku, maya nya madahka utai ke ditulis aku "good". Nya meh gamal apai aku gaga amat, kami duai betawing nurun ke perau. Datai di rumah iya lalu nusika indai, madahka Cikgu Majid muji aku "good" ku iya.

Ba taun 1969 kami pindah ke tisi jalai sepupuk laban udah bisi jalai alun. Kami ninggalka rumah panjai. Laban menua agi bungas, bedau mayuh urang, dia apai tak tiap malam bulih jelu - pelanduk, landak, macham-macham. Aku semina ka makai pelanduk aja, utai bukai enggai. Bisi meniga taun udah nya apai aku bepun enda pengerai. Ia bisi TB, angka tusah diubat kini maya nya. Nya kebuah iya enda ulih enggau urang gawa jauh laban ia selalu seput-seput. Ia gawa ba kebun lada kami ke semak rumah aja. Nya alai maya aku pulai sekula tengah ari, ia selalu nganti aku datai, ngemataka aku makai. Tua iya sama-sama rindu ngirup nestum. Enti iya udah ke pasar, iya sigi meli nestum. Mungkang digaga ia dulu nestum nya. Bedau apus tangga ditiki aku ke pulai sekula endur iya nantaika gayung madahka bisi nestum. Tua iya ngaga nickname ke nestum - "indai dadum". Udah aku tembu makai baru ia nurun baru, muai randau lada, mantun rumput, enti lada mansau ngumpul buah lada. Indai aku gawa ke umai beduruk enggau kami serumah ke bukai.Aku enda enggau apai gawa, tang aku muat gari, nyauk, masu periuk, masu pinggai, merus papan tanju, tangga, nyapu baruh rumah, udah nya nunu sampah ke disapu aku. Rindu aku nyium bau asap daun-daun ke di tunu aku. Enti aku ninga Lapil belagu (rumah sida Lapil ba seberai jalai), aku enggai alah. Laban rumah sida Lapil ba bukit, dia nyawa iya nyaris amat belagu didinga aku. Ngambika nyawa aku nyaris mega mekit Lapil, aku niki pun kuini ke ba tisi rumah lalu belagu meradakka nyawa. Lagu sida niang Michael Jemat, Penny Lily, Christopher Kelly, Anthonio Jawie, Pauline Linang, Hail Amir, Uji Rashid, D'lloyd. Meruan bisi bup lagu kelia. Kadang-kadang dirara niang apai aku udu meradakka nyawa, ee pedis pala aki dik apai Jubin ninga dik ku ia (nya Tuai Kampung kami diatu - aki Daud).

Udah aku nyau besai, bisi ga tua apai becheregay, tang ukai utai ke besai, keba aku enda ingatka batang utai ke laya tua iya. Ke di ingat aku, iya enda kala malu aku, muti ia kala ngisung nyawa aku ngena chabi laban aku nyebut utai kamah - p*** maya aku belaya enggau petunggal aku Nangan.Maya nya kami agi diau ba rumah panjai. Ngasi amat ukum nya, dataika diatu aku enda nyebut utai kamah.

Apai aku nyau suah sesuah masuk sepital, ujung ia mati kena 20 May 1975. Aku benung Form 3. Aku enda meda ia mati, laban ia di Miri. Aku enggau Dut & ika ke Miri, datai ba rumah mati sida indai enggau ibu aku benung masukka niang apai baju, baju batik. Kelia di kumbai urang baju pelitik. Aku tegenung, aku enda megai bangkai niang apai aku. Aku enda berasai tusah ati. Aku muti sekut dalam, enda sabar-sabar nganti diri ke ulih pulai ke Niah. Malam nya aku begulai enggau sida petunggal aku di Lutong, aku enda labuh ai mata. Aku enda sabar nganti niang apai ditumbak laban ka pulai ke Niah. Maya nya urang nyau ka begawai, nya alai ulit enda lama aja, di ketas sebedau gawai nyadi. Aku berengkah sinu, beraie ka niang apai udah kami pulai ke Niah. Dua tiga ari bedau gawai, bisi setengah ari aku lading-lading semak mua pintu ke selalu endur ia duduk nganti pemulai aku ari sekula. Seninjik taun nya aku peresa Sarawak Junior Cambridge, nya alai udah gawai aku lalu bendar belajar nyendiaka diri peresa. Pulai sekula aku enda bemain agi, aku ngaga homework. Malam aku belajar begulai enggau bala petunggal aku, minta ajar ipar Sinam (Tuchai) matematik. Kadang-kadang bemalam aku ba sida Runda, kadang pulai ga aku di ambi indai malam ari. Tuchai selalu meransang aku, ngasuh aku belajar bendar, ngambi datai ba universiti ku iya. Maya nya aku enda nemu utai ke universiti ku iya. Ari enam aku enggau indai gawa enggau apai Nangan, mayar tambang kereta kami ke sekula. Ari minggu sigi sembiang missa belama. Udah peresa SJC, kami dibai Father Knapen carolling ngagai rumah panjai sebedau X'mas. Malam-malam kami selalu nyempulang Father Knapen ngagai rumah panjai urang bukai, meri sembiang misa. Kami ke indu nyadi choir, sida ke lelaki nyadi altar servers, ngumpul sedekah, nebah gitar,nebah gerunung, macha ari bup kudus, nyadi MC. Siang ari aku rindang macha buku Women Weekly, buku jerita cinta (kenu ku jaku ini Sudan kami)ke dibai Tuai pulai chuti. Aku ngunsi macha. Udah nya kami duai sama macha Mills & Boon. Form 4 aku nyambung pelajar ke SMK Lutong, udah nya Form 6 ba Kolej TDTHB, Tg Lobang. Aku active ba sekula, main hockey, main softball, masuk kelab tarian, nyadi prefect, nyadi kepala YCS di Kolej. Malam-malam aku belajar bendar, enda enggau urang bemain-main. Maya exam aku badu private study pukul 11 malam, laban enda tau laun ari nya pulai ari classroom. Aku nyambung belajar dataika pukul 1 pagi, macha ngena dian, dilalai ba kutak ngambi Miss Au enda meda senawah api dian maya ia spot check kami ngagai dorm. Ba aku ke sibuk datai maya aku ka Universiti, belaki, beranak, beserakup indu, belajar nganta, aku jarang ngenang niang apai. Aku berengkah sinu ngenang ia lebih kurang 10 taun ke udah. Aku ngenang ke pengaga ia enti ia meda bala anak aku, aku ngenang ke gamal ia perenching gaga meda midul ke ulih bala uchu ia sekula bekerimbi ba jemari. Suba aku dikumbai Cikgu Majid good udah gaga amat ia, tu enti iya meda utai ke ulih bala anak aku, naka pengaga ia. Aku sinu ngenang ia enda makai utai ulih aku. Aku sinu ngenang aku enda ulih ngubat ia suba. Enti ia agi idup, enti ia sakit, sigi enda aku ngelakka ia. Enti ia agi idup, sigi bisi urang ngagaka aku utai laban ia bisi pengelandik jari, landik betukang. Aku labuh ai mata maya aku mai indai raun ngagai Italy taun 2006 suba - naka meh enti apai agi idup ku aku, sigi rindu ia nimpai bandar Florence, meda Duomo ba Milan, nepan gondola ba Venice, meda pemanah St Peter's Cathedral, meda tower ba Pisa.

Allah Taala ke besai kuasa, kasihka apai aku, ampun penyalah iya, bai ia begulai enggau Nuan di menua serega. Anang meda dosa iya Tuhan, tang peda meh pengerindu iya ke urang, peda meh pemurah ati iya enggau urang, peda meh pengampun iya ke urang.Kelebih agi peda meh pengarap iya ke Nuan, Allah Taala Apai. Let perpetual light shine upon him O Lord and may he rest in peace.Amen