A twitter-essay on Beras Perang, unpolished, unbleached, lightly milled local long grain rice.

 

Beras perang tampi di nyiru,
Tumpah melukut merata-rata.
Haiwan yang garang lagi diburu,
Siapa takut semut melata?*

winnowing basket british museum

Brown rice tossed in a winnowing basket
Broken grains spill here and there
The fiercest of beasts yet are hunted
Of a lowly ant no-one cares

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*Original Malay pantun @ Nilam Sari: Pantun Melayu by Asima Abdul Latiff.
English translation mine.
Winnowing Basket from the British Museum

Published by bingregory

Official organ of an American Muslim in Malaysian Borneo, featuring plants, pantuns and pictures from the Malay archipelago. Oversharing since 2002.

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