hough I’ve been here in Kuching over a year now, I’ve barely been outside of the city. Partly because of that, I had the impression that all the “real” nature was to be found far into the uplands. So I was very pleasantly surprised when I visited Semenggoh just a half an hour’s drive from our house. Semenggoh is a state park with an Orangutan rehabilitation center attached to it. “Apes in rehab?!”, you’re thinking, “what are they, on crack?”
hem. No, these are …

My favorite definition of poetry is “Compact Emotion”. So when I found that my translations are mulitiplying the word count at least three or five times, I knew right there I’m losing something. This is the last of the lyrical pieces on the “Pelita Hidup” album, and for me it was the hardest. I think I’ll go back to nursery rhymes after this; it’s more at my level. Anyone know where to get lyrics for “Bangau O Bangau”?

Continuing on with English translations from Hijjaz’s wonderful Pelita Hidup album, here is the next in the series, Kala Subuh:

Hijjaz – Mata Hati
Pandangan mata selalu menipu
Pandangan akal selalu tersalah
Pandangan nafsu selalu melulu
Pandangan hati itu yang hakiki
Kalau hati itu bersih

The vision of the eye always lies
The vision of the intellect always errs
The vision of the ego always strays
The vision of the heart will be true
If that heart is pure

One of my favorite Nasheed albums is called Pelita Hidup, by the Malaysian group Hijjaz. It is filled with beautiful duas, zikr, and nasheeds, very much a meditative album. Many of the songs deal with the certainty of death and the life of the grave. I’ve translated them and passed them on to Nasheed World. I will reproduce them here as well.
Hijjaz – Pelita Hidup
Hidup ini bagai lampu dinding
Yang dinyalakan dimalam hari
Apabila minyak sudah kering
Ia kan pasti padam sendiri
This life is like the lantern
That …

Mount Santubong is the subject of a local legend that was put to song. Brother Affendi kindly chased down the lyrics. I’ve supplied a translation for your reading pleasure.

Puteri Santubong, Puteri Sejinjang,
Penjaga gunung negeri Sarawak,
Manis sik ada dapat dilawan,
Anak dak dewa turun kayangan.
Princess Santubong, Princess Sejinjang,
Spirits of the mountain in the land of Sarawak,
So sweet, you could find no comparison
Children like goddesses descended from heaven.
Ooo..Puteri Santubong,
Menenun kain…siang,
Ooo…Puteri Sejinjang,
Menumbuk padi…malam.
Ooo..Princess Santubong,
Weaving clothes…by day,
Ooo..Princess Sejinjang,
Threshing rice…by night.
Satu harinya duak kelayi,
Beranok-anok sik renti-renti,
Sorang madah diri bagus agik,
Sorang sik ngalah sampei ke …

Girls have cooties. Every young boy can tell you this. Girls may claim that it is in fact boys who have cooties, but that is preposterous. I spent much of second, third and fourth grade avoiding cooties. I also had a number of hand-made cootie catchers, but for some reason, they did not catch or prevent cooties, rather they told fortunes and made predictions, like “You Suck.” But! What is a cootie? My friends, a cootie is a body louse, and it is …

Recently, the Congress of the United States of America preserved the pride and culture of our great land by passing a resolution renaming French Fries “Freedom Fries”. Yes, they did. This of course was due to France’s unwillingness to support the war on Iraq. But members of the Coalition of the Unwilling are still at large, infiltrating our national foods and imperiling the purity of the language we use to describe them. Yes, my fellow Americans, I’m talking about that most American of condiments, that most …

With the war in mind, here is the next installment: Amok, usually seen as “run amok”. It tends to be used in English to mean out of control, but the dictionary meaning is the same in English as it is in Malay:
In a frenzy to kill; in a violent rage; bloodlust; berserk
Let’s use it in a sentence! “A disgruntled Marine went amok and fragged his superiors’ tents.”
Update: Major Boggs gives us the common American usage, out of control, in today’s New …