Cicak, Cicak, di dinding Diam, diam, merayap Datang seekor nyamuk Hap! Hap! Lalu di tangkap! *** Translation and more after the jump.
Category Archives: Language
Buah Macang Buah Kuini
Buah macang buah kuini, Masak sebiji dalam daun; Mengapa begini hatiku ini, Habis bulan berganti tahun. A pair of fruits, Machang and Kwini Each one ripening wrapped in a leaf Oh why does this poor heart of mine feel like this? Each month of passing has turned into years Sarawak is blessed with an abundance of […]
Doa Taubat
One famous prayer of repentance, or dua taubat, could be roughly transliterated as follow: Ilahi lestu lil-firdawsi a’la wa la akhwa ala nar il-jaheemi Allah fa habli tawbata wa-ghfir dhunubi fa innaka ghaafiru dhanb il-adzimi This doa has been put to song, together with a lovely malay translation, by Junied, a nasheed group from Singapore […]
A Trengganu Childhood
Awang Goneng’s book is finally out, and feted at the Royal Asiatic Society no less! The warm and colorful recollections of Growing Up in Trengganu started off online at Kecek-kecek, but were far too good to stay there forever. You may now pick up your copy in Malaysia from MPH Online, or from Monsoon Books […]
Neighbor Day at the Surau
As I’m sure is universal among muslim communities, Ramadan represents the high water mark of religious devotion, the time when the greatest number of people turn up for daily prayers. That’s followed by a Eid crash, when numbers plummet back down to, or even below, average levels, as everyone becomes distracted with the holidays. In […]
Learning from Chickens
Shortly after Hari Raya Eid al-Fitr, I was given a lovely gift in the form of a rooster, hen, and four small chicks. The chickens are a small variety known locally as ayam katik. Although smaller and more tame, these chickens are not related to our modern poultry or egg laying machines, but are bred […]
The Yard: Cekur Udang Gamit
Great, so that makes about as much sense as nursery rhymes can be expected to make. But what on earth is cekur, you ask? Maybe you’re not all that sure what turmeric is either, for that matter.<
Malay Contributions to English, pt.6: The Gong Show
While wandering around the Jalan Masjid India area last December during my sisters’ brief visit, we stumbled on a live performance in a small plaza. The show was of traditional Malay song and dance. There was a large squad of men sitting crosslegged, some with drums, some clapping, some singing lead, some chorus. The dancers […]