APRIL FOOLS

There will be no Terengganu words to learn this time around because after what happened in Terengganu yesterday. I have only swear words in my head.

Are those group of BN assemblymen in Terengganu for real? My friends in Terengganu told me that they are as real as the plastic palms that used to dot Terengganu towns. Three of them received "threatening SMS" and 10 played truant and did not attend the sittings. How many assemblymen has been assasinated in Terengganu? People in Terengganu Darul Iman are comparatively religious. They believe life and death are in the domain of Allah and not in the powers of political rivals. Besides, the hotel they were holed up in is less secure than the Dewan Undangan Negeri. You can see the State Police HQ from the assembly.

What have they achieved other than disgracing the state? Nothing whatsoever. When the new PM talk of unity they displayed divisiveness. When the new cabinet are talking about being more responsible, these sorry excuse of lawmakers chose to be irresponsible. They should be in the Dewan asking questions on behalf of their voters, shouldn't they?

Whatever your ambition is, whatever you want to happen, do it with some class and lots of intelligence. Being petulant (and some would say flatulent too) will not get you anywhere. As my friend Dato' Omar Khalid said:
"Di Teganung ramai orang pandai, tapi tak ramai yang bijok." I would not have guessed that he meant the BN politicians.

ANOK

Even though there is a Malay saying that goes "Kecil jangan disangka anak, besar jangan disangka bapa" Terengganu speakers, just like other Malay speakers call the smaller of things anok. So the key, which is smaller than the lock is called anok kuci and the arrow which is smaller compared to the bow is anok panoh. Similarly, we have anok mata which is part of the eye and anok tekok, which is a part of the throat. I think it is the uvula. Can someone with a copy of Gray's Anatomy check?

If you want to get out of the house, you go down the steps. If your house is a typical kampung house, you would step on several anok tangga before you reach the ground. If you are at night and the time is right you might see a crescent moon in the sky. That would be anok bulang. There is no mok bulang or bapak bulang although there is bulan purnama in Kuala Terengganu and in Bukit Gantang shining very brightly during by-elections.

Venture further into the bushes and you might find tough, wiry thumb-sized trees growing. These are called anok kuat and Merang folks used them as floors and walls for their huts. Anok kuat sometimes can be found near anok sunga (streams or tributaries) where small boys catch anok seriding (very small fishes). Very small boys, usually uncircumcised, when in a team of older boys (probably circumcised) would be called anok wek for the duration of whatever game they were playing.

There was one such anok wek who accidentally caught hold of his grandma's breast. His father was furious and gave the boy a scolding. The boy apologized to the grandma and muttered:
"Ayoh ning, orang pegang kopek mok dia sekali maroh doh. Dia pegang kopek mok kita ari ari kita dak kata apa pong."

Labels: anok bulang, anok kuat, anok kuci, anok mata, anok panoh, anok seriding, anok sunga, anok tangga, anok tekok, anok wek

SOUND WORDS

Before Mimi cok (reserve) the wireless modem, I'd better finish this post. So I will make it short.
There will be not enough time for lengthy explanations so I will just introduce you to the words in a story that purportedly happened in Kampong Longger Terengganu many many years ago. The veracity of the story could not be confirmed since all those involved and maybe the kampung too are no longer with us.

One evening in December, Ayoh Wang Deramang was shaken out of his post-asar nap in his rattan kerusi malah (lazy chair) by loud noises coming out of the next room. His house has many rooms and he rented them out to supplement his income. The room next door where the grudung gradang came from was rented by a couple who were both orally and aurally challenged. Non-politically correct people would call the couple deaf and dumb.
"How could a deaf and dumb couple make so much noise, so bising bangor?" Ayoh Wang Deramang thought to himself. He proceeded to bang dengor (pricked his ear) and there were more grudung gradang from the next room. Since there were no speech, Ayoh Wang Deramang could not describe the din as geger. Were the couple having an orgy after the birth of their baby? Ayoh Wang Deramang, a bachelor, scolded himself for having such an unsavoury thought. The grudung gradang continued. Ayoh Wang Deramang became curiouser and curiouser. He could not hold himself much longer. Throwing caution and good breeding to the monsoon wind, he rushed to the store to get his putorela (hand drill/gimlet) and drilled a hole in the wall. He peeked through the hole and what did he see?
He saw furnitures upturned. He saw the room in a mess. He saw the husband holding a picture of his wife's father in one hand and an open umbrella in the other. He also saw the wife holding her baby with one hand and pointing to her exposed breast with the other.
Ayoh Wang Deramang was mystified. He could not make out what was happening. Only one person would know. Cikgu Rozak, a teacher at the deaf and dumb school would know. Conveniently, Cikgu Rozak was renting a room at the other end of the house. Ayoh Wang Deramang ran to fetch Cikgu Rozak who came to the peephole and peeped. He saw the same thing that Ayoh Wang Deramang saw.
He saw furnitures upturned. He saw the room in a mess. He saw the husband holding a picture of his wife's father in one hand and an open umbrella in the other. He also saw the wife holding her baby with one hand and pointing to her exposed breast with the other.
Cikgu Rozak turned to the expectant Ayoh Wang Deramang.
"Ayoh Wang, the wife is telling the husband to buy milk for the baby.."
"Pah tu? (Then?)"
"The husband said pala ayoh mu (your father's head). It is raining lah."

Labels: bang dengor, bising bangor, geger, grudung gradang, putorela