BUNIANS AND HALLOWEEN

Yesterday I read about a member of the Terengganu government telling people that Siti Balqis, the young girl from Besut needs to see a shrink. Interesting. Siti Balqis went missing from her house several times and was found, on different occasions, on treetops and other places too strange for a young girl to be. A few days ago Siti Balqis went missing again and there were reports that she was in Gunung Jerai, Kedah. Other reports said that she was in Negeri Sembilan.

Spirits, whether bunians or whatever should not be dismissed lightly. I had the same attitude years ago until I experienced them a few years later when I was teaching in Kuala Brang. There are things that rational minds just could not explain.

The idea to introduce Halloween into Malaysia is also inexplicable. Of course it is a ploy by the retailers to get more money just like on other "western" occasions like Fathers Day, Mothers Day, Valentines Day and such. Just to get more money to buy the new Merc SLK or a new mistress, you can transplant an alien culture. Don't you get enough money wringing Hungry Ghosts Festival?

I am sure that Halloween will not catch on in Terengganu. Terengganu people are wise enough not to waste their labu peringgi (pumpkin) by carving them into a lantern and let their kids dress up as hantu kekeng, hantu bungkus or whatever ghouls they chose and go knocking on people's doors crying out "Trick or Treat!". They will get a pailful of water doused on them instead of candies.

Anyway, to my friends in the US, Happy Halloween!

Labels: halloween, Siti Balqis