No updates for a week just because I was left without an internet connection after an emergency excursion northwest to the sleepy town of Bagan Datoh, Perak for the funeral of my dearest aunt we fondly called Mak Wa ('Wa' as in 'tua' - meaning the eldest sibling).
All the supernatural stories aside, everything went smoothly as there were many relatives who came back to lend a helping hand. Being the eldest in my dad's family, naturally she married the earliest and thus I had the oldest cousin in the form of Yeop Mat ('Yeop' is the nickname for the eldest son) who is already 60 years old! And from Mak Wa's lineage, I discovered that I have first cousins, twice removed which in the Malay Kampung makes me a 'Tok Sedara', loosely translated to grand uncle.
Looking at the Western view of the family tree I noticed that in the Malay states (well, at least in Perak..) there is a concept called 'Waris Emas' where the cousins who share paternal grandfathers are held in much regard, so much so that they are as good as your own brothers.
This is important I suppose because in Islam, you would need paternal family to hand off your daughters in matrimony in certain cases, plus there may be an importance as far as inheritance is concerned. I'm not a pro here, so please do up your own reading on this subject.
Anyway, back to the trip.
The journey was terrible as my brother Ali with 'expert' advice from my dad got lost a few times (which is actually a common thing. More on that in future posts!) in Sg. Besar as well as Sabak Bernam. Leaving at 5 pm, when my aunt was in still in a coma, we got a call from my cousin (from another uncle - Pak Uda) that she has left us.
Before we reached my dad's kampung, we stopped for supper at Rungkup. It seems that the round-the clock eating culture has spread to the town with many youths with their bikes came and sat in groups chatting happily, I suppose discussing the current UMNO turmoil.
There were also families, maybe in the same situation as us, having to travel due to family commitments and stopping for a cuppa'.
We arrived at Kg. Sg. Pergam at 11 pm, and was greeted my my cousins. As the common practice is to recite the Quran until the next morning, we got some much needed sleep while the others take turns.
The next day, after the funeral formalities have concluded, my family decided to take a spin around my dad's old turf..
Bagan Datoh is as I have always remembered it to be, sleepy, peaceful and mysterious. There are many stories to be told if you ask the right people, and most right people are elders as many young 'uns have left because there are no industries there.
The main produce used to be coconut and cocoa, but cocoa has since been replaced by oil palm due to problems with insects and uncontrollable diseases.
Fish in the market are much fresher as there is a nearby jetty, with Sungai Perak the main fishing area. I was fortunate to be able to buy fresh ikan kerisi (Sharptooth Jobfish) which had just been landed 20 minutes before. As our hosts, my Mak Su ('Su' from 'Bongsu' - the youngest ) is a great cook, I just bought some fat shrimps, mackerel as well as several types of vegetables and 'ulams' to go with it.
The most notable item during lunch however was not the fish, but her kerabu pucuk paku (fiddlehead fern shoots salad). Blanched and seasoned with pounded shallots and fried anchovies, it was the bomb!
Never had that salad that good, and believe me, being my favourite type of salad, I have came across really good ones..
I was surprised, but not astounded though as this came from a lady who defied logic my cooking the famous 40-minute lemang (glutinous rice in bamboo) . If anything, lunch that day only exemplified her status in my eyes as the one of the greatest living traditional Malay cooks in my life.
Another one from the list has just left us with her legacy, and hopefully her soul is blessed and placed together with those of the faithful. Al-Fatihah.
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