a journey

Labbaik Allah hummalakalabbaik,
Labbaikala syarikalakalabbaik.
Innalhamda wannikmata lakawal mulk.

La syarikalak.

Tomorrow is the second day of Zulqaedah 1425 H. Tomorrow is the day I will set out to make the journey I had awaited for years, to be once again in the House of Allah and the City of Rasulullah. This time I pray that I would be welcomed as His guest, a soul among a few million other guests, a soul from among over a billion that proclaim ‘There is no god but Allah’. I pray that I will be welcomed to fulfill the fifth and the final pillars of Islam. If the last time was for a visit, performing the umrah, a small optional pilgrimage, this time it would be for the obligatory finale.

I could not imagine in the true sense how insignificant one would be among the millions, how small a man in the vastness of Arafah. But I will be there InsyaAllah; in a moment where a peasant and a king is garbed in physically similar garment of two pieces of white cloth, sans any sewing, calling out the same ‘talbiah’ – Labbaik Allah; where everyone an equal in the eye of Allah.

Once I had stood on the roof of Masjidil Haram, looking below at the Kaabah; I saw the circumbulation like that of an endless swirl of water, flowing from the edges, drawn towards the center, circling and after a while flowing out again. The flow in, the circling, and the flow out again happening ever continuously one can’t guess which was the beginning or which was the end. Not a moment has the flow halted but for the time of prayer. But then the halt was like a momentary pause before the flowing and circling begin yet again.

Soon, it will be time for Haj again. A ritual of a thousand and four hundreds of years will be performed again. Some say that it was the same ritual performed by angels since the beginning of time. All as a mark of obedience. Whatever one had seen at the time of umrah, will be too minute compared to the happening of Haj, people say.

I pray that I will be there.

naik b’ulang

On July 20, 1969, the human race accomplished its single greatest technological achievement of all time when a human first set foot on another celestial body.
Six hours after landing at 4:17 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (with less than 30 seconds of fuel remaining), Neil A. Armstrong took the “Small Step” into our greater future when he stepped off the Lunar Module, named “Eagle,” onto the surface of the Moon, from which he could look up and see Earth in the heavens as no one had done before him.
He was shortly joined by “Buzz” Aldrin, and the two astronauts spent 21 hours on the lunar surface and returned 46 pounds of lunar rocks. After their historic walks on the Moon, they successfully docked with the Command Module “Columbia,” in which Michael Collins was patiently orbiting the cold but no longer lifeless Moon.
(Quote from ‘NASA Apollo 11 30th anniversary website www.hq.nasa.gov/)

I had lunch with RI few days ago. He is an aspiring ‘yet to accomplish’ politician. I say ‘yet’ because I personally believe he got what it takes to be a good career politician; education, political experience, charm and vision. But sadly enough, most of the good one like him ‘dies young’; missing on opportunities to be the coveted YB’s. In the troubled water called politics, a ‘broye’ just can’t match the ‘nage’. No, I am not saying he is either of one, but best wishes to him anyway.

RI was lamenting about the challenge of motivation. See, he is a ‘penceramah motivasi’. To him, motivating the Malay youth by telling histories of Malayan Union and Independence is outdated. Those are something they did not went through and could not understand. Instead he says, the approach is to talk about something much closer in their history. I could not agree more. If ever I told my kids that I used to have only ‘seposeng’ a day to school they would remark ‘cakak mende gok hok zamang kirong tu, ni zamang laing doh…’ Imagine what a group of troubled youth would retort to. When he talked about the time when man first ‘naik b’ulang’. Salwa, Shida, ‘Braheng’ and Embong were there. They listened politely; but I saw only amusement on their faces. To the children of 70’s, even the history of 1969 were not really believable. But that part of history was true. I was there then as a ‘nearly’ five years old but I remember.

My recollection of the event.

In 1969, there was not a TV in my kampong. Only radios – and we listened to it just like you would to watching Astro of today. Then at nearly five years old I already could read and I read the Utusan Malaysia which my father devotedly buy daily (even to these days). Moon landing was a big thing; almost fully capturing the headlines and the radio airtime. Because of the news, the sensation it created, we were looking to the heaven, searching for the orbiting ‘rokek’ around the moon.. Of course we saw none, how can we believe the landing to be true. At the ‘kedai kopi’, at the ‘wakah’ while playing ‘dang aji’, at ‘b’asa’ while sorting out’ ikang rebuh’ or ‘be’ki pukak’ and even at the surau, moon landing captured our imagination. Among the elders and among kids, we were arguing. ‘N’awok’ (Lies), some would say, ‘bakpe dok napok pong? (why can’t we see it)’ Others may reply, ‘N’awok g’ane, gangbo ade kang, dok kang gangbo pong n’awok! (It can’t be a lie, there are pictures, pictures don’t lie)’ Then someone chipped in, ‘Tok Imang pong kate n’awok (The imam said it was a lie)’. The village imam (or was it another of the visiting Ustaz?) had passed his verdict. I was there at the surau when the Ustaz was ‘n’gajor kitak’. I was not there to learn any ‘kitab’ actually but to join the ‘makang’. The argument however was captivating. Otherwise how can I remember it to these days.

‘Orang kape belake tu wak cita orang naik b’ulang. Nok n’awok s’ape? Dalang kitak kate doh kang, nok naik langik tu ada berapa lapih? Ada tujoh lapih. Tiak-tiak lapih ade mele’kak tunggu. Nabi naik langik pong kena soal. Kalu orang kape kene soa, nok jawak mende!. Dok leh jawak mele’kak lepo slalu nge api. (Only the non-believers make up stories about the moon landing. In the Books, how many levels of heaven were mentioned? Seven! At every level there was an angel guarding. Even the Prophet was stopped and asked on his way to heaven. If the non-believers were asked, what would they answer? If they can’t answer, the angel will immediately assault them with fire.)

Then he added, ‘Ni ayak Quran ade doh ni. Dok dang sapa langik pong ada doh lapisang api’, (It’s stated in the Quran, there is a ring of fire below the heaven) quoting from the Quran.

In another occasion (and at nationwide too) the debate rages when someone asked ‘Kalu gi b’ulang nok semayang hadak m’ana? (Where do we turn our face to pray on the moon).’

On hindsight that was interesting. Even in 1969, before the introduction of war-cry ‘Malaysia Boleh’ there were already interest among Malays to be on the moon; and a strong desire not to miss the obligation of prayer even while in outer-space.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." - Neil Armstrong


Footnote.
Even until now there are skeptics of the moon landing. The Van Allen Belts of radiations fits the bill of our ustaz own definition of the ‘lapisang api’ (ring of fire). Film buff may recall ‘Capricorn One’ (1978) starring James Brolin, OJ Simpson etc about fake Mars (not moon) landing. Recent lunar conspiracy theorist may refer to Mary Bennet,and David Percy (2001) Dark Moon: Apollo and the Whistle-Blowers; Philippe Lheureux (2003) Moon Landings: Did NASA Lie?. For current web offering on the ‘bluff theory’ please check ‘Ground Zero (batesmotel.8m.com)

talking architecture (part 2)

I was stumped when Ajik sms’ed me asking about ‘relong’. Few days before, he was talking to me about some pieces of his in-laws land in ‘Aloq Staq’. For those in the dark, ‘relong’ is a measurement unit for land normally used in Kedah for ‘bendang’ or ‘dusun’. The more ‘relong’ one has, the richer he was, the more expensive the ‘mas-kahwin’ should you ask for the hand of his daughter.

‘Hang nak menikah anak Pak Chad tu, hang ada beghapa? Yati tu keluaq yunibesiti, Pak Chad pulaq bendang depa ratuih relong. Hang buleh ka?’ (So you want to marry Pak Chad’s daughter, how much money do you have? Yati was a university graduate, Pak Chad on the other hand has few hundred relongs of padi field. Can you afford it?)

I knew about ‘relong’ but never find any need to use it. Certainly, I was not made to pay the mas-kahwin in any ‘relong’ of ‘bendang’ when married to Yati.

The solution was to sms around. Help came from Hang Lekiu (my senior draftsmen; yes his name is so) who had worked in Kedah for few years. Q (as he is known) explained that a ‘relong’ equals to 484 ‘jemba’. What? Well, that was seven-tenth (0.7) of an acre or 30,976 square feet. A ‘jemba’ also equals an area 8 feet by 8 feet or 64 square feet. That was getting interesting.

In Terengganu-speak, ‘jemba’ means ‘to reach down’ or ‘lurge at’ or simply as ‘go’ or 'rush'. If used as j’emba’ it means in the negative.

‘Musing kemara ning, air t’lage tu toho sikek, mung kene jembe lah kalu nok kara.’

‘Jage anok tu!, nye jembe tengoh jalang kang langgor l’ori’

‘Mujo ambe dang jembe p’aso, kalu dok, dok makang ikang le kite.’

‘Nok tengok mok yong gane Mek Nah ooo! Dok dang j’embe nye k’ite.Padang basoh kaing nge jage anok je kite niiing…’

In Kedah-speak, the word ‘jemba’ means ‘depa’; measurement of outstretched arm (like in crucification). Since average ‘depa’ was only about 6 feet, ancient Kedahan must be big indeed. The measure must have been based on the ‘gergasi’ of the legend Merong Mahawangsa. But why ‘jemba’ and not ‘depa’? Not to confuse it with ‘depa’ (meaning ‘they’) perhaps?

Anthrophometric-based system of measurement was the original of all system of measurement. In Malay architectural tradition we have the ‘jari’ ‘jengkal’, ‘hasta’, and ‘depa’. In the English Imperial System, an inch was based on the width of your thumb, the feet on the length of your sole. A yard interestingly was decreed by English King Henry I (1110-1137) as the length from the tip of his nose to the end of his middle finger. That was some royal measure. In 1324, Edward II decreed that the inch was the length of 3 barley corns placed end-to-end

I had first thought that ‘relong’ was near equivalent to English ‘furlong’. I was wrong. Furlong was a measure of length not area. Now what was ‘furlong’? A furlong is a "furrow long" or length of a mediaeval field used for the lengths of some horse races. It equals 220 yards.

Architects who chanced on ancient land titles or grants often found measurement in chain, rod, pole, rood or furlong. A chain is 66 feet. A link in the chain is 0.66 ft. Old surveyors said so. But while at UTM (in 1981) we were given two different sets of chain; one a 100 link chain measuring 66 feet and the other measuring 100 feet. The 66 feet was the true chain while the 100 feet was known as Ramsden’s or engineering chain. Chain measurement is still widely used today despite the metrication. I guess with most of the country’s land already measured before, the task of converting would be near impossible. So we have the one or two chain road reserve everywhere and most housing lots, bungalows especially; measures 66ft in width.

A rod normally of five and a half yard interestingly originates from the poles used by farm boys. ‘Medieval ploughing was done with oxen, up to 4 pairs at a time. The ploughman handled the plough. His boy controlled the oxen using a stick, which had to be long enough to reach all the oxen. The term rod, pole or perch actually refer to the same thing but each term was used in different time. And, believe it or not, the legal rod of the 16th century was 'the combined length of the left feet of 16 men as they left church on a Sunday morning.'

A rood equals 1210 square yards or 19,890 square feet or 40 square poles. Rood was also one furlong times one pole (1 furlong x 1 pole). 4 roods made up an acre.

So how much was all that in square meter? Go figure.

Footnote
Some facts of the Imperial System reproduced in the article quoted from www. gwydir.demon.co.uk

the quran class

In the old days, a Malay child is sent to the Quran teacher with two items and a pledge. The items being a cane and a 'buah tangan' be it 'gula sekati' , beras secupak' or 'pisang sesikat'. In giving away the child to the teacher, the father normally remarked 'Ustaz, saya serahkan anak saya untuk ustaz ajar biar jadi pandai. Buatlah macamanapun asal jangan buta jangan cacat sudahlah. Rotan ni buatlah pukul anak saya kalau dia jahat.' (I gave you my child for you to teach till he's good. Do whatever you have to, so long he's not blind or disabled. This cane is for you to strike him if he's bad.) That was a legend even in my time.

I remember my father sending me to read Quran at the house of 'Tok Bilal M'bong' just a short distance from my house in Kampung Padang Polis. I can't recall the cane or the pledge, but the 'gula' was there. I was not a good student, a regular 'kaki tuang' (truant) - always finding all sorts of excuse to miss the lesson, prefering to join in the game of 'petik-mate', 'main to' or 'bedil'. There were other games too, 'galoh panjang', ...... To these days, I regret not attending those quran class properly. I end up not completing or 'katang' the Quran until I was much older. Not even the 'jehama' (juz amma) or Al-Baqarah despite being promoted to read 'Quran besor' rather early. That too after realising my own children were growing and in need of a good example.

I remember the day my father chased me around the kampung with 'lidi n'yapuh' when report came that I was often playing truant. The cane was there any other way.

When Tok Bilal M'bong moved to Kampung Feri, near the Masjid, I went to a new teacher I recalled as 'Che' Jah' at Kampung Feri. I remembered her for she was making 'paung' (pau) that my father sold at the school canteen then. I also remember her for crying the day P. Ramlee passed away.

Unlike now, there was not a standard fee for Quran lessons. My kids even have an Ustaz coming to teach at home. The fee then was 'ikok panda' depending on the ability of the parent. Paying with money was unheard of. Often it was with gifts mentioned earlier or whatever parents can afford to spare. For us kids, there were other fees though. No one can read the Quran until they have completed a chore. At Che' Jah it was either 'akuk air' (taking water from the well) or 'beloh kayu' (chopping firewood). Ocassionaly one or two were selected to accompany her husband to look for 'daung palah' (daun palas) to make ketupat. The older and better-behaved girls got the easier work of 'ayok tepong' or cutting 'daun pisang'. The 'paung' were normally prepared in the day time and cooked at dawn to be just ready for breakfast. I guess that was why we never get to 'rase' otherwise there would be little 'paung' left to sell.

Of the Quran lessons, I can't recall more. I must have 'tuang' so much.

To my Quran teachers, and all other teachers for that matter, thank you. You were the first light in my days of ignorance. To all of you Al-Fatihah.

in place of a picture

A picture paints a thousand words. A picture, better still a video tells aplenty about anything and everything. But a picture without accompanying story is devoid of expression and punch-line, there were little of moods, excitement, joy or sadness. When children asked, especially of our personal history, the microcosm of our life experience, there often was little time or space for pictures, only words, but words were what kept them listening attentively.

Even when given a picture of the time passed, they will still ask for the story. So go, - tell them in a thousand words.

It is the thousand words – that truly paint a picture.

talking architecture (part 1)

As an architect trained in metric system, I found it hard enough to convert to the imperial system of foot and inches. I have to, more often than not. The older ‘tukang’ can’t decipher the mm, cm and m, while we can’t talk about ‘hung’, ‘kaki’, ici’ or ‘ela’. Somehow we learnt and became ‘bilingual’. On the ground, in Terengganu the system of measurement took another detour. Coupled with local terminologies, it gets even more difficult to follow.

‘Kita paka plewook tige hung padang doh’ (We can just use the three ‘hung’ plywood) the tukang would say. ‘Hung’ is one eight of an inch. Carpenters of the older days use two main measuring instruments, a 's’siku' and ‘kayu lipat’. The first a steel L-shaped ruler and the later as the name implies, a foldable wooden ruler with brass end and swivel joint. Both type of rulers uses a division of eight for an inch, thus the commonly use term of scale ‘sekil se-lapang’ describing the imperial one eight (1/8) scale; that one eight is ‘se (satu) hung’. Lapang (eight) ‘hung’ is thus ‘sici’ (se inci), ‘dua belah ici’ (twelve inches) made up a foot. The ‘s’iku’ together with ‘timbang air’ (spirit level) made up an amazingly simple way of determining accuracy of angles. Artful positioning of the s’siku and timbang air assures every members of the building to be ‘makang s’siku’. Literal translation of makang s’siku is ‘eating the elbow’ but makang here denotes ‘ngam’, perfect, fit; the s’iku also mean elbow or angle. Makang s’siku thus means ‘perfectly fit to the angle. Anything ‘dok makang s’siku’ is ‘sengek’ (tilted).

Anything ‘dok makang s’siku’ was also the reason for numerous faults in a building, the roof may ‘b’alik air’, the beam may need to be ‘kene b’aji’, the tiling may end with ‘ekor tikuh’.

‘B’alik air’ means backflow. Roof not properly constructed, at too shallow an angle, or ‘atak berombok’ (the roofing material badly laid wavy, uneven roof surface), easily caused water to backflow into the house. Rain water supposedly flowing down the roof surface is often pushed by the upward wind causing water to splash upward in between the roof sheets or roof tiles into the house. This is nightmare. Normal leaks can be solved by ‘tepek belakeng’ (pasting tar) on the holes but ‘b’alik air’ requires re-roofing.

A shallow roof is said to be ‘tare’ (less than 15d) while a steep roof ‘ceruh’ (more than 45d). A 25d to 35d roof are considered ‘biase’ ( normal ). Roof is normally formulated at ‘sekaki akat sici’ (an inch elevation every foot) So a ‘tukang’ when looking at the plans will comment, ‘Tare do’oh atak ning, ujang sikek pung tobak b’alik air. Wi ceruh sikek, baru napok yeng’ (Atap ini terlalu rendah sudutnya, hujan sedikitpun sumpah akan berbalik air. Buatkan lebih tinggi sudutnya barulah bergaya / The roof angle is too shallow, I swear it will backflow when it rains. Make it steeper, it will look grander)

Another term is ‘koye’ - used to describe an area measuring 100 square feet or 10’ x 10’. ‘Koye’ is often used to measure works like ‘m’elah’ (plastering) or ‘pasang mozek’ (tiling) or ‘ikak bate’ (brick laying).

Khije se kong, dok ‘oh dok leh siak se koye ikak bate. Makang taing dok ‘oh le tu.’
(Kerja satu ‘kong’ takkanlah tak boleh siapkan ikat bata 100 kaki persegi. Rehat berlebihanlah tu.’ / A day’s work and yet can’t finish a hundred square feet of brick-laying. Must have taken a break too long)

‘Kong’ is a measure of a day’s work of normally eight hours. The word originated from Chinese’s ‘kong’ to describe worker. ‘Kongsi’ is a workers’ quarter. In Terengganu it's often pronounced as 'k'osi'. 'K'osi' can also mean to share. 'Awok-awok Pok Soh dok k'osi blake, taing makang ye pakak k'osi ma'sok.' (Pak Soh's workers stay in the quarter, come meal time they share the cooking task) ‘Buku kong’ is a card recording attendance of workers that must be signed by a ‘p’ala’ or ‘mandor’ (kepala / head). ‘King-kong’? The number one worker in Phua Chu Kang. Oooops.

(to be continued)

thinking of old surau

Except for the mosque, most if not all the old suraus in my village were built by individuals. Thus they were known as ‘Surau Haji Awang’, ‘Surau Pok Su Mat’, ‘Surau Pok Teh Ali’ or ‘Surau Pok Su Jusoh’. These individuals too became the imam and sometimes were the ‘siak’ and ‘bilal’ as well. The suraus served as a place for prayer and ‘mengaji Quran’ for the children as well as a place to borrow ‘kawoh’, ‘tuku’, and ‘pinggang-makuk’ come time for ‘makang pulut’. Without government’s money, the structures were modest and the facilities were basic. A well and a toilet were about all there were. Inside, few pieces of ‘sejadah’ normally for the front ‘saf’ and the floor if covered with ‘tikar getah’ was considered a luxury. For the times when ‘jemaah’ increased, normally in Ramadan or when there was a ‘ratik’ (with some ‘makang’ of-course) the rolls of ‘tikor k’uang’ sufficed. Modernism saw the tikor k’uang replaced by plastic ‘tikor gulong’. If anything else, the suraus were clean and well looked after. Haji Awang, Pok Su Mat, Pok Teh Ali and Pok Su Jusoh were important individuals, they were the village elders, next in importance only to the ‘Tok M’ulu’ or ‘Tok T’ua Kapong’. Their attendance at any functions were a must, be it for ‘makang pulok’, ‘ratik’, ’bace yasing’, ‘semayang ajat’, ‘s’unak’, and occasionally even to help to ‘semelih ayang’. For us children, surau was an important place of rendezvous. It was the place that parents would not object and a perfect excuse to leave the house. Well there was a river near Surau Pok Su Jusoh and a dip after the ‘mengaji’ was almost a must despite the scare of ‘broya k’atok’.

Perhaps it was the simplicity of the surau, or maybe the simplicity of the people that us children were tolerated despite our noise and annoyance. ‘Teraweh’ in Ramadan was a fun time. Always there were some ‘kueh’ and ‘kopi O’ for the jemaah but ‘makang’ was delayed until after the completion of the ‘twenty-one rakaat’. The ‘p’ala pengak’ among us would take a peek under the ‘tudong saji’ and loudly declare the feast. Normally it was a simple serving of ‘roti canai’, ‘pulok nyor’ or ‘wajik’. On lesser days it would be ‘biskuk balok’ je’, someone would proclaim. Not joining the ‘terawikh’ prayer’ however was not an excuse for not joining in the ‘selawat’. But ‘Sal’Allah wassalam Allaihi’ became something else. Sometimes it became ‘soh lah buleh makang wajik’ or at another time, ‘Pok Lah wi salang Pok Ik’. Such ‘daja’ were we.

Time changes everything. The suraus now are much nicer, built with government money, in brick and concrete. Now a ‘jawatankuasa’ runs them. Because there are now ‘luxury’ items, speaker system, clock, good carpets etc. inside, the suraus are often locked, at times at prayer time too. No longer are suraus ‘open’ physically and spiritually. Children are somewhat inadmissible with some suraus ‘inappropriately’ displaying a ‘no children allowed’ sign at the entrance. When allowed, they were at prayer time relegated to the back rows and noises are frowned upon. Once I saw a man actually lifting a boy to the back ‘saf’ when he (the boy) had already started praying. I look at these changes feeling sad.

My children, outspoken as they were, complained when they were asked to leave the front ‘saf’. Amir even retorted when told that kids were regarded as unclean. ‘Bakpe???, Amir ‘sunak mase umor lima tahung kang!’ (What? I was circumcised when I was five!). ‘Did you not tell me that we should aim to be early for prayer and the front ‘saf’ accord the greatest pahala?’ he may add.

I may be very much a ‘jahe’ when it come to religious matters but think my sadness is warranted. In our over-zealousness to protect the sanctity of the suraus and mosques we are instilling in the children’s mind a kind of aloofness that could later psychologically distance their heart from the house of Allah. A friend even remarked that such over-zealousness is turning our suraus and mosques into temples and shrine; a remark unkind but true in a sense. Maybe I should add that I saw in Masjidil Haram, children treated with remarkable kindness, families were actually having ‘picnic’ during Ramadan or on the fasting days of Mondays and Thursdays. The children of Quran classes in Masjid Nabawi in Madinah were equally noisy. Fact is children are children the world over. Are we too not once children ourselves?

Perhaps if we care once again to open our suraus to the children, we may be ‘vaccinating’ against future social disorder. For that, all our mosque and surau officials, the imams and bilals should once again be like ‘Tok imang’ Haji Awang or Pok Su Jusoh; for that matter.

Glossary
Kawoh; kawah; couldron
Tuku; tungku; three legged steel stove
pinggang-makuk ; pinggan-mangkuk; bowls and plates; utensils
makang pulut; makan pulut; kenduri; feast
ratik ; ratib; tahlil; group rememberance (zikr’)
makang; makan; feast
p’ala pengak ; kepala pengat; a term to denote leader of the ruffians
tikor k’uang; tikar mengkuang; mengkuang mat
tikor gulong; tikar gulung; rolled mat normally of plastic
Tok M’ulu; Tok Penghulu; villages’ group (mukim) headman
Tok T’ua Kapong; Tok Ketua Kampung; village headman
bace yasing; baca Yasin; majlis bacaan Yasin; Yasin (a chapter in the Quran) reading session
semayang ajat; sembahyang hajat; special prayer
s’unak; bersunat; berkhatan; circumcision
roti canai; roti canai; what else ?
pulok nyor; pulut kelapa; glutinous rice with grated coconut
wajik; wajik; another type of pulut cooked in brown coconut sugar
biskuk balok; biskut balak; dried bread
Pok Lah wi salang Pok Ik; Salam Pak Lah untuk Pak Said; Greeeting from Pak Lah to Pak Said
Daja; dajal; devilish
Jahe; jahil; ignorant

snippets from ‘kursus haji’

InsyaAllah, by the Grace of Allah, Yati and I will be leaving for our Haj in about a fortnight. Today was the conclusion of Ceramah Haji Perdana (Grand Haj Seminar) where we; all the 3000 odds Terengganu pilgrims were made to go through a full dress rehearsal. That includes the wearing of ‘ihram’, ‘melontar’(pelting of stones) at the ‘jamrah’, ‘tawaf’ (circumbulation) around the Kaabah and ‘saei’ (walking) between the hills of Safa and Marwah.

The whole rehearsal was orderly executed under the experienced guide of Tabung Haji personnel, a feat I found daunting. The 3816 pilgrims from Terengganu made up a mere fraction of Malaysian contingent of 52000 and a mere drop in the expected 2 to 3 million pilgrims in the ‘Haram’ this season. If three thousand was an endless flow of people, what more the few millions. The management, the planning, the logistic and everything else must be exponentially strenuous even with more than a thousand and four hundred years of management experience. Since the very day of pilgrimage by Rasulullah saw into Mekah, liberating it from paganism, the haj has been regularly carried out without fail.

For Yati, it was also an experience with a difference. In her group were the elderlies from Kuala Berang, northern hinterland of Terengganu. Those who know Terengganu know that people in Kuala Berang speak in a totally alien slang that even those in Kuala Terengganu could not easily understand. I could not myself. The way out she said was to diplomatically acknowledge herself as another one of the ‘mek’ (Terengganu for ‘miss’; the sweet way of addressing a younger lady), joining in the laughing and smiling; nodding at every words even though she ‘dok pahang satu sa’ (cant make out anything).

Kuala Berang folks were often at the end of Terengganu jokes, not unlike the Irish to the Brits or the ‘Parit’ and ‘Bota’ to the ‘Perak’ians. A popular one was about a ‘Kuala Berang’ian going to haj.

In the days before KLIA and its aerobridges, pilgrims from Terengganu had to take a flight from Kuala Terengganu to Subang before taking a pilgrim flight to Jeddah. Those were the days when passengers were ferried on buses to the terminal. On arriving at Subang, the pilgrims were orderly alighting in a row. An older man stopped at the door, looked around and let the other passenger passes, one by one until he was left alone. A stewardess noticed the confused old man, approached him and asked, ‘Maafkan saya, Pak Cik tengah cari apa?’ (Excuse me uncle, what are looking for?). The man answered, ‘Pok tengoh cari kasut’ (I am looking for my shoes). ‘Mana pak cik letak?’(Where have you left it?) the stewardess asked. ‘Dok ingak doh. Dok silak pok, mase naik takdi, Pok tok tangge.’(I can’t remember but if I wasn’t wrong I left it at the stairs when boarding) he answered.

The joke took a slight variation when KLIA was completed. The Kuala Berang’ian now was a little more savvy. Reaching the door of the plane, he stopped, turn around and call for a stewardess. ‘Mek, mek, tangge pah kuane?’ (Miss, where has the staircase gone). ‘Kenapa Pak Cik? (Why uncle?) she asked. ‘Tok j’upo payon. Tadi, Pok sakuk tangge.’ (Cant find my umbrella. I hanged it there.)

I wrote about a Terengganuan never having the ability to completely erase the ‘g’ in their ‘ucapang’ in my earlier blog. I noticed that in Halim (of Radio Era, Roda Impian) and in Wan Kamaruddin (NTV 7). The speaker at the haj’ seminar (a Terengganuan) related his personal story. In one of his seminar in Selangor, he was bewildered when the crowd laughed heartily at him after he had stressed a point. Confused he turned to his fellow speakers and asked. They too were laughing. Apparently he had ‘spread-eagled’ himself on the text of ‘saya tekankan depan tuan-puan’…… In his spirited speech he had unconsciously Terenganu-nised the sentence to ‘saya te(r)kangkang depang tuang-puang…..’ thus the laugh.