21 August 2009

The legend of three Awang



I was already in a state of half awake and half asleep when it came to the story of 3 'Awang's. The soft and sweet tune of my late Toki's (grandfather) voice had never failed to sedate me and put me into an instant hallucination. Normally that was the last story after so many other stories that I can vaguely remember now being narrated to me. In between those stories my late Toki would also sang the sweet Malay 'gurindam' dan 'syair'. He was very good at telling those stories and sang me those classical repertoire. The stories and the 'syair' became my bedtime lullaby during my childhood time.

In short, the three Awangs in the above mention story were none other than 'Awang telinga besor' , 'Awang tahi mata banyok' and 'Awang jubo tajam'. The last Awang will send my kids to an unstoppable giggling (gelekek) when I told them the story, and they realized the true meaning of that traditional Trengganuspeak. The bizarre but funny names were probably a nom de plume but they were there for a very specific purpose I will tell later. Fasten your seat belt please, the story goes like this (as far as I can remember, probably there are other untold versions somewhere in somebody's brainbox outside there).

The three Awangs lived in the period of gnomes, 'bughong ghede' and probably shared the same era as the more famous Pak Pandir and Mak Andeh. They were a happy bunch of happy-go-lucky wanderers and roamed this ancient land without any particular purpose. One fine day, during one of their long journey, they came to a big river. Across the river they saw a lively marketplace with lot people and most importantly plenty of food. Tempted by all those view plus the empty stomach, they wanted to quickly cross the river. But there was no bridge or sort of to be seen. Luckily, they saw a sampan left unattended nearby. Being the clumsiest and a no brainer, Awang jubo tajam straight away jumped into the sampan and sat on its floor. This is where the fun begin.

The moment Awang jubo tajam sat on the floor, praakkkkkk....his sharp ass (this is what actually means by 'jubo tajam' if you haven't know yet :) straight away punched a big hole into it, allowing the water to gush in and almost sank the sampan. But help was never far away. With quick thinking, his buddy Awang tahi mata banyok took some of his 'tahi mata' and managed to cover the hole thus stopping the sampan from sinking. I was told that his 'tahi mata' was more powerful that our current superglue. Then they faced another problem. There was no peddle to maneuver the sampan. To cut the long story short, Awang telinga besor, didn't want to be left out of action then happily just stretch away his big ears (imagine elephant's ears) and the boat sail smoothly across the river. the end.


That is the story I still remember until this day. The story that was told in a dim light of 'lampu peliga gas' or 'pelita ayam', with crickets and other nocturnal being serenading in the background. The last time I saw my beloved Toki was when I took a month break from my 'jihad' in 1997, and he waved solemnly from his balcony when we were going back abroad. I've never had any chance to meet him again after that.

During this Ramadhan, there won't be any 'meriam buluh' from my Toki. There won't be any 'pelita buluh' either from him and there won't be any early morning visit to his house in the first light of Syawal. But I will always remember his story and all the love he showered to me. I penned down this story so that it won't lost and my kid can still hear and giggle upon listening to this 'pusaka'. I pray that my Toki will be placed among the Al-solehin.



SELAMAT MENYAMBUT RAMADHAN ALMUBARAK!



Note: the above photo was the last photo of my Toki with one of my younger brother.

60 comments:

Memorable trails... said...

Salam Doc,
It s good that you can still relate the 'pusaka' to your little pieces so that it can be passed to the next generation.I guess it s just for entertainment sake.
When I first came to the east coast I was quite shock when I heard they used the word "jubo" so comfortably.To me it s a bit vulgar but now I ve gotten use to it.
Selamat menyambut bulan ramadhan yang mulia buat doc sekeluarga.
Raya mana tahun ni?Ganu ke BP?...he..he..he..(belum pun puasa dah ingat nak raya)

CAHAYA said...

Salam. Thanks for sharing. I've never heard this story before. ;) A good one I would say.

Selamat berpuasa DrSam. ;)

Kak Teh said...

Dr Sam, your late Toki sounds so much like my husband telling bedtime stories to our children. He would have his own version of Ali Baba with TJ Hooker as his sidekick. So instead of falling asleep, the children will be wide awake.

Selamat berpuasa.

patungcendana said...

nice one doc...melancholy pulak rasa...

are you ok now?

salam ramadhan to you and your family. :-)

CATZ said...

Salam Dr Sam,
selamat menyambut Ramadhan utk DrSam sekeluarga,
Selamat berpuasa.
moga lebih baik dari tahun-tahun yang lalu.

:)

Adliff said...

Salam,
Dr. Sam,

Very lucky of you to have your Tok Ki around to tell you stories or narrated syair gurindam. I never knew how my Tok Ki look alike, his voice nor his love.

I am in the mercy of my Al-Quran teacher whom let me and my sibling address him and his wife as 'Atok' and 'Uwan'.

I'm looking forward to 'balik kampung' this Saturday, to see my parents and both of my adopted grandparents.

Selamat Berpuasa Dr.Sam dan keluarga.

Abd Razak said...

Salam Dr,

Selamat berpuasa buat Dr dan keluarga, moga Ramadhan kali ni lebih baik dari yang lepas...

DrSam said...

madam gold,
salam madam. There were actually many more stories, syair and gurindam that had depleted from my memory with time. Ah yes... those are for the purpose of entertainment and most of them had never failed to make us to 'gelekek' with laughter.

Salam Ramadahan almubarak untuk madam gold sekeluarga. Tahun ni mengikut takwim tahunan balik BP dulu.

CAHAYA,
Salam CAHAYA. Just reminiscing my childhood time with my Toki.

Selmat berpuasa dan jangan lupa bersahur juga.

Kak Teh,
I am sure Abang AG has more interesting stories to tell your kids. Mat Sprong is one of his imaginative local superheroes of which I am very much excited myself.

Selamat berpuasa Kak Teh.

patung cendana,
Alhamdulillah, I am feeling good now and hoping to have a blissful Ramadhan this year. Thank you for your concern.

Salam Ramadhan almubarak.

CATZ,
Salam. Harapannya ibadah Ramadhan tahun ini merupakan ibadah yang lebih baik dari tahun-tahun lepas untuk semua.

Selamat menyambut Ramadhan almubarak.

aliff muhammad,
Salam en. aliff. Have a safe and nice journey to your kampung. I wish I can go back to my kampung as well during this fasting month.

Selamat berpuasa to you and your family too.

Razak,
Salam Sdr Razak. Harpannya dan doannya pun begitu juga. Sama-sama kita memohon agar dibulan yang mulia itu nanti, kita akan dapat menjalani ibadah dengan lebih sempurna dari tahun sebelumnya.

hazeleyed lady said...

DrSam@'Einstein'...
This story is rather rare o my eyes...but luv em.
I could understand why you love and cherish the memories of you tok Ki
so much...
May Allah bless his soul.

mekyam said...

selamat puasa to you & family, dr sam!

those stories from our tokkis sure do have a lot of mileage. :)

Hafiz Hamid said...

salam ramadhan to u, nice blog..followed u..=)

Sir Pök Déng said...

You have a good memory sir. Weldang! I can feel melancholic atmosphere here. Reading this reminds me of my late To'ki too. He was a good old storyteller back then. Most of his stories have ironies in them.

Rekindling lost forgotten stories -- a daunting task.

Oh BTW DrSam, the last mentioned Awang really geletek me to gelekek. Haha! Now I wonder how it suddenly nudged me in the head to think about Mek Jubo Tonggek, which is a title shared by many.

Selamat Menyambut Bulan Ramadhan, doc!

ckLah @xiiinam said...

Selamat berpuasa dan beramal mulia di bulan barokah ini...

Zendra-Maria said...

Dr Sam, hilarious tale from Tokki hahaha. Wait till you become Tokki yourself, then all you have to do is re-visit your blog and narrate stories of Awang Sam. Nasib baik Zen tidak boleh diawangkan :)

Pn Kartini said...

Salam..
Selamat Berpuasa ..Semoga dilimpahi keberkatanNya..dan diberikan kudrat kekuatan & kesihatan yg baik di Ramadhan yg mulia ini..:)

MariaFaizal said...

Doc,
Happy Ramadhan Al-Mubarak.
Take care & kindest regards to Sis Zayda :)

Granny Hani said...

selamat berpuasa.
nice bed time story u got there.

ASH said...

A funny folktale to be presented to our students...if you happen to 'jengoi kat tadika' one day!

smile..

Moga Ramadhan kali ini lebih baik dari sebelumnya..InsyaAllah!

laki cikgu kimia said...

wow! nice one! memorable..

nahmy said...

to all the Awangs out there, Salam Ramadhan dan selamat mengimarahkannya.

Fadhil said...

Salam Doc,

Thanks for a lovely story. I couldn't manage to stop giggling too when I read Awang Jubo Tajam... hahahaha.

Selamat berpuasa to you and family. My prayers too for your To' Ki.

Anonymous said...

Selamat menyambut Ramadhan al-Mubarak juga

Semoga sama2 kita memperolehi baraqah di bulan yang mulia ini.

selamat berpuasa... :)
hehee... nyorok sekejap..:)

DrSam said...

hazeleyed,
It is kind of hidden treasure and I am sure many more Awangs who share the same period as mine probably has their own version of Ganung's classical stories.

memyam,
Selamat menyambut Ramadhan almubarak to you and your family too. I am sure the celebration on the other side of the world is as much as colorful as in here.

Hafiz Hamid,
Begheh...senyum sokmo. selamat berpuasa.

Sir Pok Deng,
Now that today is the first day of Ramadhan, I have to refrain myself from those Ganuspeak vulgarity. But the tonggek thing did put a big 'sengeh' on my face.

Hope I can stargazing with you at that melancholic Kg. Sura.

Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan almubarak sir.

xiinam,
Selamat menyambut Ramadhan almubarak jua buat cikgu sekeluarga. Besar sungguh pahala cikgu-cikgi dibulan yang mulia ini.

DrSam said...

Zendra,
Ha...ha...now that you've mentioned it - to tell you the truth I am one of the Awangs in my family. In my kampung everybody call me by that name, Awang Mesu :) You won't find me if you ask around other names than that...

Pn. Kartini,
Sama-sama kita berdoa agar dibulan yang barokah ini kita semua mendapat taufiq dan hidayahNYA.

MariaFaizal,
Salam Maria. Wishing you a blissful Ramadhan and full of barokah.

Send my warmest regard to Faizal.

hani,
Those are among the thing that I still cherish to these days.

Selamat berpuasa.

Ashley,
I am sure the student at your tadika will be 'telopong' if they listen to this classical antic.

Moga Ramadhan kali ini lebih mendekatkan kita kepadaNYA. Insyaallah.

laki cikgu kimia,
Thank you. My brainbox has depreciated so much I find it very hard to remember all those stories.

DrSam said...

nahmy,
Wishing the same to you and all the Awang and Mek out there.

oldstock,
Salam. Never failed to make my sons giggling too. Like kak Teh mentioned earlier, instead of putting them to sleep I make them fully awake :) Probably I missed some tricks from my late Toki...

Salam Ramadhan almubarak to you and your family too.

FL,
Salam Ramadhan almubarak sahabat. Lama menyepi tanpa berita. Di Serambi Mekah saya pasti bulan Ramadhan paling meriah.

Encik Ariff said...

cerita yg mnarik.
selaamt berpuasa penuh.
:)

patungcendana said...

tq doc. take care...may you have a blissful ramadhan this year...:-)

Jard The Great said...

hehe.. salam dr sam.. very touching dowhh...... salam bulan ramadhan ye..

DrSam said...

encik ariff,
cerita orang tua dulu-dulu. Selamat menjalani ibadah puasa.

patungcendana,
sam goes to you. Have a great weekend.

Jard The Great,
Salam. Kalau tak gelekek juga tak tahu le :) Selamat menyambut Ramadhan almubarak.

Puan Ninie said...

salam ramadhan dr sam
:)

good story
:P

Mia's Mom said...

Salam DrSam (:-D,

I was born after both of my paternal To'kis passed away. Though I have "surrogate" grandfathers courtesy my my Mum's side of the family who are as loving grandfathers as one wish they should be, I can't recall any stories being told or exchanged between us. Coming to think of it, perhaps my late Dad realised it that he tried to take over the grandfather's function as well - my pusaka stories came mostly from my Dad and my late Pak Lang. Lucky you!!!

anntaj said...

DrSam...
SALAM RAMADHAN...
:)

Temuk said...

Assalamualaikum DrSam
Mohon izin singgah. Paparan pelbagai kisah & visual anda amat menarik sekali. Hikayat 3 Awang memang lucu. Hiba pula mengenangkan pencerita asalnya sudah tiada. Amat terpikat saya dengan foto arwah Tokki (yang pastinya amat menyayangi cucu-cucunya) di persekitaran begitu hijau dan tenang. Pasti pohon durian di belakangnya sudah besar & ada ceritanya tersendiri. Semoga Allah sentiasa mencucuri rahmat ke atas roh Tokki. Selamat menggapai keberkatan Ramadhan.

*SiRibenMerah said...

Salam Ramadhan n selamat berpuasa to Doc Sam, Sis Zayda n family...


p/s: Riben x mungkin turun KL utk penuhi jemputan Dr Sam tuh dlm masa terdekat neh sbb sgt la x sehat dgn keadaan H1N1 neh.. hope ada rezeki Riben turun KL buka posa sama2 u'ols.. huhuhu~

Matt Kopikarat said...

Salam Doc
I am Deen from Golden Sand, Kelantan. Its a good thing that we still remember our ancestor. The photo look great and u have to keep it that your children will see it. Salam perkenalan.

Deen

Leenoh said...

Salam Dr.Sam.
Selamat berpuasa. Berterawih di Masjid Negeri ke ?.

grow2g3th3r said...

Salam DrSam... tiba2... teringat kat my atuk... sedihnyer.... rindunya......

selamat menyambut ramadhan...

DrSam said...

mEIZ SHA,
Salam Ramadhan almubarak. Tetapkan istikamah kita dibulan yang mulia ini.

Mia's mom,
Salam. Perhaps you should share with us your version of 'pusaka' that has been passed down from you late Dad and late Pak Lang.

anntaj,
salam Ramadahan almubarak.

Temuk,
Waalaikumussalam. Arwah Toki memang seorang yang tegas dan garang (amat ditakuti oleh cucu-cucinya). Namun sifat penyayangnya tidak pernah dapat disembunyikan terutama apabila bercerita dan bergurindam. Pokok durian dibelakang itu sekarang sudah tiada lagi, namun sempat juga menjadi tempat gayutan adik-adik saya.

Salam Ramadhan almubarak.

SiRibenMerah,
Salam Ramadhan almubarak. Semoga cepat sembut dan dapat menunaikan ibadah puasa dengan sempurna. Jika ada rezeki boleh Insyaallah.

MY HOMESTAY,
Salam Deen. Ramadhan at Golden sand must be as 'meriah' as ever. Salam ukhuwah jua.

Leenoh.
Salam Pak Ngah. Saya berterawih dan sama-sama memakmurkan masjid dikawasan perumahan aja. Pak Ngah diMasjid negeri ke?

grow2g3th3r,
Salam dla. Kenangan indah bersama atuk selalunya sukar untuk dilupakan.

Salam Ramadhan almubarak untuk dla sekeluarga.

besi said...

selamat menyambut ramadahan

Leenoh said...

Salam Dr.Sam.
Pak Ngah solat di masjid qariah sendiri, nanti sekali sekala mungkin nak rasa juga solat di masjid negeri tu, sekrg belum sampai giliran lagi kot.

atie said...

Selamat menyambut Ramadhan Al-Mubarak buat dr dan keluarga

DrSam said...

besi,
Salam Ramadhan almubarak. Semoga Ramadhan kali ini memberi lebih berkat.

Leenoh,
salam Pak Ngah. Alhamdulillah dapat kita menyambung ibadah dengan elok sekali lagi. Saya pun buat masa ini rasa selesa dengan program Ramadhan di surau kami (Terawih, tazkirah dan tadarrus). Insyaallah jika ada rezeki, boleh sama-sama kita memakmurkan masjid Negeri pula.

atie,
Salam Ramadhan almubarak buat atie sekluarga. Nampaknya persiapan Ramadhan dan Raya kali ni pun O.K juga.

arsaili said...

salam ramadhan bro...semoga ramadhan kali ini membawa seribu erti...selamat menjalani ibadah puasa ...

If i manage to go home then will visit u for eid....ckp kat akak laksa johor plz ahahaha (time puasa nih macam2 food jer lingering in my mind..sigh!)

pB said...

kalau baca dalam daileq teganu lagi besttt

Naddiea said...

Dr Sam,

saya x pernah dgr cerita nitapi bagus juga bila anak2 zaman sekarang tau cerita2 epik macam ni pada zaman skrg.kelakar bile baca especially ejaan yg awang no 3 tu.hihi..

cendawanintim said...

sangat2 nostalgia!

Salam Ramadhan buat abang sefamili..

balqissy said...

salam ramadhan, doc =) btw, heard this story before coz i m terengganurian too ^.^

so, balik raya tak? sila datang ke rumah =)

DrSam said...

arsaili,
Tabahkan hati dan semangat menyambut Ramadhan diperantauan (keseorangan?).

I hope your initial plan to celebrate Eid in Malaysia is in due course. If you happen to come back, you are welcome to visit my house.

pB,
Takut pulok nanti ramai hok dok pahang sutir abok ame cerita tu :)

Naddiea,
Memang tujuan cerita-ceriti sebegini untuk hiburan semata, sambil mengeratkan hubungan kekeluargaan. Sengih sokmo bila teringat cerita ni :)

cendawanintim,
Mung dang jugok ke dengor cerita ning Cuni?

Salam Ramadhan almubarak untuk Cuni sekeluarga. Semoga dibulan yang mulia ini akan memberi cahaya baru didalam hidup Cuni (mung due bulang posa lah dok?)


balqissy,
Salam Ramadhan almubarak. I guess it must be a common story to be shared among the Ganuriang :)

Raya pertama ikut takwim tahunan di BP. Insyaallah, jika ada rezeki buleh buat 'gathering' dan beraya sakang di Ganu.

MiSyaJanah said...

dr sam...
selamat berposa yea...semoga Tuhan sentiasa memberkati hidup dr sekeluarga..diharap posa ni menjadikan hidup dr semakin bermakna..^_^

habibaty said...

salaam...

syukran !
wishing you n family with a blessed ramadhan al-mubaraq..

Unknown said...

salam bulan ramadhan DrSam..
slamat berpose..
jgn lupa bersahur Doc...
dan jgn lupe pegi taraweh jgk..
^^

Syed said...

You're so fortunate for having such a rich childhood. The only Malay 'gurindam' dan 'syair' that I got to listened to masa kecik were from the radio.

Zareda Norman said...

Dr Sam orang Pahang??

kalau betul which part Pahang yer?

zino said...

salam ramadan dari kami dan keluarga

secretname said...

wah..best cita tu DrSam..toki tu pggilan tuk blah2 ganu ye..anyway..slmt bpuasa n take care always..sent my regards to ur family..tq

DrSam said...

MiSya,
Insyaallah. sama-sama kita memohon keberkatanNYA dibulan yang penuh barokah ini.

habibaty,
Salam. Wishing you the same. May Allah blessed us all.

Ejump,
Salam Ramadhan almubarak. Memang patut kita merebut segala peluang yang diberikanNYA dibulan yang Mulia ini.

Selamat berpuasa dan selamat berbuka juga.

Syed,
Tn Syed. Those are the 'pusaka' that I will treasure forever.

Zareda Norman,
saya Ganu asli, peminat keropok lekor dan nasi dagang.

Zino,
Salam Ramadhan almubarak untuk Zino sekeluarga.

secretname,
Biasanya begitulah panggilannya di Terengganu untuk atuk lelaki. Salam ramadhan almubarak.

Faisal Admar said...

doc, all in sudden i feel the sorrowfulness. i don't find the story is funny anymore.

i miss my grandpa too. nonetheless i miss my grandma so much!

we tend to be emotional in ramadhan as we do think a lot about those who already passed away. not to mention, we even think properly before speak which will just give us zero 'pahala' when reach dust.

we should always remember those who already gone and keep the good behavior not only in ramadhan but also in other days.

salam ramadhan doc and may god bless him.

PerantauSepi1306 said...

Your ending Dr, menurunkan hujan di langit tau ;D

Nevertheless, te fond memory do refersh back my own version of nostalgic events in more or less same situation but a different environment

DrSam said...

Faizal Admar,
We missed all the beautiful souls who leaved us behind good memories.

Have a blissful Ramadhan Faisal.

PerantauSepi1306,
Semoga hujan yang turun membawa seribu rahmat.

Let's hope all the fond memories stay close to our heart and trickle down to our next generation.

ReActivate said...

::: kelakar jugak baca cerita ini..
::: esp. nama awang yg agak censor
::: -ed pula [hehe] its good to
::: know that u still remembered it
::: as it was & presevered it with
::: ur own way.. skrg cerita pusaka
::: ur late toki tersimpan dlm blog
::: alam cyber [huhu] cepat tul
::: masa berubah dari lampu minyak
::: tanah/pelita ke elektrik..

::: arwah nenek saya pon sama jugak
::: lah kisahnyer, kelakarnyer bila
::: nak tgk tv kena pi rumah jiran
::: yg agak jauh jugak [hehe] bila
::: org dtg bertandang utk takbir
::: di mlm raya, arwah nenek & ayah
::: tunggu sampai pukul 3 pagi
::: [huhu] punyerla lambat sampai.
::: maybe byk rumah diorg pi..
::: alhamdulillah di KL pon masih
::: mengamalkan takbir rumah ke
::: rumah di mlm raya..

::: alhamdulillah most of my
::: friends have hotel & catering
::: bckgrnd. they know which hotels
::: are serving halal & which are
::: not [huhu].. takper, nanti2
::: mesti bro dpt jemputan utk
::: berbuka di hotel from friends
::: mahupon keluarga.. insya-Allah.

~ selamat berpuasa bro,
~ salam kemerdekaan..

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