Dos and Don'ts

One thing that I have to admit, asians are rich in cultures and tradition. Being a Malay, living in Malaysia I was brought up knowing the 'pantang' i.e: taboo that we should do and not do. Chinese have this sorts of pantang too and its not that much of different from Malays as I talked to my studio pals during our neverending field trip all over the country. Logically some of it makes sense and some doesn't. Its more of a mix up between being superstitious and just telling the kids not to do because its impolite. Though these are those pantang that I will always remember and of course the reason behind it - through my observation and making it more believable why people in the old time say it:-

1. Don't sit on a pillow or you're going to get a huge bisul/pimple on your butt cheek : I actually believed this pantang when I was a kid that when one day my brother had this bisul on his butt cheek and was having a heck of a time doing simple everyday work, all I said was, "See, told you not to sit on the pillow". In the Malay culture, we were brought up being very sensitive about anything that has to do with our head. Its where everything is, our brain, our thoughts, our mind. Don't you ever dare to push the head of a Malay or you're in for a fight. Pillow is used for sleeping and of course, for our head. It is improper to put the butt i.e: sit on the pillow which is used for the head. Thats my logic, and of course my mak's when I asked about it as I grew older - make that grew to be 12 year old.
2. Don't sing when you're cooking or you'll be getting a very old man for your husband (applies for single women of course): This one is kind of illogical that it never fail to make me smile. One of the reason probably because girls back then tend to get really distracted if they sing while they cook that would lead to the result of burnt rice, overcooked dishes and definitely not so tasty food. Anyway I have a radio in the kitchen and I found it really hard not to sing along to the songs. When my mom starts singing to old songs I would always kid her about ths pantang and all she said, "I don't care, I already got myself a husband," and we would laugh about it. My abah is 10 years older than her. Age is not a factor, hehehehe. My baby's 2 years older than me, not bad *wink.
3. Don't get out of the house during dusk or the 'Hantu Kopet' will snatch you away: Hantu kopet is actually one of the malay ghosts - the tit ghost that is believed to kidnap the kids away and hide it in its... erm... breast. I have been hearing ghost stories throughout my life, though I don't believe in ghost but I do believe in invisible beings and the fact that we're sharing the world with them. As my boss said, Buddhist believe this too and as long as we don't interfere their world, they won't interfere us. Its going to be lenghty if we discuss more about this beings. My brother and I would always try to get back home from our daily games before dusk, afraid that we would be abducted by the so called hantu. Logical side, dusk is when everyone is coming home and its time for family dinners and activities. Of course fathers and mothers would want to be home and see their kids at about that time. That sums it up.
4. Don't peep or you will get a bisul/pimple on your eyelid: Don't have to think that hard for this one. Peeping is highly improper and illegal - you can be sued for that. That line causes me trouble quite a number of time as I kept on having huge pimple on my eyelid in primary school and it was torturing. Kids start kidding on me having peeping someone bathing and doing private stuff. I don't peep mind you. Then again, when I was in my second year degree course I took aspirin before a 3 hours public speaking class because of the bad toothache I got due to the growing wisdom tooth. I didn't know that I'm actually allergic to aspirin as I always took paracetamol instead of that. At the end of the class, my eye was swelling so bad that my friends was totally surprised. It was normal few hours ago and then I look like a have a tennis ball imbedded to my eyelid. Again they start making jokes that maybe I peeped at someone in the bathroom before class started. Beautiful.
5. Don't change your seat while you're eating or you will get more than 1 spouse: Hurrah for males who wants to be a polygamist and nightmare for all female - joking. Its improper to keep on bringing your plate here and there while you're eating and not forgetting - messy. Hmm... that reminds me of buffet tables and social functions where people mingle with their plate, hehehe.

There are more I know but these are the main pantang that I would always remember. Old people have this saying - they ate salt much more earlier than younger kids. Its a way of saying that they have faced a lot before and more experienced. As I say before we are rich with traditions which maybe the future generations are not aware of. Maybe some say its backdated and so 'ulu' to hang on to it and that is one of the cause that makes these tradition to go to extinction. Some may not be applicable but with the ones that are, hang on to it. We don't know what we got until its gone. I'm just an ordinary village girl and I am proud of where I come from. Our legendary hero Hang Tuah once said - Tak Melayu Hilang Dunia - Malay won't be lost from the face of the earth. Amin.