Shadow Play (29 page)
Authors: Barbara Ismail
Pak Cik
: Uncle, a polite form of address to an older man
Panggung
: Stage: usually a raised hut closed on three sides with a sheet stretched across the front for the shadows to play upon
Pantun
: A Malay quatrain
Parang
: Machete (Malay)
Pasar
: Market
Pasar Besar
: Main Market
Petai
: Jungle Beans, foul-smelling beans in long pods
Sarong:
A tube of cloth reaching from waist to ankle: usually in batik patterns for women and plaids for men. The cloth is tied on the side for women and folded over the center for men, and is worn ubiquitously in Kelantan and other traditional areas of Malaysia.
Sayang
: Sweetheart
Selamat Datang
: Welcome: literally Good Arrival
Selamat Pagi
: Good Morning
Seri Muka
: An amulet used to make the wearer beautiful. Literally: shining face
Serunai
: A flute like instrument in the Wayang Siam orchestra. Its sound has more âwail' than a flute
Sireh
: Betel nut
Sunat
: Circumcision
Surau
: House of Study, smaller than a mosque
Tahi Itik
: A kind of sweet cake native to Kelantan. The name means âduck shit'
Talak
: A pronouncement of divorce. Three
talak
make a divorce final, and require another marriage before the two parties can remarry. One or two talak (they are cumulative) don't prohibit the parties from remarrying, and may be revoked.
Tapak sireh
: Betel quid
Teh beng
: Iced Tea, usually served with a great deal of sugar and condensed milk.
Tikar
: Sleeping mat, used on the floor, usually of woven palm
Tuan
: Sir
Ulu
: Literally, upriver. Also used to mean the boondocks, the jungle, Hicksville. Kuala Krai is in the area Ulu Kelantan, upriver for the Kelantan river, and the state's backwoods.
Wayang Siam
: The Kelantan shadow play, performed with incised leather puppets, which throw shadows on a screen.
Malay Idioms and Proverbs
Air yang tenang, jangan disangka tiada buaya
Just because the water is calm, don't think there aren't any crocodiles: still waters run deep
Alangkah leher minta disembeleh
To stretch forth one's neck and ask it to be cut: to go unresisting into a bad situation
Anak baik, menantu molek
A good child and a pretty daughter (or son) in law: everything one could wish for in a family
Angin bertiup
The wind blows: hearing gossip from an unnamed source
Ayam puteh terbang siang
A white chicken flying in daylight: something obvious and easily understood
Bawa perut kerumah orang
Bring your stomach to someone's house: to cadge a meal
Biar anak mati, jangan adat mati
Let your children die before tradition dies
Budak makan pisang
A banana eating child, a naïf, neophyte
Chuka diminum pagi hari
Vinegar drunk early in the morning: a description of the bitterness in being one of several wives
Dia tak berlaga angin
Cannot breathe the same the same air: two people who detest each other.
Enggang lalu, rantai patah
The hornbill passes, the branch is broken: circumstantial evidence.
Gajah sama gajah berjuang, pelandok mati di-tengah-tengah
When elephants fight each other, the mouse deer between them get killed: it's dangerous for an average person to be between two powerful people fighting
Guru kencing berdiri, anak murid kencing berlari
If the teacher pees standing, the students will pee running
Hangat, hangat tahi ayam
Hot like chicken shit is hot, and cools off very quickly. Said of arguments that flare up and are soon forgotten
Ikut hati, mati; ikut rasa, binasa
Follow your heart and die, follow your feelings and be destroyed: living your life by doing only what you want is disastrous.
Kerbau cucuk hidung
Like a water buffalo with his nose pierced (and led around by a rope tied to it). Someone under the power of someone else.
Kita semua mati, tapi kubur masing-masing
We all die, but each in his own grave: each person has his own destiny
Kusai basai bagai kera kena belacan
Squirming like a monkey with belacan (a pungent shrimp paste) on his paws: uncomfortable
Lain padang, lain belalang
Other fields, other grasshoppers: to each his own
Lebai berjanggut, kambing pun berjanggut juga
The Lebai has a beard, but so does a goat: people are more than they seem
Makan berkuah ayer mata
Eat your food flavoured with tears: to be deeply sorrowful
Masam muka macam andam tak suka
As sour faced as an unwilling bride: sulky and sullen
Memakai kulit harimau
He wears a tiger's pelt: to talk big with no substance
Nasi dah jadi bubur
Rice has already become porridge: no sense crying over spilt milk
Pacat jatoh kelumpur
A leech falling back to the mud: returning to some place you are comfortable.
Pelandok lupakan jerat, jerat tak lupakan pelandok
The mouse deer forgets the snare, but the snare does not forget the mouse deer: the law will eventually find the guilty party
Rambut dua macam
Hair of two kinds: grey and black: pepper and salt hair, middle age
Rambut sama hitam, hati lain-lain
Our hair is all black, but each heart is different: one can never know the heart of another
Salin tak tumpah
Not a drop spilled (in pouring from a jug); the spit and image of someone
Seperti ular berbelit-belit
Like a snake rising over its coils: utterly furious
Siku bersimpai
Elbows tied together: lazy
Sireh naik, junjung patah
As the vine grows, the stake breaks: someone (usually a young man) who has died before his time
Sudah terantok, baru mengadah
To look up only after you've bumped your head: locking the barn door after the horse is gone
Suruh dia pergi, panggil dia mari
Order him and he goes, call him and he comes: someone easily ordered around, with no thought of his own
Acknowledgements
Hassan and Dollah Baju Hijau are based upon real dalang in Kelantan, quite famous and active from the 60s to fairly recently. The characters presented in this novel bear little resemblance to the real Hamzah and Dollah Baju Merah, who were extremely professional, generous with their time and knowledge, and very polite and kind. Neither would have considered any of the nefarious deeds ascribed to their characters in this book, and these fictional characters should be considered just that.
I did my anthropological field work in Kelantan in 1977-81, studying Wayang Siam, the Malay shadow play (puppet theater). At the time, I worked closely with Hamzah and Dollah Baju Merah, as well as other dalang and musicians, and I thank them all for their consideration towards me. Wan Hamidah Wan Nawang and Abdul Malek Jusoh invited me into their homes and treated me like family: I will always be grateful to them and their many relatives in Sungei Pinang. Ashikin Mohd. Ali, and her younger brother, Yi, were the best neighbors anyone could have.
About The Author
Barbara Ismail spent several years in Kelantan in the 1970s and '80s, living in Kampong Dusun and Pengkalan Cepa, studying Wayang Siam and the Kelantanese dialect. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from Yale University, and is originally from Brooklyn, New York.
Shadow Play
is the first in Barbara Ismail's series of “Kain Songket Mysteries” based in Kelantan.
More by Barbara Ismail
Join Maryam's crime-solving adventures in Kelantan's
“Kain Songket Mysteries”.
Shadow Play
Princess Play
Songbird
Moon Kite
Western Chanting
Little Axe
Princess Play
Book #2 in the “Kain Songket Mysteries” series
Maryam once again finds crime close to home: someone is killing the women of Kota Bharu's Central Market.
Police Chief Osman has made little progress understanding Kelantanese, and seems at a loss where to begin his investigation. Although Maryam is loathe to examine any further crime, when she discovers one of the victims herself she must act. Murder is compounded by spirit possession: a Main Puteri ceremony is performed to find the killer and heal a quiet village that has been plunged into chaos.
About Monsoon Books
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Copyright
First published in print in 2012 by Monsoon Books
This electronic edition first published in 2012 by Monsoon Books
ISBN (paperback): 978-981-4358-68-2
ISBN (ebook): 978-981-4358-69-9
Copyright@Barbara Ismail, 2012
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce, or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
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