Sarawak Javanese

Excerpted from wikipedia

Mak and Bapak are Sarawak Javanese

The present generation are descended from the original ethnic Javanese people, the majority from the province of Central Java, who arrived in Sarawak as "kuli kontrak", indentured servants who were brought in by the Dutch via Batavia (modern-day Jakarta) during the late 1800s to the 1940s and transferred to a British company to work in the rubber plantations. After the end of their contracts, some of them had decided to settle down and work on land no longer producing rubber. Over the years, these labourers were prosperous and were later given the right of ownership to several hectares of land.

An estimated 50,000 Javanese people are found all over the state, establishing their own villages, with the majority concentrated in Kuching and its surrounding areas. Some of the younger generation still carry traditional Javanese names and are identified as ethnic Javanese in their birth certificates. They are proud of their heritage; the current population still speak the language of their parents and retaining their age-old traditions and practices of their forefathers.
 
The friendly Javanese are traditionally Muslims, so they have a strong affinity with the Malays, with many of them intermarrying and living within Malay-majority areas and also other communities. They use Sarawak Malay or English as a common lingua franca to communicate with the other ethnic groups.

Spot on!

But I think Mak and Bapak's forefathers were not kuli kontrak though, they willingfully made the voyage to seek greener pastures. 

Lovely people of Kg Sg Bandung

Wed 6 Aug - Tue 12 Aug 2014
Kuching and its surroundings

It's been a long time since I have been in Kuching - a good 2 decades! I can't remember much of the city, so it's hard to tell the difference. More on Kuching on a different post.

This time I'm travelling further to a unique Java village at Kampung Sungai Bandung, near Serian. And I'm here not really as a visitor, but embracing it as a second home. Mak and Bapak have been lovely and very welcoming. Mak will not even allow me to help her at the kitchen. The kiddos have been very nice to me too, especially Alia. I find it amusing an 11 year old girl likes to chat with me. She even scribbled I love U Bik (means aunty in Javanese) Aida on my Partner In Crime's Sister's car.

Of course, Partner In Crime can't be more accommodating to help me blend in with the family. Most of the time they speak Javanese, but I think I can pick up some words here and there. It will take some time for me to grasp the language and remember everyone's name, but I'll manage, soon. 

look closely

Us with kiddos. Alia front, right

 

Kampung Sungai Bandung

Mak and Bapak's house is on top of a hill. A bit of climb from the village masjid Darul Arqam through a narrow road where only 1 vehicle could pass through at a time. There are some fruit orchards around Bapak's house (but located on Mak's land)- durian, jackfruit, mangosteen and rambutan.

up the hill

is the house

the orchard

Masjid Darul Arqam

the village road

welcome to Kg Sg Bandung

Sungai Bandung

The nearest town (well, you could hardly call it a town, more like cowboy town ) where you can buy basic dry groceries is Pekan Baki Lama. It has been there since before Partner In Crime was born, evident from the wooden building design, it has the feel of the good old 60s

Pekan Baki Lama

There is also a pig farm near the village, owned by a Chinese family which have been there since as long as Partner In Crime can remember.

Pig farm

Serian

The nearest proper town is Serian, which gets its name from Durian. You will be welcomed by a huge  Durian statue once you enter the town.  You can get poultry, vegetables and a wider range of groceries. One can also buy poultry, seafood and other wet food from the independently run various cold storages (they call it as such, here)

otw to Serian

Serian durian

Gotong Royong spirit

I love how the gotong royong (cooperation between neighbours to prepare for an occasion) is still strong in the village. Everyone comes in full force, starting from early morning on the day before the occasion, each with their roles - the men setting up the tents, tables and chairs; women doing the cooking - peeling onions, potatoes, pineapples; preparing the chicken, and cooking yummy dishes (I absolutely love the tempe goreng or fried soy paste).

setting up the tents

collecting the pineapples

cooking the pineapples

cooking materials

preparing chicken

peeling onion

For the doa selamat kenduri (prayer recital), on the evening before the wedding feast, the dishes prepared are nasi ambeng (rice mixed with bihun or vermicelli, chicken and vegetables prepared in a big tray and is shared between the guests).

preparing the rice

rice

bihun (vermicelli )

chicken and pineapple dish

fried vegetable

yummy tempe goreng (fried soy paste)

ready to share nasi ambeng

After the doa selamat, we have a simple menepung tawar (blessing ceremony) at the dais by Mak and Bapak and other close relatives. It is fun having the perfumed pandan leaves and talcum powder being applied on our foreheads. It is a beautiful experience for me as I feel acceptance into the lovely family.

doa selamat (prayer recital)

blessing

Bapak

Mak

The Yogya Connection

Ah, I found this short essay written by my mom on my father's heritage.
Read on...

My "Royal" Connection

This is the story of 3 princesses namely Hjh Fatimah, Hjh Peng and Hjh Induk. They lived at Istana Pati (which is now the largest roundabout in Jogjakarta), on the island of Java, Indonesia. Sometime in the 1880s, after performing their Haj, the princesses together with their husbands sailed to Tanah Melayu and landed at Stulang, Johor. There, they built houses using kayu jati, Indonesian marble and ceramics which they brought along from Indonesia. They also developed the area and called it Kampung Stulang. Interestingly, one of the houses is still standing strong in Kg Stulang Darat till today. There is also a Surau Hjh Fatimah at Kg Stulang Darat.

Hjh Fatimah and her husband had a daughter named Rogayah. She married Abd Hamid from the village and they were blessed with 6 sons and a daughter. Their daughter, Rahmah, married Abd Samad and they had 5 children namely Maznah, Abd Majid, Mohd Agil, Mohd Zaid and Abd Jamil. The youngest child, Abd Jamil, died in 1980 due to illness and Hjh Rahmah passed away in 1989.

Mohd Agil, the great grandson of Hjh Fatimah, married Noraini and they have 2 children - Ajib (that's my bro - Razib) and Aida. Erm then my mom wrote a statement perasan ehehe (malu LOL!)- Or maybe we should call them Putra Agung Sriwijaya Ajib and Putri Shinta Alengka Aida.

Contributed by Noraini
26/12/2007

Nomming @ Abdullah Chan

Another post on nomming :D

This time it's at Abdullah Chan chinese muslim restaurant, Dataran Glomac, Kelana Jaya (behind Giant - near to Aladdin's)
Went there at the recommendation of Nick - thanks Nick! (but the one he went to was in Tmn Melawati)

We ordered these :

Clockwise from left: part of sing kong taufu, marmite chicken, butter prawn & baby kailan oyster sauce

Shark's fin soup


Sing kong taufu


Stim Siakap Asam

Note: I was so hungry, I just quickly snapped the pics & chowed down!
So pls bear with the bad angle of the piccas :-p

Verdict:
Sing Kong taufu Muhibah > Abdullah Chan
It was a bit diluted
Shark's fin (imitation only, not the real one ya), Butter Prawn & Stim Siakap Asam was nom nom!
I'd definitely reckon the Stim Siakap Asam - excellente!

All only costs RM123 (for 4 persons), which is quite a deal! Would definitely come again :)

Our dish

p/s: Otw to Abdullah Chan, we saw Dong Yi Shun nearby! Hurrah the restaurant is still around! We went to the outlet at The Strand Kota D'sara July last year, but it was already gone without any notice! So glad we found it back. It serves authentic Chinese food (from mainland China). And it's halal :)

Mission Tracing Tajol Aros family house: Success

Ahhh I am very pleased to report that our mission to track the Tajol Aros clan family house in Tg Malim & Slim River circa 1954-1955 was a success!

Our Tok, Tajol Aros Ahmad was the Deputy Assistant District Officer (DADO) of Tg Malim, Perak in 1954. The house that our clan lived in was still intact, although no one is lving here anymore. The front lawn grass was trimmed. However the same can't be said about the back area which looked like a breeding ground for snakes *eeeeeeek*

Deputy assistant district officer (DADO) house, Tg Malim, 1954

Unfortunately also, the house was locked (but fortunately not the gate, so we could go in the compound) so we couldn't see the house condition inside.

An interesting fact about the house is, one of my aunties - Wan Chik - was born here in this house in the year 1954! My mom was 6 years old at the time. (There are 8 siblings)

Wan Chik was born here in 1954

Next destination was Slim River, about half an hour's drive from Tg Malim. My late granfather was promoted to Assistant District Officer (ADO) in 1955 and was hence transferred to Slim River. We were so happy to find the house not only intact and in good condition, but also, a family is staying here.

Our convoy of a 12-seater Toyota Hi-Ace was initially welcomed with suspicion (dari mana la pulak datangnya rombong Cik Kiah ni? ) , but our tok ketua - Pak Yope - the eldest of the clan quickly reassured the tenant Pn Anisah that we were actually nice people trying to trace our family houses that the clan used to stay in the old days. The latest tenant actually just moved in about a month ago and were still unpacking and re-arranging things.

Assistant district officer (ADO) , Slim River, 1955 (erm , imagine it was 1955)

The house is quite narrow, but long, with 3 rooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a store and as a norm for government's DO houses - has a huge compound! Interestingly also, another aunt - Wan Chu was born here, in the house, in the back room in 1955, the following year after moving in from Tg Malim.

The corridor



Still retaining its original grille and mounted wardrobe


Wan Chu was born in this room!

Pak Yope relayed a funny story that happened to him at this house - One day, he and his immediate younger brother Uncle Bob (the 2nd of the 8 siblings) were playing around the house and accidentally broke a netting at the window in the living room. They were around 9 and 8 years old respectively.

Being the mischievous albeit cunning ones, they knew they had to turn the tables around, or they will be in trouble if Tok knew what really happened. So as crafty as they were, they dragged little Pak Lope (around 5 years old) and asked him to throw something to the window to make it look as if the little one was the culprit. But Tok wasn't easily deceived, so the 2 were punished anyway - by locking them in the store room lol! Pak Yope wasn't satisfied with this so he suggested that the 2 of them should run away from home. But Uncle Bob didn't know where to go, so they abandoned the idea.

We then visited the District Officer's house just next door, but unfortunately it was locked, and no one was living there. It looked in good condition with quite modern looking additions of a (now dry) fish pond and lamp posts.

DO house entrance gate: Slim River

Modern looking lamp post + quite new paint: DO house Slim River

We then left our 'ancestral' homes for lunch at the sumptuously delicious, it's almost ridiculous Kedai Makan Andre. The specialty is Ayam goreng kampung with super yummy bawang goreng. On top of that, we also ordered gulai ikan patin ( I think so, not sure, but it was a freshwater fish), gulai ketam (I didn't try, I don't know how to eat crab meat still in their shell :-p), sambal petai udang, ikan masin goreng, ulam-ulam and daging empal. It's ridiculous because I cannot stop eating! It's authentic Malay kampung cooking at its best.

Open at 1pm ok

Simple facade of the kedai makan. I dunno how to find the shop again w/o assstance :-/

Ayam goreng kampung yg gurih & lezat

L-R: Gulai ikan patin (maybe), ikan masin goreng, ulam2, udang sambal petai, daging empal, gulai ketam, ayam goreng kampung w/ bawang goreng sedap

This was truly a trip down memory lane for us. I can't help but be happy to get the opportunity to relieve the memories and treasure the historical grounds (at least for our clan) and journey that my late grandparents undertook during their living years.