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My maternal great grandparents: Hj Mohd Zainuddin Mohd Senawi & Hjh Pok Rafeah binti Ishak |
My great grandfather was a very friendly man who loves to joke with his grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.He was soft spoken and I never heard him shout at anyone.He lived to a grand age of 106 when he passed away of old age in 1984. He was the oldest retired government pensioner at the time of his death.
My greatgrandfather never rode a bicycle, nor a motor cycle nor take the bus. His two legs took him wherever he wanted to go; to the mosque which was about 3km from his house and to our house which was about 6 km away. I remember every Friday he would be knocking on our door early in the morning after he has visited his father's and brother's graves which were behind our house.
Greatgrandfather liked to tease me when I wore trousers when I visited him. In those days, only boys wore trousers!
When I was a little girl, he must have been over 80 years old. I remember him sweeping the garden of fallen leaves and burning them.Open burning wasn't an issue then.I didn't see him then as an old man because he was very active.
His daily diet consisted of mutton soup with bread. He did not take rice but loved the 'roti jala' (sort of meshed pancake) eaten with curry. I also remember him eating 'maa'jun' (made from spices) to maintain his health.
Greatgrandfather used to shave his head. That was long before the current trend when young men would shave their heads. I remember how he loved to lie on my lap knowing how ticklish I would be.
Hj Mohd Zainuddin had 13 children with his one wife, Pok Rafeah. My grandmother was the eldest. He married her off to his brother's son and they in turn had 11 children, of whom my mother was the eldest.
The day I left to further my studies in the UK he was there to pray for my safety during my journey overseas. He lived to see his great-great granddaughters (piut) -my two elder daughters- before he died.
My great grandmother was a very fair woman while her husband was very dark. Whenever I visited, I used to play with her 'gobek'. The 'gobek' was a tool used to blend the betel nut, tobacco and lime (kapur) before being folded in the betel leaf and chewed. It was normal for old ladies to chew betel leaves in those days. Since my grandmother did not carry on with this tradition, I enjoyed playing with the gobek everytime I visited my greatgrandparents. I only pounded and chewed the betel nut, though, as I did not like to get my teeth all red from chewing the whole concoction.
The day I started school, I went to school from my great grandparents' house and not from my grandmother's house where I lived. I remember my greatgrandma saying, 'you will study hard and be as clever as your granduncle', her youngest child; who went to England and graduated as a lawyer at the age of 21.
Greatgrandma was the one who called the shots when I wanted to get married in 1977. I was the first 'cicit' (greatgrandchild) to do so. The term used was 'melangkah bendul' as I was getting married before my elder sister.It created quite a fuss then. After the 'akad nikah' (solemnization of marriage vows) my great grandma said, ' I am relieved now that you have someone to look after you in the land far away from us all' I was relieved too that she had blessed my marriage.
Greatgrandma passed away in May 1979 before I finished my studies in the summer of 1979. She missed seeing her first great-greatgranddaughter by only a few months.
My only regret was that I was too busy that I did not visit her on the last day before I returned to England to continue my studies after my wedding. When I returned 2 years later, she was gone. Nowadays, I make it a point to try to visit old folks especially those whose health are failing and seek their forgiveness before it was too late.
AlFatihah for my 'Tok Nek Wan and Tok Nek Pok'. May Allah place their souls among the righteous and among those whom He loves.
3 comments:
Mama, who is this grand-uncle of yours that graduated as a lawyer at the age of 21? *curious curious ..
And, when your Tok Nek Wan & Tok Nek Pok were alive, where did they reside? Which side of theirs were from Batu Bara, Sulawesi? (i remember that our family (from your side and from abah) were originated from Batu Bara.
My Tok Nek Wan and Tok Nek Pok lived at Pondok Pok.Tok Nek Pok was Bugis from Batu Bara.Their son whose name I do not want to mention here was a Minister in the 1980's.
wakata!!! heheheh
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