SUNGAI CHOH (16) : Once Upon A Time | Bond Of Friendship

Once Upon A Time

(Bound Love Between Husbands And Wives)

However, it was normal to have other name besides the real name. This was probably the practice of Bengkulu traditions, as a social norm. That's why sometimes you couldn’t find someone by his IC's name. We were actually quite familiar with nicknames. Somehow or rather, we felt closer and more friendly. It's this bond of friendship that kept us together when we were happy and when we were sad, although sometimes we did not know our friends’ real names. Anyway, it was not funny when my friends called me "Acit" as my nickname. Even in my family, we had nicknames. My father called me "Kerdil" not "Hang Kerdil", because I was too small for my age. Maybe lack of vitamin A. However, the nickname "Jandang" was of course appropriate for my elder brother as his body shape was quite big.

Probably  nicknames were more friendly or had more sense of belonging.   Even my father called my late mother Mak Andeh, a short form for Mak Pandir. Of course my father would be called Pak Andeh. Sometimes the husband called his wife related to her physical appearance such as Kembang, short form for Kembang Semangkok. The husband who was thin and tall would be nicknamed Lah or Anjang, meaning  Galah Panjang. However, they had to accept the additional names, especially when so many Mat or Man in the village. For example Man Bun for Man Buntal, Mat Cit  for Mat Buncit or Mat Ding for Mat Cekeding.

Kg. Pulau Bahagia

The Beauty Of Waterfall

My Father's House

A Junction To Kg. Valley

A House Of Kg. Ulu

The girls were even subject to nicknames. My sister Rosnah was nicknamed  Upek and my neighbour Ziah was popular with the nickname Wok. In my class, I only knew my classmates by their nicknames, such as Enol, Uli, Kali, Mus, Imut, Ipot, Itam and Boi. Until  now I haven't known their real names for years. My others close friends are Wai for Anuar, Cat for Arshad, On for Sameon, Atan for Maaruf, Chaak for Ishak, Abot for Misbah and Anang for Yazid. However, today's kids have very fancy names, such as Ela Esabila Eliya, Winna Alya Nabilam, Abriana Pratista, Khairul Diniel Idham, Abbad Nailun Nabhan and Abid Fadhil Abyan.  Oh my God, how to memorise  all those names.  For sure, it will twist grandpas' tongue. Even their nicknames are nice for the ears such as Intan, Anje, Putera, Baby, Boboy, Honey, Princess, Cristal, Pearl; you name it.