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.
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| Kg. Pulau Bahagia |
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| The Beauty Of Waterfall |
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| My Father's House |
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| A Junction To Kg. Valley |
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| 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.
