I spent my weekend recently in Kg Org Asli Sayong Pinang, Kota Tinggi,as I was chosen to conduct a ethnography research, and my focus is on their language, bahasa jakun..it was interesting, very interesting.
i would say it is an awakening experience for me...even though the village itself is already considered modern in terms of facilities (there's water, electricity and a school right inside the village)..the mindset of the majority of its residents is well,is still very much closed. however, i had a goooood time taking pictures of the village and its people!!here are some of my faves:
the clinic where we spend our nights..
En. Harun bin Mansor, the headmaster of Sek.Keb Kg.Sayong Pinang,who has been in the school for 10 years, and speaks Jakun fluently.
En. Kasim bin Ibrahim, one of the teachers of SK Kg Sayong Pinang.Although he was from a neighbouring village, he attented the same school he is teaching now, and is considered one of the few success stories of his people,and among the few Muslims in his village. We mainly got our information about bahasa Jakun from him.
En. Jasni Amat, our guide during our 3-day stay there. Doesn't really looked like an Orang Asli huh?that's because both his parents are of chinese-org asli mix.
the 'Tongkat Kuasa', which is given by the Sultan of Johor to the Tok Batin (the short one). the other 'tongkat' is given by Tun Mahathir. Whoever is elected to be the tok batin will receive these.
the royal seal
a grave that we visited. it is the grave of Jasni's older brother, Mail who passed away 6 months ago. if you noticed, the wood is shaped to look like a boat.
all of his belongings like cellphones,clothes,shoes are buried with him. but there are some items that his family put around his gravesite in order to 'help' him in his afterlife, which is pretty much similar to Chinese beliefs.and yes, that is a cellphone.
his family will also put items to make his 'life' easier, such as toy truck, crane and car. the canned drinks you see are his favourite drinks when he was alive.
and the peanuts too were the deceased favourite snack.
they have two sets of tombstone, this one is for the legs,
and this one is for the head.
more pics coming soon...I gotta get back to my writings!
