Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Purple Berry & The Sweet Orange Coloured Fruit

We folded the front flap of our big shirts upward and tied both ends into a tight knot at our lower backs. That was how we made kangaroo pouches in which we tossed wild kemunting berries harvested from the shrubs sprawling near our wooden house. We were surrounded by an ocean of tall grass blades—the metropolis of dreadful snakes, trolls, and goblins. The savannah turned golden in the sweltering heat of a Sura Tengoh summer. The creaks of coconut palm leaves far above our heads seemed to play in time with the fervour of the South China Sea wind blowing landward from the nearby beach. We picked kemunting berries and more berries, twig to twig, until our small palms turned purple, our pouches bulged, and we looked like pregnant ladies craving wild sweets.

Kemunting steals some of the blackberry’s features—the shape, the colour. Pinched gently between thumb and index finger, the freshly picked fruit left dark purple stains on my sweaty fingertips, pressed against its dry, dusty skin. Its slightly coarse surface reminded me of the velvet that made up our school theatre’s stage drape.

We felt we had enough berries for the day, ma’am and sir. Let’s go home! Be careful not to step on snakes, alright?

At home, by the main staircase leading to the living room, we would kneel down and untie the knots. With that, a kemunting avalanche was triggered. The berries rolled downhill into a netted bucket stolen from Mother’s kitchen. Then they were washed thoroughly under tap water to remove impurities. Beneath the purple velvet skin hid tiny seeds the size of sesame, coated in sweet purple jelly. That was the part we sucked on through the overcast Dungun evenings.

Buoh ulat bulu was another wild fruit that painted the Dungun sunset lurid on my memory’s canvas. Shaped like a near-perfect pumpkin, its resplendent orange skin stood out among its younger green siblings that sprouted from a network of hairy liana plants climbing toward the sun. It sprawled across our neighbour’s fence like a vineyard. Its waxy surface felt like betel leaf, yet soft like turtle eggshell.

To eat buoh ulat bulu—well, here, take this orange one. Carefully tear open the skin. See these jelly-coated seeds? Yes, just like the kemunting we ate together. Suck them all. Sluurrppp. M’schuh. Aaah. Sweet, isn’t it? You want more? Here, take another. Don’t worry, we still have plenty at Pok Cik Rohing’s fence.

24 comments:

  1. Very graphic la this entry.

    I love buah kemunting. Till this day.

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  2. It's not easy to find kemunting shrubs today at Sura Tengoh due to local urbanization. I too, miss my childhood moments of picking the berries.

    Buoh ulat bulu? Never tasted it before. I thought it was a poisonous fruit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's why I hate newcomers. LOL.

      You never tasted it before? Don't worry, mate. You still can come across buoh ulat bulu easily nowadays.

      Delete
  3. Dear dear Sir Pok Deng,
    This brings back memories of a city girl who was sent back to her kampung to stay with her grandma to learn the Quran. Oh how I enjoyed the novelty of bush kemunting and bush letup.

    Your prose astounds me.

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    Replies
    1. Some people call it "buah letup". But that's so gay like Justin Bieber. "Buoh ulat bulu" sounds more brutal.

      Delete
  4. We didn't have any kemunting at my kampung. But we did have belimbing buluh, some sour miniature apple-like fruits which I think is called cermai, and some gooey sweet-sour seeds incased in a furry skin which I don't know what it's proper name is but we always referred to as "bitbit".

    Kampung life is the best.

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    Replies
    1. Belimbing buluh is belimbing buluh to me. It will never be a cermai. Cermai is another type of fruit altogether. Cermai is like ball-bearings. You can preserve them in vinegar mixed with red pepper powder to make a heavenly jeruk cermai loved by pregnant women, or you can simply use it as a catapult bullet to shoot at stray goats "mbekkk!!" ha yeah take that goats!! Where were we just now?

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    2. I know that belimbing buluh and cermai are different things. Try reread sentence with that perspective. If its still confusing, I announce my failure as a writer.

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  5. Always made trip to Sura Tengah (Kubur Area) to pick big size Kemunting before proceed to mandi laut nearby during schooldays. Alur Tembesu kemunting is sweeter compare to the Sura Tengah,only the size is smaller.

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  6. I was about to comment on fruits mentioned in this entry when I hit that post comment link, then I read all SPD's response towards his readers and I loled so loud that I forgot what I wanted to comment on the first place.

    I guess I'll reread and post a comment next time. haha

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  7. Dear Pok Deng.. oops! sorry, Sir Pok Deng, I must say that you have such a lovely way of describing things. I have never chance upon any of these fruits but I would imagine that the buoh kemunting and buoh ulat bulu are like wildberries, growing profusely along old wooden fences..I should really look around harder the next time I go on jogging up the trek.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pok Deng drinks teh tarik, Sir Pok Deng drinks tea like a Sir. That's the difference.

      Kemunting shrubs grow on sandy land; often found as wild shrubs near the beach or in the fishermen village. You can see clearly its purple flowers for identification.

      Buoh ulat bulu can be found anywhere in Malaysia as long as the places have fences. Buoh ulat bulu plants love fences. Sometimes it lies on the ground. Pick the yellow or orange one, that's the ripe buoh ulat bulu.

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  8. After calling me 'so gay', I think I ought to prove it to you that yes...it could be a possibility. Why don't you come over and grab some poetry here:

    http://poemsbyninotaziz.blogspot.com/2012/02/illusion.html

    And if you are still looking for that French girl, try some french phrases from here:

    http://lapoesieparninotaziz.blogspot.com/2012/02/du-sensualite.html

    She might stare at you and walk away though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Popularity ruins everything. Like Justin Bieber. Girls like Justin Bieber, his looks, not his so unpoetic songs. Haters say he's 'gay'. By saying that, one should not take this remark as offensive. We know Bieber is not gay. This is a part of thousands of internet jokes roaming online.

      In our case, saying "buah letup" is so gay. You have to be a Terengganunese to the core to feel this unique feeling. Imagine Sir Pok Deng making fun of Kay-EL Bahasa Melayu in front of my Terengganu chaps. "Awak, jom pergi makan!"

      One of them would reply, "mende mung bodo cakak KL! Luga perut aku ddengor. Ha! Ha!"

      "Alaaa... awak janganlah macam tu... tak baik tau..." I say.

      "Tok mung! Mung nok gocoh natang?!" he says.

      "Kah! Kah! Kah!" I laugh.

      Now ma'am, try to say, "buoh ulak bulu". Yeah, you rock!

      Hmmmm... I wish I could write a haiku.

      One night
      I felt sleepy
      I sleep

      2.30AM
      Osaka
      Japan


      Regarding the french poem. Thank you google translator. Miahaha!

      Hey you really believe that I'm really looking for a French girl right now? LOL. Pelizz lah.

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