Selasa, 21 Julai 2009

The Sky Doctors

28 Rejab 1430H



I am an old wooden hut on the edge of the polluted river. In me, the old doctor bends over his work-table, focusing his attention to his quasi-flat patient; cutting little details into what locals call a wau. The old man is a rare breed among the languishing craftsmen who produce the traditional kites. Their flying arts decorate the windy evening skies of the paddy harvesting season.

My Dad’s tale of how the name, “wau” came to be:
Foreigners in the peninsular were amazed when they saw the flying kites, exclaiming “Wow!” with fingers pointing to the kite dancing with the wind. The locals thought that “Wow” was its name in the outsiders’ tongue; and nodded with a smile, confidently repeating the name. The foreigners thought that “Wow” was what locals call such an item. Thus an amazing example of miscommunication. The jawi spelling of the sound “wow” and the word “wau” would be the letters wau-alif-wau.

A silhouette of the wau kucing is visible on the vertical stabilizer of a MAS airplane.


Thanx to Sooch for information on the location of the picture.

Rabu, 1 Julai 2009

Guy Ring Finger and the silver ring quest

Dikemaskini: 8 September 2011M / 10 Syawal 1432H, Khamis.

8 Rejab 1430H



“What are the elements in suasa?”, Guy Ring Finger asked the To: Me jewelry saleswoman.

“Silver, gold, some...”, she replied.

Upon hearing the word “gold”, Guy was stunned and masked it with a set of nods.

Guy was on a quest for a special ring to milestone a very special occasion in his life. The bizarre quest required the special ring to be of neither platinum, nor suasa, nor white gold, nor yellow gold. That left the option to point him towards a silver ring.

For Girl Ring Finger, Guy had bought – simple and sweet – a beautiful white gold ring with a sole precious stone. At this point in time, Guy purposely ignored a ring for himself.

Hunting online, Guy discovers a silver collection of rings hosted by Tiff. A trip to the Tiff shop, Guy finds a corrugated silver ring of just the right size snugly hugging him. The silver little hoop was within Girl’s means.

Fast-forward several chapters later, both fingers married and exchanged their rings. They lived blissfully within company of the other.



After a check at DBP's official website, suasa can either be electrum or pinchbeck or something else. Just to be on the safe side, the Malay term is used.

Hukum memakai cincin suasa bagi lelaki Islam adalah HARAM!
Untuk mendapat penerangan lebih lanjut, sila dengar video ini sekitar minit ke-5:26
USTAZ AZHAR - TAKBIR MAT REMPIT [PART 4]