A Chinese Boy call Ciput...

During my childhood in the forties a Chinese boy with Pigtail hairdo live in our kampong in Kuantan. To keep it neat he often made it into a Bun. He sells vegetables and fish to the kampong folks. Kampong folks call him Ciput as in Siput the Malay for such hairdo. In those days only woman folks had this kind of hairdo. His face is full of pimples or scars left perhaps by Chicken pox. He looks weird and we kids are frightened of his look. Sangat takut. Mother would say if we are naughty we would be given to Ciput. It does frighten us. As we grow older we began to like him, and he became a part of our growing up life. My brother allows him to live at the shack behind his house until he died of old age. He left whatever money he had to his Clan association. Other than that, he did not leave anything except small items that he use in the house and his working tool the Dacing. 

An item of some value that he left is the Dacing, a traditional Chinese Scale for measuring the weight for good that he sells. My brother handed the Dacing to me for keeping, it is now in my collection of antique. Indeed, a unique piece of history of this boy who left China at a young age and makes his living hawking good to folks in the kampong. 

As years goes on he became a friend of the folks in the kampong.  Indeed, an interesting character that touches our life as a child as well during my youth in Kuantan. The image of Ciput is still as vivid in my mind. 

Have a nice day.