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.
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.
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