Na,na,na,na Terengganu Kite!

Looks like my blog is turning more into a 'Hari ini dalam sejarah'... the actual reason for this is that I don't have internet connection at home, not even a dial-up connection... Am looking to rectify that once I free some resources that I can allocate to subscribe to streamyx..hopefully in June.

Anyways, the past weekend, actually the weekend before that, we were in Terengganu to have the 'Aqiqah' for Ilhan. This is a symbolic ritual that is performed through the sacrifice of animals - cows, goats, sheep and other livestock. So, we as we performed the slaughtering of the two fine male goats (though the actual slaugthering was done by Ayah Teh), I actually picked up a few new words to add to my vocabulary of Bahasa Terengganu and some terms you would use throughout the entire slaughtering process. See if you know them as well:

Pam: Literally means 'Pump'. I never knew that this was how you skin a goat. You tie one leg to a tree (as in picture), slit the skin on one of the front feet, and place the valve under the skin, and start pumping. This is to get the goat bloated enough so that the 'skinning' can be made a lot easier. Now I know.

Layu Api: This actually takes skill. It is done by rolling up some old newspapers and making into a torch like thingie. You then sorta like wave it over the skinned goat. This is done to remove any hairs left over from the skinning process.

Katang: To chop off. This is done once the internal parts (stomach, liver, etc.) has been removed. It would mean to cut the goat into smaller parts to be passed over to the other group that would then cut them into even smaller pieces.

Gi Turut: Is to invite. Didn't understand this until I heard it 3-4 times, then finally got it. My young brother in law of 5 actually had some fun of his own when he 'gi turut'ed the neighbours to come again to our house in the evening, saying that it was my mother-in-law invited them to come again for the 'cukur jambul' session. And they came! A case of the little boy crying wolf.

Anyway, in the little over two years that I have been married, I must say that I am picking up the language steadily. I would like to say I am fluent, but I think I'll give a little longer before we can say that..