A Walk Down Memory Lane - Malam Tujuh Likur
Before you know it, next week is already hari raya. The slightly sad news is that this is my first raya with Buster's family - in KL. *sob* That and the fact that Wan will also be in KL..hence non of the aunts/uncles/cousins are going back to good ol' KT. The good news is we got the super-saver tickets to go home on the second day of raya *lion3ss doing a small victory dance*.
I remember the week before raya back home years ago. Family coming back one car after another to celebrate it with Wan. The house would feel so festive, and lively. Mercuns (firecrackers?) and bunga api (sparkler) were in abundance then. On the first Malam Tujuh Likur, we would light the fence with pelita seposeng se, which can be bought in a bundle of ten at Pasor Chabang Tiga. That's where we usually get our supplies of mrecung kattok (frog), mrecung tebuang (bumblebees), mrecung ayang (chickens), mrecung bunga (lotus) and of course, the ever famous King Cat bunga api. The more advanced one were usually supplied by the cousins, all the way from the west coast. As the house used to have a chainlink fence, we had pelita on almost every inch of it! I can even remember the smell of the gasoline soaked sumbu being lighted.
After terawikh was the time when all us kids will line up in front of the supervising adult (usually Aboh or Pok Ngoh) to get our ration of bunga api. We used to write our names on air and try to come up with the nicest creations. Some of the boys would plant the used sparkler on the ground, much to the dismay of the aunties in sarong. Yup, many of them ended up with sarongs with holes.
When the time came for the mercuns, the elder cousins would have the honours to light them up. I hated the mrecung tebuang as it lived up to its name. It would fly a la bumble bees and if you are not careful, it could end up in your hair. *Thank goodness non of us had Alleycats hair!* The finale was usually those stick-like cannon balls fireworks or what we used to call mrecung batang.I don't know what it is actually called though. It is like a cannon and once lighted, there would be around 10, 12 or 18 fireworks. Plant them or stick them into any visible holes in the ground and light them up. The fireworks are not as fantastic as the ones you see on Guy Fawkes Day or KLCC's Merdeka Concert but to me then, it was the most amazing thing.
I remembered it was during this time of the year that T got his nickname. Being allowed to play bunga api for the first time, one can imagine his excitement. In order for him to get the next sparkler, he had to rid the used ones first. Worried that everyone will finish them, he put a used one near the box, not realising that the sparkler still had some err...well..sparks on it. Needless to say what happened next. We had all the mrecungs going off at the same time while us kids ran like headless chickens to avoid those tebuangs and kattoks! At that time, *I think he was four or five* he blamed some ghosts did that. Pok Chik, who saw the whole ordeal called him Hantu Kecik (Small Ghost). Until now, T claims that he was innocent and it wasn't him who put the sparkler in there. *Yeah, right T!*
Now, we have Hantu Kecik Jr 1 and 2 playing sparkler on Malam Tujuh Likur in honour of their uncle. Maybe us veterans AND the legendary, original Hantu Kecik will join them one of these nights, just for old time's sakes.
I remember the week before raya back home years ago. Family coming back one car after another to celebrate it with Wan. The house would feel so festive, and lively. Mercuns (firecrackers?) and bunga api (sparkler) were in abundance then. On the first Malam Tujuh Likur, we would light the fence with pelita seposeng se, which can be bought in a bundle of ten at Pasor Chabang Tiga. That's where we usually get our supplies of mrecung kattok (frog), mrecung tebuang (bumblebees), mrecung ayang (chickens), mrecung bunga (lotus) and of course, the ever famous King Cat bunga api. The more advanced one were usually supplied by the cousins, all the way from the west coast. As the house used to have a chainlink fence, we had pelita on almost every inch of it! I can even remember the smell of the gasoline soaked sumbu being lighted.
After terawikh was the time when all us kids will line up in front of the supervising adult (usually Aboh or Pok Ngoh) to get our ration of bunga api. We used to write our names on air and try to come up with the nicest creations. Some of the boys would plant the used sparkler on the ground, much to the dismay of the aunties in sarong. Yup, many of them ended up with sarongs with holes.
When the time came for the mercuns, the elder cousins would have the honours to light them up. I hated the mrecung tebuang as it lived up to its name. It would fly a la bumble bees and if you are not careful, it could end up in your hair. *Thank goodness non of us had Alleycats hair!* The finale was usually those stick-like cannon balls fireworks or what we used to call mrecung batang.I don't know what it is actually called though. It is like a cannon and once lighted, there would be around 10, 12 or 18 fireworks. Plant them or stick them into any visible holes in the ground and light them up. The fireworks are not as fantastic as the ones you see on Guy Fawkes Day or KLCC's Merdeka Concert but to me then, it was the most amazing thing.
I remembered it was during this time of the year that T got his nickname. Being allowed to play bunga api for the first time, one can imagine his excitement. In order for him to get the next sparkler, he had to rid the used ones first. Worried that everyone will finish them, he put a used one near the box, not realising that the sparkler still had some err...well..sparks on it. Needless to say what happened next. We had all the mrecungs going off at the same time while us kids ran like headless chickens to avoid those tebuangs and kattoks! At that time, *I think he was four or five* he blamed some ghosts did that. Pok Chik, who saw the whole ordeal called him Hantu Kecik (Small Ghost). Until now, T claims that he was innocent and it wasn't him who put the sparkler in there. *Yeah, right T!*
Now, we have Hantu Kecik Jr 1 and 2 playing sparkler on Malam Tujuh Likur in honour of their uncle. Maybe us veterans AND the legendary, original Hantu Kecik will join them one of these nights, just for old time's sakes.
posted by lion3ss | 3:16 PM
3 Comments:
Aaaaah Malam 7 Likur. It has been so long that I forgot whether it is 3 days before raya or 7 days before raya. Hmmm....
Anyway, Selamat Berhari Raya!
ENJOYSSSSsssss main mercun!! BE SAFE! ;o)
ENJOYSSSSsssss main mercun!! BE SAFE! ;o)
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