A Walk Down Memory Lane - Takdok Api
The house had a blackout last night. Lucky for me though, since I was out visiting Mak Ngah. By the time I got home, Jiji was outside pushing Nanum on the stroller to put her to sleep. Fat chance! She was as hyper as a bumble bee, sleep being the last thing on her list. Inside, the house was filled with candles and battery-operated spotlights. The little one had a blast blowing the candles when the lights came back at half past eleven!
It reminded me of 'takdok api' (no lights) nights we had back home when we were little. Mama would lit the candles only for the living room and kitchen, since all of us will camp there. If the blackout happens before 8 o'clock, we would have a candlelight dinner *even if it is only nasi butter kicap and ikan celup tepung!* After dinner, we would all proceed to the living room for the hand-puppet show. Abang and I would try to outdo each other with the best hand puppets. Since yours truly only knows how to do a bird, a monster and a dog, he usually won hands down. T was normally our main audience, although Mama and Aboh did join sometimes.
At times, the blackout would last for hours. Bored of our hand puppets and telling ghost stories, we would go out to play at the yard. It was always cooler outside. Although not for long, as we would soon start playing tol patung or tol duduk. In these tol games, one will chase others until they are tired. Once the 'chaser' caught up with them, the person being touched must either freeze like a patung (statue or mannequin) or duduk cokoh (sit or squad down). They have to stay this way until one of the other 'chasees' touch you back to unfreeze you. Either that, or when all have been frozen, the first one to be frozen will turn to become the next chaser. The more people playing, the merrier. There are other rules to this game, but maybe in some other posts. Tol nusut (hide and seek) however, is a no no at night for the fear of being hid by ghosts and ghauls or other makhluk halus lurking about.
Usually the electricity would be back by the time we got tired of tols too. But the few times it didn't, we would all sleep in the living room. After a looong bath to stay cool throughout the night, and of course - a ridsect spray handy to get rid of the mosquitoes.
It reminded me of 'takdok api' (no lights) nights we had back home when we were little. Mama would lit the candles only for the living room and kitchen, since all of us will camp there. If the blackout happens before 8 o'clock, we would have a candlelight dinner *even if it is only nasi butter kicap and ikan celup tepung!* After dinner, we would all proceed to the living room for the hand-puppet show. Abang and I would try to outdo each other with the best hand puppets. Since yours truly only knows how to do a bird, a monster and a dog, he usually won hands down. T was normally our main audience, although Mama and Aboh did join sometimes.
At times, the blackout would last for hours. Bored of our hand puppets and telling ghost stories, we would go out to play at the yard. It was always cooler outside. Although not for long, as we would soon start playing tol patung or tol duduk. In these tol games, one will chase others until they are tired. Once the 'chaser' caught up with them, the person being touched must either freeze like a patung (statue or mannequin) or duduk cokoh (sit or squad down). They have to stay this way until one of the other 'chasees' touch you back to unfreeze you. Either that, or when all have been frozen, the first one to be frozen will turn to become the next chaser. The more people playing, the merrier. There are other rules to this game, but maybe in some other posts. Tol nusut (hide and seek) however, is a no no at night for the fear of being hid by ghosts and ghauls or other makhluk halus lurking about.
Usually the electricity would be back by the time we got tired of tols too. But the few times it didn't, we would all sleep in the living room. After a looong bath to stay cool throughout the night, and of course - a ridsect spray handy to get rid of the mosquitoes.
posted by lion3ss | 5:58 PM
3 Comments:
Main tol is fun. More fun when it is outdoor.
Nice post.
Cool..TOL NUSUT! hehee....
what's up with the 'Tols'. I've been here in Terengganu for 8 years...used to have one but now no more. We shud abolish the game as well..or change the name to 'gertak'(jambatan) or something. But I guess that how you manage to live in KL without any complaint since you are so used to the tols since childhood. -bro-
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