When My Children were small, I used to bring them around the neighbourhood before nightfall.
Most of the time, We end up the roundings at My immediate neighbour's house, a midwife, to exhaust the children, let them run around with others, before they retreat for the night.
Most of the time, an elderly woman, in her 80s I supposed, would join us.
She had a very rough and manly voice, always with 'telekung' or praying garment in hand.
I did not know her well, but she did remind Me...
"Not to be surprised, if after her death, she will turn into loitering and wondering around 'jerangkung' or skeleton."
I did not probe why she said that, she, being a total stranger to Me.
I was 'very blur' too at that time (even now), to all these unfamiliar happenings.
After a few appearances at the midwife's house, she was absent for a very long time.
It aroused My curiosity.
As was told by the midwife's daughter, who taught Me a lot about life, the elderly woman had a fall while in the bathroom.
She was sent to the hospital, where upon x-ray, 44 needles were detected.
Nurses at the hospital had talked to her adopted son, to find the person who inserted the needles into her, to remove the objects from her.
The son knew that his mother had tried in vain for years, to locate the whereabout of the said person.
The last time she heard about him, he had passed away.
She turned to others to remove the 44 'susuk' or charm needles, but all methods were fruitless.
She started to think about GOD.
She then turned to HIM instead.
Never mind her old age.
She was not ashamed to go around, asking people to teach her to pray.
So, the midwife's daughter taught her.
But... there is one thing that dampened the lively spirit.
She could not say ALLAH.
Her tongue stiffened, no matter how hard she had tried.
No wonder the 'telekung', the praying garment, she brought along.
She was never in the midwife's house, whenever I saw her.
She could not enter the house, too hot for her.
The midwife's daughter said so.
There are frames of verses from Al-Qur'an hanging around the house.
She could not even enter her son's house, although she stayed with his family.
So, he built her a small hut, nearby the external bathroom.
Bathing used to be her past-time activities.
She liked water so much, as her body was always feeling the heat...
The elderly woman was sick for quite sometime.
I did not pay her a visit, not too sure, why?
When we were together at the midwife's verandah, she did not say much, except kept staring at Me.
Occasionally, I would throw in a word or two, seeing the difficulties she faced with her tongue, in saying out ALLAH.
But whenever I saw the regret on her face, I often backed out.
I admired her perseverance, though.
But, she said, she liked the fluency in Me just saying the word 'ALLAH'.
That stopped Me altogether.
Not too sure, why?
After a thorough search, the son found one traditional healer.
He just used 'pisang emas', not too sure the English word.
Is it golden banana?
Pisang is banana, and emas is gold.
So, golden banana is the closest translation.
One by one, the small 'pisang emas' was rolled over her body.
The 'susuk' or charm needles stuck to those bananas.
After all the needles were removed from the elderly woman's body, her health deteriorated.
Her condition became more critical.
She passed away few days later, in the small hut built by her son, nearby the external bathroom.
I did not pay a visit to the elderly woman when she was sick for quite sometime.
Not too sure, why?
And I did not see her for the last time, when she passed away.
Not too sure, why too?
But I am very sure that she did not become a loitering and wondering around 'jerangkung' or skeleton.
To her very accepted soul and all those who had passed away, Al-Faatihah...
Most of the time, We end up the roundings at My immediate neighbour's house, a midwife, to exhaust the children, let them run around with others, before they retreat for the night.
Most of the time, an elderly woman, in her 80s I supposed, would join us.
She had a very rough and manly voice, always with 'telekung' or praying garment in hand.
I did not know her well, but she did remind Me...
"Not to be surprised, if after her death, she will turn into loitering and wondering around 'jerangkung' or skeleton."
I did not probe why she said that, she, being a total stranger to Me.
I was 'very blur' too at that time (even now), to all these unfamiliar happenings.
After a few appearances at the midwife's house, she was absent for a very long time.
It aroused My curiosity.
As was told by the midwife's daughter, who taught Me a lot about life, the elderly woman had a fall while in the bathroom.
She was sent to the hospital, where upon x-ray, 44 needles were detected.
Nurses at the hospital had talked to her adopted son, to find the person who inserted the needles into her, to remove the objects from her.
The son knew that his mother had tried in vain for years, to locate the whereabout of the said person.
The last time she heard about him, he had passed away.
She turned to others to remove the 44 'susuk' or charm needles, but all methods were fruitless.
She started to think about GOD.
She then turned to HIM instead.
Never mind her old age.
She was not ashamed to go around, asking people to teach her to pray.
So, the midwife's daughter taught her.
But... there is one thing that dampened the lively spirit.
She could not say ALLAH.
Her tongue stiffened, no matter how hard she had tried.
No wonder the 'telekung', the praying garment, she brought along.
She was never in the midwife's house, whenever I saw her.
She could not enter the house, too hot for her.
The midwife's daughter said so.
There are frames of verses from Al-Qur'an hanging around the house.
She could not even enter her son's house, although she stayed with his family.
So, he built her a small hut, nearby the external bathroom.
Bathing used to be her past-time activities.
She liked water so much, as her body was always feeling the heat...
******
In her younger days, in the 50s and 60s, she used to be a prostitute, serving Englishmen stationed in Sembawang.
Sometime, she brought the men home (or they volunteered to send her home?).
She slept in between the two men, on the queen-sized bed.
The midwife's children, all admitted, used to peep into her room.
They claimed, her husband was a cuckold.
He stayed home most of the time, never stopping his wife spending her nights in Sembawang.
The husband was rarely seen out of his house.
Those were the days when water consumption in Johor needed to be taken from the well.
The wife, the stronger being, used to carry two-pail loads, many times over, balancing them with a wood on her shoulder, for her husband's usage.
Yes, she performed her duties well.
She stocked water at home, washed and cooked for the husband before she went to 'work' in Singapore.
She dressed well, corseted herself under see through beautiful 'kebaya', a traditional blouse-dress from sheer cloth, and expensive 'batik lepas' or seemless batik cloth.
The midwife's children never missed to see her all made-up for 'work', although the husband, they said, never lifted her head, regardless she was around or not.
******
The elderly woman was sick for quite sometime.
I did not pay her a visit, not too sure, why?
When we were together at the midwife's verandah, she did not say much, except kept staring at Me.
Occasionally, I would throw in a word or two, seeing the difficulties she faced with her tongue, in saying out ALLAH.
But whenever I saw the regret on her face, I often backed out.
I admired her perseverance, though.
But, she said, she liked the fluency in Me just saying the word 'ALLAH'.
That stopped Me altogether.
Not too sure, why?
******
After a thorough search, the son found one traditional healer.
He just used 'pisang emas', not too sure the English word.
Is it golden banana?
Pisang is banana, and emas is gold.
So, golden banana is the closest translation.
One by one, the small 'pisang emas' was rolled over her body.
The 'susuk' or charm needles stuck to those bananas.
After all the needles were removed from the elderly woman's body, her health deteriorated.
Her condition became more critical.
She passed away few days later, in the small hut built by her son, nearby the external bathroom.
I did not pay a visit to the elderly woman when she was sick for quite sometime.
Not too sure, why?
And I did not see her for the last time, when she passed away.
Not too sure, why too?
But I am very sure that she did not become a loitering and wondering around 'jerangkung' or skeleton.
To her very accepted soul and all those who had passed away, Al-Faatihah...
5 comments:
Sad..Al-Fatihah.
May Allah Bless her soul.
Semoga dia tak terlalu terseksa..sedih cerita ni.
The one thing I remembered well was when the first time she shed tears of joy when My Children called her "Tok".
Not all parents let their kids be near to her, because of her past.
But who are we to judge others?
I have enjoyed reading your articles. It is well written. It looks like you spend a large amount of time and effort in writing the post. I am appreciating your effort. .
MAN Exhaust
Ummie..where can we find someone who can see and take susuk out from the body
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