Balik Kampong but not to tanam jagung

Its more of cleaning up your families graves at the um... somewhere in Lamunin..Ukong somewhere ..heheh sorry.. I didnt really pay attention to the road signs. I know.. Lame!

And so we, the Luin Sisters and others proceed on our journey back to a place we have long not gone back to visit ( well, me lah. My sis goes there like once a month basis ehehehe)

Family Members headcount and Items Checklist :

1. Husband - Checked

2. Kids and strapped securely in car -Checked

3. Amah - Checked

4. Lots of snacks and milk for babies in car - Checked

5. Spare of clean clothes - Checked

6. Dvds for kids entertainment - Checked.

Right.

And so we reach my kampong at Bukit Udal where the very people I call family awaits for me. Kampong cooked food - Chicken Curry + Belacan Long Beans + Lemiding + Nasi Kebun waiting for me to enjoy for lunch.

Wasting no time as the usual tradition is to visit the family graves best in the morning, I think its because its cooler and fresher to clean up graves at this time. I think lah. Mana jua ku tau adat2 dusun ani.. I think any villager would tell you that it would be crazy to work in the mid afternoons anyway! ;p

Btw. The kids were looked after by my female cousins and the spouses. The ladies had to cook. But not me and my sis. We're the only ones my late father had. So no excuses for us!

The cuzzy and the hubby. On the front seats as we start our journey to the graveyard.

Family car. As usual, we drove our galant.

We are here. Cars has been here wee in the morning.. (assuming lah)

Sis, cuzzy & hubby. There are also a few cuzzies at the back. Malas ku kan ambil gambar diorang. Did you know my Mama Kampong (my nanny) told her sons this out loud?
" Kalau orang tanya mana bini kamu - bagitahu di rumah memasak"

Well... not really.. some couldnt make it due to work commitments. Knowing the "very-persistant-orang-tua-cannot-accept-excuses" she taught her sons well the power of shutting these people up.

*Am not rude. This is true*

My family's grave is located up the hill.


and we're here! On hubby's left is my late grandad's and next to it its my late father's!

Other family members ( cousin i think 10-20x - cakap melayu bah ;p)


See that chinese tombstone? Its new. The last time we were here last year, it wasnt there. Oh btw, incase you're wondering both my late father and grandad were Free Thinkers.
I think what you have here is a traditional Dusun Tombstone. Hut and all.

And why is it next to a chinese tombstone ( after seeing designated graves for each different religion in other places ) ?

I too have no idea...

I guess some things are better left not asked.



Late Grandad's - You must be wondering what is all that stuff?

As far as I can understand, when someone passes away, its a custom to have their belongings be it their fav bag, clothes, shoes etc be put on top of their grave. I cant share with you on any other reasons bcause I really dont know any other reasons and it would be rude to just share false information or any other reasons.

Nevertheless, I'l be digging more on my dusun culture to why things are done in that way.


Ahem..ahem.. I did my part too..


usai..usai balik... kana suruh kali ah

See that shelltox? Masih dapat pakai. Even use to spray around a couple of times.

My late father's tombstone.

Its been 13 years since his passing and I still miss him dearly.

Clean and tidied up! *proud!*

This part is abit annoying. I cant stand the rubbish! Forgotten to put garbage bags in the list too! Oh we also forgotten to bring parang as well... *geram!*

but we did a good cleaning up anyway. I love my hubby and my sis for their support. Especially my hubby. He never questions anything about my culture. All I get from him is his endless love and support.

*Love you sayang!*

Question - At what age did my grandad died at?

Clean eh? I'm so proud of ourselves. Great Teamwork!

Pics of the other families cleaning up graves. And the cool part is, each of everyone buried here are all related. Related as in brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, 1st cousin etc related!

Everything was done at 11.00 and we went back to my cousin's house. Had a good cold shower, fabulous lunch, mingle with the family. I was so happy and proud that we did what we needed to do. I didnt really took anymore pics after this as we were all too tired.

Abang was..

Oh btw, if anyone reading this knows a bit more on the dusun culture, do share with me ya? Drop me a line anytime. I would appreciate it.

Another adventure..another time..

Bee-Outch.