Chapter 3: The Pulutan Connection - 1

When Serene suggested I write about my childhood story, one thing that came to mind was to revisit some of the places I once spent some of my childhood periods. This is meant to refresh some of my memories and to update on the places I had been to.

Recently, with the help of my cousin Yee Sze Moi, I was able to revisit the kampong (village) where my mother grew up as a child until her marriage to my father. The place has gone through many changes. Had the trip not been led by my cousin, it was practically impossible to locate the place.

2005 view

2011 view

Coordinates: 6⁰ 00’ 36.78”N, 116⁰ 10’ 17.57”E

Vast expanse of flat land (once used for wet padi planting) to the east of the house. A stream traverses at the west of the house.

Vehicles are now able to be driven right up to the door step. In the past we had to walk an earth track to reach the house.

But once I stepped into the land on 9 January, there were obvious features in the landscape that confirmed I was undoubtedly at the right place. Stepping on the land after a lapse of 32 years evoked many memories and nostalgia. It was hard to imagine that the spot where I parked my car was once stood over by my fiance (now wife) when she proudly carried a basket full of durian plucked from my grandmother's farm. That was the first time she set foot onto Sabah in 1978!

The last time I was there was the end of January 1981 to attend the funeral of my grandmother who died alone in the old house. Before that, her family members, one after another had moved out to pursue their careers or to earn a living elsewhere. She had been asked to join the grandsons but she declined. In the end, she died alone in the land she truly loved! Her remain was discovered a few days after her death when one of her grandsons visited the old house. My mother was very much affected by this incident and I believe this had affected her emotionally for a very very long time.

The land had since been sold to the neighboring land owner. The new landowner has taken great pain to improve the surrounding area. It is now neat and well maintained. A new house is erected on the spot once occupied by the old house. The entrance of the new house has been re-oriented to face the northwest.

The new house verses a typical traditional looking house.

Bamboo was common building material used in the area as there were plenty of bamboo trees around. The old house that I was familiar with was a large bamboo house similar to the one shown in the top right. The main elevated hall however was built on 12-ft high silts. Adjoining the hall was a huge elevated balcony of 12ft x 18ft. The front door faced east.

To build a bamboo house, a lot of bamboo trees have to be first cut down, flattened into strips by hard smashing. Then, the strips are laid out to dry. Once the house main frame is completed using tree trunks, the wall and floor would be laid and nailed with flattened bamboo strips. Other than the main door which is made of timber boards, all windows are also made of bamboo strips. Roof is normally covered with attap. The problem with this type of house is that cold night air and even mosquito moves through the gaps between the bamboo strips causing much discomfort and irritation to the occupants.

For the old house, the main hall was approx. 25ft wide by 50ft long without any partition inside. There was a bed approx. the size of a king size bed at one corner. It was made of timber boards elevated 2 1/2ft above the bamboo floor and laid with mat. This bed was used by my uncle and his wife. My uncle was the only brother of my mother. The rest of the people simply slept on the floor laid with mats. The only privacy one could enjoy was the mosquito netting used to protect the people sleeping inside. The other furnishing I could remember was a small dressing table placed with a mirror for grooming and simple make-up.

When we met up with the cousins, we preferred to sleep together in the open rather than inside the mosquito nets!

The kitchen was a small bamboo hut (8ft x 8ft) similarly covered with attap roof. The bathroom was another small bamboo hut (4ft x 5ft) but without any roof covering. It had a metal tank filled up with water carried from the stream just a short walking distance from the house. As far as I could remember, I had not used the bathroom at all as practically everyone bathed in the stream nearby except the adults.

The dining area was an open area just outside the kitchen. It had a rectangular timber table surrounded by timber stools and benches. Beside dining, the table was also used by my cousins for doing homework in the afternoon after school. However, during heavy rainstorm and strong wind, it would not be possible to use this area.

The space below the main hall was used as storage for firewood, harvested fruits and padi.

A 4ft wide long timber staircase was built linking the dining area to the elevated balcony. There was no handrail along the staircase and the balcony was also not provided with any protective railing. Amazingly, with such lack of security feature, I had not heard of any major accident!

One of the things I enjoyed doing at the old house was to sit with all the kids by the edge of the balcony to enjoy the scenery and observe the many activities that were going on in the padi field which varied at different times of the day and different seasons of the year! The change in shades and colour was truly breathtaking!

The memories live on!