Tuesday, August 12, 2008
EARLY YEARS, MY CHILDHOOD PART 2
Creating my own play
Because of wide age gap among my siblings, playing at home meant I often play alone. I need to find my own interest to filled my time. This required some creativity and I found bird catching exciting. Traps and cages were necessary.
Because of wide age gap among my siblings, playing at home meant I often play alone. I need to find my own interest to filled my time. This required some creativity and I found bird catching exciting. Traps and cages were necessary.
I took my father’s tools like the hammer, wire cutter and saw to construct my crafts. Since he stopped commercial chicken farming, there were plenty of discarded chicken cages. I cannibalized the wood and cut off chicken wire to build my own bird traps and cages. This was the time I learn to use the hammer and nails. My carpentry skill actually was developed during this young age.
Trapping Birds
Birds’ trapping was one of my favourite hobbies that was very thrilling and can be carried out independently. I remembered many Malays bird trappers came to our neighbourhood to trap ‘burong kuku’ or ‘burong keropok’. They used one bird kept in a cage shielded by cloth. Nearby, they will place a small tree branch laced with glue. The bird’s singing in the cage would attract other birds. When the unsuspecting birds landed on the glue branch, their feet will be glued and stuck. This rubber glue is made from mixing burnt solid rubber with liquid rubber latex. I learned this technique from my brother and have produced my own bird glue. This glue was also used to trap other species of birds.
My neighbour also came to our farm to catch wild quails. They used a series of nooses made from nylon fishing lines tied horizontally on a two foot stick and set the trap in the groves of the sweet potatoes creepers. When the quails move through the sweet potatoes leaves, the nooses tightened around their necks and thus were trapped. I observed the trap mechanism and adopted it. I improvised the trap with a simple automated mechanism to set off when the bird step came on the bait. Using this method had its downside, often the preys died of strangulation. So I discontinued this method. I will blog on bird trapping, my specialty and something I wanted to boast in a separate post.
Catching all kind of insects
Other activities included catching spiders and all kind of dragonflies. I picked the techniques from my elder brother. I also went to stream to catch fishes, on my own or with my brothers. We risked our feet being cut by debris while wading in the black and smelly stream water. Here we also harvested earthworms from certain part of the river bed to feed the fish.
I find it very difficult to describe this feeling of sheer exhilaration, thrill and joy of a good catch, be it a big male spider, rare colourful dragonfly, burong (bird) with unique singing voice or a colourful fish. It was the ecstasy of outwitting the instincts of nature. These all the perks of kampong kids.
Admiring a newly born puppy. We don't wear shoes. Me in the centre topless. Left is my sis and squatting is brother Bobby.
Trapping Birds
Birds’ trapping was one of my favourite hobbies that was very thrilling and can be carried out independently. I remembered many Malays bird trappers came to our neighbourhood to trap ‘burong kuku’ or ‘burong keropok’. They used one bird kept in a cage shielded by cloth. Nearby, they will place a small tree branch laced with glue. The bird’s singing in the cage would attract other birds. When the unsuspecting birds landed on the glue branch, their feet will be glued and stuck. This rubber glue is made from mixing burnt solid rubber with liquid rubber latex. I learned this technique from my brother and have produced my own bird glue. This glue was also used to trap other species of birds.
My neighbour also came to our farm to catch wild quails. They used a series of nooses made from nylon fishing lines tied horizontally on a two foot stick and set the trap in the groves of the sweet potatoes creepers. When the quails move through the sweet potatoes leaves, the nooses tightened around their necks and thus were trapped. I observed the trap mechanism and adopted it. I improvised the trap with a simple automated mechanism to set off when the bird step came on the bait. Using this method had its downside, often the preys died of strangulation. So I discontinued this method. I will blog on bird trapping, my specialty and something I wanted to boast in a separate post.
Catching all kind of insects
Other activities included catching spiders and all kind of dragonflies. I picked the techniques from my elder brother. I also went to stream to catch fishes, on my own or with my brothers. We risked our feet being cut by debris while wading in the black and smelly stream water. Here we also harvested earthworms from certain part of the river bed to feed the fish.
I find it very difficult to describe this feeling of sheer exhilaration, thrill and joy of a good catch, be it a big male spider, rare colourful dragonfly, burong (bird) with unique singing voice or a colourful fish. It was the ecstasy of outwitting the instincts of nature. These all the perks of kampong kids.
Admiring a newly born puppy. We don't wear shoes. Me in the centre topless. Left is my sis and squatting is brother Bobby.
No comments:
Post a Comment