nyah gong ba sala

I was having steamed corn on the cob for breakfast this morning and an old story from my childhood came to mind. It was often told by my grandfather whenever my brother and me were arguing over something really silly. The original story is in Hokkien and since I can hardly make sense when typing in Hokkien, I'll relate it in English.

There once was a couple who was arguing without actually listening to each other. Then a man selling 'jagung' and 'buah sala' in a cart came by the street shouting, "Jagung!! Buah Sala!!". However, this couple heard it as "Nyah gong!! Ba Sala!!" and stopped arguing. Infact, they actually reconcile to each other. So what is with that phrase that made them stopped arguing? The wife thought she heard "nyah gong", which means that the lady is stupid in Hokkien. While the husband thought he heard "ba sala", which means that the man is wrong in Hokkien (ba) and Malay (salah). So the "jagung and buah sala" seller actually did a good deed by shouting the phrase out in a way that made this couple heard it wrongly.

By the way, for those who don't know, "jagung" is corn while "buah sala" is a type of Indonesian fruit, which I've actually never seen although according to my mum, they sell lots of them along the North-South highway at the rest stops.

It is still nice to be able to remember stories from childhood, especially those that are told by my grandparents because they can never be found in books or anywhere at all. The best part was that when my grandfather tells the story, he would always open his leg wide so that his "sarong" makes like a swing between his legs and we would take turn swinging on it, like sitting on a swing. I wish that he can still be around to tell us stories like that.

~sweet sadness~