Aki Awang

(Photo curtsy of Hamzah Sulaiman, part taken from his imput in a blog)

I only used to know him as Aki Awang seberang sana (Grandfather Awang across the river), because he used to live just across the broad fast flowing Pahang River, just opposite my grandfather’s house (which is on ‘this’ side of the River), and I grew up in my grandfather’s house as a small boy. And ‘Aki Awang’ was a very good fisherman, he caught big fish from the river and he was also a very good cast net fisherman. And my late uncle used to look up to him, learning from him how to fish and all the other worldly stuff such the ‘magic of life’. And Aki Awang was a knowledgible man, otherwise and spiritual life.

He was also known as Pendekar Awang (Pendekar mean an expert in the Malay art of self defence, the ‘bersilat’). And he opened up many ‘night classes’ in the kampong  where he taught many kampong youths the art, and until today his knowledge may still be practiced by those whom he taught. Why at night? Because that is the time when ‘bersilat’ knowledge was most susceptible to be taught and transferred to those learning (not proven but from what I suspect).

He was also a kampong medicine man. Well, he was, that is all I know. Maybe others from Kampong Lipat Kajang may like to expand on my limited knowledge of Aki Awang ‘medicinal’ prowse.

What did I remember best about him? Old and dignified he was, knowledgible and all that, but he was one of the nicest man that have had I ever met,. He did not speak unkindly or ill to and about anyone, and he always had nice and kind words for and to everyone, even to us small children then.

It was as if yesterday that I remember that I used to bathe in the Pahang River, standing on the wooden board planks of the secured big log platform in the river, that he used to row his dugout canoe boat from down river going home across when he had to pass by us. To warn us that he was coming, he always used to slightly cough and grunt politely, so that we were not caught in any embarrassing situation while bathing. He would then pass us and by about 100 meters up river, would turn his boat 90 degree right to row across the river. He was such a strong man  that the fast flowing river did not push his boat downstream, but instead I observed that he rowed his boat at a perpendicular to the banks and across. When he reached his jetty on the other side, he had to climb the bank of almost 50 to 70 meter high almost perpendicular. Even we as children then when we went across the river to his jetty we used to have vertigo and we panted badly at the top after climbing the steps on that river bank.

The kampong was proud to have such a man within the community. At an old age he went to Mekah for his Haj, and I believe that he died in Mekah.   

Anak2 Kg Lipat Kajang yang ingin memberi maklumat yang lebih terperinci dan tepat sila buat komen.