The love of learning

 1. Umar and Nuraina are very hardworking and diligent. For them school is like a second home. They would never miss school—not for anything. Umar was absent for only one day on account of running a high fever and so Nuraina had to take the day off too. Nuraina had a fever for two consecutive days and her mother told her to skip school against her will, but Umar insisted on going to school.

2. On the third day Nuraina had not fully recovered but she woke up very early for school. Her mother thought that it wasn’t a good idea but Nuraina had made up her mind and that’s that. It was a Friday and she told her mother she would miss the spelling quiz if she were to skip school.

3. Both Umar and Nuraina fared quite well in their lessons. Except for a few careless mistakes, Umar did well in his Malay and English spelling quizzes. He caught up very fast in reading and counting despite the fact that it was his first time in kindergarten. Nuraina made only one mistake in all of her spelling quizzes. She joined the kindergarten with her brother, following his liking for books, writing, drawing and numbers. Thus she gradually acquired those skills as well.

4. My daughter used to share with me pictures and occasionally videos of the siblings that she took before sending them off to school or when they’d reached the premise. They were pictures of happiness and enthusiasm. Their mother gave them guidance and encouragement with their schoolwork at home. So they never left their homework undone.

Pictures of happiness

5. When the spread of COVID-19 began to seriously affect the life of the public at large school was disrupted at times due to the lockdown or MCO sometimes for weeks. When they had to stay away from school for too long they’d complain to their mother that they missed school so much.

6. But they were not made idle albeit staying at home for they were expected to do exercises in their workbooks regularly. The workbooks were then returned to teachers for marking and the routine went on. During the recent CMCO imposed on the state, the siblings followed their lessons conducted by teachers on Facebook. They never missed their lessons and did all their homework after every lesson.

7. My daughter and son-in-law took heart because the school did not call off the year-end celebration albeit without parents’ participation. Both Umar and Nuraina received prizes for their ceaseless effort in their schoolwork and quizzes.

8. They won trophies at the year-end celebration. Umar won a trophy for fast learner, a champion trophy for English quiz and the first runner up trophy for Malay quiz. As expected, Nuraina won the best speller trophy as well as trophies for consolation prizes in English and Malay quizzes.

9. We were very happy for them. They deserved the sweet smell of success for their determination and hard work. I suppose they’ve put their best foot forward and by and by they’d cherish the love of learning.

 

A scary tale

1. As a small boy I was very fond of listening to stories. One of my uncles used to tell local folk tales which I enjoyed very much. At times there were also nonsensical ghost stories and scary tales. One particular tale typically whispered by the womenfolk was absolutely terrifying.

2. It was about an eerie stranger the likes of a grass cutter who carried a sickle and a gunny sack except that he wasn’t looking for any grass to cut. Supposedly he went stalking for solitary kids wandering in vast paddy fields or along deserted lanes. It was rumoured that he would sever a child’s head with his sickle and carry it away in his gunny sack.

3. The rumours surfaced at the time when a new bridge was being built in town and word had it that the severed head would be offered as a sacrifice so as to protect the bridge from falling down. Indeed, it was scary and children were told to play it safe in order to avoid going missing. But as I grew older I thought it was just another cautionary tale.

4. That was around the mid-50s and I had long forgotten about it until recently when I chanced upon an article on the internet about the discovery of a bronze oil lamp buried in the foundations of a Roman building. Archaeologists believe it was deposited as a ‘foundation deposit’ about 1,900 years ago.

5. That was the first time I came across the term ‘foundation deposit.’ According to one definition “Foundation deposits are the archaeological remains of the ritual burial of materials under the foundations of buildings.” (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia)

6. As regards the content of the article, what interests me most is the exemplification of foundation deposits which include material objects such as divine figurines, lamps and coins. For instance, several years back archaeologists discovered a foundation deposit which was a cache of gold and silver divine figurines dated to 3,600 years ago. It was found inside a clay pot buried within the foundations of a building.

7. That said, foundation deposits may not be material objects alone. A discovery made over a century ago revealed that a human being was buried in the foundations probably for the purpose of serving as a guardian spirit.

8. According to the report, in some cultures people would bury their dead under the floor inside their home believing that the spirits of the dead would protect them and the household; hence the suggestion that the practice of home burial in ancient times was antecedent to the ritual burial of materials under the floors of buildings or foundations.

9. One of the authors of the discovery pointed out that it’s rather misleading to think of foundation deposits as artefacts of ancient superstition. He used to work in construction in the early 80s and told of workers throwing money inside when they built the foundations.

10. He said the practice was related to popular belief. Since ancient times foundation deposits was accepted in construction to bring luck or as symbolic protection of the building or even to cast fear and awe on attackers.

11. The practice is considered a common cultural norm in the ancient world. The archaeologists suggest ritual offerings buried during construction were intended to ensure the safety of building and its occupants.

12. Obviously the article reminded me of the scary tale that I’ve mentioned earlier, prompting me to wonder if it was really just another cautionary tale. Was the sacrifice bit actually made up to scare children or had it got something to do with the construction of the bridge?

13. At the time Malaya (or Tanah Melayu) was still under British rule. The key players involved in the construction of the bridge were people from different cultural backgrounds and beliefs. They comprised of British officials and professionals from the immigrant population. That said, there is room for popular belief too even among the cosmopolitans.

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In passing

"You need the shovel? What for?"

Note: See my post “Stories behind my strip cartoons” published on September 12, 2020.