Nang Chong Stories: Frogs and Ikan Sembilan

The Kang Chii (or River Headman) Lau Kah Tii and his brothers all originated from West Mountain Ocean (Seh San Yong) where there were three main houses and another house (which was made up of 50% Laus and 50% Tings) according to my grandmother Lau Lian Tie (who passed away in 1985)

Lau Kah Tii (Headman) and our grand uncle, older brother of my Maternal Grandfather.

My uncle Lau Pang Tung came from the same "house" in this context and hence the relationship is closer amongst the Lau. This is how the Laus of today would recognise their ancestry. Did they come from the same place i.e. West Mountain Ocean and furthermore did they originate from the same "house"? this kind of kinship can be traced back four or five generations with some great effort.

We had a good trip to Batu Niah, for along the way there wa
Foochow kampua is so wholesome and so hearty. Such a comfort food. 

And with today's mobility and globalisation it would not be very possible unless the person is seeking real details via oral history. Tracing of ancestry is not easy without much effort. But in the past a few questions would be able to nail the lineage quite easily. But then there were also fewer people of Foochow descent here in Sarawak and even fewer Laus!!

During the Japanese War, my mother and her siblings were looked after by my maternal grandfather while my maternal grandmother was stranded in China with second uncle Lau Pang Kui (who was studying in Fuzhou).

Life was hard as my grandfather was already very sick and my uncle Pang Ping was the oldest with his own family. He had the task to look after so many "mouths". The kindly uncle, Pang Tung often caught frogs and ikan sembilan for the small children to eat. Food was scarce actually.

It was not easy according to my mother (who was then only a teenager) to catch frogs early in the morning. Foraging for food was dangerous, not only because of snakes and wild animals. If the Japanese soldiers came around to check, the Chinese youths would be slapped and whatever food they had in their hands would be taken away.

Later Uncle Lau Pang Tung moved away to Sibu and became a wharf labourer. He helped my uncles Pang Ping and Pang Sing to get employed as wharf labourers too.