Guests from Bawean Island

In 1960s and 1970s, several relatives of my parents from the Bawean Island came to visit Singapore. They were mostly fishermen, farmers, carpenters and craftsmen. They used to bring jars of 'Kemed', dried salted fish, peanuts, rice, crackers, wooden stools and straw mats as gifts. Some of these items were for sale too and were bought by the Pondok residents.
 

Mamang Biden (My mother's paternal cousin)


Tok Matnor (My mother's maternal uncle) and wife

The guests from Bawean were welcomed with opened arms by my family. My parents spend generously and tried to make their stay a memorable one. They left Singapore with lots of gifts and souvenirs such as clothing, household items, and toys for their children. They were given some money too. My parents made great efforts to have close ties with the relatives in Bawean.

 

Traditional Food

Straw Mat

While generally, the women from Bawean that I met were very skillful in making straw mats or any other products made from straw, the men were good at hand works. Like my mothers' cousins and uncles whom I met in the early 1970s, they were extremely good with carpentry work. I saw them helping my granddad who loves doing carpentry during his spare time, making wooden stools and tables. I also remember that some of the men from Bawean brought several of their craft works to sell them to the Baweanese living in Singapore. Among the popular items was the wooden cutting board used in the kitchen. It was always in demand.
 

My grandfather's carpentry work - a wooden stool which I still keep and treasured

Wooden cutting-board used in the kitchen

Generally, the visitors from the Bawean like to bring souvenirs for their close relatives in Singapore. My father's cousins who visited my family in the late 1970s brought a small packet of rice and peanuts which they had grown themselves. These items were cultivated in a plot of land in Bawean which my father used to own. He inherited the land from his father and told his cousins to manage it. They turned the land into padi fields and a small area for growing peanuts for their own consumptions. So when they visited my family they brought with them the products of the land as a gesture of gratitude. They said that my dad and his family should taste the rice cultivated from his land in Bawean. Later on, a few years before my father passed away, he gave the land to them. Personally, I think it was a wise decision. I believe today, they are still living on that land and I hope to meet them some day in the future. Insha'Allah.