KEDAP youngsters in the 60s indulged in a number of group games as well as ventures in river, stream and pond fishing. I want to share with readers some of our fishing ventures, confined to the ponds.
There were a few, but I will limit it to three episodes of pond fishing known as ‘Ngeruh Ai,’ directly translated as ‘muddying the water. ’ This was a way for the young people then to bond well in the absence of other entertainment and interesting activities.
During a school break circa 1964, when I was aged 10, I joined the ‘Ngeruh Ai’ group at a pond, part of a stream called Nanga Urih, at the site opposite the present Saratok Palm Oil Mill (SAPOM), whose stream is a tributary of the Melupa River in the middle Krian region of Saratok. It was around knee-deep.
Our group was led by my niece Sendai Anggun, then aged around 15. She was mature for her age and led a group of around six young girls, including my cousin Unyan Engkeloi; her sister Sawat Engkeloi, aged 14 and 13 respectively; Pisah Kusau, 9; Luai Saban, 13; and Suri Anggun, aged 9.
The male counterparts beside me included Indit Saban, 13; Rajit Kusau, 14; Sui Kusau,12; Endawie Anggun, 9; Tambum Buda, 8; Jungan Buda, 10; my first cousins Chendang Ampoi, 10 and Sabang Ampoi, 9; and another cousin, Enggu Undau, aged 12. Perhaps there were others that I cannot recall.
At the Nanga Urih pond, we started around 9 am, and after nearly an hour, the water was really muddy and we could see some fish appear on the water surface, gasping for air. That was the main purpose of muddying the water.
There were no tools, such as blades, allowed for safety reasons. We were only equipped with the special woven basket ‘pemansai’ out of fibre. It was big enough to catch the fish and prawns that were surfacing to gasp for air at the muddied water. The pond was so extensive that we took almost an hour to reach the climax of total muddiness.
We caught various types of fish as they were surfacing for air. The most common ones were the ‘keli’ or catfish, whose sizes varied.
Among the ‘black’ fish caught were ‘tuman’, ‘baung’ (a type of catfish) and eel. These were added to the white carps caught, such as ‘tebalang’, ‘bangah’, ‘kerak periuk’ (white and black skin carp) and a few others.
Their sizes were varied, but the smaller ones were thrown back. It took about three hours for the muddy water to return to normal. By noon, we were done with the fish collection.
I recall Sendai and her sister Suri counted the fish, amounting to 1,500 plus in all. These were later shared equally. Such an outing was considered a great success.
About a few months later, during a weekend, we went to a place about a few kilometres from the longhouse called Meri Pond, part of the Meri stream, but which had developed into a big pond about knee deep.
This time, we were not led by Sendai but by a male called Intai Saban, aged around 17. Joining the group were my good self, aged 10; Indit Saban; Rajit Kusau; Sui Kusau; Jungan Buda; Tambum Buda; Enggu Undau, Chendang Ampoi; Sabang Ampoi; Dinggat Meramat, 12; Endawie Anggun. The female counterparts included Unyan Engkeloi, Luai Saban, Pisah Kusau, Sendai Anggun, Suri Anggun, and Sawat Engkeloi.
We started muddying the pond at Meri around two in the afternoon, and after an hour or so, the water was so muddy that some fish were seen jumping to resurface and were caught.
The process of collecting the fish took about three hours, and by five, we were done with the collection.
Most of the caught fish were the ‘keli’ and ‘baung’ catfish, plus some white carp fish, including ‘tebalang’, ‘bangah’ and ‘enseluai’.
Nobody counted the fish, but they were quite substantial, almost the same as those caught at Nanga Urih a few months earlier.
Perhaps the biggest catch landed about a year later when we went to muddy the pond about two kilometres from the school at Nanga Assam, at the lower Assam basin.
The pond was called Assam Pond and was part of a small stream tributary of the Assam River that flows into the Melupa River slightly above the lower bathing site of the Nanga Assam Primary School.
At Assam Pond, visited during the April 1965 school break, our group was joined by a smaller group led by my elder brother, Jon, then aged 17.
The males in the group included Indit Saban, Rajit Kusau, Sui Kusau, Enggu Undau, Endawie Anggun, Dinggat Meramat, Jungan Buda, and Chendang Ampoi. The girls joining the group included Sendai Anggun, Suri Anggun; Unyan Engkeloi, Luai Saban, and Pisah Kusau.
Starting around 9 am at the pond, Jon advised against using blades for safety reasons. “Just use your pemansai only to catch the fish and prawns,” he told our small group.
By an hour and a half later, the small pond was very muddy already, and we could see big catfish ‘ikan keli’ jumping up the water surface, which promised a very good catch.
Yes indeed, there were some big catfish ‘ikan keli’ and another catfish ‘baung’ caught, plus some white carps of various types, such as mentioned above. Also caught were big prawns, probably those that escaped from nearby fish ponds owned by Sanggin.
These king prawns were thought to have escaped from Sanggin’s fish pond during a recent flood.
By noon, our group was already exhausted after collecting a big catch in three hours. We shared the catch equally and went home happily in the afternoon.
I see these three episodes as vital in promoting goodwill, camaraderie, unity and bonding among the Kedap youngsters at that time, which some of us recall with fondness till this very day.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached at tawisalok@yahoo.com.
