Kampung boy

When Kampung Boy was born, his grandmother was the midwife and delivered him into this world. I thought it was interesting the father had to give the grandmother $15 for the delivery fee, even though they are family. On the 45 day after being born, it was tradition for the baby to have a shaving done by the grandmother, while neighbors and relatives gave the baby a bath then sang a traditional song. When young, mothers give their children baths in the kitchen and when they get of age, they bath in the river. I have heard of other countries doing this. Even at a young age of four, Kampung Boy was taking care of his baby sister, Maimuah, while his mom was busy. They seemed like they had a lot of responsibilities at such a young age, a four year old would never take care of an infant in America while the parents are away, it is illegal. Dad worked during the day then played with the children when he got home and before dinner, the children would wait patiently while their parents prayed. This reminds me of back in the day when the mothers would stay home and cook, clean, and take care of the children while the fathers are at work. They rode bicycles around, cars were only for people from other kampungs. At age six. learning became the task of the father. He took his son to a Koran reading class where it was a must for children to start learning Tajwid (the art of reading Arabic withe the correct enunciation). This is about the same age we start school here. Dad handed over the teacher glutenous rice and a fee of $1 and told the teacher that he was allowed to punish his child if needed. Tuan Syed was the name of the formal teacher. At the end of each month, Tuan would get paid for his services; either $1, 50 cents. or a plate of rice or sugar. This was shocking to me since we don't have to pay for our education in public schooling. The first time the boy stepped out of the Kampung was to attend a wedding of a relative of theirs, where they traveled in cars for the first time. It is tradition for bridegrooms to arrive late and only the groom was needed to sign the marriage papers. It cost $22.50 cash down to get married and that was handled right in the middle of the ceremony. After the wedding, the groom and his family would go to another house to rest and meet up later at the bride's place for a big feast, and a ceremony where the bride and groom sit on a platform. At 8:00 p.m. the bride and groom were ushered into their bedroom and left alone. It is frowned upon for people to dance unless they are bachelors. Women who danced were from another kampung and were called caberet girls. At the age of nine, children took classes to teach them how to pray and it is tradition to wash your face, hands, and feet before each prayer. At age 10 it was time to be circumcised. Here, if you are circumcised, it is usually done as an infant. I can't imagine being 10 and having that done. There was a family gathering and after the operation, they laid low for a few weeks. The boy went tin fetching, which was illegal if you were an outsider, and his dad was not happy to say the least. If you passed the examination, you could go to a boarding school. This is interesting, only the smart ones went on to school.