OF BUNGA TELUR AND BALLY SHOES

The story is set in a traditional Malay village in the state of Kelantan. Kelantan is one of the Malay heartlands and is located on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Among the Malays, weddings are usually celebrated on an elaborate scale. Although the story takes place in contemporary times, matchmaking is still practiced. The older folks, usually the women, take the responsibility of choosing a bride / bridegroom for their children. This is often followed by the elders taking full charge of the wedding preparations. Amongst the Malays, the 'bunga telur' is a must. The 'bunga telur' is a hard-boiled egg that is presented in a special case or tied together with decorative flowers to the guests who come for the wedding as a token of appreciation for coming to the wedding ceremony. They also stick and decorate the bunga telur on the pulut kuning and it will be placed on the bridal chamber as a part of the decorations.

This short story is about Jamal, a young Kelantanese man which is the main character in this short story decides to get married. He does not look for the bride himself but leave the task of choosing a bride for him to his mother and sisters. His mother finally finds and chooses a suitable bride for him. The woman that her

mother chose is considers beautiful, well educated, rich and cultured girl. Jamal is satisfied with his mothers choice. He likes her immediately when he sees her. The wedding will be held in three months time. The time is needed for the weddings arrangements and preparations. There are lots of things that need to be done before a wedding. Soon, Jamal gets involved and was busy with the wedding preparations. He needs to prepare for the wedding invitations, catering, bridal chamber and bunga telur. He plans out a budget to meet the cost of the wedding and he discovers that all the expenses will be very high. He faces problems with bunga telur as he finds the cost of preparing and giving out the bunga telur is expensive. Jamal does not

understand the need for bunga telur. His sister explains the importance and the reason why of giving out the bunga telur to the guests. Jamals mother requests for some money to carry out the wedding arrangements from him. Therefore, he works out a more reasonable budget.

However, he still has to raise funds to pay for the expenses. He sells his few things to raise money for his wedding. Jamal also tries to get a bank loan of RM 5000 but rejects it when he finds the loan repayment to be too steep. He is happy to get a small loan of RM1500 from his mother. The wedding preparations are almost done. Everyone compliments Jamal on the wedding rehearsal. Finally, on the eve of

his wedding, Jamal has no good shoes for his wedding. He had sold his Bally shoes to his Cousin Lan to raise funds for the wedding.

Jamal is a young man who struggles to come up with money for his wedding as the day approaches. He is an obedient son as he accepts his mothers choice of a bride for him. He accepts his mothers reprimands gracefully and even his elder sisters sarcasm. Jamal is also a soft-hearted person. Jamal cries when he is not able to take his relatives comments. He does not insist that the other cousin return his money although he needs the money badly. He apologizes to the cow that is to be slaughtered for the wedding. Besides that, he also an honest person. He sells

Cousin Lan the shoes cheaply, although it could have fetched a much higher price. He does not take any wanton advantage of his future bride. Jamal is patient and not fussy. He is capable of making sacrifices when required. He goes through all the wedding preparations, the fitting sessions and lunches with his future bride with many of his relatives looking on. Besides all of his good sides and attitudes, Jamal also has some weakness. He is easily bullied and ordered around by the

womenfolk. He cannot make decisions by himself. Jamal also rather irresponsible and a spendthrift. He does not save even though he only has a small salary. He does not consider the fact that he may not be able to support a wife on his small salary. Jamal is rather foolish, naive, ignorant and simple-minded. He sells his Bally shoes to his cousin Lan for a low price. The actual cost is RM800. He does not think before he acts. The Bally shoes would have been perfect for the wedding! Apart from that, he also does not manage to get back the RM500 loan from his other cousin. Jamals mother is status conscious woman, yet caring and kind towards her son. He ensures that her daughter-in-law is from a rich and cultured family,

educated, fair and pretty. But, she has many good characters too. She is generous. She gives Jamal RM1500 for the wedding, knowing that he may not be able to return

her the money. She is also a patient mother. She is especially patient with her son, Jamal, in explaining the many preparations needed for a wedding. Jamals mother is also dominant and demanding. However,

She insists that Jamal pay for

certain items for the wedding. Although Jamals mother is also fierce like many Kelantanese women, she has a good heart. She only scolds and lectures Jamal because he needs to be more responsible especially when it regards with finances. She is rather unreasonable to demand so much money from him since he has very little savings. She is very pushy and determined that everything will work out according to her plans. She and her daughter excite him with stories of the bridal chamber and then threaten to call off the wedding, leaving poor Jamal teary and frustrated. Jamals sister is rather hot-tempered.

She tells Jamal to call off the

wedding when he suggests that they cut cost on the bunga telur by distributing Hacks sweets instead. She is also a bit traditional when she insists on the bunga telur although it is expensive. She maybe dominant and bossy like most

Kelantanese women, her husband has no say in anything those days.