Dear friends,
Happy Mothers Day to all of you and all of the wonderful mothers all around the world. Without the sacrifices, the unforgettable 9 months and many more years that follows, through joy and sorrow, your selfless contribution is a big reason why we managed to gain our current altitude in life.
Back to the story, the story now is about Dennis and Valarie, where their love blooms around 7 years ago. They met through the Catholic Student Society (CSS) GIFT (Growing In Faith Together) of UTM Skudai. God done their magic, and thus the two has fallen in love with one another, and the rest is history. Dennis, hailing from Kpg Bayur, Padawan, or should I call, Braang Boy, is around 800km from Valerie, whose hometown is Miri. However, God’s miracle can work in many ways, and the distance does not stop the two from forming a serious relationship that leads to 11 May, their happy day.
The celebration of engagement begins with the arrival of guests, as far as Kuching, particularly Dennis’ side, with some from Limbang. Since both families are both Catholics, the ceremony is done in accordance to the Catholic’s way of engagement, which was lead by Cathecist Janet from St Dominic Taman Tunku. The intro song is one of the most recognisable of all, which is commonly known as “Hari Ini” (Today) by Sarawak Christian community, or originally titled as “Kasih Yang Mempersatukan” (The Uniting Love), written by Kretarto Hendro Wibow & Niken Woro Wulandari from Indonesia. The lyrics with its literal translation are as follows:
Hari ini ku rasa bahagia (Today I am feeling happy)
Berkumpul bersama saudara seiman
(gathering with brothers & sisters of the same faith)
Tuhan Yesus mempersatukan kita (Jesus’s Love has united us)
Tanpa memandang di antara kita (without looking into us)
Bergandingan tangan dalam kasih (holding hands in love)
Dalam satu hati (in one heart)
Berjalan dalam terang kasih Tuhan (walking in the light of His Love)
Kau sahabatku, kau saudara ku (You’re my friend, you’re my brother)
Tiada yang dapat memisahkan kita (nothing will separate us)
After the words of advise from Catechist Janet, it was followed by the ring-blessing and the passing of the ring into one another before the event take its pause to give opportunity for everyone to have their dinner and a bit of entertainment by yours truly before proceeding into the next session – which is the advise session by the elders from both sides. Then there was a cake cutting ceremony as well as the non-stop music, intermixed with Poco-Poco and ngajat performances.
The blend of the audiences is a mix of mainly Bidayuh, Kayan and Melanau (from Valerie’s side), but that doesn’t stop Sarawakians from being Sarawakian, where there is a free flow of beer, open-mic session and open dance floor, where you are most welcomed to dance. Even the sudden haze from Kuala Baram road also can’t stop us from having fun in the evening.
Once again, congratulations to Dennis and Valerie for the engagement. Always remember this: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” – (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
Your Tukang Rantek,
Claudius Weson
© Claudius Weson Photography (2019). All rights reserved.
Bonus: 3D Taruh Dari
Started as an ordinary bidayuh boys who love music, these ‘taruh dari’ (three boys in Bidayuh language) then formed a band, known as ‘3D’ (short form of ‘taruh dari’, also taken from their nicknames initial, Del, Dennis & Dio). Initially they cover Muse songs. But then, inspired by the Bidayuh headhunter spirit, they came out with their first song, Headhunters of Hornbill Land. This was followed by ‘Dayung Salau’ (beloved girl in Bidayuh, ), ‘Buran’ (Moon in bidayuh, reference to a lost lover), I Don’t Care (hate version) (a song about frustration) and a song to our Creator, In Lord I Trust. After a break for about four months, 3D is ready to rock and unleashing their fury as what they always did during any gig or battle that they have participated in. Currently, they have recorded a new version of their beloved songs, including Dayung Salau, Buran, I Don’t Care and In Lord I Trust. Yakinlah Oh Sayangku is their latest song ever recorded and it was planned to make it’s debut during MJCC Film Festival (MJFF). YOS is a song about a promise of a boy to his girlfriend. During the MJFF Award Night, some technical problems occur, where the bass drum lacks of grip, thus kept on moving on its own. The last performance was during Hornbill Night 2012, where there were no performances after that.
One thing that I learned from running a band is that first and foremost, you have to love the music, you have to really love what you are doing. The music has to come from the heart. Most of the time in our performances, we improvise. There are no similar performances. We fall in love in performing to entertain ourselves, as part of our self-expression. Then, regardless of the crowd’s reception to our music, it doesn’t matter because we love what we are doing. That is the fuel that we need.
Even if now we are no longer active, but who knows, in the future, 3D will be revived, or make our next performance. In the meantime, I’ll express myself using my Leica. 😉