Monday, October 1, 2012

Ulam Raja, tracing the roots.

All of us fall within a particular family tree and if every birth is recorded since the beginning of time we can really understand more how each family interact with another family tree through marriage. I can only trace to  our great grandfather by the name Mat Saman. The elders used to relate stories that Mat Saman was a man of importance in Kedah sultanate. One of his son Mat Isa  moved out of  Kedah  after a feud,  as a teenager with his younger brother and settled in Pantai Remis Perak. We have stopped trying to trace the family roots beyond Mat Saman as we had figured out the reasons of Mat Isa departure southwards. There is no reason to scrutinize old wounds and the best is to come to term with ancestral history and live with it.

On Kakdah side, her family can be traced back to Yemen , and she retains the sharp middle-east features. That's how life goes....

Ulam Raja in our garden, Pasir Gudang Johor. (dated 14.1.2012)


It's about our ulam raja. I remembered taking seeds while visiting Kakdah's elder sister who lived in Tanjong Rambutan, Perak. Those were the seeds later germinated to fill up a section of our Putrajaya garden in the year 2008. Then we moved northwards to Tanah Merah in 2010 and a year later traveled southwards and settled in Pasir Gudang, Johor. It's almost nomadic, each time bringing along the whole family, belongings and seeds. Ulam raja traveled too........

Ulam Raja at different location, our Pasir Gudang garden
(dated 1. 6. 2012)


Over here in Pasir Gudang Johor they are almost to the third generation already. First planted late last year, then the seedlings around the mother plants were moved to different corner and they are flowering now. Three generations in Putrajaya, two generations in Tanah Merah, and already two generations in Pasir Gudang Johor. After seven generations, they still are ulam raja, same look, same smell, same taste, same flower. The genetic code is intact, secretly locked in seeds to the end of time.... at least to the end of our time....





_____ bangchik and kakdah _____
my little vegetable garden





7 comments:

  1. Our families include so much more than just the people in them. They reflect our history, choices, journeys and of course our plants :)

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    1. Rosemary, we are here as a result of happenings, people, choices as mentioned. About plants and gardening, I will offer myself as one freedom fighter...... haha, in case anyone hints that gardening would be forbidden like vice and drugs abuse...

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  2. Salam Bangcik,
    yang Mat Saman datuk nenak bangcik nie sama ngan buat terusan mat saman yang famous tuh kan..dulu ada belajar dalam sejarah...banyak & besar pokok ulam raja tuh boleh dijual kat pasar ..hmm

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    1. Wassalam ..., tentang ulam raja, kami tak pernah jual hanya untuk kegunaan dapur kami, jiran, rakan dan sudara yang bertandang.

      Mengenai Mat Saman, cerita lisan generasi lama keluarga kami adalah berkait watak yang telah UmmAidan sebut. Kami dari cabang keluarga yang perlu berundur keselatan selepas sengketa. Untuk kami terokai lebih jauh, nanti akan ada yang terguris malah menimbulkan rasa curiga. Adalah lebih baik kami menerima seadanya, bergurindam dengan cerita lisan generasi lama tentang asal usul, dan tidak menggugat kesejahteraan kehidupan cabang keluarga yang lain. Wallahualam. God knows best.

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  3. hehe part yg paling best baca dalam tulisan ni..bawa seluruh keluarga, barang dan benih.. hehe bunyi mcm nomad betul tu

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    1. Rasimah..., ustaz selalu cerita tentang Banjir Besar dan Bahtera Nabi Noh.

      Pokok tertentu seperti limau, lengkuas, serai, selalunya kami tinggalkan saja...

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  4. Gorgeous Ulam Raja! I used to plant this half a decade ago back in Malaysia. Ulam raja produces beautiful pink/purple flowers. How I wish someone can send me the seeds of - ulam raja, daun kaduk, kangkung, kailan, sawi here! Until then, I will just stick to planting coriander, parsley, cukes and radishes hihi

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