12 September 2010

Kitimbok Tinggur Bulawan

Hubby accidently came across this song in youtube today. As I have listened to it a few times on air, I asked him to look for the lyric and the singer for me. The lyric, to someone who had had the chance of knowing a very Dusun grandmother and her cohort, is very beautiful. It revolves around the Dusun's olden day rice-planting culture- about a man who stands on a log, and from a distance sees his sweetheart standing out from the crowd because of the timbok tinggur bulawan (Malay- Cucuk Sanggul "traditional hairpin") that she wears. I guess in the olden days that's how they identified 'the one'. Now I've never actually known what 'tinggur bulawan' means, except that it means a special type of hairpin that once upon a time was precious to a Dusun woman.



When I listened to the song further, I found that not only the lyric praises the beauty of a woman, but it also relates how the sunlight helps the rice to grow well, and the singer's plea for the rice to produce a bounty harvest because rice is his (the people's) source of strength. My grandmother and her friends used to say riddles and traditional poems using the same kind of wordings whenever they were having a mitatabang (helping each other in the farm) session.

Originally I thought the beautiful voice belonged to a lady, but actually it belonged to a boy. As hubby and I read the comments left by viewers of the song, we realized that the singer lost his life to thalassemia last year. May his soul rest in peace. He might no longer be here in this world, but he left a beautiful legacy to the Dusuns. Sakril Sidik, rest in peace.

10 comments:

smallkucing said...

wow so young and he can sing...ooo...you mean he no longer in this world ...what a lost. I guess not many can sing as well as this

Alvin Gatu said...

I saw this video few months ago...and I was amazed by his singing talent. May his soul R.I.P.

Wel^Beiolman said...

yeah..have heard this song (not video) and his name before but never really know the meaning...we lost a very talented singer...

Anonymous said...

yeah,the song is a nice one and I must say,goose pimples suddenly appeared from listening to the voice,so soothing and it brought the meaning of the song out. May god bless his soul.

Verone said...

SK- I just had an additional info that says he was actually 23 y.o when he died...yes, such a loss.
AAG, WB and anon- yes, may his soul RIP...

Sumandak Kinabalu said...

Hi Verone, I am new here...
Me too enjoy this song very much. I must confess that I am not very sure about the meaning of this song but the melody is very beautiful. Make me think about my childhood...

Verone said...

Hi Sumandak Kinabalu- welcome :-) It is a very cultural song. One day I'll translate the lyric in this blog...

Tinggur Bulawan said...

BERCUCUK (di kepala) BENDA BERHARGA (contoh - SANGGUL EMAS)

Naik aku di atas tunggul
Ku nampak gotong-royong
Ku kenali yang itu adik ku
Bercucuk Batang Berharga

Menebas di kawasan bukit
Gotong-royong kita semua
Ku bakar yang ditebas ini
Membersihkan tempat tanaman padi

#
Panasnya sinaran matahari
menimpa padi ku ini
jangan layu wahai padi ku
tiada tempat kami bergantung nanti

Tumbuh dan tumbuhlah kamu wahai padi
tumbuhlah dan berbuahlah kamu
Berisi-isilah kamu wahai buah
Gembiranya hati kami ini


lebih kurang macam gitulah terjemahannya.
mungkin bleh ubah ke sebutan yang lebih sedap, tanpa ubah maknanya?
;-)

Anonymous said...

i really like this song...RIP..

Unknown said...

Lagu ni sangat berinspirasi...