A TALE OF PA’ KADOK ( J.H. LOCH ).

Sungai Perak.

Catatan lama ini ditulis oleh J.H LOCH 

A Tale of Pa’ Kadok

(Received November 1950)

Ayam Denak (Ayam Sabung).

Below is a summary of a Perak River tale which I heard while  I was in Parit, It concerns Pa’ Kadok, a native of Siak in Deli, who is supposed to have lived at Lambor on the Perak River in the time of Sultan Muzaffar Shah I. One day, as is related in the Cerita Jenaka, he lost all his money, possessions and family. To a Perak Raja at a cock fight. His plight was so serious that he was forced to return to his kampong without even his clothes.

Tuai Padi.

          Soon afterwards, while he was lying in his house in deepest melancholy, his cat made repeated attempts to attract his attention to something out side. Eventually he got up and went to see what it was that was exciting the animal. Dry on the mud at the edge of the river Pa’ Kadok saw a large Ikan Tapah with a very distended stomach. He picked the fish up and took it back to his home. Where he started to open it, but having no possessions and therefore no knife, was unable to cut it flesh. So he lifted up his head to pray to Allah for help. As he did so a glint of light in the roof of the house cought his eye. He climbed up to look at it and found that it came from a tuai (the small knife used for cutting the ears of padi),which must have been put there  for safe keeping after the previous harvest. He took down the knife and with it opened the stomach of the fish. Inside he found a number of lumps of gold. Overjoyed at his discovery which would certainly retrieve his fortunes, he hurred off to the mosque to give his thank to God. While washing before his prayers his finger was pricked by a needle lying in the water. He picked it up and took back with him to his house. There he sewed up the stomach of the fish, which still alive, and then put the creature back into the river, swearing that neither he nor his descendent would ever eat Ikan Tapah.

 Ikan Tapah.

          Pa’ Kadok was afraid if Sultan Muzaffar Shah came to hear at his discovery he would confiscate the gold. So he returned to Deli, to be out of the Sultan’s way. While there he had the gold made up into ornaments, and brought them back to Lambor with him when he later returned. Having arrived back in Lambor Pa’ Kadok sold some of the ornaments and with the proceeds retrieved his wife, children and property from the Raja to whom he had pledged them after loosing the cock fight.

          Some of the jewelry is still in the possession of Pa’ Kadok descendents, one of whom lives at Lambor. This man owns an agok, a necklace with large square ornaments, and also a changai merah, an artificial finger-nail used in marriage ceremonies. The former is rather heavy and solid, but the latter is a must delicate piece of work. It is in two parts, a ring with a bird chain, a long claw which comes out over the end of the finger. Both ornaments appear to be made of solid gold.

Emas Kancing - Ikan Tapah.

          To this day the people of Lambor will not eat Ikan Tapah, a large cat-fish averaging 20 to 30 katties, commonly found in the Perak River. They say that if they do so they came out ia a painful rash which can be cured only by bathing the effected parts in water which the ornaments have been immersed.

          Some time after I had heard this story at Parit I was transferred to Kampar. There, at Malim Nawar, I was shown an earthenware dish which was said to have been recovered from the stomach of the same fish and to have remedial properties similar to those of the gold kept at Lambor

 J.H. LOCH .

Journal of The Malayan Branch of The Royal Asiatic Society Volume 24-Page 180

February 1951.

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