Kg. Seberang – the life of a small fishing village

ASSOC. PROF AR.CHIA LIN LIN

 

Kampung Seberang, as the name suggests, is the other side of Kuala Sepetang.  Before the construction of the footbridge, the only mode of transportation would be the “sampan”, where 20cents is all you need to cross the river.  People using the sampan would toss the coin into the boat, and the faithful old man slowly rows the boat over to the other side.  Unaccustomed to the rocking motion, tourists tend to squat and hold the side of the boat tightly while the locals trying very hard not to show their quizzical smiles, stand confidently as the boat moves forward.

 

As the norm to any Chinese settlement, the entrance to the area is always guarded with a teahouse – a place to gather, and to observe any foreigner walking into the territory.  This perhaps is the very beginning of a guarded community.

 

The linear development of such a settlement along the river is very common for fishing villages.  This layout would facilitate the launching and anchorage of boats, where a platform on stilts above the water body becomes the workplace or storage depending on the individual preferences.  There is no uniformity here in its layout or architecture style.  Each house is a reflection of one’s life and their characters.

 

The variety in levelling and the absence of alignment excite the sense of exploration, we would never know what is awaiting us at the next junction, perhaps a small jetty, a little plot of chilies, a pathway to a house setting above the marshland, and one path leads to a Taoism Temple – NanTian Altar.  The unbelievably trusting neighbourhood not only welcomed us with a smile, but allowed our students to pick up their bicycles without second thought.  

 

The small jetty tucked among some abandoned buildings is the boarding plot for those who cross by boat, occasionally there will be clam fisherman emptying their buckets of all kinds into the river.  This particular boat with a couple, painstakingly cleaning the fishing net by hammering away shell or corals tangled with the net, flushing away the debris with water, flapping the net every now and then, and patiently moving another foot of net for cleaning. 

 

He did not greet us, but must have been listening to our chatters, as he started to throw some rare catch from his net to the jetty – a shark, a horseshoe crab and different types of crabs, he smiled when we were screaming and trying to avoid the hit of the flying sea creatures, it is warmth though in absence of words exchanged.