The Fishing Tales

“Tepuq, apa nama ikan ini yang saya baru meluil?” (Tepuq, what is the name of the fish that I just caught?)
“Mana tahu, kamu yang pergi ke sekolah ya. Saya mana ada.” (How would I know? You were the one who went to school. Not me.)

And then a smile breaks out on her face. There's a pause for a while as I wrestle a fish off the hook into a pail. 

" Tepuk, kami memang pergi ke sekolah,tetapi apa kita belajar di sana?Kami tidak tahu mencari makanan sendiri, memancing, memasak, menanam.  Tetapi tengok tepu, macam satu dengan sekeliling. Saya ingat dari segi itu, tepu lebih baik lah.” (Indeed I went to school. But look at what I have learned. I can't look for food on my own, can't fish, cook or plant. But look at you, Tepuq. It is as if you are one with your surrounding. From my point of view, Tepuq, you are better off than me.)

And we sat on our stool, holding our self-crafted fishing rods and stared ahead at the spectacular view of the many hills surrounding us, lost in our thoughts.

Going fishing or 'meluil' in Kelabit, with my tepuq (Tepuq Uloh), I must say was one of my most memorable days in Bario. When each day started I would happily ask my tepuq, “Jadi hari ini kita pergi meluil ke tepuq? (Are we fishing today, tepuq?)” , and she would answer, “Taklah, masih ada ikan. Tak mahu lah kita meluil hingga habis semua ikan!(No. We don't want to fish until there aren't any fishes left!)" "Esok lah. (Perhaps tomorrow.)” But somehow tomorrow never came, and I realised that this was probably because this hobby of mine was sadly sabotaging her supply of fish. However, that didn’t stop me from bugging her about it. What are “cucu's” for anyway! 

I am a person who loves getting down and dirty and fishing was just that. We started with cangkul-ing (digging) the ground, by the edges of the paddy field. We each had a lump of mud in front of us which we dug our hands into, searching for some juicy earthworms to use as bait. Then, tepuq Uloh showed me her secret hiding place where she kept her only self-crafted fishing rod. We got a stool and then sat by her pond. She then showed me how I should push the hook through the earthworms body so it would be easier for the fish to get hooked on.

At first, I looked away because I could almost feel the pain of the earthworm and thought to myself that I would never be able to fish if I had to murder an earthworm like that. My love for earthworms. started at home when I was young. Until now, I would follow my mum to do some gardening and while she changes the sand in pots when replanting, I would go around saving all the earthworms. Collecting them in my hands and staring at them in wonder while watching their body move and wondering if that was my first ever real biology application occurring in my head!

But I really do enjoy it. When I am bored I will go to the garden to catch frogs , snails and tadpoles, basically anything that’s not poisonous and dangerous, with my bare hands. And I felt really connected to them. So, while I watched the guts of the earthworm spill out of its body, I just reminded myself of the circle of life to stop myself from feeling guilty.

Suprisingly, after cringing and saying sorry to the earthworm every time I hooked one on, I got used to it and started to really enjoy the fishing experience.Whenever our rods tugged, she would tell me to pull as hard as I can and flip the line towards myself. Unfortunately, being a first-timer, my fish kept flying off my hook into the bushes behind me, which earned me many laughs from my tepuq. Catching it and holding on to it was quite a different story as it would squiggle and squirm in my fingers causing its sharp fins to cut my hands. However, the satisfaction once a fish was caught was incredible.

What an experience!

Christine