2. How to be...Jangök
A sweet lad or lass is cömè llötè, but the well turned out is jangök.
Jangök is smart without going over the top; subtle, and not so very loud. You cannot be jangök with your sarong sweeping the carpet, or worse, in mud. You cannot be jangök if your semutar is tied in a loose fashion and is hanging gelöndèh across your forehead. And then, when you tie the sarong around the waist, it shouldn't half unravel and hang, semi-unfastened, gedèbè and ready to drop, like an over-ripe fruit.
It is easy to spot someone who's jangök, and easier still to say what jangök is not. Your baju is well-ironed, not kkeduk if you're jangök, your footwear are not kkerök and all splattered with mud, and your hair is neat, not jerebèk. And you are not tebölah but well behaved. And then you walk, but not the walk of one who, when s/he treads on a semut (ant) the creature walks away undead. This is in the realm of the dainty, not the smart. Even Mamat Ppala Kerah could have been jangök had he wanted to, but he probably thought that it was too much work, so he just strutted around looking vaguely like Richard Widmark (who wasn't what you'd call jangök).
Few mad people are jangök and many sane ones are not. Dishevelled clothes do not a jangök make, but taking on too much to wear and smelling of roses in order to attract folk of the opposite sex is not jangök but galök.
For some reason jangök isn't used to describe a smartly dressed person in uniform. Service medals and streaming epaulettes do not constitute the elements of looking good, nor do nurses in their Omo white "Missi" hats and the regulation hospital frock. Jangök seems to be confined to civvy streets perhaps because civilians are scruffy by default.
To be jangök in old age is a sign of misspent youth, but youth in turn associates jangök-ness with the middle age spread, a physical state found among people who remember that Omo was a brand of soap.
Jangök is smart without going over the top; subtle, and not so very loud. You cannot be jangök with your sarong sweeping the carpet, or worse, in mud. You cannot be jangök if your semutar is tied in a loose fashion and is hanging gelöndèh across your forehead. And then, when you tie the sarong around the waist, it shouldn't half unravel and hang, semi-unfastened, gedèbè and ready to drop, like an over-ripe fruit.
It is easy to spot someone who's jangök, and easier still to say what jangök is not. Your baju is well-ironed, not kkeduk if you're jangök, your footwear are not kkerök and all splattered with mud, and your hair is neat, not jerebèk. And you are not tebölah but well behaved. And then you walk, but not the walk of one who, when s/he treads on a semut (ant) the creature walks away undead. This is in the realm of the dainty, not the smart. Even Mamat Ppala Kerah could have been jangök had he wanted to, but he probably thought that it was too much work, so he just strutted around looking vaguely like Richard Widmark (who wasn't what you'd call jangök).Few mad people are jangök and many sane ones are not. Dishevelled clothes do not a jangök make, but taking on too much to wear and smelling of roses in order to attract folk of the opposite sex is not jangök but galök.
For some reason jangök isn't used to describe a smartly dressed person in uniform. Service medals and streaming epaulettes do not constitute the elements of looking good, nor do nurses in their Omo white "Missi" hats and the regulation hospital frock. Jangök seems to be confined to civvy streets perhaps because civilians are scruffy by default.
To be jangök in old age is a sign of misspent youth, but youth in turn associates jangök-ness with the middle age spread, a physical state found among people who remember that Omo was a brand of soap.
Labels: cömè llötè, gelöndèh, jangök, jerebèk, Omo
posted by Awang Goneng at 4:45 PM
18 Comments:
Jangok = Vogue. Stylish. Efforlessly pleasing to the eyes.
Melaram = Not jangok. Trying too hard to be jangok. Sampai melarat. No?
Youth associates jangok-ness with the middle age spread (in the bank account), methinks. Ah, the folly of youth (and middle age).
Pok Awang,
I would fall into the category of "come lote" not jjangok. For the life of me, you would never ever see me dressed up like a human. hehehe.... wei. ggalok kucing ni! meow!
Salam, AG!
jangök = smartlooking = neches
"Hai, jangök tèh Ayöhaji kita, hari ni.. nök ggi mmane tu ?".
Orangrumöh kita selalu berseloroh bila lihat kita bepakaian kemas dan kelihatan segak. Kalau umur kita telahpun menjangkau 60an, maka semakin sinis selerohnya jika penampilan kita itu agak luarbiasa 'jangök'. Hatta, jika kita nök ggi ke mesjid sekalipun ! Ai, bengang!Bengang!
- äjidul
Salam AG,
I love this post :)
*had a good laugh with your distinction between jjangok and ggalok :D
Abe Awe,
When you are usually selebeh weh and suddenly you dress up nicely, then you are considered jangok. It's just being smarter than your normal way of dressing.
ag,
mekyang rasë, kebanyokang orang, kohor tuë kohor malah nok jjangok. takut orang katë orang tuë nok ggalok. betul ke dok? :D
mekyang pulok, kohor sejuk kohor malah nok jjangok sebab rohok paka baju banyok2. ;D
p.s. pls tell yr beautiful half that peminat2 dia rindu dia sampai ke tulang som2.
salam...
so sweet,lama doh did not hear this word 'jangok'.i too really love this post...
Salam Sir AG,
ROTFLOL. Hilarious this posting!
I remember my mom - during my single days - used to nag this to me: "Ja'ngok gak sikit nok tubek ghumoh tuh! Mung nok buleh tok lakki guano kalu serebeh gini?"
Oh well, those were the days... err, I am still "srebeh" now.
Dear Awang...
I bought your book today. God knows why I did not any earlier. Perhaps it was because I saw that it had been sold out that prompted me to grab a copy from MPH in Bangsar. And yes, it was the last copy. The salesman had difficult finding it because the outlet had just moved there. When he saw the name Awang Goneng, he laughed. I asked him why, he said the name was funny. It sounded funny. I said in Terengganuspeak, Goneng is not really funny. I suggested he read your book, reluctant to tell him what it meant. He said one day, when he is free, he might...
Excuse me AG, can I say something your commentator? Thanks
Dear A Friend from KT @12:16 p.m.,
I tell you, those retail staff @MPH don't give a hoot about books. I found it really bizarre for them to work in a bookstore.
They are always lepaking in a group at a corner somewhere chitchatting among themselves. Kalau tanya nak apa2, mesti cakap "tunggu jap".
One day, upon being ignored by them, I went to the information counter and browsed for the book on the terminal myself! Can u beat that?
But the people at Kino and BookXcess are different. They are book lovers.
Eh apa ni? Sorry for hogging your space AG.
GUiKP: Well said. I didn't realise that you could be jangök too in Kubang Pasu.
Cat-in-Sydney:A cat can stare at the Queen, etc. But the amount of time they spend grooming themselves, they should be jangök too I think.
Anonymous [Ajidul]:Orang rumah Ajidul tu pesan saja, bukan sinis. But from those pics of Tuan Aji that I see, nampaknya masih jangök. Salam!
Thanks, Naz: Jangök is reactive, ggalök is proactive. But perhaps Pak zawi will say I'm wrong.
Pak Zawi:That's one of the reasons why I haven't put on that magic semutar you gave me. People might think I'm trying to be jangök.
Mekyam:From what I saw on the walkway of Brooklyn bridge I think you're still jangök and far from ggalök. Yes, you're right about this cold weather. I just put on a T-shirt over my shirt, galök pong dök, jangök pong dök. Wak dök je.
Yaty:Thank you. Your coming here makes this place even merrier.
Elviza:You, in your gleaming white shirt, not jangök? I don't believe that. That's a nice quote from your mum, bless her.
A Friend Who was From KT:Thanks for buying the book. That must be one of the few copies left. MPH Bangsar is a baffling shop [see Elviza, below], but they have sold more books than the rest, beaten only by Kedai Pök Löh Yunang in KT, but that's due to the activities of the Pizzaman.
Thank you again Elviza: It's a great honour to have you visit twice. No, no please don't apologise, I value your comments. You're right about those lads in MPH. I was in Kino last time I was home, looking for GUiT with a friend who wanted to buy it. Looked up and down but couldn't find it. Finally I decided to ask a young lady who was stacking the shelves. She said, oh yang tu, it's here lah, on the bestsellers shelf. [*Blush*]Then she said, this is a very good book, I've bought a few copies. [*More blushes*] Then, to spare her further embarrassments [and more *blushes*] I said, er, er, I'm the author of this humble work. Without batting an eyelash, she produced a little notebook (just like the old 555 one) from her pocket and asked me to sign it. Will never happen in MPH.
Yang jangok itu bahasa Tuang AG
Thanks AG for the credit "beaten only by Kedai Pök Löh Yunang in KT, but that's due to the activities of the Pizzaman."
Tapi rasenya betul jugak ... kalu kira singlehandedly maybe the Pizzaman did so ... but the last check with Lilian it seems the Pizzaman was actually very close second to AG+KT (???).
Nanti kena kira semula ... ini macam nok listing top 10 pulak jadi.
Salam, Tuan AG.
Tuan AG !
Kitö sambong kkècèk pasal 'jangök' pulök dèh ?
Di Kota Bharu dalam tahun2 70'an dulu ketika musim banjir, masa air sungai mulai naik melempahi kawasan bandar, anak2 muda di sini suka 'berjangök' sakang sambil bermain air, mengarung sekerat betis hingga ke paras pinggang, hilir-mudik sambil 'mencuci' mata ... Wei la, sukönyö sengöti !
- Awè Döndè .
Salam, Tuan AG.
Sewaktu saya bertugas di pedalaman Kelantan dalam tahun2 70'an dulu , pernah saya mendengar cerita daripada seorang tua mengenai satu 'spirit'yang dinamakan 'Awè Jangök'. Spirit ini selalu datang merasok mana2 perempuan yg diminatinya pada malam2 bulan mengambang. Kehadhirannya akan dapat dikesan oleh perempuan2 berkenaan melalui bau2an wangi yg semerbak disekitar mereka yg tiba2 wujud. Berikutannya mereka akan dapat melihat sebuah tangan yang sasa dengan kelima jari-jemarinya terhias sebentuk cincin permata yg amat elok buatannya, menjelma secara tiba2. Dan apabila terpandang sahaja benda2 tersebut, mereka tiba2 terpana dan menjadi ghairah buat beberapa ketika dan seolah-olah mecapai 'orgasm' dan terus terkulai, longlai dan jatuh pengsan. Ternyata, 'Awè Jangök' adalah sejenis 'spirit' yg 'highly sexual active' .
- Anonymous.
Salam AG.
At last, I left the government service and started my new life as a businessman. Initially I was not sure whether I should wear a neck-tie or just wear a shirt without a tie. Well, as not to be 'nampok janggok sangat' I chose the latter. Btw AG, I bought ur book at KLCC last year and managed to finish it within a few days. Then I 'googled' for ur name and felt dissaponted that you didn't write more books. I noticed that now u have ur own column in NST. I used to live in London as a student many years ago and some of my friends didn't come back after their graduation including one from Losong (pure Trengganu breed). May be u can write about the Malays that decided to be British instead of Malaysian, especially if they come from Trengganu. Ambo orang Dungung. Wassalam
GUiKP: Oh, terima kasih!
Karim Omar:That's probably because they put all our own sales into the Terengganu column in their books. And for that I have to thank my other hardworking promoter Kak Teh.
Anonymous[Awè Döndè]:Thank you Saudara. I think that was a great pastime for us in the east coast, wading through flood water and showing our aurat. How goes the Tannga Bradley now?
Anonymous:Well, I don't know what to say about this! I really must ask my friend Pak Zawi as I expect he'll have some knowledge of this area which I'm totally unfamiliar with. But thank you for commenting, that's an intriguing story.
A.Amem:Thank you Sir for buying the book. I am greatly honoured and am very grateful to all those of you who did. I do know someone from Losong who lives here in Londra, but a book about them all? I shall have to think about that. Yes, I do have a column in the New Sunday Times called 'Elsewhere'.
Thank you ALL for your comments above.
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