So where am I from again?

When I was young I always felt left out when my friends would talk about their 'balik kampung' trips. I was born and brought up in KL. My late grandparents and all of my aunties and uncles live in KL. So there was never a 'balik kampung' trip for me. When asked, I even felt a little bit embarrassed that I don't have a 'kampung' to call my own. Now that I'm all grown up things have changed. I feel really proud that I'm a born and bred KL-ian. I'm a city boy through and through.

My father on the other hand is from Perak. His brothers and sisters still speak like Perakians, even after living in KL most of their adult lives. I call my uncles, aunties and cousins by colloquial names. In the family there's Wan, Yan, Nyah, Dak, Enda, Chu and Chik. There's also Chor, Teh, Tam, Yong, Lope, Yang, Tak, Ki and Tah. Then we can add the Ayah, Wan, Kak or Abang at the beginning to make Ayah Nyah, Wan Nyah, Kak Nyah or Abang Nyah. Now all this seem a bit confusing if you come from outside the family but it has some sense in it. Wan is always the eldest with Chik and Chu assigned to the youngest. Chor or Shor is a derivative of Besor which means big (besar). So Adik Shor just means Adik Besar.

Still confused? Don't worry about it. I'm in my mid-thirtys and still get confused with my uncles' and aunties' birth order.

My mother was born in KL. She has roots in the North which is why the Boria Gang (as my Mak's brother's and sisters are known as) still speak their loghat Penang when they get together. Now, on this side there's the Northern colloquial names. There's Mak Besar (or Mak Besaq to be more accurate) who is the eldest and Mak Chu who is the youngest. And the uncles have their names preceded by Baba. So there's Baba Chan (who passed away recently), Baba Din and Baba Chik.

Sometimes I feel a little sad that my generation has not carried this on. We are Uncles and Aunties, Mommies and Daddies. But I'm happy I'm still known as Abang Nyah to my sister and younger cousins, Ayah Nyah to my nephews and nieces and one day I hope to be old enough to be Tok Nyah.

So there you go. I am a mixed Penangite-Perakian-KL boy who lives in Dubai and writing this in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Where are you from and what do you call your relatives?