Saturday, June 23, 2007

Bananas and debt


pisang emas dibawa belayar

simpan sebiji di atas peti

hutang emas boleh dibayar

hutang budi dibawa mati

Literal translation
pisang emas dibawa belayar-sailing along with bananas
simpan sebiji di atas peti- save one(banana) on top of a chest.
hutang emas boleh dibayar- debt in form of gold can always be paid
hutang budi dibawa mati- debt in form of favour will be taken to death.

Interpretation

The message here is clear. Debt can be easily paid if it is in form of money or material. But when it is in form of a favour, malays believed that they are in debt forever.

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