Actually I intended to post my essay on a very interesting subject today but I'm short of one more page to type it off. So I guess it'll be a couple of days until then. However, I did come across something at the back of my mind whilst penning down a song for a friend of mine. The BOGEY MAN!!! Yup! That's it. Strange that should appear at the back of my head, but I guess it was because between strumming away the guitar & trying to get it down on a piece of paper, my nephew & niece -twins- were both busy enacting Ultraman vs Whatever-Monster. Both were trading flying kicks & karate chops, I was just wondering when would either one of them cry, usually due to a badly misplaced kick.
Strangely, they gave up trying to kill each other & resorted to try & scare each other to death, I suppose. Cute lil gremlins! It was at this point that the BOGEY MAN manifested himself in my mind.
What do any of us actually knew the origins of the BOGEY MAN???
Well, I came across this topic last year when I was doing a bit of research about European mythology. There weren't exact details on the point of origin in regards of how the ghastly tales of the BOGEY MAN came about. Apparently, ghastly tales about the BOGEY MAN were often told to frighten young children into submission.
Forget about the movies you saw of THE BOGEY MAN. The actual legends of the BOGEY MAN actually describes him as a half-decayed man, soaked of sea water. In other words, this apparition is a zombie of sorts who used to be a sailor. Probably died at sea either due to shark attacks or told to jump off the ship. Like many other ghastly spirits, the reason for its haunting were either revenge or a last wish. Now, this myth started in Europe & spread to England. Over time, the word BOGEYMAN became part of the vocabulary.
The origin of this BOGEYMAN actually came from Asia. Frankly, I didn't know whether to have felt honoured or humiliated when I learnt of it. Apparently, the Europeans that came to Asia, particularly the Indonesian Archipelago, to trade often encountered a breed of very fearsome pirates. Unlike their counterparts in the West, these pirates of Asia rarely spare their victims. Their aggressiveness and terrorizing nature instilled much fear to the Europeans. Like it was described in history texts, these pirates were a big problem & a menace to the Europeans & trading merchants. These pirates were none other than the fearless indigenious race of the Indonesian - the Bugis. It was intended to be 'the Bugis Man' yet it ended up as the BOGEYMAN.
I know what you're thinking. But I'm serious. This was a recorded history! I think this word can be found in the Oxford dictionary of heritage, where it explains the origins of words.
So, it seems, the Bugis made progress after all! Now, on a more serious note, the Bugis were actually a very advance Malay denomination. At least where nautical knowledge are concerned. The Perahu wasn't the only significant invention or contribution that the Bugis made. Before the Perahu, a more primitive-like sampan, for a lack of vocabulary, were invented with balancers at the side of the boat. More commonly used by the Maories, it was first thought that the Moari had invented these boats. Later, in history, it was discovered that the Bugis had been trading with the Moari & also other Polynesian races. Truly the Bugis were explorers of the sea. They had navigation maps from China all the way to Madagascar.
The BogeyMan, I suppose, couldn't have been more truer. While all Malays contributed their nature of 'Amok' into the English text;The Bugis, of all the Malay races, was renowned for their irritable moods & bad tempers.
So, lu orang jgn main² ah! HIDUP BUGIS! HIDUP BUGIS!
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