SENTAK DULANG CIMENYAN. UPON visiting Sentak Dulang village, Mekarmanik Town, Cimenyan, Bandung, we met Mak Sopiah. She was sitting in a room of one of her grandchildren’s house (Wednesday, 18 October 2017). In the village on the hill of 1,200 MASL in its breezy air, we talked about water-supply problems and managed to have chit-chat about a female figure who was commonly known as Mak Sopiah.
“This is my grandchild’s house,” she said. However, she forget which grandchild from which offspring. Don’t be surprised. Mak Sopiah who has eight children now has around 20 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
How old is Mak Sopiah? “Well, I was born in 1945. You can count how old I am,” she answered. It means she is already 72 years old, the same age as this republic (Indonesia).
Suganda, her husband, is older than she is. “My husband is 84 years old. Already very old but cannot stay idly at home. Even now he’s on his way to the garden,” she said.
This elderly couple is indeed a healthy one. They never have had a serious illness or visited a doctor. Mak Sopiah’s eyes even until now are still normal. She doesn’t need any glasses. Her teeth are clean white and still intact. Her legs are still strong enough to walk long distances.
What is the secret of your healthiness? “Ah, I don’t have much to worry about. Live with what we have. Eat what we have. What we have here, that’s what we eat. My husband is also like that,” she explained.
Up until now, there is no food Mak Sopiah avoids consuming. She can eat anything with delight. There’s no hypertension or uric acid. “But many foods nowadays aren’t healthy. So, lots of people are easy to get sick,” she explained.
Many times Mak Sopiah giggled or even laughed her head off upon being asked, for instance, the name of one of her great-grandchildren who was around two years old and was playing in the yard.
“Nyaeta, saha nya ngarana. Atuda loba teuing buyut teh. Gampang hilap. Ah pokona Si Eneng we (What’s her name? Oh my, too many great-grandchildren. Can’t remember them easily. Just call her Eneng ) hehehe,” said Mak Sopiah while recalling the name of her great-grandchild. –Enton Supriyatna Sind (Translated by Steve, Portalkata)
Mak in this case is a friendly title used in front of the name of an old woman.
Eneng is a Jakarta Malay language. It is used to address a female child, and is usually used among the middle- or lower-class society.
