were linked to the SARS virus that was first recognized in China and killed nearly 800 people worldwide in 2003. Scientists said a virus in civets resembled the virus that infected humans with SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. Civets and other wild animals are culinary delicacies in China, raising the possibility that the virus passed to humans through food.
Recent research suggested that a species of bat may have been the main source of the disease.
“Like a water buffalo led by the nose” = Like a “yes” man.
Such a docile creature is like a lackey under a boss’s thumb. A dumb, indecisive person who cannot think for himself.
A civet in chicken feathers.
A wolf in sheep’s clothing (serigala berbulu domba) is an equivalent expression from ancient Greek times. The wolf version is more popular than the civet one in Indonesia.
Farmers keep one or two chickens in the backyard at home, putting the docile birds within easy reach if it’s time to eat.
In villages, it’s cheap to buy a live chick and feed it scraps, eat its eggs and later slaughter the bird for meat. Only city dwellers buy a slaughtered, fully grown chicken for supper.
The civet has an image like that of the fox: slick, cunning and adept at slipping into a place where it’s unwanted. A chicken coop.
A powerful Javanese king sent his army to seize Malay land on neighboring Sumatra. The Malays knew they were too weak to win on the battlefield, so they challenged the Javanese to a fight between their strongest water buffaloes. The Javanese king dispatched his sturdiest beast to the contest, and the crafty Malays sent a famished calf with an iron spike bound to its nose. The calf thought the Javanese buffalo was its mother, and sidled up to it in search of milk. The spike gored the big buffalo, and the Malays kept their land.
The folktale ends with the Malays naming themselves Minangkabau (winning water buffalo) to commemorate their victory.
Today, the traditional headdresses of Minangkabau women, and the corners of thatched roofs of their traditional houses, arch upward like buffalo horns.
The Minangkabau region is the cradle of Malay culture. Millions migrated centuries ago to Malacca and other places in the archipelago. Their descendants reside in what is now Malaysia. Their language is slightly different from that in their ancestral homeland, Sumatra. Many expressions in Indonesian and Malay, the official language of neighboring Malaysia, come from the Minangkabau region.
“Like an overheated worm” = Somebody who has the fidgets, or is losing his mind.
Coldblooded worms get restless when they pop above ground. Their thin skins heat up and they try to wriggle back into the earth to escape the sun.
Politicians who waffle on policy are also cacing kepanasan.
The term describes someone who craves a cigarette and will light up anywhere, or lovers who become cranky and restless when deprived of each other’s company.
Kebakaran jenggot (your beard is on fire) is another expression for an agitated person. It also implies anger or rage.
“Shy cat” = Warning: appearances can be deceiving.
Don’t judge a book by its cover. It’s not easy to get close to a cat, but it quickly becomes clingy and affectionate when it warms up to you. A tongue-tied girl with a crush on a boy is too shy to say a word, but she opens up once he talks to her.
The complete saying is Malu, tetapi seperti malunya kucing (shy, but only as shy as a cat).
“Hot as chicken shit” = Fickle.
Steaming excrement exits the chicken, splatters on the ground and quickly loses its heat. If you launch yourself into a project with gusto and lose interest, then you are hangat-hangat tahi ayam.
The complete saying is hangat, tapi hangatnya seperti tahi ayam (It’s hot, but only as hot as chicken shit).
“Like a frog under a coconut shell” = Someone with a narrow view of the world. Like a frog in a well.
A frog grew up under a coconut shell, and one day a fly crawled into the shell. It said to the frog: “What are you doing here? Go out and see the world.”
The frog replied: “Go where? This is the world.” The exasperated fly told the frog to jump. The frog did so, toppling the shell. He discovered that there was a world beyond his own.
“A frog that wants to be an ox,” is katak hendak jadi lembu. He’s too big for his boots. He has lofty dreams. Regardless of his talents, he cannot fulfill them because they are unattainable.
“Like an owl that misses the moon” = Pining for your lover.
A swooning teenager writes this old-fashioned expression in a letter to the girl he adores. Youths say it in jest to lampoon a pair of lovers.
“Tame pigeon” = A coy person, especially in courtship.
A woman beckons a suitor, but flutters away when he approaches. After a while, she gestures again. The ritual repeats itself.
The expression also refers to arranged marriages, which were common in Indonesia until the 1960s. Jinak-jinak merpati is a woman who agrees to the arrangement, but laments it in her heart.
The complete saying is Jinak tetapi jinaknya merpati (docile, but only as docile as a pigeon).
Pigeons are depicted as lovebirds. Merpati ingkar janji (when a pigeon breaks its promise) refers to a spouse who commits adultery.
“Monkey love” = Puppy love. An adolescent crush.
Indonesians think monkeys are as foolish as starry-eyed lovers. People mimic the sounds and gestures of monkeys if they want to act stupidly. On television, comedians launch into monkey sounds to make someone look stupid.
Monkeys mesmerize onlookers in street shows, sometimes riding miniature bicycles. The animal usually answers to a common male name, Sarimin, and wears a cheap, glittery skirt. The handler bangs a small drum and calls: Sarimin pergi ke pasar (Sarimin goes to the market). The monkey mimics a woman putting on a hat, carrying a basket and taking produce from a seller while handing over money. Sometimes Sarimin passes the money back and forth with its owner or onlookers, making it look as though it is haggling over the price.
Lutung Kasarung