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.
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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.
Seperti cacing kepanasan
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.
Seperti katak di bawah tempurung
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.
Malu-malu kucing
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).
Jinak-jinak merpati
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.
Hangat-hangat tahi ayam
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).
Bagaikan pungguk merindukan bulan
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.
Cinta monyet
Monkey love = Puppy love. An adolescent crush.
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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.
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Lutung Kasarung is the nickname of a prince who fell under a curse that transformed him into a big, black monkey.
A Sundanese folktale from West Java begins with the prince’s mother fussing about how long it was taking him to find a bride. He joked that he could find no one as beautiful as her. She said: “Do you wish your mother to become your bride? That’s a despicable act. You’re like a big monkey.”
The gods agreed, and struck her son with a bolt of lightning. Black fur sprouted from his skin, and he turned into a monkey (lutung). A booming voice in the heavens said the boy was doomed to wander the forests (kasarung means “being lost somewhere”) until he found true love. Only then would he recover his original form as a handsome prince.
During his travels, Lutung Kasarung met a princess who had been banished by her eldest half-sister in a power grab in a nearby kingdom. The older sister had cursed her sibling, transforming her into an ugly, deformed girl. The lutung fed the exiled princess, gave her a potion to restore her beauty and helped her regain her kingdom. His loyalty won her heart.
Another bolt of lightning flashed when she introduced the monkey to her family. The lutung turned back into a prince. The couple married.
A song from this story was a favorite of Indonesia’s first president, Sukarno. Decades later, some Indonesians complained that the tale implied that a woman always needs a man’s help to get out of a jam.
Sepandai-pandai tupai melompat, sekali akan gawal juga
However deftly the squirrel jumps, once in a while it falls down = Even maestros make mistakes.
Anjing menyalak takkan menggigit
A barking dog won’t bite = All bark and no bite. All talk and no action.
A widely told story in Indonesia explains why a dog’s nose is always wet. During the Great Flood, a dog tried to secure passage on Noah’s Ark, but turned up late for boarding. There was only room on the open deck, and the shivering hound caught a cold. The dog’s offspring and descendants inherited the sniffles.
Bagai anjing menyalak di ekor gajah
Like a dog that barks at the elephant’s tail = Like banging your head against a wall. A fruitless exercise.
This expression can refer to someone who lacks responsibility or credibility, and has little sense of value. The person tries in vain