The people of Bukit Batu village (pictured here) and the Bengkalis island used to have a tradition called semah ikan terubuk to encourage ikan terubuk to come to the waters throughout the year. — BAYU AMDE WINATA
There was a time when ikan terubuk roe was inextricably linked to Malay culinary culture. Because the trade of terubuk eggs was so important in the Malay world, the islands that were host to ikan terubuk developed an ancient system to ensure a fruitful haul, especially in the months when fish supplies ran low.
Like many traditions of the past, this practice was a byproduct of Malay folklore and belief systems that have since been phased out. This bygone practice also typified how ikan terubuk existed alongside traditional oral traditions and poems (syair).
According to Indonesian researcher Bayu Amde Winatra, there once existed a practice called ‘semah ikan terubuk’ in Bukit Batu and Bengkalis island in Indonesia, the birthplace of the tenualosa macrura species of ikan terubuk, whose roe was considered an opulent gourmet item all the way in Melaka and Singapore.
This ceremonial practice happened every year during the low season of the life cycle of the fish. The purpose of the semah ikan terubuk was to encourage the fish to come to the Bengkalis straits.
“The thing about the semah ikan terubuk was that in the past, Malay people attached a lot of importance to it because ikan terubuk roe was so important for communities that lived by the sea. So they did the semah so they could catch the fish, especially during the times when ikan terubuk was not laying eggs,” says Bayu.
Typically occurring as a one-day ceremony that lasted from dawn to dusk, the semah ikan terubuk involved a few key parties, including the sultan of Siak, the Laksamana Diraja Laut, a village head, his wife, a dukun (typically a medicine woman for the purposes of this ceremony) as well as a shaman.
In Malay folklore in the past, ghosts were said to abound everywhere. In the seas, there was the supposition that there existed 16 ghosts (hantu laut) and that the ‘hantu ikan terubuk’ was the mightiest of them all.
Intrepid Indonesian researcher Bayu is hoping to revive people's memories of the practice of semah ikan terubuk and how it was once very integral to Malay culinary culture. — BAYU AMDE WINATA/Instagram
During the semah ikan terubuk, all the parties involved looked to appease the ghost and the ceremony involved ships sailing from Bengkalis island and Bukit Batu and converging in the seas, where there was a celebration (pesta) with some food offerings like ketupat. Mantras and syairs were also part of the ceremony.
Once the ceremony was complete, there were often indications that ikan terubuk would start appearing in the waters – a sign also of a good harvest later in the year.
The first documentation of semah ikan terubuk dates back to 1877 when Dutchman J.S.G. Gramberg both witnessed and wrote about it.
The last known time that a full semah ikan terubuk was practised was in the 1960s. Since then, the practice has entirely died out.
Bayu and a group of his friends are now trying to form a collective to ensure that while the practice may no longer exist, people in the Malay peninsula understand how intrinsic ikan terubuk once was to Malay culture.
“We are trying to revive people’s memories of what used to happen in the past and show how ikan terubuk was part of the pulse of Malay culinary culture,” says Bayu.
