OF COUSINS< SECOND COUSINS & UNCLE ONCE REMOVED

Syafiq met someone he claimed to be our distant relative. He is the son of Mok Su Tijah of Batu 9, Ibok.

I explained that if that was the case, that person must be his pok sepupu (uncle once removed) and my dua pupu (second cousin).

Sepupu, dua pupu, tiga pupu, pok sepupu, mok sepupu...these are terms used to denote blood-relationship between human beings.

How close they can be depends very much how physically and emotionally close they were.

I have some dua pupu who are very much closer to me than my sepupu and a few sepupu who are as close as and more dependable than even my own siblings!

As far as my mother's cousins or second cousins, I have only a handful still surviving. For that I try my level best to be closer and more intimate with them.

My late grandmother was smart. She had her daughters cross-breast-fed many of her grandchildren or the eldest ones. So, we were all milk-brothers-and-sisters and marriage between us cousins were out of the question.

That was really a smart move to prevent in-breeding!