The art of bargaining in Bukittinggi

By Carl Chairul

BUKITTINGGI, West Sumatra (JP): Skipping Bukittingi in a journey to West Sumatra is just like going all the way to San Diego without seeing the Sea World. Situated at the altitude of 1000 meters above sea level, Bukittingi is one of the most interesting tourist spots in Sumatra.

While London has Big Ben, Bukittingi has Jam Gadang (clock tower), towering among the buffalo-horn shaped roofs of the surrounding buildings. Like New York's Statue of Liberty, this clock was also made overseas, in Rotterdam, and brought to Bukittingi through Teluk Bayur Port in 1926.

Japanese Tunnel, Sianok Valley, the spicy Kapau food and the beauty of the two mountains, Marapi and Singgalang, have been widely known for a long time. But one thing about Bukittingi that will remain unique is the way people make a deal.

Some vendors, mostly women, are still practicing the old courtesy when selling their goods. They will not accept the payment until you insist they do. If you buy a bunch of bananas, for instance, your payment will be turned down. "Bao se lah pitih Uda/Uni", they usually say, meaning that you can take your money away. But, they do not mean what they say -- after all, they are doing business -- it is just that they want to show friendliness and generosity.

People who know the game go along with it. Usually, they will sweetly reply, "No, I'm not paying for the bananas. I just want you to give this money to your children" or, if the vendor is young, "Please, use this money to buy something for momma."

In this era of modernization, it sounds ridiculous and time consuming to deal this way. Yet the local people enjoy doing so. They believe it won't hurt to play a little game to brighten their day.

What if the buyer does not insist on paying and take his money away as he is told? The vendors have a clever way of dealing with this situation. She will politely remind this "naughty" buyer that the money she wants him to take away is his money. The money which is supposed to pay for her merchandise is "her" money. So there is no way you can escape from your obligation to pay.

Buying or selling livestock is also tricky. During the deal, you have to keep your mouth shut because mentioning the price is taboo. It must be indicated secretly by using fingers. That's why this system is called barosok (touching stealthily).

This silent way of dealing still exists at traditional livestock markets. A vendor or a livestock owner always carries a sarong in which both the hands of the buyer and seller are covered. If the buyer, for instance, offers Rp 750,000 for a cow, he takes grabs hold of seven of the seller's fingers underneath the sarong. To indicate 5, they use his knuckles. The rest (thousands) is understood.

Bargaining takes place under the sarong until the final offer is made. If no deal is reached, the buyer must still keep the offer price a secret. Usually, the vendor will seek three of four offers before deciding who gets the cow. He goes back to whoever gave the best offer.

Bonus

Receiving a bonus on top of what you pay for is part of buying small items like peanuts, cassava crackers and other snacks. When buying a liter of peanuts, for instance, firstly you'll be given the opportunity to try three or four of them. If the taste is good, then you bargain. When the price is agreed, you get what you pay for and an additional five or six peanuts as tukuak, tambah or paragiah -- the local terms for bonus.

The quantity of this extra is proportional to what you buy. And it seems to be an unwritten obligation to give it. Recently, when my friend and I bought different kinds of wrapped snacks as oleh-oleh (gifts) for friends in Jakarta, we were given a full bag of crackers, fresh from the kitchen. "Untuk dimakan di rumah oto (to be munched along the journey)," the lady vendor said sweetly. Apparently, we got that extra because the vendor could not add the extra into the sealed wrapper of the snack. Generous as she was, the lady didn't forget the business side of the deal. She also gave another bag to the driver who took us to her stall, hoping that he would return with other visitors in the future.

The immediate reaction is that the vendor and the driver cooperated the way tour guides conspire with souvenir shop owners in Bali, and that the bag of snack was a commission. But no, the driver was my nephew who drove us all the way from Jakarta.