The art of bargaining in Bukittinggi

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.