Casglwyd a golygwyd yr hanes llafar hwn gan Ganolfan Adrodd Storïau George Ewart Evans fel rhan o brosiect Straeon Bawso.
 

Mae prosiect Storiau Bawso yn brosiect partneriaeth arloesol rhwng Canolfan Adrodd Storïau George Ewart Evans (Prifysgol De Cymru), sefydliad cymorth arbenigol Bawso ac Amgueddfa Cymru. Ariannwyd y prosiect hwn gan Gronfa Dreftadaeth y Loteri Genedlaethol.

Mae caniatâd wedi'i roi i'r stori hon gael ei rhannu

a. Yn archifau a chasgliadau Amgueddfa Cymru
b. Ar wefannau, e.e. Casgliad y Werin Cymru, Bawso, Prifysgol De Cymru, Amgueddfa Cymru, etc.
c. Ar gyfryngau cymdeithasol, e.e. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, ac ati.
d. Mewn cyhoeddiadau ysgrifenedig, e.e. adroddiadau prosiect, erthyglau cyfnodolion, ac ati.
e. Mewn unrhyw ddefnydd arall yn unol â nodau ac amcanion y prosiect

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Cyfweliad gyda Gwerthfawr (Straeon Bawso)

Hyd: 00:18:01

[Trawsgrifiad ar gael yn Saesneg yn unig]

So my first question is again, you decide how much you tell or don’t tell –

Yeah.

Can you tell me about your experience of coming to Wales?

Yeah, okay. I have so far I have a very good experience in Wales. I feel like Wales is very nice country. And it has a different language like Welsh language but English is just English language, right? And Welsh is Welsh language and English…it’s so interesting it’s a completely different language. Not everyone knows that so I love that. And I love the flow of it and I just love, I just love Wales country. And I feel like Wales people are very polite. Even my cousin they always say Welsh, Welsh, yeah, Welsh people are polite. They are nice.

Can you describe a place or time in your life that is important to you?

Err important. First in my life is my family. My -I lost my dad three or four years ago - now my mum is my parent. My siblings, they are most important thing and then my friends. So now I have family, of course, I have friends, I made new friends. Who makes me, who makes me feel like, yes, you are an amazing person. So yeah, these are the things important for my life. That’s it, nothing else. No negativity. There is no negativity in my life like there is no way to come in. I don’t let anyone. So yeah, what was I going to say? Yeah, only just positive, happy, kind, courage – have courage and be kind. This is that’s my goal to be happy in my life. So no negativity. There is no space for negativity in my life, that’s it.

Thank you. That’s very positive –

Thank you so much.

Is there anything else you want to share or that you feel is important for us to know about you in terms of doing this oral history.  

About me?

Hmm.

I have only one question and it’s quite interesting and funny. The other day I was asking my friends like describe yourself in three words. And they are like, what? On the spot. What? That is such an interesting question. We never get that question. I said, just come on, just do it. We don’t have time. I was making them like – and then they asked me, okay, come on then. You go first, because you asked the question first, right? You go first then. So I will say if anyone asks me describe yourself in any three words. I will say for me my – I will say, funny, kind, brave and that’s it. That’s me. Funny, kind and brave that’s me – courage, yeah. And my friend said attentive as well. Which is – I can’t tell, I can’t tell that. Unless anyone tell you. So my friend said you are very attentive as well. That was very nice to hear. I was like, ah, thanks, guys. Yeah, that’s it.

It's nice to be positive about ourselves, isn’t it?

Hmm, yeah.

It’s good. Good feelings. I hope you hold it –

I think you are, as well. Come on describe yourself in three words.

Three words?

Yeah.

Um. I think I’d also say funny –

Yeah, of course.

Yeah, I make myself laugh a lot, if no one else. Yeah. I think I’m quite observant.

Nice, yeah. That’s interesting.

And observant and I think caring, yeah. Sometimes too much –

Yeah.

You can see it as a strength, can’t you, being caring or thoughtful.

Yeah. Ah.

We have to hold on to these things that we like about ourselves, don’t we?

Yes, we have to, yes. Yeah, yeah.

So is there anything else you want to tell us about; the things you enjoy, things that are important to you, anything else you want to share?

I think I’ve shared everything so far.

Good. So before we finish up I was thinking about the museum you saw a painting and you told us that great story about the painting. Was there anything else you wanted to share about the things you saw that day?

Did I see any snake there?

Snakes?

Did they have any snakes? If they have I might – I must be yeah, sure snakes.

I’m sure we did find one. Wasn’t there a snake in the room and in the wasn’t there a snake in the jar?

Yes, yes, yes, yes!

Were you scared?

No, it was my friend. I was a bit scared but in the jar my friend was very scared it wasn’t me.

Yeah.

Yeah, so that snake and then I came home and I was like, oh, I forget to tell one story. It’s literally it’s quite a scary story. I can’t forget that. So it was one day me and my cousin – I went my cousin house, right? for sleepover. Me and my cousin. In the swimming pool we were swimming and we had a bet, we were like, my cousin was like, okay, let’s go – it was a massive swimming pool by the way. So we had a bet, we were like whoever goes the other side fast he’s win, right? I was like, okay, let’s do it then. Whereas we like to take challenge. This is me I like to take challenge, yeah. So like let’s go. So we went the same time, right? And it was massive swimming pool isn’t it? So it was just funny no-one can win because we are very tired we just kept swimming, and swimming we were very tired. So same time we were swimming back from the other side, same time. Same time we came back but as I said no-one wins. So we…and then we came back and they were relaxing for a bit. We taking break from swimming and they were like and then I saw, we saw there is two snake, two snake. I don’t know if they were fighting or whether loving each other they were hugging, they were hugging and they were doing ballet…I don’t know embracing or hugging that’s what I can still…since then until now I can’t tell where they fighting, were they loving each other? I don’t know. And I saw I was the first person I was like ah, a snake! And it was big snake, black. Both of them black snake. And in my country we have so many snake. It’s not like UK. It is more like I would say Australia. Because I think you know Australia has many snake. It’s like that my country is like that. In my country there is many snakes.  And it was two big black snakes and then I scream and she was like, where are they? Just in front of us. It was like it wasn’t near. But I can see, it was you know. I can see I was showing her and then she was screaming as well. And then luckily they had security. They had security and she called him like she was screaming and he came. And do you know what’s the magic thing? And he was like, where are the snakes? And then he went there and he saw there was no snake, nothing! In the centre where the all snakes gone? Where they gone? There was two snake where they gone? Honestly that’s… I still think since then like where did the snakes go? I can see any snake and you guys saw. It’s not just me. If it’s me, okay, maybe I saw wrong it’s my bad, right? I can make myself okay it’s just maybe I was very tired. Maybe that’s what I saw. It was my cousin as well. And then yeah, snakes gone then. And yeah, that still I keep remember. I keep thinking and then I think like, were they actually snakes or something else? Do you know what I mean? Maybe they were something else and they became snake and then they just vanish. Yeah, that exists. So –

What else would it be –

Do you know jinn? Did you watch Aladdin movie? Aladdin? Did you see Genie, isn’t it? We are human being, right? There is another, how would you say? Another planet we call jinn. Genie comes from jinn. That’s why say genie. Yes. Genie the Aladdin genie the Aladdin comes from jinn. You know our holy book says about jinn. So in day of judgment. Do you know what day of judgment like in the…we believe we have two lives. Here and hereafter. Which is this world is temporary and hereafter is permanent it’s not temporary, it’s permanent. So in the day of judgment where everyone will be in front of our god in front of Allah and he will ask every single one of us why did you hurt people? Why did you do backbiting? Why did you hurt people just because and he will ask. That’s why as a Muslim we have to be nice. We have to have to – there is no excuse we have to be nice with other people. We have to make other people comfortable because in the day of judgment Allah will ask us, why did you do that? Answer me. Otherwise, I will give you – I will send you to hellfire. And in that day only people he will ask only people and jinn. People and jinn. Jinn they’re invisible. They’re not visible they’re invisible. So, so they have – they made, we made from not sun. Something else. And jinn made I think from fire, he made – this is what we believe. If you read about Quran our holy book – Muslims’ holy book you can know everything about jinn. So this jinn, so that’s what I think now – I was like, maybe it’s not snake because you don’t see, we saw them. He didn’t see them. So if it’s not a snake then it must be jinn, the jinn can vanish like anytime. If we see a snake, if it’s actually jinn he can vanish like he can be like this table. So this is what I think it would be jinn. Genie come from jinn that’s why he called jinn. Isn’t it so interesting?

Fascinating.

Yes.

Really fascinating. I didn’t know that.

Yes, yeah. And then the other day I saw interview from in our, back home interview. I saw because now it’s very rainy, it’s flooded everywhere. Luckily my house didn’t get flooded luckily. But I saw interview like people, journalists they interviewed people, random people and they’re saying how they’re feeling. How they’re surviving now. So one lady who was saying she’s a farmer, right? And she was like, when I go to farming, when I go to field I see many, many big snakes. And at the time she was saying, this county is full of snakes she was saying, because I know I saw it. I used to see when heavily raining, I used to see snakes in front of our house, because it’s raining, everywhere is watery so they’re just swimming. So they have to live, right? How we live they have life as well. So we’re like, okay, you are our friends, new friends. Okay, live your life just don’t bite us because our country – some of them are scary, they can eat you, they can, you know, yeah, bite you and you can die. So they’re very scary snakes. That’s why sometimes horribly we have to kill them, which is not nice. It’s just because of us otherwise they will kill our family. Especially the babies because they don’t know they snakes you know they don’t know the difference. They be like, oh, this is toy, this is my toy. But some keep them as a pet. Like here I think now here in the UK people keep as a pet, snakes, right? So yeah, so that lady was saying this country was full of snakes… country and I find it a bit funny. Of course, I feel so sad for them because she said whenever I go to field to do farming I see these massive snakes, I’m very scared. So yeah. If you go ever my country you will see them. It’s like Australia.

It’s a great story. Really interesting.

I still don’t know were they loving each other or were they fighting? I think they fighting, but that way honestly. I wish you can see. They’re like doing that. I think they were fighting. Not loving. They were arguing.

Fighting over some food or something.

And we were honestly – snakes were there and we just came, we just came swimming very near. We were very near them. Luckily they didn’t bite us and lucky – oh, God. Otherwise, I would be dead. I wouldn’t have come to the UK.

Ah, brilliant. That’s a great story, really.

Thank you I wish you enjoyed.

That’s great. Can you tell me was it very hot?

It was hot. It was very hot. It was like summertime. Summer hot time. That’s why we were doing swimming in swimming pool that’s why. It was very hot.

Was there anything else you want to tell about what you saw on the day or anything else?

OK, so when I was little like baby, baby, baby yeah my mom went to my cousin’s wedding, my auntie, Dad’s side, it was her son's wedding and then she holds me like this and she was walking all around the hall, and everyone's like, “Oh is this your granddaughter, is this your granddaughter?” And she’s like, “No no that's my niece, that’s my niece, my son's getting married today! My first, oldest son is getting married today, she is not my granddaughter.”  

The next day, you know we came home, the next day all my body was all rash and pimple, rash, bruise all my body, I was non-stop crying and then because in my country they say “evil eyes”, yeah, they said I got “evil eyes”. And then I was crying and, you know, because I was maybe six months or something, a little baby yeah. And then my gran, yeah, she, we have a little bowl, a gold colour, I don't know what it's called in English, but it’s a gold colour, a metal one, a pure metal one, and all the bowl is written the Qur’an, the sura, the poem. She showered me with this one, she made a whole big pot of water and then she soaked that bowl in that water and then she showered me and then slowly, slowly I recovered from the “evil eyes” on my whole body and then since then we believe if you get “evil eyes” even my own niece, nephew if they cry too much, still my mum kept that bowl with her, it’s my grandmum’s bowl, but my mum still keep it. So, and then after my mum she will give it to my sister-in-law, so it's like our family thing, yeah. This is what we believe, if you get “evil eyes”, you can shower with that bowl and you get recovered. Yeah, that's it actually. Nothing else.

Yeah? Is there anything else you’d like to add to the interview? Anything you want us to know about you?

I just want – only one thing. I think I told everything I said everything about me, my childhood. That story. I just want to give thank you to you guys first of all, because through you guys, I can share my childhood story, I can share that interesting. My feelings – especially my feelings I can share. I can give like advice, like people can hear. If anyone hears me it’s like just as my advice. Do whatever you want. As long as it’s not harming anyone. As long as it’s not you know giving, stressing anyone. As long as it’s not like that just be yourself, do whatever you want. Be positive, have courage and be kind. That’s it. And you guys, I want to give you guys thank you. And Bawso obviously. And through Bawso I went to that museum, right? So I want to give massive thank you go Bawso. So I just want to give them a massive thank you. It’s a great opportunity, a great company. Staff there is amazing, all staff is amazing, yeah.

It's so important we have these places, isn’t it?

Yes, yeah. Right. Where would we have gone otherwise? Like us girls.

Hmm, absolutely.

Yeah, that’s it.

Okay.