TODAY marked a new milestone in my little girl's life - she had finally outgrown her need to take naps in the yau yau. It was certainly cause for great rejoicing at least for me because it meant that my baby was taking another step toward independance.
A yau yau is a traditional hammock-like cradle which a lot of mothers in my country use to rock their babies to sleep in. It is made up of three main parts - the spring coil, metal hanger and the sarong fabric which cradles the baby. It is called by many names through various languages. Yau yau is what it is called by my Hakka speaking mother and her mother before her.
The assembly of the yau yau is fairly easy. The sarong is looped onto the metal hanger which is then hooked to one end of the spring coil that is then attached at the other end to an appropriate length of rope to a strong, sturdy hook screwed into the main beam of the house hidden in the ceiling. And for obvious safety reasons, the yau yau is never hung too high off the floor.
Nowadays, however, most of these traditional baby hammocks are sold with its own metal frame from which it can be hung. These frames also come with wheels that enables moms to wheel the sleeping baby to wherever she is in the house so she can do her housework and still keep an eye on her baby. Also worth a mention is the availability of specially designed mosquitoe netting for these baby hammocks which are indeed useful in keeping the baby safe from being bitten. These days the sarong part can also be swapped for a soft, pre-designed net-like material that comes in typical trendy pastel colours like blue or pink like the one I bought for my little girl.
Her yau yau was attached to the main beam in the ceiling of our master bedroom just next to our bed. We did buy the metal hanging frame but soon decided the contraption was somewhat too big and clumsy to be placed in our bedroom. So we had it dismantled and stored away.
When she was an infant I used to place her in it to sleep in the day time. Back then I used the actual sarong material since I had so many in my possession. She slept so soundly in it, maybe because it was nice and cosy inside. It also cradled her quite snugly and the gentle bouncing, swaying motion probably made it feel like she was still in my tummy.
After her second birthday she started napping on her baby mattress placed in a safe corner on the sitting room floor. Eventually I realised that I could dismantle that old yau yau of hers without her even missing it.
So yesterday as soon as she fell asleep I hurried upstairs and took it apart and bundled it into the cupboard with its mosquitoe netting and her baby pillow. I tossed the pink hammock into the washing machine for a good wash. When it's dry it'll join the rest of its "gang" in the cupboard. Truth be told, I did get a little emotional over the whole thing as I remembered how adorable she looked sleeping in it.
The old yau yau has served us well indeed but certainly has not out lived its purpose. One fine day, when by God's grace we have another addition to our little family, the old yau yau will once again see the light of day. And when that day comes, I wonder if my little girl will still remember how she used to travel to dreamland in it not too long ago ...
- Photo by: Carol Ujan 2008
