Melatah is a spontaneous reaction whenever a person is surprised. Usually, it happens when someone pulls a prank on them. Thus, taking them off guard when they’re unaware of their surroundings.
From what we know, this habit is common among Malaysians, especially the Malays. We seldom see people of different races, like Chinese or Indians, that melatah. Interestingly, many older women like the cute mak ciks would often respond this way when surprised. However, the younger generation adopts this funny reaction too.
Speaking of melatah, we said it’s synonymous with the Malay community. However, we discovered it’s not! Melatah is a Malaysian habit, after all!
This Indian mak cik takes melatah to another level
From Fedtri Yahya’s tweet, we discovered something amazing. In his tweet, the TV personnel said, “It’s fun to see closeness [between different races] like this.”
We can’t argue with that. We wholly agree.
But this lovely mak cik isn’t Malay. She’s Indian!
If you thought she melatah in Tamil, you’re wrong. She went full-on Malay with a pure Perak accent! Ate kome!
Her Perak accent was verified by other Perak citizens too. Now we know this mak cik is legit.
It looks like the mak cik is the bride’s mother. They are holding a wedding ceremony. It’s so heartwarming to see our multiracial society mingling together!
Everyone teases her, and the mak cik says, “Don’t record this. Don’t upload [the video] to TikTok. It’s dangerous!”
Netizens can’t get enough of her cuteness
Many praises this Indian mak cik for speaking fluent Perak accent while she melatah.
The history of latah
Woah, melatah originated from the French-Canadian-American community centuries ago!
Did you know? This phenomenon is known as The Jumping Frenchmen of Maine. It was scientifically studied by a neurologist named George Miller Beard in 1878. In his regards, metalah only happened in a community of French-Canadian carpenters at Moosehead Lake, Maine.
He tried to make sense of the people’s reactions there. Beard had never witnessed this kind of response in America.
From his observation, the ‘jumpers’ would follow the person’s instruction when they melatah. If one asks them to sleep, they’ll sleep.
Not only that, but in his research, jumpers agreed they would face exhaustion after the melatah was over.
It doesn’t stop there. Russians have their term too. The phenomenon in Siberia is called miryachit. Yet, not many studies have been conducted.
Miryachit means to act foolishly. It was normal for anyone living in Yakutsk, a place with extreme coldness, to react. Additionally, the town is one of the coldest places in the world.
Some say melatah is contagious. If you tease them, you’ll end up doing it too!
The ambiance feels so lively with this mak cik around. We would like to befriend someone like her too! (And maybe tease her just to see her melatah!)
Sources: Twitter Fedtri Yahya, TikTok @ahjummaizma, Orangkata.my