Burung Kakaktua is a shell song in Pantum form. This means people can make up their own veres providing they follow the tune and thyming scheme (the last syllable of each line). In Pantun form, people usually make up (often funny) verses about other people.
In this case, the verse is sung about a grandmother.
Burung ka-kak-tua
Hinggap di jen-de-la
Nenek sudah tua
Gigi-nya tinggal dua
Cockatoo Bird
Is sitting in the window
Grandma is old
She only has two teeth
When someone sings a Pantun about you, it is the custom to sing one in return.
The rest of the verses in this song are nonsense verses about some of the many islands which make up Indonesia. Here are the names of more Indonesian islands:
BANGKA, AMBON, LOMBOK, FLORES, ALOR, WETAR, OBI, MISOOL, CERAM.
You can find the words and the music, and listen to the track from the Great Southern Songbook
here.
