Arash followed the young aborigine through a myriad of huts made of bamboo, towards the center of the village. Some were open-air huts, while others got walls. All of the huts were raised as high as about three to four steps and did not directly touch the soil. At a distance, he could even make out a few small brick-like basic rectangular houses. He tilted his head in confusion, and he planned to ask his guide about the specifics of the village.
However, a more significant disconcerting matter irked him more than the mixture of traditional huts with brick buildings. Along the way, a lot of villagers strangely looked at him as if he was the most exotic animal. He could detect a hint of respect in their gazes too, which confused him. Arash tried his best to brush the stares off with an acknowledging nod accompanied with a warm, friendly smile.
A smile had never failed him anywhere.
Contrary to his expectation, most of the villagers who saw his smile hid themselves and peeked back inquisitively. Once he walked off, they would then emerged from their hiding places and started to chat animatedly with each other while giving him additional stares behind his back.
Arash felt uncomfortable as he heard the buzzing chatter. He knew they must be talking about him though he didn't understand what it was all about. In his mind, they must be laughing at him for getting lost so easily when he's already in the vicinity of the village.
"Don't mind them, Uncle. They're just shy. Everyone is grateful that you're here." Even the young aborigine boy who was leading the way blushed slightly as he mumbled under his breath to appease the confused Arash. His cryptic words added to Arash's puzzlement, but he just nodded mechanically.
True to Arash's speculation, everyone was really talking about him, but not about him getting lost, as it was just a passing interlude. They were discussing animatedly that this new outsider had mellowed out the ancient Spirit Healer!
The exalted Elder had not started to find faults in anyone yet since both of them reached the village! They were also curious about how the new outsider managed to do that since all of them knew how notorious was the old Elder. They were so scared since their village had advanced by leaps and bounds this time around since the last time the Spirit Healer appeared.
"Did you see that fair ugly man? What did the Spirit Healer see in him?.."
"He's soo flabby.."
"He got a nice smile! So charming! Just needed some extra hours under the sun..."
“He must read a lot! He sure looked like someone who is well learned.”
"Did you know? He was playing with the Esteemed Elder outside the village!"
"Really?! How courageous!"
"Is he the Esteemed Elder's type?"
“Do you think he’s the Esteemed Elder’s illegitimate son? It could be!”
“Nope! I’m sure not. His sons and daughters, including his descendants, were just left like that without care! He won’t treat another son differently.”
“What if he’s got a mistress?!”
“Ohhhhh..”
“Guard your tongue! Or you want us all to get implicated together with you?!”
"Then how to explain why the Esteemed Elder cared about that man so much?! He even asked Elder Telang1the name of blue-pea flower tree. Used in cooking a lot to color rice and cakes to move out so that he could give his haya to the man!"
"Seriously?!"
"Where will Elder Telang's family of five go?"
"What is going on here?"
"Should we treat the man as an honored guest?"
"So suspicious! Is he really lost in the woods before?!"
“Hey, at least when he’s here, the Esteemed Elder will always be so nice! Be grateful!”
All kinds of random questions were discussed between the villagers in hushed voices as Arash walked passed them.
If only Arash could understand them, he would've sweated big time.
...
Once the aborigine left, Arash observed the bamboo structure around him in awe as he walked to a beautifully patterned brown weaved rectangular mengkuang mat2a weaved mat using dried screwpine leaves. It’s a traditional craft old Msian grandmas and grandpas still did, but the younger generations were losing interest in it. Sigh. Some of the pieces are dyed before weaving, producing a lot of designs. It is quite beautiful and sturdy. at the edge of the large airy room made wholly of bamboo. Although the strips weren't dyed in the conventional bright colors he used to see, the beauty of the geometric design deserved to be praised. He flipped below the mengkuang mat to find it full of soft, fresh leaves, neatly arranged. This level of freshness showed that they were just being plucked from trees. However, not even a single leaf was wet, although he knew it was raining hard half of the night. If these leaves were as fresh as he thought they could be, it meant that the villagers had painstakingly wiped each one clean before stuffing them under the mengkuang mat as a cushion. Arash was speechless with their level of dedication. There were even two pieces of clean batik cloth, although they looked slightly worn out; one was rolled up, while the other was folded into a small rectangle. He could guess their functions; the rolled one should be a replacement for a pillow while the folded one should be used as a blanket.
A small pot of an old fashioned oil lamp was burning on a table-like structure at another side of the room, also entirely made from bamboo. A bunch of fresh flowers and leaves were arranged in an empty coconut shell vase, still full of raindrops, giving the setting an ecstatically pleasing view. His backpack was just placed beside the table. The window was half-opened on another end, as a piece of wood was used to lean against the windowpane. This allowed the fresh air, which was still smelt of rain to come in. Although the room was simple, it was quite large, with a window and a doorway. A piece of dark-colored batik cloth was used over the door to give him some semblance of privacy.
Arash walked to the window and peeked through it. He saw a lot of ladies busily cooking together upon a few campfires with big woks, while a lot of the younger ones were playing with phones! The older ones were using the outdated versions, while the younger ones were using inexpensive smartphones! Some were even wearing mp3s and mp4s while peeling something akin to tubers, while the older ones were tuning a handheld radio while smoking cigarettes and cleaning at the same time. He could see a simple water pump attached to a well not far away and a tall cell tower in the background! The faint sounds of a generator could be heard from afar, which meant that somewhere, there was a facility using electricity.
Arash was speechless!
Arash suddenly felt the urge to look up. Lo and behold, there was a tiny unopened light bulb right at the center of the room! Since it wasn't switched on, and the low fire of the oil lamp gave low visibility, he had not noticed it before. Arash walked up to the light bulb and tried to pull the string. The bulb shone brightly and hurt his eyes! He quickly switched it off again and finally understood why it was not on previously.
Arash walked back to the window and placed his elbows on the windowsill while supporting his face with his palms. He continued observing the vigorous activities happening outside while lamenting in wonder. The aborigine village was not as outdated as he thought it should. These people had been steeped with enough technological advancement and wasn't averse to them at all. He wondered why Tok Silihan wouldn't just tell him about the existence of the cell tower. He even felt that with the right amount of investment, this village could flourish well into a tourist hub, befitting its level of hospitality and authentic experience.
The advancement of technology was rampant in the last five to ten years as of late once one of the descendants had successfully entered the political scene and had lobbied hard to fight for the rights of the aborigines. Many highly skilled ones who had traveled to a foreign country had also returned and helped in many ways for the sake of future generations. Since their village was one of the major settlements and was nearest to town, they received the government’s aid the earliest. However, a clean water source, electricity, phone signal, and internet were of the lowest tier. They still had to rely on generators and the likes, especially during emergencies, when the makeshift clinic was in full swing. The unavailability of a proper road connecting the village to town had increased the difficulty of relaying aid more frequently.
Although the Bateq people seemed so advanced now, it was, of course, a minority of them, which comprised of the younger generation. Many of the old ones still believed in the olden ways and still became nomads, traversing the rainforest when the time comes. They will only return to the main village after a few months or even after a few years. Only a small number of them became permanent villagers who learned to farm and fished from the nearby river besides hunting and gathering herbs.
What Arash couldn't see was the genuine fear exhibited by the older villagers, especially to the ones who owned a 'technological item.' To them, these items were hot potatoes in their hands, akin to contrabands, when the esteemed legendary Spiritual Healer was around. It was known far and wide that he hated these indulging decadent items that had led the villagers astray from their original Way. However, the other elders of the Bateq clan were busy distracting the old Spiritual Healer, and they knew they had a little more time to indulge themselves just a little longer. True to Tok Batik Silihan's fear, the addiction was real. Obviously, since he had been away in the depth of the forest for more than ten years, he had not known the existence of the cell tower!
The old ones kept on urging the young ones to keep all technological items but to no avail. The younger generation less than seventeen years old in the tribe kept on going with a 'one more game' attitude, as they had only heard stories and had not experienced Tok Batin Silihan's notoriety. They were too young before. As such, the whole community carefully concealed their concern and acted like nothing happened with a 'business-as-usual' attitude. But still, it birthed to a strange high-strung atmosphere, oblivious to Arash's perception. At the moment, the whole village was in a tensed state, since they could feel that they were waiting for the elusive esteemed Elder to burst.
...
Authors’ Note:
- Telang = the name of blue-pea flower tree. Used in cooking a lot to color rice and cakes
- Mengkuang mat = a weaved mat using dried screwpine leaves. It’s a traditional craft old Msian grandmas and grandpas still did, but the younger generations were losing interest in it. Sigh. Some of the pieces are dyed before weaving, producing a lot of designs. It is quite beautiful and sturdy.
Designs of mengkuang mats:
How to make a mengkuang mat from scratch made by a grandma:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNJ_MPAXE74
