Short story based on Dayak Folklore: Panglima Burung 4.0
“My struggle to awaken and protect the Dayak Tribe is not an option, but an obligation that cannot be denied, imprinted in my memory. Now after so many millennia, I am being pulled back, mind-ported with the call to have a brand-new body filled with my old memories. As before, there must be something I must do to protect the Dayak Tribe at this time.” Panglima Burung.
"No!" shouted a man with a thick mustache and a long white beard, his eyes sparkling with determination.
"It's time to pass the red bowls around, otherwise the Dayak tribe will only become history in the future, Djata," said Ampong, his eyes turning red with anger.
'Listen Ampong, I'm not sure if we, among those 300 people left, hold Dayak DNA blood, because with intermarriage and also with hundreds of other tribes and races in the past thousands of years, we ourselves are not sure whether we also deserve to be called Dayak,' said Djata, still firm.
"I know Djata, what we now have is merely the Dayak Culture and the Dayak Culture which protects our identity as Dayaks. I realize that I am not necessarily descended from the original Dayak Tribe, but I also know that we are just seeking life together as a whole." Said Ampong.
"Regardless of whether the threats from outside are genuine or not, the Dayak tribe we have will be destroyed, but let's unite to fight as our ancestors did." With an angry face, Ampong said, "It's time to do ngayau with the help of our ancestors."
"10 Khuntiens have entered our hiding area within 10 minutes. The red bowl ritual must be performed quickly!" Harati shouted with a worried face, despite his efforts to remain calm.
"One Khuntien alone can kill 300 people within 10 minutes. Now they are sending 10 Khuntiens, hurry up!" Purok shouted.
Djata looked calm and said, "I'm not so certain if it will work because that doesn't guarantee that the red bowl will be circulating and summoning ancestral memory to be able to perch, one of our Dayak ancestor minds will mindport and unite with one of the 300 Dayaks here, not necessarily and very doubtful as Dayak genetic line, or even if this is just a myth."
“Djata, yes or no?” Purok shouted.
"Yes! Do it Nara!” Djata gave permission as well as instructions to carry out the red bowl processing ritual.
Nara immediately used the red sap from the jaranang tree and began to summon memories from the past to the present.
"I don't know whether the words spoken by Nara were really Dayak language, because the Dayak language was extinct thousands of years ago," Harati whispered to Hante, a man who was muscular and looked strong.
"Hm..." Hante just cleared his throat.
The atmosphere was tense. 300 people who were not sure that they were really genetically descended from the Dayak tribe performed the ritual with doubts and hopes that seemed to fade.
This was like holding grass when they were about to fall into a ravine. There was no hope.
KRAAAAANG
KLAAAANG!
The sound of a metal door splitting and falling onto the metallic floor was not a thump but a loud clank.
Huh...
Hukk...
Hukk!
A thin and frail young lady appeared to cough. The others looked unperturbed. It seemed like it was a regular occurrence.
"A khuntien has penetrated the outermost door of our hideout," Harati informed him in a low voice so as not to overpower Nara's voice who was performing the red bowl ritual.
"We will definitely be finished, all of us," Harati said to Danum, a young girl who looked weak, sickly, suffering from acute asthma since childhood, the weakest among the 300 people present.
"My ..., sorry, I don't know whether this sentence is really Dayak language. The Dayak language varied in the past and I'm not certain whether this is the Dayak language now. Which of the tribes does Dayak speak?” Nara suddenly stopped and his face looked full of doubt.
Everyone suddenly looked at each other. In the distance there was a loud clatter…
KLAAAAAANG
KLAAAAAANG
“Nara, just do what you believe in!” shouted Djata.
"F... Fine!” Nara immediately returned to its original state.
Hante took the detector from Harati's hand.
“Those who feel they have the soul of a frontline warrior. Come on! The Kuntiens have entered the third line of our defense,” said Hante while showing a map that suddenly appeared projected in the air from the tool he was holding.
"Ready!" Ten men and eight women took the lightmandau, following Hante who walked with firm steps in the lead.
"In five minutes they will arrive" Harati whispered to Danum.
"Huh... hunk, hukk! …,” Danum coughed loudly.
Danum looked tired, thin, and weak, having been at war with her own illness all her life. Medicine is a rare thing in the area.
Therefore, Danum will not be able to recover. The lives of people who claim to belong to the Dayak tribe are full of suffering. This is because they do not understand why these Khuntiens are chasing and killing them.
She only knew that in the past, the area was peaceful, there was no threat. Many tourists came from outside the Dayak area to experience the culture and traditions of the Dayak tribe in the past.
But about seventy years ago, someone suddenly opened Pandora's box. Then a Khuntien appeared, chasing all humans, not just the Dayaks. The Dayak tribe were the last humans to fight back.
Danum and her family used to frequently move from one area to another to avoid being chased by the Khuntiens. This was until her parents died at the hands of one of the Khuntien.
Even now, Danum remembers one of the Khuntien. There was a very large hole in the heart of one of the Khuntien. This was because of the laser beam from his father. This was right before his father was killed by Khuntien's lightsaber.
Even though he was short of breath, Danum escaped among the rubble and metal debris, his small body nimbly escaping, and he was rescued by Djata.
Ya Djata was like a surrogate father to him, giving him hope, food, protection, and lessons in life.
In the distance, Hante and the other warriors were on alert. The third layer of protection was starting to seep through.
KLAAANG
KLAAAAAANG
KLAAAAAAAAANG
The tendrils appearing behind the metal that had fallen onto the floor were reminiscent of the tendrils of a squid's legs, and then their bodies. Their body was like a human's with two arms that could be extended like tendrils with fingers like human hands holding two green light swords at once.
“Khuntiens…,” Hante hissed.
"Wait for my signal, prepare your lightmandau!" shouted Hante.
Not long after, more Khuntiens entered the forest area which seemed to be covered by a metal dome. They looked very aggressive. Their only goal was to kill all the remaining Dayak tribes.
"Nara!" shouted Djata.
"Done! Here, let's pass it on!" replied Nara.
Djata froze, his eyes suddenly welled up with tears, and dripping.
"Why?" asked Nara.
"It seems there is something wrong with this, or is this just a myth? As soon as the red bowl ceremony is completed. The memory of one of our ancestors should possess you." Djata's voice was deep and heavy, holding back tears.
"I am not the head of the Dayak tribe, I am only the oldest among you, that's why I chose you to be the warlord and to summon the ancestral memory. However, this decision proved to be wrong!" Djata lost his temper and began screaming and yelling at Nara.
Everyone's eyes looked at Djata.
"I... I'm also not sure if the incantation I cast was correct? I'm sorry Djata," a deeply hurt Nara voice said.
"Okay, at least let's continue distributing the red bowls..." Djata whispered to Nara.
“Pass this red bowl and may the jubatas protect us all!” Djata gave the red bowl to the person next to him, then Djata moved to take the lightmandau.
The red bowl moves from one person to another. Arriving at Harati.
"It seems pointless to perpetuate myths and the genetic and cultural destruction of the real Dayak people, so that we believe we know their culture and language, but we aren't Dayaks," Harati complained to Danum.
"Huh... huk, huk!"
Danum held up the red bowl that had been given to her. Her body was weak due to asthma, difficulty breathing. Even in the last few years, when she had pneumonia which had yet to heal, she always coughed.
AAAAARGH
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
In the distance, the voices of Hante and his other friends could be heard.
The others immediately knew that Hante and his friends who had been blocking the khuntien were dead.
Each person in the room began to tighten their grip on their own lightmandau.
The red bowl is in the hands of the last person in the room. All are silent, awaiting a miracle.
KLAAAAAANG
KLAAAAAANG
KLAAAAAAAANG
KLAAAAAAAANG
KLAAAAAAAAANG
KLAAAAAAAAAAANG
KLAAAAAAAAAAANG
It could be seen that the last layer of protection had been shattered. Amidst the puffs of smoke from the torn metal, the khuntiens appeared, one by one, they lined up neatly, ten of them total, not one less.
“For the Dayak Tribe!" shouted Djata. Then Djata lunged at the Khuntiens. Djata's action was followed by Nara, as well as others.
Harati was stunned, and looked at Danum. "Danum, at a time like this, running away is the most sensible step, so that our tribe can survive and thrive in the future," Harati said with sharp eyes at Danum.
She looked desperate as she said, "No, I also ran for a long time, suffering from illness, without parents." Maybe die as a knight is the right thing to do."
AAAAAAAARGH
The stifled scream of Djata as he fell near Danum after one of Khuntien's beam swords penetrated his body, tore him and threw him.
One by one the people in the room died quickly. Harati ran away from the battle area and looked for a hiding place, leaving Danum behind.
Danum sobbed near Djata's body, covered in blood, dying. He reached for Danum's face, but didn't reach it yet, his hands drooping.
Danum sobbed even more. Her feelings are mixed, and everything seems hopeless. The red bowl ritual was her last hope, but it turned out to be hollow. Everything is just a myth.
Now his only choice is to die, to be free from suffering, to be free from his illness, to follow his parents, to follow his adoptive father Djata.
Dannum is now ready for everything, nothing to lose. She is ready to die, she is willing to die. Suddenly her mind became calm, peaceful, because she was prepared to face death.
She took the lightmandau lying near Djata's right hand. Danum walked quietly, very calmly towards the Khuntien. The Khuntien didn't notice it.
Suddenly a blade of lightmandau struck Khuntien's head, ngayau!
One khuntien's head which had a large hole in its chest was cut off with a surge of electricity in its neck.
Like a hornbill with plasma wings, Danum floated down lightly, as if she had wings of plasma energy behind her back.
The other Khuntien were stunned, directing all their eyes towards Danum.
Never before has a human been able to beat a Khuntien, this time the record has been forfeited.
"Panglima Burung!" shouted Harati who came out of his hiding place.
All the remaining twenty-one people were thrilled to see the Commander-in-Chief's prowess, who was able to kill ten Khuntiens in a matter of seconds.
YEEEEAAAAAAY!
They shouted triumphantly, while running towards Danum, lifting her while screaming.
Panglima Burung!
Panglima Burung!
Panglima Burung!
Panglima Burung!
Panglima Burung!
Panglima Burung!
Panglima Burung!
Panglima Burung!
Panglima Burung 4.0
Then she sat on the platform where the red bowl ritual was started. Everyone then lined up neatly, waiting for something from the Panglima Burung who was standing proudly on the altar.
The Panglima Burung said, "My dear Dayak tribe, don't you know that you don't live in an agricultural, rural, urban, or forested area? It took me time to find you."
"Haven't we lived in cities, villages and forests all this time?" Harati replied.
"No, you are approaching a new planet on a spaceship. The old planet was wiped out by a robot that was hacked by someone greedy, so greedy man is using artificial robots you call khuntien from the word sentien to gain control of the old planet and kill political opponents...And you are those political opponents..." replied the Commander of the Birds.
“The two political opponents used sentients to kill opponents and other political followers, so that all humans, not only the Dayak tribe, also became extinct. Some managed to escape, but there were ten sentients who managed to infiltrate and chase you for a thousand years on this plane. ,” explained the Bird Commander.
"A thousand years, Plane?" Harati is stunned.
The Panglima Burung then walked somewhere and did something manually. She said, "Yes spacecraft, about seventy years ago someone managed to open the robot's isolation room and sentient freezer." Suddenly the jungle-like room turned into a room full of screens and panels.
"An illusion that seems real?" Harati asked.
"Yes, high-tech holograms," said Panglima Burung. As you can see in the window, there are stars and vast expanses of outer space, and I'm sure you will see the sea on your destination planet," said Panglima Burung.
"Sea?" muttered Harati.
“Sea? The sea, which is a stretch of water but not water, is just a line of sight all this time," said the woman standing on the right side of Harati.
"Yes, the sea," replied the Panglima Burung, "because on this plane there is no sea, only the scenery, so on the planet you are going to see the real sea."
"Within 172 hours, this spaceship will land on your newly discovered planet. Enjoy your life, and live as a Dayak tribe who is one with nature. Live in peace as Sea Dayaks, River Dayaks, and Land Dayaks like your ancestors, and one day your descendants will become Space Dayaks again," said the Panglima Burung.
"While you are here, one thing is certain, you can use words to ask for medicine or food from this spaceship," explained the Panglima Burung.
"Access to pneumonia medicine," ordered Panglima Burung.
Suddenly a beam of light appeared in Panglima Burung's palm. A bottle of pneumonia medicine was there.
"Give this medicine to Danum," She gave the medicine to Harati.
"Where are we going after this?" asked Harati.
"I will come back when your next generation calls me again, goodbye," said the Panglima Burung.
Danum sat limply, her breath short. She wondered why everyone was looking at her.
Harati rushed to her, guided him, and sat Danum on the altar.
Harati said, "Access water," then water in a bottle appeared in front of Harati.
"Wow!" Danum was amazed by that. Harati then opened the lid on the medicine bottle and gave Danum a capsule of pneumonia medicine to drink.
"You can do it later too," Harati whispered to Danum.
Danum smiled at Harati, who smiled back.
The sape's music soothes the mind.
"In one hour we will land on the destination planet set by our ancestors. What name shall we give to this planet?" said a woman in navigation.
“Humi,” Harati replied.
"Humi, earth, home, home?" Danum asked.
"Yes, home," Harati looked at Danum, who was cleanly dressed, healthy and looking beautiful.
"Chief Harati, we will land on the flat area our ancestors have calculated," said the woman in navigation.
"Okay, prepare everything as needed, we will have a real home on this Planet Humi," Harati ordered.
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