The Mark of Cain

Tima the TeaLady

Cain stood facing the Dayung Borih, his nerves at breaking point.  After a long and difficult search he was here at the village of Duyoh, and he didn’t know how to begin. He had followed the directions given to him by Tima, but there was no map as such, plus the whole area was so untouched.  People that he had stopped to ask for the way had not even heard of such a place. Finally, after two days of searching and hoping, he saw the many huge boulders that Tima had told him to look out for.  They were the sign posts that he was nearing the village of the Shaman.

“I know why you have come,” she said in her rasping voice, her long dry hair in a mess on her head, and the pitting of the skin on her breasts made them look like yellow over ripe fruit.  In the background, tens of small drums were being beaten by strong men naked to the waist.  They all wore necklaces donned with the teeth of wild boars.  The Priestess began to sway to the rhythm of the drums, quickly falling into a trance.  Her eyes rolled back, and her n*****s looked like they were in danger of popping out and shooting at him.

“You have to pass a spiritual test,” the Shaman whispered in that strange voice. “Go to Mt. Santubong and get me the head of the Rajah Laba.  Only then can you appease the spirits or beg for a healing.”

Cain’s heart fell in despair.  To come all this way, only to be told to go on another quest.  Still, he must be patient, to hear her out, and maybe find a way to defeat her.  He might be feeling ill, but his strong nature will not give up so easily.  Having lived with Monks, he always walked in a manly manner, his strong legs apart, and he never raise his voice. 

“Tell me how I can do that,” he said loudly, over the sounds of the drums, very unlike himself.

“The Rajah Laba is the king of the wild boars, and the big herd live on the mountain of Santubong, only 800 meters tall, it stands in the shallow waters of the South China Sea.  But do not be deceived, for they are thousands of years old, now able to transform into human forms.  It is no easy task to find their hide out, least of all to kill the king.”

For hundreds of years, the many herds of wild boars have roamed the jungles of Borneo.  They were an organised species of animals, with ranks and file.  Those lucky few who survived hog-wars, bush fires or the poison darts of blow pipes of the Dayak hunters lived so long that their spirit had connected with the un-natural.

Yes, the un-natural was what humans called it.  Things that were not meant to be, not supposed to happen.  Yet, inevitably, it was what happened to this particular group of boars.  The oldest male hog, slowly, over the long years became Labo, King of the wild boar, in human form.

Being the leader, even as the King of a herd of pigs was not enough for him.  As he grew older and wiser, Labo wanted to be like those superior beings who came into his territory, to hunt and kill.  He swore that he would revenge his species.  One day, one day soon, he would go to war with mankind to destroy them all.   

The Shaman gave Cain detailed instructions, and handed him that ancient sword.  “You must cut his head off with this sword and bring it back to me.  Do not fail this quest, or you will die.”

Slowly her eyes began to open again, looking at Cain she nodded her head several times.  This will do for now, she thought.  She had planted the seed, and now Cain who is the chosen one, will start the war that will end in the defeat of the boar king.

A lonely waterfall dropped from the rocky cliff halfway up Mt. Santubong.  It was at the deepest part of the low land forests that covered this part of the mountain with its tall dipterocarp trees.  Sounds of monkeys could be heard in the far distance, but the most distinctive sounds were the water falling onto the deep pool at the bottom.  Cain, already in poor health, was glad to see it.  He must take a rest here before he continued his way up into the unknown.

His thought went back to that last day in the office, the day before he had started his journey into the spiritual world.  Jackson had seemed so concerned for him, taking his hand and gently holding it to his chest. There was even a tiny tear starting at the corner of his eye as he prayed a soft prayer.  Cain was quite touched by this.  He never knew that Jackson was that fond of him, he had never really shown his affection until now.  Oh well, Jackson was a sweet boy, and Cain liked him too.

Sanuk was born in a new era, a time when her people were people.  It was true that her father had impressed upon her that she was actually a pig by nature.  The princess hated this notion.  She didn’t want to be a pig.  She wanted the world.  But her fate was that she had to live all her life on the mountain of Santubong.  Life wasn’t that bad really, she was able to roam freely and safely, as long as she did not get too close to those real evil humans.  Her father the King had told her horrific stories of humans coming into their forest with blow pipes and knives, to hunt and kill.  One of her aunties had ended up on a roasting fire. They were her people’s enemy, therefore hers too.