THE SOUTHEAST EARTH FIRE GOD SWORD
PART 23
The full moon illuminates the night. Here and there the sound of the village children who are enjoying the beauty of the night by playing all kinds of games such as kikolo (detail and hide), or other children's games. Then the young men or old men sat gathered here and there to talk about many things. The light of the moon does make the pulse of village life longer than if the night without the light of the moon, where villagers are usually faster to relax their bodies in the contest.
La Turangga, La Rangga Jo, La Lewamori, and La Pabise did not miss the bright nights of the month to enjoy it. The four young men will be la Afi Sangia pajuri candidates to enjoy the beauty of the night in the village on the east coast of Sumbawa Island by making a bonfire in the hall next to the house they are in while burning ketela tree. Indeed, the four young men who have quite thick postures was this afternoon walking by riding their horses and returning home carrying quite a lot of cassava. Some of the yam they gave to Baojia, the host.
La Mudu aka Pendekar Tapak Dewa did not join the four new friends, because he prefers to sit alone with Meilin in sarangge (wooden halls) that are outside the fence under the house, not far from the four young men who surround the bonfire. For Meilin, it was only the first time to feel this kind of atmosphere. As long as he lives in this new country, let alone be able to enjoy the atmosphere of the moonlit night as it is today, even imagining him not bravely, because the life of him and his family is more anxious than his peace, because the hordes of his men La Afi Sangia can roam at any time. While Mbojo Kingdom soldiers do not always go around every day and are able to protect the lives of the people of Mbojo at all times.
Meilin also did not hesitate to convey the feeling of pleasure that he had long craved was the head of La Mudu.
“So, as long as Dik Mei lives in this country, have never enjoyed moments like this?”asking La Mudu felt as if in disbelief.
“Never, Brother. For Mei and the family, a moonlit night with a moonless night is the same. If it is night, it immediately closes the door of the house tightly. Then when we sleep we can not always be good because the worry is always in our hearts,”sahut Meilin.
La Mudu tensed his neck while sighing deeply. There was a deep sense of pity and concern for the life of the beautiful girl beside her and her parents. “Hopefully you will not forever not experience life like this. Because every storm will pass.”
“Iya Kak, but when?”There's a mess in Meilin's voice.
“Soon”ucap La Mudu firmly. Then, “Dik May still remember with our conversation on the beach this afternoon?”
Meilin looked at La Mudu's face, then nodded slowly. “May Kak Mudu succeed brilliantly, yes?”
“Sure!”
La Mudu wanted to give confidence to Meilin by grasping her delicate fingers, but it did not happen, because at that time La Pabise came to deliver the mature firewood yams. “Don't be too serious about the chat,” he said. “Nih, enjoy the burn?”
“Thank you, Brother,” Meilin told La Pabise.
“Yes, equally,”After La Pabise.
“Happy yes, see them?” suddenly La Rangga Jo opens a voice addressed to La Mudu and Meilin, but told to La Turangga and La Lewamori.
“Iya. The young man is handsome and the girl is very beautiful!”La Turangga.
“Truly a matching couple!”La Lewamori did not want to lose to tease La Mudu and Meilin.
“Aih, Big brother three again talk what, anyway?” meilin said with no ability to hide her shy face.
“Dimaklumi only, Dik May. Village youth are so, have a high nosy nature!”said La Mudu, flinching.
“If Brother Mudu what youth?”Meilin asked back.
“Eh, by the way, the four of you already have cea (lover), not yet?”La Mudu continued to ask.
La Pabise, La Turangga, La Rangga Jo, and La Lewamori both shook their heads quickly and simultaneously replied, “Not got!”
“Lho, why don't you have?”ask La Mudu again while chewing the roasted ketela.
“Punya, but we are forced to cut ties with our respective lovers?”la Lewamori replied with a serious face and voice. The three friends became silent.
Hearing that reply La Mudu stopped his chewing and looked towards La Lewamori and his three friends with a serious look. “Why? Why did you have to break up with your lover?”
A little long atmosphere of silence, before suddenly La Turangga voiced, “Ya absolute requirement to be a candidate for his pajuri La Afi Sangia is to have no wife or lover, he said, especially after becoming a pajuri. Every pajuri should not have any ties and interests with people outside Sangia Island. Even after that we have to forget where it came from. Soldiers who are already in a position that can be married and brought to the island. Even their wives are not from the islands closest to Sangia Island.”
Hearing that answer, La Mudu's face showed his surprise. And as if he unconsciously said,“It's so heavy terms?”
“Yes so, Lenga,”sahut La Rangga Jo.
“And you guys are really ready with such terms and conditions at a later date?”asked La Mudu anyway.
“Yes we must be ready, Lenga,” sahut La Turangga.
La Mudu mendehem, then again asked, “Why do you want to be his column La Afi Sangia? And why not try to enter into the official royal court of Mbojo, for example?”
“We have up to three times tried to enter into a royal court, but failed. The number of admissions per recruitment is limited, for the last few years. According to the grapevine, the royal treasury is being inadequate to recruit new pajuri with large numbers due to the income of tribute from the people is shrinking. The tribute of the people was much larger drawn by La Afi Sangia. Therefore, His Majesty Afi Sangia is much more able to recruit and pay his many soldiers.”
“So...La Afi Sangia has now been transformed as a new power with many vehicles? He's very rich?”La mudu continued to ask. More precisely, he secretly wanted to know everything about his opponent candidate.
Meilin who heard and considered the conversation was the talk of men, she was pleased to enter her house for a break. Although Baojia's house is not far away, La Mudu still drove him to his doorstep. When he returned, La Mudu found his four new friends had moved to sit down to the sarangge (balai-balai) that he had sat with Meilin. Then they continued their conversation about La Afi Sangia.
“So, La Afi Sangia is very rich?”La Mudu repeated his question.
“Amat rich!”la Pabise.
“Sorry, I am really a mountain boy, the four of Lenga, so the news about La Afi Sangia is very little. I did not think that La Afi Sangia was a really rich leader. Where did he get that much treasure?”
“Of course many sources, Lenga, come from land and sea region..,”sahut La Rangga Jo with a rather humbled voice. It was as if the young man was extremely careful when saying that.
“Hm, yes, yes, I understand,”ucap La Mudu. What La Rangga Jo means is that La Afi Sangia is the leader of a nation of robbers and pirates. Of course the wealth that could be gathered from the two regions was already unimaginable, consisting of gold, silver, and other precious items.
“Based on the news circulating, that the salary of his pajuri La Afi Sangia many times the amount compared to the salary of his royal pajuri anywhere around the southeast islands,”kata La Pabise's.
