The Thousand Mask Warrior

Betawi

In addition to its densely packed harbour by ships of various nations and lands, Betawi is a large and bustling city built at the mouth of the Ciliwung times. Jayaseta has passed through various cities from various sultanates along the road to Betawi, but again, this city also has its own life turmoil. Jayaseta sees many people with different skin colors, languages and ways of dressing. Jayaseta felt like he was in a world in the middle of nowhere where creatures of various shapes were gathering.

At least he knows a variety of languages from the Betawi population. There are Hokkien style Chinese, Middle Javanese, Timuran Javanese, Banyumasan, to Malay. The rest had never heard any other language. There is a language that continues and then explodes used by slaves and porters who are as black as soot. Jayaseta also recently saw tall, golden-haired and pale-skinned people with their language that was like someone was gargling.

He stood opposite the Ciliwung times that surrounded the wall of the city of Betawi from the rock where there were also many high guard towers almost in every corner of the wall, in a trading center with a variety of people who pass by and noisily offer their merchandise.

At Ciliwung times boats with curved ends and taper sampans milling with a variety of merchandise. A sturdy, long two-story wooden building with its tall roof stands behind Jayaseta. The building is part of the market. Even so, the yard is also filled with people who sell on the sidelines of coconut trees that are also towering. This place although crowded but lush thought Jayaseta.

Quite different from Banten, Betawi is indeed a country that is more neat and orderly. It seems that the people of Walanda did intend to create a prosperous country by imitating the city in their home country. Behind the city walls and the fortresses that protected it, a dense forest surrounded the land of Betawi. The Walanda soldiers and troops were relentlessly guarding the city from enemy attacks, either from Mataram, or from the city, Banten or countries that are still furious about the attitude of Walanda who want to control trade and government in Java and its surroundings.

Betawi was very influenced by Banten when it was still controlled by Tubagus Angke, husband of Queen Pembayum, daughter of Sultan Hasanuddin. Banten had power over the pepper and spice trade which was very important to and from the Moluccas. Banten's power in Jayakarta, Betawi's previous name, and Lampung as the producer and sale of pepper finally had to be disrupted when Walanda managed to make Betawi the center of government and its trade. Therefore, Banten was actually quite hostile to Betawi, just like Mataram.

Jayaseta entered the city by crossing a wooden bridge into a large and beautiful city gate. The highway is straight and wide, while on the edge of the brick and shaped passageways are devoted to pedestrians.

There are several fortresses within the city walls that are commonly called castles. One of the things Jayaseta noticed was a very prominent castle. The shape of a square stands on a river estuary and is made of stone. It appears to be one of the main defensive castles of enemy attacks, especially during the Mataram offensive a few years ago.

Four stone fortifications are also equipped with jagur cannons, buildings or guesthouses that seem beautiful even though they are seen from the outside a little, and of course with a complete army that guards by standing or going back and forth.

Outside the castle are wide and deep moats. While in addition there are courtyards and fields for the assembled troops, there is also a main guesthouse made of high bricks, so high and beautiful that has even been seen from the open ocean. Certainly in the castle there is an arsenal of weapons, both firearms or fire powder for cannons and rifles.

There are two main doors to enter and exit the castle. One led to the countryside with a stone and brick bridge, while the other was to the north. Here and there are still many buildings that are under construction. Jayaseta saw that the Walandans in Betawi also built a place of worship of Western religion with a crossbar on the roof called their church.

His feet continued to walk down the path. Several times he had to avoid ox and buffalo carts carrying supplies of goods or horse carriages carrying officials or ranks of Walanda troops who lined up neatly with a cruel face and full of threats to the community people who disrupt their travel.

In the other row also saw the faces of the natives not pale-skinned Caucasians. There were Javanese, Ambonian or Malay troops.

Soon Jayaseta arrived at a market area again inside the city fence on the bank of a river. This market on the front is a slaughterhouse that provides beef, buffalo and chicken. All the animal wastes were thrown into the river. The building is roofed and masted.

Another building next to it that is also roofed and colonnaded is a fish auction with auctioneers clamoring to offer their fish. All fish auctioneers are Chinese. Jayaseta noticed that the Chinese were very much in Betawi, more than any country he had ever visited, including Giri, Mataram, Cerbon and Banten.

Jayaseta's view continues to go around seeing this diverse crowd and pounded on one corner of the field, on the riverbank, just below two tall towering coconut trees. Both trees are curved because of their height. Jayaseta saw someone sitting surrounded by small children and some older people. He voiced loudly in Malay and quite caught the attention of many people. His voice was changing from a high screech, a low growl to laughter and crying. The people around him also seemed to get carried away to laugh or frown. That guy turned out to be a storyteller.

The storyteller held out a piece of red cloth with various equipment to support the story. There is also a bowl made of clay for the money as a tribute or mercy of the people who watch the fairytale show.

There are various props that he uses. Starting from puppets, various forms of small animals made of wood, to various types of masks. Jayaseta immediately fell in love to see one of the masks that was pure white with round eyes bulging and had a muzzle. The muzzle of the mask half-open showing rows of sharp teeth like a golden saw. It was a Hanuman mask, a powerful ape figure in the mayang Ramayana.

Jayaseta recalls that he used to have a Hanuman mask that he wore to fight against Mataram royal spies who made trouble in Giri. It was just that the Hanuman mask he was wearing was larger and heavier with hairs on its sides to depict the dense ape fur.. While the mask of the storyteller's white monkey is smaller, without hair or hair ornaments but looks very beautiful. The wild but wise impression of the apes is clearly drawn on the curves of the mask. Not to mention the mysterious impression that Jayaseta likes from all the masks is also present in this mask.

I don't know why he wanted that mask. The last mask he had broken in three, even though his colleagues gave it. He needs another mask.

Perhaps already a soul mate, he can almost always find a mask wherever he is. The mask has become his need as a complement to his identity, reminding him of who he really is, the purpose of his life and his journey as a swordsman. The mask is also one of his weapons.

With the mask, he makes the enemy confused, curious and difficult to guess the moves he uses. Moreover, the Jurorless Skill proved to be in line with his equally unpredictable mask. Even the mask actually becomes a weapon in the true picture. He fended off poisonous nails with his mask, attacked enemies by throwing his mask to disturb their minds, and even stuck a fragment of the mask on the enemy's neck to death.

“Are you the Mask Swordsman of a Thousand young people?” ask the storyteller suddenly.

Jayaseta could not help but be surprised by the sudden question of the storyteller whom he estimated was over the thirties.

“Ah .. what do you mean by father? I don't know anything about anyone you say. I just ... ,” suddenly Jayaseta fell silent when the storyteller raised his hand upwards as a sign he was not interested in hearing Jayaseta's reasons further.

“Have been a young man. No need to cover up. No one is interested in masks unless he is an artist just like me, or the kids. Even so they used to buy in craft shops, not in just any place like here,” said the storyteller.

Jayaseta was still speechless, seemingly confused as to what to say.

“I'll give you this Hanuman mask for free. I wish you were the famous Thousand Mask Swordsman. Think of this mask as an expression of my support for you because many tell of your actions that defend truth and justice in earnest.

“However, if you are not the person I mean, just think of this mask as a gift from someone who both loves mask art,” the storyteller gives the mask of Hanuman while smiling meaningfully. Jayaseta nodded and returned the storyteller's smile. He then turned around and left the storyteller who again smiled wider while looking at the swordsman's back and returning to clean up his belongings.

Jayaseta shook her head while smiling to herself. He could no longer escape the fame of a Thousand Mask Swordsman. Jayaseta then toured again in the trading center to buy various necessities. He bought a piece of cloth that he used to wrap his Hanuman mask, a piece of clothing and other pants that he also bought.

But he still wore the old clothes that Pratiwi gave despite being torn in some parts. He also had time to eat in a shop and headed to a corner at Ciliwung times to bathe and clean himself.

At the time of Ciliwung where he was cleaning himself, Jayaseta from the beginning of his arrival was already agape with the midlife of a giant fortress in front of him. In fact, it was within the giant fortress that the city was called Betawi. No wonder the Mataram Kingdom is so difficult to penetrate the solid fortress made by pale skinned people. Certainly it took a lot of funds and slave labor to build a fort on the ruins of Jayakarta. This fort is made of very thick bricks.

Actually it is rectangular, but in each corner is triangular because it is used for defense with a cannon that juts out. A little different from the walls of the fortress, the building with cannons that jut out is made of large wood. In addition to the Ciliwung times surrounding the fort, there are also trenches built around the fort as a defense. While the gate of the fort is located north and south. It is said that the area of this fort was nine times the size of the previous Jayakarta fort.

According to the news that Jayaseta got from a Chinese cloth seller who he spoke using Hokkien with mixed Malay, in the western part of Betawi lived Pranggi people, Chinese and slaves and lowly people. That's where the Chinese live. In the east, the Walanda company and the rich lived. Jayaseta is still at a loss to begin the search for Grandpa Salman from where.

Could it be that he lived in the west with the Pranggis, the Chinese and the lowly, or vice versa, Salman's grandfather was a rich man like the merchant Amir? Or is it possible that he lived in the neighborhood of Betawi's own fortress containing the houses of officials and soldiers of the Walanda Company?

The area outside the Betawi fort seems to be in an extraordinary period of development. The moats, the lined buildings and the streets were all square and boxy. Jayaseta has never seen such a city. It could be thought, this was deliberately built to imitate the style of urban planning in the company's home country in Walanda there.

***

Jayaseta has now changed clothes. The pants he was wearing had changed even though they were still of the same type and style as the knee-length pants he was wearing before. While his old pants along with Pratiwi clothes have been washed and dried in an instant because of the heat of the sun.

He had already stuffed his clothes into his new bundle of cloth in place of the leather puffer Grandpa Keling gave along with his Hanuman mask. He now also wears a long-sleeved shirt with no clean white buttons. The fabric material is thinner than Pratiwi clothes.

Two sides of the shirt were tucked in and the batik jar was tied around her waist in a simple leather belt. The whip chain was tied around his waist but was covered by a fold of batik jarit. His hair had been rolled back as usual at the top of his head. A piece of cloth folded and bound around his forehead and the back of his head hid three discs placed on his head.

Jayaseta takes a breath and decides to travel west to find out where Grandpa Salman lives. Although there was not much news that Grandpa Keling gave, he would still try to find with all his might. At least he will start looking for traits of Salman's grandfather that seem not so difficult to recognize. He must be a grandfather of the age of Grandpa Keling, sixties years, and characterized by face and skin color like those from the country Hindustan.

Jayaseta then walked west on a path along the river. Chinese shop buildings line the edge of a straight street that pedestrians often pass, ox and buffalo carts or horse carriages. On the river bank there are also many Chinese houses, while on the other side of the road grows a variety of trees that make it shady. Sawahs like those in almost all places on the island of Java have not been seen in this Betawi. Only buildings, rivers, trees and company forts were built in many places.