Chapter 14: Chapter 14- Aray!

AMILYN

 

Not having much to do while we wait, I get the opportunity to observe the datu’s entourage.

Looking closely at them, I realize that the group is comprised of men and women from all ages. I see some who look about fifty, while others are about twenty five. They’re all wearing some sort of similar clothing.

The majority of their clothes is red. The men are wearing some sort of long-sleeved blazer with nothing beneath it, red in color, with patterns of blue and yellow. They have some heavy-looking beaded necklaces on, varying in thickness for each person. Their shorts are knee-length, made of the same cloth as their shirts. The pattern is not so clear from here, but I have a feeling that it’s similar to the cloth hanging from our hut.

The women are also wearing clothes and skirts of red with patterns of blue and yellow. The sleeves are blue. Their hairs are tied up in a neat bun, and from here, I can see that they all cut their bangs. In addition to the bangs, their hairs are decorated with tuffs of cloths and beads falling from their head. Hanging from their necks are necklaces, one of which is a large circular pendant made of silver.  On each of their arms are numerous bracelets alternating black and white.

“Woah look. That one has so many batok. I think it’s Bagani Amara. And that one beside her must be Bagani Dos. Cool. Heard all about them but never saw them this close,” Mary excitedly exclaims, staring at the datu’s entourage.

“Bagani who? And what is a batok?” I ask, trying to get a glimpse of what she’s looking at.

“Bagani Amara and Bagani Dos, two of the most famous bagani in Pinag-adlawan. Heroes of the Battle of Semarang,” she explains, still in awe.

“Battle of what?”

“Semarang. A colony of kapre in Indonesia decided to take over a city. The two of them fought on their own against a legion of a hundred. Turned out victorious of course. So cool. Look at their batok. So many. I bet I could never achieve even a quarter of that. Ah, ayusa uy!” she continues, giving googly eyes to whoever she is talking about.

“Again, what is a batok?” I ask again, trying to peer at whatever she is referring to.

“Batok. Tattoos. You get them whenever you make a contribution or an achievement. Some are won in battle, some through discoveries, others through good deeds or in service to the gods. Symbol of bravery, courage, ingenuity, prowess, stuff like that. The more you have, the more notable you are.”

“We’re supposed to get tattoos?” I shriek in disbelief.

“Yeah. It’s the highest honor.”

“But…won’t that…like…hurt?”

Mary looks at me, blinking in disbelief.

“Haven’t you heard what I said about it being the highest honor?”

“Yeah but… will it hurt?”

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She crunches her face.

“Well now that you mention it. I think it actually might. I mean, it’s done using a needle of course, so maybe? Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I’m fairly certain any amount of pain will be worth it to get one of those.”

Don’t know about that, I silently say to myself as I continue observing the group.

Anyway, it sure is refreshing sitting here, just staring at the nothingness. Mary decided to lay down, so I followed suit. The early morning sky is bluish gray, with dots of white clouds here and there. Some stars speckle the view here and there, slowly fading into the background. There is no sign of sunlight above us yet, but in the far horizon I can clearly see the sun looming just peeking through the clouds. The air is fresh, cool, and soothing. I can hear the rice stalks sway to the hymns of the wind.

And of course, there’s the…

“Aray!” I hear Mary exclaim, cutting my line of thought.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Something hit me. Right in the…ouch!”

“Ow! Hey! Watch it!” someone else says to our right.

“What’s going on? Mary?”

“Sumilong ang lahat! Silong! Ngayon na!” someone commands.

I can see the datu’s entourage scatter in all directions, waving their hands and shouting.

Then it hit me…literally. I mean, something me right in the middle of my eyebrows.

“Ow!” I exclaims.

Beside me, Mary abruptly gets up. She grabs me and yanks me up.

“They’re telling us to take cover. Come on!” she says, already running.

I get dragged behind her, not quite sure what’s happening. Still, I fugure it’s better to follow her than get hit by some unknown object while sitting idly in the middle of the field. And so we run.

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