“Sangi The Hunter”
By :
Arnel ( 07 ) Damar ( 18 ) Rafael ( 24 )
Once upon a time, in Central Kalimantan, lived a skilled hunter named Sangi. He was highly proficient in using blowpipes to hunt animals, always hitting his targets with precision. Every hunting trip ended with him bringing back plenty of game meat. Sangi resided in the Mahoroi River basin, a tributary of the Kahayan River. He lived with his family and relatives, sustaini ng themselves through farming and hunting. Their farms were often shifting, and they also fo raged for food in the lush jungles.
One day, as usual, Sangi went hunting. However, he was frustrated as he hadn't caught any pr ey from morning until evening. As dusk approached, he decided to head back home. On his w ay back, Sangi noticed the riverbank water was unusually murky.
"It seems like a wild boar passed by the riverbank," Sangi thought to himself.
Curiosity piqued, Sangi examined the boar tracks on the ground. His suspicions were confirm ed as he saw the tracks leading towards the river. With hope in his heart, Sangi followed the t rail. Not far from the river, he found the wild boar he had been tracking. Unfortunately, part o f the boar's body was already in the mouth of a dragon. The sight horrified and terrified Sangi.
He couldn't scream. Slowly, he moved away from where he stood and hid not far from the dr agon.
From his hiding spot, Sangi watched the dragon struggle to swallow the boar whole. Despite r epeated attempts, the dragon failed. Frustrated, the dragon finally gave up. With rage, it turne d its face towards Sangi, who had been watching. Realizing this, Sangi was filled with fear, tr embling.
"Oh no! The dragon has sensed my presence here. It might want to devour me," Sangi mutter ed anxiously.
Before Sangi could finish his words, in the blink of an eye, the dragon's shadow vanished, tra nsforming into a handsome young man. Sangi was amazed. His fear turned into wonder. Sud denly, the handsome young man approached Sangi and grabbed his arm.
"Hey, young man! Swallow the wild boar! You shouldn't have peeked at the dragon feasting on its prey!" the handsome young man scolded.
"I...I can't," Sangi said fearfully. "How could I possibly swallow such a large wild boar?" he a dded.
"Obey my command! Don't defy it!" the handsome young man exclaimed, unwilling to be co ntradicted.
Hearing the command, Sangi couldn't refuse. He then approached the boar lying on the groun d nearby. Astonishingly, Sangi easily swallowed the wild boar, as if he were a large dragon. S angi was amazed at himself.
"Why is this happening? It doesn't make sense," Sangi thought to himself.
"Because you peeked at the dragon devouring its prey, since then you have become a pseudo dragon. You cannot deny what has happened," the handsome young man explained.
"What? I don't want to be a pseudo dragon. I want to be a regular human!" Sangi protested.
"Sir, turn me back into a human!" he pleaded.
Hearing Sangi's plea, the handsome young man burst into laughter.
"Haha, you need not worry, young man. As long as you can keep this event a secret, you can remain human," the handsome young man explained.
"Is that true, sir?" Sangi asked incredulously.
Still haunted by curiosity, Sangi then asked the handsome young man again,
"What are the advantages of being a pseudo dragon?"
With a smile, the handsome young man replied,
"In fact, you are very lucky. As such, you will remain forever youthful. Many people desire e ternal youth but cannot attain it. Whereas you, easily obtain it." Sangi was delighted to hear t his answer.
"Well, that sounds delightful! I can live for hundreds of years," Sangi said happily. Then, San gi asked again,
"What are the restrictions?"
The handsome young man replied,
"You must not disclose this to anyone. If you violate this, your form will transform into a dra gon. Do you understand?" the handsome young man asked.
"Well...that restriction is quite easy, sir. In that case, I am willing to abide by it," Sangi replie d firmly.
At that moment, the handsome young man in front of him suddenly disappeared into thin air.
Sangi hurried back home.
From then on, Sangi continued to keep his secret hidden from others, including his closest fa mily and relatives. Thus, he remained youthful until the age of 150. This made his relatives, c hildren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren curious about his secret to staying youthful. T hey also wanted to be like Sangi, to live long, healthy, and youthful lives. Every day, they ke pt asking Sangi about his secret. Due to constant pressure, Sangi finally revealed the secret he had long kept. Consequently, Sangi broke the seemingly easy restriction. As a result, his body
began to transform into a dragon. His legs slowly turned into thick scales, and eventually, he t ransformed into a large and long dragon. Realizing this, Sangi then blamed all of his descend ants who had pressured him into revealing his secret. This made Sangi very angry and resentf ul.
"You are wicked! You will all perish!" Sangi exclaimed angrily.
After that, Sangi ran here and there in anger. His entire body felt hot. Eventually, his body tra nsformed into a dragon. Before plunging into the river, he managed to take out the heirlooms he had long kept in a Chinese vase. The vase contained jewels and pieces of gold. Sangi conti nued to run towards the river. Upon reaching the Kahayan River, he immediately scattered th e jewels and pieces of gold while shouting,
"Anyone who dares to mine gold in this river basin, they will die. The gold will be their sacrif icial offering!"
After that, Sangi, who had transformed into a dragon, plunged into the headwaters of the river.
Since then, he became the guardian of the Kahayan River. The Kahayan River's tributary was then also called the Sangi River. Many of Sangi's descendants who questioned his secret died thereafter.
