For two days Piang struggled upward. Everything was strange to him;the growths and trees were different from those of the lowlands. Scrubpalms, covered with small buds, on which the dread packda feeds,began to appear, and Piang anxiously scanned the trees. There is nocreature in the jungle that has the strength of the packda. Only thecrocodile and the python are foolish enough to attack it, but thecrocodile's jaws are torn asunder, and the python is clawed to pieces.
"Piang!" The name echoed and vibrated through the forest. Who hadcalled him? Trembling with fear, filled with apprehension, Piangtook refuge in a tree. From the branches he scanned the surroundingforest. Was a spirit following him from the haunted cave, or was itthe hated Sicto?
"Piang!" It came softly this time, as if from a greater distance. Theunderbrush moved, and Piang prayed that it might not be a spirit cometo destroy him. The bush rustled, cracked, and parted as a dazzlingwhite head made its appearance. Piang shut his eyes, dreading whatwas to come. Almost swooning, he slipped, lost his hold, and wentcrashing through the branches. Stunned by the fall, it was sometimebefore he regained consciousness, but the first thing he was aware of,was a hot breath on his face. Slowly he opened his eyes, wondering ifhe was dreaming. There, bending over him, was a marvelous white fawn.
Startled and ashamed, Piang looked at the lovely thing. He put outhis hand and the animal laid her soft muzzle in his palm, allowinghim to caress her. What did she want? Were some of her babies introuble? With his arm about the fawn's neck, Piang allowed himselfto be led along a well defined path, trodden by many feet.
"Piang!" Again his name was called, but for some reason fear had beenbanished from his heart, and he advanced without a qualm. Presentlythey came to one of the numerous jungle clearings. The sun did notburn at this altitude, and Piang took a deep breath of the fresh,crisp air. A flapping of wings startled him, and before he couldprevent, a brilliant mina-bird circled his head and gently lightedon his shoulder. A soft white mist was floating around and belowhim. The clouds! He was in them, "the breath of the wind," and hethought that this must be fairyland.
"Piang!" This time the voice was near at hand. Both creatures respondedto the call, and Piang suffered himself to be led onward. The fawnstopped near a gigantic banian-tree. It was the only tree in theclearing and spread over more than an acre of ground, enticing thesurrounding creepers and orchids to its shelter. Piang had seen thesetrees before, but never such a large one. The banian is like a hugetent; each branch sends shoots to the ground, which take root andbecome additional trunks, and year after year the tree increases itsacreage; hundreds of men can find shelter under these jungle temples.
"Piang!" The voice came from within the tree. Astonished, Piangwatched the mina-bird flit through the sunlight and disappear intothe banya. The fawn paused, looked gravely into the boy's eyes,and with stately mien, walked into the tree.
"Thank you, my little friends, for bringing Piang to Ganassi," saidthe voice from within.
Ganassi! So this was the haunt! This lovely natural dwelling, thedread Ganassi's home! Expectantly, Piang waited. Was Ganassi a man,or was he only a voice, the heart of this banian-tree? While he stoodgazing at the tree, waiting for the spirit to address him, or the manto appear, he was startled by a black, shiny head, and the loathsomecoils of a python, writhing in the branches. The serpent! Pianghad heard that it could fascinate animals, keeping them prisoner byits mystic powers, until ready to devour them. Ganassi was, then,an evil spirit in the form of a serpent! Piang uttered a low cry.
"So, my little pet, you have frightened Piang, the charm boy! Youmust not do that."
The snake, responding to the voice, stuck its head through the foliageand slipped from sight.
The voice! The voice! It had called him the charm boy! Piang's fearabated, and he said tremblingly:
"O great Ganassi, will you not show yourself to me,Piang?" Breathlessly the boy listened. The branches swayed, parted,and the mina-bird floated through. The python, head erect, followed,and next came the graceful white form of his first friend. On itsneck it supported a weird creature. Bent and wrinkled, was thelittle old man; a few strands of white hair flowed from his chin,and his eyebrows and lashes had almost disappeared. Toothless, almosthairless as he was, there was that about Ganassi that precluded horror,for his sparkling eyes were kind, and his mouth gently curved intoa smile. Piang fell on his knees. The hermit surrounded by his pets,advanced and raised the boy.
"My little Piang! So you have come to Ganassi at last. He has knownfor many years that you would come. Long before you were born he knew,and his heart is glad to welcome you."
"Is it true, O wise man, that I am the real charm boy, and that Ishall lead Kali Pandapatan's tribe to victory?"
"You have spoken, my son. It was over you, not the impostor, Sicto,that the mystic star hovered on the night of your birth."
At the mention of his enemy's name, Piang quickly scanned thesurrounding jungle, but Ganassi's soft chuckle reassured him.
"Have no fear, child. Sicto can never harm you, nor will he ever reachGanassi. The python would smother him; the mina-bird would peck outhis eyes; the gentle fawn would lead him astray."
"How do you know all this, O Ganassi?"
"The question shall be answered, Piang, because you are charm boy,but should other lips utter it, they should never speak again. Enter."
Ganassi held back the slender trunk-roots of the banian. Curiously,the boy looked about. All the wonder of the jungle seemed centeredin this sacred spot. A forest of stems and aerial roots greeted hiseyes; from overhead the graceful and rare Vanda lowii sent inquisitiveblooms to caress his cheek; they mingled with his dark hair, scentingthe air with their strange fragrance. From tree-ferns, nestling inthe branches, tiny heads peeped out, and little feathered creatureschirruped a welcome. A civet-cat was lazily stroking its face with onepaw. Something large and hairy stirred on a nest of dried grass, andsleepily a full-grown packda stretched himself and gazed at Piang. Thepython approached it, and a hairy paw was extended; his snakeshipcoiled up beside the ape, and the mina-bird flew to the ape's shoulder.
Piang could scarcely believe his eyes. Here all was at peace, andnatural enemies forgot to fight and kill.
"Piang, all these creatures are going to be your friends."
Piang seated himself on the soft turf opposite Ganassi; the fawnnosed her head under Piang's arm and sank by his side.
"The charm that I am about to give you will protect you from tempest,danger, and deceit: no storm can destroy you; no animal can creep uponyou unaware, and no man can lie to you. You will become the wise manof Mindanao, the guide of your people, the heart of the island."
Solemnly the boy followed the words of the old man.
"You shall be taught all the truths of the nation, and you shall passthem along to the generations."
Piang's face brightened. At last he was to know the answers to manypuzzling questions.
"Ask what you will, boy. I will answer you truthfully and justly,telling you the things as they are, as they have been since the dayof creation."
"Why, O Ganassi, must Mohammedans never eat the flesh of the wildboar? It is forbidden that we touch pork, yet the Christians find itgood." Ganassi's brow clouded:
"Have you never heard of the Christian's God? Do you not know that wehate Christians because they believe a Son of God could be killed byman? They call him Christ, but we know that the Almighty is Toohan,omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. Their prophet Isa [Jesus]once visited the great Mahomet, and when Mahomet demanded that hedivine what was in the room beyond, Isa refused, saying that he hadno wish to show power.
"'Answer correctly, or you pay for it with your life!' thunderedMahomet. Isa then replied that he had two strange animals in the room.
"'Wrong!' cried Mahomet. 'You shall now be killed. My two belovedgrandchildren are behind those doors!' but when they were flungopen, two filthy boars ran out; Isa had changed the children intopigs! And so, Piang, no true Mohammedan will eat the fles
h of thewild boar. Beware, lest you ever let a Christian hear this story;it is not for us to acknowledge that Isa is greater than Mahomet."
Piang was shocked. No wonder his people abstained from the flesh ofthe boar.
"Can you tell me what makes the sea rise and fall, and why the tidesrush in and flow out again?" asked Piang.
A smile broke over Ganassi's leathery features.
"In a far distant sea lives a giant crab; when he goes into hishole, the water is pushed out, and when he comes forth for food, thewater rushes in." It was so simple that Piang laughed heartily. Themina-bird, startled, squawked an admonition and fluttered to Piang'slap.
"Where do we go when we die," asked the inquisitive boy.
Ganassi scouted the Christian's belief that heaven is in theclouds. Were they not in the clouds now?
"When a child is born, the soul enters the body through theopening left in the skull. This hole soon closes, confining thespirit within. When death comes to a household in Moroland, haveyou not seen the master of the house mount to the roof and remainthere through the night? Well, that is to prevent the evil spirit,Bal-Bal, from entering. This dread creature sails through the airlike a flying Lemur (monkey), tears the thatch from the roof withhis terrible curved nails, scatters the defenders, and licks up thebody with his forked tongue of fire. The soul of this deceased neverreaches heaven. Your charm, Piang, will ward him off." The boy sat,mouth open, eyes staring. "A soul is guided to a cave that leads deepdown in the earth, and there, between two gigantic trees, standsTaliakoo, a giant, who tends the eternal fires. Taliakoo inquiresof the newcomer what he has to say for himself, and to the surpriseof the soul, something within it answers. Conscience, the witness,replies, and according to the decree of this strange arbiter, the fateof the soul is decided. If nothing but ill can be said for it, it ispitched into the fire; if it has been good, it is allowed to pass onto the abode of the blessed. The soul that meets with neither fate,is punished according to its sins: if it has lied, its mouth pains;if it has been a thief, its hands itch and burn, and eventually,after the period of punishment is over, it precedes to heaven,cleansed of its sins."
The big ape, sleeping soundly, emitted a snore so human, that Pianglaughed.
"Why does the packda look so like a man, Ganassi?"
"Because he once _was_ a man," was the startling reply. "Hewas lazy and, instead of working, climbed trees and hunted minas(monkey-nuts). A companion, becoming vexed, uttered a curse on himand threw a stick at him. These things clung to the lazy man: thestick became a tail, and the curse deprived him of speech. Ashamedof himself, he and his family took to the trees, never to return."
Many questions were put to the wise old hermit, and his ready answersastonished, but satisfied, Piang. Night came on, and the strangecompany lay down together under the shelter of the banian and slept.
Piang was very happy. He had reached Ganassi, was proclaimed thereal charm boy, and was at last to receive the glorious charm. Somesaid it was a star tossed to Moroland by the Creator, that it was theemblem of power, and that he who wore it would be filled with a divineunderstanding. Others believed it to be the great diamond of Borneo,captured many years before from the pirates of that fierce land. Piangdid not care which it proved to be, as long as it shone and sparkledwith beauty. All agreed that its brilliance dazzled the eye, that itsmagnificence was unrivaled. Ganassi had waited a hundred years forthe charm boy who was destined to wear it, and at last the star hadproclaimed Piang to be the lucky boy. Through Piang's dreams flittedthe visions of shimmering jewels of gold, and the happy smile on theboy's lips made old Ganassi's heart glad.
Adventures of Piang the Moro Jungle Boy Page 7
