2. The Keris Kiahi Waroe

This story really happened around 1930 in my birthplace Surabaya on East Java. I was a little boy seven years old and I lived with my grandmother and mother in a big house with a large backyard, on Goebeng Podjak, in front of the main station. We lived there with a lot of servants in the real Old Indies style. Grandma's hobby was going to sales and markets, which took place every day. She often came home with the most peculiar things that usually left the house with whomever wanted them. But one certain day she came home proud with an old rusty keris. Because no one knew what to do with the old thing, it was put down on a shelf in the clothing closet, according to Dutch Indonesian custom. But the keris was not taken care for. My grandmother had to pay for that. After a few weeks she started dreaming about a black ghost with glowing red eyes who looked at her. If that wasn't enough, a few days later, exactly at midnight, she got a heavy feeling on her chest, as if a weight was on it. It felt as if she would choke and grandma woke up screaming. A week later it got worse: in her dream mysterious blood red saliva came on her bed, but never on her body. Everyone thought that they were working witchcraft on her, the famous Goena-Goena. Nobody thought about the keris.

My grandmother's old nanny decided to sleep with her to protect her "Nonnie" (little girl) against the black monster. The second night things stated: my Grandmother groaned and the awakened "Nenneh" (little grandmother, the nickname from the nanny) saw a black shadow sitting on my grandmother's chest. She screamed and ran at the ghost with my grandfather's cane. But the ghost disappeared and immediately after this there was a big bang in the closet. A trace of blood red saliva led to the closet. So the cause of the events, the old keris, was found but how to get rid of it? Every family in Indonesia knows that you can't just give an old Pusaka like that away or throw it away, the results might be disastrous. And this was one big boy, so that could be very dangerous. The old house servant had a solution. He knew a white magician who lived in a Kampung just outside of Surabaya. He would probably know a cure. At the beginning of the next day the servant and Nenneh left by cart to search for the wizard. During the midday they came home with a stately Javanese dressed in impeccable Indonesian garb. He greeted the family with a sembah.

Grandmother- who wasn't born yesterday- fathomed the man's spiritual depth immediately and asked him to take a seat next to her. I was standing behind grandmother's chair and I noticed the eyes of the man. They had a penetrating friendly expression and it seemed as though they looked straight through you. His name was Hadji Saleh. After coffee and refreshments my grandmother told him what had happened. Hadji Saleh listened without as much as an expression on his face closed his eyes for a while and assured her that she could be helped. Then he went in a trance to ask the keris why it was this angry. Shortly after that the man explained that the nature spirit inside the keris had told him how he went downhill due to countless bad owners. He hadn't had attention, offerings and wasn't taken care for since a lot of years. When grandmother- his youngest owner- didn't give the needed attention, he had committed his bad deeds to attract attention, which he regretted a lot now. He begged her and the magician to set him free from the keris to which he was bound centuries ago by the maker of the keris. Taken by his sad story, grandmother gave permission and asked the wizard to prepare for everything needed. The magician said that the next day (which was by chance a very auspicious day) at noon he would throw the keris and several offerings in the nearby river, Kali Mas, then the spirit would be freed from his imprisonment. But first he asked grandmother to put a glass bowl filled with clear water in the closet (cubbard?).

This was soon done. After this Nenneh had to take the keris out of the closet and bring it to him. The Hadji greeted the keris and went in trance with the keris in front of him on the table. He closed his right hand. I know absolutely sure, I was standing right on top of it, that his hand was empty. But when he opened it a while later there was a white melatti flower in it. The flower went back to the closet together with the keris. All the evil was gone now and was put in the bowl of water, the Hadji explained. After this he asked my grandmother to get the bowl and throw the contents out in the backyard. We where very astonished when my grandmother came back with the bowl, now it wasn't filled with clear water anymore but with a kind of red mud. It was clear to see what she thought when she poured it out.

The next morning the magician appeared again. After a lot of burning incense and flower offerings, he carried the keris to the Kali Mas, which streamed in front of the house. There he threw the keris into the water while saying un-understandable words. With that the spirit became free again and my grandmother got free of her burdens and the magician a reward richer. Everybody was happy, or so it seemed.

Regrets

A few days later a couple of family members thought they saw a black shadow at the stairs, it was crouching and gave a sembah and looked up with fiery eyes begging. Grandmother wasn't afraid now, because she understood that the former keris spirit had something to tell her. The Hadji had to be summoned again, but before grandmother's request reached him he was standing at the door, he asked to speak to my grandmother. He explained that the freed spirit had visited him and asked for help. What was going on? The spirit was grateful for his freedom, but had big regrets about his bad deeds. He wanted to make things up, by protecting the house, gardens and family for "food and a place to stay". That sounded good to my grandmother, such a powerful spirit as protector of everything she cared for. She told the Hadji she gave her permission but on two conditions. The spirit could live in an empty servant room, but not in the main building and he should especially protect her grandson (me). Via the magician the Kiahi (keris spirit) promised solemnly, but he asked permission to go live in an old gigantic tree that stood close to the back wall of the house. The branches always gave cool shade, but nobody could enjoy it because since a long time a big colony of mean red ants lived in the tree. If someone dared to go under the tree the soldiers fell out of the branches and attacked the person with their cruel jaws and acid. Whoever happened this once knows how terrible this is.

Thinking about this my grandmother said smiling: "I wish the Kiahi the best of luck, but I don't believe he will make it." The acceptance of our protector had to be celebrated on the holy day Djoemat Kliwon and there was a slamatan. It was arranged and on that day everything took place under the guidance of the magician. Even the servants participated. I was sitting next to the Hadji, on behalf of our family. The offerings and food for the spirit were no problem, our kitchen maid (a Balinese) offered to take care of these. She was used to take care for house gods. The other servants were relieved and praised her for her courage. The Kiahi Waroe, as the former keris spirit was called from then on, went to work immediately. Two days after he started living in the tree, the neighbor discovered that all ant nests were thrown out of the tree and totally destroyed. We went looking right away and indeed, the ground was covered with pieces of nests and thousands of dead ants; the survivors were busy bringing eggs to safety. Via the back wall they left the courtyard, after which they took residence in a tree from the neighbor. He didn't like it at all. In that time there where no repellants for insects. But, that was his problem now. We where freed from the biting animals. Within 24 hours there was no ant to be seen. I could climb the tree without any care, what could happen to me as I was protected by the Kiahi! The Indonesian peoples at the stations square had heard the wildest stories from our servants. From that moment on they called me "Anak Mas", the golden child and treated me with a lot of respect.

A child wouldn't be a child if the adventure didn't have its attraction. I kept asking my mother and grandmother until they gave permission for a tree house in the Kiahi's tree. Trusting on the Hadji and the Kiahi I got my tree house on my 8th birthday. Our gardener built from bamboo sticks, rope and weaved bamboo walls a magnificent tree house. A boy's dream come true!

Si Satan

On a bad day our rooster was lying on the ground with his feet up, dead! Surrounded by his chickens the harem master was gone. What a pleasant death. So a new cock had to be bought. The next morning, while my grandmother was walking in the garden, our servant brought a new rooster. It was a big one, a former fighting champion, who was lying with feet tied on the floor. Better still, it was the cock, famous in the fighting game, who, because he missed one eye, wasn't allowed to participate in fights anymore. "What a ugly one" my grandmother complained, looking at the heap of feet and feathers before her. Ugly one was a good description. He had too long thick legs with big spurs, an almost bald neck and torn parts on his head (the red pieces of skin). To be short, he wasn't much to look at. The cock looked so pitiful at us with his one eye that we decided to keep him. He was released inside the chicken farm, and hell broke loose. Within a week the cock was the terror of the backyard. Everyone who was within distance was an opponent from the fighting arena. He attacked with big leaps and wings flapping and picked and scratched with his beak and spurs at the naked feet of his victim. The servants knew soon that he was "Kemasoekan Satan", possessed by the devil. They called him Si Satan. Every sundown the chicken and ducks went to their sleeping places, except of course Si Satan, who kept pacing up and down in front of the henhouse. A ritual developed. The gardener swept with his broom, immediately being attacked by Si Satan. After 10 minutes, of fighting the gardener gave the cock a mighty sweep against his chicken buttocks and the cock ended up locked up. Then Si Satan walked slowly into the sleeping room. But you could see him thinking: "Better luck tomorrow." After a year I got in the habit of shooting at Si Satan with a blowgun. I the coward was always sitting in my tree house where Si Satan couldn't reach me. But one day fate struck and suddenly I was standing in front of Si Satan. With his one eye he looked at me unbelievable angry. He was surely thinking about all the times I teased him and put his feathers up. Without a second lost he attacked.

Wings flapping he leaped at me, his beak as a spear held in front, his gleaming spurs as daggers at his feet. I was stupid enough to think that if I did likewise it would impress him, but no. He attacked my naked feet with ever more dedication and followed by a cock who thought he had already won I ran to the tree house. While I was climbing in and looked back at Si Satan his fate met him. Before my eyes and those of the watching relatives and servants the cock seemed to be snatched out of midair. His neck twisted a couple of times and with a wide bow he seemed to be thrown out of our backyard. There he died with his neck broken. I was rightly blamed for all of this. Soon the story circulated that Kiahi Waroe had protected me. My family members didn't agree with this action. They thought I had gotten what I deserved. But nevertheless a story was born and years later I kept hearing how the Kiahi living in the tree had saved me from an angry cock. It was told to everyone.