Wild Tigers on "Meugang" Day

Every time Meugang came, his father would take him to Matang City, looking for cheap meat to buy.

Andah sat pensive in the doorway, in the rickety hut left by her parents. Thankfully there were no storms in the village, only a gentle breeze blowing from the vast expanse of rice fields behind the huts. If there is a storm, the hut will move, fly into the middle of the rice fields or hover over the sub-district town and then surprise the people there who are busy selling meugang meat, the price of which is getting more expensive every day, making poor people like Andah swallowed hard.

That morning Andah remembered her parents again. Since his father's death dozens of years ago, when armed conflict was still ravaging his village in Balee Kuyun, where his father was killed by a bullet, it is not clear from which gun, Andah has lived with his mother, a widow who at that time also joined the Aceh Independence. Even though she lives in fear, Andah is very grateful that her mother is safe and remains with her until peace approaches. However, two months ago, unexpectedly, his mother suddenly died. From the news he heard, his mother was dipeukeunong a middle-aged man after his love was rejected many times. He became increasingly suspicious and convinced of the news when he found a package of nails and palm fiber planted in the yard of his hut which was about to collapse.

However, there is nothing Andah can do except be patient and restrain herself. His solitary condition in Balee Kuyun did not allow him to take revenge against Bang Balah, the person he believed had killed his mother with magic. However, he determined in his heart that one day he would do something. He will complete all his revenge without anyone knowing. He realized that life must be rewarded with life and tueng bila is a necessity.

The clock had already shown nine in the morning when Andah got up from her seat. The 15-year-old teenager returned to the hut, sitting on a wooden cot in the living room. Indeed, the house only had one room, like a cube in a math lesson. There were no bedrooms in the hut. When her parents were still alive, they slept on a bamboo bench to the east, while Andah slept on that cot, not far from the kitchen.

Andah thought back to the past. Every time the meugang came, his father would take him to Matang City, looking for cheap meat to buy. Usually they only go there after the sun is completely in the west, when the light starts to dim and no longer burns. At that time, as evening approaches, the price of meugang meat tends to be cheap. Prices no longer skyrocket like in the morning, when rich people fight over fresh meat. Together with his father, Andah went around looking for stalls they knew that could offer discounts, and when there was not enough money in his father's pocket, they had to be satisfied with just buying bones. When he got home, his mother would process the bones into sauce. With that aroma alone they could eat twice as much, even though there was no meat to bite. Very enjoyable.

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Imagining those memories makes you very sad. Now, let alone celebrating meugang, just to eat everyday he has to let go of his neck stinging for days. He had to work carrying grain for wages that never increased. It is customary in Balee Kuyun that wages for small children are half the wages for adults. That had become an agreement, because small children could only carry small sacks on their shoulders, while adults would carry large, heavier sacks.

Back when Andah's parents were still alive, she didn't have to work like she does now. She could go to school like her friends. However, after her mother's death, Andah had no other choice. She was forced to leave school, even though she was already in sixth grade. Although the headmaster had tried to persuade her to continue her education, Andah refused. According to her, having a diploma or not was the same, as she still had to work carrying rice during harvest season and climb palm or coconut trees during other times. Besides, if she went to school, who would buy her shoes? Who would buy her clothes and books? She had no relatives in Balee Kuyun. Her parents were just migrants in the village.

Exactly at 12 noon, Andah sat back on the doorstep. He looked at people passing by, bringing home ganifo dumplings filled with meat. He could smell it from the waving wind. He sat with his knees bent, staring at the dust flying from the footsteps of people and vehicles passing by. His mind once again uncovered the veil of memories. He remembered his mother being hugged by soldiers, a few days after his father was shot dead by an unknown person.

That afternoon, the rain had just stopped and lightning was still flashing in the sky. Andah was digging soil behind the hut, looking for worms as fish bait. He had promised his friends that he would join them in fishing at the Haji Brahim pond on Sunday. There are many tilapia there. Because they are considered pests and disrupt the milkfish intentionally raised in the pond, Haji Brahim allows anyone to fish for tilapia there, but only tilapia. If a milkfish happens to be caught, it must be released back into the pond, as Haji Brahim instructed.

After catching several worms, Andah put the worm-like creatures in a shell and wrapped it with banana leaves. However, before she could even store the shell next to the well, so the worms wouldn't overheat and die, she heard a woman's scream from inside the hut. She knew it was her mother's voice. Andah ran towards the hut. But to her surprise, she found her mother struggling with a soldier who wanted to take advantage of her, while a few other soldiers laughed on the back of a parked truck in front of the hut.

Andah, who was still five years old at that time, hugged the soldiers' legs, screamed and begged the man with the gun to let go of her mother. However, the animal lust that had penetrated the head of the man in the striped shirt had reached its peak and could no longer subside. So the woman was raped in front of her child, a small child who memorized Pancasila every day at school. With this sight, the suffering of Andah was fulfilled, who a few days earlier had witnessed her father being carried on a stretcher to the grave after his body was hit by bullets.

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Such treatment is nothing new at Balee Kuyun. Over the years, many women have been raped in the village on accusations of being involved in the GPK. Some even had their heads beheaded in front of the crowd. Andah had heard such horrors very often, and at that time she witnessed for herself how her mother was being beaten by them.

Considering the incident, Andah carries vengeance once again. However, he doesn't know who to seek revenge on because those people have returned to the other side of the island shortly after the war ended. All that remains in his village is suffering after suffering.

It was already 1 pm when Andah stepped outside the hut. The road was starting to get quiet. His nose smelled the aroma of boiled meat wafting from the neighboring houses. His stomach felt hungry and getting hungrier when his eyes accidentally saw several small children sitting on the veranda of their house while eating meat with gusto.

In Balee Kuyun and other villages in Aceh, the tradition of meugang has been going on for generations. In a year there are three times meugang starting from meugang fasting, one day before Ramadan arrives; meugang fasting holiday, one day before Eid al-Fitr; and meugangHajj, one day before the Hajj holiday. At those moments, people will flock to the market to buy meat. That day is a meat eating day which is always celebrated. If you think about it, it's worth celebrating, because that's the only day they can enjoy meat after working to earn money. However, the world is never fair, because there were unlucky people who were just spectators that day, one of whom was Andah, an orphan who lived alone in Balee Kuyun.

You just keep walking along the alleys in the village, soothing your grumbling stomach. Actually, yesterday you still had a little money left from climbing coconut trees. However, on the way home, the old bicycle left by your father, which you were riding that day, accidentally hit Tauke Duki's Avanza car parked by the roadside. In order to avoid a fast-running female cow, you turned the handlebar of the bike to the left, and suddenly the rubber-coated pedal scratched the bottom of the car body. Knowing this, Tauke Duki, who was talking on his cell phone, immediately got out of the car and saw his beloved car was injured with a curved line following the pedal's movement.

"Grandma! Damaged my car!” shouted the loan shark as his eyes stared intently at Andah's face.

"Not on purpose, bro. "There was a cow earlier," explained Andah with a lowered face.

"Cows don't have brains, but you do!"

You didn't know what to answer. You simply remained silent and slowly parked your bike in front of Tauke Duki's white Avanza car, which will finish its credit payments next month. With arms crossed under your stomach, you gazed at the scratches on the car.

”Here you see!” shouted Take Duki, pointing to the location of the wound.

Andah nodded.

”You have to pay for this! If you know my wife, you're finished."

"I paid, bro."

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Andah handed over six ten thousand notes. That was the only money left in his pocket. Originally, the money was going to be saved to buy a little meat. However, bad luck has been his companion for many years.

Duki, the merchant, took the money with a grimace, counting it with a loud voice. "This is not enough!" he said with an even louder voice.

"That's what it is, bro."

Tauke Duki got into his car and didn't say anything else. However, he knows the situation of Andah, the poorest teenager in Balee Kuyun. The sudden honking sound startled Andah. It was a code for Andah to move his bike. And the car passed to the north, leaving the floating dust behind.

Fifteen minutes of walking aimlessly, Andah felt her stomach getting more and more sore. The smell of meugang meat was getting wilder and could be smelled from every house he passed. Suddenly he thought how happy it would be if he could become a tiger. Yes, by becoming a tiger, he could steal the meat from their house. He would devour the meat with gusto without anyone daring to stop him.

The desire grew stronger. Getting stronger and stronger. And, for some reason, Andah suddenly felt like her body was covered in hair. His skin turned mottled. Sharp nails emerged from the tips of his fingers and toes. He also felt pain in his mouth which suddenly became full of sharp teeth. He roared loudly, making the people who were celebrating meugang in their homes run out and scatter. Meugang meat fell on the ground along the road. So Andah ran and picked up the meat.

This incident was truly shocking because on the same day, in other places, in distant villages, hundreds and even thousands of wild tigers appeared and targeted people's houses. The tiger, which continues to roar, can also be seen along the city streets. They entered the governor's office, the DPR office, and also Baitul Mal. They are people like Andah who suddenly turned into tigers because they couldn't smell the aroma of meugang that wafted around them.

Note:

Meugang: tradition of eating meat in Aceh before fasting and holidays

Tueng bila: revenge

Tin Miswary, UIN Ar Postgraduate Alumnus -Raniry Banda Aceh, writes essays, short stories, and book reviews. Settled in Bireuen, Aceh