Followers

Monday, March 2, 2020

SUNGAI CHOH (22) : Once Upon A Time | Road To Adventure


Road To Adventure
(It Was Really Thrilling And Challenging)


Animal Trails

Natural Entrance
Eerie Sound
Fresh Aroma
Mysterious Aura

There were several animal trails and hunter tracks as well as the villager routes. The trails and the tracks led deep into the jungle. It was a natural entrance and exit for hunters and villagers. Especially the villagers who collected petai, genuak,   jering and perah as their source of income. Anyway the jungle track was our road to adventure, especially during weekends. We usually trodded along the villager route as far as the foothill. Yet the roots and fallen trees became a barrier to our steps. It was really thrilling and challenging. By then we could hear the wild scream of the monkeys and the eerie sound of insects among the trees. This rhythm of the jungle seemed to greet us with a bit of suspicion. However, we felt the fresh aroma of the jungle and not to mention the mysterious aura of the hill.


The Sound Of Azan
A Factual Narration
A Fairy Tale
A Dating Venue
Good Behaviour

On our way downhill after collecting some berangan, perah and tempunik, we stopped to rest at Hulu waterfall. Sometimes we swam and played under the waterfall. However we were warned by the village elders not to misbehave or do bad manners. Whatever we had to respect the surrounding area. It was believed that there was a neighbourhood of Bunian near the watertfall. That's why they said, sometimes we could hear the sound of azan and zikir amongst the trees. Anyway I was not sure whether it was a factual narration or a fairy tale. Probably just to scare young people, not to make the waterfall as a dating venue for "monkey business". However that fairy tale somehow moulded our good behaviours.


Social Norms
Forbidden Relationship
Religious Restriction
Voices Of Parrot
Social Problems

Yet nowadays some  young people lose their respect for the public. They ignore  social norms and social restrictions that have long been practiced in the Bengkulu community. Even they don't care about ill-mannered and "forbidden" relationship. Just taking for granted, modernization is the only way of life. They even go to the extent, assuming religious restriction are outdated. The words of old men are just the voices of parrots repeating the same old stories. But what is alarming, these social problems will gradually affect and disrupt the society as a whole, especially drug abuse and sexual abuse.

No comments:

Post a Comment