..::Tanaki::..
In a lonely village somewhere near Tambunan, there was an old woman who was believed to have possession of some very potent charms. For this, she was greatly feared by most of the villagers. This woman also had a son called Tanaki.
At that time there was aterrible drought. It was so hot that even the water in the ponds and wells had completely dried up. All the crops had turned yellow. The soil cracked and was as hard as stone.
Now, this old woman had asked her son to go into the woods to look for a stream. But he could not find any stream, so he cam home feeling hopless. Meanwhile, his mother several times tried calling the spirits for rain but to no avail.
One night, while she was praying for rain, she heard a voice telling her that if she wanted water, she must offer her son to the spirit of the rain as a sacrifice. But she did not want to do that for she loved her son very much. However, as she looked around her and saw the sufferings of her people as a result of the drought, she realized she must do something immediately. After much thought, she decided to surrender her only son as an offering to the deity. With tears flowing down her wrinkled cheeks, she looked at her son’s sleeping face lovingly. It would be the last time she saw him, for the next morning when the sun rose, her dear son was gone. She called out his name several times. But he was nowhere to be seen. Then she remembered the spirit’s promise.
As she stepped out of her house, she wondered what had possibly become of her son. Suddenly, she heard the sound of running water. To her surprise, there was a big stream in front of her house. Her sacrifice had not be in vain after all. In memory of her son the villagers named the new stream Tanaki. This stream is still flowing in Tambunan.
BY PAUL TOM