A Temuan folktale retold by Antares (from TANAH TUJUH ~ Close Encounters with the Temuan Mythos)
Year of composition: 2008;
Composer: Yii Kah Hoe;
Conductor: Joost Flach;
Performer: High Winds Ensemble;
Narrator: Tshiung Han See
How the Crocodile Got His Teeth
BUAYA THE
CROCODILE was once a toothless creature that could only feed on insects and slugs.
Not so Keniling, the Pangolin, who was
equipped with the most fearsome fangs imaginable, and delighted in climbing
trees and lolling on branches, waiting for the next unsuspecting human to
appear. Whereupon Keniling would let out a horrifying shriek and hurl himself
fangs first upon the hapless victim, ripping through flesh and gulping down the
mess with greedy slurps. Soon the human population of Tanah Tujuh was
diminishing at an alarming rate. To Keniling, killing was merely a sport.
Buaya (who was mindful of Tuhan's laws and
ate only when necessary) decided to do something about it. He went to visit
Keniling with a sob story (could this be the origin of the expression,
'crocodile tears'?):
“O Keniling, my friend, how I envy you your
very interesting and varied diet. Me? I have to content myself with a daily
gruel of slugs and bugs in slime and slush!”
Keniling made a face and then sniggered.
“Yuck! How very poetic! Serves you right, you toothless twit!”
Buaya let out a long, deep sigh. “Actually,
I don't mind it all that much. At least the bugs are tasty. I bet they're much
tastier than flesh.”
“No way,” smirked Keniling, “there's
nothing that can beat the flavor of raw, succulent flesh - especially human
flesh.”
“Well, I guess I'll never know what it's
like,” said Buaya with an air of resignation. “For all I know, you may just be
bragging about the wonderful taste of meat. Unless...” He paused thoughtfully,
and then abruptly dismissed the thought. “Ah, forget it.”
“Unless what?” Keniling asked, suddenly intrigued.
“Never mind, it was just a whim,” said
Buaya, taking his leave.
“Unless WHAT?” demanded the Pangolin,
leaping down from his tree.
Buaya smiled and put a conspiratorial arm
around Keniling: “I was going to suggest that you lend me your teeth for a
while, so that I can savor for myself the flavor of flesh and forever envy
you.”
“Don't be ridiculous,” Keniling snorted.
“How can I be sure you won't run off with my teeth?”
“I've got an idea,” Buaya said, unzipping
his scaly hide. “I'll entrust you with my best suit of armor, if you'll let me
try on your teeth for a week or two!”
Now, the Pangolin had long coveted Buaya's
tough-looking jacket of finest crocodile skin. “Hold it! Let's see if it fits,”
Keniling said, grabbing Buaya's beautifully tailored hide and putting it on.
With an expert eye, Buaya appraised
Keniling in his borrowed suit of scales. Then he nodded his approval, saying:
“Goodness me, I must say you strike a macho figure in that horny hide!”
Keniling was delighted to hear that. He
removed his teeth and was about to hand them to Buaya, when he remembered what
his father had taught him about business acumen. “Hold it jutht a thecond,” the
Pangolin lisped toothlessly, “you can 'ave my teef for a week - but I get to
keep your thuit for a MONTH!”
“Tho be it,” Buaya agreed, popping
Keniling's enormous set of fangs into his own mouth. Then the two shook hands
and parted.
A few days later, Keniling got hungry and
he sought out Buaya to demand his teeth back, so that he could sink them into
some human flesh. He found Buaya sunning himself by a river. “Thorry, the deal
ith off,” the Pangolin whined, “I'm thtarving!”
“All right then, come and collect your
bloody fangs,” shrugged Buaya. He waited till Keniling was within easy reach,
and then clamped his great jaws on the Pangolin, who curled into a tight ball
in shock (but was otherwise unhurt, thanks to the scaly armor he had on).
“Lemme go, lemme go!” shrieked Keniling,
twisting helplessly in Buaya's grip.
“Thay Uncle, you toofless terror!” mocked
Buaya.
“Uncle! Uncle!” Keniling screamed, his
voice muffled by his own tail.
“Louder,” hissed Buaya, tightening his
vice-like grip.
“UNCLE! UNCLE!” the Pangolin pleaded. “You
can 'ave your thuit back!”
Buaya tossed Keniling away with a
nonchalant flip of his snout. “Keep it, I've got a whole wardrobe of scaly
hides. And without any teeth you're certainly going to need a thick skin. Okay,
Pangolin, your serial killing days are over. Now listen to 'Uncle' and go find
yourself some nice juicy Ants!”
From that day on Keniling the Pangolin was
known as the Scaly Ant-Eater. He never spoke again for fear his lisp would be
ridiculed. And no matter how many millions of those tiny, crawling creatures he
consumed, their population remained undiminished.
[First posted 1 July 2011]
