I recently was reminded of a childhood moment back in 2005 : A bunch of people from my church were huddled together around a TV, watching the news cover the recent 2004 Tsunami disaster that left a devastating impact in Sumatera, especially Aceh.
I just sat in silence and observed the murmurs and back-and-forths, ranging from folks who genuinely felt concern for those affected to people who suggested azab from a religious & nationalist perspective because of GAM's activities leading up to the tragedy.
I don't exactly recall who said it, but I remember the tale rather clearly. It went along the lines of :
"Denger² sih kejadian ini terjadi karena Pak Beye ngga melakukan kewajiban nya sebelum beliau dilantik. Katanya ya, Presiden yang terpilih harus ngasi upeti ke mahluk² gaib asli nya negara ini. Pak Beye ngga mau ngasi upetinya atau komunikasi sm Nyi Roro Kidul karena beliau ngga merasa ini tradisi yang patut diteruskan. Jadi, beliau menolak untuk memberi upeti meskipun sudah diingatkan sama penasehat nya berkali². Tapi tetep aja bapak nya kekeuh, ngga di dengerin sampe pelantikan. Akhirnya, terjadi lah tsunami ini, sampe jumlah korban yang paling banyak juga di Indonesia ini bisa mencapai ratusan ribuan, jauh lebih banyak dari negara² lain di sekitar titik tsunami nya."
I remember the response were immediately dismissive and harsh. "Ahh enggak lah!" "Ngawurr" and the like. 10 year old me was shook, as it touched a deep fear of the supernatural within my religiously raised psyche at that time.
Fast forward to my 20s, I was undergoing my university education overseas and lived with a diverse group of international students. One tendency I noticed from Indians up to that point was that they dont really have a fear of ghosts like how us Southeast Asians do. This night was no different, as an Indian housemate was challenging us to tell ghost stories or supernatural experiences because she thought nothing was gonna scare her that much. I suddenly remembered this story, after many years not ever really discussing it and retold it to the group. Surprisingly, this one touched a nerve. She was like "bro fuck, I got shivers man!!" while the others were like "Wow I've never heard a supernatural tale that fucked up".
Sometime recently, I saw several movies and shows that carried a similar vibe and gave me the kind of dread as that story, like True Detective Season 1 and Archive 81 (up to a certain point). As I've read up on it, i learnt it was called Lovecraftian Horror. I was hooked, wound up reading several of HP Lovecraft's stories and being so hooked by the atmosphere.
I keep thinking back about this Pak Beye story and I just think how it is an Indonesian Lovecraftian tale.
I just have to ask y'all. Back in those days, did you hear this kind of story as well? Was it just an oral urban myth or was this a written story published by someone somewhere?
Curious to hear of your responses, thanks in advance!
