The myth of the stolen eyeballs - Nathan D. Horowitz

Translator: Elda Indria Sari Reviewer: Nathaniel Luis Reyhan Soesilo

Deep in the Amazon rainforest in the river Nea’ocoyá,

Jauh di pedalaman hutan hujan Amazon di sungai Nea’ocoyá,

lived, according to Siekopai legend,

tinggallah, menurut legenda Siekopai,

a school of particularly big and tasty fish.

sekelompok ikan yang sangat besar dan lezat.

When the rains came and the water rose, the fish appeared,

Saat hujan turun dan air naik, ikan-ikan itu muncul,

swimming away as the waters fell again.

dan pergi saat air surut.

The villagers along the river reveled in this occasional bounty—

Penduduk desa di sepanjang sungai menikmati karunia sesekali ini,

and wanted more.

dan mereka menginginkan lebih.

They followed them upriver deep into the jungle

Mereka mengikuti kelompok ikan itu sampai ke hulu jauh di dalam hutan

to a lagoon that thundered with the sound of flapping fish.

sampai ke sebuah laguna yang dipenuhi bisingnya kepakan ikan.

The whole village set up camp by the lagoon,

Seisi desa mendirikan kemah di samping laguna,

bringing barbasco, a poison they would put in the water to stun the fish.

membawa barbasco, racun yang dimasukkan ke dalam air untuk melumpuhkan ikan.

Meanwhile, their young shaman took a walk.

Sementara itu, dukun muda desa berjalan-jalan.

He sensed he might not be completely alone.

Dia punya firasat bahwa dia mungkin tak sepenuhnya sendiri.

Then, he came to a monse tree humming so loudly

Kemudian, sampailah ia ke pohon monse yang berdengung kencang

he could hear it even above the thunder of the fish.

sampai-sampai suaranya terdengar melebihi riuhnya suara ikan.

With that, he was sure: spirits lived here.

Maka, ia pun yakin: roh-roh tinggal di sini.

Back at camp, he warned his people these fish had an owner.

Di perkemahan, dia memperingatkan bahwa ikan-ikan itu ada pemiliknya.

He would find the owner.

Dia akan mencari sang pemilik.

Until he returned, no one should fish.

Sampai dia kembali, tak boleh ada siapa pun yang memancing.

He went to the humming tree.

Pergilah ia ke pohon yang berdengung.

Inside was a hollow as big as a house, full of busy weavers.

Di dalamnya, ada ruang sebesar rumah, dipenuhi penganyam yang sibuk.

Their chief invited him in,

Pemimpin mereka mengundangnya masuk,

explaining that the juicy little siripia fruits were ripening,

ia mengatakan bahwa buah siripia kecil yang berair sudah matang,

and they were weaving baskets to collect them.

dan mereka tengah menganyam keranjang untuk memanennya.

Though they looked and acted like people,

Walau mereka terlihat dan berlaku seperti manusia,

the shaman knew they were juri, or air goblins,

si dukun tahu mereka adalah juri, atau jin udara,

who could fly and control the winds.

yang bisa terbang dan mengendalikan angin.

They taught him how to weave.

Mereka mengajarinya cara menganyam.

Before the shaman left,

Sebelum si dukun pergi,

the goblin chief whispered some cryptic instructions in his ear.

pemimpin jin membisikkan beberapa petunjuk samar-samar di telinganya.

Finally, he told him to tie a pineapple shoot outside a hollow log

Terakhir, dia menyuruhnya mengikat tunas nanas di luar kayu berongga

and sleep inside that night.

dan tidur di dalam malam itu.

Back at camp, the villagers were fishing with barbasco poison, cooking, and eating.

Di perkemahan, penduduk desa memancing dengan barbasco, memasak, dan bersantap.

Only the shaman’s little sister refrained.

Hanya adik perempuan sang dukun yang tidak ikut-ikutan.

Then, everyone else fell into a deep sleep.

Lalu, semua orang jatuh tertidur.

The shaman and his sister yelled and shook them,

Sang dukun dan adik perempuannya berteriak dan mengguncang mereka,

but they wouldn’t wake.

tapi mereka tak terbangun.

It was getting dark, so the shaman and his sister

Hari semakin gelap, jadi sang dukun dan adiknya

tied the pineapple sprout outside the hollow log and crawled inside.

mengikat tunas nanas di luar batang berongga dan masuk ke dalam.

A strong wind rose— the mark of the air goblins.

Angin kencang mulai bertiup— pertanda para jin udara.

It broke branches and brought down trees.

Ranting-ranting patah dan pepohonan tumbang.

Caymans, boas and jaguars roared.

Kaiman, ular boa, dan jaguar mengaum.

The water began to rise.

Air mulai naik.

The fish flopped off the drying racks and swam away.

Ikan-ikan melompat dari rak pengering dan berenang menjauh.

The pineapple sprout turned into a dog.

Tunas nanas tadi berubah menjadi seekor anjing.

All night it barked, keeping the jungle creatures away from the fallen tree.

Ia menggonggong semalaman, mengusir makhluk hutan dari pohon tumbang.

When dawn broke, the flood receded.

Saat fajar menyingsing, banjir pun surut.

The fish were gone, and most of the people were, too:

Ikan-ikan itu hilang, demikian pula sebagian besar penduduk desa:

the jungle animals had devoured them.

para hewan hutan telah memangsa mereka.

Only the shaman’s relatives survived.

Hanya keluarga sang dukun yang selamat.

When his family turned toward him,

Saat mereka berbalik ke arahnya,

the shaman realized what the goblins meant when they said the fruits were ripening:

sang dukun sadar maksud para jin tentang buah-buahan yang masak:

they weren’t really collecting siripia fruits at all,

mereka tidak sedang mengumpulkan buah siripia sama sekali,

but human eyes.

tetapi mata manusia.

The shaman’s older sister called him over,

Kakak perempuan sang dukun memanggilnya,

trying to touch his face with her long, sharp nails.

ia mencoba menyentuh wajahnya dengan kukunya yang panjang dan tajam.

He backed away and, remembering the goblin chief’s instructions,

Dia mundur, teringat petunjuk sang pemimpin bangsa jin,

threw palm seeds at her face.

ia melempar biji palem ke wajahnya.

The seeds became eyes.

Biji-bijian itu menjadi mata.

But then she transformed into a white-lipped peccary and ran away—

Namun, dia kemudian berubah menjadi peccary bermoncong putih dan lari—

still alive, but no longer human.

masih hidup, tetapi bukan lagi manusia.

The shaman and his little sister’s whole community was gone.

Seluruh komunitas sang dukun dan adiknya sudah hilang.

They went to live with another village,

Mereka pun pergi dan menetap di desa lain,

where he taught everyone to weave baskets, as the air goblins had taught him.

di mana mereka mengajari penduduk cara menganyam keranjang seperti para jin.

But he couldn’t forget the last of the goblin chief’s words,

Namun, dia tak bisa melupakan kata-kata terakhir sang pemimpin jin,

which told him how to get revenge.

yang memberitahunya cara membalas dendam.

He returned to the air goblins’ home carrying chili peppers wrapped in leaves.

Dia kembali ke rumah para jin udara membawa cabai rawit yang dibungkus daun.

As the goblins watched through their peepholes,

Saat para jin mengamatinya lewat lubang pengintip,

the shaman made a fire and put the chili peppers on it.

sang dukun menyalakan api dan menaruh cabai rawit di dalamnya.

The fire began to smoke the tree out.

Asap dari api mulai memenuhi pohon itu.

The goblins who had eaten people’s eyes died.

Para jin yang memakan mata manusia pun mati.

Those who hadn’t were light enough to fly away.

Mereka yang tidak, cukup ringan untuk terbang menjauh.

So the goblins, like the humans, paid a steep price.

Maka para jin, seperti para manusia, harus membayar mahal.

But they also lived to tell the tale, like the shaman.

Namun, mereka juga hidup untuk bercerita, seperti sang dukun.

In Siekopai legend, where the spirit and human worlds meet,

Dalam legenda Siekopai, tempat dunia roh dan manusia bertemu,

there are no clear victors,

tidak ada pemenang sejati,

and even death is an opportunity for renewal.

bahkan kematian adalah kesempatan untuk pembaruan.