Life in the high mountains

The Meranti are a unique people having an affluent heritage. They are skillful and hard-working. They possess an intimate knowledge of the world surrounding them. Their animistic beliefs give them a deep connection and understanding of the environment and consider all things of creation equal and necessary, worthy of respect and honor.

Living with the Meranti is bliss. It has given me the break I needed to revive my torn self and carve a path for my life as I lived in simplicity. However, I was caught unaware of the events that ensued thereafter. I learned that it is futile to challenge the predestined fate rolled out for me to walk on.

Immersing and assimilating with the locals opened a gateway to discovering a rich and primeval culture whose roots dates back to the age of the awakening of man. However, it is gradually losing against the external influences under the guise of modernity.

Saving the Meranti heritage would come to mean total understanding of their way of life, their beliefs and history. My interest and enthusiasm brought me at odds against the mysterious forces which interplayed, yet endeared me with the village people. It was only by then when they opened themselves, welcomed me into their circle. Then I realized that the answers to the multitude of questions that I have may lie hidden somewhere among the sages of this wilderness.

Krovanh is a high altitude village where one is literally with the clouds once darkness hits. Even the moon can not be seen as the entire area is enveloped with billowing mists. Hanging bridges are a common sight here as it gives access to settlements across ravines. A mere walk through it would give a thrill as it easily sways over a great height.

I reside in a hut which is a simple wooden structure, built on stilts on the side of the mountain where every time I looked out the window, I could watch a magical scene as stairs of rice terraces climb into the mists of the mountain tops.

The other secret of Krovanh are the rocky pillar formations. Jutting up from the stream bed which snakes through the heart of Krovanh are strange limestone structures in the form of pinnacles, towering spires, fins and arches. These can be said to be a fodder for imagination. These are considered to be sacred structures of the Meranti. These natural stone columns serve as points of meditation where once in a while you happen to chance upon a Meranti in a trance-like state.

Krovanh’s innate beauty and its bizarre practices lured the outside world to its doorstep. If it weren’t for the wisdom and guidance of the Augur, the village chief counsel, the Krovanh we know today might have ceased to exist.

The Augur, Omais, as he is called by the villagers is a good-natured aged man who has probably passed the prime of his life. Highly respected and revered, he is said to be able to communicate with the gods through certain entities.

Tonight, a full moon is about to rise in the sky. A ritual is about to take place. A ritual orchestrated especially for me to be carried out by the Augur, the Ambuki, the awakening of the inner senses.

As the moon heads its way to the celestial firmaments, a Meranti escorted me to an open space on the summit, overlooking the rice fields and the river below. Three priests stood silently around a circular stone dais. Clad in traditional garments of woven fabrics with elaborate headdresses of bird feathers, leglets made of spirally wounded copper wire and armlets made of wild boar tusks.

The essence of sandalwood permeates the night air. Atop a high pedestal is the Augur, Omais positioned directly over the rocky edge. Hooded and dressed from head to toe in white, flowing silken garment, the soft folds of his robe pooled around his feet.

I was ushered and made to sit in the middle of the dais where the three priests stood. Omais started by calling upon the spirits of the rivers, forests, the mountains and the sky. Amidst the convulsions and the wild-ravings of the Augur, I then heard a mantra accompanied by a melody from bamboo flute fluttering through the wind. I eased myself and later on, I felt I was one with the notes of the melody.