Luh Ayu Manik Mas, Hero of the Forest

Luh Ayu Manik Mas, Hero of the Forest I Made Sugianto BASAbali

Luh Ayu Manik and her friends couldn’t wait to start their camping trip. When they arrived at the seaside, the boys quickly ran into the water. They played and splashed in the sand and waves. Luh Ayu Manik warned her friends not to go out too far because of the strong winds and big waves. Even though the rainy season was supposed to be over, clouds covered the sky. Soon it became clear that a storm was coming. Luh Ayu Manik called to her friends to get out of the water and take shelter in the wantilan.*A wantilan is a large, open pavilion built in Indonesian communities for public events.

Rain began to pelt down. Lightening lit up the sky and thunder boomed. From inside the shelter, they could see lightning strikes out on the water. Luh Putu Suastini shivered. She remembered the accident that had killed her father when he was struck by lightning while planting rice. Luh Ayu Manik tried to calm her friends. But she wondered if the heavy rain was causing flooding near the mountains to the north. To pass the time, she scrolled through social media on her phone. She saw news of a large flood that had carried many trees downriver. The trees had crashed into a bridge, destroying it and cutting off the village.

Luh Ayu Manik worried about the villagers whose bridge had been washed away. They would have difficulty getting anywhere without the bridge. She learned from her news feed that the bridge had been destroyed by a collection of logs that had been tied together in the river. She wondered why so many logs were there. Maybe they had been cut down for housing and the land cleared for farming? Luh Ayu Manik told her friends about what she had learned.

After the storm, the friends decided they wanted to replant some of the trees that had been taken down in the flood. They would plant cempaka, bunut, lamtoro, and many other varieties. They would make the forest more verdant, and reduce erosion if there was another flood.

Soon, it was time to plant! Luh Ayu Manik gathered her friends together. They brought shovels, hoes, and panyong, as well as baby trees. They sang songs to keep up their energy as they hiked up the mountain . But a cold breeze chilled them to the bone, and the path was slippery. Everyone was extra careful so they would not fall. Though the hike was challenging, they loved being out in nature. They could see the houses of their village below, and even the sea in the distance. Birds tweeted in the trees, and it sounded like they were singing just for the students coming to plant more trees. But when they arrived at the edge of the forest, they discovered a terrible surprise.*A panyong is an Indonesian pickaxe with two pointed ends, one flatter than the other.

The forest had been clear-cut! While the students had expected to see a few trees lost from the storm, now they could see that the entire forest had been felled for lumber. Only the stumps remained. These trees were protected and only criminals would have cut them down. Luh Ayu Manik was sad and angry. Wasn’t there a ranger in place to protect the forest? Perhaps the rangers were afraid of the thieves. Her uncle was a forest ranger. Maybe she could ask him about it. Now the students were even more determined to restore the forest. They all worked hard and did not rest until every tree was in place.

As the group ate their snacks, they discussed what had happened and how they might help save the forest. Luh Ayu Manik suggested they come back again to care for the trees and make sure they survived. She thought about the officials who talked about taking care of the environment to look good but didn’t do anything about it. Everyone agreed they must be fully dedicated to taking care of the forest. They would return as soon as possible.

Back at home, Luh Ayu Manik was still haunted by the vision of the devastated forest. How could this have happened to a protected area? She realized that she hadn’t seen any rangers or forest police on the trip up the mountain. So who would identify the criminals who cut down the trees? Luh Ayu Manik felt a strong desire to go back to the forest and find them herself. Then, she could report the thieves to the police and stop them from doing any more damage.

Luh Ayu Manik realized that if the clearcutting continued, everyone who lived on the river below the mountain would have serious problems. Not only could floods do more damage, but fewer trees would result in less rain, leaving farmers without enough water for their rice fields. The river could even dry up completely, leaving people without clean drinking water. If all the water was gone, only tears would be left.

The next day, Luh Ayu Manik asked her friend Luh Putu Suastini to hike up the mountain with her. During the hike, Luh Putu Suastini was eager to take pictures of the natural world around them. She liked taking selfies and she posted them on social media. Many of their friends liked her images and asked where she was taking them. They all wanted to know where this beautiful place was and wanted more pictures. But it was not long before Luh Putu Suastini’s phone battery was drained.

When the girls arrived at the edge of the forest, they heard an awful noise. It was the sound of chainsaws! The clearcutting criminals were already there. They crept along slowly, looking for the culprit. Peeking from behind a large log, the girls could see a man cutting trees. Luh Ayu Manik reached for her cell phone to take a picture of him, but discovered that she had left it at home! She asked to borrow Luh Putu Suastini’s phone, but the batteries were dead. Luh Ayu Manik was frustrated that she could not photograph the thief. And she was annoyed that her friend had taken too many selfies, which caused her phone to die. But Luh Putu Suastini argued it was Luh Ayu Manik’s fault since she had left her own phone at home.

The girls realized their only hope was to look carefully at the thief and remember what he looked like. They would go straight to the police and describe him. Luh Ayu Manik was sure that then the police would be able to find and arrest him. The girls hurried back down the mountain without being seen by the man.

At the police station, the girls carefully described the person they saw cutting down trees. But the police did not believe them! They chastised the girls for lying and accusing someone of a serious crime with no evidence. Luh Ayu Manik thought carefully about what the police officer was telling her. It sounded as if the thieves would be jailed, but only if they got caught red-handed. If not, they could get away with whatever they wanted. She was angry that the police would not investigate a citizen’s report. It seemed that all her work was for nothing, and she had little hope that she would ever be able to stop the thieves. Then she had an idea.

Luh Ayu Maik and her friends prepared for another hike. This time they would scare the thief. They each had a role to play. In addition to Rangda, Ketut Suprabawa Kabinawa would wear the mask of Celuluk, Rangda’s gruesome-looking sidekick. The others would prepare a rope to snare the thief when he tried to run from the demons. Luh Ayu Manik was sure everything would go according to plan.*Rangda is a very important demon queen in traditional Balinese mythology.

Now the thief was angry, and lifted his chainsaw to fight off the demon. Ketut Suprabawa Kabinawa let go of the man and ran away to escape being cut to pieces. But now the other clearcutters had noticed what was happening and were coming their way. All of the students turned and fled. They could not win a fight against an armed gang. Unfortunately, Ketut Suprabawa Kabinawa, still in his Celuluk mask, tripped on the rope and became caught in the trap his own friends had set!

The thief laughed as he watched Celuluk screaming for help, and brought the chainsaw closer to the boy’s face. Luh Ayu Manik saw what was happening to her friend, and knew she had to help. She looked for a place to hide, and quickly changed into her alter-ego, Luh Ayu Manik Mas. Her golden crown and armbands flashed in the light. She struck at the thief with her supernatural sakti weapon, knocking the chainsaw from the man’s grasp. With a lightning strike to his heart, the man collapsed.

Immediately, another thief lunged at Luh Ayu Manik Mas with two axes. She easily avoided being struck, and quickly defeated the man.After tying up the thieves, she told them she was Luh Ayu Manik Mas, and let them know they should never return to this forest. Then, she slipped back into the trees to change back into Luh Ayu Manik. She called out to her friends to watch the men, then called her uncle and the police with the news.

The police and Luh Ayu Manik’s uncle soon arrived. They arrested the thieves and congratulated the students. Her uncle told her that the rangers could not catch the thieves on their own because they were afraid they would be killed. Now, they were relieved that the forest would be saved. There could have been a catastrophe down the river if the thieves had not been stopped. Now, he said, Luh Ayu Manik and her friends were the heroes of the forest!