A MAGNIFICENT “RANTEE BUI”

rantee bui
image: membuka-misteri.blogspot.com

A Magnificent “Rantëë Bui”
By Said Muniruddin

What had made Acehnese warriors during Dutch Colonial War, 1873 to 1905, so heroic to fight against the enemy was what is now known as “Rantëë Buii”. It is one of the most valuable historical remains.

It is originally Acehnese words. “Rantëë” means “chain”, and “Buii” means “pig” or “boar”. In other words, a Rantëë Buii is a kind of chain produced by a certain species of boars that lives in a jungle. Not all boars can produce this chain so that it is absolutely difficult to find. Actually, Rantëë Buii is not merely a true chain. It is so called since its shape and structure is similar to a chain, that is black hard solid and circular in shape. They range in size varied from 10 to 20 centimeters.

How it is formed is not quite clear. But, many people say that Rantëë Buii is created by fossilization process in a pig’s mouth for many years. The rest of food that was left in a pig’s mouth was getting harder and bigger after combined with pig’s saliva. Pigs always brought their Rantëë to any places they headed to. Meanwhile, they put it off only when eating food. Therefore, the right time to catch a Rantëë Buii was when a boar, the owner of a Rantëë, was eating. But, ones who is hunting it must be very patient to follow a boar. Moreover, it is not easy to get that kind of scarce pig.

And how to use it until became a powerful weapon? After getting a Rantëë Buii, they performed a certain mystical ceremony which was believed could bring a magnificent power into a Rantëë Buii. Then, a warrior tied it on their hip during a battle time. Their body would not be injured by any kind of weapons. Nor bullets or swords could harm their organs.

In spite the fact that no current research has been conducted to prove the existence of this Rantëë Buii, The Dutch themselves believe in the inner-power of a Rantëë Buii. Today we are not able to discover this Rantëë Buii at any places in Aceh. But some of this historical tools are to be found at The Dutch Museum in Holland.*****

(This is a writing assignment during the Pre-Academic Training [PAT] of Ford Foundation International Fellowship Program [FF-IFP] at PPB-UI Salemba, Jakarta: September 2004 – March 2005).

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