Tenom Cemetery

Myself and R, drove to Keningau in one afternoon around 2.30 pm. My feeling was mixed. Worried, scared, and glad.

I was worried that something might happen to me, like being bitten by a snake, scorpions or wild dogs. I was scared that I might die, due to shock or heart attack. I was glad that someone was sincere enough to help me in achieving what my heart desire, to be able to see, the realms of the spirit world. To be able to see the looks of ghosts, jinns (genie) or the devil himself.

To erase all that I practiced my Zikir and surrender to Him completely. Every seconds, every breath, only Allah was in my mind...all the way to Keningau. Before comig to Keningau, I memorised the Ruqyah (verses from Quran) and parcticed my jirus(stances), just in case there was a need to use them. For the whole week prior to this, I also bcame vegetarian, to increase my vibration level higher.

Around 4.30 pm, we arrived at Keningau and we checked in into a hotel.

I ate a little bit, two buns with black beans inside. After freshened up, around 5.30pm, we drove to Ola's house. Ola greeted us and we were invited into his house. Ola was a simple man, younger than myself, with a dark skin and curly hair, very typical of a Timorese man. He had a wife and 5 young kids.

Ola's wife served us hot coffee. Ola immediately, told his stories, about the Chinese Medicine man who wanted to see and meet a ghost, and so that he could ask the ghost to grant him his wishes. Ola informed us that, he took the Chinese man to the Tenom Cemetery, at night, but shortly after he left him there, around 15 minutes or so, he heard the chinese man scream and he rushed to him, and find him in shock. The man couldn't talk, and didn't response to his questions. His body was shivering and he seemed to be losing his mind. He brought him home, and Ola had to treat him, called back his spirit, to make him normal and sound again. Ola warned me that the same thing could happen to me if I were to continue with my desire, as this was real, and the danger was imminent. The same thing could happen to me, he said.

I told Ola I was ready and I was not changing my mind, I wanted to proceed that night. R also reassured Ola that I was ready and had a strong spirit.

So R gave Ola all the things he requested for his ritual. R gave him, a one cent copper coin, cotton, a bottle of wisky,candles and needles. The white male chicken was already in the kitchen.

Ola asked me to sit in front of him and began his ritual by pouring some of the wisky to the floor of his house. Then I saw him concentrating on the small statues of Jesus, Mother Mary and a few others and he went into a trance state. He seemed to be communicating with his ancestors. Then he requested the chicken to be brought in. His wife brought in the chicken in placed it in front of us. I could see the chicken tried to escape but its legs were tightly bound. He then stripped away the feathers around the chicken's neck. The white feathers fell flying onto the floor of his house. Ola then recited something to the chicken, then he bit the chicken's neck until it was almost severed. Red thick blood of the chicken spurted all over the place, some landed on Ola's clothing but luckily it didn't land on my clothing. He then placed the chicken onto the floor. The chicken was struggling to get fresh air, the Ola pointed his index finger to the chicken, recited some mantra and the chicken's struggling eased off, and it lay motionless. Blood continued to gush out from the chicken's neck onto the floor.

When it was all over, when the chicken was lifeless, Ola then use the cotton, to absorb some of the chicken blood. Then the cotton is then pressed against my forehead, my legs and the palm of my hands, while he recited a few mantra. He asked me to let the blood dry and not to wipe it off. He then casted his spell on me.

When the ritual was over, myself, R and Ola went back to the hotel room in Keningau. I needed to change my attire. It was alrady around 7.30 pm, when we reached the hotel. I wore a track bottom and a jacket, complete with hood. I brought along my usual tools, like gloves, socks and yoga mat. I asked Ola whether I could bring my rosary beads, he advised me not to.

We drove off to Tenom. Tenom is about 40 KM away from Keningau. Along the way I kept quiet focussing on my breathing and Allah Hu Zikir. Once in a while R talked to Ola.

The night was quiet and it was quite dark. It was not full moon, and the moon seemed to covered by the clouds.

The road seemed hazardous to be driving at nights, as there were cows crossing or standing in the middle of the road. If R didn't drive carefully we could hit a live cow on the road that nite.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and the car seemed to jump as it went over something. It was a dead cow than we ran over. Blood mixed with the cow's internal processed food in its stomach got splashed onto the widscreen. Immediately R used the car wiper to wipe it away. We were fortunate though there was any dent or damage to the car. We were fortunate too that R didn't loose control of the car, otherwise I wouldn't be here to tell you this story.

We continued our journey and we reached at the Tenom cemetery around 8.30 pm. We parked the car outside the gate. Then the three of us went into the cemetery compound. It was Ola first, leasing the way, followed by R and then me. I brought along my yoga mat. My gloves and socks were in the pocket of my jacket.

Ola chose a spot under a big tree with graves underneath it. It was dark under the tree. I rolled out my yoga mat and sat on the mat crossed-legged.

Ola then gave his final advice, 'Jangan tegur kalau ada sesiapa datang.' meaning 'Dont say anything if anyone comes.' R didn't say a word to me. He kept his silence ever since we walked into the cemetery. I sensed that he was worried about me. I understood well his position, should I die that nite, he was the one to convey the message to my parents and he would take all the blames for leading me into this journey. And with that final advice from Ola, they retreated and dissappeared behind the gate. I was alone, reciting my Zikir.

What is that hammering sound?

It was like someone was hammering a big nail with a big hammer. I didn't notice it when we walked into the cemetery compound, but I after being left alone, it seemed to be getting louder. Was it a bird? Or was the sound of a primate? I don't know....In my mind I kept imagining a one eyed tall jinn with a hammer...

Dex once told me how he battled a tall jinn with a giant net out to capture him in the spiritual realm. He almost lost the battle but with knowledge and his powers he managed to escape the jinn's giant net.

If there was giant jinn with a big hammer, could I escape its deadly blow? Would I die? Would I survive? Would I be captured and become his servant in the spiritual realms?

I was situated near the left border of the cemetery. Under the tree, once my eyes adjusted to the low light conditions of the night, I could see, there were many graves in the cemetery, behind me, in front of me, to my left and to my right were all graves.

Suddenly the hammering sound was getting louder and getting nearer to me. I was on full alert. My body, my mind, my spirit were ready to expect anyone or anything to come. I set aside my fright. I put a shield around me, with ever zikir recited and every breath I let out, I strengtened my shield.

I focus my eyes towards the direction where the hammering sound was coming from. But I couldn't see anything or anyone that was creating the sound.

The sound was getting nearer, my heart was beating faster. Cold sweat began trickling down my forehead and my back.

This is it.. This is my destiny...I said to myself. I continued my zikir...

Suddenly the noise moved away from my direction to the left. Just as sudden it came towards my direction, it changed its direction suddenly too. Then it retreated back towards the direction from where it was coming from.

I was glad the hammering noise didn't come, but at the same time I was disappointed of not knowing the real source of the noise. Never in my life I ever heard that kind of noise.

The noise of dead leaves falling behind me scared me every time, as it sounded like someone was walking behind me. Every time it fell I always expect the worst and ready for whatever to come. In my mind eyes it seemed somebody was slowly approaching me, and it gave me the creepy feeling every time I thought of it. It got even worse when a dead tree branch fell to the ground. When your ears were intune and focus to your surrounding, the noise it made was very loud and clear, as if someone was hurriedly running behind you and dissapeared without a trace. Towards the end of the night i got used to these sounds, but I didn't let my guard down. Every time there was a noise behind me or around me, or near me, I was on full alert and kick started my shield and my zikir, with the heavy breathing.

A black bird suddenly flew out of nowhere and landed on a cross of a grave nearby...

This is it. This must be the moment. I told myself.

I was ready. I was waiting for it to come flying nearer to me. Or to jump onto the ground and started walking towards me. I was half expecting it to transform itself into some other repulsive, frightening, blood hungry creature, with fangs, claws and red eyes.

I surrendered to Allah, tawakkal to Him. If I didn't make it that night, defeated and found dead in the morning, at least I was dead trying to achieve what I have been longing to do. I put my life in Allah's care.

But the bird didn't come to me, it stared at me in curiousity. It turned its head right and left, maybe to get a better view of me. Maybe it was wondering what was this human doing in the graveyard all alone at night. Having satisfied its curiousity it flew away.

The tension and suspense eased off when it flew away. I checked around me if there was anything that I could harm me in whatever way possible. There was none. Only the stillness of the night remained.

I continued with my zikir, reciting Allah, hundreds of times, thousands...till I lost track of the counts and the time as well.

What time is it now? I wondered. I looked at the sky, the moon has moved about 25 degrees from its original position.

Is it midnite now?

I cleared my mind and concentrated on my zikir.

A barking sound in a distant startled me. From a distant a could see a few dogs, going from one grave to another grave. I couldn't be sure what they were looking for? Were they looking for food?

Are they spirits in disguise?

One dog got closer, closer and closer to me, till it came to the grave in front of me. It began to notice my presence. It stood still, stared at me and began growling and barking at me.

My heart beat raced faster. I realized now I was in a danger zone. This was real danger. If it was a servant of the darkness, it could now transform itself into an gruesome and scary creature ready to frighten me or take my soul into its world. Or the dog could just attack me in his current form, bite me with its mouthful of sharp teeth, and kill me. I would be totally weaponless and defenseless against any physical attack. I only surrendered to Allah.

Several other dogs began to notice me. They too stared at me and began to bark at me wildly. Some got closer to the first dog, some just barked at me from a distant. A worrying thought started to lurk at the back of mind, that the dogs would gang up and kill me. What if all of them come together, surrounded me, attcked me in a formation just like a scene from National Geographic or Animal Planet about a defenseless creature being attacked and eaten by hyeanas in Botswana, Africa. Would my life ended this way?

I tried to find a stick or dead tree branch around me, but under a low light condition I barely could see. No use using my hands either, as all I could feel was dead tree leaves around where I was seated.

I concentrated on my Zikir. I let the power of the Zikir to control my emotions, I let it enveloped me completely and gained control of my nervous heart. I immersed myself in it, drowned in its power, and surrender completely to Allah.

The black dog's eyes stared at me, growling and barking at me... I matched it with my Zikir. Barely blinking, I stared at its eyes, piercing them with my new found strength... I was not frightened any more..with every breath, I could feel I was growing fearless and ready for the final showdown...

But the dogs just stood there. They didn't dare to come up to me or come any closer. Their growling is getting less and less audible, until they become totally quiet. Not a bark come from their mouths. Only the sound of a howling dog in the distant could be heard. But thhose dogs inf ront me, were quiet. And not a long fter, one by one left and dissappeared into the darknesss of the night.

It was a relief...I could breath normally now...

I continued with my Zikir, my body was getting tired now...I was not sure on the time. The time moved slowly when you had no on what time it was. Only the movement of the moon become my clock. And my guess it was around 2.30 pm or so.


(to be continued)