Jashi #3
My uncle's job often took him abroad. I can't tell you exactly what kind of job but he was sort of an engineer.
One time he was staying in a town in Northern Europe, where one day he received a visit from a local engineer whom he got to know through his work and who also sometimes acted as a translator for him.
The man told my uncle that he had something interesting to show him.
He then took my uncle to a deserted street. My uncle imagined they were heading to a strip club or something of the sort.
But instead they entered a small dirty house in a back alley. My uncle was taken aback when he saw what it was like inside. In sharp contrast to the miserable facade the inside was decorated with luxurious furnishings, with beautiful furnitures and carpets, and expensive-looking antiques. There was even a pleasant scent in the air.
Without an explanation my uncle was led to a small room at the back of the house. In there he saw a man of about sixty sitting on a chair, surrounded by candles. Strangely, the man was wearing sunglasses even though it was night time and he was inside. The local engineer told my uncle that the man was gifted with "jashi."
Jashi is a belief that is widespread all over the world and the one who has it can put curses on anyone whom he glares at with evil intention. It is also called "evil eye," "jagan," or "magan." A poweful jashi could make a person sick or even kill.
My uncle listened to all this in disbelief. He thought they must be trying to play a bad joke on him or the man was some kind of a magician.
The man on the chair whispered something into the local engineer's ear. The man apparently said, because my uncle didn't believe him, he could let my uncle taste a little sample of his power. My uncle thought that was interesting and agreed to the challenge.
The man again whispered to the local engineer. The man said, "I will tie you up only for now. I want you to understand that this is for your own safety. You will act violently and might hurt yourself in the process. All I will do is look into your eyes just for a second. That is all I will do."
My uncle suspected they would play a horrible trick on him. Maybe the man's eyes were scarred or he wore special contact lenses. Or they might have put some drug in the incense...
My uncle didn't like the idea of being tied up but the local engineer was someone he could really trust, so he agreed to the condition.
The man came closer to my uncle who had gotten himself tied to a chair. The engineer stood facing away from them.
Slowly, the man took off his sunglasses and then looked into my uncle's eyes.
"And what happened to me next was very similar to what happened to us today," my uncle said, putting down his coffee.
"The moment I saw his eyes I wanted to die, although his eyes were just like any other eyes I have seen on a person's face. You just start hating everything that is in the world. He stared at me only for a second or two. It was much more powerful than, say, a hypnosis."
The local engineer told my uncle that the jashi man was prepared to kill for money. He was also being used as a tool in the local mafia conflict.
A week before my uncle was supposed to go home, the news of the jashi man's death reached him. The jashi man was apparently murdered because he did something that caused the organization he worked for to lose face. He was found dead, bound to a chair, in a whore house. Scattered on the floor around him were urine and feces. The jashi man tore the rope by incredible force and killed himself after gouging out his eyes.
"As I said before, Jashi hates things unclean. Maybe he was shown a strip show or sexual intercourse while covered with urine and feces."
So did he mean that the creature we just saw was a person who was gifted with jashi? As if he had read what was in my mind, he continued:
"I don't know if he really was a monster or a human who had been brought up in some special way. I just thought simply running away from it wouldn't have helped us; that is why I felt we had to confront it at whatever costs. You've heard before that human saliva can repel a kappa*1 haven't you? Maybe our bodies are far more useful tools than mantra or omamori* when it comes to repelling creatures like them."
While listening to him I remembered about the dream I had of my little brother during the attack. I told him that maybe my little brother tried to save me. I started crying. My uncle listened to me patiently and after I had finished talking he kept quiet for a while. And then he said,
"That is very possible. Your brother was more mature than you. Do you remember about my mobile going off? That was from my ex-girlfriend. But it's actually impossible to receive calls on mobile in this area. See this ? It's out of range. So things like that can happen... Let's go home now. I think I'll sell this cottage. I want to give my girlfriend a call too."
My uncle flashed me a bashful smile; and drinking up his coffee, he stood up.
Go Back to Jashi#2
Go Back to Jashi#1
Go Back to Saya in Underworld (top page)
-------------
Notes:
*1Kappa - a legendary creature that haunts rivers.
*2 omamori - a Japanese amulet.
One time he was staying in a town in Northern Europe, where one day he received a visit from a local engineer whom he got to know through his work and who also sometimes acted as a translator for him.
The man told my uncle that he had something interesting to show him.
He then took my uncle to a deserted street. My uncle imagined they were heading to a strip club or something of the sort.
But instead they entered a small dirty house in a back alley. My uncle was taken aback when he saw what it was like inside. In sharp contrast to the miserable facade the inside was decorated with luxurious furnishings, with beautiful furnitures and carpets, and expensive-looking antiques. There was even a pleasant scent in the air.
Without an explanation my uncle was led to a small room at the back of the house. In there he saw a man of about sixty sitting on a chair, surrounded by candles. Strangely, the man was wearing sunglasses even though it was night time and he was inside. The local engineer told my uncle that the man was gifted with "jashi."
Jashi is a belief that is widespread all over the world and the one who has it can put curses on anyone whom he glares at with evil intention. It is also called "evil eye," "jagan," or "magan." A poweful jashi could make a person sick or even kill.
My uncle listened to all this in disbelief. He thought they must be trying to play a bad joke on him or the man was some kind of a magician.
The man on the chair whispered something into the local engineer's ear. The man apparently said, because my uncle didn't believe him, he could let my uncle taste a little sample of his power. My uncle thought that was interesting and agreed to the challenge.
The man again whispered to the local engineer. The man said, "I will tie you up only for now. I want you to understand that this is for your own safety. You will act violently and might hurt yourself in the process. All I will do is look into your eyes just for a second. That is all I will do."
My uncle suspected they would play a horrible trick on him. Maybe the man's eyes were scarred or he wore special contact lenses. Or they might have put some drug in the incense...
My uncle didn't like the idea of being tied up but the local engineer was someone he could really trust, so he agreed to the condition.
The man came closer to my uncle who had gotten himself tied to a chair. The engineer stood facing away from them.
Slowly, the man took off his sunglasses and then looked into my uncle's eyes.
"And what happened to me next was very similar to what happened to us today," my uncle said, putting down his coffee.
"The moment I saw his eyes I wanted to die, although his eyes were just like any other eyes I have seen on a person's face. You just start hating everything that is in the world. He stared at me only for a second or two. It was much more powerful than, say, a hypnosis."
The local engineer told my uncle that the jashi man was prepared to kill for money. He was also being used as a tool in the local mafia conflict.
A week before my uncle was supposed to go home, the news of the jashi man's death reached him. The jashi man was apparently murdered because he did something that caused the organization he worked for to lose face. He was found dead, bound to a chair, in a whore house. Scattered on the floor around him were urine and feces. The jashi man tore the rope by incredible force and killed himself after gouging out his eyes.
"As I said before, Jashi hates things unclean. Maybe he was shown a strip show or sexual intercourse while covered with urine and feces."
So did he mean that the creature we just saw was a person who was gifted with jashi? As if he had read what was in my mind, he continued:
"I don't know if he really was a monster or a human who had been brought up in some special way. I just thought simply running away from it wouldn't have helped us; that is why I felt we had to confront it at whatever costs. You've heard before that human saliva can repel a kappa*1 haven't you? Maybe our bodies are far more useful tools than mantra or omamori* when it comes to repelling creatures like them."
While listening to him I remembered about the dream I had of my little brother during the attack. I told him that maybe my little brother tried to save me. I started crying. My uncle listened to me patiently and after I had finished talking he kept quiet for a while. And then he said,
"That is very possible. Your brother was more mature than you. Do you remember about my mobile going off? That was from my ex-girlfriend. But it's actually impossible to receive calls on mobile in this area. See this ? It's out of range. So things like that can happen... Let's go home now. I think I'll sell this cottage. I want to give my girlfriend a call too."
My uncle flashed me a bashful smile; and drinking up his coffee, he stood up.
Go Back to Jashi#2
Go Back to Jashi#1
Go Back to Saya in Underworld (top page)
-------------
Notes:
*1Kappa - a legendary creature that haunts rivers.
*2 omamori - a Japanese amulet.