14. WHEN HUSBAND AND WIFE ARE ANTOHS
(From the Saputans; kampong Data Láong)
There were many young men who wanted to marry Inu Songbakim, a young girl, but she liked only one man, Monjang Dahonghavon, and, having obtained the consent of her father and mother, he shared her mat. One day he went out to work, making planks with his axe, while she remained at home cooking. When she had prepared the food she took it to him, and when she arrived at the place where he was working he looked at her as he was cutting with the axe and hurt himself. He died, and his father came and took the corpse to the house. Being an antoh he restored the life of his son, who became very angry with his wife for being the cause of his death. He wanted to kill her, but as she was very strong he could not do it, and instead, with his parang, killed her father and mother. His wife, in turn, became filled with wrath, and with a parang killed his father and mother.
The young man then left her to look for another wife, but could not find any that was to his liking, strong and good-looking, so after a while he decided to return to the wife he already had. "I like you much," she said, "but if you want to have me again you must make my father and mother alive again." "I will do that," he answered, "if you first will restore to life my father and mother." They were both antohs, so there was a general return to life, and the people from the two kampongs to which the families belonged came together and made the kampongs into one.