#tombiruo

[i am analysing this from the movie adaptation, therefore it might not be 100% accurate comparing to the book. minor spoilers ahead.]

to sum up the whole movie briefly, it was about tombiruo (ejim) -  a magical creature who was considered as the king of the jungle in which he protected and cared for. due to the hatred imposed by the people living in the jungle, he felt burdened with his powers and despised those who mocked him merely because of his bizarre appearance.

hence, his father had decided to put on a mask for him, in which he was able to hid his troubles and worries. when his father was killed during the construction of a dam, tombiruo swore to seek revenge to those that was responsible for his father’s death. 

firstly, tombiruo being in the presence of mother earth, he is understandably symbolized as nature itself, and the mask implies the hidden beauty of nature. it demonstrates on how the environment are often misunderstood for protecting its own kind. 

“makhluk yang dijiwanya ada ribut. / a creature within whom lives a storm.”

moreover, this quote again emphasizes on the potrayal of tombiruo in resembling the essence he is surrounded in, suggesting that it has it’s own storm. this tells us that the mask was worn to represent the hidden beauty of nature - in which you are able to witness under it.

the storm also illustrates the pain and suffering nature had went through. this was clearly depict when tombiruo was seen causing a storm when people bullied and tormented him by throwing rocks and sticks.

later in the movie, a group of people were seen destroying and setting the villages located within the jungle on fire. this event was crucial to the analysis as this event had triggered nature to attack upon it’s oppressors. tombiruo was angry, for he felt like it was an obligation to protect his home.

from that moment onward, we get to follow ejim through his journey of accepting the reality of the destruction of his home and that love is the ultimate remedy in healing the damage that was done. 

initially, this can be simply seen as a normal plot, but - it indicates the slow demolition of nature caused by our humankind. due to the pressure and stress, we are able to observe how nature turn its back on us and will eventually cause natural disasters and accidents that are beyond one’s control. nevertheless, the only way to stop this, would be to care and love for our environment and the ecosystem as a whole.

“hutan kita semakin sempit. / our jungle gets crowded by the day.”