10/31/2022
The Tuh-yeh
The Okuntsa people once lived in a tribal village deep in the rainforest. Okuntsa hunters would go out every morning to trap wild boar and other wild things, and bring the animals back to the village, for a nightly feast. including rituals, music and dancing. But before every hunt a group of Okuntsa shaman called the Tuh-yeh would go out very early, bury themselves in the ground with a cover of leaves and grass, and wait, for an unsuspecting hunter. It was an Okuntsa custom for at least one of the group to trample over the tuh-yeh’s secret spot and to be taken as a sacrifice, an offering to the tribal spirits for providing a plentiful feast year after year. A possessed Tuh-yeh would sn**ch the hunter up, and kill him instantly, leaving the body behind for the elements and the spirits to take to heaven. All the hunters knew that they might be chosen by the Tuh-yeh, during a good hunt.
There was a local tourist guide by the name of Soucha, who was always in debt and owed many people money, had become familiar with the local Okuntsa custom, so he schemed up a sinister plan. Soucha was also known to be very greedy, so he would do anything to get himself out of debt and make a nice profit for himself. Soucha had spent many seasons studying exactly where the Tuh-yeh where going to be hiding. By using Okuntsa territory maps he could see the patterns and knew where they would be lying in wait. Soucha thought if he could send some rich tourist hunter out to those exact coordinates and have the tourists ride over the Tuh-yeh, the possessed Shaman would leap up out of the ground, and kill the tourist hunters. Since the Tuh-yeh would always leave the victims body behind, all their valuables would be left unprotected. Then Soucha would go out, and collect it all at a later time, Or so he thought. He planned to send out three tourists to start.
Soucha’s plan had so far worked rather well, for when the Okuntsa hunters had returned to their village with the hunt, the tourist hunters were nowhere to be found. He knew where their bodies would be lying and would go out for them at the start of the evening rituals. Soucha left just before dark and found the first body, gun still in hand, and pockets filled with lots of coin and cash. “So foolish” thought Soucha, “to hunt deep in the forest with so many possessions”. Soucha packed up his loot and headed out for his second victim. The next tourist hunter was just as foolish as the first, and carried with him many diamonds and jewels, worth thousands of dollars, and even wore to go hunting, a ring made of solid gold. His plan had been working so far, and the greedy tour guide thought he’d have all his financiers paid back in months. He also imagined that if he could do this a couple of more times, he would be able to have at least two years of his own money to spend. But as Soucha continued on, something up ahead wasn’t right, and as he arrived to the spot where he swore the body of the third tourist would be lying out, he had heard a voice call out to him from behind the tree’s, “Soucha, Soucha” he heard him say, “you sent me out here, now please help me”, It had appeared to Soucha that his third victim had fallen off his horse before the Tuh-yeh had a chance to sn**ch him up. “Am I so glad to see you” the tourist said, knowing what Soucha was up to all the time. “I’ve lost my two friends and all the hunters have gone back to the village for the evening feast”, (drums could be heard playing very far out in the distance). Soucha froze dead in his tracks, for he knew that the last Tuh-yeh was lying very close to where he was standing. All of a sudden just as he was about to move, the leaves began to rustle beneath him. Soucha screamed as he was taken and sn**ched up, by a possessed Tuh-yeh. Suddenly Soucha was grabbed hard by the throat and thrown forcefully to the ground, dead within minutes. Convinced that the greedy tour guide had this coming to him, the frightened tourist quickly returned back into town, and reported to the locals exactly what had happened. Soucha’s body was never found and according to Okuntsa legend, He was taken by the elements and then taken by the spirits, to hell.
Happy Halloween!
