In The Shadow Of The Banyan

At the hut, Mama fiercely whips Raami with a coconut leaf spine for leaving Radana unattended. When Raami starts screaming for Papa, Mama says he is gone and cannot hear her. Finally, Raami cries out, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry I let them take him away!” (199). At this, Mama throws the whip down and breaks down in tears. Later that night, when the two reconcile, Mama says there is nothing either of them could have done to keep Papa safe.

A few days later, as Raami and Mama cut rice outside, Pok rushes over to tell them Radana has malaria. Over the next few days, Radana alternates between intense chills and fevered sweats, all while suffering aches and cramps throughout her entire body. Given that she left Radana alone, Raami feels extraordinarily guilty for her sister’s condition.

Eventually, Radana shows signs of recovery. Her appetite returns, and Raami is once again able to make her sister laugh. One day, Mama brings cassava home which she procured by trading away Papa’s expensive watch. Worried that Radana’s stomach isn’t ready for cassava, she gives it all to Raami. As Raami eats it, Radana points at the cassava, intoning, “Mhum... mhum... mhum...” Her cries continue late into the night, accompanied by Mae’s cow who, in her grief over her lost calf, cries “Maaaw... maaaw... maaaw!”

By the next morning, Radana is dead.

Unable to cry, Mama sits in the corner moaning while Mae prepares the body for a makeshift funeral. She dresses Radana in a white satin dress with pink roses on the collar.

During the private funeral ceremony on the platform outside the hut, the Fat One and other Kamaphibal wives arrive and announce themselves as the Burial Committee. The Fat One complements Mama on her lack of tears, adding, “You are adopting the correct attitude, Comrade Aana. Tears are signs of weakness” (213). As the Burial Committee, the women insist on taking the coffin. They say that Radana’s body will fertilize the soil and that she will be far more useful to the Revolutionary cause in death than she ever was in life. Once they leave, Mama lets out a terrible scream.

For months after Radana’s death, Mama works in the fields alone and barely speaks at home. In an effort to rouse her from her emotional numbness, Raami runs away. Upon her eventual return, Mama initially remains outwardly without emotion. Yet within minutes, Mama unburdens herself to Raami, explaining that Radana never had the strength Raami built up during her successful battle with polio. She goes on to say that, unlike Papa, Mama has no use for stories. Instead, she gives her children reality—a reality manifested through love. Finally, she concludes, “I have no stories to tell you, Raami. There is only this reality—when your sister died, I wanted to die with her. But I fought to live. I live because of you—for you. I’ve chosen you over Radana” (223).

Weeks later, Raami and Mama receive a summons to the home of Bong Sok, the leader of the local Kamaphibal. As they enter his compound, the abundance of rice, corn, and cassavas lining the walkways sickens Raami. In a meeting with Bong Sok and the Fat One, they accuse Mama of lying about being a servant. They further allege that Mama is literate and knows multiple Western languages. Mama denies of all of this, but Bong Sok and the Fat One are steadfast in their belief that Mama is lying. Ultimately, Bong Sok concludes that a punishment of some kind is forthcoming and dismisses them. On their way out, Raami and Mama see a little girl, presumably Bong Sok’s daughter, wearing Radana’s funereal dress.

That evening, a Revolutionary soldier enters the hut and orders Mama and Raami to come with him. When pressed why by Pok and Mae, the soldier says, “You’ve grown too close. The Organization is your only family. You should’ve remembered that” (228). After a brief and tearful goodbye, Mama and Raami get into an oxcart headed into the forest. 

Raami and Mama end up in an open field with other refugee families. Raami overhears snippets of conversation, including a debate over whether to band together and turn against the soldiers. A man dismisses this idea, stating, “Even if we could take them, then what? Where would we go?” (232).

In the distance, Raami sees a man who makes eye contact with her. With gaining speed, he approaches Raami and Mama until they realize it is Big Uncle. After a tearful and joyous embrace, Big Uncle takes them to the rest of his party, which now only includes Grandmother Queen. Without going into further detail, he says Auntie India, Tata, and the twins didn’t survive. Big Uncle adds that he shaved his head like a monk because it was the only way he knew how to mourn them.

In the morning, Raami learns that after their separation at the temple grounds, Big Uncle and his family went to a village only a day’s walk from Stung Khae. “Fear, not distance, separated us” (237), Raami recalls.

Raami overhears an argument between a truck driver who wants to take the families to the Kratie Province because he’s going in that direction anyway, and a soldier who insists that the families go to Battambang Province. The driver ultimately prevails, and the families load onto the truck and go to the town of Ksach in Kratie.

Unlike their previous homes, Ksach is warm and welcoming. There is Buddhist paraphernalia on display, and even the soldiers wave cheerfully to the new arrivals. The truck stops at a row of houses that will be their new home. Although each family receives only one room of each house, the rooms are clean and relatively spacious. There are also pillows, blankets, and household items they are welcome to use. Raami, Mama, Big Uncle, and Grandmother Queen settle in the kitchen of one of the houses.