Delta Sebayang grabbed the 600-milliliter bottle of mineral water and swallowed half its contents. At the coffee shop where Tempo met him in Bintang Meriah village, Karo regency, he shook his head and smiled. "The skull moved about on my lap," he said.

The 45-year-old man was referring to the skull of his ancestor, Raja Senina Lingga, the Batak Karo king who died 400 years ago. When recounting the story on Thursday three weeks ago, Delta and his r