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February 10, 2006
Old Woman on Mountain Loe Laku
In Maliana there is a large mountain that towers over the east edge of the city called Loe Laku. During the evening, when the sun sets over the low rolling hills of the west, framed by bright green rice fields, clouds roll in to cover the lower slopes of the mountain, but slide below the top peaks, which remain exposed to the dying rays of the sun.
In these last rays, Joao told me that there were histories of this mountain, but only the old mountain folk knew them and no one had bothered to go and ask. But he said there was one malae who knew these stories too. She came in 1975, interested in Timorese culture, specifically in spiritual objects likun. She had a daughter who goes to University in another country. She left after 1975 because of the Indonesian time, but then came back, and then later left Maliana to go to Loe Laku, and was followed by many Timorese who went with her to form a city on the west side of the mountain. In that city, he said, she was a special malae, not like most malaes. She chews the mama malus, and gets really red teeth like the old women of Timor. While most people cannot hold likun, she can. When I asked why, Joao laughed and then leaned in. He said she was learned in the likun, and as she was interested in Timorese culture she would ask people to bring their clothes and tais (traditional Timorese weaving) to her house, but that if they came at night they could not come in - they would just leave it on the veranda. But some people did see her at night, and when they did, she was transformed into a snake, and all the people who saw her died.
That night I stared up at the mountain and hoped that I would one day meet this malae with red teeth, but that I would make sure to go in the day ... just in case.
Posted by storbert at 9:39 PM | Comments (0)
February 9, 2006
Nasty Critter
Geckoes are usually small, rather cute creatures that live above your bed and break the silence of the night with an occasional cute chirrup that the Timorese call "teki" (which, for your cultural information, also refers to a young unmarried girl). But sometimes those tekis get big, and then they are called 'toke' and make this deep throated croak that sound rather manly ... hence the reference to 'toke' as an unmarried man. Sounds cute, right? And then I saw one ... (this thing is about a foot long).
Ugh! Not cute!
Posted by storbert at 1:44 AM | Comments (2)
February 3, 2006
Raining Monkeys
I was standing in the radio station in Baucau watching a light drizzle come down despite a sunny sky when a youung woman told me the following story:
"When light rain comes down during a hot day - this is when monkeys get married!"
My reaction was to look at her and say "uhh, huh", but all the staff agreed: when it rains during a hot day, the monkeys will get married and then they will have a festa and dance all night.
Sometimes I just love Timor ...
Posted by storbert at 9:42 PM | Comments (0)