Another island, another ferry. After Flores 'time of Sumba, one of the most culturally' interest in the Indonesian archipelago. I am leaving behind volcanoes and rain forest to discover a landscape of gentle rolling hills covered with low shrubs and grass yellow and sharp. An arid land, hard, beaten by strong ocean winds, I might be in southern Spain or Italy, it was not for those high thatched roofs sprouting on the top of many hills. These are the traditional houses of Sumba, an island where ancient practices and rituals are still strongly rooted among the population. The guide who accompanied me for a day of exploring the villages (Boni) tells me that the entrenched position in the past facilitated the defense of the community 'from the attacks of tribes' rivals while high thatched roofs, almost conical, are still being constructed to accommodate the souls of the dead who, though dead, still live in the same houses.
The funeral rite and 'probably the most' striking a visit to a traditional village Sumbanese; during the funeral in fact, before a large crowd, composed of all the inhabitants of the community ', are killed more goods' important to belong to the dead; goods which are intended to follow in the life of 'Underworld: chickens, pigs, buffaloes and horses sometimes (a practice, this' last, that the Indonesian government is trying to discourage), slaughtered with machetes in the village center, on a sacrificial altar. During his visit to a community ', Boni tells me that in a few days there will be' where a funeral will probably be killed six buffalo. Bloody! Unfortunately the weather holds for me and I can not prolong my stay in very Sumba to attend this ceremony. In any case I do not know if I would have stood the vision of cows sacrificed by blows of the ax. Probably the thing I would open the doors to the vegetarian world.
As in Flores, Sumba also the people more 'important are buried in huge megalithic tombs, decorated with bas-reliefs, in the middle of villages. Some tombs are really great and the uprising of the stones are required hundreds of men and long days of effort.
Sumba and 'very little tourist island. Forget the mass of Bali. Here waves of capricious' spiaggioni Indian Ocean breaking on the deserted white sand and many inhabitants still wear traditional dress, beautifully embroidered, and men with a dagger tucked in his belt and a scarf tied at the head. In four days the foreigners I counted on the fingers of one hand. The visit to the villages and 'was fascinating, authentic experience, almost anthropological fatta da gesti semplici, ma carichi di significato. Vi spiego: Boni mi presenta all’anziano capo della comunita’ - una figura quasi regale - alle quale io offro pacchetti di sigarette e manciate di noce moscata (qui la masticano in continuazione; una roba amarissima e leggermente narcotica). Questi, seduto sotto il tetto spiovente della sua abitazione, ornata con teschi di mucche e maiali sacrificati, accetta di buon grado le offerte e acconsente quindi alla visita del villaggio. Insieme alla mia guida e accompagnato spesso da una allegra processione di bambini, ho cosi il permesso di fare foto e di entrare in alcune case. In una delle visite mi e’ capitato pure di partecipare ad un rito sciamanico, con lo stregone che, dopo aver preparato una mixture of nutmeg and fluid (saliva?), I smeared it all over his forehead saying mysterious phrases. Stuff chills down my spine.
Rene '
0 comments:
Post a Comment