A handshake
in Indonesia is gentle, followed by raising your right hand to touch your
chest. It means I welcome and greet you today, may not remember your name, but
will keep your face in my heart always. I think that says it all, not to
mention all the smiling faces and everyone wants to have a picture with you.
“Mister, one more picture please”. :) Indonesia is chaotic at best, everything
is done by consensus, and of course everyone wants to be involved, so the
result is that any agenda is constantly changing, right up until it actually
unfolds. But it is done with such great heart, so a little patience goes a long
way. In that light, it truly is a “Magical Mystery Tour”.
The
relatively small village of Pasarwajo put on the “Colossal dance” performance
like nothing we’ve ever seen. Can you imagine 12,500 dancers (we kid you not),
mostly all students, all at the same time, performing traditional dances? We
were completely awestruck! Then try to imagine what it must have took to pull
this together, all in two months, on a large island that is geographically
dispersed. Unbelievable, particularly when you know that it was done just for
us, 11 boats, ~26 people, not to mention the wonderful ceremonies, dinners, a
personal guide for each person, transport, a diving trip to see Mandarin fish,
etc, etc. And that’s just the “planned” activities. Then there’s all the little
things, the friendly fisherman everywhere, the boys that paddle out to visit
with you to practice their English, the yummy food, the beautifully designed
fishing boats and homes, the diverse culture from island to island, even the
mosque loud speaker chanting (calls to pray) at 4:30 in the morning. And the
mountainous, jungle clad, tropical islands themselves are beautiful and the
seas crystal clear.
Indonesians
like to tell stories through dance, there’s a dance for everything. One
particular one was lovely on Buton, which every Butonese knows, the story of
the mermaid. The short version is that the children were misbehaving playing in
the water where they weren’t supposed to, they got into trouble, swallowed up
by the sea and became fish. The mother, heart stricken, jumped into the sea to
search for them, became a mermaid, forever searching for her children. And so it
goes, that children should always obey their mother. :)
When we
first arrived, we had to dress in their traditional costumes which included
sarongs, tops, jackets and belt. We thought this was solely for the ceremonies,
but they insisted we keep them for when we come back. One ceremony was called
the “Doli Doli” to strengthen the immune system of babies. There were about
1000 babies all being rubbed in coconut oil and rolled in banana leaves, all
crying and making a fuss. :) Then after the welcome ceremony, there was the
“1000 trays” where we were fed lovely morsels. After the feast, we were shown
to other tents highlighting local handcrafts, eg, weaving baskets, mats and
cloths. They insisted Sherry get in front of a weaving loom to learn how it was
done. Once strapped in, there were about 75 people all trying to give her
instructions (in Indonesian) and showing by example. Great fun, though not sure
she wants to be a weaver!
After a car
trip across the mountains to Baubau, for another ceremony with the Sultans and
King, a lunch, the tour of the Keraton Fortress and then another lovely dinner
overlooking the bay, we were whisked (wild one hour ride) back across the
mountains to Pasarwajo. We were exhausted and ready to climb into bed, only to
find the mayor of Pasarwajo had ALSO planned another dinner , music and
dancing. After midnight, we slipped away to the dingy and back to the boat to
FINALLY climb into bed. Phew! And so it goes, another lovely day in Indonesia. :)
With Equanimity and Joy
With Equanimity and Joy
