Not an exciting title I suppose, but that's exactly what we are doing. It comes down torrentially (I know, I've used this word a lot) every single day for hours at a time. There's a sense of beauty, and peace about it. You hear it splattering on the tin roofs, watch the water level on the rice fields increase dramatically, but there's just not being on the road when this happens.
We've learned that it usually starts around 3 to 4 pm, so we try to get our butts in gear early in the morning. That's pretty easy to do around here. The roosters, the dogs and the frogs set up a concert starting at about 5 and they don't let up until about 8. Last night there was a house nearby playing music until 2 am. It was actually pretty cool. The entire valley was dark, with a couple of dim lights here and there on the hills, and the sound was almost magical. I was up watching the Sampdoria game anyway.
Our excursions today took us to a place called Kete Kesu, where there was a young troupe of local dancers rehearsing their moves.
Buffalo mandibles hanging from a house
You may think it's just paint, yes it is, but the paint is all into carved etchings. Imagine entire houses so artistically done this way
Roosters are annoying in the morning, but here they are so beautiful, everywhere.
We then visited the regional buffalo market, where there were literally over 1,000 animals being bartered, mostly for ceremonial offerings. It is indeed sad, but it's a way of life in this place, and it is very spiritually derived; the people feel a link to the buffalo that goes beyond understanding. It is felt that there is a link between man and the animal that goes beyond life on earth, and that it is the buffalo that will lead the way to eternal happiness.
Next, another "cemetery". This was possibly the most beautiful. It is called Bori. Here you will not find mountain burials, but rock burials nonetheless. Cavities are dug out of large boulders in the soil. It looked as though it was made for a wealthier sort.
All the Tau Tau here have been stolen, so they have been replaced by these rocks, each symbolically representing the effigy stolen
People often ask us to take pictures with them, and invite us to take some as well
Multilevel
Some coffins are left out, mostly for lack of financial resources from the family, or lack of living family-members altogether.
More of those symbolic rocks
Mister, photo!
Caskets left outside in the rot, eventually rot. Yes, the body is still in there.
We then travelled to Rantepao, the largest town in the area, where we had a fried chicken lunch in what most people would call a dive, but due to the lack of mass tourism, there are few choices around. We have a half-pension plan where we are staying, so our host prepares us dinner, all local dishes, and she is an excellent cook.
The fried chicken was very good. Even Diane enjoyed it, and she is not the fried chicken type
Symbol of the prevalent Christianity on the region. There is a statue of Christ nearby that is the tallest, after the Christ the Redeemer one in Rio de Janeiro
A monument to the buffalo. Note they depicted the pink variety, which is very prized and rare.
'Walked around town a bit, just until the sky turned that threatening grey color we have become all too familiar with, and sure enough, by the time we reached our Rura Raya place, the deluge began.
It's been going on for 4 hours now, but it will stop during the night. At least it better, because tomorrow we have that treacherous 8-hour route back, and we can't be late for our plane, because yes, today is our last full day on Sulawesi. There's so much more to see here. This is the world's 11th largest island, and we've just seen 1/6th of it. We have learned a lot about local culture, have endeared to its people, and appreciated its beauty.
Buona notte fiorellini.
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