Nadum and Gabma

Year 2: Grace, Grace, Kate, Kate, and Kate

In a comment to one of the Limol posts, Elizabeth said she was curious about how our relationships were evolving in the village and how people perceived us. I guess I can only talk about how I perceive that people perceive me, but with that caveat, here's what I thinkǃ

The word for white person in Ende is gabma, which has been said to be derived from the English word government for the government people that came in to check on the villages back under the Australian government. The word doesn't seem to be used in a mean way; children yell it out as we walk down the street, and adults use it when talking about us, "The tall gabma is here with the medicineǃ" Towards the end of this last trip, I had started to remind people that my name was Kate and they could use that instead of gabma, which felt so impersonal. People did learn that I wanted to be called Kate and some children and adults made the effort, but especially when referring to the three white women in the village, gabma remained the preferred choice.

When we first arrived, we were somewhat of a spectacle in the village. Women would come to watch us bathe, children would ask to touch our skin and hair, people would stop what they were doing to watch us walk by, children that were older than babies but younger than ~8 would scream and cry when they saw us. To some extent, this attitude is still present in the village, but overwhelmingly I feel like most adults see me now as a person and friend. (In contrast, this was definitely not the case when we left Limol this year and walked through the villages of Bisuaka and Kapal, where we were once again the village entertainment.)

This third trip felt a lot different. There were fewer rumors and distrust. While we had community meetings every week the first year to discuss who we were and what we were doing, this year didn't require any big meetings. People greeted us with love and with trust. Children who were scared of us in previous years ran up to us and gave us hugs. There was not an overpouring of gifts at the goodbye ceremony, because people knew we would come back no matter what. When someone asked for more supplies/gifts when we first arrived and I cried when I told everyone that I wish we could have brought more for them, many people stood up for me, admonishing critics and calling out for gratitude and patience.

Unfortunately, I didn't see such amazing progress with my namesake (nadum) Kate. She still screamed whenever I came by, but this year when I brought her a fish and some waterlilies from the swamp, she did at least walk up to me bawling to take the gifts before running back to her mom. Both my and Grace's nadums gave us beautiful cassowary bags this year, and we brought them some clothes and shoes to wear. Maybe three-year-old Kate will be a little more trusting of me next year :)

Year 3: Grace and Grace

Year 3: Kate and Kate