5k Kate

It is the 27th and everyone is still in full Christmas spirit! Yesterday I had the chance to observe an “uncle celebration” and today was the Christmas feast with a special speech by masar Kidarga.  I’ve been told that, in general, Ende people don’t consider their mother’s relatives as their family as their clan extends from their fathers side of the family. But one of their mother’s relatives is very important and that’s your mother’s brother or pope . Traditionally, Ende people marry through a practice of sister exchange, in which two men exchange sisters in order to marry. In this way, an Ende person’s mother’s brother is responsible for their mother’s marriage and thus their existence. A payment must be paid to one’s pope uncle when one comes of a certain age, and in general, one has to be careful to respect them and keep them happy. Yesterday, three elders in the community, Yugui, Warani, and Giniya, welcomed their pope uncle, Sipiki, who came to visit Limol for Christmas from...

Merry Christmas! It’s been a long few first days here in Limol, culminating in a great Christmas celebration.  Preparations for Christmas begin weeks before the actual day as families move around in the gardens and sago places, camping in the bush and gathering food for the holiday. Those who live outside of the village begin making their way home. On my first day here, the 23rd, I was able to help Wagiba make preparations. We went fishing (net dragging) down at Karama swamp and caught six fish! We went down a bit late though (8am). It would have been less hot (in the 30s/90s) and the fish wouldn’t have hid in the floating grass. We carried those fish and a bunch of taro home in our spalek bags. I thought I would faint in the heat but we made it. After a nap, we went to fetch water in the roller. It’s much harder without Grace to help me pull it up the hill. As soon as we got back it poured rain. We filled up all our buckets with rain water and had a nice shower too.  The next...