Just little things

I was driving back from Jason’s and a group of about 7 men were sitting together on a pavilion with their cocks in their laps (where else!). They are there every day. Do I seem stuck on this cock thing? Anyway, they hold their cocks and kind of lift them up and put them face to face with the other cocks that strain to peck them. ( Hm…must be another story about cocks and peckers? No no, sorry.) Let me tell you it looks weird.
What are they doing? I asked Kungs brother whose English is not that great yet. Practicing. Practicing? I asked. Yes, the cocks get strong as they practice together. But why do they do this? I asked. It is for ceremonies. He told me. Soon my family compound will have a big ceremony. What is it for? I asked. It is to cleanse our house of bad spirits. We will have a cock fight. Just one? No, many people in our village will bring their cocks to the fights. Why do the cocks fight? They just naturally fight. And we must have blood for the ceremony. Ah, now I think we are getting interesting. So, the cocks draw blood when they fight? No we put little knives on their feet. The blood is an offering to the evil spirits to keep them from doing something bad to our family in the compound. Ah, so one cock fight then. No, the cock fights will go on all day. So apparently the evil gods like a lot of blood and must like gambling too. I didn’t ask about that or what happens to the cocks that die. It’s so complicating understanding someone else’s culture.
On another drive with Kung, I got more on their upcoming ceremony….seems that a long while back in the grandfather time, there was a disagreement in the family compound (So there are disagreements here too) and a line was drawn down the middle of the compound to separate the arguing families. And it stayed this way for some time. But now, Kung’s father is getting sick a lot and the healer has said it is the old line that is causing his distress. So the big ceremony with the extra powerful priest who is coming from far away is going to marry the two sides of the compound which was never formally done after it was split. I would love an invitation…stay tuned.
The weather has changed…I am enjoying the dry season with less humidity in the air, a breeze from Australia and the permanent ‘glow’ is gone from my face…mostly. I think the cooler temperatures are allowing me to soak in the atmosphere rather than spend so much energy on staying cool. And the people who come bless our houses twice a day are now leaving flower petals in a bowl outside my door as a blessing. There are so many lovely things here in Bali.
I’ve amped up my writing figuring that this is probably the most effective way to make use of all the tourists that come to Bali. Happily, my queries are well received and now my days are spent writing conservation articles about orangutans, oil palm and saving the rainforest. I actually have 7 articles to write in the next couple of weeks which is really exciting for me. I can’t believe all that I have learned in a short time and this oil palm thing…I’ll save it for another day but even Ben & Jerry’s uses it…NO, say it isn’t so and Revlon. More on that later. I have work for you all…just a little.
Oh great fun, I joined a Gamelan band…go check that out on the internet. What an interesting sound. I was at the library and they were practicing and a friend asked me to sit in. No written music though so I tapped out a few notes and totally enjoyed the sound. I have no idea how long it will take me to actually learn to play it by ear. I’ll be going back…it meets twice a week.
And just a small thing I found today about the lovely orangutans….
Willy Smits who started BOS the Australian organization that works in Borneo and
Has done amazing work for orangutan conservation, ticks off a list of new findings
just beginning to reveal what we will lose if wild orangutans become extinct. Often
dubbed the world's best field botanists, orangutans are also talented pharmacists,
treating their illnesses with forest plants. Because
of their similarity to humans, the benefits are obvious. Plagued by a splitting headache while
walking in the forest, Smits remembered seeing a slumped female orangutan clutching her
head and groaning, only to make what seemed to be a complete recovery after eating some
flowers from a nearby bush. "I immediately went to a bush of these purple fordia splendissima
and ate some of the flowers and within 15 minutes my headache was gone."

Remember there are ways that you can help. If you need some reminders, just ask me!! J
Time to head to the library finished The Reef by Gunesekera, good! And Tomcat in Love by O’Brien, good! And 2 not worthy of notice. Have started A Hotel in Bali.
Okay, enjoy your day.