Pierced Ears & Body Art Using our guide as a translator, we asked an elderly man about his age. “I’m 70 times the harvest,” he replied. We noted that his pierced ears drooped from large earrings that once enlarged the holes. “Younger men have surgery to remove the dangling lobes to look more modern,” explained Joseph. Likewise, only older men had tattoos. “They punctured the skin with a mixture of honey and charcoal,” said Joseph. “In the old days, tattoos indicated that a man was brave in war or had taken heads.” Headman Bansing pointed to his arms. “Each tattoo is from a different trip,” he said. As families retired to their quarters for the night, our host brought out a foam mattress, clean sheets and pillows and laid them on the veranda for our bed. We drifted off to sleep, serenaded by a jungle chorus of screeches, squawks and chirps. Suddenly, we both woke up. Something was moving in the darkness near the skulls. “Did I drink too much tuak last night, or did you see what I saw?” “I saw it too. What is it?” “I don’t know, but it’s sliding along the floor towards us.” Fumbling for our flashlight, we focused the beam on a burlap bag. It squealed. Relieved to learn that it was only a piglet destined for the morning market, we tried to fall asleep. No success. A group of hunters returned from their jungle hunt. Pigs snuffled on the ground below the floorboards. Roosters crowed. Chickens clucked. By dawn, the women were up preparing breakfast. The men needed a hearty meal before their three-hour walk to the rice paddies for a full day of work. As Joseph cooked eggs for our breakfast, we watched a woman on the balcony winnow rice. She repeatedly flipped the grains from a handwoven tray into the air, to allow the wind to blow away the chaff. 1 2 3 4 1. Gong-player with body art and pierced earlobes 2. Tattooed dancer with feathered headdress 3. Headman Bansing with tattoo souvenirs from trips 4. Dancer with tattooed neck and pierced earlobes 18 | www.snowbirds.org Travel
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzMzNzMx