Our first taste of a traditional village was just before Bajawa. We wandered into the village not knowing what to expect. We were drawn to a lady who was weaving on her house porch. She was watching two small children while she worked on a complicated weaving. We were shortly joined by the local guide who shows the tourists around, and collects the fees. She explained the structures we found in the center of the compound. In this instance, there were four parasols and four little houses which means there are four clans in this village. The parasols represent the male side of each clan while the miniature houses represent the female side. The wealth of each clan was represented by the number of buffalo horns displayed on the side of their homes. The buffalos are sacrificed while tied to the strong centre pole of the parasol. Although they are Roman Catholic, they still practice some animalistic traditions.
We were shown inside one home. As it was Sunday, some of the family were gathered in the kitchen. The men were singing, and playing instruments--some of which were homemade. The bass instrument was made from a empty plastic 5 liter jug with a corn cob to keep the one string away from the plastic container and a long wooden pole as a neck. The music had a soft beat that we enjoyed hearing. We were invited to sit, and have a drink of palm wine. We accepted a glass and enjoyed the interaction of the people in the room. In the living room, some younger boys were chilling out with a competitive game of cards.
Each home contains a ceremonial room where they honour family who have passed away. In this instance, there was a picture of the grandmother who had just died. She was 92 years old. They keep some embers on the fire burning for some time.
Outside, the young men played a form of volleyball, children were playing a game of soccer, and we wandered around looking at the basket and fabric weaving on display on the front of each house.
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