Mechi
Mechi is a traditional Fataluku festival in the East Timorese municipality of Lautém , during which the genitals of the Meci worms are collected.
background
The festival takes place twice at the beginning of the year on the coast of the administrative offices of Lospalos , Lautém and Tutuala . Particularly well known are the celebrations on the beach of Valu , near the place Tutuala and the island of Jaco , where the north to Banda ( Tasi feto , the woman sea) and the south facing Timor Sea ( Tasi Mane , Men Sea) meet. The smaller Mechi kiik takes place in the last quarter of the moon in February and the large Mechi boat at the new moon in March . The harvest of this maritime annelid marks the beginning of a new annual cycle for agriculture and is celebrated with festivities in the villages. There are similar harvest celebrations on Lombok , Sawu , Roti and Westsumba . Also in the South Pacific , where they are known as Samoa Palolos, the discarded genital segments of the Meci worms are collected by the locals.
The Meci worm ( Palola viridis ), which feeds on algae, has ideal living conditions in the protected waters of the Nino Konis Santana National Park . Males are green-blue, females pink to red-brown. They reach sizes of an estimated 12 to 15 centimeters. On the nights of the Mechi, the worms separate from their genital segments to reproduce. The independently moving segments then distribute sperm and eggs on the surface of the water before they perish after a few hours, while the actual worm remains in the corals. Using the moon and other signs, the locals can estimate how rich the harvest of the sex segments will be.
procedure
The festival lasts two days. The day before the harvest, families and clans gather in camps on the beach. While some prepare food and palm wine , the young people in particular spend the day playing volleyball, swimming and practicing songs and dances for the harvest of the meci. The songs deal with the cycle of life of the Meci, thank their ancestors and ask them for the prosperity of the following generations and for further good Meci harvests. The dancers in Fataluku sing : “Mechi cau vari morisa, nia lalu apare, tanalalu apare” ( “Through the Mechi we ask for the blessing for good health” ). In the evening people start calling the worms with the harvest ritual. Young men and women in colorful Batik - sarongs ( lipa and kembatik ) are dressed to go in a slow procession to the beach to waiting canoes . Then they go singing across the water in the boats. This ceremony is then repeated by an even more sumptuously dressed group of elderly singers who are adorned with precious wedding necklaces. These Morten are the symbol of adult women and the exchange of wedding favors. In addition to the songs in Fataluku, songs are also sung in the so-called "commercial language" Leti , the language of the Indonesian Leti Islands , which can be reached by sailing from Tutuala within a day. Traditionally there was a brisk trade between the Fataluku and the Leti Islands, including the batik sarongs that are worn during the ceremony. Since East Timor's independence in 2002, traditional trade across the new national borders has declined.
When it gets dark, small groups with torches begin to pull through the shallow water on the bank, where the worms, or their light-sensitive segments, spawn en masse. These are collected in baskets made from palm leaves. The bank is then lit with fires and children sing and call for the meci in their holes while their arms shovel water and worms into the baskets. In the song, the children sing the Fataluku word kuinenepe , with which they ask the tides and the female meci ( meci inan ) to dance for them, which should ultimately lead to a great harvest. The children are accompanied by older relatives who guide them and teach them the harvest songs. They are used to pass on stories about the Meci, the clans ( ratu ) and the complex social structures.
In addition to singing and dancing, building alliances is an important part of the festival. The ritual leaders, the nololonocaw (masters of song, masters of words) renew their alliance with nature and spirits. The political leaders, be it the traditional Liurai or the elected Chefes de Suco , affirm their connection with the population.
The worms are marinated raw with chilli and lemon and are considered a delicacy in the form of a salad. In addition, fish, corn, rice, beans, palm wine and betel nuts are served at the feast. The ritual offerings on the day after the harvest are called fane , "feeding the spirits".
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Brochure of the National Park Nino Konis Santana (English; PDF; 3.8 MB), accessed on December 25, 2012
- ^ The Timor-Leste Coastal / Marine Habitat Mapping for Tourism and Fisheries Development Project, Project No 2, Coastal and Marine Ecotourism Values, Issues and Opportunities on the North Coast of Timor Leste, Final Report, October 2009 ( Memento from March 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 15.2 MB), accessed on December 28, 2012
- ↑ a b c d e Lisa Palmer, Demétrio do Amaral de Carvalho : Nation building and resource management: The politics of 'nature' in Timor Leste ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 343 kB) , accessed on December 28, 2012
- ^ The Timor-Leste Coastal / Marine Habitat Mapping for Tourism and Fisheries Development Project, Project No 4, Conservation Values, Issues and Planning in the Nino Konis Santana Marine Park, Timor Leste - Final Report, October 2009 ( Memento from March 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 9.2 MB), accessed on December 28, 2012
