Some random notes:
The rainy season has started in earnest; at times torrential for the last 3 days. My work partner tells me we can expect almost daily rain in January tapering off through February & March. Therefore, it’s rice planting season, & I’ve seen a lot of that activity. Mostly manual labour, the fields are first tilled with a kind of large rototiller pushed either manually or with a small engine attached, and the rest is all man- or woman- or kid-powered - hand planting rice plant seedlings. There are several different words for rice in bahasa Indonesia, depending on whether it's growing in the field, uncooked or cooked, or depending on the variety or colour. I have yet to learn them all - but rice growing in fields is "padi" - so calling a field a rice padi is like saying rice rice - don't do that.
Indonesia has 5 official religions, and while for example, the island of Flores is mostly Catholic, and Bali has a mostly Hindu population, Muslims are predominant throughout the country. “My” island, Sulawesi, is largely Muslim. In Jeneponto women choose to wear a jilbab (head covering, called a hijab in Arab countries) or not, but I have yet to see any woman in full burka. Apparently Aceh in the far west is host to a more fundamental kind of Islam. However, uniforms are very common; all government workers wear them; and women do consistently wear jilbabs as part of their uniform. School girls also wear them as part of their school uniforms, but the age at which they start to wear them can vary; 6 or 7 year olds are not always required to cover their heads (this may depend on the school they attend). The local Scout troop uniform includes jilbabs for the female Scouts. About three-quarters of women not in uniform will include a jilbab as part of their dress in this area. Younger women tend not to wear them unless they’re attending a special occasion, and in the larger cities you will see fewer women in jilbabs.
One week in mid-December had several activities dedicated to “Darma Wanita” loosely translated as “Working Women”. All the female government employees took part in a march to the main square, and for the special occasion, they all wore new uniforms that looked more like exercise outfits (stretchy & quite close-fitting). Each government department had its own colour & design of uniform (the forestry office ladies wore olive green) & there were many different departments. There must have been at least 400 women participating.
(above & right)
The most obvious indication that I’m living in a Muslim town is the many mosques, scattered as thickly as churches in Fredericton. And every small village has at least one or two. Call to prayer can be heard from loudspeakers 5 times a day; at about 3:30 am, 6:30 am, noon, 3:30 pm and 6:30 pm. Don’t set your watch by them, the times can vary by several minutes. If the country’s TV network ever sponsors an “Indonesia’s Next Top Imam” or “So you think you can call to prayer” competition I’m entering my guy’s name. He has a mellow voice, with subtle variations and best of all, I can sleep through the earliest call. Staying overnight in Makassar (the provincial capital & largest city on Sulawesi) was a whole different experience - the closest mosque was very nearby, the imam went on for ages and sounded like he was yelling out his grocery list. Tough to get back to sleep after that.
RIght now, the music in the air is mating frog calls, which started last night as a result of the fresh rain.
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