In the highlands of Timor on an isolated mountain ridge is the village of Boti. A very humble and gracious king reigns there, ruling over 76 families and 316 Boti tribal members. He is often referred to as the last king of West Timor.
It is not easy to reach Boti. You take a rough road from the junction at Oinlasi, four hours north of the provincial capital of Kupang. If there has been lots of rain, you often have to finish the journey by motorbike or on foot and, even by motorbike, it can take 1.5 hours to complete the nine kilometres from the junction.
Boti Village, comprises of two villages, the inner village, which adheres strictly to adat and traditional living and the outer Boti Village. They are one kilometre apart and separated by a gate. The outer Boti village now has a school and a church in its humble dwellings. People have clearly begun to adopt at least some modern ways in the outer Boti Village. Our gift was a small supply of betel nut, lime powder and siri leaf, which we had picked up from the local market. According to tradition, presenting betel nut and chewing it together is a way of “opening conversation” and creating receptivity. When you share betel nut as host and guest, it means the gods will bless your exchange. In the Boti adat belief, there are two Gods, Father Sky and Mother Earth. Through joining in a chew session and getting mildly intoxicated by the cocaine-type effect, I did indeed feel the pathway was open to a very lively conversation, and lots of smiley behaviour as well.
“We live very simply here”, the king said. “We do not use electricity, our tools are handmade, and we cook everything over an open fire. We hunt with blowpipe and machete, and sometimes by using our bare hands.” He continued, “We do get modern gifts from visitors. The satellite dish was a gift from the Police Department in Soe. They also brought a TV. We watched it, but it never seemed to end, and we were all exhausted in the morning and had no energy to work in the fields, so we don’t watch it anymore. It made us lazy”. He smiled warmly, showing off his red betel nut stained teeth.
There are solar lamps and even a solar mobile phone charging station. These were gifts brought by students from Jakarta around twenty years ago. The king told me they were also given a generator. This was for the TV, but there is only one person who knows how to use it in the village so, if he is not there, it just sits there idle – sometimes for weeks or months.
The king went on to explain, “Today is Day 9, a rest day. I am very happy to greet you, and I greet all visitors. We tend the land for eight days straight, and then on Day 9 we all rest. It is forbidden to work the soil, prune trees, plant or even carry water on Day 9. This is the day we sit around and talk, share stories and enjoy our time off”.
Boti is unusual because King Namah Benu is a working king. Many kings in other villages are wealthy and have adopted more modern ways. They even drive cars and live off their accumulated wealth, but not in Boti.
Following tradition, everyone in Boti wears handmade, handspun cotton shirts and ikat sarongs. Every woman in the village learns to weave at a young age. The special Boti motif is woven into sarongs, shawls and blankets made from locally grown and handspun cotton. Their beautiful earthy colours are created from forest plants.
After marriage, or at the age of 20, whichever comes first, the men grow their hair long. They tie their hair in a bun, and it is forbidden to cut it. Their hair symbolises their connection to nature. The head is seen as the mountain and hair, the trees. To cut your hair would mean you would be cutting your connection with nature.
There is a village shaman, and plant-based medicine is used to treat all ailments. A midwife attends all births, and the placenta is placed in a basket and hung in a Kesambi (gum-lac) tree.
All the children of Boti are educated in the traditional belief system, which provides a guide for dealing with everyday problems. The children learn that if a problem arises or a village law is broken, all members of the community help to resolve the matter. So, for example, when someone steals from another’s garden, all community members go and work in the thief’s garden, so he feels he has enough of what he stole and will not be tempted to steal again.
Attending school is optional in the inner village, and the children make the decision. The king’s niece had chosen not to go to school. She said she wishes to learn traditional ways and so feels no need for formal schooling. The king said that Nune, the twelve-year-old next in line to be king, has decided for himself that he will not go to school.
