Sally, Devi and Irma's First Night At The Homestay
After dusk, the blue sky looks clean, usually only flat, which is the point of interest with a million compliments, but now white light appears as its competitor. This afternoon, white is the point of interest. In the distance, up there the young moon looks half, like an eye that is the supervisor of all living creatures on earth.
The eyes that would report every movement of HIS creation. The wild grass with its sharp tip looked like a pen. Towering upwards as if wanting to accompany him and make him look more beautiful before his little blinking friends perfected his beauty. The wild grass wished to contribute to the beauty of the eyes before it got dark. The grass grew irregularly and seemed to compete to see who would be the first who successfully make up him. The wild grass wanted the eyes to remain the focus of attention amidst their friends. When it got dark, the make-up artist would no longer be visible.
All creatures will look up, praising the beauty of the eyes and trying to count their little friends of various sizes. That's when the grass will recite the prayer beads while swaying in the wind. And at that time, he also dances under its light. The villagers of Ngaduman must be in the kitchen to warm their bodies with their respective families.
Matches and firewood are an inseparable part of the villagers of Ngaduman. And, the kitchen is a room to plan activities. The kitchen becomes a multifunctional room. And, most villagers' houses when building their houses prioritize a large kitchen space. There must be at least two 'pawonan'. Above the 'pawonan', there is a room made of wood called 'pogo' which functions as a place to store crops that can be used for the long term. Such as corn, sweet potatoes, cassava, and even potatoes that will be used as seeds. And, below it, there is another room to store firewood. Anything stored in the pogo is guaranteed to last a long time. Because, every time you cook, the smoke that comes out of the pawonan smokes whatever is above it.
The kitchen also functions for deliberation, chatting about plants, fertilizers, livestock, water channels, water sources, and even personal or household complaints. They sit on small chairs called 'dingklik' forming a half curve in front of the 'pawonan' while boiling water. Warming the body interspersed with chat while waiting for the water to boil. The typical drink as their chat companion is 'fried' tea. Sometimes, not just enjoy their ‘the goreng’ while having dinner. This activity is done almost every night. For the residents of Ngaduman village, chatting is a medicine to relieve fatigue and tiredness after a day of activities in the fields and in the livestock pens behind the house which is still part of the kitchen.
The sound of the cows echoing like the sound of the Tuba Instrument and very rhythmic can be heard until the kitchen. The sound was heard alternately. And, answered by the sound of the neighbor's goats that were loud like the sound of a trumpet that was only 4 meters from the kitchen. The sound of the goats answering each other combined with the sound of the cows echoed like a musical ensemble. The sound of boiling water coming out of a short-necked kettle was constantly shrill as if as a rhythm guard. The sound of the wind sounded very dynamic as if perfecting the musical ensemble that night. The soundscape of Ngaduman village perfected the atmosphere of the night in the kitchen.
In front of the pawonan. There is an amben approximately twice the size of a bed. Amben is a wooden bed but without a mattress. Its size is long and wide, its height is about 30 CM. Amben is also multi-functional. As a place to have dinner, enjoy leisure time, and even as a bed for anyone who wants to sleep there. Most of the Ngaduman villagers do not have tables and chairs for eating, breakfast, lunch, or dinner. When eating, they usually sit on a 'dinglik' close to the pawonan where the fire is still burning. You can imagine the air in Ngaduman village. When finished eating, all the food on the amben is moved to a small table that is provided for putting food. The existence of a living room is not really important. The living room is only used to celebrate special traditional occasions. Amben is again clean of items and is used again as a place to relax.
Sally, Devi, and Irma felt comfortable in the kitchen with the host. And they felt there was no barrier between them and the host. They expressed their comfortable atmosphere by taking a group photo on the amben. Although they had just met the host, their closeness felt had been established for a long time. This is the power of 'semanak' which is part of the culture of the Ngaduman people. They felt like they were returning to their grandfather's house, after not visiting for a long time. The longing was paid off by immediately sitting close together in one frame. This is proof that local facilities and accommodations are acceptable to travelers. Being part of a family and how friendly the service is a luxury. Still being positioned as a human being, not an only object, is also a luxury.
The atmosphere, the warmth of the family, the facilities, and the accommodations they felt. Devi and Irma felt as if they were in their grandfather's house. After adapting for a few hours, with the explanation of the host, it was as if they understood the ins and outs of the kitchen if they needed something. For example, when they want to mandi at night or in the morning, they know what to do and what should they take. And after taking a shower, they didn't want to stay in the room. They had known where the most comfortable place was to enjoy the luxury of free time. Mingling with the host's family, listening to their conversations, and engaging in conversation while adapting to the cold air they feel because the warmth of their bodies after mandi gradually disappears due to the night air. However, the flames from the 'pawonan' next to the pavilion were enough to help warm the kitchen.
The kitchen holds beautiful memories in each of our heads. The kitchen stimulates us to create creativity that can arouse curiosity about anything in the kitchen, including our curiosity about fire in childhood. And, this applies to anyone who has the experience of visiting Grandpa's house. The imaginary experience in childhood triggers them to repeat it. And at this moment they don't want to miss the opportunity. Getting closer to the fire automatically as if we want to be children again.
Holding the burning wood, taking it out, and blowing on the fire to put it out. Then put the wood back into the fire. Turning the wood over to burn the unburned parts. Turn over the burning wood to break the embers, or poke the burning wood into the ashes.
Hitting the pile of ashes that have been removed in front of the ‘pawonan’ use wood to see how thick the dust comes out. The fun never paid attention to an aunt who was eating while sitting watching nearby. And, we never paid attention to her advice and warnings about how dangerous fire is. How dangerous sparks of embers are if they hit the skin. How dangerous it would be if the dust got into your eyes or was inhaled into your nose!
Childhood is often filled with things that are dangerous for adults. But especially in this kitchen, it's as if we are friends with fire. Playing with fire is an exciting activity. We also feel like we are outdoors-camping.
Putting something we can eat near the fire. While waiting, returning to the pavilion to continue chatting light stories occasionally interspersed with jokes to divert the cold that was starting to be felt. The fire slowly turned the wood into ash and grew dimmer. The drowsiness could no longer be held back.
Meanwhile, the night atmosphere in the city far below Ngaduman village appears to be alive from the colorful lights. The lights look like fireflies that flicker alternately. The light of the lights forms straight lines that faithfully illuminate road users throughout the night. As if life down there looks sparkling with various facilities needed by its residents. Some of them are looking for places to relieve fatigue after a day of activities while enjoying the night. Or even most of them are on their way home and those who are on their way to their place of activity. From this height, we can only guess, while lying down under a thick blanket.
Tag: accomodation, coffe, coffeattraction, coffebean, community, cooking, culinary, culture, culturelovers, ecotourism, experience, explore, familytravelers, farmer, green, harvest, heritage, hiking, hospitality, humaninterestfotographer, indonesianculturaltourism, indonesianhistorytourism, indonesiantourism, landscapefotographer, local, locallovers, localtea, mountain, nature, naturelovers, plantations, roasting, spice, traditional, travel, travelersfotographer, trekking, village, visit