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asakiyumeI’m delighted to share with you a second story from Fernando da Costa Pires, this one dealing with the life of Mauko, who is born with a disability. Nando’s statement about why he wrote the story is below.
Ha’u kontente loos aprezenta ba imi istória ne’e, istória daruak husi Fernando da Costa Pires. Istória ne’e ko’alia kona-ba problema saúde defisiente. Imi bele lee kona-ba Sr. Nando nia intensaun iha “author statement" okos. (Ha’u husu deskulpa ba ha’u nia liafuan la loos iha Tetun.)
The story is direct and simple in how it’s told, but I felt a strong weight of emotion behind it: the emphasis, for instance, on the fact that Mauko’s parents loved him, and the anxiety they expressed when they talked in bed together. I know these are conversations that parents all over the world have as they worry about providing for children with disabilities after they themselves are gone.
Some of the details of the storytelling may seem strange: the focus on how long it takes to get to school or how big kumbili1 are, but I like them for what they tell me. I met kids in Ainaro who had to walk similar distances to get to school. (Why does it take less time to get home, Wakanomori asked me—not a question I put to Nando, but I would guess it’s a matter of whether you’re going mainly uphill or mainly downhill.) And I liked knowing the process of digging up kumbili, and how big they are. (Were those details written with a foreign audience in mind? Maybe. But maybe they were also written for a city-dwelling audience in Dili, Timor-Leste’s capital.)
I have some other thoughts to share as well, but I’ll save them until after you’ve had a chance to read the story.
If you would like a PDF of the story in English, Tetun, or both, leave me a message here or email me at [email protected].
Se imi hakarak istória ne’e (PDF) iha inglés, Tetun, ka versaun rua ne’e, hakerek mensajen okos ka, manda email mai ha’u: [email protected].
And if you have any questions for Nando, type them here and I’ll share them with him.
Se iha pergunta ba Sr. Nando, bele hakerek mensajen okos no ha’u fó-hatene ba nia.
Author statement
In the past people discriminated a lot against those who were born with a disability. For this reason, I wanted to write this story, as a reference for the younger generations so they won’t follow the patterns of the past. In this story I want to impress upon you that everyone in the world is born with the same rights. In the past, people with disabilities were discriminated against when it came to access to education. But everyone has a right to access education, even if they have a disability. And the various parts of government should be asked to place greater importance on people with disabilities. Discrimination was a fact of life in the past that can be changed in the present to become a signpost for the new generations.
I also wanted to show everyone that we should love the natural world that’s all around us.
Iha tempu uluk ema halo deskriminasaun barak ba ema ne’ebé moris ho saúde defisiente. Ho nune’e mak ha’u hakarak hakerek istória ne’e sai hanesan referencia ida ba gerasaun foun tuir mai la bele halo tuir hanesan tempu uluk. Iha istória ne’e fó hanoin mai ita katak ema hotu moris iha mundu ne’e iha direitu hanesan. Uluk liu halo diskriminasaun barak ba ema moris defisiente sira atu asesu ba edukasaun. Ema hotu iha direitu ba asesu edukasaun mezmu iha kondisaun defisiente. No husu ba parte governu sira atu importánsia liu ba sira. Iha tempu uluk sai hanesan matéria moris nian ne’ebé hodi halo mudansa iha tempu agora no sai hanesan matadalan ba jerasaun foun.
No mós ha’u hakarak hatudu ba ema hotu tenke hadomi ita nia natureza sira ne’ebé besik ba ita.
Mauko Meets a Monkey
by Fernando da Costa Pires
translated by Francesca Forrest
translation © Francesca Forrest 2023
There was a man named Naikosama whose wife was named Naikosina. They lived in the hamlet of Bulico in the village of Ainaro. They had three sons and three daughters—altogether a family of eight. The children’s names were Naikei, Naiko, Buikei, Buiko, Mauko, and Builo. Of the six, five were born with health and good looks, but one was born with a disability. Their child Mauko was the one with a disability. Only one of his eyes could see well: his left eye was cloudy. Mauko’s brothers and sisters didn’t like to play with him much because he was disabled—a disabled person in their family! But Mauko’s mother and father loved all their children greatly.
The family made a living as farmers. Every day, Mauko’s mother and father went out to their field, and they sent all their children to school to get an education and learn many things. But they didn’t send Mauko to school because he had been born with a disability. So he didn’t get a school education, but his parents still loved him. His parents themselves had never gotten a school education, so they didn’t really understand its purpose.
The school was far from their home. Mauko’s brothers and sisters would walk for two hours and only then arrive at school. The school schedule went from 8 am to 12:30 pm, so Mauko’s siblings would leave the house at 5:30 am and arrive at about 7:30 and then rest for a few minutes before going in. The students studied in school for four hours each day and left school at 12:30. Mauko’s siblings would arrive home at about 2:00 in the afternoon. In that neighborhood, there were many children who didn’t get an education because the school was so far from their homes.
And the school also wouldn’t accept students who had disabilities. It only accepted healthy students without disabilities, so there were no students with disabilities there. This was another reason Mauko’s parents didn’t send him to school: they didn’t see anyone like him there. But they loved both him and his siblings very much.
When Mauko was still a small child, he didn’t think a lot about school because his thoughts were still limited, and he didn’t understand much about the importance of what education does. Mauko spent a lot of time playing alone at home. Every day his brothers and sisters always went to school early in the morning and returned home in the afternoon, so they didn’t spend much time playing with him. When they returned home from school, they would change out of their uniforms and take the food their parents had prepared for each of them. They would all take their food and eat. And when they finished, they rested, because they had walked far and felt tired—and they didn’t have time for Mauko. That was how things were: Mauko’s brothers and sisters weren’t really accustomed to playing with him.
In the days that followed, Mauko’s parents decided to look for kumbili yams in an old forest called Aslala. That forest was far away from where they lived: to go there to search for food, the parents had to walk for two-and-a-half hours.
(1) The old forest; (2) A kumbili yam vine climbing a tree
(photos from Nando da Costa Pires)
Many wild animals lived in that forest: creatures like monkeys, lorikeets, cuscuses, civet cats, snakes, wild pigs, deer, and more. In preparation for digging kumbili yams, the parents had to gather their tools together: a crowbar, a machete, and a couple of sacks. When they got to the place where they were going to dig, they looked for kumbili runners, and when they found them, one or the other of them would take up the machete to clear away the grass and weeds growing all around the base of the runners, where they went into the ground. After that, they used the crowbar to dig in a circle around those runners. The parents did this to take out the kumbili tubers. Where a runner went into the ground there would be about four or five tubers. Each one weighed about nine to eleven pounds and was about 29 to 30 inches long.
Kumbili tubers (photo by Flickr user Ahmad Fuad Morad)
When they had dug up the tubers, they put them in the sacks to carry them home. They arrived back home at night. Because they arrived home so late, they were tired and just wanted to rest. They got up early in the morning and peeled the kumbili, then washed them clean, cut them into pieces, and put them in a pot. Then they lit a fire and set the pot of kumbili on it. They also took out some powdered coffee to mix with water to drink.
When their children awoke, they were surprised because a complete breakfast was laid out for them on the table. Mauko asked, “Who prepared this breakfast?”
His father answered, “The two of us got up early to prepare it because we love you all so much.”
To which Mauko replied, “Thank you so much, mom and dad, for your sacrifices for us children.”
And his father said, “We’re just doing our duty to you as your parents.”
Before eating, Mauko’s brothers and sisters bathed and got ready to go to school, and then Mauko’s father told him to call them to breakfast. When they finished, they all went off to school, and Mauko’s mother and father went to work in their field as usual. Mauko played all by himself in the house.
One day when Mauko’s parents were going to their field, Mauko asked his dad, “Dad, can I go with you to the field?
His dad answered, “If you want to come to our field, we can take you.”
Mauko was very happy and responded, “I want to go very much because I don’t like playing alone in the house all the time. There’s nobody around to play with.”
His mom came around from behind him and said, “Son, if you want to come to the field, you must change your clothes and put on something old and worn out.” Happily, Mauko ran off to his room to change his clothes. When he had finished, he came out and said to his mom, “Mom, mom, I’ve changed my clothes.”
His mom said to him, “In that case, let’s go!”
Their field was far away from their home. For an hour, they walked along the path. When they reached the field, Mauko’s dad took up the machete that they kept at the field and began to remove weeds. His mother took the crowbar to dig up kumbili yams to cook for the three of them to eat in the field. Mauko just played in the field shelter. At noon, Mauko’s mom told him to call his father to come eat the kumbili that she had prepared. In the field, Mauko called in a loud voice for his dad: “Daaaaaaaaaaaad.”
His father replied, “What’s up, Mauko?”
“Mom says to come eat because the kumbili are ready.”
“You go ahead, and I’ll follow along,” his father replied.
When Mauko got to the field shelter, his mother asked, “Your father still isn’t coming?”
And Mauko answered, “He said I should go ahead and he’d follow.” He kept talking with his mother, and not long after, his father arrived. Mauko’s mother told him to take out the plates and give them to his father so his father could serve the kumbili. After that, the three of them ate until they were full. Mauko’s mother wrapped the rest of the kumbili in banana leaves for safekeeping, so that later, when they went home, they could carry the kumbili back for Mauko’s brothers and sisters.
A field shelter (photo from Nando da Costa Pires)
After the midday meal, Mauko’s parents continued working in the field. In the late afternoon, before going home, Mauko’s parents took him to bathe in a river called Mau-Mali. It was a short walk from the field shelter, about five minutes. In this river there was a place where it widened and deepened to form a pool. When they got to this pool, Mauko was so happy he jumped right in and began swimming around. After Mauko and his parents had finished bathing, they returned home.
At home, Mauko’s mother asked her other children to divide up the kumbili to eat. Then she went into the kitchen to prepare more food for supper, and when evening came, the family ate supper together. When they finished, they all lay down. Mauko’s mother asked her husband, “Do you think in the future, when we two aren’t around anymore, our children will look after Mauko?”
And her husband said, “I’ve been thinking about that too. They have all been to school, but Mauko hasn’t. When we’re no longer around, will the children all love each other?”
Mauko’s mother continued, “Because right now, the others all go to school and Mauko’s left playing by himself at home. How is it that the others aren’t in the habit of playing with him?”
Her husband said, “I hope that in the future, when they get jobs, they will still take care of him.”
And Mauko’s mother said, “I hope so too.” The two of them talked until they began to nod off, and then they each pulled up their blanket and went to sleep.
The next day, early in the morning, Mauko’s father and mother prepared breakfast for their children. Their breakfast was kumbili to eat and coffee to drink. When they had finished, Mauko’s brothers and sisters got washed up in preparation for school and his parents also prepared, collecting the pots and things they were going to bring to the field. Mauko just sat and watched. When Mauko’s siblings had all left for school, Mauko accompanied his parents to the field. Once there, his father began to clear the weeds and grasses from around the corn, and Mauko took a gallon jug down to the Mau-Mali river to fetch water. As he was walking along the path, he came upon a lot of monkeys climbing up a huge banyan tree and jumping right and left on it, and he saw some of the monkeys with their babies held close to their bellies so they could jump here and there high up in the banyan.
Mauko continued on to Mau-Mali River to fetch water. He filled the gallon jug and carried it back to the field shelter. Once there, he got the pounded corn his mother had stored in the winnowing basket, ready to cook for lunch. Mauko cooked it up, and when it was done, he called his mother and father to come eat lunch. He walked into the field, calling in a loud voice, “Daaaaaaaad …. Maaaaaaaaaa ….. Daaaaaaaad …. Maaaaaaa! Come eat!” His parents heard him and answered their good son. Mauko waited for them in the field until all three of them were together.
When they had finished their meal, they each returned to their usual work in the field. In the late afternoon, as the three of them were returning home, they encountered another monkey with her baby clinging to her stomach, jumping around in a tree. Mauko said his father, “Dad, that monkey’s hugging her baby and jumping this way and that in this tree.”
His father said, “Son, keep quiet and don’t talk.”
Mauko asked, “Dad, why can’t I talk?”
His father explained, “Son, if we come upon a monkey alone like this, she will either bring us hard times, or she could bring us joy.” Mauko listened to what his father said and kept quiet. Suddenly the monkey they had seen in the tree disappeared from their sight. They all remained silent and continued walking home as it was nearing nightfall. When they arrived home, they didn’t tell anyone else what had happened. Mauko’s parents felt very tired and went to rest.
Crab-eating macaque (endemic to Timor-Leste) with her baby
(photo by Flickr user Indra Ross)
Every day, they always went about their daily tasks as usual.
Twenty years later, Mauko’s brothers and sisters had all finished school, and his mother and father had grown old. His brothers and sisters had gotten a good education and they had found work that was suitable for their lives. Mauko had not found good work like his brothers and sisters, but he still strove to work in the field like his parents did. His brothers and sisters didn’t worry much about his life. In fact, they looked down on his life.
Some months later, Mauko’s parents fell ill. They called Mauko’s siblings together and said to them, “You must cherish your brother Mauko,” and the siblings all said that they would. And a few months after that, their mother’s life thread was severed, and not more than four hours later, their father followed her. On that day everyone was very sad because their mother and father had died within the space of that single day. But after they buried their parents, they each went their separate ways. Mauko was left alone in the house. In that moment, his brothers and sisters left him alone there without a thought about his well-being. They saw his life with his disability and didn’t really like even to talk to him. From that moment on, Mauko’s existence was one of the poorest in the country.
After a year, Mauko started to return to the field that his parents had farmed in the past. When he arrived at the field, he felt very sad. He went and sat down at the foot of a tree to once again think over his memories of the past, when his father and mother were still alive. He looked up in the treetops and to his surprise saw a monkey hugging her baby and running back and forth up in the tree. He looked up at the treetop and stayed still and quiet so he could watch the monkey. Suddenly, the baby monkey slipped from its mother’s grasp and fell to the ground. Mauko saw the baby fall and saw that it had injured its side. He felt sorry for it, so he went and picked a betel pepper leaf, chewed it up, and covered the baby’s wound with the paste. The mother monkey sat in the treetop, watching Mauko. Having put traditional medicine on the baby monkey, Mauko let it go so it could climb back up the tree. The baby monkey stood up at the base of the tree and then scrambled up to its mother. After that Mauko went into the field to work as his parents had. In the late afternoon, he returned home.
Every day Mauko went to the field to scrape together food to eat. His brothers and sisters didn’t spare a thought for how he was doing. They looked at him and saw his disability, and for that reason didn’t like him, but he always thought of them even though they never thought about him. He worked hard on his own to make a living despite his disability.
One night, Mauko fell asleep and dreamed of the monkey he had helped some time ago. In the dream, the monkey said to him, “I am comng from this dream to help you because in the past, you helped me when I fell from up high down to the ground.” Astonished, Mauko woke up and went to sit outside to look at the moon and stars and worry about how his life would truly be in the approaching future. He sat for a long time outside in the dark until he grew drowsy and went back inside to sleep. When he fell asleep, he dreamed again of the monkey. From the dream, the monkey told him, “I am coming from your dream to help you.” From that moment until daybreak, Mauko didn’t sleep.
In the light of day, Mauko thought again about the dreams of the previous night. Then he gathered his supplies together to carry to the field to work as usual. In the afternoon he returned from the field to his house. Every day his activities were always the same.
A week passed. At night when Mauko went to bed, he always dreamed about the monkey. One night the monkey said to him, “I want to help you, but you must come at midnight to the spot where you helped me when I fell from the tree.” Mauko was astonished and sat silently, wondering how he was going to be able to meet the monkey. In the morning he got up and sat thinking about this dream of his. He never told anyone about his dream.
The following Sunday night, Mauko prepared himself to go meet the monkey. At 8:00, he set out, walking alone toward the meeting place. When he arrived, the monkey came down from the tree. Mauko watched him silently. When the monkey reached the ground, he miraculously transformed into a grandfather with very long white hair. Mauko was astounded, for he had never once in his life seen such a miracle. The transformed monkey said to him, “Don’t be afraid. I’ve come to help you.”
“Very well, grandfather,” Mauko replied. He saw the grandfather work a miracle on a branch, turning it into a traditional curved sword known as a surik—a surik made of gold.
Surik (photo by J. Patrick Fischer)
The grandfather said, “I’m giving you this sword, which you must keep safe in the deep basket you use for carrying things.”
Mauko replied, “I will do as you tell me.” Whereupon the grandfather gave him further instructions:
“You must use this surik to help people who are ill.”
Mauko asked him, “How should I do that?”
The grandfather answered him, “When someone gets sick and comes to ask for your help, you must assist them in this way.” And he gave the following instructions:
“Instruction 1: Take the golden surik that I’ve given you, and take a betel pepper and a betel nut, and put them on a plate.
“Instruction 2: Ask your patient to tell you what their illness is.
“Instruction 3: Next, direct your patient to go home and return to you the following day.
“Instruction 4: When they return, you will say a prayer in a location that’s sacred to you. You will say a prayer for their illness. That night, you will dream about their illness, and you will dream about what medicines to give them.
“Instruction 5: After several days, when they come, you will explain their illness to them and order them to follow the treatment you saw in your dream.”
Betel pepper leaves and betel nuts
(photo from Nando da Costa Pires)
Mauko listened to the grandfather’s explanation. He replied, “I will do as you have told me.”
The grandfather said, “You will see a great change in your life as you help people.”
“Very well, grandfather,” Mauko answered.
The following day, Mauko went to visit an auntie who lived in the neighborhood who was sick. He explained, “I may be able to cure your illness.”
The auntie was very happy to hear this and said, “I’ve been sick for a long time, and nobody has been able to cure this sickness.” Mauko got a betel nut, a betel pepper, and a plate, and he also got the golden surik that the monkey had given him. He asked the auntie to tell him about her illness. She told him all about it. Mauko took the things on the plate home in order to pray in a place he considered sacred.
The next day, he visited the auntie and talked to her about her illness. He brought out the betel nut and the betel pepper to give to her to chew and said, “God will work a miracle on your illness and restore you to good health.” The auntie listened silently, taking Mauko’s words into her heart. She then chewed the betel pepper and betel nut, and after several days she became healthy, as she always used to be. On that very day, she came to believe in Mauko wholeheartedly.
In the days that followed many people heard that Mauko could cure illness with his prayers, and many visited him to receive a cure. He succeeded in curing many of them, restoring them to their original good health.
After a year, the government also heard that Mauko was curing people’s and restoring them to health. The government ordered some people to go talk to Mauko. They interviewed him, and he explained the procedure he used to cure people’s illnesses. The government wanted to award him a medal.
In response, Mauko suggested, “I want the government to place greater importance on education and health, and I want the government to place greater importance on people who are born with disabilities, so they can get an education the same as people who are born without any disabilities.” That very day the government took up his idea for discussion in the parliament. In the end, the government did implement Mauko’s idea in this beloved nation. And to this day, our nation values people who are born with disabilities.
Mauko Hasoru Lekirauk
Fernando da Costa Pires
© Fernando da Costa Pires 2023
Mane ida naran Naikosama no nia ferik oan naran Naikosina. Família ne’e hela iha aldeia ida ne'ebé naran Builico iha suku Ainaro. Sira iha oan mane na’in tolu no oan feto na’in tolu hamutuk sira na’in ualu. Sira nia oan nia naran mak Naikei, Naiko, Buikei, Buiko, Mauko, no Builo. Entre sira nia oan na’in neen ne’e, na’in lima mak moris mai ho kondisaun saúde di’ak no bonita no bonitu, maibé entre na’in ida mak moris mai ho saúde defisiente. Sira nia oan Mauko mak ema ne'ebé moris mai ho saúde defisiente. Mauko moris mai nia matan ida de’it mak haree di’ak, no nia matan karuk hare la moos. Mauko nia maun-alin sira ladún gosta halimar ho nia tanba nia ema defisiente iha sira nia família. Maibé Mauko nia inan-aman hadomi tebes sira hotu.
Sira nia família moris nu’udar ema agrikultór. Lor-loron sira nia inan-aman sempre ba toos. Mauko nia inan-aman hatama nia maun-alin sira hotu ba eskola. No nia maun-alin sira hetan edukasaun husi eskola hodi aprende. Nia inan-aman la hatama Mauko ba eskola tanba nia moris mai ho saúde defisiente. Nia la hetan edukasaun husi eskola maibé inan-aman hadomi nia nafatin. Nia inan-aman mak ema ne'ebé la hetan edukasaun husi eskola entaun nia inan-aman ladún komprende loloos kona-ba objetivu husi edukasaun.
Eskola dook husi sira nia hela fatin. Mauko nia maun-alin sira la’o husi sira nia uma ba eskola durante oras 2 nia laran mak foin to ba eskola. Oráriu ba eskola tama tuku ualu dadeer saan no sai tuku sanulu resin rua. Nia maun-alin sira sai husi uma tuku 05:30 am; hodi ba eskola; no to’o iha eskola fatin kuaze tuku 07:30 am; no sira deskansa minutu balun hodi tama ba eskola. Estudante sira aprende iha eskola durante oras haat kada loron. No sira sai eskola tuku sanulu resin rua. Wainhira sai eskola kada estudante ida-idak fila ba sira nia uma. Mauko nia maun-alin sira to iha uma kuaze tuku rua lokraik. Iha bairru ou suku ne’ebá labarik barak mak la hetan edukasaun tanba eskola dook husi sira nia hela fatin.
Eskola ne’e mós la simu labarik ne'ebé mak ho saúde defisiente. Eskola ne’e sei simu de’it mak labarik ne'ebé saúde la defisiente. Tanba ne’e iha eskola ne’ebá ema hotu ho saúde ne'ebé mak saudavel, no la iha estudante ida mak iha saúde defisiente, tanba ne’e nia inan-aman la hatama nia ba eskola. Maibé nia inan-aman hadomi tebes nia no nia maun-alin sira.
Mauko sei labarik nia la hanoin barak kona-ba eskola tanba nia hanoin sei kloot. No nia ladún komprende importánsia kona-ba saida mak edukasaun nia lala’ok. Mauko gasta nia tempu barak hodi halimar mesak iha uma. Lor-loron nia maun-alin sira sempre ba eskola iha dadeer saan no fila iha tempu lokraik, entaun nia maun-alin sira ladún gasta tempu atu halimar ho nia. Wainhira nia maun-alin sira fila husi eskola mai; sira troka tiha farda eskola nian no foti hahán ne'ebé mak sira nia inan-aman prepara ba sira ida-idak. Sira ida-idak foti sira nia hahán ba han. No sira han hotu ida-idak ba deskansa tanba sira la’o dook no sente kolen no sira la iha tempu atu halimar ho nia. Ho situasaun hanesan nia maun-alin sira ladún toman atu halimar ho nia.
Iha loron hirak tuir mai, sira inan-aman deside atu ba buka ai-han iha ai-laran tuan ida ho naran Aslala. Fatin ne’e dook husi sira nia hela fatin. Sira nia inan-aman ba buka ai-han iha fatin ne'ebé sira la’o durante oras rua ho balun atu to iha fatin ne’ebá.
Iha fatin ne’ebá ai-laran tuan no iha animal fuik barak mak hela iha ne’ebá. Animal fuik sira mak hanesan lekirauk, manu loriku meda, laku, samea, fahi fuik no rusa no animal sira seluk tan mak hela iha ai-laran ne’ebá. Molok sira nia inan-aman atu ba ke’e kumbili; sira lori material hanesan ai-suak, katana no saku. Bainhira to iha fatin ne’ebá sira inan-aman buka kumbili talin hodi ke’e kumbili isin. Bainhira sira nia inan-aman hetan kumbili talin ona, entaun sira foti katana hodi hamoos du’ut at sira ne'ebé besik iha kumbili talin nia hun ne'ebé tun ba rai ne’e. Depois foti ai-suak hodi ke’e hale’u kumbili talin ne’e. Nia inan-aman ke’e rai hale’u kumbili talin ne'ebé tun ba rai hodi hasai kumbili nia isin. Kumbili talin ida tun ba rai nia isin kuaze haat ou lima iha rai kuak ida. Kumbili isin ida nia todan bele to kilograma haat ou lima hanesan ne’e no nia naruk kuaze sentímetru hitunulu resin tolu ou hitunulu resin lima.
(1) Ai-laran tuan; (2) kumbili nia kain bobar haleu hela ai-huun ida
(foto sira husi Nando da Costa Pires)
(3) Kumbili isin (foto husi Ahmad Fuad Morad iha Flickr)
Wainhira sira ke’e ona kumbili nia isin, sira foti no tau ba saku lori ba uma. Sira fila ba uma kalan. Sira to iha uma kalan entaun nia inan-aman sente kolen no ba deskansa de’it. Bainhira dadeer saan nia inan-aman hadeer sedu foti kumbili isin no hamoos nia kulit no depois fase halo moos no ko’a halo pedasuk tau ba sanan laran. Depois sunu ahi halo lakan no tau kumbili isin ba ahi leten. Sira nia inan-aman mós foti kafé uut hodi kahur kafé ba hemu.
Bainhira sira nia oan hadeer mai, no hakfodak tanba matabixu kompletu ona iha meza leten. Entaun Mauko Husu ba nia apá, “Se mak prepara matabixu ne’e?”
Nia apá hatán ba nia, “Ami na’in rua mak hadeer sedu hodi prepara matabixu ne’e, tanba ami na’in rua hadomi tebes imi hotu.”
Mauko hatán ba nia apá, “Obrigadu barak ba apá ho amá nia sakrifisiu ba oan ami.”
Nia apá mós hatán ba nia, “Ami haló ami knaar nu’udar inan-aman ba oan imi.”
Molok han, Mauko nia maun-alin sira ba hariis hodi prepara an atu ba eskola. Depois Mauko nia apá haruka nia ba bolu nia maun-alin sira atu matabixu. Bainhira sira matabixu hotu no sira ida-idak ba eskola. No Mauko nia inan-aman mós ba halo servisu iha toos laran hanesan bain-bain. Mauko mesak mak halimar iha uma.
Iha loron ida Mauko nia inan-aman ba toos. No Mauko husu nia apá, “Apá ha’u bele ba hotu toos ho imi ka?”
Nia apá hatán ba nia, “Se ó hakarak atu ba toos ami. Ami bele lori ó ba.”
Nia hatán ba nia apá ho kontente los no dehan, “Ha’u hakarak tebes atu ba toos tanba ha’u la koi halimar mesak iha uma hanesan bain-bain tanba la iha ema ida mak atu halimar ho ha’u.”
Nia amá la’o mai husi nia kotuk no hatán ba nia, “Oan se ó hakarak ba toos, entaun ó ba troka tiha o nia hena no hatais fali hena sira bosan ne’e.” Nia kontente no halai ba troka tiha nia hena iha kuartu laran. Bainhira nia troka tiha hena hotu nia la’o sai mai no dehan ba nia amá, “Amá, ha’u troka tiha ona mama.”
Nia amá hatán ba nia, “Se hanesan ne’e mai ita na’in tolu ba toos ona.”
Sira nia toos dook husi sira nia hela fatin. Sira la’o husi uma ba toos durante oras ida nia laran. Sira la’o iha dalan. Bainhira sira to ona iha toos, Mauko nia apá foti katana ne'ebé sira rai hela iha toos; no lori ba hamoos du’ut. Nia amá foti ai-suak hodi ba ke’e kumbili hodi te’in ba sira na’in tolu han iha toos laran. Mauko halimar de’it iha uma toos nian. Iha tempu Meiudia Mauko nia amá haruka nia ba bolu nia apá iha toos laran hodi mai han kumbili ne'ebé mak nia amá prepara ba sira hodi han. Iha toos laran Mauko ho lian makas bolu nia apá: “Apá a a a …………”
No nia apá hatán ba nia, “Nu’usá ne’e Mauko?”
Nia hatán, “Amá dehan mai han ona tanba kumbili tasak tiha oan,” no nia apá hatán ba nia,
“Ó la’o uluk ba depois mak ha’u la’o tuir ba.”
Nia la’o ba uma toos nian no nia amá husu nia, “Ó nia apá seidauk mai ka?”
Nia hatán ba nia amá, “Apá dehan depois mak nia la’o tuir mai.” Nia ko’alia hela ho nia amá lakleur uitoan nia apá mós la’o mai. Nia amá haruka Mauko foti bikan fó ba nia apá hodi hasai kumbili ba han. Depois sira na’in tolu han tiha hotu. Mauko nia amá foti hudi tahan hodi falun kumbili balun iha hudi tahan hodi rai hela; atu nune’e sira fila ba uma bele lori ba fó nia oan sira balun han.
Uma toos ida (foto husi Nando da Costa Pires)
Depois Mauko nia inan-aman kontinua ba halo servisu iha toos laran. Iha tempu lokraik, molok sira atu fila ba uma, Mauko nia apá ho nia amá lori Mauko ba hariis iha mota ida ho naran Mau-Mali. Sira la’o husi uma toos ba mota ne’e kuaze minutu lima hanesan ne’e. Iha mota ne'ebé iha bee lihun boot ida hanesan pixina. Wainhira sira to iha bee lihun ne’e, Mauko kontente no haksoit tun ba bee lihun laran hodi nani ba mai. Bainhira sira hariis hotu; sira fila ba uma.
Bainhira to iha uma Mauko nia amá bolu nia oan sira seluk hodi fahe kumbili ba sira han. Depois Mauko nia amá ba dapur laran hodi prepara hahán kalan nian ba sira. Bainhira iha tempu kalan sira han hahán kalan nian hamutuk. Sira han ai-han kalan nian hotu no sira ida-idak ba deskansa. Bainhira Mauko nia amá atu toba nia husu ba nia katuas oan, “Karik aban bainrua mak ita na’in rua la iha ita oan sira bele hare Mauko ka lae?”
Nia katuas oan hatán ba nia, “Ha’u mós hanoin hela hanesan ne’e, tanba sira seluk eskola hotu, maibé Mauko mak la eskola ne’e. Hanesan ne’e aban bainrua ita rua la iha sira hadomi malu ka lae?”
No nia ferik oan mós aumenta tan ba nia, “Tanba durante ne’e sira seluk ba hotu eskola nia mesak mak halimar iha uma. No sira seluk la toman halimar ho Mauko ne’e oinsá?”
Nia katuas oan mós aumenta tan, “Ha’u espera katak aban sira seluk hetan servisu iha futuru sira sei tau matan ba nia.”
Nia ferik oan mós aumenta tan, “Ha’u mós espera hanesan ne’e.” Sira na’in rua ko’alia to matan dukur, no ida-idak foti nia manta hodi ba deskansa.
Iha loron hirak tuir mai iha tempu dadeer saan, Mauko nia apá ho nia amá prepara matabixu ba nia oan sira. Sira matabixu mak hanesan han kumbili no hemu kafé. Wainhira sira matabixu hotu Mauko nia maun-alin sira ba hariis hodi halo preparasaun hodi ba eskola no sira nia inan-aman moos prepara sasán balun ne'ebé mak sira atu lori ba toos. Mauko tuur hodi hare de’it. Wainhira Mauko nia maun-alin sira ba hotu eskola; Mauko akompaña nia apá ho nia amá ba toos. Bainhira sira to iha toos nia apá ho nia amá komesa ba hamoos batar du’ut iha toos laran, no Mauko foti Galaun hodi ba kuru bee iha mota Mau-Mali. Wainhira nia la’o iha dalan nia hetan lekirauk barak sa’e hela iha ai- hali hun boot ida hodi haksoit husi sorin los ba sorin karuk iha ai hali ne’e; no nia mós hare lekirauk balun ko’us nia oan iha sira nia bolsu hodi haksoit ba mai iha ai hali leten ne’e. Nia hamriik ba minutu balun hodi haree lekirauk sira haksoit ba mai iha ai-leten.
Depois nia kontinua la’o ba nafatin hodi ba kuru bee iha mota Mau-Mali ne’e. Depois nia kuru bee iha Galaun ne’e nakonu nia lori bee ne’e fila ba uma toos. Bainhira nia to iha uma toos nia foti batar fai ne'ebé mak nia amá rai iha lafatik laran hodi foti ba te’in meiudia nian. Bainhira nia te’in batar tasak ona nia ba bolu nia inan-aman hodi mai han hahán meiudia ne'ebé mak nia prepara tiha ona. Nia la’o ba toos laran hodi bolu ho lian maka’as “Apá aaaaaaaaa………. Amá aaaa………. Apá aaaaa …. …. Amá aaaaaaaaaaaaaa… mai han ona.” Nia inan-aman mós rona nia lian no hatán ba nia “di’ak oan mane.” Mauko hein sira iha toos laran, atu nune’e sira na’in tolu la’o hamutuk.
Bainhira sira han hotu hahán meiudia nian sira ida-idak ba halo servisu hanesan bain-bain iha toos laran. Iha tempu lokraik sira na’in tolu atu fila ba uma sira hetan tan lekirauk ida ko’us hela nia oan iha nia bolsu haksoit hela iha ai-hun ida. Mauko dehan ba nia apá, “Apá lekirauk ida ne’ebá ne’e ko’us hela nia oan haksoit ba mai iha ai leten ne’e.”
Lekirauk ida ho ninia oan (foto husi Indra Ross)
Nia apá hatán ba nia, “Oan, ó nonook tiha la bele ko’alia.”
Nia husu, “Apá tanbasá ha’u la bele ko’alia?”
Nia apá dehan no esplika ba nia, “Oan karik ita hetan lekirauk ida mesak ne’e nia sei lori tempu susar mai ita, ou bele mós lori tempu haksolok mai ita.” Mauko rona nia apá ko’alia hanesan ne’e nia rona no nonook de’it. Derrepente lekirauk ne'ebé sira hare iha ai-leten mesak lakon tiha husi sira nia matan. Sira nonook de’it no la’o nafatin ba uma tanba rai atu besik kalan ona. Bainhira sira to iha uma sira la konta ba ema ida. Nia inan-aman sente kolen los no sira ba deskansa.
Lor-loron sira sempre halo sira nia atividade hanesan bain-bain.
Depois tinan rua nulu tuir mai nia maun-alin sira mós eskola hotu no nia apá ho amá mós ferik ho katuas daudaun ona. Nia maun-alin sira hetan edukasaun di’ak no sira hetan servisu ne'ebé serve ba sira nia moris. Nia mak la hetan servisu di’ak hanesan nia maun-alin sira; maibé nia nafatin esforsu hodi halo toos hanesan nia inan-aman halo. Nia maun-alin sira ladún preokupa ho nia moris. Nia maun-alin sira halo diskriminasaun ba nia moris.
Iha fulan balun tuir mai sira inan-aman hetan moras. Nia inan-aman bolu nia maun-alin sira no dehan ba sira katak “imi tenke hadomi imi maun ou alin Mauko,” no sira hatán di’ak. Iha fulan balun tuir tan mai sira nia amá hakotu is, no la liu oras haat hanesan sira apá mós hakotu tan is. Iha loron ne’ebá sira hotu triste tebes tanba nia sira nia inan-aman mate iha loron hanesan iha loron ida de’it. Depois sira hakoi tiha sira inan-aman nia mate isin no sira ida-idak fahe malu. Mauko mesak hela iha sira nia uma. Iha momentu ne’ebá nia maun-alin sira husik nia mesak iha uma, no sira la preokupa ho nia moris. Sira haree nia moris ho saúde defisiente sira ladún gosta atu ko’alia nia. Iha momentu ne’ebá kedas nia moris sai kiak liu iha parte ekonomia.
Depois de tinan ida nia komesa ba fali toos ne’ebé mak uluk nia apá ho nia amá halo ba. Bainhira nia to iha toos; nia laran triste tebes. Nia la’o ba tuur iha ai-huun ida hodi hanoin hikas fali nia memória uluk nia apá ho nia amá sei moris. Derrepente nia hateke ba ai-leten nia hetan lekirauk ida ko’us hela nia oan halai ba mai hela ai-leten ne’e. Nia hateke ba ai-leten ne’e no nia nonook de’it hodi haree lekirauk ne’e. Derrepente lekirauk nian oan ne’e monu sai husi nia inan nia bolsu tun ba rai. Nia haree lekirauk oan ne’e monu no isin sorin kanek tiha. Nia hanoin loos lekirauk oan ne’e no nia ba ku’u malus tahan hodi nata hodi taka ba lekirauk oan ne’e nia kanek. Lekirauk inan ne’e tuur iha ai-leten hodi hateke de’it ba Mauko. Nia tau tiha ai-moruk tradisionál ba lekirauk ne’e no nia husik tiha lekirauk oan ne’e sa’e ba ai-hun ne’e. Lekirauk oan ne’e hamriik sa’e ai hun ne’e hodi halai sa’e ba lekirauk nia inan. Depois Mauko la’o ba toos laran hodi halo servisu hanesan uluk nia inan-aman halo ba. Iha tempu lokraik Mauko komesa fila ba uma.
Lor-loron Mauko sempre ba toos atu buka hahán ba nia han. Mauko nia maun-alin sira la preokupa ho nia moris. Sira haree ba nia moris defisiente entaun sira la gosta nia maibé nia sempre hanoin sira mezmu sira la hanoin kona-ba nia. Nia esforsu an makas hodi buka hahán ba nia an; mezmu ho kondisaun defisiente.
Iha tempu kalan ida Mauko toba no nia mehi hetan lekirauk ida ne'ebé nia ajuda iha tempu hirak liu ba. Iha Nia mehi lekirauk ne’e dehan ba nia, “Ha’u mai husi mehi ida ne’e atu ajuda ó tanba ó mak uluk ajuda ha’u wainhira ha’u monu husi ai-leten ba rai.” Mauko hakfodak no hadeer tiha no nia la’o ba tuur iha li’ur hodi hateke ba fulan no fitun no hanoin barak ba nia moris atu sai oinsá los iha futuru oin mai. Nia tuur iha li’ur kleur iha nakukun laran no nia sente matan atu dukur no nia la’o ba uma laran hodi toba. Depois nia dukur no nia mehi tan kona-ba lekirauk ne’e. Liu husi mehi lekirauk ne’e dehan ba nia katak, “Ha’u mai husi ó nia mehi atu ajuda ó.” Iha momentu kalan ne’e nia la toba to rai loron de’it.
Bainhira rai naroman ona nia hanoin fali kona-ba nia mehi horikalan. Depois nia prepara material balun atu lori ba toos no halo servisu hanesan bain-bain. Iha tempu lokraik nia fila husi toos mai uma. Lor-loron nia sempre halo hanesan iha nia atividade.
Depois liu tiha semana ida. Iha tempu kalan nia toba no nia mehi nafatin Kona-ba lekirauk ne’e. Lekirauk mai nafatin husi nia mehi, no kalan ida, lekirauk dehan ba nia katak, “Ha’u hakarak atu ajuda ó, maibé iha tempu kalan boot iha loron domingu, ó mai iha fatin ne'ebé uluk ó ajuda ha’u monu husi ai-hun ne’e.” Nia hakfodak no tuur nonook no hanoin oinsá mak atu bele ba hasoru lekirauk ne’e. Iha tempu dadeer nia hadeer mai no tuur hodi hanoin kona-ba nia mehi ne’e. Nia nunka konta nia mehi ba ema ida.
Iha loron domingu tuir mai iha tempu kalan nia prepara an atu ba hasoru lekirauk ne’e. Iha oras tuku ualu kalan nia komesa la’o mesak ba fatin ne’ebá. Bainhira nia to’o iha fatin ne’ebá no nia hare lekirauk ne’e tun husi ai-leten mai rai, no nia haree nonook de’it iha nia laran. Lekirauk ne’e tun to iha rai, no halo milagre nian ba Avo mane ida ho fuuk mutin naruk tebes. Nia hakfodak tebes haree Milagre ne’e tanba nia nunka haree iha nia moris tomak. Lekirauk ne’e dehan ba nia, “Ó lalika ta’uk, tanba ha’u mai atu ajuda ó.”
Hatán ba lekirauk ne’e no bolu dehan, “Di’ak abo mane.” No nia hare ba lekirauk ne’e no halo milagre ba ai-sanak ne’e sai ba surik mean ida no dehan ba nia, “Ha’u fó surik mean ida ba ó no tenke rai di’ak iha ó nia bote laran ne’e.”
Surik ida (foto husi J. Patrick Fischer)
Nia hatán ba Avo mane ne’e, “Ha’u sei halo tuir saida mak avó ko’alia mai ha’u.” Avo mane ne’e fó instrusaun ba nia katak “ó bele uza surik mean ne’e hodi ajuda ema moras.”
No nia husu ba avó mane ne’e, “Oinsá mak ha’u bele ajuda ema sira ne'ebé moras?”
Avo mane hatán ba nia pergunta katak “bainhira ema ruma hetan moras mai husu ó nia ajuda; ó tenke ajuda sira.” No avo mane aumenta tan instrusaun ba nia atu halo tuir mak hanesan tuir mai ne’e:
“Instrusaun 1: Ó foti surik mean ne'ebé ha’u fó ó no foti malus no bua tau iha bikan.
“Instrusaun 2: Ó husu ó nia pasiente atu deklara sira nia moras ba ó.
“Instrusaun 3: Depois ó haruka pasiente fila ba uma no aban haruka sira mai fali.
“Instrusaun 4: Bainhira sira fila, ó ba halo orasaun iha ó nia fatin segredu, ó halo orasaun ba sira nia moras ne’e. Iha tempu kalan ó sei mehi kona-ba sira nia moras no ó sei mehi oinsá atu fó ai-moruk ba sira.
“Instrusaun 5: Depois iha loron balun tuir mai mak ema ne’e mai, ó halo esplikasaun ba sira nia moras haruka sira halo tuir saida mak ó mehi kona-ba sira nia moras.”
Ida tahan mak malus no ida musan mak bua
(foto husi Nando da Costa Pires)
Nia rona saida mak avó mane ne’e esplika ba nia. Nia hatán ba nia avó mane ne’e katak “ha’u sei halo tuir saida mak ita ko’alia ba ha’u.”
Avó mane ne’e hatán ba nia, “Ó ajuda ema no ó nia moris sei hetan mudansa boot iha ó nia moris.”
Nia hatán, “Di’ak avó-mane.”
Iha loron tuir mai, tia ida moras iha ninia bairru laran; nia ba vizita tia ne'ebé mak hetan moras; nia esplika ba tia ne’e, “Bele ka ha’u kura ita nia moras ne’e.”
Tia ne’e kontente no dehan ba nia, “Ha’u moras kleur ona maibé la iha ema, atu kura ha’u nia moras ne’e.” Nia ba foti bua ho malus no bikan no nia foti mós surik ne'ebé mak fó husi lekirauk ba nia. Nia husu ba tia ne’e atu konta nia moras ba nia. Depois tia ne’e konta tia nia moras hotu. Nia foti sasán iha bikan ne’e no nia lori ba uma hodi halo orasaun iha fatin ne'ebé mak nia konsidera hanesan sagradu.
Depois loron tuir mai nia ba vizita tia ne’e konta fali ba tia ne’e kona-ba tia nia moras. No nia foti bua ho malus fó ba tia ne’e mama no dehan ba tia ne’e, “Maromak haraik milagre ba ó nia moras atu bele hetan isin di’ak fali.” No tia ne’e rona no nonook de’it iha nia laran. Depois tia ne’e mama malus ho bua ne’e no liu loron baluk tia ne’e hetan fali saúde di’ak hanesan bain-bain. Iha loron ne’e kedas tia ne’e fiar tebes ba nia.
Iha loron hirak tuir mai ema barak rona katak Mauko bele kura ema nia moras liu husi nia orasaun entaun iha momentu ne’ebá ema barak mak ba vizita atu kura sira nia moras. Nia konsege kura ema moras barak mak hetan fali saúde di’ak hanesan bain-bain.
Liu tinan ida hanesan ne’e governu mós rona katak Mauko kura ona ema barak nia mak moras no hetan saúde di’ak fali hanesan bain-bain. Parte governu haruka nia ema balun ba ko’alia ho Mauko. Ema husi parte governu nian halo entrevista ba Mauko. Nia halo esplikasaun ba nia lala’ok oinsá mak bele kura ema nia moras. No parte governu hakarak fó kondekorasaun ba nia.
No nia sujere ba governu katak “ha’u hakarak governu tau importánsia liu ba parte edukasaun no saúde no ha’u hakarak governu tau importánsia ba ema sira ne'ebé mak moris mai ho saúde defisiente bele hetan edukasaun hanesan ho ema ne’e mak moris mai ho saúde normal. Iha loron ne’ebá kedas parte governu foti mós nia idea ne’e no lori ba halo diskusaun iha parlamentu. Ikus mai parte governu mós implementa Mauko nia idea ne’e iha nasaun doben ida ne’e. No to’o agora iha nasaun ne’e mós tau mós importante ba ema ne’e mak moris mai hetan saúde defisiente.
1Kumbili is Dioscorea esculenta, known in English as “lesser yam.”
Ha’u kontente loos aprezenta ba imi istória ne’e, istória daruak husi Fernando da Costa Pires. Istória ne’e ko’alia kona-ba problema saúde defisiente. Imi bele lee kona-ba Sr. Nando nia intensaun iha “author statement" okos. (Ha’u husu deskulpa ba ha’u nia liafuan la loos iha Tetun.)
The story is direct and simple in how it’s told, but I felt a strong weight of emotion behind it: the emphasis, for instance, on the fact that Mauko’s parents loved him, and the anxiety they expressed when they talked in bed together. I know these are conversations that parents all over the world have as they worry about providing for children with disabilities after they themselves are gone.
Some of the details of the storytelling may seem strange: the focus on how long it takes to get to school or how big kumbili1 are, but I like them for what they tell me. I met kids in Ainaro who had to walk similar distances to get to school. (Why does it take less time to get home, Wakanomori asked me—not a question I put to Nando, but I would guess it’s a matter of whether you’re going mainly uphill or mainly downhill.) And I liked knowing the process of digging up kumbili, and how big they are. (Were those details written with a foreign audience in mind? Maybe. But maybe they were also written for a city-dwelling audience in Dili, Timor-Leste’s capital.)
I have some other thoughts to share as well, but I’ll save them until after you’ve had a chance to read the story.
If you would like a PDF of the story in English, Tetun, or both, leave me a message here or email me at [email protected].
Se imi hakarak istória ne’e (PDF) iha inglés, Tetun, ka versaun rua ne’e, hakerek mensajen okos ka, manda email mai ha’u: [email protected].
And if you have any questions for Nando, type them here and I’ll share them with him.
Se iha pergunta ba Sr. Nando, bele hakerek mensajen okos no ha’u fó-hatene ba nia.
In the past people discriminated a lot against those who were born with a disability. For this reason, I wanted to write this story, as a reference for the younger generations so they won’t follow the patterns of the past. In this story I want to impress upon you that everyone in the world is born with the same rights. In the past, people with disabilities were discriminated against when it came to access to education. But everyone has a right to access education, even if they have a disability. And the various parts of government should be asked to place greater importance on people with disabilities. Discrimination was a fact of life in the past that can be changed in the present to become a signpost for the new generations.
I also wanted to show everyone that we should love the natural world that’s all around us.
Iha tempu uluk ema halo deskriminasaun barak ba ema ne’ebé moris ho saúde defisiente. Ho nune’e mak ha’u hakarak hakerek istória ne’e sai hanesan referencia ida ba gerasaun foun tuir mai la bele halo tuir hanesan tempu uluk. Iha istória ne’e fó hanoin mai ita katak ema hotu moris iha mundu ne’e iha direitu hanesan. Uluk liu halo diskriminasaun barak ba ema moris defisiente sira atu asesu ba edukasaun. Ema hotu iha direitu ba asesu edukasaun mezmu iha kondisaun defisiente. No husu ba parte governu sira atu importánsia liu ba sira. Iha tempu uluk sai hanesan matéria moris nian ne’ebé hodi halo mudansa iha tempu agora no sai hanesan matadalan ba jerasaun foun.
No mós ha’u hakarak hatudu ba ema hotu tenke hadomi ita nia natureza sira ne’ebé besik ba ita.
by Fernando da Costa Pires
translated by Francesca Forrest
translation © Francesca Forrest 2023
There was a man named Naikosama whose wife was named Naikosina. They lived in the hamlet of Bulico in the village of Ainaro. They had three sons and three daughters—altogether a family of eight. The children’s names were Naikei, Naiko, Buikei, Buiko, Mauko, and Builo. Of the six, five were born with health and good looks, but one was born with a disability. Their child Mauko was the one with a disability. Only one of his eyes could see well: his left eye was cloudy. Mauko’s brothers and sisters didn’t like to play with him much because he was disabled—a disabled person in their family! But Mauko’s mother and father loved all their children greatly.
The family made a living as farmers. Every day, Mauko’s mother and father went out to their field, and they sent all their children to school to get an education and learn many things. But they didn’t send Mauko to school because he had been born with a disability. So he didn’t get a school education, but his parents still loved him. His parents themselves had never gotten a school education, so they didn’t really understand its purpose.
The school was far from their home. Mauko’s brothers and sisters would walk for two hours and only then arrive at school. The school schedule went from 8 am to 12:30 pm, so Mauko’s siblings would leave the house at 5:30 am and arrive at about 7:30 and then rest for a few minutes before going in. The students studied in school for four hours each day and left school at 12:30. Mauko’s siblings would arrive home at about 2:00 in the afternoon. In that neighborhood, there were many children who didn’t get an education because the school was so far from their homes.
And the school also wouldn’t accept students who had disabilities. It only accepted healthy students without disabilities, so there were no students with disabilities there. This was another reason Mauko’s parents didn’t send him to school: they didn’t see anyone like him there. But they loved both him and his siblings very much.
When Mauko was still a small child, he didn’t think a lot about school because his thoughts were still limited, and he didn’t understand much about the importance of what education does. Mauko spent a lot of time playing alone at home. Every day his brothers and sisters always went to school early in the morning and returned home in the afternoon, so they didn’t spend much time playing with him. When they returned home from school, they would change out of their uniforms and take the food their parents had prepared for each of them. They would all take their food and eat. And when they finished, they rested, because they had walked far and felt tired—and they didn’t have time for Mauko. That was how things were: Mauko’s brothers and sisters weren’t really accustomed to playing with him.
In the days that followed, Mauko’s parents decided to look for kumbili yams in an old forest called Aslala. That forest was far away from where they lived: to go there to search for food, the parents had to walk for two-and-a-half hours.
(photos from Nando da Costa Pires)
Many wild animals lived in that forest: creatures like monkeys, lorikeets, cuscuses, civet cats, snakes, wild pigs, deer, and more. In preparation for digging kumbili yams, the parents had to gather their tools together: a crowbar, a machete, and a couple of sacks. When they got to the place where they were going to dig, they looked for kumbili runners, and when they found them, one or the other of them would take up the machete to clear away the grass and weeds growing all around the base of the runners, where they went into the ground. After that, they used the crowbar to dig in a circle around those runners. The parents did this to take out the kumbili tubers. Where a runner went into the ground there would be about four or five tubers. Each one weighed about nine to eleven pounds and was about 29 to 30 inches long.
When they had dug up the tubers, they put them in the sacks to carry them home. They arrived back home at night. Because they arrived home so late, they were tired and just wanted to rest. They got up early in the morning and peeled the kumbili, then washed them clean, cut them into pieces, and put them in a pot. Then they lit a fire and set the pot of kumbili on it. They also took out some powdered coffee to mix with water to drink.
When their children awoke, they were surprised because a complete breakfast was laid out for them on the table. Mauko asked, “Who prepared this breakfast?”
His father answered, “The two of us got up early to prepare it because we love you all so much.”
To which Mauko replied, “Thank you so much, mom and dad, for your sacrifices for us children.”
And his father said, “We’re just doing our duty to you as your parents.”
Before eating, Mauko’s brothers and sisters bathed and got ready to go to school, and then Mauko’s father told him to call them to breakfast. When they finished, they all went off to school, and Mauko’s mother and father went to work in their field as usual. Mauko played all by himself in the house.
One day when Mauko’s parents were going to their field, Mauko asked his dad, “Dad, can I go with you to the field?
His dad answered, “If you want to come to our field, we can take you.”
Mauko was very happy and responded, “I want to go very much because I don’t like playing alone in the house all the time. There’s nobody around to play with.”
His mom came around from behind him and said, “Son, if you want to come to the field, you must change your clothes and put on something old and worn out.” Happily, Mauko ran off to his room to change his clothes. When he had finished, he came out and said to his mom, “Mom, mom, I’ve changed my clothes.”
His mom said to him, “In that case, let’s go!”
Their field was far away from their home. For an hour, they walked along the path. When they reached the field, Mauko’s dad took up the machete that they kept at the field and began to remove weeds. His mother took the crowbar to dig up kumbili yams to cook for the three of them to eat in the field. Mauko just played in the field shelter. At noon, Mauko’s mom told him to call his father to come eat the kumbili that she had prepared. In the field, Mauko called in a loud voice for his dad: “Daaaaaaaaaaaad.”
His father replied, “What’s up, Mauko?”
“Mom says to come eat because the kumbili are ready.”
“You go ahead, and I’ll follow along,” his father replied.
When Mauko got to the field shelter, his mother asked, “Your father still isn’t coming?”
And Mauko answered, “He said I should go ahead and he’d follow.” He kept talking with his mother, and not long after, his father arrived. Mauko’s mother told him to take out the plates and give them to his father so his father could serve the kumbili. After that, the three of them ate until they were full. Mauko’s mother wrapped the rest of the kumbili in banana leaves for safekeeping, so that later, when they went home, they could carry the kumbili back for Mauko’s brothers and sisters.
After the midday meal, Mauko’s parents continued working in the field. In the late afternoon, before going home, Mauko’s parents took him to bathe in a river called Mau-Mali. It was a short walk from the field shelter, about five minutes. In this river there was a place where it widened and deepened to form a pool. When they got to this pool, Mauko was so happy he jumped right in and began swimming around. After Mauko and his parents had finished bathing, they returned home.
At home, Mauko’s mother asked her other children to divide up the kumbili to eat. Then she went into the kitchen to prepare more food for supper, and when evening came, the family ate supper together. When they finished, they all lay down. Mauko’s mother asked her husband, “Do you think in the future, when we two aren’t around anymore, our children will look after Mauko?”
And her husband said, “I’ve been thinking about that too. They have all been to school, but Mauko hasn’t. When we’re no longer around, will the children all love each other?”
Mauko’s mother continued, “Because right now, the others all go to school and Mauko’s left playing by himself at home. How is it that the others aren’t in the habit of playing with him?”
Her husband said, “I hope that in the future, when they get jobs, they will still take care of him.”
And Mauko’s mother said, “I hope so too.” The two of them talked until they began to nod off, and then they each pulled up their blanket and went to sleep.
The next day, early in the morning, Mauko’s father and mother prepared breakfast for their children. Their breakfast was kumbili to eat and coffee to drink. When they had finished, Mauko’s brothers and sisters got washed up in preparation for school and his parents also prepared, collecting the pots and things they were going to bring to the field. Mauko just sat and watched. When Mauko’s siblings had all left for school, Mauko accompanied his parents to the field. Once there, his father began to clear the weeds and grasses from around the corn, and Mauko took a gallon jug down to the Mau-Mali river to fetch water. As he was walking along the path, he came upon a lot of monkeys climbing up a huge banyan tree and jumping right and left on it, and he saw some of the monkeys with their babies held close to their bellies so they could jump here and there high up in the banyan.
Mauko continued on to Mau-Mali River to fetch water. He filled the gallon jug and carried it back to the field shelter. Once there, he got the pounded corn his mother had stored in the winnowing basket, ready to cook for lunch. Mauko cooked it up, and when it was done, he called his mother and father to come eat lunch. He walked into the field, calling in a loud voice, “Daaaaaaaad …. Maaaaaaaaaa ….. Daaaaaaaad …. Maaaaaaa! Come eat!” His parents heard him and answered their good son. Mauko waited for them in the field until all three of them were together.
When they had finished their meal, they each returned to their usual work in the field. In the late afternoon, as the three of them were returning home, they encountered another monkey with her baby clinging to her stomach, jumping around in a tree. Mauko said his father, “Dad, that monkey’s hugging her baby and jumping this way and that in this tree.”
His father said, “Son, keep quiet and don’t talk.”
Mauko asked, “Dad, why can’t I talk?”
His father explained, “Son, if we come upon a monkey alone like this, she will either bring us hard times, or she could bring us joy.” Mauko listened to what his father said and kept quiet. Suddenly the monkey they had seen in the tree disappeared from their sight. They all remained silent and continued walking home as it was nearing nightfall. When they arrived home, they didn’t tell anyone else what had happened. Mauko’s parents felt very tired and went to rest.
(photo by Flickr user Indra Ross)
Every day, they always went about their daily tasks as usual.
Twenty years later, Mauko’s brothers and sisters had all finished school, and his mother and father had grown old. His brothers and sisters had gotten a good education and they had found work that was suitable for their lives. Mauko had not found good work like his brothers and sisters, but he still strove to work in the field like his parents did. His brothers and sisters didn’t worry much about his life. In fact, they looked down on his life.
Some months later, Mauko’s parents fell ill. They called Mauko’s siblings together and said to them, “You must cherish your brother Mauko,” and the siblings all said that they would. And a few months after that, their mother’s life thread was severed, and not more than four hours later, their father followed her. On that day everyone was very sad because their mother and father had died within the space of that single day. But after they buried their parents, they each went their separate ways. Mauko was left alone in the house. In that moment, his brothers and sisters left him alone there without a thought about his well-being. They saw his life with his disability and didn’t really like even to talk to him. From that moment on, Mauko’s existence was one of the poorest in the country.
After a year, Mauko started to return to the field that his parents had farmed in the past. When he arrived at the field, he felt very sad. He went and sat down at the foot of a tree to once again think over his memories of the past, when his father and mother were still alive. He looked up in the treetops and to his surprise saw a monkey hugging her baby and running back and forth up in the tree. He looked up at the treetop and stayed still and quiet so he could watch the monkey. Suddenly, the baby monkey slipped from its mother’s grasp and fell to the ground. Mauko saw the baby fall and saw that it had injured its side. He felt sorry for it, so he went and picked a betel pepper leaf, chewed it up, and covered the baby’s wound with the paste. The mother monkey sat in the treetop, watching Mauko. Having put traditional medicine on the baby monkey, Mauko let it go so it could climb back up the tree. The baby monkey stood up at the base of the tree and then scrambled up to its mother. After that Mauko went into the field to work as his parents had. In the late afternoon, he returned home.
Every day Mauko went to the field to scrape together food to eat. His brothers and sisters didn’t spare a thought for how he was doing. They looked at him and saw his disability, and for that reason didn’t like him, but he always thought of them even though they never thought about him. He worked hard on his own to make a living despite his disability.
One night, Mauko fell asleep and dreamed of the monkey he had helped some time ago. In the dream, the monkey said to him, “I am comng from this dream to help you because in the past, you helped me when I fell from up high down to the ground.” Astonished, Mauko woke up and went to sit outside to look at the moon and stars and worry about how his life would truly be in the approaching future. He sat for a long time outside in the dark until he grew drowsy and went back inside to sleep. When he fell asleep, he dreamed again of the monkey. From the dream, the monkey told him, “I am coming from your dream to help you.” From that moment until daybreak, Mauko didn’t sleep.
In the light of day, Mauko thought again about the dreams of the previous night. Then he gathered his supplies together to carry to the field to work as usual. In the afternoon he returned from the field to his house. Every day his activities were always the same.
A week passed. At night when Mauko went to bed, he always dreamed about the monkey. One night the monkey said to him, “I want to help you, but you must come at midnight to the spot where you helped me when I fell from the tree.” Mauko was astonished and sat silently, wondering how he was going to be able to meet the monkey. In the morning he got up and sat thinking about this dream of his. He never told anyone about his dream.
The following Sunday night, Mauko prepared himself to go meet the monkey. At 8:00, he set out, walking alone toward the meeting place. When he arrived, the monkey came down from the tree. Mauko watched him silently. When the monkey reached the ground, he miraculously transformed into a grandfather with very long white hair. Mauko was astounded, for he had never once in his life seen such a miracle. The transformed monkey said to him, “Don’t be afraid. I’ve come to help you.”
“Very well, grandfather,” Mauko replied. He saw the grandfather work a miracle on a branch, turning it into a traditional curved sword known as a surik—a surik made of gold.
The grandfather said, “I’m giving you this sword, which you must keep safe in the deep basket you use for carrying things.”
Mauko replied, “I will do as you tell me.” Whereupon the grandfather gave him further instructions:
“You must use this surik to help people who are ill.”
Mauko asked him, “How should I do that?”
The grandfather answered him, “When someone gets sick and comes to ask for your help, you must assist them in this way.” And he gave the following instructions:
“Instruction 1: Take the golden surik that I’ve given you, and take a betel pepper and a betel nut, and put them on a plate.
“Instruction 2: Ask your patient to tell you what their illness is.
“Instruction 3: Next, direct your patient to go home and return to you the following day.
“Instruction 4: When they return, you will say a prayer in a location that’s sacred to you. You will say a prayer for their illness. That night, you will dream about their illness, and you will dream about what medicines to give them.
“Instruction 5: After several days, when they come, you will explain their illness to them and order them to follow the treatment you saw in your dream.”
(photo from Nando da Costa Pires)
Mauko listened to the grandfather’s explanation. He replied, “I will do as you have told me.”
The grandfather said, “You will see a great change in your life as you help people.”
“Very well, grandfather,” Mauko answered.
The following day, Mauko went to visit an auntie who lived in the neighborhood who was sick. He explained, “I may be able to cure your illness.”
The auntie was very happy to hear this and said, “I’ve been sick for a long time, and nobody has been able to cure this sickness.” Mauko got a betel nut, a betel pepper, and a plate, and he also got the golden surik that the monkey had given him. He asked the auntie to tell him about her illness. She told him all about it. Mauko took the things on the plate home in order to pray in a place he considered sacred.
The next day, he visited the auntie and talked to her about her illness. He brought out the betel nut and the betel pepper to give to her to chew and said, “God will work a miracle on your illness and restore you to good health.” The auntie listened silently, taking Mauko’s words into her heart. She then chewed the betel pepper and betel nut, and after several days she became healthy, as she always used to be. On that very day, she came to believe in Mauko wholeheartedly.
In the days that followed many people heard that Mauko could cure illness with his prayers, and many visited him to receive a cure. He succeeded in curing many of them, restoring them to their original good health.
After a year, the government also heard that Mauko was curing people’s and restoring them to health. The government ordered some people to go talk to Mauko. They interviewed him, and he explained the procedure he used to cure people’s illnesses. The government wanted to award him a medal.
In response, Mauko suggested, “I want the government to place greater importance on education and health, and I want the government to place greater importance on people who are born with disabilities, so they can get an education the same as people who are born without any disabilities.” That very day the government took up his idea for discussion in the parliament. In the end, the government did implement Mauko’s idea in this beloved nation. And to this day, our nation values people who are born with disabilities.
Fernando da Costa Pires
© Fernando da Costa Pires 2023
Mane ida naran Naikosama no nia ferik oan naran Naikosina. Família ne’e hela iha aldeia ida ne'ebé naran Builico iha suku Ainaro. Sira iha oan mane na’in tolu no oan feto na’in tolu hamutuk sira na’in ualu. Sira nia oan nia naran mak Naikei, Naiko, Buikei, Buiko, Mauko, no Builo. Entre sira nia oan na’in neen ne’e, na’in lima mak moris mai ho kondisaun saúde di’ak no bonita no bonitu, maibé entre na’in ida mak moris mai ho saúde defisiente. Sira nia oan Mauko mak ema ne'ebé moris mai ho saúde defisiente. Mauko moris mai nia matan ida de’it mak haree di’ak, no nia matan karuk hare la moos. Mauko nia maun-alin sira ladún gosta halimar ho nia tanba nia ema defisiente iha sira nia família. Maibé Mauko nia inan-aman hadomi tebes sira hotu.
Sira nia família moris nu’udar ema agrikultór. Lor-loron sira nia inan-aman sempre ba toos. Mauko nia inan-aman hatama nia maun-alin sira hotu ba eskola. No nia maun-alin sira hetan edukasaun husi eskola hodi aprende. Nia inan-aman la hatama Mauko ba eskola tanba nia moris mai ho saúde defisiente. Nia la hetan edukasaun husi eskola maibé inan-aman hadomi nia nafatin. Nia inan-aman mak ema ne'ebé la hetan edukasaun husi eskola entaun nia inan-aman ladún komprende loloos kona-ba objetivu husi edukasaun.
Eskola dook husi sira nia hela fatin. Mauko nia maun-alin sira la’o husi sira nia uma ba eskola durante oras 2 nia laran mak foin to ba eskola. Oráriu ba eskola tama tuku ualu dadeer saan no sai tuku sanulu resin rua. Nia maun-alin sira sai husi uma tuku 05:30 am; hodi ba eskola; no to’o iha eskola fatin kuaze tuku 07:30 am; no sira deskansa minutu balun hodi tama ba eskola. Estudante sira aprende iha eskola durante oras haat kada loron. No sira sai eskola tuku sanulu resin rua. Wainhira sai eskola kada estudante ida-idak fila ba sira nia uma. Mauko nia maun-alin sira to iha uma kuaze tuku rua lokraik. Iha bairru ou suku ne’ebá labarik barak mak la hetan edukasaun tanba eskola dook husi sira nia hela fatin.
Eskola ne’e mós la simu labarik ne'ebé mak ho saúde defisiente. Eskola ne’e sei simu de’it mak labarik ne'ebé saúde la defisiente. Tanba ne’e iha eskola ne’ebá ema hotu ho saúde ne'ebé mak saudavel, no la iha estudante ida mak iha saúde defisiente, tanba ne’e nia inan-aman la hatama nia ba eskola. Maibé nia inan-aman hadomi tebes nia no nia maun-alin sira.
Mauko sei labarik nia la hanoin barak kona-ba eskola tanba nia hanoin sei kloot. No nia ladún komprende importánsia kona-ba saida mak edukasaun nia lala’ok. Mauko gasta nia tempu barak hodi halimar mesak iha uma. Lor-loron nia maun-alin sira sempre ba eskola iha dadeer saan no fila iha tempu lokraik, entaun nia maun-alin sira ladún gasta tempu atu halimar ho nia. Wainhira nia maun-alin sira fila husi eskola mai; sira troka tiha farda eskola nian no foti hahán ne'ebé mak sira nia inan-aman prepara ba sira ida-idak. Sira ida-idak foti sira nia hahán ba han. No sira han hotu ida-idak ba deskansa tanba sira la’o dook no sente kolen no sira la iha tempu atu halimar ho nia. Ho situasaun hanesan nia maun-alin sira ladún toman atu halimar ho nia.
Iha loron hirak tuir mai, sira inan-aman deside atu ba buka ai-han iha ai-laran tuan ida ho naran Aslala. Fatin ne’e dook husi sira nia hela fatin. Sira nia inan-aman ba buka ai-han iha fatin ne'ebé sira la’o durante oras rua ho balun atu to iha fatin ne’ebá.
Iha fatin ne’ebá ai-laran tuan no iha animal fuik barak mak hela iha ne’ebá. Animal fuik sira mak hanesan lekirauk, manu loriku meda, laku, samea, fahi fuik no rusa no animal sira seluk tan mak hela iha ai-laran ne’ebá. Molok sira nia inan-aman atu ba ke’e kumbili; sira lori material hanesan ai-suak, katana no saku. Bainhira to iha fatin ne’ebá sira inan-aman buka kumbili talin hodi ke’e kumbili isin. Bainhira sira nia inan-aman hetan kumbili talin ona, entaun sira foti katana hodi hamoos du’ut at sira ne'ebé besik iha kumbili talin nia hun ne'ebé tun ba rai ne’e. Depois foti ai-suak hodi ke’e hale’u kumbili talin ne’e. Nia inan-aman ke’e rai hale’u kumbili talin ne'ebé tun ba rai hodi hasai kumbili nia isin. Kumbili talin ida tun ba rai nia isin kuaze haat ou lima iha rai kuak ida. Kumbili isin ida nia todan bele to kilograma haat ou lima hanesan ne’e no nia naruk kuaze sentímetru hitunulu resin tolu ou hitunulu resin lima.
(foto sira husi Nando da Costa Pires)
(3) Kumbili isin (foto husi Ahmad Fuad Morad iha Flickr)
Wainhira sira ke’e ona kumbili nia isin, sira foti no tau ba saku lori ba uma. Sira fila ba uma kalan. Sira to iha uma kalan entaun nia inan-aman sente kolen no ba deskansa de’it. Bainhira dadeer saan nia inan-aman hadeer sedu foti kumbili isin no hamoos nia kulit no depois fase halo moos no ko’a halo pedasuk tau ba sanan laran. Depois sunu ahi halo lakan no tau kumbili isin ba ahi leten. Sira nia inan-aman mós foti kafé uut hodi kahur kafé ba hemu.
Bainhira sira nia oan hadeer mai, no hakfodak tanba matabixu kompletu ona iha meza leten. Entaun Mauko Husu ba nia apá, “Se mak prepara matabixu ne’e?”
Nia apá hatán ba nia, “Ami na’in rua mak hadeer sedu hodi prepara matabixu ne’e, tanba ami na’in rua hadomi tebes imi hotu.”
Mauko hatán ba nia apá, “Obrigadu barak ba apá ho amá nia sakrifisiu ba oan ami.”
Nia apá mós hatán ba nia, “Ami haló ami knaar nu’udar inan-aman ba oan imi.”
Molok han, Mauko nia maun-alin sira ba hariis hodi prepara an atu ba eskola. Depois Mauko nia apá haruka nia ba bolu nia maun-alin sira atu matabixu. Bainhira sira matabixu hotu no sira ida-idak ba eskola. No Mauko nia inan-aman mós ba halo servisu iha toos laran hanesan bain-bain. Mauko mesak mak halimar iha uma.
Iha loron ida Mauko nia inan-aman ba toos. No Mauko husu nia apá, “Apá ha’u bele ba hotu toos ho imi ka?”
Nia apá hatán ba nia, “Se ó hakarak atu ba toos ami. Ami bele lori ó ba.”
Nia hatán ba nia apá ho kontente los no dehan, “Ha’u hakarak tebes atu ba toos tanba ha’u la koi halimar mesak iha uma hanesan bain-bain tanba la iha ema ida mak atu halimar ho ha’u.”
Nia amá la’o mai husi nia kotuk no hatán ba nia, “Oan se ó hakarak ba toos, entaun ó ba troka tiha o nia hena no hatais fali hena sira bosan ne’e.” Nia kontente no halai ba troka tiha nia hena iha kuartu laran. Bainhira nia troka tiha hena hotu nia la’o sai mai no dehan ba nia amá, “Amá, ha’u troka tiha ona mama.”
Nia amá hatán ba nia, “Se hanesan ne’e mai ita na’in tolu ba toos ona.”
Sira nia toos dook husi sira nia hela fatin. Sira la’o husi uma ba toos durante oras ida nia laran. Sira la’o iha dalan. Bainhira sira to ona iha toos, Mauko nia apá foti katana ne'ebé sira rai hela iha toos; no lori ba hamoos du’ut. Nia amá foti ai-suak hodi ba ke’e kumbili hodi te’in ba sira na’in tolu han iha toos laran. Mauko halimar de’it iha uma toos nian. Iha tempu Meiudia Mauko nia amá haruka nia ba bolu nia apá iha toos laran hodi mai han kumbili ne'ebé mak nia amá prepara ba sira hodi han. Iha toos laran Mauko ho lian makas bolu nia apá: “Apá a a a …………”
No nia apá hatán ba nia, “Nu’usá ne’e Mauko?”
Nia hatán, “Amá dehan mai han ona tanba kumbili tasak tiha oan,” no nia apá hatán ba nia,
“Ó la’o uluk ba depois mak ha’u la’o tuir ba.”
Nia la’o ba uma toos nian no nia amá husu nia, “Ó nia apá seidauk mai ka?”
Nia hatán ba nia amá, “Apá dehan depois mak nia la’o tuir mai.” Nia ko’alia hela ho nia amá lakleur uitoan nia apá mós la’o mai. Nia amá haruka Mauko foti bikan fó ba nia apá hodi hasai kumbili ba han. Depois sira na’in tolu han tiha hotu. Mauko nia amá foti hudi tahan hodi falun kumbili balun iha hudi tahan hodi rai hela; atu nune’e sira fila ba uma bele lori ba fó nia oan sira balun han.
Depois Mauko nia inan-aman kontinua ba halo servisu iha toos laran. Iha tempu lokraik, molok sira atu fila ba uma, Mauko nia apá ho nia amá lori Mauko ba hariis iha mota ida ho naran Mau-Mali. Sira la’o husi uma toos ba mota ne’e kuaze minutu lima hanesan ne’e. Iha mota ne'ebé iha bee lihun boot ida hanesan pixina. Wainhira sira to iha bee lihun ne’e, Mauko kontente no haksoit tun ba bee lihun laran hodi nani ba mai. Bainhira sira hariis hotu; sira fila ba uma.
Bainhira to iha uma Mauko nia amá bolu nia oan sira seluk hodi fahe kumbili ba sira han. Depois Mauko nia amá ba dapur laran hodi prepara hahán kalan nian ba sira. Bainhira iha tempu kalan sira han hahán kalan nian hamutuk. Sira han ai-han kalan nian hotu no sira ida-idak ba deskansa. Bainhira Mauko nia amá atu toba nia husu ba nia katuas oan, “Karik aban bainrua mak ita na’in rua la iha ita oan sira bele hare Mauko ka lae?”
Nia katuas oan hatán ba nia, “Ha’u mós hanoin hela hanesan ne’e, tanba sira seluk eskola hotu, maibé Mauko mak la eskola ne’e. Hanesan ne’e aban bainrua ita rua la iha sira hadomi malu ka lae?”
No nia ferik oan mós aumenta tan ba nia, “Tanba durante ne’e sira seluk ba hotu eskola nia mesak mak halimar iha uma. No sira seluk la toman halimar ho Mauko ne’e oinsá?”
Nia katuas oan mós aumenta tan, “Ha’u espera katak aban sira seluk hetan servisu iha futuru sira sei tau matan ba nia.”
Nia ferik oan mós aumenta tan, “Ha’u mós espera hanesan ne’e.” Sira na’in rua ko’alia to matan dukur, no ida-idak foti nia manta hodi ba deskansa.
Iha loron hirak tuir mai iha tempu dadeer saan, Mauko nia apá ho nia amá prepara matabixu ba nia oan sira. Sira matabixu mak hanesan han kumbili no hemu kafé. Wainhira sira matabixu hotu Mauko nia maun-alin sira ba hariis hodi halo preparasaun hodi ba eskola no sira nia inan-aman moos prepara sasán balun ne'ebé mak sira atu lori ba toos. Mauko tuur hodi hare de’it. Wainhira Mauko nia maun-alin sira ba hotu eskola; Mauko akompaña nia apá ho nia amá ba toos. Bainhira sira to iha toos nia apá ho nia amá komesa ba hamoos batar du’ut iha toos laran, no Mauko foti Galaun hodi ba kuru bee iha mota Mau-Mali. Wainhira nia la’o iha dalan nia hetan lekirauk barak sa’e hela iha ai- hali hun boot ida hodi haksoit husi sorin los ba sorin karuk iha ai hali ne’e; no nia mós hare lekirauk balun ko’us nia oan iha sira nia bolsu hodi haksoit ba mai iha ai hali leten ne’e. Nia hamriik ba minutu balun hodi haree lekirauk sira haksoit ba mai iha ai-leten.
Depois nia kontinua la’o ba nafatin hodi ba kuru bee iha mota Mau-Mali ne’e. Depois nia kuru bee iha Galaun ne’e nakonu nia lori bee ne’e fila ba uma toos. Bainhira nia to iha uma toos nia foti batar fai ne'ebé mak nia amá rai iha lafatik laran hodi foti ba te’in meiudia nian. Bainhira nia te’in batar tasak ona nia ba bolu nia inan-aman hodi mai han hahán meiudia ne'ebé mak nia prepara tiha ona. Nia la’o ba toos laran hodi bolu ho lian maka’as “Apá aaaaaaaaa………. Amá aaaa………. Apá aaaaa …. …. Amá aaaaaaaaaaaaaa… mai han ona.” Nia inan-aman mós rona nia lian no hatán ba nia “di’ak oan mane.” Mauko hein sira iha toos laran, atu nune’e sira na’in tolu la’o hamutuk.
Bainhira sira han hotu hahán meiudia nian sira ida-idak ba halo servisu hanesan bain-bain iha toos laran. Iha tempu lokraik sira na’in tolu atu fila ba uma sira hetan tan lekirauk ida ko’us hela nia oan iha nia bolsu haksoit hela iha ai-hun ida. Mauko dehan ba nia apá, “Apá lekirauk ida ne’ebá ne’e ko’us hela nia oan haksoit ba mai iha ai leten ne’e.”
Nia apá hatán ba nia, “Oan, ó nonook tiha la bele ko’alia.”
Nia husu, “Apá tanbasá ha’u la bele ko’alia?”
Nia apá dehan no esplika ba nia, “Oan karik ita hetan lekirauk ida mesak ne’e nia sei lori tempu susar mai ita, ou bele mós lori tempu haksolok mai ita.” Mauko rona nia apá ko’alia hanesan ne’e nia rona no nonook de’it. Derrepente lekirauk ne'ebé sira hare iha ai-leten mesak lakon tiha husi sira nia matan. Sira nonook de’it no la’o nafatin ba uma tanba rai atu besik kalan ona. Bainhira sira to iha uma sira la konta ba ema ida. Nia inan-aman sente kolen los no sira ba deskansa.
Lor-loron sira sempre halo sira nia atividade hanesan bain-bain.
Depois tinan rua nulu tuir mai nia maun-alin sira mós eskola hotu no nia apá ho amá mós ferik ho katuas daudaun ona. Nia maun-alin sira hetan edukasaun di’ak no sira hetan servisu ne'ebé serve ba sira nia moris. Nia mak la hetan servisu di’ak hanesan nia maun-alin sira; maibé nia nafatin esforsu hodi halo toos hanesan nia inan-aman halo. Nia maun-alin sira ladún preokupa ho nia moris. Nia maun-alin sira halo diskriminasaun ba nia moris.
Iha fulan balun tuir mai sira inan-aman hetan moras. Nia inan-aman bolu nia maun-alin sira no dehan ba sira katak “imi tenke hadomi imi maun ou alin Mauko,” no sira hatán di’ak. Iha fulan balun tuir tan mai sira nia amá hakotu is, no la liu oras haat hanesan sira apá mós hakotu tan is. Iha loron ne’ebá sira hotu triste tebes tanba nia sira nia inan-aman mate iha loron hanesan iha loron ida de’it. Depois sira hakoi tiha sira inan-aman nia mate isin no sira ida-idak fahe malu. Mauko mesak hela iha sira nia uma. Iha momentu ne’ebá nia maun-alin sira husik nia mesak iha uma, no sira la preokupa ho nia moris. Sira haree nia moris ho saúde defisiente sira ladún gosta atu ko’alia nia. Iha momentu ne’ebá kedas nia moris sai kiak liu iha parte ekonomia.
Depois de tinan ida nia komesa ba fali toos ne’ebé mak uluk nia apá ho nia amá halo ba. Bainhira nia to iha toos; nia laran triste tebes. Nia la’o ba tuur iha ai-huun ida hodi hanoin hikas fali nia memória uluk nia apá ho nia amá sei moris. Derrepente nia hateke ba ai-leten nia hetan lekirauk ida ko’us hela nia oan halai ba mai hela ai-leten ne’e. Nia hateke ba ai-leten ne’e no nia nonook de’it hodi haree lekirauk ne’e. Derrepente lekirauk nian oan ne’e monu sai husi nia inan nia bolsu tun ba rai. Nia haree lekirauk oan ne’e monu no isin sorin kanek tiha. Nia hanoin loos lekirauk oan ne’e no nia ba ku’u malus tahan hodi nata hodi taka ba lekirauk oan ne’e nia kanek. Lekirauk inan ne’e tuur iha ai-leten hodi hateke de’it ba Mauko. Nia tau tiha ai-moruk tradisionál ba lekirauk ne’e no nia husik tiha lekirauk oan ne’e sa’e ba ai-hun ne’e. Lekirauk oan ne’e hamriik sa’e ai hun ne’e hodi halai sa’e ba lekirauk nia inan. Depois Mauko la’o ba toos laran hodi halo servisu hanesan uluk nia inan-aman halo ba. Iha tempu lokraik Mauko komesa fila ba uma.
Lor-loron Mauko sempre ba toos atu buka hahán ba nia han. Mauko nia maun-alin sira la preokupa ho nia moris. Sira haree ba nia moris defisiente entaun sira la gosta nia maibé nia sempre hanoin sira mezmu sira la hanoin kona-ba nia. Nia esforsu an makas hodi buka hahán ba nia an; mezmu ho kondisaun defisiente.
Iha tempu kalan ida Mauko toba no nia mehi hetan lekirauk ida ne'ebé nia ajuda iha tempu hirak liu ba. Iha Nia mehi lekirauk ne’e dehan ba nia, “Ha’u mai husi mehi ida ne’e atu ajuda ó tanba ó mak uluk ajuda ha’u wainhira ha’u monu husi ai-leten ba rai.” Mauko hakfodak no hadeer tiha no nia la’o ba tuur iha li’ur hodi hateke ba fulan no fitun no hanoin barak ba nia moris atu sai oinsá los iha futuru oin mai. Nia tuur iha li’ur kleur iha nakukun laran no nia sente matan atu dukur no nia la’o ba uma laran hodi toba. Depois nia dukur no nia mehi tan kona-ba lekirauk ne’e. Liu husi mehi lekirauk ne’e dehan ba nia katak, “Ha’u mai husi ó nia mehi atu ajuda ó.” Iha momentu kalan ne’e nia la toba to rai loron de’it.
Bainhira rai naroman ona nia hanoin fali kona-ba nia mehi horikalan. Depois nia prepara material balun atu lori ba toos no halo servisu hanesan bain-bain. Iha tempu lokraik nia fila husi toos mai uma. Lor-loron nia sempre halo hanesan iha nia atividade.
Depois liu tiha semana ida. Iha tempu kalan nia toba no nia mehi nafatin Kona-ba lekirauk ne’e. Lekirauk mai nafatin husi nia mehi, no kalan ida, lekirauk dehan ba nia katak, “Ha’u hakarak atu ajuda ó, maibé iha tempu kalan boot iha loron domingu, ó mai iha fatin ne'ebé uluk ó ajuda ha’u monu husi ai-hun ne’e.” Nia hakfodak no tuur nonook no hanoin oinsá mak atu bele ba hasoru lekirauk ne’e. Iha tempu dadeer nia hadeer mai no tuur hodi hanoin kona-ba nia mehi ne’e. Nia nunka konta nia mehi ba ema ida.
Iha loron domingu tuir mai iha tempu kalan nia prepara an atu ba hasoru lekirauk ne’e. Iha oras tuku ualu kalan nia komesa la’o mesak ba fatin ne’ebá. Bainhira nia to’o iha fatin ne’ebá no nia hare lekirauk ne’e tun husi ai-leten mai rai, no nia haree nonook de’it iha nia laran. Lekirauk ne’e tun to iha rai, no halo milagre nian ba Avo mane ida ho fuuk mutin naruk tebes. Nia hakfodak tebes haree Milagre ne’e tanba nia nunka haree iha nia moris tomak. Lekirauk ne’e dehan ba nia, “Ó lalika ta’uk, tanba ha’u mai atu ajuda ó.”
Hatán ba lekirauk ne’e no bolu dehan, “Di’ak abo mane.” No nia hare ba lekirauk ne’e no halo milagre ba ai-sanak ne’e sai ba surik mean ida no dehan ba nia, “Ha’u fó surik mean ida ba ó no tenke rai di’ak iha ó nia bote laran ne’e.”
Nia hatán ba Avo mane ne’e, “Ha’u sei halo tuir saida mak avó ko’alia mai ha’u.” Avo mane ne’e fó instrusaun ba nia katak “ó bele uza surik mean ne’e hodi ajuda ema moras.”
No nia husu ba avó mane ne’e, “Oinsá mak ha’u bele ajuda ema sira ne'ebé moras?”
Avo mane hatán ba nia pergunta katak “bainhira ema ruma hetan moras mai husu ó nia ajuda; ó tenke ajuda sira.” No avo mane aumenta tan instrusaun ba nia atu halo tuir mak hanesan tuir mai ne’e:
“Instrusaun 1: Ó foti surik mean ne'ebé ha’u fó ó no foti malus no bua tau iha bikan.
“Instrusaun 2: Ó husu ó nia pasiente atu deklara sira nia moras ba ó.
“Instrusaun 3: Depois ó haruka pasiente fila ba uma no aban haruka sira mai fali.
“Instrusaun 4: Bainhira sira fila, ó ba halo orasaun iha ó nia fatin segredu, ó halo orasaun ba sira nia moras ne’e. Iha tempu kalan ó sei mehi kona-ba sira nia moras no ó sei mehi oinsá atu fó ai-moruk ba sira.
“Instrusaun 5: Depois iha loron balun tuir mai mak ema ne’e mai, ó halo esplikasaun ba sira nia moras haruka sira halo tuir saida mak ó mehi kona-ba sira nia moras.”
(foto husi Nando da Costa Pires)
Nia rona saida mak avó mane ne’e esplika ba nia. Nia hatán ba nia avó mane ne’e katak “ha’u sei halo tuir saida mak ita ko’alia ba ha’u.”
Avó mane ne’e hatán ba nia, “Ó ajuda ema no ó nia moris sei hetan mudansa boot iha ó nia moris.”
Nia hatán, “Di’ak avó-mane.”
Iha loron tuir mai, tia ida moras iha ninia bairru laran; nia ba vizita tia ne'ebé mak hetan moras; nia esplika ba tia ne’e, “Bele ka ha’u kura ita nia moras ne’e.”
Tia ne’e kontente no dehan ba nia, “Ha’u moras kleur ona maibé la iha ema, atu kura ha’u nia moras ne’e.” Nia ba foti bua ho malus no bikan no nia foti mós surik ne'ebé mak fó husi lekirauk ba nia. Nia husu ba tia ne’e atu konta nia moras ba nia. Depois tia ne’e konta tia nia moras hotu. Nia foti sasán iha bikan ne’e no nia lori ba uma hodi halo orasaun iha fatin ne'ebé mak nia konsidera hanesan sagradu.
Depois loron tuir mai nia ba vizita tia ne’e konta fali ba tia ne’e kona-ba tia nia moras. No nia foti bua ho malus fó ba tia ne’e mama no dehan ba tia ne’e, “Maromak haraik milagre ba ó nia moras atu bele hetan isin di’ak fali.” No tia ne’e rona no nonook de’it iha nia laran. Depois tia ne’e mama malus ho bua ne’e no liu loron baluk tia ne’e hetan fali saúde di’ak hanesan bain-bain. Iha loron ne’e kedas tia ne’e fiar tebes ba nia.
Iha loron hirak tuir mai ema barak rona katak Mauko bele kura ema nia moras liu husi nia orasaun entaun iha momentu ne’ebá ema barak mak ba vizita atu kura sira nia moras. Nia konsege kura ema moras barak mak hetan fali saúde di’ak hanesan bain-bain.
Liu tinan ida hanesan ne’e governu mós rona katak Mauko kura ona ema barak nia mak moras no hetan saúde di’ak fali hanesan bain-bain. Parte governu haruka nia ema balun ba ko’alia ho Mauko. Ema husi parte governu nian halo entrevista ba Mauko. Nia halo esplikasaun ba nia lala’ok oinsá mak bele kura ema nia moras. No parte governu hakarak fó kondekorasaun ba nia.
No nia sujere ba governu katak “ha’u hakarak governu tau importánsia liu ba parte edukasaun no saúde no ha’u hakarak governu tau importánsia ba ema sira ne'ebé mak moris mai ho saúde defisiente bele hetan edukasaun hanesan ho ema ne’e mak moris mai ho saúde normal. Iha loron ne’ebá kedas parte governu foti mós nia idea ne’e no lori ba halo diskusaun iha parlamentu. Ikus mai parte governu mós implementa Mauko nia idea ne’e iha nasaun doben ida ne’e. No to’o agora iha nasaun ne’e mós tau mós importante ba ema ne’e mak moris mai hetan saúde defisiente.
1Kumbili is Dioscorea esculenta, known in English as “lesser yam.”
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Date: 2023-02-07 07:00 am (UTC)I see similarities with his first one (people who work the land and have a respect for nature, animal that gifts a human, which itself later appears in the form of a "grandfather," and the bestowal of healing powers on the main character); and it makes me curious about whether these are cultural motifs that appear in a majority of stories or are just particular interests of Nando's. :) You would know perhaps, having access to more stories, or maybe you could ask him.
Because of a drawing course I am enrolled in, I am thinking more about what are the subjects that draw my interest, and I am curious about other people's responses about what they choose to focus on and portray.
ETA: I forgot to remark on the fact that in both stories--if memory serves--it is *people* who are getting healed. I think in the Western narrative of recent years, we have a scad of attention paid to healing "the land," but people are not a subject of concern. I find this distinction fascinating, and I would love for there to be more attention paid to the brokenness of people (not just physically) in our world, which would undoubtedly have a major impact on the land.
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Date: 2023-02-07 12:24 pm (UTC)I will ask Nando his thoughts. My impression is that he's new to sharing stories, at least in written form, but he's been hearing them and reading them all his life, so he must have impressions. I'd be curious to know what other sorts of gifts (if any) magical/miraculous animals do bestow.
I like your comment about the land, too. I know that Timorese culture has the concept of prohibitions and punishment for broken prohibitions in it--so like, a prohibition can be made against harvesting too much of something, and then if people break that, there can be both societal and supernatural consequences. I don't know how operative that is nowadays, though. I do know that in Timor as everywhere these days, people are aware of climate change and human caused problems, but I don't know how that figures into people's everyday consciousness. I know I've seen one poem scolding people for not realizing that this problem is all of ours to solve--but I don't know what other people's ideas/feelings are. Maybe/probably you get a spectrum of feelings and reactions, the way you do elsewehere.
Anyway, great questions and thoughts, and I'll follow up! I too hope others will read and comment!
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Date: 2023-02-07 12:51 pm (UTC)I wonder if, in the native language, there is a rhythm/cadence (and/or rhyme) that is created by repeating certain bits of information. I know that this is a technique that was widely used in ancient literature; and in Biblical writings in particular, repetition is used to highlight how important something is. For example, one related idea on a word level is using a word twice back to back in Hebrew to denote the idea of "very," seeing as how they did not have the word "very." The double usage meant you were to attach even more importance to it by understanding as *more.*
We, as modern, "educated" (and by that I mean exposed to the "specifically tailored" form of written vs oral storytelling and the conventions of OUR culture in addition to the generally-preferred current styles) readers can get a bit irritated by the repetitions, not grasping why they are so important.
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Date: 2023-02-07 01:47 pm (UTC)And here, I have no real knowledge of how much is Timorese storytelling style and how much would seem/does seem awkward to native speakers, too. I left in a level of repetition so as not to separate too far from the source text. I didn't want to rewrite it, you know? Like it is what it is. But it's a judgment call.
There were a few places where it felt like information was presented in a confused way. In those cases I asked Nando about it, and he agreed to change the Tetun--and then I translated the edited Tetun. But I wanted to be pretty careful about when I interfered like that, because I worried it would be hard for him to say no to me if he **didn't** want to change things.
--And what you say about what we're used to also seems really important to me: Like, *maybe* this is naive storytelling in places. OR maybe we should just sit quietly--a skill that people in Nando's stories either have or are asked to have!--and listen and think. Maybe not all stories need to sound the way we've been brought up to think they should sound. I definitely think that's part of the challenge and delight of listening to stories from other places as they are, undigested and unreformulated/repackaged for an outsider audience.
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Date: 2023-02-08 01:53 pm (UTC)You last paragraph above is especially insightful. Sitting quietly, listening, and thinking are not the way things are done these days, in most cases, in our cultures. We are always ready to shoot from the hip with our own reactions, understanding, and preconceptions.
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Date: 2023-02-08 04:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-02-08 05:27 pm (UTC)