Sikka Flores - photo courtesy of Budi Sun Resort
I had many times to Indonesia and visited the islands and up all the way from Sabang to Sumbawa, but I had never set feet on the NTT (Nusa Tenggara Timur), the eastern province of Indonesia. Earlier this year a project finally brought me to the east, to Sikka regency and Lio Flores. My point of arrival was Maumere, the capital of Sikka has an airport. From Jakarta, the first thing that struck me was how relaxed he is, and the freshness of the air with scents of dried grass and crops. Maumere is still mostly kampung , outside the city center and the main road. Maumere is located by the sea and seafood is much, bought at any major port of the morning market or late afternoon in Wuring, the picturesque village populated by the bold Bajo sea gypsy community. Maumere Bay has a number of sandy beaches where you see Pulau Besar, where boats and diving trips go. Maumere is not like Kuta, Bali - no lively bars and nightclubs, but the home games are very common
Flores is almost three times the size of Bali with half the population of the house in a dozen languages and such. many ethnic groups have much in common, but also have differences that make it interesting to visit the island. The culture is different from Java main crop, and the largest religion is Catholicism. Flores culture is down to earth and you are very likely to be invited by some people for food and drinks. Lepeng means relax with friends and drink sharing food and drink is more likely to be local arak called moke .
First allow a caveat: the usual precautions should be paid attention to - not to drink or buy moke the street. It is best to know how the moke comes if you want to buy a bottle, and it is better to try with friends who are in the know. Java and Lombok o plosan , poor quality arak mixed with who knows what is sold and it can have disastrous consequences for your well-being. In Flores arrack manufacturers, traditional home of the distilleries are usually very close to consumers, which is why arak is safe. moke regular drinkers prefer when it is traditionally produced with earthen kettles, wooden and long bamboos through which the alcoholic vapor flow.
wood and coconut is used to heat the clay tank
In Flores, the parties are not limited to evenings and nights. Sundays and holidays are days of lepeng but lepeng can occur at any time of the day. Even in the morning, you will see a group of friends preparing food and open a bottle of mocha to go with it. It is not obligatory to drink, although the custom, and not everyone. Women can drink, but less.
Recently a Sunday I found myself lepeng when visiting a local friend who lives near a beach on the outskirts of Maumere. Around noon, some of his friends came you to enjoy fish and beach barbecues. When the fish was done, it was immediately decided that a bottle of mocha had to be opened. Soon a couple of friends joined the district. Because there were now about eight people, a second 62 cl. Bintang bottle with moke was purchased from the neighbor. This drink is often spiced with different types of roots, or even creatures of the earth and the sea. Often, a kind of cucumber bumper is bottled just to make the taste more fresh. The moke this afternoon was flavored in a more creative way with the essence of fresh apples which gave the drink a certain red and rid the taste of alcohol. For songs of both Flores and Western music, we talked and made jokes until late afternoon. A third bottle was opened.
"What moke mean to you?" I asked several of my new friends on Sunday afternoon. Responses should mainly revolve around having a good time, but the culture of words and adat (custom) were also invoked. The whole family and non-family collection is simply not complete if there is not moke. It relieves stress, makes you enjoy the moment and forget your worries. It invigorates you after work and is good for sex, especially when spiced with something. Moke brings people together. Apparently there is no end to the praise of moke
The economy was also mentioned -. It is an important part of the local rural economy. Many people depend on it for their income (I mentioned that people also lose money on the mocha, but that's another story). Distilleries are usually small and located in the backyard. Other ingredients needed to make a complete collection and satisfy customers in Flores are tobacco, coffee and sugar, and sirih pinang (betel), much more frequent in the countryside or more great ceremonies.
drink is produced around the Southeast Asia and South Asia and is made from a variety of plants: sugar cane, coconut, juice the palm sugar (eNAU) and similar Lontar palm ( Borassus sundaicus ). In Flores it is mainly the latter two, which are used to produce arrack. The Lontar juice is tasty, and it is a drink that has helped people in dry areas to survive, like coconut. It is a tree of life, providing all basic needs.
A man pats tuak late afternoon. Waigete, Sikka, Flores
In Flores, the juice is called Lontar moke putih (white mocha). In Indonesia, the juice is called tuak manis (sweet tuak ) and is consumed throughout Indonesia, although it is increasingly rare. Sellers of tuak manis even used to track down the streets of Jakarta until there are about two decades. Now, less than a handful of sellers remain. What is remarkable about this drink is not only the taste; it is sweet when just extracted from the tree until a few hours later when it turns a little bitter and sour. At this stage, it has already fermented and is an alcoholic beverage such as beer.
Tuak manis is extracted from the tree of Lontar through a complex process in which one or more of the major branches of the tree are cut, tied with wood, and hit for several days until that small sips of liquid on the tip of the branch. bamboo containers or buckets are then placed under the tip. In 12 hours they contain up to five liters of tuak manis. For both quality and quantity, the branch is finely chopped and cleaned each time the juice is extracted. The branch continues to provide the juice for about three months, twice a day. Lontar flowers twice a year and two trees can support a family with enough liquid to live if water is scarce. The male and female Lontar can produce juice, but in general the male is used because the female is more difficult and must be operated before fruiting. If intact fruits develop, which are used to feed pigs and are also delicious dessert. The juice can also be used for sugar production. Tuak manis is nutritious and healthy.
As mentioned earlier, it is not mandatory to drink moke. You can still enjoy the Flores culture and social gatherings there without it, but knowledge of the local culture is always helpful. If you do not like alcohol, you should give manis Tuak of a chance. It is safe, healthy and tasty, live from nature.
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