6 1.6: Observation

Ani came over and served some freshly baked bread that she had prepared earlier before she found her foolish brother slumped on the ground with his mouth wide open. The bread was one of the staple food in the settlement and was baked on a heated flat stone in the back of the house, namely the 'dirty' kitchen. The bread was kneaded into a dough with a pinch of salt and some cooking oil. After kneading till it was uniform in shape and texture, it then was made into small balls before flattening them and finally wrapping with a layer of banana leaf.

The two open ends of the banana leaf wrappings were then skewered shut by using a twig off from the split open coconut leaf. The wrapping would then be placed on the heated stones and turned occasionally to prevent charring. Once a pleasant scent emits from the wrappings, it indicates that the bread was ready to be consumed.

When Ani brought the freshly baked bread over, the scent wafting made my stomach growl. It has been a few hours since I had eaten except for the earlier coconut juice near the beach and the honeyed tea that was served earlier by Ani.

"Careful Abang, it is still hot," said Ani to me as I took one of the baked bread and started to unwrap it. The moment the baked bread was exposed from its wrapping, the wondrous scent and flavor seemed to mix together and escaped through its steam.

I nodded to Ani and blew my breath slowly to the hot baked bread to cool it off. The other 3 brothers also took one apiece and thanked Ani for the hospitality. I looked around and found that this settlement was way too backward and there was no sign of religion nor faith around such as temple nor church.

During the chat with the 3 brothers, I discovered that the majestic 2 storey house belonged to the Chief Village named Zhua and he seemed to prefer being indoors rather than been seen in public. The Chief Village rarely was seen outside in public mingling around with the rest of the settlements. Furthermore, the settlement was rather small compared with the neighboring since there were only 12 houses in total.

"Cheng, do you think the Chief feels bored staying at home all the time? I bet his skin is very fair since he never gets tanned in this environment." I asked the elder brother. "Nah, I don't think he gets bored at home when he had a few concubine wives to entertain him." chuckled Cheng. "Why? You also wanted to have concubine wives too?" joked Ding while the rest roared in laughter.

After spending some time chatting casually, I managed to gather quite a number of information that would be crucial for the time being. It seems that one thing for sure is that the settlement had multiple uses for the humble coconut trees and Banana trees that grew aplenty here. Such as the young coconut fruit provides drinks, the fleshy meat inside can also be eaten. For the older coconut fruits, the juice may be a bit yellowish, while the fleshy meat can be grated and squeezed to make coconut milk for making certain dishes. After the 'milk' had been squeezed, the grated remainder could be stir-fried with garnishing of chili and onions to make yet another dish or simply made into a salad while stir frying with pieces of dried fish.

Coconut husks when dried could be made into mosquito repellent when burnt as it emits a lot of smoke. The core of the coconut when halved, could be made into cups and bowls as well as a spoon if one desires.

Coconut leaves, when used by itself, could be used to make a simple thatch roof for houses or a makeshift A-frame shelter. If the leaves are to be removed, the remaining leaves could be used as a broom when tied in a bunch together. It also can be made into skewers for a barbecue over a hot bed of embers.

Coconut tree trunks could also be sawed lengthwise and be made into sturdy walls for houses and huts.

The banana trees also provide several essential and useful items. The fruit could be eaten by itself when ripe. Raw ones could be made into a snack after being sliced, soaked in palm sugar and smoked over embers and sun-dried thereafter to provide yet another delicacy by the locals of the settlement.

The leaves could be used as a plate, or to wrap food for transportation or storage. It is also one of a convenient way to make the baked bread earlier, or as a steamer for rice as well.

It was said that banana trees only bore fruit once in their lifetime so once the fruits had been brought down, the trunks would be chopped off near their base. The trunks were then sawed off about 30 centimeters in length. It could be peeled off layer by layer and made into a kind of 'shelter' for young tendril plants from the harsh sun rays. Once the layered trunk had dried off and young tendrils no longer need shelter from direct sunlight, the 'shelter' could be removed and used as tinder or kindling for fires in cooking or bonfires.

When the sun sets near the horizon and birds were coming back to roost back to their nests, the women who were thumping their sticks and mortars gathered up all the thumped grains into sacks prepared beforehand. Smoke raised from 'dirty kitchens' of the houses around began to rise as others were preparing dinner. Children were chasing chickens and ducks back to their own chicken or duck coops. An elderly man went to the middle of the courtyard and began to light the prepared gatherings of wood, tinder, and kindling for the bonfire.

Guards at the majestic House also went about to lit the torches set on top of the fences. Soon the whole settlement was once again filled with the activity of preparing dinner, welcoming their husbands or fathers back from the farm while others headed to the common well which was partially covered by a bamboo fence near the edge of the settlement to shower and get rid of the dirt and grime from harvesting. I noticed a few outhouses or public toilets lined near the common well too.

I observed Ani approaching the group where I was sitting and handed me a wraparound cloth. This being understood that it's time for me to take a shower and ready myself for dinner. I excused myself from the guys and made my way gingerly towards the well where a group of men had gathered. Entering inside the partial fence of the common well, I followed what the men were doing and covered myself with the cloth while undressing myself and wrapping the cloth around my waist.

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The clothes I then hung on top of the fence and went to the well. There was a small bucket with a rope attached so I presume to drop the bucket and rope to withdraw water. When I pulled it up, I raised the bucket and poured the water onto my head and to my body.

"Aaahhh... Bbbbrrrrrrrr....." I can't help myself yelping when the water hit me. The water felt so cold yet refreshing despite a warm evening earlier. The other men who were watching me yelp earlier chuckled to themselves. "Oh well, I've got to get used to this life after all since I won't be leaving here so soon. There's so much to do and explore in this yet simple and mediocre life." I thought to myself as I repeated the process of pulling water and pouring it on my self at the same.

As I stepped out from the common well after gathering my clothes, I walked and shivered as I headed to the house where Ani entered the first time. I copied her way before stepping onto the steps by scooping the water from the brown earthen jar and cleansed my feet. While still clinging on to the wet and dropping wrap cloth around my waist I headed towards the main door.....