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Posted by Camille on November 9, 2005 at 4:32 am:
Hello everyone,
When I wrote a JBR a couple of weeks ago about my trip backpacking around Indonesia, a few people asked if I would write some more about the places I went to and the things I saw. So, I thought I would tell a few more tales while I still remember them, and perhaps expand a little on some of the things I have mentioned already. Please forgive me if not every anecdote took place in Bali or Lombok. Although I spent many weeks there, I also travelled elsewhere in Indonesia, and I hope people are interested in hearing these stories too. I hope they offer some insight into other islands that can feasibly be visited whilst on a holiday to Bali.
A Trip to See the Medicine Man
No doubt everyone has heard of a ‘Medicine Man’. But not many have met one. It was when my friend Gemma and I were in the town of Maumere in Flores that we began to hear tales of magic and healing, and of course this intrigued us.
On arriving at our hotel in Maumere, we met a local man called Dino Lopez, who introduced himself and invited us to a barbeque at his house that evening. We agreed to go, having nothing much better to do on a quiet evening in a quiet town, and enjoyed a beautiful feast of fresh tuna, sweet potato and home made fiery sambal. As we washed this down with a healthy dose of Arak and listened to local guys playing the guitar, Dino told us about the many interesting sights that there are to see in and around East Flores. As we listened to his tales and pored through his many guide and picture books on the area, Gemma and I were both disappointed that we had a flight booked to leave this beautiful island the next day. It was lucky for us that Dino had a ‘friend’ at the airline office in Maumere; when we complained that we wished we could stay a little longer, he offered to take us there and then (despite it being 11 o’clock at night) to see the man. It was that simple. The ticket was changed and we had another few days to explore this beautiful island.
Back at Dino’s house, we enjoyed another celebratory drink of Arak with him and the other local boys. When Dino asked if we believed in magic, we laughed and said we were not sure. It was then that he first told us if a man he knew, whom he referred to as a ‘Medicine Man’. This man, we were told, was the chief of a local village, and had the powers to heal the sick with various concoctions that only he knew the recipe to.
Dino went on to tell us about a Dutch girl that he met travelling in Flores. Apparently this girl confided in Dino that she was very worried, as she had been told by doctors at home in Holland that she had a tumour in her stomach that was so large that it would be very difficult to operate on. Dino offered to take her to see the Medicine Man, to see if he could help in any way. Desperate, she agreed. At his house, the Medicine Man examined her without being told what was wrong, and concluded that the girl had something growing inside her stomach. He said that although it was serious, he would be able to help her, but only if she would be able to stay and visit him every day for the next fortnight. Knowing that the doctors in Holland could not help her, the girl said that she would stay and give it a try. She felt like it was her only hope. And so everyday for the next two weeks she went to see the man, who gave her a herbal drink that he had concocted especially for her.
Eventually, he concluded that she was cured, and the girl could indeed feel no more pain. On returning to Holland, she contacted Dino to tell him that the doctors at her hospital were astounded when she returned from her trip, as they could find nothing growing in her stomach anymore.
As we listened to this extraordinary tale, everyone was very quiet. I am sceptical about these things, but also don’t like to out rule them completely. We said that it was an amazing story, and Dino said that the Medicine Man would be happy for us to visit him too. He said that if we had a problem, we could ask him about it, but otherwise, the chief would just be happy to see us as he does not get a chance to talk with many westerners. Intrigued, we said that we would like to meet him.
A few days later at around five in the evening, we sat in Dino’s car on the way to see the infamous Medicine Man for ourselves. With us, we had some local cigarettes to offer as a gift. In the back of the car, Gemma’s mobile phone beeped. After reading the text message, she handed it to me to read. The message was from Raymond, a Javanese man on business in Maumere that we had met in a restaurant a couple of days before. We had told Raymond of our intention to visit the Medicine Man and he too had been curious. The message read ‘Please be careful. I talk to friend about you visit to medicine man and he say many people practice black magic near maumere. Do not look at his eyes or eat or drink anything at house. He might try put spell on you’. I glanced at Gemma in the back seat as I handed back the phone and I could tell that she felt as nervous as me about this visit.
We pulled up outside the house and got out of the car. I grasped the cigarettes tightly and stayed close to Gemma as I wondered what we had got ourselves into. A lady let us in and we followed Dino into a small dark room at the front of the house. The lady, who we discovered was the Medicine Man’s wife, invited us to sit down. We sat and waited in anticipation.
When the Medicine Man appeared, we were taken by surprise. I think both Gemma and I had imagined him to be old, with a long white beard or something equally as spooky. In fact, he was only in his late thirties or early forties. He was dressed in ordinary clothes, and his hair was short and black like any other Indonesian. He had an unusual long curling moustache and sparkling bright eyes. His house was full of children playing, not only his own but children from all around the village. He smiled warmly as he shook our hands, accepted our gift of cigarettes, and welcomed us in Bahasa Indonesia to his house.
At this point, his wife brought a tray of buns and four cups of coffee to the table. Gemma and I looked at each other. We could not refuse this hospitality, but I know that both of us had that text message somewhere in the back of our minds. I saw Gemma reach for the smallest bun that was nearest to Dino and I took one too. We really couldn’t say no, and so both ate a bun and polished off the thick syrupy cup of coffee given to us.
The Medicine Man was a very interesting person. He could not speak any English but Dino translated everything that he said. He told us of how he could heal people of their illnesses using mixtures of herbs and rituals, of how he could contact the dead and speak with them, and of how he could see into the past and future. Dino said that people from all around came to see the Medicine Man, but he would never accept money for his services. We asked how he had come to possess these powers – was it handed down from father to son? Sometimes it was, we were told, but this Medicine Man had suddenly acquired his gift at the age of 16, and had been helping people since then. More than anything, people came to the Medicine Man in order to reverse some black magic that had been cast upon them by someone else. Do you ever perform black magic? we asked. His reply was that he did, but only if he deemed it to be a necessary punishment for the individual involved. At this, I felt anxious. I’m not sure how much I believe in magic and ghosts and the like, but I certainly could not completely disbelieve this man. He went on to talk of how all so-called Medicine Men and people with special powers from all over the world meet at special meetings. At first, I wondered how this would be physically possible, but then realised that he was talking of a spiritual meeting – a meeting in the mind.
Sometimes, I have to admit, we found it hard to keep a straight face. Some of the things he was talking of seemed too strange to ever be true. Gemma and I were both curious when he spoke of how he could make a dead person walk to his grave after being dead for seven years. Surely it would only be a skeleton after that long? Gemma asked, giggling a little. Surely it would smell? The man insisted that it does not – the corpse looks and smells just like a normal person walking.
We stayed at the house for an hour or more. When we came to leave, it was dark and the Medicine Man thanked us for coming. Dino had asked us if we had any problems that we wanted him to help us with, or any dead relatives that we wanted to contact, but we had said no. We were a little afraid of tampering with that kind of thing, whether we truly believed it or not. In any case, the Medicine Man was a truly interesting character to meet, and he seemed thoroughly happy to have the chance to meet westerners and talk about his unique and special gift.
Back in our room at the hotel, Gemma and I laughed together as we remembered the Medicine Man’s wife bringing the buns and coffee to our table. As I had suspected, Gemma was thinking exactly the same as I was. ‘I saw you take the smallest bun on purpose!’ I teased, although she protested that she hadn’t done it intentionally. The visit had turned out to be thoroughly interesting. It was an experience that neither of us had expected and one that we are not likely to forget. The Medicine Man was an intriguing person, and despite our worries in the car and his talk of black magic, no spells were cast on us during that visit. At least, not that we have noticed yet.
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