Berdoa Air

Staying true to Sumbanese tradition, A Berdoa Air ceremony was held at the Panti Asuhan Sinar Kasih.  For this celebratory ceremony, all of the kids were dressed to the nines in traditional sumbanese attire.  They even had an outfit for Colby to wear (though he wasn’t interested).  The children took turns singing songs for our entertainment.

We feasted on local Sumbanese fair of vegetables, rice, and fried chicken.

After lunch, a prayer was said by the couple that run the orphanage to ask God and their Sumbanese ancestors for permission to dig into the Earth.  Even though most people from Sumba are Christian (Catholic or Protestant), they still pay respect to traditions of time gone by.  For this ceremonial nod, siripina (beetle nut) was placed in the ground at the well site as a gift to their marapu ancestors, and a chicken was given to Daniel the overseer of the construction crew hired to dig the well.

Everything is officially ready!