Imagine a small village of 300 families in the mountains of West Timor... It is difficult to locate this place on a map, and yet it conceals an immense richness by its nature and the knowledge that its inhabitants have. In this oasis called Boti, the king wants to preserve the traditions and takes care of the well-being of its inhabitants, especially thanks to a great knowledge of plants and their uses. Whether it is for eating, sheltering, clothing, or healing, plants play an essential role. Even more than that, they are the guarantors of social cohesion, and govern the link between humans themselves. The relationship with nature is a source of happiness and well-being. Let's go and discover it.
The core of the village: the community garden
In Boti, the inhabitants cultivate a community garden in addition to their own, where everyone can help themselves, especially in times of need. If one of the inhabitants is caught stealing, he or she is not punished by civil law. Instead, the villagers mobilize to work his land so that he is no longer in need
A rhythm of life based on the rhythm of nature
The village is organized with its own "week" of nine days, which links each day to a theme. For example, one day is dedicated to the rest of the earth, and it is forbidden to work on one's plot of land.
The rainy season is a period of "taboos". This is how we call the periods of restriction during which it is forbidden to consume certain plants in order to honor them, even if they hinder certain crops. In the same way, there is a seasonality for the construction of living spaces that is modelled on the temporality of the taboos, which change over the months according to a belief system inherent to Boti. The end of each taboo is marked by a ceremony giving the right to pick the plant in question again.
The cultural link between plants and people
In Boti, even social relations are based on the observation of biological phenomena that take place in nature. Based on this, language also includes many botanical metaphors for human behavior. For example, marriage can be expressed as the union of the betel nut: ingredients in which the "female" concept - the areca nut - is associated with the "male" fruit of the betel vine. The offspring of an unauthorized marriage are called koto ma boko (beans and pumpkins). Both plants are grown in the most remote and untended vegetable gardens, and grow in a tangled pattern.
Plants at the origin of an incredible craft and typical constructions
Renowned for their weaving, the women learn to harvest cotton, spin it, dye it and weave it from a young age to make high quality clothes, scarves and other ornaments. An economic source for the village. The men, on the other hand, are busy building traditional houses whose materials come entirely from the surrounding vegetation. The notions of autonomy and well-being find their full expression here. There are two types of traditional houses in Boti: the ume kbubu for women and the lopo for men.
A spirituality that induces benevolence between inhabitants
The people of Boti have maintained their animistic belief system for generations. Uis Neno (the Divine Spirit) ma Uis Pah (the god of the earth and ancestral spirits) teaches people to maintain a good relationship between humans and god, between humans themselves and between humans and nature. This belief includes taking care of nature and taking care of everyone in the community. The people of Boti respect the spirit of their ancestors as their protectors and as the bridge between themselves, nature and the Divine Spirit
At a time when many people are questioning the notions of autonomy, short circuits and global ecology linking human values to environmental behavior, we could learn a lot from this small village.
