22 May 2011
The last 2 days, we spent at the finale of the Easter Botaki. Easter Sunday we attended Mass, and the singing competition in the afternoon. Each village was represented by their own group of singers. There were no judges in the end so everyone was a winner. Monday was the finale and the dancing was undescribable. You really had to be there to truly know what I mean, when I say that it was the most emotional, riveting dancing I have ever seen. Some women cried before they started dancing out of joy, and then broke down during the dancing with crying, yelling, and then covering their eyes while they bawled. Their dancing here is not a tourist show or a way to have a lot of fun…it’s very very heartfelt, very honorable , and very spiritual, and it evokes great emotion in the dancers as well as those watching. I was not the only one in the audience in complete tears. I think I cried my whole supply of tears for the whole year that day.
The day we were to leave, we couldn’t leave…too much to do, long goodbyes, and making a movie from the hundreds of pictures Patrick took for them consumed the day. Plus Tabuki was no where to be found. The next day, after waiting hours for him to come to say goodbye, he still didn’t come and his wife gave us the hint that he was most likely avoiding us. What the loss of a pig will do.