SD1-006

Genre: Oral history. Title: Toli Edo Woto (Edo Woto war). Lakimosa Bangu, of kampong and domain Woto, tells about the Woto-Edo war in the early 20th century (c. 1906 ?, he also tells of another skirmish, these are border wars for land, during the Japanese occupation). In this war one of the sides invited Dutch troops to come to their aid. According to Bangu it was Edo, according to Woko Kulane (Keli domain, See SD1-007) who also told about this war (see also Franky SD1-017, it was Woto because they had lost a battle when Keli intervened on the side of Edo. In both accounts the Dutch intervention ended up with disaster for both sides, as the Dutch troops mistake friend for foe and massacre people (both ata Woto and ata Edo, more ata Woto though). This slaughter gave name to a canyon in Woto domain (desa Keso koja), Oje hule hama (Worm canyon), because of all the corpses that were thrown or fell there. Recorded with an AT2020 mic in the home of Lakimosa Bangu, kampong Woto, early afternoon 5 Feb 2015, on my first visit to Woto. I came with Petrus Tanga whom I had talked to and recorded a few days earlier. We were about a dozen people chatting outside for a couple of hours, getting to know each other, and waiting for lakimosa Bangu to recover from a night of ritual wake with much palm gin. Present inside the living room were Bangu (narrator), SD (recording), Sawer Raga and Petrus Tanga,Palu'e, Flores, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia. Recording made in kampong/domain Woto