On 22 July 2020 the Portuguese news agency Lusa published a report by António Sampaio from the Sa’e Bua festival on Ataúro Island. The official tourism portal republished it on 1 September 2020. Lusa’s trip was hosted by USAID’s Tourism for All programme as part of the #HauNiaTimorLeste domestic tourism campaign. This is our English summary of the Portuguese article.
The festival
- What: the annual harvest of areca nuts (bua or pua in local languages), the nut chewed with betel leaf and lime across Timor-Leste
- How: on a single day, once local and traditional leaders give permission, the boldest climbers, young and old, race up the slender palms, some about 20 metres tall, and cut down the bunches while women and children gather the nuts. The rest of the crop is guarded and kept for replanting.
- Where: an areca palm forest near the village of Abaktedi, Makadade village (suco), in the south-central uplands of Ataúro, at about 700 metres altitude below Mount Manucoco
- Getting there in 2020: about 90 minutes on a rough, rocky road for the roughly 20 km from Beloi on the coast
- Also: a traditional tarabandu post hung with gifts of dried fish, palm wine and areca nuts, a pop-up market selling crafts and local produce, and storytelling that went on through the night
The legend
According to the island’s lian-nain (traditional storytellers), the festival marks the peace made between three feuding brothers, Komateu, Leki-Toko and Kutu-Kia. While they fought, the land was dry and the fish traps came up empty. When they made peace, the areca forest appeared. They divided the island by shooting arrows towards Manroni, Makili and Makadade, the three communities that still host the festival together.
Visiting
The festival date is set locally each year. If you want to attend, ask ATKOMA, the island’s tourism association, well in advance.