A Language's last frontier
LIPI (The Indonesian Institute of Sciences) sent 26 researchers to the eastern corners of the archipelago to document the regional languages that are now near extinction. This is aimed at rescuing minority languages from extinction, one that has been ongoing for four years now. In Alor, East Nusa Tenggara, for instance, they discovered a new regional language. Unfortunately, there only remains a single, worn out grandfather who speaks it. This is Tempo's report on the fate of regional languages in Indonesia, home to at least 756 different languages and dialects.
March 14, 2012
In Habolat mantras are still used.
Wifehot,hot,hot.
This mantra is neither the effects of Viagra, nor that of an English spell. It belongs to the Beilel tribe, who rule over Habolat, on the island of Alor in East Nusa Tenggara.
Most of the words in this mantra consists of a single word: "pig", and all its different nicknames. One must try to understand that the wild boar is worshipped as the totem animal. "Munafe kakafe pekikika pemirafea akan late ame
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