My powerful teachers. 13-08-2024
My powerful teachers. The strength to survive. 13-08-24
This blog is about my teachers, women who stand tall in difficult times through their natural strength and deep wisdom. These women draw from ancient knowledge of healing herbs and the art of massage, skills they have learned from their mothers and foremothers. Moreover, each of them possesses a wealth of life experience.
They are beautiful souls with big hearts, fully willing to share their knowledge with me. Each of them is a source of inspiration for me.
In 2009, a bloody war broke out in the Moluccas between Christians and Muslims, including in the Christian village of Suli on the island of Ambon. This is the village where my mother's ancestral home is located, and where we, as close family members, stay as often as possible.
The women were sent to the forest at night while the men guarded the village. During the day, the women returned to the village to prepare food for their men and children. Until one day, one of the women (Usi Dana) returned to the village and discovered that her husband had been killed by an enemy bullet.
As she told us her story, I saw the sadness and pain in her eyes. Her neighbor, my cousin (Usi Na), with whom she has shared joys and sorrows for years, lost her husband in the 1990s. She recounted how she survived the war with her three small children.
The children are now grown, and still, the two women can be found together everywhere as friends. When Usi Dana, the masseuse and healer, has to treat someone from another village, her friend Usi Na occasionally accompanies her to keep her company.
They gather medicinal leaves from behind the house, which are then processed into oil.
This year, I will again learn beautiful things, and I will bring this knowledge back to the Netherlands. Pass on the heritage,
Urut Isiwa Moluccan massage.