Senhor Domingos mak Matan Dook (Kairui: Dai Na’in). Nia uza malus tahan ho bua. Nia kbiit liuhusi nia uma lisan ho fatuk kuak ida iha Foho Ariana. Tinan-tinan dala rua nia kumpri iha foho leten. Dala barak nia kura moras rua: ema fekit ho rai na'in kona. Nia mos hatene kona-ba ai-moruk husi ai-horis sira.

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Mr Domingos is a traditional healer (known in the Kairu language as “Dai Na’in”). He uses areca nut and betel leaves and his powers originate in his ancestral house and it links to the peaks of Mount Ariana. Twice per year he fulfils his ritual obligations to the ancestors. He most often cures two types of illness: curses deliberately placed on people, or illness inflicted by the spirits of the land. He is also knowledgeable about traditional medicines made from local plants.

NOTA BAZEIA BA ENTREVISTA HO SR DOMINGOS JOSÉ GUTERRES

Bainhira iha uma laran ema ruma husu ajuda atu kura moras, Sr Domingos husu ba dai liuhusi malus- tahan. Maibé kuandu moras kontinua nafatin, entaun nia rekomenda atu bá konsulta iha ospitál. Depois haree tuir fila fali knaar maka sala iha uma laran (pasiente nian), sei mosu rituál malus-tahan 5 nia laran tuir nia moras. Depende pasiente nia uma lulik lori manu, bibi, fahi.

Haree bei’ala sira iha bainhira halo uma lulik ami nia bei’ala sira sempre husu malus tahan lima no rai mós bua fera lima. Kuandu ema husu lisensa ba ami atu kura nia moras uluk ami husu ba matebian no uma lulik (Leki Rai Sala Hare Kla Klemi). Malus tahan liman ne’e fó sinal kona-ba ai-moruk saida tuir pasiente nia moras. Depois ami bá foti hodi kura nia. Ami-nia lisan baibain ami hahú fó arbiru bainhira ami iha tempu sau batar iha tempu hare foun ami tenke tuir hare foun. Iha momentu rua sira ami tunu manu, bibi, fahi tuir tradisaun bei’ala sira hela mai ami.

La halo tuir – husi jerasaun uma lulik ida ne’e kuandu hetan moras fila fali iha ne’e ami hasae han batar foun ka hare foun sei mosu sinal manu aten, fahi ka bibi. Kuandu mosu ida ne’e moras mosu entaun tenke husu deskulpa ba matebian no dai liu husi malus tahan hitu, bua hitu.

Ema liur mai husu ajuda ba ami karik, uluk ami sempre tuir husu bua lima malus lima hodi haree tuir ami sira ne’ebé mai atu kura nia moras. Depende mós ba sira-nia uma laran ne’ebé ami sempre ko’alia ba sira bainhira mosu sinal husi sira nia uma lisan mai malus tahan lima hodi ami hadia ba sira buat ne’ebé mosu para sira bá kumpre iha sira nia uma lisan. Ezemplu ida husi Amo Basilio ne’ebé mai halo misa iha foho Ariana. Halo kontra buat rai-na’in iha foho Ariana afeta moras ba nia. Husi familia mai to’o ha’u koalia Amo halo sala tanba kontra ona forsa Foho Ariana (rai-na’in). Amo Basilio nia familia halo tuir iha sira nia uma lisan ho manu mutin no manu mean. Bainhira nia di’ak ona nia mai kumpre nia moras tuir bua malus tahan lima hanesan. Manu mutin husik Foho Ariana husu deskulpa husik klamar mai. Manu mean tunu iha uma lulik sau hare hosu hasae katak momentu nia servisu husu dai Leki Rai Sala Hare Kla Klemi nian. Nia husu deskulpa ba natureza/rai-na’in liuhusi uma lisan Sala Hare tanba nia di’ak ona. Se la halo tuir ida ne’e no sira nia tradisaun rasik, pasiente sira, maski nia padre, madre, doutor ka enfermeiru, entaun  ai-moruk ka ospitál kura la di’ak. Ida ne’e ami nia tradisaun husu ba ami nia matebian dai husi malus tahan nian.

NOTES BASED ON AN INTERVIEW WITH DOMINGOS JOSÉ GUTERRES

Whenever someone in the community asks him to help with curing an illness, Sr Domingos communicates with the ancestral nature spirits through the areca nut and betel leaves. However, in cases where the illness is prolonged, he recommends the patient go to the hospital. If he assesses that there is a problem emanating from within the spirit realm of the patient’s house, he will perform the five betel nut leaf ritual and, depending on the customs of the patient’s ancestral house, chickens, goats and pigs will be offered to the spirit realm to assist witt a cure.

Since the beginning of our uma lulik, our ancestors have required we use five betel leaves and also five areca nuts in our healing rituals. When someone asks us to cure them, we first ask for the assistance of our ancestors and our house (Leki Rai Sala Hare Kla Klemi.) The  betel leaves will indicate to us which type of medicine is required to treat the patient. According to our house customs, while we can treat people at any time we must also make return offerings to the ancestors during the biannual rituals for our corn and rice harvests. On these occasions we offer chicken, goat or pig according to the traditions left to us by our ancestors.

According to the ways of this house, if these rituals are not carried out and illness recurs, we must refrain from eating the new corn or new rice until the problem is addressed. We read the signs from the ancestors in the entrails of a chicken, pig or goat. When an illness recurs, we must ask forgiveness to our ancestors and the nature spirit world by communicating with them through seven betel leaves and seven betel nuts. 

If people from outside (our community) come seeking help, we have always followed the tradition of looking for signs about the nature of the illness in five betel leaves and five areca nuts. The approach taken depends, too, on their own house customs and we always tell them that if they bring five betel leaves and nuts and we can communicate with the spirit realm to ask how they must fulfil their ritual obligations to their own house or the nature sprit realm. An example of this is when Father Basilio came and said mass on top of Mount Ariana. The event angered the custodian spirits of Mount Ariana and he fell ill. His family consulted us and then made offerings of a white and a red rooster at their own ancestral house. Once his condition had improved, he came and we did the ritual with the five betel leaves as we do with other patients. The white chicken was used to placate the angered spirit. The red chicken was an offering of thanksgiving for the healing assistance of the ancestral spirit of Leki Rai Sala Hare Kla Klemi  nian. Once he was well Father Basilio again asked forgiveness from the Mt Ariana nature spirits through the Sala Hare ancestral house. If a patient fails to fulfil his or her ritual obligations, even if they are priests, nuns, doctors or nurses, then neither the traditional medicine or hospital treatment will be able to cure the illness. This is the tradition of the betel leaf that has been left to us by our ancestors and nature spirits.