Bibi-oan

One morning last week I was woken by the soft baas of an unidentified animal. I wondered what this new creature in our midst could be and soon discovered, to my utter delight, two “bibi-oan” (baby goats or kids)! Their mother, a black “bibi-inan” (nanny goat) with white speckled ears had been resident in our garden for a couple of weeks and we assumed that she was another item for the “barlake” (bride price) in exchange for Argentina. I had noticed that this female “bibi-inan” was rather large but she was also lame as one of her back legs was immobile; it appears that something is wrong with her hoof. My attention therefore was on her limited ability to walk very far and her largeness was in my mind, a consequence of her lack of exercise not her impending motherhood!

The “bibi-oan” are adorable. They are completely black except for their ears and noses which are speckled white. They are real cuties and look exactly like their mother.

It struck me again how the Timorese attitude to animals is so utterly utilitarian. I have been cooing and ahhing over the little “bibi-oan” trying to entice them to me (successfully I might add), but none of “our” family does likewise. In fact, when they see me doing so, they giggle, and probably think “that Samantha, what a character!”

We went out this evening and again found it difficult to get home. However, as on Saturday evening (see Loromonu and Lorosa’e), our hearts raced a little faster than usual but there were no problems in Rai Kotu.

Category: Timor-Leste (East Timor)