Learning About Nyupi

The monkey that tried to steal my sunglasses last week!

When I go to the clinic in the morning, I often hear the sounds of laboring women—gorgeous babies are born there almost every day.  I haven’t learned much about midwifery yet, but it is awesome to be exposed to the powerful energy of life being given freely every day.  So far, the majority of what I have done at the clinic is get to know the office staff, midwives, and acupuncturists, as well as do a few menial odd jobs.  Simply being around the clinic began to pay off on Saturday afternoon, though, during the acupuncture clinic.  There’s really nothing to it, but I learned to take the needles out of the patients as well as apply and light moxa for patients.  Moxa is a ball of mugwort incense that you stick on the end of an acupuncture needle.  When it is lit it smells of incense and heats the needle so that that specific point is warmed up and energy can move in the person.  I don’t what cases it is used to treat yet.

One of the Jayan being built in my village.

I’m catching on to the language quickly, and learning about the culture every day.  There is a festival called Nyupi coming up on the fifth of March, where no one leaves their house for the entire day.  Depending on who you ask, it is either supposed to be a day of meditation with no food or water or a day to stay inside and gamble with the other men in the family.  Regardless, it is a day of silence or at least quiet because even planes can’t land on the island on this day.  Right now, young men all over the island are building these big sculptures of Jayan (which are monsters and evil spirits).  How these are used, I have no idea…probably in some kind of ritualized dance.  However, the idea behind Nyupi is that on the fifth of March these Jayan come into the towns for their yearly visit, and the townspeople are being quiet because they are trying to fool the Jayan into thinking that their town is abandoned.  In the days prior to Nyupi, everyone makes lots of noise with fireworks and the whole shebang.  I’ll have loads of pictures of this festival soon.  Sending love to all of my family and friends.