THE STORY OF HOTONG

*Curator: Helena Rea

Surabaya, 31 January 2015.    

Moluccas is the land that is famous for cloves, which had attracted Portuguese colonizing the land for more than 400 years. The following story is not about cloves, but the ‘Hotong’. It is the customary carbohydrate for the Tanimbar-Key Island communities in the Upper North Southeast Moluccas. They learned from generation to generation that the family ought to set aside the Hotong in a strongbox after the harvest season. It was wise advice of saving their resources.  

At my first encounter with the Hotong, I thought it was wild flower seeds. As I jiggled the branches, the tiny bits of sandy brown grains spread. Hotong has three types of colours: orange, yellow, and black, which can only be recognized when the flower is dry.

The Hotong needs special treatment. It has to be kept in leaf-based vessels, made by the women to secure the Hotong. They will offer that up during the traditional harvest ceremony and hand it to the King of Tan-Kei. Once it is stored in the barn, it can last for decades.

According to the Tan-Kei Customary law, the Hotong that is stored aims to secure the seed and farming situations when the farmers have to go through extreme seasons, natural disasters, and shortage supplies. When the conflict broke out in Ambon in 2011, the barns supplied the refugees with various hotong-based cuisine such as Wajik Legit and Lemang.

The Hotong is needed for daily consumption and celebrations, as well as for gifts, including wedding gifts, birthday gifts, etc. The hotong is the symbol of happiness and well-being. It is believed that they will never suffer from shortages of food stocks. There are more they keep in their garden including bananas, cassavas, and peanuts, as well as breeding cattle and fish, goats, and poultry. The women are the living Goddesses. They always share the Hotong in abundance: packages and smiles.