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Pa'tedong (tedong: water buffalo) is one of the motifs carved on tongkonan houses in Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi. It represents prosperity and honor since buffalos indicate wealth. The numbers of horns displayed on these old tongkonan houses give you the clue to the family's standing. #WyrdWednesday

Another pairing between Tolkien character and batik motif! Nienna, the Lady of Pity and Mercy, could wear Udan Liris ("soft rain") for how her tears brought forth the Sun and Moon from the damaged Two Trees, or Sido Asih ("lasting love") because Pity was the foundation of LotR. #TolkienTrewsday

When Susan Abulhawa managed to enter Gaza in 2024 through the Rafah crossing, she mentored 18 young Palestinians so they could write their own experiences. Here they are, in a bilingual book (both English and the original Arabic texts). The opening notes are worthy of reading, too. #Booksky

I was born and raised in East Borneo, so the familiar sound of sape instrument is a sleep aid. This Dayak Kenyah sape composition, Lan E Tuyang (tuyang: friends) depicts an invitation to share a joyful moment under the moonlight outside the longhouse. #WyrdWednesday www.youtube.com/watch?v=MscE...

Lan E Tuyang - Uyau Moris (Dayak Kenyah Song)YouTube video by Uyau Moriswww.youtube.com

I love how Zeyn Joukhadar used 12th-century Sufi poem The Conference of the Birds (Mantiq al-Tayr) and the history of Little Syria as thematic frame for his trans protagonist's journey in The Thirty Names of Night. The storytelling is lush and poetic, laden with bird imagery. #Booksky #TransAuthors

Gebug ende is a martial art game and a rainmaking ritual from Karangasem, Bali, that uses a rattan bat ("gebug") and cowhide shield ("ende"). Traditionally played during dry season, drawing blood is seen as a form of sacrifice to wish for rain. 1/2 #WyrdWednesday 📷: Edy Gautama for Lensa Jawa Pos

Bringing back my horse thread for #TolkienTrewsday theme of, well, "horses". Horses might have been treated as instruments of war, but in many cases, the bond between them and their caretakers can't be denied. Tolkien observed this both in his legendarium and his real-life experiences. 1/6

I can't express my love for this Indigenous queer book enough. As an Indonesian, I'm exposed to many American/Canadian writers but rarely the Indigenous ones. Joshua Whitehead, a Two-Spirit of Anisininew First Nation, wrote poignant, chaotic, visceral queer story that I keep coming back to. #Booksky

I've read two Priya Hein's books, all set in Mauritius, so I love seeing paintings by Mauritian artist Mila Gupta on the cover. She mostly painted tropical landscape, and there's harmony in those lush, vibrant explosions of colors. Books from Jakarta-based indie bookshop Transit Bookstore. #Booksky

Reliefs on Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Central Java, showing the past life of Bodhisattva as a giant turtle. He saved shipwrecked sailors from being eaten by a sea monster (you can see them cling to the turtle with relief). Finally, he taught them about the Dharma of self-sacrifice. #WyrdWednesday

Tolkien's heraldic devices for fictional towns in the Lonely Isle from his early legendarium: Celbaros, Kortirion, and Taurobel (1917). They represent important places for Tolkien and his wife Edith: Cheltenham, Warwick, Great Haywood ("Ranon" and "Echtelin" are Ronald and Edith). #TolkienTrewsday

One of the megalithic statues in Lore Lindu National Park, Central Sulawesi, is called Palindo Lara, "the one who comforts/makes you smile" in Bada dialect, because of its expression. The ridge on its head mimics a bark headband, a part of Lore people's traditional tree bark fashion. #WyrdWednesday

For #TolkienTrewsday theme of "forgiveness": I always see thematic connection of transformation and redemption in Roverandom (a dog being turned into a toy after biting a wizard) and Sundanese folktale Lutung Kasarung (a deity being turned into a monkey and had to help a banished princess). 1/3

Jakarta-based Transit Bookstore never disappoints me with their curated international titles. I just got from there the second novel by Mauritian author Priya Hein and a Palestinian speculative fiction anthology with the theme "the day before the Nakba." #Booksky

Queer Palestinian author Tareq Baconi, from a trip with his husband to find his grandma's home that she had left during the Nakba: "Within the most private dwellings stand Palestinian walls bearing witness. Beneath the distractions of the settler nation, Palestine is everywhere." #Pride #Booksky

Trans Palestinian author Yaffa, photographed by Maria del Rio for Atmos. They have released several poetry books as a response to attack toward their Palestinian and trans identities (another poetry book, Thistle, was inspired by years of supporting their sibling through cancer). #Booksky #Pride

Whether called Lukat Geni, Mesabatan Api, or Siat Geni depending on the area, Balinese "fire battle" is famously conducted as a part of Pangrupukan ritual before Nyepi. Locals attack each other with burning fronds or coconut husks because fire is a spiritually-cleansing element. #WyrdWednesday

Happy Saturday with my favorite #Pride books so far: Indonesian queer history, queer poetry that utilizes bahasa binan (colloquial language of Indonesian trans community since the 70s), memoirs by queer Palestinian and queer Muslim activist, and Indigenous queer novel by Two-Spirit writer. #Booksky

In Palestinian folktale "The Little She-Goat", a hyena tricked and ate the she-goat's kids. She begged a blacksmith to make her long, sharp horns, then challenged the hyena outside his lair. As he rushed outside, her horns stabbed him and she tore open his belly. Heartwarming stuff. #WyrdWednesday

Singaporean artist Leia Ham reimagined LotR as Tale of the Middle Kingdom, since Chinese name for China (Zhōngguó) means "The Middle Kingdom." Her concept art includes the Fellowship, armors, buildings like Bag End, props like Aragorn's banner and Fellowship brooches, and more. #TolkienTrewsday