Tabia (Chili)
“What sort of things can make a Balinese man stressed?”
“What about being left by his wife?” Comes an answer.
“No, no. It doesn’t bother him at all,” says I Made Kaung Calep Calung (I Made Crazy PlayBoy).
“The Balinese men never think too seriously when it comes to women matters. They follow what we call “Taxi Driver’ philosophy: that is, “Always remember to bring an extra tire wherever you go,” which means that when your wife leave you, you still can have your friend’s wife or your lover to ‘take care’ of . You can even have bar girls. What you need to do is to buy them something nice and then you can do whatever you like.”
What about if cock-fighting is banned?
“I don’t really care if cock-fighting is banned by the authority,” says I Komang Saya Branangan (I Komang Amateur Cock-Fight Jury).
I Komang understands well that the local authority has been trying to ban cock-fighting as well as other gambling games as it is considered against the law. But the fact: nothing happens. It’s just a kind of lip service. The president has changed from one term to another, as well as Chief of Police, but cock-fighting remains in Bali, in spite of religious leaders and governor Mangku Pastika’s appeal to stop gambling.
You still can see cock-fights during Galungan and Kuningan Holiday or even during temple festivals, from small to big ones. The cock-fights are even guarded by village vigilantes and 20% of the profit goes to the village.
“Nobody has been able to stop cock-fight, so why do we bother when the chief of police wants to? It’s always like that, when a new chief of police arrives”
“Even though n cock-fighting is banned, there are still other kinds of gambling the Balinese men do. They still have Chinese cards (ceki), domino, and lottery (nomer buntut). It is indeed very difficult to ban gambling.”
“So what sort of things makes a Balinese man get stressed?”
Chili! Especially as its price is now Rp.100 thousand a kilo.
“Food doesn’t taste good without chili but my wife doesn’t dare to use too much chili. The food she makes is tasteless. She uses a lot of pepper to replace chili. But it doesn’t help. It makes my throat sore,” I Wayan Cupak PakPak (I Wayan Eating is My Hobby) comments.
The characteristic of Balinese food is spicy: if it is not, then it’s not Balinese.
“I don’t feel like having a meal if the food is not spicy.
All of my family members love Balinese fruit salad (rujak). A kilo of chili can be finished in two days. It’s really ruined my financial situation. I sometimes can’t even afford to buy rice, let alone play Chinese card or drink palm toddy. I spend most of my money for chili,” I Nyoman Medit Pait (I Nyoman Stingy).
The fact is that chili can make you cry, because it’s hot and expensive.
