Nyale Festival
After the celebration of Pasola, the processions
are not finished. On the night of the full moon,
villagers gather at the beach. Carrying oil-
lamps, they start hunting for sea worms called
nyale. That morning, at sunrise, the Rato (tribal
leaders) have already predicted exactly when
the nyale would appear. After the first nyale are
gathered by the Rato, they are then brought
before the council to prove their existence and
to be examined for their color and form. If the
nyale are fat, healthy and colorful, this means
that this year’s harvest will be successful.
However, if the nyale are thin and delicate the
harvest will doomed.
After this examination process, the nyale may
be gathered freely by the villagers. Nyale only
appear for three days a year, and without nyale
Pasola may not be held. It is indeed a picturesque
event: thousands of sea worms emerge from
the sand on the beach, and villagers quickly
collect them in buckets. What do they taste like?
Interestingly enough, cooked only with simple
ingredients, they are mouthwateringly delicious!
55
The Amazing East | vol 1 issue 4
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