The weekend of 8 and 9 September couldn't be any different from the weekend of the 15th and 16th. One weekend I was living in a tropical paradise and the next weekend that very tropical paradise became the stomping ground for yet another super typhoon.
Part I: Tropical Paradise
The activities of the weekend began on Friday, 7 September the boys returned home from school, John returned home from work and we ate a quick dinner before heading out to an Eisa Festival. Eisa is a form of dance unique to the people of the Ryukyu Islands. Traditionally, Eisa dances are performed to mark the end of the Obon Festival.
Briefly, the Obon Festival is a Japanese Buddhist custom that honors the spirits of one's ancestors. Japanese families gather to clean their ancestors graves in preparation for a visit from the ancestors' spirits. This festival is, in essence, a family reunion of both the living and the deceased.
The performance of the Eisa dance signifies the end of the Obon festival. The traditional purpose of the dance was to restore the spirits to a state of restfulness. The Eisa originated from a group dance called "esa omoro". The word "Esa" comes from a line in Okinawa's Omorosoushi, a book of ancient poems.
Today, the Eisa dance is not only performed at the end of the Obon Festival, but at many other festivals throughout the year. "Approximately 20-30 young men and/or women dance, in a circular formation to the accompaniment of singing, chanting, and drumming by the dancers, and folk songs played on the sanshin. Three types of drums are used in various combinations, depending upon regional style: theōdaik, a large barrel drum; the shimedaiko, a medium-sized drum and thepaaranku a small hand drum. "
The Eisa Festival that we attended was held a few days after Obon. Groups of Eisa dancers from local towns and cities performed. At any given time there were at least 4 to 5 groups performing along the length of a street, closed for the festival. Spectators gathered around each unit of dancers watching the swirls of colored costumes while clapping to the rhythm of the drums. Little children had their own small drums and banged on them along with the dancers.
Along the sidewalks vendors were selling kabobs (Okinawan style) and other various local specialties. The smoke of the grills and the smell of the delicious foods wafted through the night air. The beer flowed from the local taverns and, to our surprise, quite a few cotton candy vendors!
I took this video with my iPhone so while not the best quality you will get a good feel for Eisa Dancing.
Most groups included the female dancers who wore the adorable kimonos in the colors specific to their group.
One of the many vendors along the street. Too bad we had eaten because the food smelled delicious. It isn't just sushi and rice on Okinawa!
We did save room for dessert, though. We purchased a bag of cotton candy and as you can see they are huge bags in comparison with the American sizes and they sold for a reasonable price, too.
On Saturday, 8 September we awoke when we felt like doing so as our work/school days start very early and end rather late. Having stayed out late on Friday night we took the opportunity to sleep in and plan a day that involved more relaxation. So, without worrying about beating "shore traffic" we leisurely made our way to a Oura Wan Beach which is located on Camp Schwab, to the north of where we live.
The men...looking buff!
John is posing by our favorite location to sit in the water.
Perfection, Mother Nature style.
The art of vegging.
Sunday, 9 September was another gorgeous day. John John participated in a triathlon relay. He did the swim portion. I have photos to share, but I will save that for the "sports" post so that I can also share photos of Pauly on the football field.
Part II: What Happened to Last Weekend's Weather?!
As the next weekend approached we were told that our household goods shipment would arrive. And, on Thursday, 13 September we received our last shipment. We also learned that a super typhoon would hit on the weekend. This would make it the third time a typhoon hit in 5 weeks and each typhoon hit right after (1) We arrived. (2) Our advanced shipment arrived. (3) Our final shipment arrived. Some one said to me, "Perhaps you shouldn't have anything shipped to this island in the future." But, the arrival of the remainder of our belongings and our furniture did give us quite a bit to do while we were locked down for 24 hours.
So it was, on 15 and 16 September our tropical paradise became a windswept and rain battered island. Super Typhoon Sanba came in fast and furious. Thankfully, the typhoon did not linger and within 24 hours it cleared the area.
This is the satellite image of Super Typhoon Sanba and we are a litle strip of earth some where beneath that hostile swirl of clouds.
I took this photo from our window. The hibiscus bush laying on its side recovered and is standing straight, again. I had to lighten this photo for viewing purposes. It was very dark during the mid morning hours. What gives the photo the misty look is the rain being blown so hard that it blew through the seals on a few windows in the house. The rainwater dripped in and I had to keep towels on the window sills to soak up the water. I was shocked any of the trees had leaves the next day.
Upcoming posts: John and Pauly: Sports
A Tour of Casa Armellino
Mos Burgers
I like the dance they do. It almost looks like what you see in Hawaii. That's some shot of the typhoon. Gees!
ReplyDelete