"Tapa Kolo" The tradition of cooking rice using bamboo.
Wakos village never stops presenting me with new stories, knowledge and experiences of Manggarai-Flores traditions, rituals and culture in every journey I go through. A recent visit led me to a big family that seems to be united in various occasions and who have become very special to me. They gave me my first opportunity to learn and participate in the traditional "tapa kolo" way of cooking rice unique to the region, and of course I leapt at the chance to follow it through step by step and learn of its history. Fresh leaves from the palm tree ("leka" in the Manggarai language), fragrant Pandan leaves, bamboo stems, and of course rice are the main materials used in preparing tapa kolo. The bamboo that was cut has to be very selectively chosen, of a certain age and size. According to Bapa Risa "if it is too old, the water content is less and when it is baked it will burn easily and if it is too young the water content is too much so that it will take a lo