SUARA DUNIA - SANDRAYATI

I have a deep sense of admiration and awe for the ways that Indigenous people all over the world relate to the earth and community. It is a relationship I long to remember in my own self, and am always learning from. Part of the lyrics in this song are borrowed and re-phrased from the Mollo people in West Timor. They have a mantra, “Batu adalah tulang. Air adalah darah. Hutan adalah urat nadi. Dan tanah adalah daging.'' It means, “This earth is our flesh, the rock is our bone, the water is our blood, the forests are our hair and skin,”, reflecting that our relationship with the earth is more than a connection, it’s an embodiment, a wholeness in being part of each other. I wrote this song for the beauty of the Mollo people and their land, to the courage of Mama Aleta and her community, especially the women who weaved with their looms on the construction sites to protect their ancestral mountains after more than 10 years of struggle.