This seminar focuses on indigenous calendars, environmental practices and ritual feasting in relation to the Meci festival in Timor-Leste. ‘Meci’ is the name given to the Palolo worm in the Fataluku language. The Meci festival takes place when Palolo emerge to spawn along the nearshore of the settlement of Loré, on the south coast of Lautém. The spawning of the Meci is a key environmental marker in the local agricultural calendar. I discuss the Meci within the broader frame of Palolo research across the Western Pacific, with a view to generating an initial comparative synthesis of the current state of knowledge.

Special start time 12:00-1:00pm

Zoom: https://bit.ly/2OEVSFr

Meeting ID: 937 9210 4939

Passcode: 800615