The child has a name

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So we would start a small boutique hotel in Ubud.

Then the child needed to have a name. A lot of the small hotels or guesthouses in Bali are called “ Villa So-and-So” where “So-and-So” has to be replaced by some exotic name. “Villa Hibiscus”, “Villa Cempaka”, “Villa Mahayani”, … So we could hardly call our little paradise “Misty Cliffs” or “Summer Willows”. We needed something oriental and a tad mysterious. frangipani tree

We have two, one hundred and fifty years old, frangipani trees in the garden. We therefore initially were considering “Villa Frangipani”. My wife liked that name. The name reminded me strongly of the frangipane cake of my youth. So no, not “Villa Frangipani.

At the left side, after entering the gate we have a cloves tree. Cloves in Bahasa Indonesia is "Cengkeh" and it is one of the typical Moluccan spices. How about "Villa Cengkeh"? We imagined how this name would ne massacred by the different language groups and left this idea for what it was.

It should not only be a name with a high Multatuli content, but also one that everybody would pronounce more or less in the same way.

Back to the drawing board.

“Our house” in the dialect of Allang is “Luma Ité”. “Villa Luma Ité”? We thought it would be a nice idea to have a link to the Moluccan roots of my wife. I was not convinced and continued surfing to look for the ultimate name.

One of the most well known and most exclusive places in Bali is the "Amandari Hotel". It is where Rod Stewart married for the Xth time and Trina, one of the masseuses has pampered the Beckhams, Demi Moore, David Copperfield and Jimmy Carter. The step from Amandari to Villa Sabandari was small and obvious. My wife’s family name is Sabandar. I immediately liked it and learned to always respect inspirations with a gut feeling.

It had an oriental ring to it, was easy to pronounce and had a link with the Moluccan islands. The sound affinity with he Amandari was a lucky coincidence.

At the beginning, Saar found it a little odd but she soon changed her mind. The Sabandars are notorious for their vanity but in a pleasant way.

The “Sabandar” name is very old and means something like “harbor master”; you recognize “Shah”, meaning king or master and “Bandar” which signifies harbor in Bahasa Indonesia, Malay and Persian.

The child had a name.

SABANDAR

"... In this disposition of mind towards us, they had come to a determination to seize our house, and to send all our people prisoners to the top of a high rock, the consent only of the sabandar being a-wanting for taking possession of our goods, though some even began to take our goods forcibly. On the arrival of the sabandar, Mr. Spalding waited upon him, and remonstrated upon the unjust conduct of the islanders in taking away our goods, craving his protection. The sabandar then said, that the islanders were resolved we should not do as the Hollanders had done, and were therefore resolved to make all the English prisoners; for the ship was gone, and our intentions seemed bad towards them."

From "Fourth Voyage of the English East India Company, in 1608, by Captain Alexander Sharpey

dirk weemaes

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Comments

[Liz]

I like it ;)
I like your story! Keep us posted!