Mama Terate trains herself to become a soothsayer<\/p>\n
By K. Basrie<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Mama Terate, 79, has developed herself into one
\nof the country's senior soothsayers.<\/p>\n
Born as Lee A Kioek, alias Seruniati Arief, she has worked as
\na soothsayer for over two-thirds of her life.<\/p>\n
She said she has had supernatural energy since she was a
\nlittle Chinese girl in Bogor, West Java.<\/p>\n
\"I could easily determine what people walking in front of me
\nwere going to do,\" Terate recalled.<\/p>\n
One day, she said, her neighbors apprehended a man for trying
\nto steal something from a house in their neighborhood. Shortly
\nafter, Terate informed them that the stranger was a thief.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know where the power came from, but I believe that it
\ncame from my great-great grandparents and my own long-time
\npersonal experiences,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Since then, she has read a lot of books about the supernatural
\nand related sciences to enrich her knowledge.<\/p>\n
Today, she offers personal consultancy services at her house,
\nlocated in a small alley of Gang Rembang near Jl. Blora in
\nCentral Jakarta. She also advertises her service though several
\nlocal media in the city.<\/p>\n
\"Practice makes expertise perfect,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Besides \"seeing\" people, she also claims to be able to detect
\nand will away \"unlucky\" marks, such as poor eyebrows and moles,
\nfrom someone's body.<\/p>\n
She also offers various kinds of traditional herbs for
\nnumerous purposes, such as to cure the tiredness suffered by the
\nelderly.<\/p>\n
Terate also offers stones pasted in priceless rings to her
\nclients. The color of the stones depends upon the needs of the
\npatients.<\/p>\n
\"Such stones are meant to help stabilize patients or dispel
\nany existing negative influence in their bodies,\" she said.<\/p>\n
According to Terate, the cost of her service is not so
\nimportant. \"I don't need money from the poor people, but it will
\nbe most unpleasant if rich clients don't give me money for my
\nservice,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Personality<\/p>\n
Terate was cooperative in revealing all details about her
\nservice, but she would become frigid when replying to questions
\nrelated to her personal background.<\/p>\n
\"That's a stupid question about my personality and family,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Our interview almost changed into a heated argument when she
\nkept on calling me a \"stupid reporter\" while trying to avoid my
\nquestions about her history and relatives.<\/p>\n
\"Your readers have no business with my personal background,\"
\nshe argued. \"They only want to know the details of my service.\"<\/p>\n
\"Then, what's your reason to use the name Mama Terate (Mother
\nLily), instead of your original name?\", I asked further, hoping
\nfor a friendly response.<\/p>\n
What was her answer?<\/p>\n
\"It's none of your business. I could use whatever name I
\nwant,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She requested that I not ask too many things about her
\nbackground.<\/p>\n
\"Asking too much could harm yourself,\" the soothsayer reminded
\nme.<\/p>\n
That's why I would like to suggest to those who want to ask
\nfor her service to be prepared for a harsh response from her.<\/p>\n
The words might not harm you, because her advice might be more
\nvaluable to your needs.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not a witch. My advice doesn't come from myself, but it's
\nan inspiration conveyed to me from God,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Service<\/p>\n
In providing her service, she usually asks her clients to sit
\ndown on a chair in the living room of her house.<\/p>\n
The living room, about four meters long and two meters wide,
\nis packed with old books and papers related to her profession.<\/p>\n
After asking several questions about her clients, she then
\ncloses her eyes for a few seconds and starts to reveal the
\n\"status\" of the patients.<\/p>\n
Sometimes she shapes her hands like binoculars to spot part of
\na client's body to see the details of his\/her character.<\/p>\n
Since working in this profession, Terate has served thousands
\nof people coming from various walks of life.<\/p>\n
Among them was the wife of the late former vice president,
\nAdam Malik.<\/p>\n
She hopes she could continue the profession until God takes
\nher life one day.<\/p>\n
\"I'm happy as what I am now, and I won't change my profession
\nuntil the day I die,\" she said, asking me to leave her house
\nimmediately.<\/p>\n
\"That's enough. No more questions from you,\" she said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mama-terate-trains-herself-to-become-a-soothsayer-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }