How they carried water in the 19th century Timor

Source: Posted in Facebook group Timor Online

This how water was ferried around in Timor (or at least in Kupang where the illustration was made) more than a couple of hundred years ago by women, a task still mostly reserved to them today as it was then.

Water is transported using palm leaves woven, or tied at one end, to form a large container. I have not seen something like this in Timor or anywhere else.

The illustration is made by Nicholas-Martin Petit (1777-1804) during an expedition commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte and commanded by Nicholas Baudin in the early 19th century. The expedition passed through Australia and Timor where it made a stopover in Kupang, West Timor and produced several good quality illustrations.