Chinese Lottery For Indonesians
For many Flores villagers, the shio is a popular pastime, and one that is often central to day-to-day conversations. Using calculations, interpretations and their ‘third eye’ – as well as a good dose of luck – people make small bets on the combination of numbers each week. Most people are not heavy bettors and most are aware of the odds against winning. However, they are also proud of their small wins and brag about them at dinner parties and with friends. This sharing of the prize money resembles a romantic notion of economic redistribution within communities, and can be seen as shaping social life.
People have various methods for forecasting the lottery results, from interpreting omens and dreams to discerning patterns in Chinese zodiac images. These practices are not new to the region, but the shio lottery brings them to a wider audience, and gives them a foreign, relatively novel lens through which to interpret portentous signs. These methods also provide a forum for demonstrating skill and intelligence, in addition to the chance to win a prize. This is especially true when interpreted as messages from the ancestors.