The Transformation of Uncle Ba’i Through ‘Sei’

Gasper Tiran, a former meat peddler and an elementary school dropout, has popularized his roasted pork called sei.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

Gasper Tiran

The fire burning under a rectangle-shaped wood stove, atop which pieces of pork roasted on the grill on Wednesday (25/8/2021). From the side of the stove, Gasper Tiran, 50, covered the meat with the leaves of the kesambi tree (Schleichera oleosa). Gasper, a former meat peddler and an elementary school dropout, has popularized his roasted pork called sei.

Gasper, who goes by Om (uncle) Ba’i, hails from Baun village in West Amarasi district, Kupang regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). Born into a disadvantaged family, he did not finish primary school in the 1980s. His six siblings shared the same fate as school dropouts.