they do not receive any part of the prey from this traditional hunting. The meat is consumed only by the 'Lord of the Seeds' and the rulers within the ritual circle. Exactly at this time the first heavy rain is expected to fall. It is in the experience of ritual leaders that the ritual and rain coincide on the same day and thus marks the success of the harvest. Every three years, the final ritual is even more complex. This period coincides with the three-year rhythm of the slash-and-burn. From the next day, the fields are sown after a piglet and a goat have been slaughtered at the respective field altar. The blood of the piglet is said to be cold and also to cool down the seeds. Coldness is a synonym for fertility for the Bunak people, while combining heat with death, danger, and struggle. The goat is said to carry the souls (melo) of the fallen trees to the hereafter on the top of their horns. Friedberg, however, noted in 1989 after a visit to the region that this ritual was no longer carried out at the field altars. The reason was that there was simply no one to sacrifice. Instead, a common cooling-down ritual of all village villagers was held at the village altar. The ritual for the souls of the trees was omitted, possibly because there was simply no more trees in the fields due to the short frequency of the slash-and-burns. Seeds are being sown on the fields after it is directly slash-and-burned without being worked on. The digging-stick (nut) has an eight to ten centimeter large metal blade and it also the same tool used for weeding. Irrigated fields did not exist in Abis village, but in other parts of Lamaknen. These irrigation are prepared with the help of water buffaloes and cattle. As long as the crops are not ripe, there are strict harvest prohibitions from kapitan and those supporting him, (meaning "to hear to see") are monitored. The kapitan himself is subordinate to the 'Master of the Firstfruits' (), also known as the 'Master of the Germs, the Sandalwood and the Beeswax' (). Sandalwood and beeswax were formerly important commodities whose production was under the control of the local rulers who protect the stocks. The Tobe (customary ritual leader with authority over land, forests, and water) of Atoin Meto people in Oecusse