Ketut Liyer

“You will live to be 110 years old!”

I raise my fist victoriously into the air as if my team has just won a soccer match and let out a loud, “yeah baby!” The 90 year old medicine man looks at me with sparkling eyes and flashes a toothless grin. For anyone who has ever thought that good teeth make a good smile, they have not met Ketut Liyer, Balianese medicine man, healer, palm reader, artist, and persona extrordinare.

It is a storm brewing afternoon in Ubud, and I have found myself on the porch of Ketut’s house anxiously awaiting to be told my past, present, and future from the mysterious lines of my palm. I am fully emersed as Ketut tells me the story of how and why he came to be a medicine man. It’s a story I have heard before. In fact, it is virtually the exact story that was re-tod by Elizabeth Gilbert in her beautiful book, “Eat, Pray, Love.” As the story unfolds almost word for word, I realize quickly that his lack of English has led him to prepare a bit of a speech. One I’m guessing he has spoken more than a few times before. Despite this, it is still one of the more enchanting stories I have ever heard, and I feel as though I have just walked into the pages of a fairytale. At the end of his story his tone grows slightly serious as he explains that it is his duty, coming from a long line of healers to tell the truth. If my palm is bad, he will not be coating it in sugar.

I must admit that for a moment, I hesitated as thoughts of hearing a grim future flashed through my mind. Did I really want to hear that I might die tomorrow? I quickly extinguished my dismal thoughts and eagerly hand him my palm. “Hit me with your best shot Ketut! I can take it!”

For the next hour we look over many little, some big, and some invisible wrinkles in my hand. My untrained eye and skeptical western mind had to take a back seat as I let Ketut weave a beautiufl story from the lines of my palm. “Ooohh this is good, this is very good,” he says.

“Yes this is good” I think to myself, “I must not be set to die tomorrow.”

“You are going to become very rich by age 30.” The corners of my mouth turn up a little. Not bad, not bad. I feel like saying, “you too could become rich buddy if you hopped the next plane to Vegas and set up shop.” Instead I say, “I’m already very rich Ketut, rich in happiness.” Big smile.

“No miss Kate. At 30 you rich in bank. You will be very successful, you very smart woman, you very lucky always in your life.”

Keep it comin mister, I like where we are headed with this!

As the story unfolds, I learn that I will have a very good marriage, but only if I am married between the ages of 25 to 28. Before 25: divorce. Post 30: forever single. Hmmmm. I also must come to Bali once I am married so Ketut can bless the marriage. Now this I will do. I continue to smile as he intently disects my palm with great care and intruigue. In the world of palm readers, I believe Ketut would take the cake for genuine.

Gazing at my wrist he whispers something in Balianese then announces that I am the reincarnation from four generations past. She was a doctor, a very strong and wise woman. This is good, very good. Slightly up from my wrist, somewhere in the vicinity of my thumb, I receive and interesting bit of news. “You can make sex with husband two time in a night, but three times too much, you get tired.” Just imagine this coming from the mouth, toothless remember, of a 90 year old man. He didn’t even flinch. He was simply translating the lines, and apparently that’s what they told him. I laughed and gave him a light punch in the arm. “Ketut you are making me blush!” But he had already moved onto my heart line where, you guessed it, nothing but good news.

My favorite part came when he told me that I represented the goddess Sarahswati. She is the goddess of knowledge and creativity. Now who wouldn’t want to be connected to this babe?! She also has four hands with which she holds various beautiful items. To the Balianese they each have a deep meaning. To me, she looks like one hell of a multi tasker!

He brought out one of his magic paintings of her and told me that he would make one form me in the next few days and bless it with a magic ceremony. A magic painting of a four armed goddess. Now what more could you want from a 90 year old medicine man who has just told you that you are going to live the most wonderful life you could have ever imagined.

“Don’t worry in your life Kate (which sounded more like Kte). You have very good life.”

“Yes Ketut” I replied, “You are very right about that.”