The Ancient West Sumba

Lapopu Watefall - West Sumba

West Sumba is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara, the capital city is in Waikabubak. These regency is in the form of series of mountains and hills which are steep limestone. The climate is tropical with the rainy season is relatively short compared to the dry season.


About half of the population in this regency still embrace the traditional religion of Marapu, this is because the strong influence of their custom believe. Other inhabitants are hold Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, Hindu and the rest are Buddhist.


Most of the population lively depend on agriculture. Because the state of the soil, chocolate and tobacco plants can be grown in ??110 hectares and 2280 hectares area. Moreover, the inhabitants also live from livestock. Buffalo is become the important animal for working field and also for custom events.


In this region, the historical heritages are still be found, weather in historic or social culture. Kadung Tana village, Watu Karagata and Bulu Peka Mila is the area of some Megalith heritages. There is also megalith graveyard that characterized by water buffalo horns and fangs pigs which was the sacred animals in the past.


In West Sumba, there is traditional event name Pasola. Pasola is riding skills, throwing the blunt-ended wooden spears that are directed into the opponent’s body. Before the ceremony took place, there is Nyale event, which is looking for a kind of worm that exist between the rocks on the beach. That worm is such a high-protein worm that only exist during full moon, after looking for the worm the people are gather to eat the worm. Those ceremony, Pasola and Nyale, is always held around February.


Exploring Sumba is like drown into the mystique island, the land of the spirit. In every corner of town and village saved offerings and praise the servant. The name of Sumba or Humba was coming from the name of mother Humba, a sweetheart wife of Umbu Mandoku, one of the founder of the tribes of Sumba indigenous.


Looking at the historical culture in ancient times drives Sumba to have some heritages that worth to be explore nowadays. Beside Pasola, there are others traditional cultures and megalith sites that amazingly exist until present day, like, Lai Tarung megalith site, Kamba Jawa and Deru megalith site, Nihiwatu beach and Mata Yangu tourism object.

The Magnificents In East Sumba

Baing Beach - East Sumba

East Sumba is one of regencies in Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara. In the past, this regency was under the residency or Timor. This regency is divided into 12 sub-districts and bounded with Sumba Straight in North, Indian Ocean in South, West Sumba in West and Sabu Ocean in East.

East Sumba topography is generally in the form of coastal areas, gently sloping to lowland region and also hilly or mountainous. There are at least 88 rivers along the region that never been dried during summer. There is a chain of mountains and steep limestone hills which controls the central region with four peaks: Mawunu, Kombapari, Watupatawang dan Wanggameti.

The inhabitants that live in East Sumba are the indigenous of Sumba people. In addition, there are also other tribes that live in harmony like Sabu people, Tionghoa, Arab, Bugis and Javanese. Most of them are speak in Sumba Kambera language and they mostly hold Protestant, other religion like Moslem, Hindhu, Budha and traditional religion of Marapu.

Although, the land is not that fertile but the most inhabitants are living by farming in traditional way. In the agricultural sector, crops, rice, maize and cassava became the mainstay. Other agricultural products are cloves, cotton, pecan, coconut, sweet potatoes, peanuts, green beans, sorghum and cashew nuts. The agricultural production has been developed since 1977. Moreover, Sumba is also famous by its waving industrial. This woven has been famous since hundreds of years and become the main living for the people of Sumba.

In tourism sector, East Sumba has Kalala Beach, Baing beach, Tarimbang, Purukambera and Walakiri which is worldwide and being known as a beautiful place to surf. The stone grave of megalithic culture and indigenous customs houses are also become attractive interest to the tourists as well as the royal ceremonial burial that sometimes been held in their tradition.

Sumba The Land Of Spirit

Sumba island has a great and unique position respect to the Sunda Banda archipelagoe, it is one of the biggest island on the East Nusa Tenggara region beside Flores and Timor. It represents an isolated sliver of probable continental crust to the south of active volcanic islands (Sumbawa, Flores ) within the forearc basin. It is situated to the north of passage from the Java Trench to the Timor Through. It does not show the effects of strong compression in contrast to islands of the outer arc system (Savu, Roti, Timor), while the magmatic units make up a substantial part of the ate Cretaceous to Paleogene stratigraphy.


Sumba island covers an area of 11,150 square km which is now populated by about 350,000 people. Generally the climate similar to other part of Indonesia where a dry season (May to November), and a rainy season (December to April). The island of Sumba is well known of its sandlewood, horses, impressive megalithic tombs, typical hand woven textile ("ikat"), and the still untouched beautiful beaches.


As our world develops, the traditions of the past are often discarded and forgotten. Unfortunately there are now only a few places left on earth where primitive tribal cultures are still intact and the traditional ways of living are still practiced.


Sumba is one of those special places where stone graves, traditional houses and the rituals of the animist religion have been well preserved. The funeral ceremonies still continue and huge blocks of stone are still cut and dragged by hundreds of men to the mortuary grounds.


Various numbers of livestock are still the only acceptable bride wealth of these villages and many still do not allow missionaries or native preachers to enter.


Brief History of Sumba Island

Not much is known about the history of the island other than it being one of war and hardship. In the sixteenth century Pigafetta, the traveling companion of the famed Portuguese explorer Magellan, was the first foreigner to mention Sumba. He recorded proud natives that were clad in fine woven ikats and bodies adorned with beautiful ornaments. He wrote of the breathtaking landscapes of Sumba, an island of untouched white sandy beaches, villages perched on green hills and fertile valleys swarming with sculptured stone tombs. At that time the air was filled with the sweet aroma of the sandalwood forests that covered the island, in fact there was so much sandalwood growing in the forests that the island was first known as the Sandalwood Island. The sweet smelling wood was in great demand throughout Asia and Arabia, and for centuries it was the main trade item flowing out of the island. The Sumbanese also bartered their sturdy horses for gold, silver and Chinese ceramics that were, and still are, highly regarded as precious items by the islanders. Today, in most parts of the island, Pigafetta’s view of the island has changed little. And, except for the destruction of the sandalwood forests in East Sumba, one can still experience the same sense of wonder that those first Europeans experienced over 400 years ago.

Map of Sumba

Sumba was known amongst foreign traders as being an island of fierce warriors were headhunting expeditions where common. It was due to these incessant raids the villages were built on hilltops and heavily fortified by stone walls. The dry season was the period of the headhunting expeditions as well as the wars between rival clans and villages. In East Sumba, heads were used as tokens of territorial conquest in battles between nobles. In West Sumba, headhunting rites were often acts of revenge between equals. In both parts of the island the heads were considered trophies that would be displayed on “skull trees” in the villages. It was believed that the trophies brought home would stimulate prosperity and fertility of the village and the fields.


Slave raids were also common on the island. Rival Kingdoms and clans would periodically attack each other in order to bring home slaves to work their fields, or for sale to the foreign traders that were based on the northern part of the island. Sumbanese slaves were sold in Flores and Bali, and even as far west as the Arabian Peninsula and southward from there to the island of Madagascar off the African coast.


Today, in some villages in West Sumba there are stories passed down about slave raids that the Portuguese made hundreds of years ago, and some elders are still in possession of ancient shields that they believe are adorned with human hair taken from the fallen invaders. Even well into the twentieth century it was common for Sumbanese headhunting parties to capture enemies to be brought back to the village. It is told that some would be treated as honored guests who would live in the village for years, all the while being overfed and becoming obese. Eventually the auspicious sacrificial day would come, only then would the head of the slave be taken and his skin used for sacred ceremonial drumheads.

Given its fierce reputation it is not surprising that most foreign traders stayed well clear of the island, and that it wasn’t until the latter part of the nineteenth century that the first Europeans attempted to settle on the island. It was then that the Dutch colonial administration based in Batavia, now known as Jakarta, claimed control of the island. In reality they could only manage to establish a small garrison on a beachhead at Waingapu and its soldiers rarely ventured out from there. Control could not be established on the island until near the end of its centuries of rule in Indonesia. It was not until late in the 1920’s that the colonial rulers deemed Sumba safe enough to replace its only garrison in Waingapu with police.


Since Indonesian Independence in 1945, Sumba has been part of Nusa Tenggara Timor, the “Southeastern Islands,” with its administrative capital in Kupang on the Island of Timor. Although the government has recently improved the cross-island road as well as ferry and airport access to the island, outside of the local administrative capitals of Waingapu and Waikabubak life has changed little.


Sumba has a unique culture and their social life. Sumbanese are traditionally divided into three level of social life : (Raja/King) - Maramba, Customary Official - Kabihu, and Slaves - Ata. Sumbanese are living from farming, cattle breeding, rice-field farming and trading. Ones owns cattle will contribute to their social status such as if they had more cattle giving them a higher social status.


Most Sumbanese are Christian (Catholic and Protestant), however, and part of them are still strongly keep their native and original religion called Marapu. Most cultural objects are related to the Marapu religion such as the shape of traditional houses, ceremonies, or kings' graves and tombs.

The Customary houses designed in high-peaked roof to store the heirlooms and store. It is divided into male and female section, and generally surrounded by impressive megalithic tombs. Their famous ceremony are the wedding and funerals. where they usually sacrificed animals pigs, buffaloes, cattle, and horses.


The Megalithic tombs are made from the hard stone forming the megalithic shape. This covered by rectangle flat stone supported by four pillars about 1,5 meters high. The Megalithic tombs are actually located in the front of their houses


A primitive Sumbanese art objects strongly related with a social functions of Merapu belief. The carved stones and wood statues are representing the death, Merapu, and as medium for their contact. Metal ornaments and jewelry are usually for wedding ceremonies, and are related to the social status


Geography
Sumba Island has a unique position with respect to the Sunda-Banda arc as it represents an isolated sliver of probable continental crust to the south of active volcanic islands (Sumbawa, Flores ) within the forearc basin (Fig.1). It is situated to the north of passage from the Java Trench (subduction front) to the Timor Through (collision front). It does not show still the effects of strong compression in contrast to islands of the outer arc system (Savu, Roti, Timor), while the magmatic units make up a substantial part of the Late Cretaceous to Paleogene stratigraphy.


Bathymetrically, Sumba stands out as a ridge that separates the Savu forearc basin (> 3000 m depth) in the east and the Lombok forearc basin (> 4000 m depth) in the west. Seismic refraction studies show (Barber et al., 1981) that it is made up of 24 km thick continental crust (Chamalaun et al., 1981). Based on the results of tectonic studies helped by paleomagnetism and geochemistry, several workers considered Sumba as a microcontinent or a continental fragment (Hamilton, 1979 ; Chamalaun and Sunata, 1982 ; Wensink, 1994, 1997 ; Vroon et al., 1996 ; Soeria-Atmadja et al., 1998 ).


Three main geodynamic models for Sumba have been reviewed by Chamalaun et al. (1982) and Wensink (1994) as follows : (i) Sumba was originally a part of the Australian Continent which was detached afterwards when the Wharton basin was formed, drifted northwards and subsequently trapped behind the eastern Java Trench (Audley-Charles, 1975 ; Otofuji et al., 1981), (ii) Sumba was once part of Sundaland which was drifted southwards during the opening of the Flores Basin (Hamilton,1979, Von der Borch et al., 1983 ; Rangin et al., 1990) and (iii) Sumba was either a microcontinent or part of a larger continent within the Tethys, which later was fragmented (Chamalaun and Sunata, 1982).


Three distinct calc-alkaline magmatic episodes have been recorded during Cretaceous - Paleogene, all of them characterized by nearly similar rock assemblages (i.e pyroclastic rocks, basaltic - andesitic lava flows and granodioritic intrusions). They are respectively (i) the Santonian - Campanian episode (86-77 Ma) represented by volcanic and plutonic rock exposures in the Masu Complex from Eastern Sumba, (ii) the Maastrichtian-Thanetian episode (71-56 Ma) represented by the volcanic and plutonic units of Sendikari Bay, Tengairi Bay and the Tanadaro Complex in Central Sumba and finally (iii) the Lutetian - Rupelian episode (42-31 Ma) of which the products are exposed at Lamboya and Jawila in western part of Sumba. No evidence of Neogene magmatic activity has been recorded so far.

Sumba - Living in the Past
Sumba is one of the few islands in Indonesia where a majority of the population still follow the ways of their ancestors. One gets the sense that time has passed this island by and that only now is it slowly being drawn into the present. On Sumba faith in the old traditions are very strong. Throughout the year the island is the site of many fascinating rituals, the most spectacular of them all are the Pasola ceremonies that take place during the months of February and March at select locations along the west coast of the island.


The Pasola’s are wild and martial events involving hundreds of charging horseman battling with spears on a large playing field. Serious injuries are common and there are occasional deaths of horses and even riders. In fact a Pasola is not considered successful without a proper amount of bloodletting. In Sumba blood on the ground is necessary to make it fertile, and one of the aims of the Pasola is to make the conditions right for the rice harvests that take place in the months of April and May.

The main aim of the traditional Sumbanese religion is to maintain a peaceful and fruitful relationship with the Marapu, the ancestral spirits. To do so there are many Animist rules that must be adhered to in the form of ritual celebrations that are meant to provide the ancestor spirits with food and wealth in the afterlife. In exchange it is expected that the ancestors will bestow increased fertility and prosperity on the living.


The funerary rituals of Sumba continue to this day. Huge blocks of stone are cut and dragged great distances to the mortuary ground to construct mausoleums for the rich and the nobility. An average sized stone can weigh in the range of six tons, and larger stones weigh more than twenty. Until recently, particularly at the funerals of noblemen, literally hundreds of water buffalo, horses, pigs and dogs were slaughtered to accompany the departed soul to the afterlife. The number of animals dispatched was, and still is, prestige enhancing. In Sumba, where the remains of a highly stratified society of nobles, commoners and indentured slavery still exist, it was not uncommon for a family to bankrupt itself to put on a good funeral show. With occasional success, the government is trying to discourage this practice by limiting the amount of slaughtered animals to five.


The social structure of Sumba is organized around the traditional ancestral house and the patrilineal group that claims decent from it. Ancestral houses are the bridge between the visible and invisible worlds and must be perpetuated over time as ritual centers. The ancestral villages are usually built on a defensive height and surrounded by a perimeter wall of stone or a thick cactus hedge. Traditional houses with high peaked roofs are aligned in rows around an open space that contains rectangular stone graves. Some villages, those that fielded war expeditions, kept a “skull tree” on which the human heads of the enemy victims were hung. The Sumbanese were feared headhunters and “officially” abandoned the practice in the 1950’s. However as recently as the late nineties heads were still being taken during major inter clan battles.

The Sumbanese are proud of their culture. They value their traditional way of life and their tribal unity. For foreigners to witness this culture is like looking through a window to the past. In this fast modernizing world it is unfortunate that few places like Sumba remain.


Rituals
Pasola is the name of a war game tournament played by two groups of selected Sumbanese men. They riding their decorated selected horses fling wooden spears at each other. (The government allows the ritual game to take place, but the spears much the blunt). Pasola is a traditional ceremony of the Sumbanese held in the way of uniquely and sympathetically traditional norms, every year in February and March and has become the focus of attention of the people since it is a part of the sacred homage to the Marapu.


Pasola is, above all, the most exciting rituals of Sumba-where else in the world can you see colorful horsemen trying to kill each other? Where else in the world can you see the shedding of blood, the lost of and eye, and occasional death coloring the event and being the part of the game?. The ceremony occurs during February in Lamboya and Kodi and during March in Gaura and Wanukaka. The main activity starts several days after the full-moon and coincide with the yearly arrival to the shore of strange, and multihued sea worms - nyale. The precise date of the event decided by Rato during the wula podu (the month of pasola is the fasting month).

Origin and Legend
It is said that thousand of years ago there were three brothers-one of them named Umbu Dula coming from a village called Waiwuang (now Wanukaka) intended to collect rice in the Village of Masu Karera, in the south coast of East Sumba. They, however, lied to the villagers that they wanted to go fishing. After a long time they had not returned, the villagers become so worried that they might have been stranded, lost, or even dead, so the villagers went to search for them, but in vain. Being lonely for a long time, Umbu Dula's wife, Rambu Kaba, fell in love with Tedo Gai Parana, a man from Kodi, and decided to marry him. When finally the three brothers came back to Waiwuang, all the villagers greeted them with mixed feelings. Despite tje joy caused by the arrival of the three brothers, Umbu Dula began to feel sad to hear that his wife had escaped to Kodi with Tedo Gai Parana and that they had decided to get married and lived a happy life. The three brothers and the villagers then began to run after Rambu Kaba and her partner and found them on the foot of a hill. Seeing Umbu Dula among the people of Waiwuang, Rambu Kaba burst out crying but she being too ashamed refused to return to Waiwuang.


The relatives of Tedo Gai Parana, therefore, had to pay the bride price (dowries) to Umbu Dula in the form of buffaloes, horses, a set of ornaments, some spears, and swords, and a unique giff of sea - worms, called Nyale. Nyale usually, appears in February and March (several days after the full-moon). After the bride price ceremony the people of Kodi invited the Waiwuang to have a game of Pasola as remembrance of the event, so that the sorrow caused by the escaped of Rambu Kaba could be forgotten.


Since then the celebration of the time of nyale has been held with the pasola games, and people connect the appearance of nyale with the harvest. The greater number of nyale appear, the more abundant harvest it will be. The pasola ceremony is usually preceded by several other rituals, done in fasting month Wula Nyale or Wula Podu such as self purification, Pajura (traditional boxing), the welcoming of nyale, which is done on the beach at dawn. These rituals are headed by ratos.


During the purification period there are a lot of prohibitions such as weeping for the dead, striking gongs, wearing jingles ankles-bracelets, putting on bright dresses, killing animals, passing the pasola area, and crossing the river estuary. Affer the purification period the Pajura is held. Before the games starts the rato who leads the ritual makes an announcement of the game rules. After the announcement, to ratos throw their spears to start the game. This is immediately followed by hundreds of horse - riders racing their horses and while shouting throw their spears towards their opponents. Customarily, when someone is hurt the game will become more enthusiastic. After the games the participants return to their villages and are welcome as herois returning from the war. Then the thanksgiving ceremony is held by sacrificing castles no Marapu toask for fertile soil and bountiful harvest. This is pasola, a part of Sumbanese life; a life full of laughter and joy and hope for the bright future.


Sumba has a unique culture and their social life. Sumbanese are traditionally divided into three level of social life : (Raja/King) - Maramba, Customary Official - Kabihu, and Slaves - Ata. Sumbanese are living from farming, cattle breeding, rice-field farming and trading. Ones owns cattle will contribute to their social status such as if they had more cattle giving them a higher social status.


Most Sumbanese are Christian (Catholic and Protestant), however, and part of them are still strongly keep their native and original religion called Marapu. Most cultural objects are related to the Marapu religion such as the shape of traditional houses, ceremonies, or kings' graves and tombs


Sumba Ikat Blankets
Textiles in Sumba have always functioned both as an indication of status and a means of ritual exchange. An individual's position in the island's complex social hierarchy is still displayed by the motifs and colors of their weavings. Personal wealth is measured not only by the number of animals one owns, but also by the number of weavings. Textiles form an integral part of the ceremonial exchange of gifts between the families of a bride and groom. They are required for funerals where dozens of cloths are interred with the corpse, and many more given by the guests that attend the ceremony.


In Sumba weaving is the preserve of the female members of the villages. A full sized, hand spun, Sumba cloth can take up to two years to complete and can command the same value as a buffalo. It is a time consuming process starting with the spinning of the yarn, made from local home grown cotton, using simple spindles or wheels. Now that it is available, some women prefer to buy pre-spun yarn and chemical dyes from the shops in town, in this way months of preparation and weaving are saved. However the thick hand-spun cotton blankets, with the rich earth toned natural dyes, have a higher value and are preferred over the new faster to dye, and weave, modern versions. Although it is quite common to see women weaving blankets using store bought yarn and dyes, they readily admit that they are cheating by using them.


Before weaving, the yarn is boiled in water that is mixed with black sorghum seeds, burned coconut sheathes and candle nuts. This strengthens the yarn and makes it stiffer and easier to tie the pattern of the blanket. Using threadlike shavings made of young smoked coconut leaves, the often intricate patterns are tied on to the bundles of yarn that have been set up on the loom. This is why the blankets are called Ikat, the Indonesian word meaning to tie.


Once the pattern of the first color is completed, the bundles of yarn are taken off of the loom and prepared for the dying process. The yarn is dyed in boiling water and natural dyes prepared from indigo leaves and the roots of trees. The bundle of dyed yarn is dried and thereafter re-dyed many times until the desired rich color is achieved. During each coloring process the bundles of yarn are reassembled on to the loom and once again tied off to form the next pattern; the section of previously dyed yarn must also be tightly bound so that it is not affected by the next color. This is a very laborious and time-consuming process that is repeated over and over until the colors are perfect.


The motifs in a cloth vary throughout the island and most Sumbanese can identify the wearers’ clan by the motif of their cloth. Even though many Sumbanese are now Christian, the way of the Marapu ancestral spirits continues to be vividly expressed in the symbols of birth, on-going life, death, and reincarnation woven into the island's textiles.

Sumbanese Arts

kalumbut from Sumba

mamuli from Sumba

Sumba, and more particularly Easy Sumba is famous for its handcrafted arts. History and tradition has enabled the Sumbanese to refine the art of tie dying into one of the most sophisticated textile creating processes in the world.

It's strong traditional empahsis on ceremonies has led to the development of reed weaving into elaborate and highly ornate baskets, cups and bowls used. amongst other things, for the offering of betel nut, the presentation of bride price and the storage of cloth.

Its goldsmiths work with remarkable advancement to produce the mamuli and kanatar necessary to marry a noble bride and the earring and necklaces that expound the elegant sophistication of the women.

To explore the arts and crafts of Sumba could take you a lifetime. Recognizing their worth, many great artifacts from Sumba have been placed in Museums in Switzerland, Amsterdam, New York and Chigago. Ironically this has both helped and hindered the tradition. All of the Sumbanese arts are essentially fluid. They are to be passed from person to person from family to family and eventually entering the grave when their last owner passes away. They were never intended to remain stationary in a museum. When shopping in Sumba don't seek the old, it does not and has never existed - outside of the mind of European collectors that is. Seek the vibrant, contemporary, contemplative and relevant pieces created by today's goldsmiths and weavers for the use of the present day society.

East Sumba Ikat

Sumba Ikat Prailiu

Kain ikat (Hand Weaving)

Kain Ikat (Hand Weaving) represents the means by which the present generation passes on its messages to future generations. The pieces are deeply personal, follow distinct systematic form but show the individuality of the weaver and the village from which they are produced.

Locally they find their value in ritual exchange (for weddings and peace waging ceremonies) and as burial cloths. A high ranking individual can easily be wrapped in over 100 pieces of cloth as they enter the tomb.

Internationally, Sumba's textiles are collected as examples of the highest quality textile design and are found in the major museums of the world as well as the home's of collectors. They stand as testament to the sophistication of an oft ignored culture as well as historical and geneaological texts within an essentially oral tradition.

Sumbanese Ikat is unique both for the anthropomorphic forms which dominate the design and the tie-dying process which uses three natural colourants (red, yellow and blue) . Each thread is dyed individually. They are tied from memory using dried palm fronds, dyed and then woven - with the weft being died either black, red or blue.

The blue, made from indigo leaves (L. indigofera sumatrana) soaked and mixed with coral lime, is dyed first. This is followed by the red which is a mixture of the bark and roots of the Mengkudu tree (L. Morinda citrifolia) with the ground up leaves and bark of Loba (peltophorum pterocarpum) and finally the addition of pressed candlenut oil to act as a fixer.

The combination of intense dying of each of the red and blue can in turn produce browns, purples and black.
Very occasionally a yellow is painted on sparingly at the end of the process using the bark of the kayu kuning tree (L. Cudrania spinosa?). This colour is peculiarly rich and deepens in intensity with time.

One piece can take well over a year to complete and in the case of some particularly specialised pieces, can take considerably longer.

Take at look at out Private Collection ifor more information. All of the pictures are examples of the highest quality late 20th Century Sumbanese ikat with authentic dying and tying procedures being employed.






Resource : homeinsumba

Tattoos of Sumba

by Jamie Saul

Background

Located in the extreme west of the East Nusa Tenggara Chain , the Island of Sumba has, while linguistically connected to the inhabitants of Sumbawa and western Flores, developed it's own particular cultural patterns within the overall structure identifiable to eastern Indonesia.

The Island itself can be divided in broad cultural terms into two sections forming east and west Sumba in which the former is more or less homogenous with the inhabitants speaking dialects of Kambera, while the latter is further broken down into various separate domains speaking mutually distinct dialects and characterised in former times by a continual state of warfare with reciprocal head-hunting and raiding.

However, in the larger sense, certain common threads do emerge including the characteristic Indonesian division into three main social classes, those represented by noble lineages, free commoners and at the bottom the slaves and their descendants. In addition Sumba has other intermediate or sub-classes incorporating a class which provided priests and classes evolved from mixtures between the three main classes.

In the eastern division and, to a lesser extent, the western division there is an additional distinction between those who provided wives and those who received them, with the former regarded as ritually superior. Kinship patterns varied between the different ethnic communities and in the east a complicated system of asymmetrical alliance had developed through this system which played an important part in daily and ritual life.

The assembly and display of wealth was another important facet of Sumba life, particularly among the nobility and resulted in series of feasts of merit similar to those found on Nias which enhanced the prestige and reputation of the giver, culminating in those connected with the death ceremonies in which huge stones were dragged up and used to construct elaborate megalithic tombs adorned with carvings depicting the lineage and achievements of the individual.

Historically, apart from earlier alliances with various Indonesian kingdoms, Sumba was largely left to it's own devices with very little interference beyond occasional trading missions by Indonesian, Portuguese and Dutch boats until the Dutch assumed nominal control in 1866. The Sumbanese did not take kindly to foreign attempts at domination and more than other islanders fiercely resisted attempts to impose foreign religions on them. This active resistance drove the Dutch to embark on a pacification programme designed to subdue the inhabitants and bring them under their control, this control being administered by payment of certain stipends in gold to the various domain rulers who in turn were expected to control their subjects. The determination of the Sumbanese to resist domination enabled the retention of indigenous religious and customary practices with very little mission interference as experienced in other parts and the fact that full control was not exercised by the Dutch until after 1910 helped to maintain this balance.

However, the focus of this particular study is the custom of tattoo and it's place within the overall cultural frame and the following notes will concentrate on this aspect of culture and how it interleaves within the general framework.

General

The art of tattoo was followed by both sexes and when Kruyt toured the island circa 1920, he remarked on the presence of this custom throughout , particularly in the western part which he regarded as the heartland of tattoo, a prevalence earlier remarked on by Ten Kate.

As to whether tattoo had spread from west to east or vice versa or indeed sprung from the same source and developed along different lines is open to question, although it should be mentioned that Kruyt was told in Langgaliroe, a village in the area seperating west from central Sumba, that they had learned the art of tattoo from Ankala, a western village.

Whatever the antecedents, tattooing was universal and certainly in the west continues to be practised on a diminished scale, Geirnaert Martin reporting that by the early 1980's it was gradually being abandoned in the Laboya area of west Sumba due to the pain involved and the risk of secondary blood poisoning. At this time most women with tattooed legs were over the age of 50. Needham also reported that tattoo was no longer in use during his researches in the Mamboru area although in other areas such as Kodi notwithstanding the fact that tattoo was no longer practised, there were still many women with tattoo marks in the 1970's as photographed by Hoskins.

As well as tattoo, other forms of skin mutilation were met with and Needham points out that youths in Mamboru would produce scars by igniting small tufts of tinder and leaving these on their arms until they were extinguished. This was done as a test of endurance and called "dutu lada" , the same custom being referred to as "mutu lada" in Kodi. This practise was ceased around 1920.

Local name

Tattoo was called "kakatoe" or "katati" in central Sumba (Ten Kate gives this as "katatu" or "Watoepde"),being known as "katakko" in Wajewa and "kamadila" in Laboya. Forth confirms the name as "katatu" for Rindi.

Origin:

At this stage I have not been able to locate any legends referring to the origin or use of tattoo.

Sex and body parts tattooed:

Tattoo was chiefly applied to women, the lower legs being the main focus in Lamboya, others extending the shin and calve tattoo to the thighs, while arm tattoo was also encountered although, according to Kruyt, this was not considered essential. Certainly Hoskins pictures a women from Kodi in western Sumba with forearm tattoo although does not mention as to whether this was the common style in that district. Kodi wome also tattooed the thighs and legs Ten Kate mentions that in the north western areas as far as he could see the preference was for arms and legs with the women concentrating on the legs. Conversely, Forth says that in Rindi the lower arm was the most common, tattoo being less common on the upper and lower legs.

In the Mamboru men formerly tattooed on the chest while women on the legs and thighs. In Melola in eastern Sumba, Ten Kate saw a man with both arms tattooed.

Needham mentions that in Lamboya men tattoed on the chest and arms.

Pattern

Although Kruyt states that female pattern did not follow any specific form, being merely a black mark on the shin, Hoskins reports that pattern on the eastern side of the island was largely representational, including figures that looked like python, deer, horses, dogs, roosters and other animals. Forth also mentions the use of animals in tattoo for Rindi and includes rampant lions (no doubt under Dutch influence) deer, horses, cockatoos, chickens, shrimp, fish, python etc, in fact every pattern used to decorate textiles. Names were also becoming quite common and sometimes a small cross (kapala mulungu) on the lower arm was regarded as sufficient as a minimal requirement for women. Further west motifs usually took the form of more geometric shapes, although included the "mamuli" ( an omega shaped ornament sometimes worn as an ear pendant and said to represent female genitals) and parts of various animals such as horses tails, Buffalo eyes, etc., these being the exchange items given in bride price payments. Hoskins further mentions that the same patterns were also used on woven goods, Ten Kate confirming this and adding pottery to the list, stating that (in Mamboru?) some patterns used were common to both tattoo and weaving such as a pointed triangle.

Certainly the patterns of Kodi ladies pictured by Hoskins are geometric in appearance with pairs of parallel lines encircling the forearm with attached rounded triangular shapes on top and rows of parallel zigzags over. (these are virtually identical to a pattern collected by Ten Kate in west Sumba, albeit in a condensed version)

In Laboya we have some specific information regarding pattern in that the first female tattoo on the thighs consisted of liana and floral motifs or patterns which were inspired by such vegetation as the Cassava creeper found in the cultivated fields. The second tattoo done on the shins was patterned after a buffalo head or body, with the next or calve tattoo comprising a pair of buffalo horns( "kaduna kamadila" - tattoo of the horned one.) Interestingly Geirnaert -Martin refers to the buffalo as the expression of dewa related to prestige incurred by males including that gained by fighting and killing.

For male patterns these appeared to differ considerably and Hoskins believed that there was a fair amount of variety in male styles as compared to female, in most parts of the island female tattoo being linked to motifs used to decorate textiles.

As far as these patterns go, in Kodi they mainly consisted of simple designs such as stars or horns in traditional format although increasingly personal names, usually that of the wearer, were coming into fashion. In similar fashion in the Laboya area stars were tattooed on the chest of brave men and their descendants in historic times although latterly tattoo had fallen into disuse among most males and the main remaining patterns were those of personal names tattooed on the arms of the older wealthy. Kruyt again reports that the most common male design was that of the rooster, although he positions one on each breast. In addition Kruyt saw representations of stars, lizards, snakes, birds and human beings, in one case even reporting a Dutch lion which he saw on the back of the hand of one of the Kambera nobility.Ten Kate also shows a rooster pattern from Watupele in East Sumba, which was seen on the right forearm of a young man.

Motivation

All informants agree that female tattoo was generally applied at puberty or as soon as possible after marriage, Hoskins stating that tattoo in Kodi was generally done after marriage as " a rite of maturity" and, being restricted to those who had proven their ability to reproduce, followed the birth of the first child being " a badge of reproductive success, which also marks the fact that the woman has been fully incorporated into her husbands patrilineage" . The permanence of the tattoo reflecting the permanence of the woman's inclusion into this patrilineage to which she had already been raised through the sacrifice to his ancestors. Children were regarded as the ultimate symbol of a woman's position and in addition qualified her to serve as an official representative of her husband's house in transactions such as negotiation of bride price etc., tattoo marks being proof of this position. This more elevated status as producer of descendants for the house is marked by the transference of textile patterns onto her skin . Similar reasons were advanced for tattoo in Laboya where female tattoo was related to fecundity and the change in status from child to adult, being compared to circumcision among males which served a similar function and additionally demonstrated the differences between the sexes. Girls were tattooed after puberty as a sign that they were able to procreate and were effectively reborn as adults or full members of society, now being regarded as "complete persons with new skins".(Interestingly, in Laboya a girl being tattooed for the first time receives a new cloth from her maternal grandmother) At about this time their emergence as an adult was further marked in that they were now taught how to weave and plant crops. As evidence of continuing fecundity, buffalo patterns were tattooed after the birth of the first child, with additional buffalo pattern tattoo being added after the birth of her second child to show not only her capacity to give birth in her husband's house but also that she has now become part of her husband's "buffalo house". This tattoo indicated that the bearer had increased not only her "dewa" as a fertile woman but also that of her husbands "Uma", and testified her emergence as a new link which in turn represented a new generation in the relationship between "wife givers" and "wife takers" thus constituting a "buffalo house" or "buffalo uma" which formed the basic unit of Laboya society. ("Dewa" was the enduring spiritual component of a person) In a similar context, tattoo also asserted that the girl had inherited the ability to handle the flow of mawo which is identified as the putrescible component of a person.(literally a shadow)

In addition, tattoo served as a form of beauty enhancer and status indicator and distinguished humans from animals. Men did not seek out women who were not tattooed as their marriage partners and the increase in tattoo following the birth of children elevated the status of the women, those with fully tattooed legs being considered of higher status than others such as newly wed girls who would "show the white lower part of their legs when crossing a river".

The badge of tattoo defining married women was the cause of a number of young women in Kodi being tattooed to prevent their rape by Dutch soldiers when they took over the area in 1911. The reasoning being that the soldiers would identify them as married and mothers and leave them alone!

Due to the fact that certain tattoos in Kodi were only seen by the husband of a woman, these exercised a strong erotic lure and led to emergence of calculated insults by young children who would shout out "your mother has no tattoos on her thighs" implying by this that this was common knowledge and suggesting looseness. Another result of speculation regarding the particular beauty of an individual's tattoo marks led to her being kidnapped by an interested suitor and his eventually marrying her. Hoskin's also suggests that thigh tattoo may contain an element of vanity, by it's very concealment by the customary sarong, hinting at hidden delights to those men who were prevented from seeing them.

Forth mentions that, in Rindi, tattooing was done in order that the tattooee be considered as fully adult and no longer a child.

Tattoo was however an individual rather than group activity and concerned the person tattooed and immediate relatives only.

Information given to Kruyt from Loura in the north west refers to the belief that before tattoo was introduced the dead were consumed by fire in the afterlife, a belief also met with in Timor, the theory being that tattoo formed a badge of recognition which absolved the wearer from this treatment. However, Kruyt believed this particular belief to be an import from Timor as not only was it usually confined to this area but also referred to arm tattoo and not to the more usual leg tattoo. Kruyt mentions that this belief did not appear to be current anywhere else in Sumba. Needham also came across a similar belief in Mamboru that a woman was tattooed on the thighs in order that when she reached the land of the dead she will be able to use the tattoos to pay for the materials to make her cooking fire. The same reasons were advanced to Forth in Rindi where he was told that it was necessary to buy fire in the land of the dead and that any request from a non tattooed person would be refused, he also mentions a belief, put forward by Kapita but unconfirmed in his area, that even entry into the land of the dead would be refused to the un-tattooed, . These are seen to suggest that tattoo is a preparatory mark for death as well as decoration.

In any event the importance of tattoo is underscored by the fact that in Lamboya should a girl die before she can be tattooed then tattoo thorns and the fruit for making the tattoo dye are buried with her. (presumably so that she has the essentials to obtain tattoo in the hereafter and thus either render her capable of recognition or, possibly, so that she can use these to ease her path .)

On the subject of male tattoo, Kruyt suggests that this is largely done as a matter of personal choice by the man and was not essential, although Ten Kate proposes that the tattoo marks may be of an amuletic nature, having recorded a rooster tattoo on the right forearm of a young man from Watupele, the rooster playing an important role in the spiritual world of Indonesia as well as being used as a fetish and in oracular rituals in Sumba.

Geirnaert Martin, however, introduces another reason for tattoo which links it with warfare and headhunting in where she states that old men of Laboya who had been particularly successful in headhunting in their younger years had the right to tattoo a star "madu" on their chests. This was a sign that they had been feared war leaders or "mori-bani". Male descendants of these warriors were also entitled to tattoo a star on their chests to display their lineage and to wear special cloths with a wide twined border. Such men who displayed the star as a sign of their bravery were known as "ata pangara" or people of renown and belonged to the "ata ngora" (people of the face) class, one of the highest classes of free men. In addition the "dewa" of these men was considered to be the most powerful. As discussed previously, the accumulation of dewa is of considerable importance in Laboya society and this factor alone would be as important as the visible sign of martial prowess demonstrated by the tattoo marks displayed by the wearer.

Male tattoo was, at least in more modern times, less well integrated into the life cycle than that of women and allowed a greater flexibility in choice.

Time of application

Female tattoo was applied following the first menstruation in Laboya, the initial tattoo taking place on the thighs. The next tattoo was performed after the birth of the first child and was applied to the shins, the calves being tattooed following the birth of the second child. (Kruyt confirms this two stage operation but however states that the calves followed nearly a month after the shins.)

For the first leg tattoo, when the woman falls pregnant a skilled tattooer is contacted and a date set for a few months after the birth. In some instances in the case of a nubile girl, the first leg tattoo is performed as soon as the girl's father receives the first wedding prestations from the future groom's family, with the rear of the legs being completed after the woman falls pregnant after moving into her husbands home.

Should for any reason the tattoo be unsuccessful then the "mowal" (oracle necklace(?)) was consulted to find the reason and, depending on the result of this, one or more "marapoe"(?) offered (sacrificed?)

The usual time for tattooing was at the onset of the first major rains of the season.

In addition, in Laboya young girls are expected to dress in a particular fashion immediately after receiving their first tattoo.

For Kodi, the procedure was different and a young bride could have her forearm tattooed first after conceiving her first child but could not get her calves and thighs tattooed until she had produced several healthy children.

In Rindi most people tattooed in their mid teens, but it could not be ascertained whether this was done before or after circumcision or teeth filing or in what order tattoo was performed.

Practitioners

In a general note, Kruyt states that the actual application of tattoo was always done by women, who received gifts for their services, receiving a spear, a knife, a ring, cooked rice and pig or chicken flesh.

Older women performed this function in Kodi, in addition usually serving as mid wife's and herbalists, while in Rindi, anyone who had the skills could tattoo.

Process

In Kodi a small ceremonial offering of a chicken was made before being tattooed individually. This being made to the spirit of the maternal village of the person being tattooed i.e the lete binye or "doorway and steps" that she came from, this being to ensure the consent of her ancestors. Tattooing was a painful process, not only because of the thorns creating the puncture marks but from the stinging of the candlenut and ashes which were rubbed into the wounds as the tattooing progressed.

Dye

The dye, which according to Ten Kate was of a blue-black colour , was made from the nut of the fruit of the Kemiri ("kaniri") which was burned and pounded to a fine state, presumably being mixed with water. This may possibly be the candlenut, as Hoskins mentions that the dye was made from the soot of the candlenut crushed in with a mixture of ashes. Soot was mixed in a solution with sugar cane (ashes?) for dye in Rindi, forming a fine mix.

Tattoo implements

Kruyt describes the tattoo implements consisted of the thorn (thorns ?) of the lemon-dorens bush ("tara moede" ) which were fixed to a handle and then used to beat the pattern in by tapping the head of the handle so as to puncture the skin. In Kodi, where they were known "wu munde" several lemon thorns were also used as the puncturing instrument in a similar procedure, the same thorns appearing in Rindi.

There are no further details on the actual methods used to apply tattoo.

Summary

From an examination of the above it can be seen that certainly in latter times tattoo was more important in the female rather than the male spheres of life. It is, however, possible that the restrictions placed on fighting and the banning of head-hunting have in fact altered male tattoo from a significant badge of their martial achievements to that of decorative motif and thus decreased it's importance among males. It is most probable that the usage of tattoo as a symbol of renown extended beyond the Laboya area from where it was reported by Geirnaert to other districts and that it's significance may not have been picked up by earlier observers. After all it is only really in more recent times that any in-depth research has been carried out in this field and that only in limited areas. In basic terms, Geirnaert-Martin states that "circumcision and tattooing stress the differentiation of sex and it's corresponding responsibilities in adult life" This is a more generalised statement alluding to the preponderance of tattooing among women and it's role in identifying a change in status and should not be taken to assume that only females tattooed.

In general terms tattoo is linked with the giving of life among females and reinforces not only their own change of status from girl to woman but also their ability to give life themselves and to maintain the cosmic balance of the group in general and their husband's "Uma" in particular.

Hoskins provides another clue to the imbedded importance of tattoo in that it was classified together with circumcision in Kodi, both actions being acts of "sharpness" and thus key characteristics of a violent and inauspicious death. This ritualised sharpness by it's intentional imposition of pain on the sufferer, cleanses and purifies them by it's act and allows them to emerge ready to fulfil their prime functions in life, i.e. marrying and giving life to children.

As to whether tattoo was a cultural remnant from the original inhabitants, was imported from neighbouring islands or was a local development is virtually impossible to ascertain, although later comparison with other Indonesian groups practising the art may help to throw some light on the situation. Of the three possibilities, it is most unlikely that tattoo is autochthonous and most likely that it came with the ancestors of the present peoples and has possibly since been modified by exposure to other cultural elements impacting on the island over the centuries. Certainly the type of tattoo tool used, the dye mixture and certain of the reasons given for tattoo have their parallels in neighbouring tattooing cultures and indicate connections or influences forming a common bond throughout the area.

Bibliography:

Forth G. Rindi Hague 1981

Geirnaert Martin D. "The woven land of Laboya" Leiden1992

Hoskins J. "Arts and cultures of Sumba" in "Islands and ancestors" edited D.Newton, J.P.Barbier. Prestel 1988

Hoskins J. Why do ladies sing the blues? In "Cloth and human experience ed Weiner A. Washington 1990

Hoskins J. Play of Time 1993

Kruyt A.C. "Verslag van een reis over het eiland Soemba TKNAG No 4 Vol 38 1921

Needham R. Mamboru Oxford 1987

Rodgers S. Power and Gold Munich 1990

Ten Kate H. Beitrage zur ethnographie der Timorgruppe. IAE vol 7 1894

Ten Kate H. Verslag eener Reis in de Timorgroep. TKNAG Vol 11 1894a

Source :

The Belief

More than 60 % of the population of Sumba are Marapu (a kind of religion which believes the ancestral spirit). The rest are Christian (both Catholic and Protestant). Only small numbers of the pupulation are Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Marapu comes from two words Mar and Apu which means Grandfather as a creator and source of life. The main teaching of the Marapu religion is believing in the temporary life in this world and the eternal life after death. Death means someone enters into the world of spirits namely in Marapu heaven - Prai Marapu. The spirits of the ancestors still alive and watch over the livings. Rituals and ceremonies are the way to keep and maintain a peaceful (blessings) relationship with the Marapu. As far as you obey the rule of ceremony, the Marapu will bestow you blessings such as: good relationship with family and neighbor, good health, the rice crop will multiply etc.

The word Marapu has different meanings, such as:

   1. the occupants of the eternal heaven, who lead a similar existence to men. They live in couples and one of  these couples was the ancestor of the Sumbanese.
   2. the spirits of Sumbanese ancestors in Prai Marapu.
   3. the spirits of Sumbanese's relatives
   4. all spirits dwelling the universe. Marapu has mysterious and magical authority over human life.

So, Marapu has animistic, spiritual, and dynamic elements. This is obviously seen in every festival held in Sumbanese daily life that the festivals into magical factor strongly influencing the belief by placing spirits role as the main component. According to Marapu beliefs, any spirits consist of two elements i.e. Ndewa and Hamanangu. In short, the Marapu concepts are the teachings about the balance of the universal life through which the happiness can be gained. The balance is symbolized by the "Ina Mawolo" (Mother of being) and the "Ama Marawi" (Father of Creation). Ina Mawolo and Ama Marawi live in the universe and take the forms of the moon and the sun. In mythology, they were husband and wife who giving birth to the ancestors of the Sumbanese.

To honor the Marapu, the Sumbanese put effigies, called Marapu statues, on stone altars where they lay their offerings in the forms of Sirih Pinang (a dish containing betel leaves, nuts and lime) and sacrificial cattle such as: chickens, pigs or buffaloes. The statues of Marapu are made of wood in the shape of human faces. These images are usually placed in the yard of their houses or inside the traditional houses.

According to the Marapu belief, the main house is a symbol of God's present in their village. It is located in the middle of the Kampung (village).

Blood and Heart of Animals in Marapu Belief

Blood

In Sumba culture some animals such as, chicken, pig and buffalo are good offerings to Marapu. By shedding the blood of animals it symbolizes:

    * Life. We are grounding on earth and we live our life just because we have blood in our body. No blood it means no life.
    * Reconciliation (forgiveness) with the Marapu and with the other. New era and future are bound in the blood.
    * Fertilization. Shed the blood on the ground before rice plantation means ask for the Marapu to look after the field and will give a good harvest.

For the Marapu belief buffalo is an important animal for Marapu Ceremony such as funeral. Marapu priest gives the blessing to the buffalo which offers to Marapu and later will be slaughtered as appear in the pictures below. The heart of the buffalo will indicate the fate of the owner.
     

Heart

Heart is a “letter” to read the fate of human being. Who you are for the next year will predict through the heart of animal. It’s a glimpse of future. Even, if someone is sick or experienced so many problems can be read and getting to know the cause of the diseases and the troubles. Other word; what happened in the past, connecting to the present even in the future.
              
     
Wulla Poddu

Each year, in November, some tribes in Sumba (Loli, Waukaka, Sodan and Umbu Koba) celebrates a ritual namely Wulla Poddu. Lexically Wulla means month and Poddu means Bitter. So Wulla Poddu means holy month which all the people under some prohibitions or taboos such as to mourn the death, marriage, having party, building house etc. Actually, Wulla Poddu comes from agricultural custom. It is a time for thanksgiving to the Marapu especially before planting season. The end of Wulla Poddu there are some ceremonies such as hunting board and sacrificing chicken. Fat of the board and shedding blood of the chicken is good for Marapu. Whole families of the tribe gathering together and celebrate the dismissal of the Wulla Poddu. They share their story and food to each other. It’s a time of family reunion. Also a time for reconciliation to each other; forgive and forgiven! But, the main meaning of the Wulla Poddu is still there: may our land, harvest, cattle and good efforts will be blessed by Marapu.
     
Located at Umbu Koba village, Southwest Sumba There is a tribe who believes that harmony of the ecosystem will be good if the human being look after the environment. The people of this tribe has a time for hunting, planting, for harvest, etc… And those times will be celebrated with a special ceremony as a way to ask for permission from Marapu so that the efforts and planns of humankind will be blessed.

      

Marapu presented as a statute (totem) and placed in the middle of the village. Whole tribes gathering together as a family. They offer rice and meat to Marapu and also they share food to each other as a symbol of friendship and reconciliation.
 



Source : sumbaculture.org

Sumba Culture: Fascinating, Mysterious

Writer and photographer Alessandro Gandolfi looks into the culture of this Indonesian island that bursts with spirit.

"The ratu? He's sitting over there, trying to figure out if this will be a nice funeral," says a solemn onlooker.

Lying on the bloodied ground are a dozen disembowelled hens, and like an Etruscan haruspex, the elderly ratu – the great priest – solemnly explains to latecomers: "Yes, the entrails say that the one today will be an excellent funeral."

David Danggalolu and his wife Albertina died within a few days of one another, both from illness. A tragic event, which in small Mgambadeta, at the centre of western Sumba, must be honoured with the necessary pomp (and with the sacrifice of at least fifteen buffaloes).

That's why eighteen-year-old Umbu, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, who two minutes earlier smilingly explained that he loved listening to America R&B, doesn't give a moment's thought to unsheathing his parang and slitting the throat of the first buffalo of the day.

Sumba is one of the 18,000 islands in Indonesia. Twice as large as Balì and 400 kilometres farther east, Sumba was frequented by the Portuguese and then the Dutch, traders of the sandalwood. Sumba's isolation has allowed it to be better preserved: its slow rhythm, life marked by the agricultural cycles, the uncontaminated beaches, the raising of horses and the extraordinary megalithic tombs—it is one of the most fascinating and mysterious cultures in all of Indonesia.

 

 At the tourist office of Waikabubak, a starting point for exploring the western zone, about fifteen people in khaki uniforms seem surprised by the presence of a tourist. A woman, Miss Anisa, came to sit in her office and says, "The best part of the island is the western part, Sumba Barat, more fertile and culturally richer than Sumba Timur, the eastern part."

"Here in Sumba, people still have the warriors' temperament," says André, a Frenchman who for several years has been making water wells in some local villages.

The ikat, Sumba's typical cloth so desired by tourists (its characteristic is the dying of the threads before the weaving), often depicts scenes of combat and warriors on horseback gripping long spears.

At the beginning of the planting season, from mid-February to mid-March, the warriors return to combat. Today, they do it during the Pasola, one of Indonesia's most famous festivals: a simulated battle during which groups of horsemen challenge and hit each other with long spears, the hola, from which the festival takes its name.

Pasola, the horsemen's festival, is also derived from another legend: Thousands of years ago Umbu Dula from Wanukaka left his village to go fishing but never returned. After
a while, his wife Rambu Kaba married another man, Tedo Gai Parana from Kori. Umbu Dula, however, wasn't dead: upon returning suddenly to the village, he burst into a rage, but Rambu Kaba didn't want to abandon her new husband and therefore Tedo Gai Parana had to pay Umbu the wife's price: buffaloes, horses, jewellery, weapons and nyale, the sacred sea-worms. To ensure peace, the people of Kori invited those of Wanukaka to a simulated combat, the Pasola, which, ever since then, has been celebrated every year in February and March, exactly when the sea is filled with nyale, the appearance of which is a good omen for the future harvests.
 

Every year the government tries to keep the situation under control, but participants are often wounded or even killed on the field of festive battle. This was, in the end, the purpose of many battles in the past: not so much to square away accounts as to let human blood flow in honour of the ancestors, thus guaranteeing a good harvest.

"Do you see that stone slab over there?" says an elderly man during Mgambadeta's funeral.
"It's the tomb of our warrior Rato Dapaduu, who was killed while fighting against the Dutch. And his pistol has been buried along with him."

"Sumba is an island where the tombs are usually in the centre of the village in front of the dwellings to remind the inhabitants that death is the most important event of all," says André.

Funerals last entire weeks and the poor go to many lengths so as to be able to offer a worthy burial for their loved ones, thus keeping the tradition alive. The sacrifice of buffaloes and pigs sanctions the deification of the deceased, and the sacrificed meat is offered to those present in sumptuous feasts.

One of the most beautiful tombs of the island is at Pasunga, about twenty kilometres east of Waikabubak, and it is said that when it was built at the beginning of the last century, 150 buffaloes were killed.

Julius, the 40-year-old head of the village, explains that in 2000, when his father died, 24 animals were killed (more than 15 pigs, 7 horses and an indefinite number of dogs and sheep).

The buffalo horns still ornate the outside walls of his hut. Julius usually gets up at five in the morning and like everybody else goes to work in the rice fields. Today he lives peacefully together with his people, but a long stele on the main road reminds us that, deep down, these people remain warriors at heart.

Twenty years ago there was a conflict with the nearby village of Tamu Au, in which several people died and the head of the enemy chief was buried under that stele.

"We danced for many days, it was a great battle. Since then we haven't had any kind of relations with the people of Tamu Au," Julius says.

The kampung along the southern coast of Kori are among the most fascinating in Sumba. They offer a spectacular view of the nearby beaches frequented by the fishermen, whereas the houses of Paranobaroro and Wainyapu with their straw roofs tower beyond the forest. Raised from the ground, the Sumbanese dwellings have a raised first level with the floor made of bamboo, and a long veranda (the animals live underneath).

Ann McCue, a sixty-something Englishwoman, has lived her entire life divided between Washington and London, but in 2002, when she happened to come to Sumba on vacation and witnessed the Pasola, she fell in love with the island. She returned several times, until a year later she remained definitively.

"I decided to help these people, and I understood that there were two priorities: water and education," she says.

Ann founded "Project Hope – Sumba," which aims to create new wells, schools in the more depressed areas and courses for teachers.

"One out of two children of Sumba abandons school after only three years and is forced to work with his or her parents," Ann explains.

But she also admits that "many of them seriously want to improve. And then, here there's truly a lovely community, social relations, friendship, all of that which cannot be found in England anymore."

Ann thinks for a moment, sips her iced tea and smiles:
"Write down that here in Sumba, in order to improve things, even just a few people can really make a difference".

MapMore on Sumba
Fly to Bali and once there take a ferry. Sumba is one of the islands of Nusa Tenggara that stretches out to the east of Bali. In Sumba, the dry season is approximately from March to October. Waikabubak, the capital of West Sumba, is the ideal starting point for exploring the western part of the island by car or motorcycle.

Places to Stay and to Eat
The Manandang Hotel and the Artha Hotel. In the city, you can eat excellent lotek – rice, vegetables and peanut sauce. In Sangkuring, a warung nasi (rice restaurant) can be found on your right as you leave town heading east along the Bhayangkara.

Riding a wave of change

By : TOM ALLARD

From the headland at Nihiwatu, a view both spectacular and serene reveals itself. In the foreground, clean barrelling waves break with a calming rhythm. A pristine beach of soft white sand gently curves into the distance, framed by hills covered in groves of coconut trees.

Farmers tend to buffaloes in small fields and smoke drifts from the tops of the towering grass roofs from a traditional hillside village.

''You know, man, Bali used to look like this,'' says Claude Graves, a lanky American and one of the pioneers of surfing on the Island of Gods.

He lets the words hang, but no further explanation is needed.

While Bali is now choking on development, its roads gridlocked by cars, waves packed with surfers and landscape littered with rubbish,

Sumba, a remarkable Indonesian island some 350 kilometres further east, remains relatively untouched.


It is a strange and alluring place, whose inhabitants still live largely as their ancestors did for centuries, worshipping a deity, Marapu, with animal sacrifices and rituals of beauty and brutality.


''I have seen what has happened to a lot of beautiful places in Indonesia, places that were surfing meccas, and not a lot of good has come from it,'' says Graves. ''I wanted it to be different here.''


Graves has been living in Sumba, on and off, for close to 25 years. The headland where he stayed for three years in a makeshift shelter, filtering river water and fishing for food in the 1980s, is now a luxury resort.
What Graves, his wife, Petra, and a supportive local government have embarked upon in West Sumba is nothing short of a new paradigm in tourism and development for one of Indonesia's poorest areas.


It is ecologically driven, but also unashamedly exclusive. Graves has bought or leased 190 hectares of land surrounding the beach at Nihiwatu. While the locals are free to come and go as they please, anyone who is not a guest is forced out in no uncertain terms.


The left-hand wave is one of the finest in the world and featured in the seminal surfing flick The Green Iguana. But Graves allows only nine guests at any time to surf it. Interlopers have had their leg ropes slashed and been physically threatened.


Many in the surfing community have campaigned against the practice. Graves was, he acknowledges, considered an ''arsehole'' by some for his hardline stance.


But that hostility has eased as people see what he is trying to achieve.
Instead of plane-loads of surfers coming in to party and then leaving again, Graves encourages his well-heeled patrons to get out to Sumba's villages.


Invariably set high on hills and surrounded by stone walls as a defence against marauding headhunters and slave traders, the villages feature homes with towering grassed roofs encircling the megalithic tombs of the departed.


Women weave blankets on the balcony of homes that sit on stilts over a holding yard for livestock. The walls are adorned with the bones of animals that have been eaten or sacrificed - buffalo and pigs mainly, but also dogs and monkeys.


It was Pigafetta, the companion of the Portuguese explorer Magellan, who first wrote of Sumba, describing its undulating landscape, sweet-smelling forests of sandalwood and fierce warriors with a penchant for headhunting and slave raids.


The sandalwood has all but disappeared. There have been no reports of headhunting since the 1990s, even if Sumba's famed ikat blankets still depict the skull trees where the macabre trophies of expeditions were hung.
Elders such as Dangu Duka, an animist priest, remember when his next-door neighbour - he calls him ''the king'' - had slaves, before the practice ended in the 1950s.


''My grandfather told me stories about them. When the noble died, the slaves would follow them into the tomb … alive,'' he said.


Sumba's most spectacular ritual is the Pasola, where scores of men on colourfully adorned horses line up on opposing sides of a field, charge at each other and hurl spears - blunted on the order of the authorities these days - with great force.


The most famous of all is held in Wanukaka, timed with the arrival of the nyale, or sea worms.
Spread over three days, the ritual begins with pajura, or Sumbanese boxing. As a group of rato, or priests, chant incantations on a hillside, hundreds of people descend on a small beach to watch the young men test their manhood by the moonlight.


Groups from rival villages sing and chant, taunting each other before the signal is given to commence.
In a small circle fashioned amid the chaos by the police, the men line up on opposing sides and begin bouncing up and down before hitting each other with stones tied to their hands. Only one hand can be used to punch, and who wins or loses is not important, or even decided. It's wild and brutal, but only the warm-up act to the main show, the Pasola itself.


First though, must come the calling of the nyale. Cooing ''wu-wu'' at dawn, the ratos call the worms to shore. The priests soon head down to the rockpools exposed by the low tide and scoop their hands in the water. This year, the worms are fat and plentiful, the signs are good and the Pasola can proceed. But only after a chicken is sacrificed and its heart examined for further divine messages from Marapu.


Everyone walks to a nearby field where the main Pasola takes place. Forty horsemen on each side, one representing the coastal people, the other the villages from the hills.


Thousands are watching and many wear helmets, a sensible precaution as the spears regularly fly into the crowd.


For close to three hours, the action unfolds. Riders gallop ahead and toss their spears, whirling around to take the applause of the crowd if they score a direct hit. The highlight is when a spear flies in an unerring arc for the head of a man sitting straight-backed on his horse. Blood is spilt and the heaving crowd lets loose with a cacophony of war cries and cheers.


There are no winners and losers in the end. But blood has been shed, and that augurs well for a bountiful harvest.


Alus Tuapala, an elder from nearby Watukarere village, watched the event with amusement. He remembers when the Pasola was fought with metal-tipped spears. ''Sometimes, two or three people die,'' he said. Was this upsetting for the family and the village of the slain? ''No, they are happy, very happy. It is a good thing to have the blood.''


For Claude Graves, the Pasola, village life and the stunning landscape are all worth preserving, although not by freezing a culture in the past, with all its attendant problems of malnutrition and poverty.
The aid organisation he has founded, the Sumba Foundation, tries to respect the traditions while laying a path of sustainable economic development.


When guests return to their rooms at Nihiwatu's resort, there is a list of development projects. They are encouraged to donate, and usually do. More than $3 million has been raised this way in nine years.
As a result, malaria infection rates have dropped 80 per cent, 42 wells have been sunk and schools have been provided with toilets, libraries and stationery. Five health clinics have been built, and surgeons from Australia regularly come to Sumba to perform operations.


But Graves has wider ambitions. For example, the resort runs on biofuel made from copra sourced from coconuts. Four tonnes are bought each week, providing a livelihood for 115 local families. The residual glycerine is turned into soap and donated free to the community.


''The government is interested in what we are doing here.'' Indonesia subsidises petrol, ''but that may not be sustainable. We are showing them that there are alternatives,'' he says.


Malnutrition remains a big problem in Sumba. The locals eat anything that moves, including dogs and monkeys. But the crops are limited in scope: corn, cassava and a few other staples.
Graves has encouraged farmers to diversify their crops and has started four organic farms using water from wells the Sumba Foundation has dug. Nihiwatu Resort buys a lot of the produce but the remainder is taken to market, earning the farmers ''impressive incomes''.


Ten per cent of the crops are donated to schools, where nutrition courses are taught to the children.
''This stuff starts slowly. To begin, we only had one family involved in organic farming. When they start making money everyone else becomes interested …


''But the main focus is on the kids. If we can get the message through to them, it will make a difference in the long term.''


Perhaps Graves' most intriguing problem is to address the chronic respiratory problems suffered by many Sumbanese.


The reason for the widespread malady is simple in origin, but complex to fix. Sumbanese cook inside their homes on wood fires, filling their homes with smoke.


The obvious solution would be to encourage them to cook outside, but in Sumba's traditional culture, the home is sacred and equates with the human body.


The fire where the food is cooked is like the heart, and must be inside.
''Families are inside 10 hours a day. Sixty-seven per cent of the people who come to our clinics have upper respiratory problems,'' says Graves. ''They also use a lot of wood in these fires, so it causes deforestation.''
Graves' solution: to use the cow dung and refuse in the animal pens as a source of methane, and direct the gas, via a bladder and tube, into purpose-built, eco-friendly stoves. He concedes it is experimental but is about to trial it soon.


''We have to be inventive because we have to do things that make sense to the people,'' he says.