Pajura, Boxing Under the Moon Light

Tentena in District Wanokaka Coast, West Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara seem crowded communities. They come from all villages in the district is to follow the ritual Pajura.
There are 14 villages that are usually involved. Indeterminate number of participating boxing. Depends on who wants to play.

Pajura Tradition

Pajura Sumba is a community tradition fisticuffs between villages. The scrapper is young children by using boxing gloves made of reeds. This ritual takes place in the early morning, starting at 00.00 until about 04.00 am.

Uniquely, the fists are held on the beach. The roar of the surf and the cries of spectators each bersahut-replication makes the atmosphere warmer boxing. While the scrapper yelled a voice like a horse neighing.

"There are 14 villages that are usually involved. Not necessarily the number of participating boxing. Depends on who wants to play," said Luke, an audience of Village Tarmanu to Kompas.com on Wednesday (3/13/2012) morning.

He said the boxing boxer gets hurt. Local people believe the bleeding is believed to be abundant harvests.

Tentena a night on the beach of darkness that was to be noisy. The only illumination is the light of the moon. Occasionally the light of cell phones and cigarettes across the fire.

While the spotlight may just glow in the time of preparation before the fist place. Spotlights are used to ease oversight in order to check the hand scrapper be fair game.

Pajura tradition can only rely on the moon. So that each boxer throwing fists into opponent in the middle of the night. Not surprisingly, the photos are very rare Pajura outstanding documentation.

For, if there is a camera flash light on the scrapper, they suddenly shouted to flash off. Sonny experienced the same thing, the photographer said.

"Each of my photographs, I was immediately cheered as flash. Hard once his picture, because the dark," he said.

Young and old busy watching the traditional rituals that appear every year. They are even willing to walk all the way to the boxing arena.

"I am walking 3 hours," said Meri (15) of the Village Waigale lightly.

Sumba society accustomed to walking long distances. Transport access is still minimal in this area. To get to the beach Tentena, asphalt roads, paths, and stone steps down to the shoreline approximately 100 steps, must be passed.

The journey from Waikabubak, the capital of West Sumba, taken about 45 minutes by car to the beach Tentena. Entering Wanokaka area, the street was completely dark. Lighting is minimal. Indeed, the power supply in West Sumba is still small. Lights off the norm.

Ritual is a series Pajura with Pasola. Pasola Festival is an annual festival that celebrated the community of West Sumba when starting the growing season. This festival has entered Indonesia and the tourism calendar years has attracted the interest of foreign tourists.

In celebration of this, each ward will compete dexterity on horseback, throwing the javelin into the opponent until the opponent to bleed.

This celebration is actually to welcome the harvest and predict crop yields. The more blood is shed when Pasola, the local community believe that means the rich harvest. This year, Pasola Festival is celebrated on March 14, 2012.

In West Sumba, Pasola lasted three districts namely Wanokaka, Lamboya, and Gaura. In the morning before Pasola, held tradition Nyale. Meanwhile, two days before Pasola, Pajura ritual held in Tentena, District Wanokaka.