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Sumbawa and The Rest Of East Nusa Tenggara
Though the size of Lombok, it holds just one third the population or approximately 1.000,000 people.
Sumbawa’s terrain is rough and mountainous and has none of the fertile plain that grace south central Lombok. On a map, the outline of the island is controlled by capes, peninsulas and deeply cut bays. The 15,600 square kilometer island stretches 280 kilometers from east to west, and varies from 15 to 90 kilometers in width.Some 85 percent of Sumbawa are too mountainous to farm, but the rich volcanic soil of the river valleys yields bumper crops. These valleys were the sites of many petty states, the island’s first political units.
Sumbawa is part of the volcanic northern chain of Nusa Tenggara, and while activity took place over the eras, no single explosion seems to have been as dramatic as the Mt. Tambora eruption of 1815. According the Guinness Book of World Records, this was the greatest eruption in known history. Over 36 cubic kilometers of rock and ash, including the top third of the volcano, were propelled upward, leaving Tambora truncated and creating, huge caldera. When you step off the Lombok ferry at Poto Tano, in West Sumbawa, you have two basic choices: head south to Taliwang, or head east to the area around Sumbawa Besar, and on to the Bima district.
Buses south usually head as far as Taliwang from the ferry landing, and trucks over the rest of the way to the south coast, leaving Taliwang early each morning. But it is still best to hire a jeep or Kijang, (a locally built utility vehicle).
As you leave the ferry landing area at Poto Tano (Poto means ‘harbor’ in Samawa), you are greeted first by long, rectangular houses, neatly aligned and perched on stills. It’s 10 kilometers to the main road, and then another 33 kilometers to Taliwang.
Taliwang is not a very attractive town, there are lots of dogs and several nondescript mosques. If you have your own vehicle, and it’s early enough, keep going. If you came by bus, you’ll have to stay overnight until you can catch a truck south the next morning.
The Taliwang speak a distinct dialect. Many have immigrated west to Lombok, bringing with them their taste of Ayam Taliwang, a delicious type of spicy chicken. About one kilometer south of town, torn west, and at the end of an 8 kilometer road you’ll find Labuhan Balat, a wide, curved beach of yellowish sand. The beach is walled in by high cliffs. There are a few huts and fishing canoes, here, and a big, crumbling, colonial port building. In Dutch times, before the main road was built, Labuhan Balat was the shipping center of southwest Sumbawa.
Six kilometers south of Taliwang, the road leads to Poto Batu, on the sea at the head of a long, wide estuary. The place of popular with the residents of Taliwang on weekends, and there are a couple of good stretches of beach you can follow the sand all the way to Labuhan Balat.
Labuhan Lalar, a Bajau village of huts perched an black sand, is 3 kilometers further. This is the only seaside Bajau village in the area, the rest of the people here are an inland farmer. Boats occasionally make the run from here to Lombok, and during the morning hours, delicious fresh fish can be bought at Labuhan Lalar’s small market.
The little town of Jereweh, 15 kilometers from Taliwang and just across the Tiu Punje River, is the last town before the road becomes terrible, and the scenery become fantastic. There is a fairly well stocked store here for last minute supplies. If you are around just prior to planting season, ask if there are any water buffalo races (kerapan kerbau). It’s worth staying around, or returning for the event.
The district capital of the western part of the island is a large town with just one redeeming feature for the visitor: an old palace, built in 1883. Sumbawa Besar’s Palace was a partially restored a century later, with the only aesthetic blunder being a concrete apron in front of the main entrance. The palace is worth a short visit. Just grab a horse drawn dokar from anywhere in town. There is also the large Seketeng market cum bemo station, at the eastern edge of town.
Moyo Island, to the north east of Sumbawa Besar, offers some of the very best snorkeling in Indonesia. Beautiful, untouched coral. Moyo also offers birder lovers with 3 number of species to see. There are also deer, boar, banteng (a beautiful species looking like something between a cow and a water buffalo), fruit bats, snakes and lizards. On the north coast of the island, outside of the reserve, there are a couple of villages Labuhan Aji and Sebotok and several hamlets. The farmers here raise water buffalo, horses and goats, and all the inhabitants do some fishing. Coconuts and bananas are the most important crops.
Moyo Islands is the right place for lovers of nature and the underwater world. But for those seeking a look at the traditional village life of Sumbawa, the hilltop village of Tepal, where many pre Islamic beliefs are honored, is the place to visit. Reaching Tepal requires an 8 hourwalk from Batu Dalang, which is south west of Sumbawa Besar, at the limit of vehicular traffic.
Tepal village, located on a hill above the river used for bathing, has maintained its tradition in great part due to its isolation. While no Japanese tour tours groups have yet invaded the village, the occasional foreign traveler makes it to Tepal, so the people are accustomed to strange ways and faces. It’s no problem to find a place to sleep check in with the kepala desa, but bring whatever goodies you can’t live without and share them with your hosts.
The 250 kilometer stretch of road between Sumbawa Island’s two regional capitals has recently been upgraded to a wide, well surfaced highway. The regular buses take about 7 hours. Traveling east from Sumbawa Besar to Bima, the first part of the ride is relatively boring, but the second half offers much better scenery. The road cuts across the mountains and drops to hill ranged, rice growing plain centered around the crossroads at Soriutu quickly reaches Sanggar ay, where it branches: a passable road west to Kore and Piong, and a scenic, but poor road northeast to Kilo.
Back on the main highway, the road continues east over the hill to rich and green the Dompu plain, the first large cultivated area outside of Sumbawa Besar. Here you begin to notice women wearing the rimpu a sarong wrapped around the women’s head and shoulders, leaving only the face bare. From Dompu, the highway winds down from the hills through terraced rice fields, then to the salt flats around Bima Bay.
The Sultan of Bima’s palace, built in 1927 and restored in 1973, is now a museum. Unfortunately, its architecture pales in comparison to Sumbawa Besar’s fine old wooden palace. And because of a lack of funds, the contents, in number and quality, are disappointing. All the best pieces are kept by the sultan’s family, because the museum cannot guarantee the safety of the sacred, priceless items.
Although it is difficult, the museum director, a member of the sultan’s family, might be able to arrange a look at the fabulous family treasures. The diamond studded gold crown, acid burnished in places to set off the intricate design, is awonderfull item.
The collections of the Sultan’s fine Kris knives, also studded with jewels, are as fine as any that were produced for the courts of Java.
Along the north coast of the Bima district, beautiful bays with scattered fishing villages. Inland, an occasional irrigated valley, with deep green sawahs, contrasts markedly with the dry, barren hills. Just offshore looms Sangeang Island, the steep sides of its barely dormant volcano reaching 1,949 meters.
The coastal villages in Bima are settled by Bugis, Bajau (former sea nomads) or ethnic Bimans.
It is said that the Komodo dragon, because of its great size and ferocity, and fire like tongue, served as the original model for the Chinese dragon.
The dragon is the largest known monitor lizard (Varanus sp.), a genus whose members are distinguished by their voracity and opportunistic feeding habits. Monitor’s also called goanna lizards in Australia (probably a corruption of the Spanish iguana, which is a strictly New World species), received their name because it was believed that they warned of the presence of crocodiles.
Komodo Island and neighboring Rinca are between Sumbawa and Flores, approximately 500 kilometers east of Bali. The shape of the island is very irregular, its 340 square kilometers spread over a number of peninsula and promontories. The dry hills, which rise to 735 meters, sprout skinny lontar palms, which rise high above the scrubby vegetation.
There is just one village on Komodo, and the 600 or so Komodo Islanders cling precariously to the Eastern Shore. Despite the small size of the community, they have developed their own distinct dialect.
In addition to its famous dragons, Komodo is home to other interesting species: the mound building megapode bird, the sulfur crested cockatoo and the noisy firebird.
There are 1.5 million people living on Flores, of which 83 percent are Roman Catholics. Ethnographically, however, the island is very diverse. Like most of East Indonesia, the older animist beliefs coexist with, or are barely hidden by, the new creed.
The mixed population is made up of Bimanese, Bugis, Makassarese, Solorese and Savunese as well as ethnic Florinese Lio, Ngada, Sikka, Soa and others.
Flores is 360 kilometers long, and varies from 12 to 70 kilometers wide. Although the rains here are often irregular, the high mountains insure a fairly constant supply of water. Most of the farming prepared by the slash and burn method rather than sawah (flooded paddy Fields) although wet rice has been grown since the early part of this century in areas with sufficient water. Elsewhere, the people depend on manioc and corn. Labohan Bajo, on the Far West coast of Flores, is still basically a quite fishing village.
The islands just off Labuhan Bajo offer good snorkeling, swimming and lazing on the beach. They are just 15-20 minutes away from the harbor by boat.
You could even swim to Pulau Sarang, a small, rocky island about 250 meters offshore. Opposite Sarang is the semi circular, white sand beach of Pulau Sakure’s southwest coast. Here there are a variety of soft corals, Tridacna clams, and fish. This is the only good snorkeling spot on Sakure Island, as elsewhere dynamite fishing has ruined the coral, and consequently, much of the marine life. From Labuhan bajo, Sakure Island looks like part of Pulau Bajo, the closest island to the north.
Whip fighting, called caci (pronounced ‘chachi’) is the most exciting surviving ritual of the Manggarai district in West Flores. The whip flights take place at traditional wedding festivals. Even though the people of Manggarai are Roman Catholics, a church wedding is not sufficient to unite a couple. The marriage cannot be consummated until rituals take place.
Ende is the largest town on Flores, with about 60,000 people. The town is set on the island’s south coast, nestled in the crook of a small peninsula. There is a port on either side of the narrow peninsula, most of the shipping activity is concentrated at Pelabuhan Ende, which faces west and offers a good view of the wide Ende Bay. The new dock, Pelabuhan Ipi, is on the East Side, and here the large ships call, including the Pelni Lines Kelimutu, which arrives twice a month.
For a spectacular bird’s eye view of Ende and the vicinity, go up to Nuabosi village, 9 kilometers from the main highway to Majwa. The road to Nuabosi starts at the outskirts of Ende, and is paved most of the way, although there a couple of rough stretches. Even in the beginning the view is good, but be patient the best view is from the top.
For a different view of the area, head out of Ende on the road to Maumere, stopping just 4 kilometers away at Wolowona village. A road leads to the right from Wolowona, and immediately crosses the Wolotolo River. If you continue 5 kilometers straight ahead, you reach the weaving village of Ndona.
It’s no wonder that this spot 1,690 meters high was formerly an important ritual site. Only 50 years ago, when Roman Catholic touched this region, did the large scale water buffalo and pig sacrifices stop.
In fact, visitors Keli Mutu might as well be advised to bring offerings to Konderatu and Bobi, if they want a clear morning in which to view the three lakes.
Maumere is on the north coast, near the narrowest part of the island. Just southeast of the town, Flores is just 18 kilometers across by road. To see this spectacular, mountainous neck, go to Gelinting village, about 10 kilometers east of Flores on the main road to Larantuka, and then head south.
Some 30 kilometers from Maumere is the small seaside village of Ndete, its many fishing boats testifying to the chief occupation here. Fish, from tiny fry to tuna, are set out to dry in the sun. They will later be sold in Maumere. At Ndete you can buy a delicious fresh grouper or snapper in the kilogram range for less than $2. Cook it yourself, or have someone grill it for you.
At Magepanda, just a little further, the road cuts across the neck of the Tanjung Watomano peninsula and leaves the Sikka (Maumere) district to enter the Ende district. The paved road turns into a dirt track just beyond Kota Barn, 42 kilometers from Maumere.
The villages south and west of Maumere offer a gamut of attractions: a regal treasure of 17th century elephant tusks, the only real museum in the province, splendid views onto the Flores and Savu seas, ikat weaving, and a sacred spot reserved for ancestor worship.
While you can travel by extremely crowded (but very cheap) public publics transportation, this is a tiring and time consuming way to see this area. If you can afford it, we recommended here to a vehicle.
Start out on the main road to Ende. Some 6 kilometers out, on your right, is a recreational park, including a swimming pool and cabin style accommodation on a hilltop with a splendid view.
Sikka also boasts a fine old church, dating from the end of the last century. The wall behind the altar, as well as a strip along each side of the long church, is painted in local ikat motifs. The church was first erected under the direction of the Jesuit Father Arman Lecoq d’Armandville, who later earned fame as an explorer and evangelizer of Irian Jaya.
Before you leave Sikka, check out the Portuguesse cannon in front of the priest’s residence, next to the church. The Dutch priest, a fine gentleman, speaks English and occasionally chats with visitors. He has been in Indonesia, serving the Roman Catholic Church for 45 years and has seen plenty of changes.
In the early 1980s, lie Mandiri sent down a flood of mud and boulders, killing more than 200 people and destroying much of Larantuka. Miraculously, however the Chapel of the Virgin Mary, to whom the town is dedicated, and the Chapel of Christ, where the Christ coffin is stored, were both spared.
The Virgin herself has a miraculous origin. Some say that year ago, a man in Larantuka had several dreams in which a beautiful woman appeared in front of him. In the last dream the woman told him to meet her by the sea. The next day the man went to the beach, at the spot designated in the dream, and found the statue of the Virgin, washed ashore by the waves. Others give a different account, although all agree that the statue washed ashore by the waves. Others give a different account, although all agree that the statue washed ashore on a beach near Larantuka.
Even today, these islands seem not to belong to the 20th century. Some 82,000 people live on the irregularly shaped, 1,200 square kilometer island of Lembata. Most of the Lembatanese have converted to Catholic, but there are about 8,000 Muslims and perhaps 6,000 followers of old animist faith. Lewoleba, on the West Coast, is the only real ‘town’ on the island, and the site of one of eastern Indonesia’s largest markets. Large areas of the interior are inhabited only by deer and wild pigs.
Practically nothing is known of Lembata before the European arrived. The islanders offer various legends of origin, including that they simply came out of a hole in the ground.
The peninsula formed by the lie Ape volcano is the bastion of the remaining animistic Lembatanese. The villages here maintain contact with the ancestral spirits in small temple huts called koker on the volcano’s slopes. Small offerings of food, cigarettes and betel nuts are left at the koker to gain the favor of the supernatural world, and occasionally an animal is sacrificed.
Alor Island, the easternmost of the group, until a couple of years ago hosted 25 foreign visitors per year. There are no air-conditioned hotels here, but for the serious student of Indonesian culture Alor is fascinating place to explore. The islanders speak some eight distinct languages. Scattered around Alor are Moko, ritual drums patterned after the bronze creations of the 300 B.C. – A.D. 300 Dongson culture in what is now North Vietnam.
The island and its approximately 350,000 inhabitants are divided into two administrative districts: East Sumba, in area two about the thirds of the island, holding just one third of the population; West Sumba, which receives notably more rainfall and is thus more fertile, sustains the majority of the Sumbanese.
Visiting Sumba especially the West can be an experience to treasure if one has an appreciation for non industrial culture.
In many villages – recently commercialized, Tarung is a glaring exception – locals don’t quite know what to make of western visitors. They stare in disbelief at camera wielding foreigners who, unfortunately, often disregard the first rule of Sumbanese courtesy: sharing the betel nut, and chatting with one’s hosts.
The most spectacular ceremony on Sumba is the Pasola, a ritual fight with spears featuring hundreds of horsemen. It is a wild and martial event, and although the government now insists on blunt spears, serious injuries are common and there are occasional deaths.
For the visitors, East Sumba is something of a poor sister of the western district. The only unusual tombs here are in the Melolo area and the relatively fewer traditional houses in the East, less spectacular to begin with, are now mostly covered with distinctly unaesthetic galvanized steel.
Waingapu is the largest town in Sumba, the island’s seaport, and the administrative capital of The East Sumba district. Some 25,000 people live in this sprawling urban area, with the greatest concentration found in the harbor area, and about a kilometer inland, around the bus terminal and adjacent shops.
Some of the finest contemporary Sumbanese ikat cloths are produced within a few kilometers of Waingapu, at Prailiu (2 kilometers), and Kwangu (10 kilometers).
About 62 kilometers from Waingapu, at Melolo a dirty road leads inland. Take this road 3 kilometers to a fork, marked by a crude stone horse, and then take the right fork to Umbara, a dusty little village. Here there are three peaked and thatched huts, displaying huge water buffalo horns. There are four tombs here, two with recent carvings. Offerings of betel are sometimes made to the coarsely carved crocodile and turtle.
Just 5 kilometers before Baing a dirt road leads to the exclusive (over $ 100 a day) beach resort at Lailala, which opened in November 1990. The resort specializes in deep-sea sport fishing, and is registered with the International Game Fishing Association.
Just out of Waingapu on the road north, a DC3 by the beach marks the site of the Elim Hotel Bungalows. Past the wreck, the road continues to follow the coast rising to an overview where, if the weather is clear, you can see the mountains of Flores on the north.
Some of West Sumba’s best megalithic graves are in Tarung, a hillcrest village just west of the commercial center of Waikabubak. And Tarung remains on the island’s most powerful spiritual centers. It is the high priests of Tarung who officiate each year’s Wula Padu ceremony, which honors the deified ancestors at the beginning of the Marapu religion new year, which coincides with the start of the rainy season.
Tarung is the highest hamlet in a complex of three little kampongs, with 33 huts in all. The houses on the lower slopes have modernized somewhat with corrugated steel roofs, but each of the main huts of Tarung retains a traditional thatched roof. These huts, each with a separate ritual function, encircle a group of plain tombs whose top slabs are used for household tasks such as drying rice.
These relatively isolated islands are unusual for their inhabitants’ extensive use of the lontar palm tree. This tall fan palm allows the arid soil to support a much higher population than would otherwise be possible. The nutritious sap is gathered in the morning and late afternoon, and is sweet and refreshing. Fermented, the lontar sap yields a mildly alcoholic ‘toddy’, and boiled down, rich palm sugar. Even the leftovers are used as pig feed.
On Roti, one group retains the old religion, and the lontar economy is still going strong. The island of Ndao is famous for its itinerant jewelers, who travel all over eastern Indonesia plying their craft.
On Savu, the traditional religion and ritual cycle is maintained in spite of professed Christianity. Adherence to the old customs is even stronger on Raijua Island, which is considered the Source Island of much of the Savunese animist ritual events.
There is almost nothing left of historical Kupang. Perhaps the oldest physical remains are the graves of the raja of Taebenu and his family, located on an in town hilltop called Mautasi.at the site, which is only accessible by a dirt road, Raja Tanof rests in a long, semi circular grave. The grave has been re plastered, and has a faded plaque. Just 7 kilometers out of Kupang, at Bauplat, is two modern sandalwood factories. Unfortunately, however, these are not open to visitors.
There is a less mechanized sandalwood factory north of town, CV Horas, which you can visit. The shop sells knickknacks – rosaries, fans, and small carvings – as well as incense and joss sticks. The little factory is on the airport road, just beyond the turn off to Atambua. About 3 kilometers past the ferry landing are the four Gua Bolok, or the Bolok Caves. These are really weathered sinkholes, and a swim in one of the clear, spring-fed pools is a refreshing diversion.
The four caves are similar, having been formed by the extensive uplifted coral rocks in the area. The first two caves, Uihani (‘Sleeping Water’ in Helong) and Uiklaus (‘Cactus Water’) are within a half-kilometer of the turn off to the ferry terminal: just continue straight ahead on the dirt road instead of turning right to the terminal.
The center of the Amarasi weaving district is 30 kilometers from Kupang at Baun, which also has a Saturday market. Don’t expect much traditional cloth here, however, as the artisans now use machine-spun thread and synthetic dyes. The days of handspun cotton and vegetable dyes are over. But the venerable back strap loom is still in use. Pulau Semau is a 45 kilometer island that serves to shelter the post of Tenau. About 10,000 people live in Semau, in 9 villages.
The dry, rugged island offers some good snorkeling, and there are a couple of rustic, but comfortable, bungalow-style hotels. Paths along the shoreline provide for nice walks, but bring a hat and plenty of water. A clear pool on the island, surrounded by trees is a fine place for a cool rest.
Sumbawa’s terrain is rough and mountainous and has none of the fertile plain that grace south central Lombok. On a map, the outline of the island is controlled by capes, peninsulas and deeply cut bays. The 15,600 square kilometer island stretches 280 kilometers from east to west, and varies from 15 to 90 kilometers in width.Some 85 percent of Sumbawa are too mountainous to farm, but the rich volcanic soil of the river valleys yields bumper crops. These valleys were the sites of many petty states, the island’s first political units.
Sumbawa is part of the volcanic northern chain of Nusa Tenggara, and while activity took place over the eras, no single explosion seems to have been as dramatic as the Mt. Tambora eruption of 1815. According the Guinness Book of World Records, this was the greatest eruption in known history. Over 36 cubic kilometers of rock and ash, including the top third of the volcano, were propelled upward, leaving Tambora truncated and creating, huge caldera. When you step off the Lombok ferry at Poto Tano, in West Sumbawa, you have two basic choices: head south to Taliwang, or head east to the area around Sumbawa Besar, and on to the Bima district.
Buses south usually head as far as Taliwang from the ferry landing, and trucks over the rest of the way to the south coast, leaving Taliwang early each morning. But it is still best to hire a jeep or Kijang, (a locally built utility vehicle).
As you leave the ferry landing area at Poto Tano (Poto means ‘harbor’ in Samawa), you are greeted first by long, rectangular houses, neatly aligned and perched on stills. It’s 10 kilometers to the main road, and then another 33 kilometers to Taliwang.
Taliwang is not a very attractive town, there are lots of dogs and several nondescript mosques. If you have your own vehicle, and it’s early enough, keep going. If you came by bus, you’ll have to stay overnight until you can catch a truck south the next morning.
The Taliwang speak a distinct dialect. Many have immigrated west to Lombok, bringing with them their taste of Ayam Taliwang, a delicious type of spicy chicken. About one kilometer south of town, torn west, and at the end of an 8 kilometer road you’ll find Labuhan Balat, a wide, curved beach of yellowish sand. The beach is walled in by high cliffs. There are a few huts and fishing canoes, here, and a big, crumbling, colonial port building. In Dutch times, before the main road was built, Labuhan Balat was the shipping center of southwest Sumbawa.
Six kilometers south of Taliwang, the road leads to Poto Batu, on the sea at the head of a long, wide estuary. The place of popular with the residents of Taliwang on weekends, and there are a couple of good stretches of beach you can follow the sand all the way to Labuhan Balat.
Labuhan Lalar, a Bajau village of huts perched an black sand, is 3 kilometers further. This is the only seaside Bajau village in the area, the rest of the people here are an inland farmer. Boats occasionally make the run from here to Lombok, and during the morning hours, delicious fresh fish can be bought at Labuhan Lalar’s small market.
The little town of Jereweh, 15 kilometers from Taliwang and just across the Tiu Punje River, is the last town before the road becomes terrible, and the scenery become fantastic. There is a fairly well stocked store here for last minute supplies. If you are around just prior to planting season, ask if there are any water buffalo races (kerapan kerbau). It’s worth staying around, or returning for the event.
The district capital of the western part of the island is a large town with just one redeeming feature for the visitor: an old palace, built in 1883. Sumbawa Besar’s Palace was a partially restored a century later, with the only aesthetic blunder being a concrete apron in front of the main entrance. The palace is worth a short visit. Just grab a horse drawn dokar from anywhere in town. There is also the large Seketeng market cum bemo station, at the eastern edge of town.
Moyo Island, to the north east of Sumbawa Besar, offers some of the very best snorkeling in Indonesia. Beautiful, untouched coral. Moyo also offers birder lovers with 3 number of species to see. There are also deer, boar, banteng (a beautiful species looking like something between a cow and a water buffalo), fruit bats, snakes and lizards. On the north coast of the island, outside of the reserve, there are a couple of villages Labuhan Aji and Sebotok and several hamlets. The farmers here raise water buffalo, horses and goats, and all the inhabitants do some fishing. Coconuts and bananas are the most important crops.
Moyo Islands is the right place for lovers of nature and the underwater world. But for those seeking a look at the traditional village life of Sumbawa, the hilltop village of Tepal, where many pre Islamic beliefs are honored, is the place to visit. Reaching Tepal requires an 8 hourwalk from Batu Dalang, which is south west of Sumbawa Besar, at the limit of vehicular traffic.
Tepal village, located on a hill above the river used for bathing, has maintained its tradition in great part due to its isolation. While no Japanese tour tours groups have yet invaded the village, the occasional foreign traveler makes it to Tepal, so the people are accustomed to strange ways and faces. It’s no problem to find a place to sleep check in with the kepala desa, but bring whatever goodies you can’t live without and share them with your hosts.
The 250 kilometer stretch of road between Sumbawa Island’s two regional capitals has recently been upgraded to a wide, well surfaced highway. The regular buses take about 7 hours. Traveling east from Sumbawa Besar to Bima, the first part of the ride is relatively boring, but the second half offers much better scenery. The road cuts across the mountains and drops to hill ranged, rice growing plain centered around the crossroads at Soriutu quickly reaches Sanggar ay, where it branches: a passable road west to Kore and Piong, and a scenic, but poor road northeast to Kilo.
Back on the main highway, the road continues east over the hill to rich and green the Dompu plain, the first large cultivated area outside of Sumbawa Besar. Here you begin to notice women wearing the rimpu a sarong wrapped around the women’s head and shoulders, leaving only the face bare. From Dompu, the highway winds down from the hills through terraced rice fields, then to the salt flats around Bima Bay.
The Sultan of Bima’s palace, built in 1927 and restored in 1973, is now a museum. Unfortunately, its architecture pales in comparison to Sumbawa Besar’s fine old wooden palace. And because of a lack of funds, the contents, in number and quality, are disappointing. All the best pieces are kept by the sultan’s family, because the museum cannot guarantee the safety of the sacred, priceless items.
Although it is difficult, the museum director, a member of the sultan’s family, might be able to arrange a look at the fabulous family treasures. The diamond studded gold crown, acid burnished in places to set off the intricate design, is awonderfull item.
The collections of the Sultan’s fine Kris knives, also studded with jewels, are as fine as any that were produced for the courts of Java.
Along the north coast of the Bima district, beautiful bays with scattered fishing villages. Inland, an occasional irrigated valley, with deep green sawahs, contrasts markedly with the dry, barren hills. Just offshore looms Sangeang Island, the steep sides of its barely dormant volcano reaching 1,949 meters.
The coastal villages in Bima are settled by Bugis, Bajau (former sea nomads) or ethnic Bimans.
- THE DRAGON LIZARD OF KOMODO
It is said that the Komodo dragon, because of its great size and ferocity, and fire like tongue, served as the original model for the Chinese dragon.The dragon is the largest known monitor lizard (Varanus sp.), a genus whose members are distinguished by their voracity and opportunistic feeding habits. Monitor’s also called goanna lizards in Australia (probably a corruption of the Spanish iguana, which is a strictly New World species), received their name because it was believed that they warned of the presence of crocodiles.
Komodo Island and neighboring Rinca are between Sumbawa and Flores, approximately 500 kilometers east of Bali. The shape of the island is very irregular, its 340 square kilometers spread over a number of peninsula and promontories. The dry hills, which rise to 735 meters, sprout skinny lontar palms, which rise high above the scrubby vegetation.
There is just one village on Komodo, and the 600 or so Komodo Islanders cling precariously to the Eastern Shore. Despite the small size of the community, they have developed their own distinct dialect.
In addition to its famous dragons, Komodo is home to other interesting species: the mound building megapode bird, the sulfur crested cockatoo and the noisy firebird.
- FLORES
There are 1.5 million people living on Flores, of which 83 percent are Roman Catholics. Ethnographically, however, the island is very diverse. Like most of East Indonesia, the older animist beliefs coexist with, or are barely hidden by, the new creed.
The mixed population is made up of Bimanese, Bugis, Makassarese, Solorese and Savunese as well as ethnic Florinese Lio, Ngada, Sikka, Soa and others.
Flores is 360 kilometers long, and varies from 12 to 70 kilometers wide. Although the rains here are often irregular, the high mountains insure a fairly constant supply of water. Most of the farming prepared by the slash and burn method rather than sawah (flooded paddy Fields) although wet rice has been grown since the early part of this century in areas with sufficient water. Elsewhere, the people depend on manioc and corn. Labohan Bajo, on the Far West coast of Flores, is still basically a quite fishing village.
The islands just off Labuhan Bajo offer good snorkeling, swimming and lazing on the beach. They are just 15-20 minutes away from the harbor by boat.
You could even swim to Pulau Sarang, a small, rocky island about 250 meters offshore. Opposite Sarang is the semi circular, white sand beach of Pulau Sakure’s southwest coast. Here there are a variety of soft corals, Tridacna clams, and fish. This is the only good snorkeling spot on Sakure Island, as elsewhere dynamite fishing has ruined the coral, and consequently, much of the marine life. From Labuhan bajo, Sakure Island looks like part of Pulau Bajo, the closest island to the north.
Whip fighting, called caci (pronounced ‘chachi’) is the most exciting surviving ritual of the Manggarai district in West Flores. The whip flights take place at traditional wedding festivals. Even though the people of Manggarai are Roman Catholics, a church wedding is not sufficient to unite a couple. The marriage cannot be consummated until rituals take place.
- ENDE
Ende is the largest town on Flores, with about 60,000 people. The town is set on the island’s south coast, nestled in the crook of a small peninsula. There is a port on either side of the narrow peninsula, most of the shipping activity is concentrated at Pelabuhan Ende, which faces west and offers a good view of the wide Ende Bay. The new dock, Pelabuhan Ipi, is on the East Side, and here the large ships call, including the Pelni Lines Kelimutu, which arrives twice a month.For a spectacular bird’s eye view of Ende and the vicinity, go up to Nuabosi village, 9 kilometers from the main highway to Majwa. The road to Nuabosi starts at the outskirts of Ende, and is paved most of the way, although there a couple of rough stretches. Even in the beginning the view is good, but be patient the best view is from the top.
For a different view of the area, head out of Ende on the road to Maumere, stopping just 4 kilometers away at Wolowona village. A road leads to the right from Wolowona, and immediately crosses the Wolotolo River. If you continue 5 kilometers straight ahead, you reach the weaving village of Ndona.
- KELI MUTU
It’s no wonder that this spot 1,690 meters high was formerly an important ritual site. Only 50 years ago, when Roman Catholic touched this region, did the large scale water buffalo and pig sacrifices stop.
In fact, visitors Keli Mutu might as well be advised to bring offerings to Konderatu and Bobi, if they want a clear morning in which to view the three lakes.
- MAUMERE
Maumere is on the north coast, near the narrowest part of the island. Just southeast of the town, Flores is just 18 kilometers across by road. To see this spectacular, mountainous neck, go to Gelinting village, about 10 kilometers east of Flores on the main road to Larantuka, and then head south.
Some 30 kilometers from Maumere is the small seaside village of Ndete, its many fishing boats testifying to the chief occupation here. Fish, from tiny fry to tuna, are set out to dry in the sun. They will later be sold in Maumere. At Ndete you can buy a delicious fresh grouper or snapper in the kilogram range for less than $2. Cook it yourself, or have someone grill it for you.
At Magepanda, just a little further, the road cuts across the neck of the Tanjung Watomano peninsula and leaves the Sikka (Maumere) district to enter the Ende district. The paved road turns into a dirt track just beyond Kota Barn, 42 kilometers from Maumere.
The villages south and west of Maumere offer a gamut of attractions: a regal treasure of 17th century elephant tusks, the only real museum in the province, splendid views onto the Flores and Savu seas, ikat weaving, and a sacred spot reserved for ancestor worship.
While you can travel by extremely crowded (but very cheap) public publics transportation, this is a tiring and time consuming way to see this area. If you can afford it, we recommended here to a vehicle.
Start out on the main road to Ende. Some 6 kilometers out, on your right, is a recreational park, including a swimming pool and cabin style accommodation on a hilltop with a splendid view.
- SIKKA
Sikka also boasts a fine old church, dating from the end of the last century. The wall behind the altar, as well as a strip along each side of the long church, is painted in local ikat motifs. The church was first erected under the direction of the Jesuit Father Arman Lecoq d’Armandville, who later earned fame as an explorer and evangelizer of Irian Jaya.
Before you leave Sikka, check out the Portuguesse cannon in front of the priest’s residence, next to the church. The Dutch priest, a fine gentleman, speaks English and occasionally chats with visitors. He has been in Indonesia, serving the Roman Catholic Church for 45 years and has seen plenty of changes.
- LARANTUKA
In the early 1980s, lie Mandiri sent down a flood of mud and boulders, killing more than 200 people and destroying much of Larantuka. Miraculously, however the Chapel of the Virgin Mary, to whom the town is dedicated, and the Chapel of Christ, where the Christ coffin is stored, were both spared.
The Virgin herself has a miraculous origin. Some say that year ago, a man in Larantuka had several dreams in which a beautiful woman appeared in front of him. In the last dream the woman told him to meet her by the sea. The next day the man went to the beach, at the spot designated in the dream, and found the statue of the Virgin, washed ashore by the waves. Others give a different account, although all agree that the statue washed ashore by the waves. Others give a different account, although all agree that the statue washed ashore on a beach near Larantuka.
- LEMBATA AND ALOR
Even today, these islands seem not to belong to the 20th century. Some 82,000 people live on the irregularly shaped, 1,200 square kilometer island of Lembata. Most of the Lembatanese have converted to Catholic, but there are about 8,000 Muslims and perhaps 6,000 followers of old animist faith. Lewoleba, on the West Coast, is the only real ‘town’ on the island, and the site of one of eastern Indonesia’s largest markets. Large areas of the interior are inhabited only by deer and wild pigs.
Practically nothing is known of Lembata before the European arrived. The islanders offer various legends of origin, including that they simply came out of a hole in the ground.
The peninsula formed by the lie Ape volcano is the bastion of the remaining animistic Lembatanese. The villages here maintain contact with the ancestral spirits in small temple huts called koker on the volcano’s slopes. Small offerings of food, cigarettes and betel nuts are left at the koker to gain the favor of the supernatural world, and occasionally an animal is sacrificed.
Alor Island, the easternmost of the group, until a couple of years ago hosted 25 foreign visitors per year. There are no air-conditioned hotels here, but for the serious student of Indonesian culture Alor is fascinating place to explore. The islanders speak some eight distinct languages. Scattered around Alor are Moko, ritual drums patterned after the bronze creations of the 300 B.C. – A.D. 300 Dongson culture in what is now North Vietnam.
- SUMBA
The island and its approximately 350,000 inhabitants are divided into two administrative districts: East Sumba, in area two about the thirds of the island, holding just one third of the population; West Sumba, which receives notably more rainfall and is thus more fertile, sustains the majority of the Sumbanese.
Visiting Sumba especially the West can be an experience to treasure if one has an appreciation for non industrial culture.
In many villages – recently commercialized, Tarung is a glaring exception – locals don’t quite know what to make of western visitors. They stare in disbelief at camera wielding foreigners who, unfortunately, often disregard the first rule of Sumbanese courtesy: sharing the betel nut, and chatting with one’s hosts.
The most spectacular ceremony on Sumba is the Pasola, a ritual fight with spears featuring hundreds of horsemen. It is a wild and martial event, and although the government now insists on blunt spears, serious injuries are common and there are occasional deaths.
For the visitors, East Sumba is something of a poor sister of the western district. The only unusual tombs here are in the Melolo area and the relatively fewer traditional houses in the East, less spectacular to begin with, are now mostly covered with distinctly unaesthetic galvanized steel.
Waingapu is the largest town in Sumba, the island’s seaport, and the administrative capital of The East Sumba district. Some 25,000 people live in this sprawling urban area, with the greatest concentration found in the harbor area, and about a kilometer inland, around the bus terminal and adjacent shops.
Some of the finest contemporary Sumbanese ikat cloths are produced within a few kilometers of Waingapu, at Prailiu (2 kilometers), and Kwangu (10 kilometers).
About 62 kilometers from Waingapu, at Melolo a dirty road leads inland. Take this road 3 kilometers to a fork, marked by a crude stone horse, and then take the right fork to Umbara, a dusty little village. Here there are three peaked and thatched huts, displaying huge water buffalo horns. There are four tombs here, two with recent carvings. Offerings of betel are sometimes made to the coarsely carved crocodile and turtle.
Just 5 kilometers before Baing a dirt road leads to the exclusive (over $ 100 a day) beach resort at Lailala, which opened in November 1990. The resort specializes in deep-sea sport fishing, and is registered with the International Game Fishing Association.
Just out of Waingapu on the road north, a DC3 by the beach marks the site of the Elim Hotel Bungalows. Past the wreck, the road continues to follow the coast rising to an overview where, if the weather is clear, you can see the mountains of Flores on the north.
Some of West Sumba’s best megalithic graves are in Tarung, a hillcrest village just west of the commercial center of Waikabubak. And Tarung remains on the island’s most powerful spiritual centers. It is the high priests of Tarung who officiate each year’s Wula Padu ceremony, which honors the deified ancestors at the beginning of the Marapu religion new year, which coincides with the start of the rainy season.
Tarung is the highest hamlet in a complex of three little kampongs, with 33 huts in all. The houses on the lower slopes have modernized somewhat with corrugated steel roofs, but each of the main huts of Tarung retains a traditional thatched roof. These huts, each with a separate ritual function, encircle a group of plain tombs whose top slabs are used for household tasks such as drying rice.
- SAVU AND ROTI
These relatively isolated islands are unusual for their inhabitants’ extensive use of the lontar palm tree. This tall fan palm allows the arid soil to support a much higher population than would otherwise be possible. The nutritious sap is gathered in the morning and late afternoon, and is sweet and refreshing. Fermented, the lontar sap yields a mildly alcoholic ‘toddy’, and boiled down, rich palm sugar. Even the leftovers are used as pig feed.
On Roti, one group retains the old religion, and the lontar economy is still going strong. The island of Ndao is famous for its itinerant jewelers, who travel all over eastern Indonesia plying their craft.
On Savu, the traditional religion and ritual cycle is maintained in spite of professed Christianity. Adherence to the old customs is even stronger on Raijua Island, which is considered the Source Island of much of the Savunese animist ritual events.
- KUPANG
There is almost nothing left of historical Kupang. Perhaps the oldest physical remains are the graves of the raja of Taebenu and his family, located on an in town hilltop called Mautasi.at the site, which is only accessible by a dirt road, Raja Tanof rests in a long, semi circular grave. The grave has been re plastered, and has a faded plaque. Just 7 kilometers out of Kupang, at Bauplat, is two modern sandalwood factories. Unfortunately, however, these are not open to visitors.
There is a less mechanized sandalwood factory north of town, CV Horas, which you can visit. The shop sells knickknacks – rosaries, fans, and small carvings – as well as incense and joss sticks. The little factory is on the airport road, just beyond the turn off to Atambua. About 3 kilometers past the ferry landing are the four Gua Bolok, or the Bolok Caves. These are really weathered sinkholes, and a swim in one of the clear, spring-fed pools is a refreshing diversion.
The four caves are similar, having been formed by the extensive uplifted coral rocks in the area. The first two caves, Uihani (‘Sleeping Water’ in Helong) and Uiklaus (‘Cactus Water’) are within a half-kilometer of the turn off to the ferry terminal: just continue straight ahead on the dirt road instead of turning right to the terminal.
The center of the Amarasi weaving district is 30 kilometers from Kupang at Baun, which also has a Saturday market. Don’t expect much traditional cloth here, however, as the artisans now use machine-spun thread and synthetic dyes. The days of handspun cotton and vegetable dyes are over. But the venerable back strap loom is still in use. Pulau Semau is a 45 kilometer island that serves to shelter the post of Tenau. About 10,000 people live in Semau, in 9 villages.
The dry, rugged island offers some good snorkeling, and there are a couple of rustic, but comfortable, bungalow-style hotels. Paths along the shoreline provide for nice walks, but bring a hat and plenty of water. A clear pool on the island, surrounded by trees is a fine place for a cool rest.