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.
