Enggano Island
Encyclopedia
Enggano Island is about 100 km south west of Sumatra
, Indonesia
. It is about 35 km long from east to west and about 16 km wide from north to south. Its area is 402.6 km², the average elevation is about 100 m and the highest point is 281 m.
Politically it is a subdistrict (kecamatan)
of the North Bengkulu Regency
of the Indonesian province of Bengkulu
. The three largest towns on the island are Barhau, Kabuwe and Kayaapu. According to the Indonesian Kantor Statistik for Bengkulu, the island had 1420 inhabitants in 1989. This number rises, according to the Pukesmas, to 1635 by 1994 with 64 % of the population claiming descent from the Engganese people.
The name of the island suggests some early contact with Portuguese traders ("engano" means mistake), but the earliest published account is that of Cornelis de Houtman
, dating from June 5, 1596. De Houtman was unable to land a boat, however.
In 1771, Charles Miller succeeded in landing and meeting the indigenous population.
Eventually, he meets these "noble savages" and learns something of their natural, feminist, atheist and property-sharing culture.
Italian
explorer Elio Modigliani
visited Enggano Island between April 25 and July 13, 1891. He detailed the apparently dominant role of women in Enggano culture in L'Isola delle Donne (The Island of Women), first published in 1894. The Rijksmuseum has an important collection of Enggano artifacts and their publication by Pieter J.ter Keurs reproduces Modigliani's drawings.
The population went into severe decline in the 1870s: possibly from disease. The Dutch sent medical officers to investigate. Since the island's highest point is only 281 m (921.9 ft) it would have been severely affected by the tsunami associated with the Krakatoa eruption in 1883 as well as by the massive volcanic debris. The indigenous population never recovered and numbered only about 400 souls in the early 1960s. Therefore, the Indonesian government uses the island for rehabilitation of juvenile offenders from Java,who perform forced labor, clearing bush and constructing rice fields. As noted above, the population has recovered somewhat since that time.
The island may now serve as an isolated area for surfing and diving.
(LAPAN) has proposed the island for use as a spaceport, citing its "low population and remoteness" as decisive criteria, as well as its closeness to the equator.
The regional government immediately protested the plan as environmentally problematic.
In February 2011, a plan to conduct an environmental impact study was announced, chiefly surveying avian populations.
, Engganese, may be a language isolate
with Austronesian loans.
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. It is about 35 km long from east to west and about 16 km wide from north to south. Its area is 402.6 km², the average elevation is about 100 m and the highest point is 281 m.
Politically it is a subdistrict (kecamatan)
Subdistricts of Indonesia
In Indonesia, a kecamatan or district is a subdivision of a regency or of a city . A district is itself divided into kelurahan or administrative villages....
of the North Bengkulu Regency
North Bengkulu Regency
North Bengkulu Regency is a regency of Bengkulu Province, Indonesia....
of the Indonesian province of Bengkulu
Bengkulu
Bengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is on the southwest coast of the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung. The capital and largest city is Bengkulu city. It was formerly the site of a British garrison, which they called Bencoolen...
. The three largest towns on the island are Barhau, Kabuwe and Kayaapu. According to the Indonesian Kantor Statistik for Bengkulu, the island had 1420 inhabitants in 1989. This number rises, according to the Pukesmas, to 1635 by 1994 with 64 % of the population claiming descent from the Engganese people.
The name of the island suggests some early contact with Portuguese traders ("engano" means mistake), but the earliest published account is that of Cornelis de Houtman
Cornelis de Houtman
Cornelis de Houtman , brother of Frederick de Houtman, was a Dutch explorer who discovered a new sea route from Europe to Indonesia and managed to begin the Dutch spice trade...
, dating from June 5, 1596. De Houtman was unable to land a boat, however.
In 1771, Charles Miller succeeded in landing and meeting the indigenous population.
With great difficulty and danger we beat up the whole South-west side of it, without finding any place where we could attempt to land; and we lost two anchors and had very near suffered shipwreck before we found a secure place into which we might run the vessel. At last, however we discovered a spacious harbour at the South-east end of the island and I immediately went into it in the boat, and ordered the vessel to follow me as soon as possible, for it was then a dead calm. We rowed directly into this bay; and as soon as we had got round the point of an island which lay off the harbour, we discovered all the beach covered with naked savages who were all armed with lances and clubs; and twelve canoes all full of them who, till we had passed them, had lain concealed, immediately rushed out upon me, making a horrid noise: this, you may suppose, alarmed us greatly; and as I had only one European and four black soldiers, besides the four lascars that rowed the boat. I thought it best to turn, if possible under the guns of the vessel before I ventured to speak with them.
Eventually, he meets these "noble savages" and learns something of their natural, feminist, atheist and property-sharing culture.
They are a tall, well-made people; the men in general about five feet eight or ten inches high; the women shorter alld more clumsily built. They are of a red colour, and have straight, black hair, which the men cut short, but the women let grow long, and roll up in a circle on the top of their heads very neatly. The men go entirely naked, and the women wear nothing more than a very narrow slip of plantain leaf.
They seemed to look at every thing about the vessel very attentively; but more from the motive of pilfering than from curioslty, for they watched an opportunity and unshipped the rudder of the boat, and paddled away with it.
Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
explorer Elio Modigliani
Elio Modigliani
Elio Modigliani was an Italian anthropologist, zoologist, and plant collector. Between 1886 and 1894, he explored Sumatra and a number of islands off its western coast. Modigliani visited Enggano Island between April 25 and July 13, 1891...
visited Enggano Island between April 25 and July 13, 1891. He detailed the apparently dominant role of women in Enggano culture in L'Isola delle Donne (The Island of Women), first published in 1894. The Rijksmuseum has an important collection of Enggano artifacts and their publication by Pieter J.ter Keurs reproduces Modigliani's drawings.
The population went into severe decline in the 1870s: possibly from disease. The Dutch sent medical officers to investigate. Since the island's highest point is only 281 m (921.9 ft) it would have been severely affected by the tsunami associated with the Krakatoa eruption in 1883 as well as by the massive volcanic debris. The indigenous population never recovered and numbered only about 400 souls in the early 1960s. Therefore, the Indonesian government uses the island for rehabilitation of juvenile offenders from Java,who perform forced labor, clearing bush and constructing rice fields. As noted above, the population has recovered somewhat since that time.
The island may now serve as an isolated area for surfing and diving.
Spaceport plans
The Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and SpaceNational Institute of Aeronautics and Space
National Institute of Aeronautics and Space is the Indonesian government space agency. It was established on November 27, 1964 by former Indonesian president Suharto after one year's existence of an informal space agency organization. LAPAN is responsible for long-term civilian and military...
(LAPAN) has proposed the island for use as a spaceport, citing its "low population and remoteness" as decisive criteria, as well as its closeness to the equator.
The regional government immediately protested the plan as environmentally problematic.
In February 2011, a plan to conduct an environmental impact study was announced, chiefly surveying avian populations.
Enggano language
The Enggano languageEnggano language
The Enggano language, or Engganese, is the language of Enggano Island off the southwestern coast of Sumatra.Although adjacent to Austronesian languages, Enggano has not been established as Austronesian; it may instead be a language isolate with Austronesian borrowing. Much of the basic vocabulary...
, Engganese, may be a language isolate
Language isolate
A language isolate, in the absolute sense, is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical relationship with other languages; that is, one that has not been demonstrated to descend from an ancestor common with any other language. They are in effect language families consisting of a single...
with Austronesian loans.