Sumba
Encyclopedia
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...
, is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands
Lesser Sunda Islands
The Lesser Sunda Islands or Nusa Tenggara are a group of islands in the southern Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands...
, and is in the province of East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara is a province of Indonesia, located in the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, including West Timor. The provincial capital is Kupang, located on West Timor...
. Sumba has an area of 11,153 km², and the population was officially at 611,422 in 2005. To the northwest of Sumba is Sumbawa
Sumbawa
Sumbawa is an Indonesian island, located in the middle of the Lesser Sunda Islands chain, with Lombok to the west, Flores to the east, and Sumba further to the southeast. It is in the province of West Nusa Tenggara....
, to the northeast, across the Sumba Strait
Sumba Strait
Sumba Strait is a strait in Indonesia.It separates the island of Sumba from the major islands of Flores and Sumbawa, as well as minor islands including Komodo and Rinca....
(Selat Sumba), is Flores
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...
, to the east, across the Savu Sea
Savu Sea
The Savu Sea is a small sea within Indonesia named for the island of Savu on its southern boundary. It is bounded by Savu and Rai Jua to the south, the islands of Rote and Timor to the east, Flores and the Alor archipelago to the north/northwest, and the island of Sumba to the west/northwest...
, is Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
, and to the south, across part of the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, is Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
History
Historically, this island exported sandalwoodSandalwood
Sandalwood is the name of a class of fragrant woods from trees in the genus Santalum. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and unlike many other aromatic woods they retain their fragrance for decades. As well as using the harvested and cut wood in-situ, essential oils are also extracted...
and was known as Sandalwood Island.
Before colonization, Sumba was inhabited by several small ethnolinguistic groups, some of which may have had tributary
Tributary state
The term tributary state refers to one of the two main ways in which a pre-modern state might be subordinate to a more powerful neighbour. The heart of the relationship was that the tributary would send a regular token of submission to the superior power...
relations to the Majapahit Empire
Majapahit Empire
Majapahit was a vast archipelagic empire based on the island of Java from 1293 to around 1500. Majapahit reached its peak of glory during the era of Hayam Wuruk, whose reign from 1350 to 1389 marked by conquest which extended through Southeast Asia. His achievement is also credited to his prime...
. In 1522 the first ships from Europe arrived, and by 1866 Sumba belonged to the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
, although the island did not come under real Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
administration until the twentieth century.
Despite contact with western cultures, Sumba is one of the few places in the world in which megalithic burials, are used as a 'living tradition' to inter prominent individuals when they die. Burial in megaliths is a practice that was used in many parts of the world during the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
s, but has survived to this day in Sumba. Another long-lasting tradition is the sometimes lethal game of pasola
Pasola
Pasola is a game played by the Western Sumbanese to celebrate the rice planting season.The game is played by throwing wooden spears to the opponent while riding a horse...
, in which teams of horse-riders fight with spears.
On August 19, 1977, an earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
occurred, killing 316 people, including islands off the West coast.
Geography
The Sumbanese people speak a variety of closely related Austronesian languagesAustronesian languages
The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia that are spoken by about 386 million people. It is on par with Indo-European, Niger-Congo, Afroasiatic and Uralic as one of the...
, and have a mixture of Austronesian and Melanesia
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
n ancestry. Twenty-five to thirty percent of the population practises the animist Marapu
Marapu
The Marapu religion is a form of ancestral religion that is practiced mainly in the island of Sumba in Indonesia. Marapu is also practiced in many more remote areas of Sumbawa and Flores...
religion. The remainder are Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, a majority being Dutch Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
, but a substantial minority being Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. A small number of Sunni Muslims
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
can be found along the coastal areas. The largest town on the island is the main port of Waingapu
Waingapu
Waingapu is the largest town on the island of Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. It is the capital town of the Regency of Sumba Timur. Sumba Timur's Waingapu Airport 'Mau Hau' is located in Waingapu, and the town is served by ferries from nearby islands. The sub-district town has a population...
, with a population of about 10,700.
The landscape is low, limestone hills, rather than the steep volcanoes of many Indonesian islands. There is a dry season from May to November and a rainy season from December to April. The western side of the island is more fertile and more heavily populated than the east.
Sumba is one of the poorer islands of Indonesia. A relatively high percentage of the population suffer from malaria and infantile death is high.
Administration
Sumba is part of the East Nusa TenggaraEast Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara is a province of Indonesia, located in the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, including West Timor. The provincial capital is Kupang, located on West Timor...
province. The island and the very small islands administered along with it are split into four regencies (local government districts); these are: Sumba Barat
West Sumba Regency
West Sumba Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established in 1958,the regency has its seat in Waikabubak. Its population is 111,023 in the 2010 decennial census.- References :----...
(West Sumba), Sumba Barat Daya
Southwest Sumba Regency
Southwest Sumba Regency is a regency on Sumba in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established in 2007, the regency has its seat in Tambolaka. Its population was 283,818 in the 2010 decennial census, the most of any regency of the island....
(Southwest Sumba), Sumba Tengah
Central Sumba Regency
Centra Sumba Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara of Indonesia. Centra Sumba was established after West Sumba Regency is split into two regencies in 2007.The seat of its government is located at Waibakul.- See also :...
(Central Sumba) and Sumba Timur
East Sumba Regency
East Sumba Regency is one of the four regencies which divide the island of Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. Waingapu is the capital of East Sumba Regency. The population of East Sumba Regency is 190,214 ....
(East Sumba). The island accounts for some 14.6% of the provincial population in 2010. The provincial capital is not located on the island, but rather on Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
.
| Name | Capital | Est. | Statute !! Area (km²) !! Population 2010 Census |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Sumba Regency West Sumba Regency West Sumba Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established in 1958,the regency has its seat in Waikabubak. Its population is 111,023 in the 2010 decennial census.- References :----... |
Waikabubak Waikabubak Waikabubak is a town in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia and it is the capital of West Sumba Regency. Waikabubak is the second largest city on Sumba island after Waingapu.... |
1958 | UU 69/1958 | ||
| East Sumba Regency East Sumba Regency East Sumba Regency is one of the four regencies which divide the island of Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. Waingapu is the capital of East Sumba Regency. The population of East Sumba Regency is 190,214 .... |
Waingapu Waingapu Waingapu is the largest town on the island of Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. It is the capital town of the Regency of Sumba Timur. Sumba Timur's Waingapu Airport 'Mau Hau' is located in Waingapu, and the town is served by ferries from nearby islands. The sub-district town has a population... |
1958 | UU 69/1958 | ||
| Central Sumba Regency Central Sumba Regency Centra Sumba Regency is a regency in East Nusa Tenggara of Indonesia. Centra Sumba was established after West Sumba Regency is split into two regencies in 2007.The seat of its government is located at Waibakul.- See also :... |
Waibakul Waibakul Waibakul is a town in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia and it is the seat of Central Sumba Regency.... |
2007 | UU 3/2007 | ||
| Southwest Sumba Regency Southwest Sumba Regency Southwest Sumba Regency is a regency on Sumba in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. Established in 2007, the regency has its seat in Tambolaka. Its population was 283,818 in the 2010 decennial census, the most of any regency of the island.... |
Tambolaka | 2007 | UU 16/2007 | ||
| Sumba | * |
Ecology
Due to its distinctive flora and fauna Sumba has been categorised by the World Wildlife Fund as the Sumba deciduous forests ecoregionEcoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
. Originally part of the Gondwana
Gondwana
In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
southern hemisphere supercontinent Sumba is within the Wallacea
Wallacea
Wallacea is a biogeographical designation for a group of Indonesian islands separated by deep water straits from the Asian and Australian continental shelves. Wallacea includes Sulawesi, the largest island in the group, as well as Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Timor, Halmahera, Buru, Seram, and...
ecozone, having a mixture of plants and animals of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n and Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
n origin. Most of the island was originally covered in deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
forest while the south facing slopes, which don't have such a dry season, were evergreen rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
.
Fauna
There are a number of mammals but the island is particularly rich in birdlife with nearly two hundred birds of which seven endemic species and a number of others are found only here and on some nearby islands. The endemic birds include four vulnerable species; the secretive Sumba BoobookSumba Boobook
The Sumba Boobook, Ninoxe De Sumba, or Nínox De Sumba is a species of owl in the Strigidae family.It is endemic to Indonesia....
owl, Sumba Buttonquail
Sumba Buttonquail
The Sumba Buttonquail is a species of bird in the Turnicidae family. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.-Distribution and habitat:...
, Red-naped Fruit-dove
Red-naped Fruit-dove
The Red-naped Fruit Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is endemic to Indonesia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
and Sumba Hornbill
Sumba Hornbill
The Sumba Hornbill is a large bird in the Bucerotidae, or hornbill family. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.-Description:...
as well as three more common species; the Sumba Green Pigeon, Sumba Flycatcher
Sumba Flycatcher
The Sumba Flycatcher is a species of bird in the Muscicapidae family.It is endemic to Indonesia.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-References:...
, and Apricot-breasted Sunbird
Apricot-breasted Sunbird
The Apricot-breasted Sunbird is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family.It is endemic to Indonesia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes....
.
Sumba Hornbill or Julang Sumba (Rhyticeros undulatus) is under increasing threat of extinction. Indiscriminate deforestation is increasingly threatening their ability to survive. The population is estimated at less than 4,000 with an average density of 6 individuals per square kilometer. A hornbill can fly to and fro over an area of up to 100 square kilometers.
Threats and preservation
Most of the original forest has been cleared for the planting of maizeMaize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, cassava
Cassava
Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
and other crops so only small isolated patches remain. Furthermore this clearance is ongoing due to the growing population of the island and this a threat to the birdlife.
In 1998 two national parks have been designated on the island for the protection of endangered species: the Laiwangi Wanggameti National Park
Laiwangi Wanggameti National Park
Laiwangi Wanggameti National Park is located on the island of Sumba in Indonesia. All forests types that exist on this island can be found in this national park...
and Manupeu Tanah Daru National Park
Manupeu Tanah Daru National Park
Manupeu Tanah Daru National Park is located on the island of Sumba in Indonesia. This national park consists plenty of steepy slopes. There are about 118 plant species protected in this national park including Toona sureni, Sterculia foetida, Schleichera oleosa, Alstonia scholaris , Tamarind,...
.