Sumba

Sumba is a fascinating island. Why would I say this ? Was it because I was born in this island ? or are there some other reasons?

I was born in Lewa, about 60 km away from Waingapu, the capital town of East Sumba. When I went to Senior high school in Java, people always asked me where I come from. It might be because of my accent that sounds so unfamiliar to them. My accent was a bit rough compared to them, it is what they said. Yes, It might be.. We, Sumbanese tend to speak quickly and in order to achieve it we sometimes  cut off some lengthy words. People always make jokes about how we speak. For example if one asks where you go
(Indonesian : kamu pergi ke mana?), in our dialect it would sound like "ko pi mana" which also means in indonesian Where is the coffee?. So if I answer I go to school (Indonesian : saya pergi ke sekolah), it would be "sa pi ke sekolah" which means in Indonesian "a cow goes to school". My friend said, only in Sumba the cows can go to school.

Sumba fosters as a place where people still believe in animism. This kind of belief (Marapu) is still widespread in Sumba. It is a kind of religion that believes in their ancestors. They believe that some places, trees or stones are sacred and being inhabited by their ancestors. Burying is the most cumbersome procedure in Sumbanese tradition. Megalithic tombs are erected with the purpose to show the status of the deceased.
Administratively, Sumba is divided into 4 districts or Kabupaten. East Sumba  with Waingapu as the capital town, West Sumba with Waikabubak, Central Sumba with Anakalang and South-west Sumba with Waitabula. There are 2 airports in Sumba, Umbu Mehang Kunda airport or Mau Hau airport located just a few kilometers to the east of Waingapu and Tambolaka in Waitabula.

There is only one road that connects all these capital towns. Going from East to the West, Waingapu is around 120 kms to Anakalang, which is around 20 kms away from Waikabubak. Going further west it is around 30 kms to reach Waitabula from Waikabubak. The landscape also changes when we go from the east to the west. It is merely barren land in the east and it becomes greener when we approach the west.