Tribal Traditions

in Sumba

Set adrift at the southern edge of East Nusa Tenggara, Sumba is a land that
time forgot, home to ancient spirits, proud warrior tribes and a touch of
magic. Sumba was once known as ‘The Sandalwood Island’ due sandalwood
trees whose sweet fragrance would guide sailors to shore from far out at sea.
These aromatic forests are now gone – harvested centuries ago for incense
by Arab traders and Chinese merchants – but Sumba’s real treasure remains
intact; a captivating array of traditions, rituals, customs and culture that make
this island truly unique.
Tribal Traditions in Sumba

“The cowboy island

of the south seas”

The disappearance of the sandalwood forests changed the landscape

and the nature of the island; it became a rolling savannah, where stocky
and energetic sandalwood ponies (equus sunanensis) could roam free.
These horses in turn changed the character of the islanders them-
selves, creating a society of mounted warriors, tribal factions and spec-
tacular galloping war games that continue to this very day.
Tribal Traditions in Sumba

Land of ancestors

Sumba society is based on a complex set of rules that cover everything

from rice harvests to the afterlife. These ancient beliefs combine ani-
mism and ancestor worship into a fascinating array of rites, customs
and rituals. The Sumbanese creation story is a tropical take on Adam
and Eve; the first inhabitants of the island were the children of the moon
and sun, while subsequent generations of ancestral spirits – called
Marapu - are believed to manifest in rice plants, animals, carved stone
monoliths and sacred ornaments.
Tribal Traditions in Sumba

Houses
of the holy

A bridge from the spirit world to the physical is provided by Sumba’s iconic houses;
distinctive cottages built on stilts in hamlets of conspiring circles, with towering
thatched roofs like enormous wizard hats. These huts are often fortified by walls or
palisades of cactus bushes - a legacy of tribal warfare and headhunting raids that,
until as recently as the 1950s, were a common danger on the island. Some houses
still have a ‘skull tree’ in the garden, where enemy heads were once displayed as
trophies of war. Today, headhunting is a thing of the past, but Sumba’s distinctive
houses continue to serve as alters for offerings to the ancestors; a portal to the spirit
world and a link to the island’s heritage.
Tribal Traditions in Sumba

Pasola
Sumba’s horses, warriors and religious traditions all come together in a vibrant – and
violent – annual war games festival, called the Pasola. Held every February and March
to mark the start of the rice planting season, the Pasola involves two tribes on horse-
back charging at each other and hurling spears. This annual battle has taken place for
countless generations; islanders believe Sumba’s fertility gods demand blood on the
ground before the rice can grow, so the warriors dutifully oblige with cavalry charges
and bouts of bareknuckle boxing. This ancient tradition is one of the most spectacular
sights in all of Indonesia.