Meet the Gilis in Sumbawa
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Sumbawa is a large island to the east of Bali and Lombok. It is part of West Nusa Tenggara along with Lombok. There are hundreds of small islands in this area in addition to the two major islands. Sumbawa really belongs more to Eastern Indonesia than to to the western part of the archipelago. The effects of Hindu and Buddhist cultures are minimal in Sumbawa (although there is a Balinese presence along the northern coastal area), and although the island is predominantly Muslim, the role of adat is still very strong.
Sumbawa is divided into four regencies and one municipality. The regencies are: Sumbawa Barat, Sumbawa Besar, Dompu, and Bima. The municipality is Kodya Bima. The most recent census lists the population as being 1.1 million. There are two main ethnic groups: Bima and the Samawa.
In many respects Sumbawa can be considered remote. To get to Sumbawa from Bali most people take the ferry from Bali to Lombok, travel overland to the eastern seaport in Lombok and then take another ferry to Sumbawa, ending up in Poto Tano. From there transportation is somewhat problematic. There are buses that will take you on to Sumbawa Besar, the capital, or down the coast road to the south, but my experience has been that trying to get on a bus once you arrive in Sumbawa is somewhat difficult (see the Transportation page for more details). If traveling from Lombok, it is best to board a bus there that will take you to your final destination in Sumbawa. It is also possible to fly into the city of Sumbawa Besar on the western side of the island, and Bima on the eastern side of the island. A small airline called Tropical Air existed for a short while which flew directly to Sekongkan where I am located and where the surfing spots of Yoyo and Scar Reef are located.. We still have the airport, but flights have been stopped for an indefinite period.
Sumbawa is known for its great waves and sandy white beaches. Due to the somewhat trying process of getting there and the scarcity of cheap tourist facilities, the island is not visited much by non-surfing tourists which is unfortunate as the parts of the island that I have seen are quite beautiful. During the dry season (April to November) a lot of dust is blown up and around. Strong winds blow in off the ocean, and the lush green hills, mountains and valleys turn a dusty brown. When the rainy season begins an amazing transformation takes place and the island becomes a lush jungle once again.The pace of life on Sumbawa is definitely slower than that in Bali. As most of the island is still developing, there is a very rural feel to just about everywhere that you go, including Sumbawa Besar, the capital of the western side fo the island. The mining company, Newmont, has a gold and copper mine down in the southwestern corner of the island around the villages of Sekongkang, Maluk and Benete. Their presence has speeded up the development process on this side of the island.
Sumbawa is one of the larger islands in the archipelago, and we only live in the southwestern corner. I've been to Sumbawa Besar several times, but only for short periods. Taliwang, about an hour north of us, is a fairly small place, but large compared to Sekongkang and Maluk. The largest city on the island is Sumbawa Besar, but that is a five hour drive from here. The best shopping is actually on Lombok which is the next island to the west.
Sumbawa lies to the east of Java, Bali and Lombok. It is three times the size of Lombok with a population of around one million. Due to the small population spread out over a relatively large space, Sumbawa is often ignored by tourists as well as Indonesians. It marks the end of Indian influence and the beginning of what are sometimes referred to as the "pagan" eastern islands. Four principalities in western Sumbawa were dependencies of the Majapahit kingdom of eastern Java. Because of Sumbawa's natural resources it was regularly invaded by outside forces - Javanese, Dutch, Makassarese. The Dutch first arrived in 1605, but didn't effectively rule Sumbawa until the early 20th century. The Balinese kingdom of Gelgel ruled western Sumbawa for a short period as well. Islam was introduced via the Makassarese of Sulawesi. Because of the geography of the island Sumbawa is basically two islands. Sumbawa has historically had two linguistic groups which spoke languages that were mutually unitelligible. One group, centered in the western side of the island, speaks Sumbawanese which is similar to the Sasak language from Lombok; the second group in the east speaks Bima. The kingdoms located in Sumbawa Besar and Bima were the two focal points of Sumbawa.
Sumbawa lies within the Ring of Fire. It is a mountainous island with deep ridges and valleys. Sumbawa is the home of the volcano, Tambora. The 1815 eruption of Tambora was the largest in historic time despite the common assumption that the Krakatoa eruption was the largest. About 150 cubic kilometers of ash were erupted in 1815. Ash fell as far away as 800 miles. An estimated 92,000 people were killed by the eruption. Of this 92,000, 10,000 deaths were directly related to the bomb impacts, tephra fall, and lava flows. The other 82,000 deaths were caused by starvation, disease, and hunger. Famine was widespread due to crop failures during the "Year without a Summer." Daily minimum temperatures were abnormally low in the northern hemisphere from late spring to early autumn.
posted by Daniy @ 10:08 PM,
