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Rebuilding umma kaladha, Sumba's cultural heritage
Ritual: A resident of Manola receives guests with a welcome dance in front of a traditional umma kaladha community hall
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Ritual: A resident of Manola receives guests with a welcome dance in front of a traditional umma kaladha community hall.
A teenage drummer performed, accompanied by a gong and other musicians, as dancers took to the floor to welcome a delegation of government officials visiting their village in Southwest Sumba.
Women in the village also joined the dancers to greet the visitors, who listened to a formal exchange of poetic verses in the Sumbanese language recited by two community elders.
The celebration was held for the dedication or rededication of 17 traditional umma kaladha community halls in Sumba.
For the Sumbanese, umma kaladha are a center for community life, where people gather to make plans and perform rituals of great significance.
High costs meant that the buildings had fallen into disrepair ' until government funding helped residents build two new umma kaladha. Some budget stretching and donations freed up money to restore 15 old buildings as well.
Sri Hartini ' an official from the then-Culture and Tourism Ministry with the title of Director of Belief in Almighty God and Tradition ' was in traditional Sumbanese dress. Woven shawls were draped over the shoulders of her staff in welcome.
'Previously we were just working in plantations around the village without being able to gather in the hamlet. Now we have an umma kaladha so we can assemble again, for which we're very grateful,' said Billy, a local resident.
Sri Hartini; Rev. Robert, the local priest; South Wewewa district head Jeremia Tanggu and Southwest Sumba regency deputy secretary Elisabeth Kallu all asked local residents to maintain the big houses. 'Occupy, illuminate and use the buildings for rituals. They will surely last long,' Rev. Robert said.
Manola is 30 kilometers south of Tambolaka, the capital of Southwest Sumba. Like most traditional hamlets in the region, Manola is surrounded by natural rocks.
It currently boasts 26 ritual houses with roofs made from cogon grass.
The yards of local houses are full of gravestones and megaliths ' a common practice.
Local resident Jhon Lede Bili said that the people of Sumba believed that the dead continued to maintain ties with their relatives in the world, meaning that the living had to be able to see the graves of their ancestors and greet the dead.
According to the retired primary school teacher, while Manola has no formal historical records, residents believe that they have been there for centuries.
Some believe that they are descended from the sun and moon.
A traditional hamlet enthusiast from Jakarta, Honardy Boentario, was surprised to witness the genuinely ritual dedication in Manola. 'I salute the community here for the loyal preservation of its ancestral heritage ' something that is rarely found in other regions. It's a great cultural tourism asset for proper management,' he said.
One family head is elected as the hamlet's rato wanno (leader) in a unique way. Several people with sufficient charisma and knowledge of local customs are nominated and required to bring along chickens or pigs to be sacrificed in the urata, a ritual for communicating with ancestral spirits.
The intestines and livers of the sacrificed animals are examined by a village elder and other traditional experts, announcing the results to residents, who typically accept the decision wholeheartedly. The new rato wanno will then lead village rituals.
Apart from opening the traditional houses in Manola, Sri Hartini dedicated the similar buildings in Lewa Paku, East Sumba, on Nov. 3 and in Bhuka Regha, Southwest Sumba, on Nov. 5.
' Photos by Emanuel Dapa Loka
