The regency of Alor in East Nusa Tenggara is gearing up for its “1,000 Moko Festival” in a bid to preserve its traditional music.

The moko is deemed vulnerable to cultural oblivion as the youth appear to be losing interest in the traditional percussion instrument.

 

 

 

 

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New into the collection: A bronze Moko drum from Alor. These drums were used as dowry and currency during headhunting campaigns. Now listed on the website. #linkinbio #alor #flores #moko #mokodrums #bronze #tribalart #indonesia #headhunters #dowry #currency #antiquesdealer #antiquesbythesea

A post shared by Peter Andeweg (@antiquesbythesea) on Jun 3, 2019 at 12:10pm PDT

“Moko from all districts will be showcased in Alor for the festival,” Alor regional secretary Hopni Bukang said as quoted by antaranews.com on Friday.

“We want to show moko to the public, so that the young generation in Alor can see how important it is to preserve the moko as the heritage of Alor’s ancestors,” he said.

He said the regional government had built the 1,000 Moko Museum in Kalabahi to store important moko of the past.

Read also: From Bali to Alor: 11 great reasons to visit the Lesser Sunda Islands

He added that the museum would also house a giant moko replica.

The Moko has existed in Alor for centuries and was long considered a luxury item and dowry by Alor residents.

Hopni said a large number of moko had been taken out of Alor, making the traditional instrument rare in its own homeland.

“The government will always try to preserve the moko as a cultural asset,” Hopni said. (gis/wng)