Thursday, April 17, 2014

SUMBA ISLAND, THE BELIEF OF MARAPU AND THE TRADITION OF PASOLA


The small house in the middle is a place for Rato, the highest priest of Marapu religion, to pray

I got a chance to visit this island because my office sent me to cover a story about a local religion, or according to the Indonesian government, a local belief called Marapu. The preparations to visit this island are crazy because information about the place is really limited on the Internet. I didn't know the name of the airport on this island; I don't know whether they have a hotel or not (because this is such a small and remote island). I don't even know whether they have a real road or not. Seriously! 

After doing some research, my friend, Syarifah Nur Aida and I finally, chose an afternoon flight from Jakarta to Denpasar in Bali, stayed at a Hostel at Kuta beach for a night and then got another flight to Waikabubak, the capital city of West Sumba region, the next morning. After getting a hotel at Waikabubak city for IDR 200.000/night (approximately USD 20), the journey (or the work, LOL) began.