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Sumba

Sumba, natively also spelt as Humba, Hubba, Suba, or Zuba (in Sumba languages) is an Indonesian island (part of the Lesser Sunda Archipelago group) located in Eastern Indonesia and administratively part of the East Nusa Tenggara provincial territory. Sumba has an area of 11,243.78 square kilometres (4,341.25 square miles), about the same size as Jamaica or Hawaii (Island). The population was 686,113 at the 2010 Census and 779,049 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as of mid-2023 was 820,506 (comprising 420,291 males and 400,215 females). To the northwest of Sumba is Sumbawa, to the northeast, across the Sumba Strait (Selat Sumba), is Flores, to the east, across the Savu Sea, is Timor, and to the south, across part of the Indian Ocean, is Australia.

Nomenclature

The name "Sumba" is derived from the native Sumbanese word humba or hubba (in various Subanese dialects), which means “original”, “native”, “indigenous” or “no interference”; this was initially an ethnonym referring to the native inhabitants of this island who identified themselves as tau Humba or tau Hubba (lit. 'native people' or 'original people'), to differentiate themselves from foreigners (non-Sumbanese people) who gradually and continuously came to occupy the island.

On the other hand, the Sumbanese cultural territory (including Sumba Island and its surrounding seas) is also known as tana wai humba or tana wae hubba (in Sumbanese languages), which means “our native land” or “the motherland of Sumba people”; these sentences appeared in ancient Sumbanese manuscripts that told the tale of Inya Nyale (a mermaid-like creature who used to live on land but then moved to the ocean), considered as a sacred figure in Sumbanese mythology.

The letter 'h' in later time (around 12th century) was replaced by 's' due to the mass migration of Javanese people from the island of Java, because the word humba sounds so similar to the Javanese word of ꦲꦸꦩ꧀ꦧꦃ (umbah, but written as humbah according to Javanese writing system), meaning "to wash" or "to cleanse".

History

Oral traditions

According to Sumbanese historians, Sumba Island was once connected to the neighbouring islands to the north, namely Flores and Sumbawa.

Flores and Sumba were connected by the Kataka Lindiwatu (in Sumba languages), an ancient stone bridge built by the natives of Sumba and Flores. Due to the high level of socialization around the Kataka Lindiwatu which connected both islands, civilization was thought to arise from around those regions (which nowadays correspond to northern Sumba and to part of East Sumba regency territory). This story belongs to the Sumba oral traditions as was written down by Umbu Pura Woha (2007) in his book Sejarah, Musyawarah dan Adat Istiadat Sumba Timur (lit. 'History, Deliberation and Customs of East Sumba')

Ancient civilization ruins

The ruins of the historical civilization of the Sumba people date back to the BC era; megalithic burials were found on the central regions of the island (Central Sumba) which go back to thousands of years ago. These stone-based burial traditions are still kept alive by the Sumba people and have become a 'living ancient tradition' that still can be observed by scholars in modern days. The megalithic remains found on Sumba Island include dolmen tombs, upright stones, megalithic statues, stone enclosures, and levelled terraces. The Sumba megalithic tradition itself was characterized by the old megaliths built and carved with high quality standards. Some ancient tools are also found on the island. Notable findings are quadrangular adzes unearthed in the Anakalang area (a cultural region of Anakalang Sumba, a subethnic group of Sumba people).

One significant archaeological discovery was that of the urn burial site in Melolo in the 1920s, dated around 2,870 BCE.

Javanese power

Around the 12th century, the kingdom of Singhasari in eastern Java gained more power over the maritime Southeast Asian territory after the kingdom defeated the Mongols; since then, this kingdom evolved into the empire known as Majapahit. Sumba Island was a subject of Majapahit's dominion, and the word "Sumba" itself was first officially used during the Majapahit era (mentioned in the ancient Javanese manuscripts of Pararaton and Sumpah Palapa oath of Gajah Mada); the word itself was thought as the closest substitution in Javanese for the native name of the island according to native Sumba people, which is Humba or Hubba. The Javanese people was predicted to arrive on Sumba Island via the Madura and Kangean route, it was examined through the analysis of the DNA of chicken species on Sumba that are naturally only endemic to the eastern regions of Java and its neighbouring islands (which in these case, most probably Kangean Island).

European colonizations

In 1522, the native Sumba came into contact with the Europeans (Portuguese) who arrived on the island by ships to exploit the natural resources of the island. Later, it also attracted the Dutch VOC to come in the region in circa 1600s era. Historically, sandalwood was the main commodity exported to Europe from this island, thus the Sumba Island back then was colloquially also known as the Sandalwood Island or Sandel Island (in English).

As time went by, in 1866, the island of Sumba was later transferred to and dominated by the following Dutch East Indies colonization power. The well-known Christianization of the natives of Sumba Island was started in 1886 by the Dutch under the Douwe Wielenga Jesuits missionary program in the district of Laura in West Sumba.

Geography, climate and ecology

The largest town on the island is the main port of Waingapu near the mouth of the Kambaniru River, with a population of 71,752 (including the adjoining district of Kambera) in mid-2023.

The landscape is low, limestone hills, rather than the steep volcanoes of many Indonesian islands. There is a dry season from May to November and a rainy season from December to April. The western side of the island is more fertile and more heavily populated than the east.

Although generally thought to be originally part of the Gondwana southern hemisphere supercontinent, recent research suggests that the island might have detached from the Southeast Asia margin. Most of it was originally covered in deciduous monsoon forest while the south-facing slopes, which remain moist during the dry season, were evergreen rainforest. The northern part of the island is extremely arid; the soils have been depleted from deforestation and erosion. Sumba is in the Wallacea region, having a mixture of plants and animals of Asian and Australasian origin. Due to its distinctive flora and fauna, Sumba has been categorised by the World Wildlife Fund as the Sumba deciduous forests ecoregion. 

Fauna

There are a number of mammals, but the island is particularly rich in bird life with nearly 200 birds, of which seven endemic species and a number of others are found only here and on some nearby islands. The endemic birds include the endangered Sumba eclectus parrot, four vulnerable species — the secretive Sumba boobook owl, Sumba buttonquail, red-naped fruit-dove, and Sumba hornbill — as well as three more common species: the Sumba green pigeon, Sumba flycatcher, and apricot-breasted sunbird. Saltwater crocodiles can still be found in some areas.

The Sumba hornbill or Julang Sumba (Rhyticeros everetti) is under increasing threat of extinction. Indiscriminate deforestation is threatening their survival. The population is estimated at less than 4,000 with an average density of six individuals per square kilometre. A hornbill can fly to and from over an area of up to 100 square kilometres.

Threats and preservation

Most of the original forest has been cleared for the planting of maize, cassava, and other crops so only small isolated patches remain. Furthermore, this clearance is ongoing due to the growing population of the island and this represents a threat to the birds.

In 1998 two national parks were designated on the island for the protection of endangered species: the Laiwangi Wanggameti National Park and Manupeu Tanah Daru National Park.

Indonesia

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Indonesia is the world's largest archipelagic state and the 14th-largest country by area, at 1,904,569 square kilometres (735,358 square miles). With over 280 million people, Indonesia is the world's fourth-most-populous country and the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population.

Indonesia is a presidential republic with an elected legislature. It has 38 provinces, of which nine have special autonomous status. The country's largest city, Jakarta, is the world's second-most-populous urban area. Indonesia shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and the eastern part of Malaysia, as well as maritime borders with Singapore, Peninsula Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and India. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support one of the world's highest levels of biodiversity.

The Indonesian archipelago has been a valuable region for trade since at least the seventh century when Sumatra's Srivijaya and later Java's Majapahit kingdoms engaged in commerce with entities from mainland China and the Indian subcontinent. Over the centuries, local rulers assimilated foreign influences, leading to the flourishing of Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms. Sunni traders and Sufi scholars later brought Islam, and European powers fought one another to monopolise trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratisation process, and periods of rapid economic growth.

Indonesia consists of thousands of distinct native ethnic and hundreds of linguistic groups, with Javanese being the largest. A shared identity has developed with the motto "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" ("Unity in Diversity" literally, "many, yet one"), defined by a national language, cultural diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. The economy of Indonesia is the world's 16th-largest by nominal GDP and the 7th-largest by PPP. It is the world's third-largest democracy, a regional power, and is considered a middle power in global affairs. The country is a member of several multilateral organisations, including the United Nations, World Trade Organization, G20, and a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, East Asia Summit, D-8, APEC, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.