RATENGGARO VILLAGE, SOUTHWEST SUMBA
Conserving Local Customs
Although they don't always wear their traditional garb, the residents of Ratenggaro village live their customs in every sense of the word. Rituals are not done out of a sense of duty, but as a spiritual belief to honor ancestors. Everything handed from these ancestors is sacred, including every piece of land around them.
November 19, 2013
It is late afternoon in a village protected from the ravages of the Indian Ocean by a coral trench. Waves roll in on the narrow, white sand beach, and the wind is cold and piercing. The sound of gongs and drums could be heard in the air.
Located at the mouth of the Waiha river, the village is Ratenggaro, 56 kilometers from Tambolaka, the capital of Southwest Sumba district. However, it comes under the administration of the Kodi Bangedo subdistrict
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