Into the Hinterland-from Waikabubak to Wanokaka

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The flight from Sumbawa disgorged a planeload of small businessmen, missionary families with young children, a few white-veiled nuns, a smattering of French and Dutch tourists, two Australian surfers and myself onto the tarmac of West Sumba's Tambolaka airport. We rode through a dry countryside of steepled churches atop hills, fields of galloping horses, clusters of stone slab graves, roofs of riotous bougainvillea blossoms, and rows of scraggly shops and squealing pigs being loaded into pickup trucks. In the late 1990s, I remember seeing loin-clothed wild pig hunters carrying spears along the road with their dogs, but not this time.

The landscape is still raw and relatively unpeopled-no factories, no billboards, no supermarkets-just gardens and country farmers markets. Sumba's famous top-hat alang-alang (thatch)-roofed traditional wooden dwellings are relentlessly being phased out and replaced by cinder-block buildings that cost considerably less to build. Like the rumah adat (traditional house), horses as transport are also being replaced by a dramatic proliferation of Japanese motorbikes. Cables creeping out from under grass roofs lead to meter-wide satellite dishes. People's calm reaction and behavior indicate that they are getting used to tourists.

Of all of Sumba's tribal areas, few are richer than the Wanokaka and Lamboya subdistricts of West Sumba south of Waikabubak: Pantai Wanokaka's stunning mountain and coastal scenery, the serene southern beaches at Rua, the stone graves of Waigalli, gorgeous rice fields and Pasola ritual combat fields of Lemboya and the ultra-exclusive Nihhwatu, one of Indonesia's most isolated and extraordinarily beautiful resorts. The district's older traditional villages have open plazas sentineled by two rows of thatched peak-roofed clan houses and magnificent carved megalithic stone graves. Along this rugged southern coast, the phone signal is weak, Wi-Fi is rare and the atmosphere is wonderfully relaxing.

Just a few kilometers southwest of Waikabubak is a sweeping view of the vast Wanokaka River delta of Wanakoka subdistrict with several traditional kampung and nice rice-field scenery. During the smooth drive on a sealed but narrow road, white-headed eagles and other large birds circle above, surely a propitious omen in animist Sumba. After eight kilometers, the road to Lamboya branches off to the west at Padede Weri. Turning east, it continues down to a coastal valley. After four kilometers, you come to the riverside settlement of Taramanuon to the east of the road which winds around the river.

Taramanu can also be reached by traveling three kilometers east of Waikabubak and then turning down a side road to the south. At this junction, there are seven stone tombs. This rough, washed-out road leads to the southern edge of Taramanu, before the second bridge over the river.

Here village guides are ready to take you to the 60 meter-high Lai Popu waterfall, 500 meters from the bridge, along a riverside path, across picturesque rice-fields, several bamboo bridges and through an intact tropical rainforest. This hour-long walk is not difficult, but could be wet and slippery.

At Prai Bakul, several kilometers south of Taramanu, sits Sumba's heaviest single megalith. Great prestige attaches to the enormity of this stone and the distance covered dragging it. Erected by one of the richest rajas on Sumba, the 70-ton sepulchre took 2,000 men to chisel out and haul. The slab measures five meters long by four meters wide and rests on short columns. It took three years and three lives to transport it from a remote mountain. When the rope broke and killed a few men, it was not considered an accident. The men were sacrifices to provide the necessary spiritual guardianship for the dead man. Ten tons of rice were consumed and 250 buffalo offered up in the bloody ritual accompanying the dragging. Priests egged on the men with invocations and chants, all in the belief the stone would ensure the owner's entrance into heaven.

About four kilometers downhill, on a rugged dirt track from Taramanu, is the traditional hamlet of Waigalli, 16 kilometers southwest of Waikabubak. This group of 25 thatched-roofed dwellings sits on a hill overlooking the valley below and the sea beyond. A concrete path leading past displays of woodcarvings and textiles takes the visitor up to the local tomb. A guest book will appear which you will be asked to sign and make a small donation. Corn, krupuk (crackers) and coconut fiber were drying on mats on top of the stone slabs, memorials for the dead serving as utilitarian tools for the living. The upright sculpture (Waiurang) and stone carvings are outstanding. Paving stones were stained with red splotches of betel nut juice spat from the crimson mouths of both young and old. A few old crones looked as if they were suffering from some horrible tropical disease.

In the sprawling touristy village of Praigoli, along the main road in the hills below Waigalli, is the impressive fleur-de-lis Lakaruka Jiwa Tada Bita Laka megalithic tomb, the oldest and one of the most famous in all of Sumba. It is believed that a fortune in gold heirlooms (pusaka) were stored inside to keep them safe from Portuguese adventurers. A fine ornate sculpture of a human figure stands in front, with wonderful views over the bay on Sumba's southwest coast. Several other traditional mountain hamlets to visit nearby are Waiwuli and Mamodu. Hilltop locations were an important element of village defence.

From Praigoli, 18 kilometers southwest of Waikabubak, is Pantai Wanokaka and the small fishing village of Waihura, which together share five kilometers of coastline, separated only by a four kilometer-wide river mouth. When the tide is out, walk through the river to the other side for a decent surf. Waihuru village is very busy during the fishing season and during the Pasola jousting matches in March,when skilled horsemen hurl long wooden spears at each other during the ritual harvesting at dawn of a strange, multi-hued seaworm. It is just a short drive further down to the lovely crescent beach of Pantai Wanokaka with cliffs dotted with palms, a small fish market, a bay of bobbing fishing vessels, a beachfront Pasola arena and a respectable, if inconsistent, surf in nearby coves. Wangli, a traditional riverside village within walking distance, has a stone tomb with a stylized 2.5 meter-tall fleur-de-lis motif and heady views of rice-fields, the sea and coastal bluffs.

Right next to the daily fishmarket is the charmingly laid back Joni Homestay (cell: +62 812-3961-4327; Rp300,000 for a double bed), just shacks divided into rooms, the last buildings on the southern end of Waihura Beach. Though bare bones with shared mandi (bathroom), Asian-style toilet and electricity turned on only for several hours in evenings, the place is clean, the simple meals cheap and delicious, the laundry service convenient and the family hospitable. A toko (shop) next door sells basic necessities. There is good swimming and snorkeling during the dry season between April and July. I threw my feet up on the terrace and viewed the beach life. I spent hours lazily reading a book while watching surfers mount a few limp waves, the activity of boats anchored offshore, the fishermen working on beached outriggers and preparing their catch for transport by motorbike to Waikabubak as bareback horse riders gallopped up and down the beach.

Bill Dalton