In 1994, when the journalist Travel Ron Gluckman observed the Pasola ritual Sumba, all "signs" were good - worms precious Nyale were abundant, suggesting a successful harvest full of blood has been spilled by spear-performance riders. Twenty years after Gluckman of dramatic account of blood, sacrifice and death, I visited the island of Sumba in eastern Indonesia for more info on this animist festival, which occurs each February and March. But in 2014, the signs are not good. The worms did not come and confusion reigned on Sumba.
Now, the old ways of Sumba are changing because of new variables, including the introduction of Islam, tourism, climate change, overfishing, poverty and environmental damage. This had surprising effects on their shamanistic culture, which is closely linked to the dynamics of fragile ecosystems of the island. Sumba is considered one of the poorest islands in Indonesia and economically revenue sources include ikat (fine cloth), tourism, fishing and agriculture.
During my visit to the festival Pasola I stayed at home Jefry Dapamerang, who worked at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of West Sumba. "The function of this department is to promote the potential [ sic ] inside the West Sumba tourism and outside the country. The initiatives to bring tourism to Sumba has opened new possibilities for work Sumbanese, including tour guides, natural trekking guides and manufacture of ikat fabrics, "said Jefry.
Pasola is an ancient animist party where qualified riders hurt (and rarely kill) each other with bamboo spears -. Blood must be spilled to ensure a good harvest.
Jefry's house, near the beach where Pasola festival held each February, I left at dawn, driving to the queue of cars and motorcycles who were already waiting for the beach park. We had the sad-looking people carrying empty buckets who explained that to Nyale did not come. "If there is not Nyale there will be rats," said Esra we looked at the fields near fragile gold. On the beach, the Ratu (shamans) set sadly the sea pending a shaman end to begin the divination by reading the intestines of a sacrificed chicken.
as expected shamans, we heard the boos from the other side of the beach -. the Pasola had started without their signal Confused, we ventured to the men who were already steering their horses in a circle, brandishing their spears tensions were high and a drunken horse man tried to stab another. participant who ran to the sand dunes for safety. the crowd dispersed in a cloud of adrenaline and I discovered later that historically men with grudges wait until the Pasola their chance for revenge.
This afternoon I headed to Kodi in West Sumba for Pasola to Kodi Bawa. Stay the night in a losmen I ventured to the festival, at dawn, but we discovered that the worms were not found there either. Drinking coffee in a makeshift tent was a man with a damaged eye of a Pasola injury. He explained that the lack of worms was because of Iklim (climate change) and fish stocks also declined. In Kodi there were fewer tourists, locals seemed more traditional and many wore ikat - I stuck out like a sore thumb. Some people were drinking alcohol in the early morning as Pasola started and I was breathing in the fumes from the crowd of kretek smoke. As the spears flew, a man was hit, losing close to his eye and wrinkled circle with cheers
Resorts Sumba are essentially selling the "savagery" of Sumba -. An inherent spark that was lost from the CCTV development worlds. But Sumbanese are ready for tourism? Anthropologist Sumbanese culture, Janet Hoskins, said the tourist gaze can be seen as threatening or aggressive to the local population, so how tourism can become more responsible in Sumba?
If tourists are respectful, excellent relationship could be developed to allow people of Sumba to sustainably develop and preserve their culture. "People still have a strong belief in the cultural rituals. It was the first time that the ancients made a wrong prediction, "said Jefry, who later explained that the 2014 harvest was successful
Maybe magic is not stagnant. It must evolve with time since many new factors were added to the ecosystem and nature has become more unpredictable. Hopefully perceptual indicators among them continue to penetrate these mysteries and maintain their magical culture.
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