By: Kristofer Bech

There is more to Indonesia than Bali and Bintangs by the beach!

Here in Sumba, you have one of the most culturally fascinating places to be found anywhere on earth. An Island steeped in magic and mysticism since antiquity. Distinguished by its culture of ancient rituals and ceremonies, striking village architecture, and famous for its so-called ‘sandalwood’ ponies, Sumba is entirely different to anything you have experienced anywhere else!

It was whispers of the ancient Marapu tradition and the ferocity of the Pasola that first enticed me to venture across the seas of the Indonesian archipelago to this somewhat remote location – situated 500 kilometres to the east of Bali, and 100 kilometres south of Komodo.

The renowned rituals of the Marapu are still surprisingly central to the way of life here – this means the worship of ancestors, divine spirits and an all-seeing, all-hearing god whose name is never spoken, but of whom all are aware! This tradition relies on the shaman known as ‘rato’ to communicate with the divine spirits and ancestors on behalf of clans and family groups to maintain a harmonious relationship between heaven and earth. Animal sacrifice is routinely offered to appease the Gods, prevent misfortune, and to ward off the evil spirits.

The divine spirits are regularly summoned and consulted during marriages, births, and deaths, even for the building of a house, or before a rice harvest, fishing expeditions, and any other important activities deemed important to everyday life. It is known that the ‘rato’ can interpret the will of the divine by reading chicken entrails and pig livers, acting as a conduit for important messages to be passed between heaven and earth.

Generally, the people of one village belong to a single clan, and for every clan, there is a traditional house or ‘rumah adat’ within the village where the ancestral spirits dwell, and sacred heirloom objects are kept. These houses are usually located in the most prominent position within the village and are built in a different style from houses of the living, with an elongated peak reaching higher towards the heavens above in which the sacred objects are safely kept. This is the blessed home in which the divine spirits dwell, and accordingly, outsiders may only enter with the permission of the clan.

Marapu rituals are closely tied to animal sacrifice, and the altars used for offerings are always placed outside of the house, usually consisting of a platform of stones or a large flat stone slab. The most important altar is usually located within the village courtyard to protect the residents from spells and dark forces. There are altars built for horses and buffaloes to protect their health, as well as seaside altars for success in fishing and seafaring. Houses are often decorated with buffalo horns to display status and wealth – buffalos being sacrificed on important occasions, such as weddings and funerals.

Sumba is also one of the few places in the world where the ancient practice of megalithic burial is still employed to inter-important individuals when they pass on over to the afterlife.  Ancient lonely megaliths can be spotted jutting out like deserted rocky outcrops on barren earth by the sea, a peculiar sight unlike anywhere else I have seen.

Even more bizarre to an outsider is that the tombs are more often built amongst the regular houses within the village. The large stone tombs create an impressively eerie sight prominently intermingled amongst the regular houses of the village. It all comes back to the Marupu tradition – one’s relatives may leave this world, but their spiritual essence will never leave the village!

Funerals for distinguished persons in Sumba are the grandest of affairs, the most important and expensive of all occasions – a king once had to wait 17 years after he passed for the clan to be able to afford his funeral ceremony. The grandeur of these occasions was getting so out of hand that a law was passed limiting the permissible number of animal sacrifices to just five, to prevent the villagers from bankrupting themselves to please the divine as was so often happening.

It is estimated that 35% of the population of Sumba still practices Marapu as their primary belief system, with the remaining 60% counted as Christian, and a much smaller minority of about 5% Muslim.

In many cases, Christianity has merely been adopted for administrative purposes only, because the Marapu tradition is not listed as an official religion of Indonesia – needed to complete documentation such as birth certificates and identity cards. Therefore, the ancestral practices of Marapu have simply been retained and incorporated into Christianity and are still very much followed to this day in what is a unique religious concoction found nowhere else.

The most visually spectacular traditional ceremony associated with Marapu that takes place in Sumba is the annual Pasola – some call it a festival, although personally, I would describe it more as a fierce theatrical combative performance!

The Pasola, held annually too much fanfare takes place to honour the divine spirits to acquire fertile conditions for the preparation of the rice planting and harvesting season.

You will have to carefully plan your trip if you’d like to see it. Pasola is held in either late February or early March depending on the cycle of the full moon which prompts the emergence of the ‘nyale’ seaworm on its annual pilgrimage to arrive at the seashore. When this happens, and the seaworm finally writhes to the surface to reproduce, the shaman declares that it is the most opportune time for the Pasola to begin!

What follows is a ritualistic war game, a blood sport contested between men of opposing clans on horseback. The furious riders face off on the Pasola field, fervently charging and attacking from opposite sides, hurling spears at each other with practised grace and murderous intent. The hardened warriors are carried into battle by their forever faithful and equally fearless companions, the sandalwood ponies – kitted out with brilliant ornate headgear apt for the important occasion.

Amidst the tropical heat, the mood of the ceremony feels much more volatile than festive. This is a performance of the highest athletic calibre – with the men riding bareback and barefoot, simultaneously bombarding each other with spears, whilst at the same time evading those that are falling like rain from a storm cloud. Participation whether as a combatant or a spectator is not for the faint of heart and only the courageous need apply!

To a newcomer there appear to be no rules to this torrid battle, an intense whirlwind of colour, chaos, skill and action, all played out to the sound of thunderous hooves pounding down on the earth – continuing for hours to the oohs, aahs, cheers and jeers of the crowd.

Due to safety concerns, the traditional spears were at some point (no pun intended) replaced by ‘ceremonial’ blunted ones, but serious injuries to the participants are still a common occurrence and are actually encouraged!

In fact, that’s the whole point of Pasola isn’t it! To fertilise the earth with human blood! If there’s blood in the dirt and people have been hurt… then the objectives of Pasola can be regarded as fulfilled! With the spirits now appeased, conditions will be fertile for sowing the rice crop, and everyone can be optimistic that the coming harvest will be a success!

It is important to note that Pasola would be nothing without the famed sandalwood ponies, upon whose backs those fearless warriors hitch a ride. They seem to be the only breed of horse left in Indonesia that is still essential to the local culture and economy in which they exist.

Named after the scented trees that once grew here so prolifically, the sandalwood ponies are originally thought to have descended from the horses of the Tibetan plateau. It is believed that Chinese seafarers visited and exchanged these horses for the timber of the sandalwood trees, possibly as far back as the 8th century. At some point in the past, they then mixed with horses of Arabian pedigree brought in by traders from the Middle East, developing into the fine breed that they are known as today.

Not only necessary to a successful Pasola, the ponies are given as wedding gifts, funeral offerings, raced competitively, or simply ridden just to get around. When a family member dies, a pony might be sacrificed to provide a carriage for the soul into the afterlife. The ponies are held in high esteem both in life and in death, and for the people of Sumba, their pony is revered not only as a symbol of pride and high status but also as one of good character.

If you’d like to see the impressive Pasola in the flesh, it is held yearly at various locations in either February or March in the regencies of South-West Sumba (Kodi) and West Sumba (Lamboya, Wanokaka, and Gaura).

Honestly, no amount of words used to describe Pasola will ever do it justice compared to seeing it with your own eyes. Don’t take my word for it, go see it for yourself! Don’t miss your chance to see the fearless warriors and sandalwood ponies in action.

The next Pasola is scheduled for the first two weeks of March 2024, subject to the anticipated arrival of the sea worm, and the considered word of the local shaman of course! You will be pleased to see that the old ways are still alive in Sumba!