Customs ban people from Bora's hot springs area<\/p>\n
Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post, Donggala<\/p>\n
The Higi Bora Customary Council has prohibited people from
\nentering the hot springs area in Bora village, Sigi Biromaru
\ndistrict in Donggala, about 16 kilometers southeast of the
\nCentral Sulawesi capital, Palu.<\/p>\n
The ban is called ombo in local customary law.<\/p>\n
Following the magnitude 6.2 earthquake that rocked the
\nprovince on Jan. 24, the activity of the original hot spring in
\nthe area had intensified and 13 new hot springs had emerged.<\/p>\n
Besides Bora, new hot spring water sources have also appeared
\nin Bobo village, Palolo district, Donggala, about 25 km southeast
\nof Palu.<\/p>\n
The Higi Bora Customary Council would impose a penalty in the
\nform of requiring a water buffalo or cow to be sacrificed against
\nthose breaking the regulation.<\/p>\n
\"Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), no one has violated the
\ncustomary law,\" said head of the council, Abidin Dg Masiri.<\/p>\n
The council has erected a fence and assigned two caretakers to
\nprevent people from reaching the spot. Visitors can only view the
\nspectacle from 50 meters away.<\/p>\n
The council and the Bora village administration are also
\ncollecting an admission fee of Rp 1,000 (11 U.S. cents) from each
\nvisitor.<\/p>\n
A caretaker assigned to guard the place, Umar, 34, said that
\nas many as 125 people visited the hot springs daily.<\/p>\n
He said that most of them came just to see whether or not
\nwater in the spring was boiling and giving off steam. They could
\napparently feel the heat and the smell of sulfur generated by the
\nhot springs from 50 meters away.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Palu chapter of the Alkhairaat Islamic
\nSociety, Saggaf Aljufrie, who also heads the Central Sulawesi
\nchapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), urged local
\nresidents not to be overwhelmed by the quake or by the presence
\nof the hot springs.<\/p>\n
He also encouraged residents to constantly pray to God so as
\nto be protected from tragedies bestowed by God upon humankind.<\/p>\n
The charismatic cleric also urged the agencies to immediately
\nlook into the hot springs and publicize the results to the
\npublic.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/customs-ban-people-from-boras-hot-springs-area-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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