Endangered Omo Hada in poor condition

By Edy Suhartono

MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Omo Hada, an 18th century building on the island of Nias, North Sumatra, and Tanah Lot temple on Bali are among the 100 most endangered sites in the world.

They were among 375 sites from 58 countries chosen by the New York-based World Monument Watch last September.

With the addition of Omo Hada and Tanah Lot temple, Indonesia now has three of most endangered sites in the world. The other one is Borobudur temple, which was first included on the list in 1996.

Unlike Borobudur and Tanah Lot, however, Omo Hada is relatively unknown. The site is situated in Hilinawalo Mazingo village, Teluk Dalam district, in southern Nias and is quite difficult to reach due to inadequate transportation facilities.

From the provincial capital city of Medan, you will need about 26 hours of traveling to go there. By land from Medan to Sibolga is about eight hours, and then you should take a ship to Gunung Sitoli on Nias, which will take about 12 hours. You will need another six hours to travel to Hilinawalo village. The journey has not ended. You now have to walk or take a motorcycle to Omo Hada, which is located in a hilly area. The road is in a terrible condition, and slippery when it rains.

The island of Nias lags behind other areas in North Sumatra in term of development and modernization, not only because of its geographical factors, but also due to lack of government attention. Even though it has a great tourism potential and is rich with tradition and cultural heritage, it has failed to attract investors. Nias is one of the poorest areas in North Sumatra. Generally, its population depend mostly on agriculture using the slash-and-burn method, or hunting.

Hilinawalo Mazingo village, where 400 families from various clans live, is in the shape of "U" and the Omo Hada house is at the center of it. People call this area a royal palace complex, because only a king can own a house like Omo Hada. The first people that came to this area were the Bu'ulolo's clan.

Omo Hada, which means old house, was built in 1715. It is 30- meters long and 10-meters wide. A stage house, the stilts are about 4-meters high and the top of the house is 30 meters from the ground.

It is made of wood. Its roof is weaved from rumbia and nipah grass. The stands are not erected on the ground but on pieces stones. To get into the building, one has to enter through a door in the space under the house. This is to make the building less vulnerable to enemy attack.

The house is different than other houses in the village. All parts of the house are very big as it was built by a king. More than a palace, it also functioned as a venue for traditional ceremonies. There are two small rooms where criminals were once locked away. Now they are used to store kitchen tools.

Once a royal house, the Omo Hada is now in poor condition. The roof is leaking and the poles have lost their strength -- half of them have been damaged. Some of the house's ornaments have gone missing.

The government once renovated the house, but the results were far from satisfactory. There was no transparency in the process, and only the floor of the house was repaired.

Sozalawa Bu'ulolo and his family, the 5th generation of the Bu'ulolo's clan, live in the house. Their presence could accelerate the damage being inflicted on it. He says that he can not do much to fix the house because of lack of funds.

The writer is the executive director of North Sumatra Heritage.