Endangered Omo Hada in poor condition
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.