Nias: Between waves and stone age

Nias: Between waves and stone age

Nias hosted an international surfing championship between July 19
and 23. Located west of Sumatra, Unspoiled beaches, traditional
houses and stone jumping are among the main tourist attractions
of the island. Ibnu Basori gives the following account.

NIAS (JP): Have you ever really looked at the Rp 1,000 note?
The picture on one side depicts a man jumping over a high stone
column and the caption reads Lompat Batu Pulau Nias (Stone
Jumping of Nias Island).

Nias is almost always associated with stone jumping, a unique
custom that can only be found on the island. In the past, jumping
over the 1.5 meter-high stone was considered an outstanding
achievement. Today, the cultural tradition is simply a tourist
attraction. Which is a pity, because stones occupy a special
place in the life of the Nias people as a symbol of unity and
cooperation.

Aside from its famed stone jumping, Nias, an island to the
west of Sumatra, is also noted for its gorgeous beaches, said to
be some of the most beautiful in the world. Sorake beach in Teluk
Dalam has become one of the most important surfing regions in the
world next to Oahu and Maui in Hawaii, Bell's Beach and Kirra
Beach in Australia, Raiatea and Huahine in Tahiti, Jeffreys Bay
in South Africa, Plengkung in East Java and Uluwatu in Bali.
Periscopes Beach and Dessert Point in Sumbawa as well as Asu
island west of Nias, are the other surfing areas in Indonesia.

For the second time this year, the perfect waves off of
Sorake, Nias attracted an international surfing championship. The
event was held between July 19 and 23.

Guide books concentrate on the traditional villages in Teluk
Dalam, the megalithic stones in the original village of Gomo and
the surfing at Sorake. To travelers looking for pure and exotic
places, Nias is a dream to be pursued.

It is said that Nias, resembles Bali in the 1960s. Hopefully
Nias won't go the way of Bali. The Nias war dance, a traditional
ritual of the villagers, should continue to be performed only on
request.

Bali has produced in the last 30 years a newly rich elite.
Development in Nias spells great concern for the local people who
still live below the poverty line.

"The per capita income of the Nias population is Rp 500,000
per year, compared with Rp 1.2 million in North Sumatra. The
total number of isolated villages is 478, or 72.5 percent of the
total of villages in the region," said Nias Regent Tal Larosa.

The presence of foreign tourists has encouraged the local
people to pursue a better life. The inhabitants around Sorake,
which in the 1970s was still a virgin coast packed with coconut
trees, were quick on the uptake. The hill dwellers of
Botohilitano came down from their village to build simple
cottages on stilts to rent to the surfers. The coastline is now
lined with reasonably priced cottages or homestays. The first
cottage established in Sorake was Ja'ahowu.

A new livelihood replaced selling sweet potatoes and coconuts
which have hardly any market value in Nias. One and a half liters
of rice equal 25 coconuts. Nias imports 20,000 tons of rice every
year.

Bawomataluo village, which had survived on coconuts, sweet
yams, bananas and pig farming, now depends on hustling carvings
and other souvenirs along Sorake's 10 kilometer-long beach.

Another tourism pioneer, Agus Mendrova, saw an opportunity in
transportation. He has since developed his small business into
the only travel bureau, "Nias Holidays", on the island. A four
day and three nights package takes tourists to the most important
sites in Nias and are enlivened with war dances.

The war dances reflect life in the southern villages of Nias.
Spears and shields add to fierceness of war dances. They still
use the spears to hunt wild boars.

The layout of the villages also are reflection of a life gone
by. According to tradition villages are built on a hill and are
accessible only from two directions. The 10 meter-tall gates of
piled stones discourage hostile villagers from entering.

Nias is a rising star. However, cottage owners in Sorake beach
have begun to fear that their lucky star has also been drawing
unwanted attention from capital-strong business men, marketing
people and the government.

A major plan is underway which will destroy the whole Sorake
area and Moale beach to make way for an integrated tourist region
to be managed by a foundation.

Although the small entrepreneurs along the beach will
definitely suffer, the plan might benefit the people of Teluk
Dalam. There are at least 10 cruise ships which visit the
traditional villages or megalithic stone sites. Most come once
a year for one day. Among holidaying liners to Nias are, Ms
Berlin, Ms Europa, Ms Arkona, Ms Seabourn Spirit,
Ms Ocean Pearl, Ms Maxim Gorky and Ms Marcopolo, whose last visit
was on July 4.

Development may also mean that a number of traditions may
disappear, which the locals are not aware of yet. The one hundred
year-old stone statues are almost all gone, since they became a
trading commodity for as little as few hundred thousand rupiah.
If the daro-daro stone seats and the nitara'oe were not so heavy,
they might go the same way.

Ibnu Basori is a reporter of Jakarta Jakarta magazine. This
article was written exclusively for The Jakarta Post.