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Not Bali: the Indonesian island learning to welcome strangers while sharing the benefits

Sleepy Sumba provides an ideal quiet break during the Year of the Horse. Just don’t mention Bali

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Action from a charity horse race in Sumba, Indonesia. Photo: Charukesi Ramadurai
Charukesi Ramadurai

It’s been more than an hour since we drove away from Sumba’s tiny Tambolaka airport and so far, it’s been mostly empty stretches of narrow road, with only the occasional group of cheeky schoolchildren waving and hooting to break the monotony.

All of a sudden, a procession of bare-chested, barefoot men approaches on the other side of the road, their red turbans gleaming in the afternoon sunlight. Our driver pulls over, pats his pockets and takes out … a packet of cigarettes, which he proffers to the marchers with great respect. A few stop to accept this token while most glare at the driver and carry on walking.

It is over before we know what is happening, and we are on the road again, heading to Nihi, a luxury 28-villa resort in southwestern Sumba. It is only much later that I find out about Sumba’s silent month. It is a revered Marapu tradition – stemming from the animistic faith of the region, which thrives along with the Christianity introduced by Dutch colonisers – that prohibits loud noises, music and any form of entertainment. Bali has Nyepi, a single Day of Silence, but Sumba has Wulla Poddu, an entire month.
The Nihi resort opens onto the prime surfing spot of Nihiwatu Beach, in Sumba, Indonesia. Photo: Charukesi Ramadurai
The Nihi resort opens onto the prime surfing spot of Nihiwatu Beach, in Sumba, Indonesia. Photo: Charukesi Ramadurai
Ah, there it is. Bali. Before I started writing about Sumba (indeed, before even travelling to this island in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province), I had wondered how long it would be before the Island of the Gods entered the conversation. Comparisons with Bali are inevitable given that Sumba – with twice the territory, a fraction of the population and far fewer tourists – is a mere one-hour flight away. But these comparisons are facile, as I will discover over the next few days.

Nina Rambu Rauna holds the unique title of Nihi’s custodian of Sumbanese culture, and she tells me that driving during Wulla Poddu is technically prohibited but the cigarettes helped excuse the minor transgression. The men we encountered were priests, who still wield a lot of power within Sumba.

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