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Sumba
island has a great and unique position respect to the
Sunda Banda archipelagoes, it is one of the biggest island on the
East Nusa Tenggara region beside Flores and Timor. It represents an
isolated sliver of probable continental crust to the south of active
volcanic islands (Sumbawa, Flores ) within the forearc basin (Fig.1). It
is situated to the north of passage from the Java Trench (subduction
front) to the Timor Through (collision front). It does not show still
the effects of strong compression in contrast to islands of the outer
arc system (Savu, Roti, Timor), while the magmatic units make up a
substantial part of the Late Cretaceous to Paleogene stratigraphy.
Sumba
island covers an area of 11,150
square km which is now populated by about 350,000 people.
Generally the climate similar to other part of Indonesia where a
dry season (May to November), and a rainy season (December to
April). The island of Sumba is well known of its sandlewood,
horses, impressive megalithic tombs, typical hand woven textile
("ikat"), and still untouched beautiful beaches. There
are two entering point in to Sumba island from anywhere in the
Lesser Waingapu & Waikabubak (Tambolaka). These are the people
could enter Sumba for either by flight or boat.
Sumba has a unique culture
and their social life. Sumbanese are traditionally divided into three
level of social life : (Raja/King) - Maramba, Customary Official -
Kabihu, and Slaves - Ata. Sumbanese are living from farming, cattle
breeding, rice-field farming and trading. Ones owns cattle will contribute
to their social status such as if they had more cattle giving them a
higher social status.
Most Sumbanese are
Christian (Catholic and Protestant), however, and part of them are still
strongly keep their native and original religion called Marapu. Most
cultural objects are related to the Marapu religion such as the shape of
traditional houses, ceremonies, or kings' graves and tombs.
The Customary
houses designed in high-peaked roof to store the heirlooms and
store. It is divided into male and female section, and generally surrounded by
impressive megalithic tombs. Their famous ceremony are the wedding and funerals.
where they usually sacrificed animals pigs, buffaloes, cattle, and horses.
The Megalithic tombs are
made from the hard stone forming the megalithic shape. This covered by rectangle
flat stone supported by four pillars about 1,5 meters high. The Megalithic tombs
are actually located in the front of their houses
A primitive Sumbanese art objects
strongly related with a social functions of Merapu belief. The carved stones and wood
statues are
representing the death, Merapu, and as medium for their contact. Metal ornaments and
jewelry are usually for wedding ceremonies, and are related to the social status
Sumba Island has a unique
position with respect to the Sunda-Banda arc as it represents an
isolated sliver of probable continental crust to the south of active
volcanic islands (Sumbawa, Flores ) within the forearc basin (Fig.1). It
is situated to the north of passage from the Java Trench (subduction
front) to the Timor Through (collision front). It does not show still
the effects of strong compression in contrast to islands of the outer
arc system (Savu, Roti, Timor), while the magmatic units make up a
substantial part of the Late Cretaceous to Paleogene stratigraphy.
Bathymetrically, Sumba
stands out as a ridge that separates the Savu forearc basin (> 3000 m
depth) in the east and the Lombok forearc basin (> 4000 m depth) in
the west. Seismic refraction studies show (Barber et al., 1981) that it
is made up of 24 km thick continental crust (Chamalaun et al., 1981).
Based on the results of tectonic studies helped by paleomagnetism and
geochemistry, several workers considered Sumba as a microcontinent or a
continental fragment (Hamilton, 1979 ; Chamalaun and Sunata, 1982 ;
Wensink, 1994, 1997 ; Vroon et al., 1996 ; Soeria-Atmadja et al., 1998
).
Three main geodynamic
models for Sumba have been reviewed by Chamalaun et al. (1982) and
Wensink (1994) as follows : (i) Sumba was originally a part of the
Australian Continent which was detached afterwards when the Wharton
basin was formed, drifted northwards and subsequently trapped behind the
eastern Java Trench (Audley-Charles, 1975 ; Otofuji et al., 1981), (ii)
Sumba was once part of Sundaland which was drifted southwards during the
opening of the Flores Basin (Hamilton,1979, Von der Borch et al., 1983 ;
Rangin et al., 1990) and (iii) Sumba was either a microcontinent or part
of a larger continent within the Tethys, which later was fragmented (Chamalaun
and Sunata, 1982).
Three distinct calc-alkaline magmatic episodes have been recorded during
Cretaceous - Paleogene, all of them characterized by nearly similar rock
assemblages (i.e pyroclastic rocks, basaltic - andesitic lava flows and
granodioritic intrusions). They are respectively (i) the Santonian -
Campanian episode (86-77 Ma) represented by volcanic and plutonic rock
exposures in the Masu Complex from Eastern Sumba, (ii) the
Maastrichtian-Thanetian episode (71-56 Ma) represented by the volcanic
and plutonic units of Sendikari Bay, Tengairi Bay and the Tanadaro
Complex in Central Sumba and finally (iii) the Lutetian - Rupelian
episode (42-31 Ma) of which the products are exposed at Lamboya and
Jawila in western part of Sumba. No evidence of Neogene magmatic
activity has been recorded so far.
Sumba
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