Ya’ahowu Nias

In South Nias Island there is a Bay, Teluk Lagundri. Two apposing headlands mark the passage between. On these headlands is exposed reef and rocks. Upon these reefs large waves, lift forming rolling breakers of huge proportions. The bay is well protected from all winds; ocean swell that runs in the bay is easily managed with the bottom of good holding in mud and sand. Access to the shore is made by rowing to the fringing reef at the lee headlands of the bay or into the river Luaha gundri. On small swell you can land directly on the beach head. Local villages are fortified and strategically positioned high upon the hills that run close to the coast of this southern region of the island and surround the Lagundri Bay before. Strategically this gives little hope for ships passing close by this part of the island to be undetected. It is said that the villages take slaves for trade and head hunt as part of there culture. Gold and pigs are the wealth.

Lagundri Bay being a safe harbor and having villages nearby would have been visited by various ships over a long and unwritten period. How far this goes back is hard to say. There are document and research that dates megalithic remnants in the south of Nias back to over 3,000 years BC. In old records Nias is mentioned with visits from China, the Persians, and Portuguese, evidence can be seen in architecture, carvings and the amour the warriors used. Across from Nias Island north of Sibolga is “Barus” a town which is said to be the oldest Sea port in Indonesia, and where the Islamic religion first arrived. Also Marco Polo visited Barus in his voyages of discovery.
From the learned scholars many different opinions have been written on the Nias people origins, one Nias researcher, Dr. GM Thomsen studied in detail Nias and its people and placed similarities to a region in Tibet, where inhabitants speak a language and practices social customs similar to those of Nias. Anthropologists have said that the islanders are related to the hill tribes of Burma, having migrated there five to seven thousand years ago. Linguists point to Madagascar, with similarities to the Malagasy language; historians claim similarities between Nias wood carvings and the sculpture of the Nagas of the Himalayan Assam. One fact is that the Nias people are not renowned seafarers, pointing to interaction of visiting ships over a long period of time.      ( TOP )

Gomo Ancient Legend
Gomo is said to be the center of origins of the Niha people. Along with common ancient legends that have the first inhabitants being created by the elements or earth, wind, fire, water or had fallen from the sky. The most modern and accepted variation is the story of Gomo as follows:
It is said that a princess from somewhere in china.
Outcast from her father’s realm was shipwrecked on an island, near a river mouth. Upon the shore she with her crew made there way up river in search of inhabitants, found none, and eventually set up a camp within sight of the coast so that if one day a rescue ship appeared it could be signaled. One day a ship also from china did appear, upon which it was signaled. This new ship made for shore with the intent of raiding the islanders for food and stores. Upon arrival there was a battle and many died from both parties, finally a truce was made and the two parties agreed to cooperate. Overjoyed by the out come the princess whose surname was Go, asked the captain of the ship his surname, his name was Mo and thus was born the village of Gomo. It is said that this first settlement grew spreading inhabitants across the whole of rugged interior of the island. These became the first Nias people with their descendant’s populating the island building villages and intermarrying with people of neighboring island (Batu Islands) and the Sumatra mainland.      ( TOP )

South Nias
* The Nias people spread through out the island with 2 groups developing, North Nias and the South Nias, both have distinctive differences.
South Nias villages are visually impacting, being highly fortified structures placed on top of the hills, village houses are built together in long rows facing parallel to each other separated by a large stone covered court yard. Stone alters and pillars are place in front of the houses giving a sign as to nobility, The villages and court yards on a whole give a sense of permanency being very well planned, stone gutters for water run of in the court yards, stone steps and paths leading to a joining villages and the water source in the valleys. House fronts are remarkably deigned, giving the resemblance to the stern of ships. These ship like houses with there high pointing roofs stand on large hardwood poles and are joined together by trap doors and wooden panels. Interestingly no nails are used in construction being fixed using wooden dowels. This construction and fortification can be directly related to the developed of trade. With high vantage point easily defended and an organized system of hierarchy.
Looking at this subject, geographically we see, in the south from, Sauha river (Gomo district, hills and mountain range tend to run away from the coast towards the interior of the island) To the south, hills and mountains run close to the coast in a southern direction with typical hill top villages dotted all away along. Lagundri Bay being the largest and most southerly bay supports an excellent all weather anchorage. From the south point of approach to Lagundri, the coastline runs west to become fully exposed to west wind and the open ocean swells.
From the sea and sailing aspect we have a situation where the coastal mountain range generate on - offshore winds, (Catabatic Wind) with the heat of the day causing air at sea surface to be drawn to the heating land mass and rising to the mountains. Alternatively in the late afternoon and evening the cooling of the landmass and the latent heat of the day stored in the ocean, creates the flow of breeze (offshore wind) to the coast to fan out of the valleys and coastal bays to a short way off shore.
From a sailing situation, the catabatic winds generated by the land mass and coastal mountains spread along the whole of west coast Sumatra, made Nias Island, Lagundri bay readily accessibly to sailing vessels that for centuries ventured to trade to west coast Sumatra.     ( TOP )

North Nias
Villages have a different architectural style customs and dialect. Villages are scattered and not necessarily placed on hill tops but to lowlands valleys near the water source. House construction is oval shape and separated from each other but still retaining central stone courtyards and alters. The high coastal mountains of the south in the north tend to be more inland. When the Dutch cam, in comparison to the South they found the North easy to conquer.

*1405 - Chinese Admiral Cheng Ho is sailing visits Semerang and Malacca

Gold & Slave Trade

From the first battle of Gomo a precedent was set. In the south break away villages where being established with their kings sending warriors to do battle with neighboring villages. Foreign influences began regularly trading gold to the island in return for slaves. This trade became the direct result to the increase in village rivalry with war parties looting and taking slaves. This looting and inter village rivalry between the kings revolved around the prestige of power, found by accumulating slaves, to be traded for primarily gold, pigs, for the feasts, and human heads for the after life and transitional ceremonies. This over an unwritten period of time became the South Nias Culture with its social roots, based on a multi tired caste system, where importantly a standing of wealth dedicated to a life financing huge community feast that ultimately kept the kings and the hierarchy of the village in power.

*Aceh was a main trader of gold for slaves in Nias and with this trade Nias became known as the “Island of Gold”. As general trade was rapidly expanding through out the whole of the SE. Asia region, Nias developed its own trade with other parts of Sumatra mainland. Nias Goldsmith skills where well recognized. In 1624 – Aceh takes Nias in a direct attempt to control the slave trade and the movement of gold through the area.

Living on the Point

In the early 80’s we lived on the point at Sorake with out any of the locals staying over night. A factor to why they would not stay alone on the point was that of “Black Magic” and the saying “Maling from Aceh” Even after the villages eventually started to live on the Sorake point succumbing to the tourist $. Every now and then the “Maling from Aceh” would said to be around and on these very serious occasions we where warned to not venture away at night, a watch would be put out, the women where sent to the village and extra male family members from the village would stay the night with fires kept burning out side the accommodation. These incidents could be relate to the practice of black magic ceremonies that they said where still happening and required a human head.

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Gomo is a village in the hills a way of the coast
I visited Gomo on several occasions. Spread around the area on the top of the hills, (some quite long treking is required) is the remnants of stone court yards and stone megalithic structures that plainly indicate a highly organized way of living and governing of villages. To make and place these stone carvings and the layout of these locations would have taken calculated decision making. This clearly shows that there was a well established way of governing their particular areas. In these court yards council would meet, all community decision revolving around the inhabitants, life death, marriage, birth, war, peace, trade, and social status.
Now from my observations, Nias people are a mix of races that have distinct ethnic lines, A “jodoh” system from which they intermarry with social standing, as a factor or seen in some way of keeping the money in the family sort of thing. This is a system of where the man is actually buying a wife at a price which could be linked too, (maybe left over from slave trade of which women where also sold as slaves) repay a possible debt to a direct family member, the social standing of the family in the community, and the education level that the women has received. This dowry has to be approved by a host of uncles and relatives of the family line (they get a share) and can mean many long discussions and money arguments within the family. Marriage is usually not to far away from a close or distant relative from a nearby village. From this system you I can see that there has become groups that are linked by there “margas” family names. This brings about family names with similar physical features. Some people are small of statue well muscled and well proportioned with usually good spaced teeth, others tall thinner and can grow thick facial hair or warts with hair. Generally all are lighter skinned than mainland Indonesians. Nias also has a large amount of pure albinos, and is said hermaphrodites, actual both man and women sex organs, I have seen and been acquainted with these people but have never proved the fact. One other noticeable factor is religion which separates the coastal dwellers to that from the features of the people of the interior. Islamic religion is situated mainly around trade villages or the sea ports. For the Chinese some who have origins of coming direct from china to the west coast of Sumatra or in some cases direct to Nias itself / these families intermarry among themselves sometimes with marriages arranged with other ethnic Chinese from the mainland. Universally on Nias if marrying occurs outside of there own ethnic clan or family group it is usually to the disapproval of the parents.     ( TOP )

Krakatau
Ama Suki an older man, farmer come coconut tree climber, regularly brought my supply of green coconuts. In 1983 I had a regular weekly delivery. On one occasion I came to his plantation down at the head of the bay near the river, he told me how the original port village was not in the present Teluk Dalam but in the Lagundri bay. He explained how a village had been established on the shore to trade with the visiting trade boats. This village was established by mainly foreigners to the island and consisted of an ethnic mix of cultures.
Here at the trade post they had made a small rock wall next to a natural crack in the reef. This wall stretched out across the reef to access the deeper water of the bay, trade huts on the banks and a small carriage track with a drain each side to access them. Down the way on the banks of the river Luaha gundri, the Dutch colonialists had a homestead (erpact) here they had established the first coconut plantation in the south. All that remained, at the time of my visit, was remnants of larger rocks on the reef; grass covered and partly filled in drains beside the coral based carriage track, and some well established and newer grave sites of Muslim origin. The original Dutch Homestead or any signs of it where non existent. Digging around Ama Suki uncovered broken porcelain pieces. From this he told the story of how this trade village, the first port in the south was destroyed along with the homestead by a great wave * this wave is said to have drained and then flooded the bay, destroying all in its path as it wash its way to the base of the surrounding hills.

*There is a good possibility that the huge wave that flooded the bay was caused by the tidal wave created by the 1883 Krakatau eruption. This eruption estimated to have killed 36,000 people in West Java and Lampung Sumatra)
Eyewitness reports see: http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/Krakatau.html

After this devastation the port was re-established at its present location in the deep water bay of Teluk Dalam which had by chance escaped the flooding.
Until today some families (mainly Chinese) in Teluk Dalam have there origins from the original traders of Lagundri Bay and. on the death of the “old folk” they are buried in the Grave sites on the bank of the beach Pantai Sorake. Also a recent land dispute (1995) to the “erpact” Dutch Homestead site was based on an old document (period of exile of the Dutch from Indonesia) giving deed of land to a Chinese family in Teluk Dalam whose family had origins of working at the Dutch homestead. There great - great grand mother survived the flooding after being found high in the fronds of a still standing sago palm tree. ( TOP )

- Time Line -

1292 – Marco Polo visits Sumatra
1345 – Arab traveler Ibn Battuta visits Pasai Sumatra near Medan
1405 - Chinese Admiral Cheng Ho visits Semerang
1409 - Chinese Admiral Cheng Ho visits Malacca
1599 - Dutch Churches call for missionaries to Indies
1602 - VOC established
1624 - Aceh takes Nias
1685 - British in Bengkulu
1694 - VOC contact with Toba Bataks
1714 - British build Fort Marlborough Bengkulu
1796 - British Occupy Padang
1838 - Dutch establish presence in Nias
1847 - Dutch military expedition to Nias
1850 - Dutch Missions in North Sumatra
1855 - Dutch military expedition to Nias
1863 - Dutch military expedition to Nias
1864 - Dutch clam Mentawai islands
1870 - Steam Ship service to the Netherlands
1883 - Krakatau erupts in west Java and Lampung
1894 - End of Batak war
1914 - Nias under complete Dutch control
1945 – World War II
1965 – First Surfers in Nias

 

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Contact Details :
mark@surfingsumatra.com
mobile indonesia : 0812.626.5592
postal : NBC Jln.Padang Sidempuan #2 Sarudik
North Sumatra - Indonesia