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 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. |