Lombok and the Lesser Sunda Island

You can see Bali in Lombok, but not Lombok in Bali: such is the cliche in a brochure advertising Lombok as a tourist destination. That is not without reason. In the western part of the island, Hinduism is heavily present alongside Islam. The island was javanized prior to the Islamisation of Java, and as such subjected to the powerful influence of the Shiwa Buddhist tradition from Java.

In the 17th century, the kingdom of Karangasem invaded Lombok, turning it into an important centre of Hindu-Balinese power and culture. Such influences interwine the histories of Bali and Lombok.

The Balinese still make up an important minority in the western part of the island. The city of Cakranegara is a mainly Balinese city. The Pura Meru Temple, built by Anak Agung Karang in 1720, is dedicated to the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Wisnu, and Shiwa.

Another sign of the effect of Karangasem is the famed Taman Narada, built 1727 by Anak Agung Gde Ngurah Karangasem as both a recreational garden and a place to worship Shiwa.

But despite this Hindu influence, Lombok is essentially a Moslem island. Islam came first from Java, and then from Sulawesi, whose sea~faring Bugis set up the Eastern Kingdom of Selaparang in the 17th century. So the religlous mix is remarkably complex.

Most of the Sasak people of Lombok follow a brand of Islamic orthodoxy professed by traditional teachers, which is known as "Tuan Guru". Others follow the syncretise tradition of "Wetu Telu". Instead of praying five times a day as Moslems usually do, they pray only three times a day, and have a cosmology influenced by Hinduism. There is even a temple in Lingsar where people from Hindu and Islamic traditions meet for common prayer. Besides the Balinese and Sasak, there are also Bugis in Lombok Islands.

The Lesser Sunda is lands region. of which Lombok is but a part, covers an area as wide as Java. It has a great variety of ethnic groups, with an increased Melanesian influence the further one goes east. There are at least 33 main languages. Some islands are highly Islamic (like Lombok and Sumbawa), while others are mostly Catholic (Flores, Eastern Timor), and still others are Protestant, (Sumba, Rote and Western Timor).

The area is no less varied geographicallv. The Nusa Tenggara islands are the most varied in Indonesia: their landscape ranges from Lombok's volcanoes to Sumbds and Flores' dry savannahs. There are also colourful atolls in many parts of this region.

Lombok is where the transition towards Eastern Indonesia begins, both naturally and culturally. The northern part of Lombok is mountainous and verdant with tall trees and shrubs covering the land. One finds none of the large Asian mammals. The western part of the island is the greenest and most humid. As one moves east, the dry season becomes more pronounced, and in many areas corn and sago, instead of rice, are the staple foods.

Lombok's principal mountain is the 3726 m Mt. Rin'ani, third-highest in Indonesia. Still active, it last erupted in 1901. Mountains play an important role in Sasak tradition. Both the Sasak and Balinese people have a yearly pilgrimage to Rinjani's summit, which has several sulphuric lakes with curative virtues. Mount l@injani also offers trekking through the rain forests.

Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara, together with Ampenan, the port, and Cakranegara, the old Balinese capital, make up the largest urban area in the province. Nearby Sweta has the largest traditional market, including birds. Very different from the atmosphere of urban Lombok is a traditional village such as Sukarare famous for its weaving, and Penunjak, famous for its pottery.

Lombok has a large array of beautiful beaches. Kute Beach (also known as Purl Nyale Beach), is on the south coast of Central Lombok. The answer to Bali's Kuta, albeit much less developed, Kute is one of the most scenic and unspoiled beaches on the island. From Kute to Tanjung Aan, five kilometers away, there is an unbroken stretch of clean white sand. The sea is safe for bathing and swimming.

Further to the west are several surfing and windsurfing beaches. Each ar, on the 19th day of the tenth month of the Sasak lunar calendar, when the Nyale fish come to the sea surface, Kute beach hosts the famous Nyale festival.

But Lomboles chief resort is Senggigi beach, offering a range of accommodation, with the best hotels on the island situated here. A recommended choice is Puri Saron. Corals can be seen in abundance just off~shore.

Gili in the Sasak language means island. The three Gili islands, Gili Air, Gili Trawangan, and Gili Meno are idyllic islets just off the northern coast. A favourite with backpackers, the islands abound with coral gardens. Gili Air, the nearest island, can be reached in 10 to 15 minutes by boat from the mainland.

One of the best ways to enjoy the splendour and beauty of the Gili islands is to go on a cruise on the five-star luxury catamaran, The Bounty Cruises. Equipped with international standard safety equipment and computerized sta~ bilizer, it makes the sea journey from Benoa harbour in Ball to Gili Meno in 'ust two-and~a half hours. During the j ourpey, guests can enjoy deck games and in-house videos or simply sun-bathe. At the island, The Bounty Cruises will moor alongside a pontoon, allowing opportunities for snorkeling or scuba diving. The blue tinted staghorn corals are one of the attractions here. One can also take a glassbottom boat ride to the private beach to enjoy volleyball, parasailing, seafood BBQ or banana boat rides. As the afternoon sun fades, guests are transferred back to the catamaran to enjoy a delicious buffet and cocktails. Bookings can be made through your tour guide, travel agent, hotel tour desk or the Bounty Cruises office.

On Lombok, nature and you enter a new geographical zone, the intermediate zone between Asia and Australia (please see "Flora and Fauna"). The staple foods are sago, corn, or cassava. There is little paddy, as cattle replace agriculture as the main activities of the local people. The other important economic activity is the making of pottery, which is gaining worldwide fame. Pottery is produced mainly in the villages of Banyumulek, Masbagik Timur and Penujak. Here, women have been involved in this craft since the decline of the Hindu Kingdom of Majapahit in the early 16th century. Technically, there are few differences in the processes used in the three villages except that the designs of the pots are different.

The Governments of the Republic of Indonesia and of New Zealand, has been providing technical and marketing assistance to these women potters. It has assisted them to process their clays in ways which produce a stronger product.

The earthenware clay used is greyish brown in its natural state but becomes a beautiful rich red brown when fired. Finished pots are coated with a slip made from the same clay, sieved to produce a fine surface which is later burnished with stone. The clay used to produce Sasak pottery has been approved for food safety by the New Zealand.

Since 1988, the Lombok Crafts Project, 'ointly run by Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Such, pottery items, ranging from food storage containers to cooking utensils and water jars, are available from Lombok Pottery Centre in Cakranegara. Totally hand-crafted, Sasak pottery is intrinsically fragile but if handled with care will last many years.

The island of Sumba is renowned for its intricate ikat handweavings, onto which people symbolically record moments in their lives, and the history of their communities. Corn and sweet potato is the staple food in Sumba.

Some Sumbanese still follow the indigenous Marapu religion, and there are many remnants of this ancient tradition in the hinterland plateau. Rende and Malolo, in East Sumba's hinterland, have traditional communities with Sumbanese palaces and the original Marapu tombs.

Sumba's beaches are unspoiled, being particularly beautiful around Waikabubak, West Sumba.Many remarkable birds and butterflies are endemic to Sumba, and are therefore seriously threatened. A small national park near Waingapu is a good place for watching butterflies and birds.

Another island in the Nusa Tenggara chain is Sumbawa, whose 2200m Mount Tambora, erupted in the 18th century, killing most of the local population (about 30,000 people). The biggest town is Sumbawa Besar. The island is predominantly Moslem, with some Christian communities. The palace belonging to the ancient Bugis Sultan of Sumbawa, Dalam Laka, can be visited, as can Bima and Sape, two other interesting places.

Flores means "flower" in Portuguese, and the island which takes this name is one of the main islands in East Nusa Tenggara. It was a Portuguese colony for a long time before the Dutch took over. Many of the local people are of Portuguese descent and still retain Portuguese names. Catholicism is the main feature in the many vl 'llages of Flores and of some of the small islands nearby. Every year the Paso Easter procession is held in Larantuka, the townhouse of the Black Madonna of Flores. This westernized island has many untouched beaches and  pristine underwater coral gardens. There are shark hunter villages in Lamalera and the small island of Lembata.

The mainland is famous for its tricolor calderais lake on Mt. Kelimutu, whose combination of colours change according to the volcanic activity. The women made ikat weavings from Flores are well known amongst collectors. It has many style as there are dialects: about 15 altogether.

Between Sumbawa and Flores is Komodo island, a jurassic Park of an island, home to the giant four-metrelong Komodo dragon lizard, which can weigh up to 150 kilograms. June and September are the best months to observe this endangered prehistoric monster up close. When watching this living dinosaur, visitors offer goats as bait to make the monsters demonstrate their "beastliness". But be careful! There are stories of European tourists whose cameras were the only things which returned home. Unusually, the sand on this island's beaches'as a pink hue.;

East of Flores is Timor. The eastern part (formerly a Portuguese colony) was controversially integrated, into Indonesia in 1976. Kupang, the main city of western Timor, is also the capital of East Nusa Tenggara. In western Timor, small ports are decorated with the colours of the traditional Bugis and Timorese boats. In many parts of the island, the white beaches are complemented by beautiful underwater coral gardens.

Timor's famous hand weaving (tenun Tais) is found in the western as well as eastern parts of the island: but the best weaving, according to the East Timorese, comes from Los Palos and Lautem. In Dili, the capital of East Timor, is an old market from the Portuguese era, the Mercado Municipal.

On each island of Nusa Tenggara, the traditional houses are particularly beautiful and the traditional markets unique. Apart from the larger islands of Nusa Tenggara, there are many smaller islands ready to uncover their beauty and richness. They represent future challenges for the Indonesian tourism industry.

One of the easiest ways to travel to Lombok from Bali is by the high speed catamaran of Kancana Lines. Having a maximum seating capacity for 117 persons, it is divided into smoking and non-smoking areas. Snacks and mineral water are served during the journey, and on-board facilities include AC/VCD and karaoke. Daily, the catamaran leaves Bali's Benoa harbour at 8am and reaches Lembar in Lombok at 12 noon. The return trip back is at 4:30pm, reaching Benoa harbour at 8:30pm.