{"id":29722,"date":"2026-02-19T19:27:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T11:27:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=29722"},"modified":"2026-02-19T19:27:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T11:27:37","slug":"not-bali-the-indonesian-island-learning-to-welcome-strangers-while-sharing-the-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=29722","title":{"rendered":"Not Bali: the Indonesian island learning to welcome strangers while sharing the benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"


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It\u2019s been more than an hour since we drove away from Sumba\u2019s tiny Tambolaka airport and so far, it\u2019s been mostly empty stretches of narrow road, with only the occasional group of cheeky schoolchildren waving and hooting to break the monotony.<\/p>\n

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 \u2026 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s silent month. It is a revered Marapu tradition<\/span> \u2013 stemming from the animistic faith of the region, which thrives along with the Christianity introduced by Dutch colonisers \u2013 that prohibits loud noises, music and any form of entertainment. Bali has Nyepi, a single Day of Silence<\/span>, but Sumba has Wulla Poddu, an entire month.<\/div>\n
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The Nihi resort opens onto the prime surfing spot of Nihiwatu Beach, in Sumba, Indonesia. Photo: Charukesi Ramadurai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Ah, there it is. Bali. Before I started writing about Sumba (indeed, before even travelling to this island in Indonesia\u2019s 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<\/span> \u2013 with twice the territory, a fraction of the population and far fewer tourists \u2013 is a mere one-hour flight away. But these comparisons are facile, as I will discover over the next few days.<\/div>\n

Nina Rambu Rauna holds the unique title of Nihi\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo keep them happy, people offer them anything they have on hand \u2013 toffees, cigarettes and if there\u2019s nothing else, even the shirt off their backs,\u201d says Nina, who joined Nihi in 2016 as an English teacher for the staff and is now proud to claim she\u2019s the first Sumbanese woman to have risen up through the ranks.<\/p>\n

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Nina Rambu Rauna is Nihi\u2019s custodian of Sumbanese culture. Photo: Charukesi Ramadurai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Nina herself learned English from Bob Marley \u2013 or at least his songs \u2013 since her parents were reggae fans. \u201cBut me, I love Shah Rukh Khan,\u201d she continues, humming a popular ditty from an early noughties film of the Bollywood superstar, a sign perhaps of how the outside world is slowly spreading its influence across this sheltered island.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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