Sumba people
Two men dancing with sword and shield, Sumba Island, 1930.
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|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (Approximately 656,000 (2008)) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Sumba Island (West Sumba Regency & East Sumba Regency, Indonesia) | |
| Languages | |
| Bima-Sumba languages, Kambera language, Indonesian language | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity: 64% (¾ Protestantism, ¼ Catholicism) (predominantly), Islam: 6%, Marapu religion: 30% | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Hawu people, Melanesians |
Sumba Island is inhabited by the Sumba (or Sumbese) people, and is divided by two regencies, namely West Sumba Regency and East Sumba Regency. They refer to themselves as Tau Humba. The Sumbese have been able to retain much of their culture despite foreign influences that arrived long ago on the Lesser Sunda Islands.
There are genealogical bonds between the Sumbese and those of the Sawu Island. According to a myth of origin, they come from two ancestors, Hawu Meha and Humba Meha. Hawu Meha gave birth to the Sawunese who initially lived in Sumba Island but later migrated to the small Sawu Island. The offspring of Humba Meha remained in Sumba.
The exact time Sumba Island begin to populate is not known. There were theories that Sumba Island's most ancient inhabitants of the Australoids later assimilated with the Austronesian people. Proof of this was the appearance of the natives Sumba, which had some Australoid features. However, genetic studies have shown that Sumba people are a little different from other Austronesian people and the Australoid features could have be taken by their ancestors on the way to the island.
According to the Marapu mythology, the first people down through the stairs from the sky to the north of the island. Geneticists claim that the ancestors of the Sumba people really did originally inhabit the northern coast, and only then followed by the rest of the Sumba Island. Since the end of Neolithic period, settlers have created megalithic structures. Moreover, this tradition continued until the 20th century.
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Wikipedia