The Strange Island Values the Dead More Than the Living

On this strange island, many people from birth have had to bear the burden of debt on their shoulders due to the cost of holding funerals and building the graves of deceased relatives very expensive. If he, their father does not have enough money to pay, this debt is passed on to the next generation.

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Key Facts About Island

Sumba Island, in eastern Indonesia, is home to Marapu followers. Here, the construction of a traditional house (called rumah adat) from available materials is more expensive than a modern cement house by sacrificing many animals.

The center of the community in the villages of Sumba Island like Prai Ijing is the burial ground for the dead. The graves here are built at a very high cost.

The tombs on the island are built of stone weighing up to 70 tons and need hundreds of healthy men to pull them by hand to the village from the quarry. Today, transport by machines has been used, but most people still choose manually.

Why Island Matters

After construction is completed, graves are used as a paddy table, clothes, children's playground or where satellite receivers are located.

In Sumba Island, the dead are buried in valuable assets and are still considered an important part of everyday life. Therefore, if the tombs are built outside the village, they may be destroyed by thieves. Even the tombs of royal families often have guards. During feudal times, servants lived often buried with the king to serve him.

Previously, to drag stone graves to the village, thousands of men had to work for a year. Wealthy families often kill up to 350 buffaloes to serve them during that time. Today, for Marapu followers on Sumba Island buffalo is still the main symbol.

Today, to save costs for families, a new regulation is issued to ban people on the island from killing more than 5 cattle for a funeral.

But this new regulation is not enforced by many people. Big tombs need 100 men to move. If the host family does not allow these workers to eat well, the graves will not be transferred to the destination. So they always wanted to kill more cattle.