Nusa Tenggara

Nusa Tenggara

The words mean South East Island consisted of two provinces of West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara. Formerly known as the Lesser Sunda Islands, comprise the islands between Bali to the West and Timor to the East, spanning a reach about equal to that of the entire length of the island of Java. The five major islands in this region are Lombok and Sumbawa in West Nusa Tenggara, and Sumba, Flores, West Timor and a number of smaller islands in the eastern province. They support a combined population of about seven million people of various ethnic origins.

These Lesser Sundas are part of the volcanic belt that runs from the Souteast Asian mainland over Sumatera, Java and Bali to end at the Northeastern rim of the Banda Sea basin in Maluku.The island of Lombok is where the transition from the West Indonesian plant and animal worlds to those of the Eastern parts begins. The Northern part of the island is the mountainous and verdant with tall trees  end shrubs covering the land. The South is arid and covered by wide savannas. Large Asian mammals are absent. The shift gets more pronounced as one moves further toward the East. Dry seasons are more prolonged and in many areas, corn and sago instead of rice is the staple food.

Lombok, an island of white virgin beaches, cool mountains, wide savannas and old age tradtion, is separated by merely a narrow strait from Bali, is only now being discovered as a tourist destination of exceptional charm. In Lombok, the motto is “You could see Bali in Lombok, but not Lombok in Bali”. It is a maxim inspired by existing realities, formed by the superimposition of strong Balinese influences in the past upon a base that is entirely Lombok’s own. At around the time Moslem first came to these islands in the 15^th century.

At present, Hinduism is the religion embraced mostly by the Balinese population groups who have mostly settled in Western Lombok. The indigenous people of Lombok, the Sasaks, are predominantly Moslem. Even more so are the people of neighboring Sumbawa. In East Nusa Tenggara, almost 53 percent to the populationbelong to the Roman Chatolic Church. A little over 31 percent are protestants and only about eight percent are Moslems. The rest adheres to other faiths, such as Hinduism, Buddhism and the old indigenous beliefs. Pre-Hindu, Pre-Moslem, and Pre-Christian traditions, still form a strong sublayer which colours the cultural expressions of the whole area.

West Nusa Tenggara’s cultural make up is a composite of those of the four main population groups inhabiting the two islands, those are ; The Balinese, The Sumbawanese, and The Peoples of Bima and also The Peoples of Dompu. The region is famous for it’s “Ikat Handwoven Textiles”. Cattle and horses are the major exports of these islands.

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