One of the most well-known tourist attractions in Indonesia, and a candidate for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, Hombo Batu from Nias. (Image via detikTravel)

Stone Jumping, a tradition of adulthood in Indonesia from Nias Island

Alfonsus Adi Putra
Sports & Culture
Events & Festivals
Oct 02, 2019
4781
You might know it from Rp1,000 paper money from the 1990s. Yes! It is one of the most famous tourist attractions in Indonesia. Hombo Batu, or “Stone Jumping”, is a must-watch attraction in Bawomataluo Village, southern of Nias Island, North Sumatera.

To get to the Bawomataluo, you need to take a flight to Binaka Gunung Sitoli Airport. From the airport, you have to go on a three-hour journey to the village located about 324 meters above sea level. The first two things that you can enjoy are the clean air and omo hada (Nias’ traditional houses).

Before watching the Hombo Batu ritual, you can explore the village and the special omo hada, a wooden house without any nail. Not to mention, for you who love archeology, there are megalithic sites. Bawomataluo is also well-known for its sunrise view.

Then, you can proceed to the ritual. Hombo Batu ritual began once as a mandatory requirement for a young man in the region if they wanted to join the tribe wars. In ancient times, tribe wars often exploded in the region. During the time of tribe wars, Hombo Batu signified the readiness of the young men in the village to infiltrate the menacing two-meter bamboo wall.

The ritual requires the young man of the village to wear traditional costumes of red, yellow, and black.

After preparing for the ritual, here comes the main part. In front of these youngsters, there stands a two-meter tall stone and 40cm thick. Originally, the stone was made spiky or equipped with sharp bamboo reeds to add more challenge. Injury and death were common.

If these youngsters manage to jump over the stone without any difficulty, they are considered an adult physically and mentally.

To watch the attraction, you have to pay Rp150,000 for two jumps. However, be careful when these youngsters set a quite astronomical fee for you. You may bargain for the Rp150,000 because it is the main fee regulated for the attraction.

Hombo Batu has been proposed by the Indonesian government to be listed in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. Certainly, if Hombo Batu has made it to the list, the number of foreign tourists may increase significantly.

Source: https://bit.ly/2pbk8FA

Event , Ceremony , Ritual , ASEAN , Indonesia , Adulthood , Hombo-Batu , Sumatera , Nias , UNESCO