Before Leaving Sumba

Leaving Sumba for the first time and being abroad for almost a full month isn’t an easy thing, especially for families that will let their child go. That is also what I’m able to perceive through my mother’s glare, a little panic when I said that I’m going to Java. Usually, I only said to my mother that I’m going to my friend’s place in the nearby district. After understanding my departure, my mother reminds me to do a ritual for those who want to leave Sumba for the first time. I have to ask for permission and approval from my deceased father. This ritual is named Wangu Uhu Mameti (feeding the spirit) and Wuangu Pahappa (giving Paan to the spirit) and also, Parmihi la Mameti (asking permission and protection from the spirit) which then I actualized in my prayer by lighting a candle on my father’s gravestone. It is the Marapu culture we have in Sumba and that’s also what my mother meant even when we’re already Christians, Marapu customs is stil  within our life.

Marapu, the traditional belief of Sumba people, believes that God takes shape of Mabakulu Wuamata Mabalaru Rukahilu (having big eyes and wide ears) meaning He hears all and sees all. Marapu believes that every deceased person can communicate with, listen, and protect their beloved ones. Due to the change of times, this belief has been eroded, where nowadays the majority of Sumba people have embraced their own religion. However, Marapu is still preserved and believed by the majority of Sumba people, especially after the Indonesian government recognized the existence of local religions, including Marapu.

After doing this ritual, I said my last goodbye and continued my activity to follow a briefing at 23rd of August in Stube-HEMAT Sumba secretariat with Sumba team. This Yogyakarta exposure program is an annual Stube-HEMAT Sumba program which will send its activists to study at Stube-HEMAT Yogyakarta and it is very exciting being a participant of Yogyakarta exposure program, because it is a rare chance and also a great blessing. Exposure Yogyakarta 2018 program is the nine series of Stube-HEMAT Sumba program that has mandated Jufri Adipapa to learn administration and agriculture, Meliani Retang to learn agriculture and local food products, and Sepritus Tangaru Mahamu who will learn journalism and animal husbandry.

Yogyakarta exposure participants will learn for about 28 days in Yogyakarta, from 24th of August to the 20th of September 2018. Certainly, it’s not something short, you need to be well-prepared and have permission from your parents, especially for those who will leave Sumba for the first time. After an overnight stay at Stube-HEMAT Sumba secretariat, I and my friends departed to Yogya in the next morning. Now it’s time to learn in Yogya  in order to return with a full shelf of knowledge useful for me and others. (STM)