|
To the east of
Bali, across a deep strait seething with
whirlpools and swimming with dolphins lies
Lombok, an island whose history and culture are
intimately intertwined with those of her
illustrious neighbour. Yet in many important
ways, Lombok is quite different from Bali. It's
climate is drier and land more rugged. And with
1.6 million inhabitants, a majority of whom are
Muslim Sasaks, Lombok is only about half as
densely populated.
Like Bali, Lombok is dominated by a towering
northern volcanic range, with 3,800-metre
(12,300-foot) Mt. Rinjani, the second highest
peak in Indonesia, at its centre. Another
non-volcanic range traverses the barren southern
side of the island (corresponding to Bali's
southern Bukit Peninsula), and most of Lombok's
arable land and the majority of her population
occupy a narrow 25 - km (16-mile) wide strip of
land in between.
The western third of this plain, similar in many
ways to east Bali, which it faces across the
strait, is well fed by mountain streams and
artesian springs. Here, Balinese and Sasaks have
sculpted handsome rice terraces into the
fertile, sloping alluvial fan at the foot of Mt.
Punikan. The island's two large towns, Mataram
and Ampenan, are located here, within close
proximity of the stately old court centre of
Cakranegara, and the port, the secluded mountain
resorts, and Lombok's spectacular southern
beaches are only an hour away.
For some of the world's best scuba diving,
surfing and beach-lounging, visitors from every
continent head for the eastern coast of Lombok.
The idyllic white sand beaches and colorful
coral reefs of Senggigi and the Gili Islands
draw thousands of tourists each year.
On Lombok's southeastern peninsula, the weather
is dependably gorgeous and the beaches are
pristine. On the land, coffee farms, coconut
groves, and red palm sugar plants make for
interesting tours. In the sea, divers can find
rare species of giant clams, sharks, turtles,
manta rays, and blue spotted stingrays gracing
the warm coastal.
The Gill Islands are located just off the East
Coast of Lombok. This small, beach-circumference
islands provide an excellent vacation
destination for adventure-hungry tourists. The
mostly young crowds spend their days on the
beach and their nights in the disco clubs.
Because of the small number of hotels on the
islands, many visitors simply sleep on the
beaches.
Early native chronicles confirm that Lombok was
colonized from East Java, and the Sasak people
perhaps take their name from a type of bamboo
raft (sesek) used to cross the straits.
According to a 14th-Century Old Javanese
lontar-leaf text found here in 1894 (the famous
Negarakertagama, which incidentally is the main
source of information concerning the ancient
empires of East Java), the island was brought
under direct Javanese control by Patih Gajah
Mada powerful prime minister of the great
Majapahit empire, before his death in 1365. No
trace of this conquest remains, with the
possible exception of an isolated group of
peoples living near Sembalun, high on Rinjani's
slopes, who claim to be descended from
Hindu-Javanese settlers and who guard the grave
of a brother of Majapahit's king.
In the 17th Century, Lombok was invaded and
colonized from two directions. The western plain
was annexed by the Balinese ruler of Karangasem,
who was to exert a controlling influence over
this part of the island up until the Dutch
Conquest of 1894. The East Coast, meanwhile,
which was at this time the political centre of
the native Sasak inhabitants, was conquered by
groups of Muslim Makassarese traders operating
from Sumbawa, and the Sasak aristocracy was
thereafter converted to Islam.
Noted for its fine handicrafts, especially
basketware and plaited mats, as well as
intricate jewelry vases, caskets and other
decorative objects. Its name was invented when
the Sasak kingdom of Langko located in Kopang,
Central Lombok fell to the Balinese invaders.
The royal family fled to Loyok, a village south
to Kotaraja, and after the royal compound was
also destroyed, two sons of the ruler of Langko
went to live in Kotaraja, which means "The City
of Kings".
In the mountain tribal villages (of the
Waktu-telu), such as Pujung and Sengkol in
southern-central Lombok, one finds still another
type of village traditional hyperbolic-shaped
thatched huts supported by roughly sown wooden
beams, with wide strips of bamboo and tree
branches interwoven to form walls and
partitions. |
