View source for Sumba

==History==
===Oral traditions ===
According to Sumbanese mythology, Flores and Sumba were once connected by the ''Kataka Lindiwatu'' (in Sumba languages), an ancient stone bridge built by the native of Sumba and Flores.<ref name="KW">{{cite web |title= Kampung Wunga, Tanah Kelahiran Masyarakat Sumba |trans-title= Wunga Settlement, The Birthplace of Sumba Community |language= id |year= 2014 |url= https://kebudayaan.kemdikbud.go.id/bpnbbali/kampung-wunga-tanah-kelahiran-masyarakat-sumba/ }}</ref> Due to the high level of socialization around the ''Kataka Lindiwatu'' which connected both islands, civilization was thought to arise from around those regions (which nowadays correspond to northern Sumba and to part of [[East Sumba Regency|East Sumba]] regency territory). This story belongs to the Sumba oral traditions as was written down by Umbu Pura Woha (2007) in his book {{lang|id|Sejarah, Musyawarah dan Adat Istiadat Sumba Timur}} ({{lit|History, Deliberation and Customs of East Sumba}}).<ref name="KW"/>

===Ancient civilization ruins===
[[File:111. Graf met daarvoor een monolieth met tot een masker verloopen lijk-ornament, te Katakiri, be-W.Z.W. van bivak Wai Bakoel (landschap Anakalang, West Soemba) vergelijk no. 109. op den achtergrond, KITLV 503298.tiff|thumb|left|250px|One of the monolith structures in West Sumba.]]
The ruins of the historical civilization of the [[Sumba people]] dates back to the [[Before Christ|BC]] era; [[megalithic tomb|megalithic burials]] were found on the central regions of the island (Central Sumba) which go back to thousands of years ago. These stone-based burial traditions are still kept alive by the Sumba people and have become a 'living ancient tradition' that still can be observed by scholars in modern days.<ref name="RichterCarpenter2012">{{cite book|last1=Richter|first1=Anne|last2=Carpenter|first2=Bruce W.|last3=Carpenter|first3=Bruce|author4=Sundermann, Jorg |title=Gold Jewellery of the Indonesian Archipelago|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cBv6du4tKwYC&pg=PA119|access-date=2 February 2013|date=16 May 2012|publisher=Editions Didier Millet|isbn=978-981-4260-38-1|page=119}}</ref> The megalithic remains found on Sumba Island include dolmen tombs, upright stones, megalithic statues, stone enclosures, and levelled terraces. The Sumba megalithic tradition itself was characterized by the old megaliths built and carved with high quality standards.<ref name="KT">{{cite web|url=https://kebudayaan.kemdikbud.go.id/bpcbbali/kampung-tarung-sumba/|title=Kampung Tarung Sumba|language=id|trans-title=Tarung Settlement of Sumba|year=2018}}</ref> Some ancient tools are also found on the island. Notable findings are quadrangular [[adze]]s unearthed in the [[Anakalang]] area (a cultural region of Anakalang Sumba, a subethnic group of Sumba people).<ref name="Simanjuntak2006">{{cite book|last=Simanjuntak|first=Truman|title=Archaeology: Indonesian Perspective : R.P. Soejono's Festschrift|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSFfD0dpdS4C&pg=PA288|access-date=2 February 2013|year=2006|publisher=Yayasan Obor Indonesia|isbn=978-979-26-2499-1|page=288}}</ref>

One significant archaeological discovery was that of the urn burial site in Melolo<ref>{{cite web |title= Melolo, map |website= google.com/maps |url= https://www.google.com/maps/place/Melolo,+Watu+Hadang,+Umalulu,+Kabupaten+de+Sumba+oriental,+Nusa+Tenggara+oriental,+Indon%C3%A9sie/@-9.8685018,120.5595301,11.92z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x2c4c5bba5a49a347:0xc221a09fd33d22e5!8m2!3d-9.896948!4d120.652496!16s%2Fg%2F1tg37hyb?entry=ttu }}</ref> in the 1920s,<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Handini |first1= Retno |last2= Noerwidi |first2= Sofwan |last3= Sofian |first3= Harry Octavianus |last4= Fauzi |first4= Ruly |last5= Prasetyo |first5= Unggul |last6= Geria |first6= I Made |last7= Ririmasse |first7= Marlon |last8= Nasution |first8= Devi Ayu Aurora |last9= Rahayuni |first9= Restu Ambar |last10= Simanjuntak |first10= Truman |date= July–August 2023 |title= New evidence on the early human occupation in Sumba Islands |trans-title= Nouvelles preuves de l’occupation humaine précoce dans les îles de Sumba |journal= L'Anthropologie |volume= 127 |issue= 3 |pages= |doi= 10.1016/j.anthro.2023.103152 |url= https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003552123000389 |access-date= 2024-06-15 |url-access= subscription }}</ref> dated around 2,870 [[Common Era|BC]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Koesbardiati |first1= Toetik |last2= Murti |first2= Delta Bayu |last3= Herina |first3= Dessytri Ayu |last4= Sari |first4= Ayu Ambar |date= 2018 |title= The occurrence of enamel hypoplasia, porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia in three prehistoric skeletal assemblages from Indonesia |journal= Bull Int Assoc Paleodont. |volume= 12 |issue= 2 |pages= 33–40 |url= https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/313414 |access-date= 2024-06-15 }}</ref>

===Javanese power===
Around the 12th century, the kingdom of [[Singhasari]] in eastern Java gained more power over the maritime Southeast Asian territory after the kingdom defeated the [[Mongol invasion of Java|Mongols]]; since then, this kingdom evolved into the [[empire]] known as [[Majapahit]]. Sumba Island was a subject of Majapahit's dominion, and the word "''Sumba''" itself was first officially used during the Majapahit era (mentioned in the ancient Javanese manuscripts of ''Pararaton'' and ''Sumpah Palapa'' oath of [[Gajah Mada]]); the word itself was thought as the closest substitution in Javanese for the native name of the island according to native Sumba people, which is ''Humba'' or ''Hubba''. It is thought that Javanese people arrived on Sumba Island via the [[Madura]] and [[Kangean Islands|Kangean]] route, based on analysis of the DNA of chicken species on Sumba that are only [[endemic]] in the eastern parts of Java and its neighbouring islands (which in this case is probably Kangean Island).<ref name="LIPI">{{cite web|url=http://lipi.go.id/lipimedia/antara-majapahit-sumba-dan-ayam-jantan-merah/17281|title=Antara Majapahit, Sumba, dan Ayam Jantan Merah|language=id|trans-title=(Connecting the Dots) Between Majapahit, Sumba, and the Red Rooster|year=2016|work=Indonesian Institute of Sciences}}</ref>

===European colonial period===
In [[1522]], the native Sumba came into contact with the Europeans (Portuguese) who arrived on the island by ship to explore the natural resources of the island. Later, it also attracted the [[Dutch East India Company|Dutch VOC]] to the region from the [[1600s (decade)|1600s]]. Historically, [[sandalwood]] was the main commodity exported to Europe from this island, thus the Sumba Island was referred to colloquially as the ''Sandalwood Island''<ref>Goodall, George (editor) (1943) ''Philips' International Atlas'', London, George Philip and Son map 'East Indies' pp.91-92</ref> or ''Sandel Island'' (in English).
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Steen met de motieven van het Nederlandse wapen en de schedelboom (andung) in Watuhadang TMnr 20018328.jpg|thumb|250px|The governmental seal of Dutch colonization at Watuhadang of Umalulu district in East Sumba.]]
In [[1866]], governance over the island of Sumba was transferred to the [[Dutch East Indies]] colonial power. The well-known [[Evangelisation|Evangelism]] of the natives of Sumba Island was started in 1886 by the Dutch under the Douwe Wielenga Jesuits' missionary program in the district of Laura in [[West Sumba Regency|West Sumba]].<ref name="Barker2009">{{cite book|last=Barker|first=Joshua|title=State of Authority: The State in Society in Indonesia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-kqZjVElfS8C&pg=PA123|access-date=2 February 2013|date=1 July 2009|publisher=SEAP Publications|isbn=978-0-87727-780-4|page=123}}</ref>