City Tour of Gunungsitoli

Text and photo: Tikwan Raya Siregar

After descending from the Merpati Nusantara Airlines flight on the 30^th of April 2010, I was invited to the Bandara Binaka VIP Room. The Director of the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board in Medan, Noor Azman Samsudin, and the Consulate General of the USA, Stanley Harsha, were going to be there too. The head of Tourism and Culture in Gunung Sitoli, Yulianus Harefa, honoured to receive the consulate and the director, had prepared some welcome snacks. We were involved in a light discussion before our departure for Gunung Sitoli. Stanley said that he was curious to see how Nias had changed since his last visit. Mr. Yulianus Harefa said that he was sure much had changed.

“Before, it look 8 hours from Gunungsitoli to Teluk Dalam. We even had to wait for the tides in some rivers before being able to cross,” remembers Stanley. They discuss a number of other memories, a discussion I am not involved in, because I have never been to Nias. As it is my first visit, I don’t have any previous memories to compare to, except for the news of the backwardness, tourism, and political conflict after the achievement of autonomy. Of course, the 2004 tsunami, which had completely rearranged the structure of Tanö Niha. The national and international help efforts had helped to improve the infrastructure of Nias, in particular air access to the island.

A half hour later we are accompanied to Miga Beach Hotel in Gunung Sitoli, which is said to be the best hotel in this city. If this is the best, by Gunungsitoli standards, then my perception changed as we entered the lobby.

Let me tell you a little about the lobby. Open walls. The middle of the room has a natural wood structure about 50 cm in diameter. Traditional Nias statues in pagan nudity stand in front of the receptionist’s desk. A wooden bench runs along 4 of the 6 sides of the building, for guest to sit on while checking in or out. The roof of the lobby is thatched in the tradition of the North Nias ethnic group. I feel as it I have been taken back to the Flintstone era.

Around the lobby, there is the atmosphere of a calm Nias village with an open cottage hall, small huts for relaxing and a peer for ships to dock stretching into the sea. Stanley and Noor Azman didn’t think that they would find such a thought out modern concept in Nias. The room have a natural touch, with antique furniture. North Nias accessories are used to decorate the rooms. This hotel is our first surprise on our visit to Gunungsitoli.

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There were two reasons for coming to Gunung Sitoli. Firstly, we were going to join the “Tourism Revival in Nias” (“Kebangkitan Pariwisata Nias”) seminar, organized by the Head of Culture and Tourism in Gunungsitoli, Yulianus Harefa. The seminar, followed by more than 400 participants was to conceive a strategy and unite the views of all the autonomous regions in Nias in order to revive the tourism industry.

Apart from Stanley Harsha and Noor Azman Samsudin, a number of other speakers were invited to speak on this day, including Frans Teguh, Head of Planning, the Director General of Tourism Development, ILO activitiests from a number of countries, Cosmas Harefa from Medan Tourism Academy, and a number of consulates from various European countries. This programme invited the heads of a number of autonomous regions in Nias, including the Mayor of Gunungsitoli, Martinus Lase.

A day before the seminar, we were invited on city tour of Gunungsitoli. And one of the activities for was visiting a traditional Nias village in the north of Nias. The village is named Tumöri Balöhili in the West Gunungsitoli district. It is only about 8 km from the city centre by a smooth but quite narrow road. Tourists who enjoy cycling would enjoy coming to this location by bicycle, an old village settlement on the top of a low hill.

Besides the warm welcome we received in this village, the interesting thing was the completeness of cultural items in each house. The most interesting and important of which is a stone sculptured to look like a deer head (osa-osa). This stone is an important status symbol. The more stones (a megalithic cultural inheritance) placed in front of house, the higher their social status. In order to obtain the rights of the stone, one must first sacrifice a pig.

Pigs are very important in Nias tradition. Bride price on Nias is measured in pigs. For a wedding, the bridegroom’s family must prepare at least 22 pigs to be slaughtered. This rule has made the Nias women famous as the most “expensive” women in Indonesia, when seen from cultural traditions.

Tradition Nias houses have a stable construction, mainly formed from a criss-cross wooden foundation without nails. Perhaps this construction was what saved every single traditional house on Nias during the earthquake and tsunami in 2004. The living room is the most important part of the building, which is where the family portraits and status symbols are hung. Status in very important for the people of Nias.

The houses in the north and the south of Nias are slightly different, the most noticeable difference being in the roof. Innorthern Nias, the roofs are pointed, while the South Nias roofs are longer. Even though both the ethnic groups are Nias people, the two ethnic groups have different social characters and respond differently to outsiders. The people in North Nias are more educated and aware of the importance of tourism. This is possibly due to the better access to the outside world; including a dock, an airport and better infrastructure.

Gunungsitoli itself was the capital of North Nias regency before the island was divided to become 5 autonomous regions. Meanwhile, the people of South Nias, in particular those who live in traditional villages are still quite wild and shut themselves off from the outside world.

The village of Tumöri Balöhili itself, is part of the Gunungsitoli tourism programme. Despite this, until today, there is no special culinary or dishes to be found in this village. The only entertainment to be had was the traditional palm wine tuo ni faro from the small shops next to the road. Stanley Harsha was curious about what he had heard about Nias palm wine or tuak, and wished to try. He had only had one at a palm wine shack, when his face began to turn red and he began to talk about the differences between Asian and European women. When we accused him of being drunk, he denied it and wanted everyone to sing.

The village of Tumöri Balöhili and its hard liquour was the second surprise for us.

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However, the high point of our short visit to Gunungsitoli is a project called Nias Heritage Museum (Museum Pusaka Nias), passionately run by Pastor Johannes M. Hämmerle, a Catholic priest. Nias Heritage Museum dedicated to collecting hundreds of cultural items from all over Nias. Some of the artifacts are thousands of years old. This project is valuable due to its age and the variety of the different cultural items. For example, there are traditional costumes from different periods. The oldest is a costume made from bark and animal skins. The newest costumes are the product of modern weaving techniques showing the evolution of Nias identity.

The pastor is not only a collector of artifacts, but has written more than 8 books about Nias culture, folklore, ethnography, art and the story of Catholic missionaries in Nias. All visitors agree that the Museum Pusaka Nias is run at an international standard. If it is seen from the concept, technology and the unique culture to be found here, then this museum is the best city museum in Sumatera, alongside the Rahmat International Wildlife Gallery and the Museum Negeri Sumatera Utara (North Sumatera National Museum). The people of Gunungsitoli should be proud of this project because even Medan, as the capital of North Sumatera, doesn’t have a city museum (the national museum is run by the provincial government although it’s situated in Medan).

Another unique fact about the Museum Pusaka Nias is that their work is not limited to the museum complex itself. At the moment, Pastor Johannes and the museum staff which consists of original Nias people are running the “living museum” programme, which is aimed at conserving the traditional culture in Nias’ exotic and culture is an integral part of their daily lives. One of the other activities run by the museum is implementing cultural heritage curriculum in village elementary schools.

It is practically unbelievable that the person behind this labour of love is a German priest who originally didn’t feel an emotional tie to Nias. In the midst of a trend towards cultural items that should have been protected getting lost or destroyed, pastor Johannes has been struggling to stem his flow since 1995. The income from the museum is around Rp   50 million a month, however the expenses are about Rp 50 million a month , not including  funds for developing the museum. However, due to the pastors seriousness and passion, a number of personal relations have donated money to the museum. Unfortunately the help is not continuous or reliable,  that the continuation of the museum is still under threat and dependant on the figure of pastor Johannes who is now 69 years old.

This private museum is open to the public. If you wish to stay longer, they have a mess in the complex on the sea. The museum is situated next to a beach  with crystal clear waters. The pastor has had a hand at providing a shady, cool resting place by planting big trees and bamboo. Staying here is an alternative way of enjoying Gunungsitoli.

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Gunungsitoli has number of beaches, where you can do a number of marine activities. At the moment, there are a few restaurants on the seafront serving seafood. In Gunungsitoli, you can find suppliers of accommodation, transportation and other services to help you explore the whole island of Nias. You can visit the village of Bawo Mataluo in south Nias, about 3 hours from Gunung Sitoli. This village on a hill is the most popular village for tourists on Nias, because here the stone jumping attraction can be performed on demand in its original location. As many as 98% of the houses are still the same as when they were first built.

Or if you’re in to surface, of course Nias is the place to be. Surfers all over the world have noted Nias as a prime surfing a spot. Apart from the great waves, surfers love the warm sea. Before the recent global economic crisis, a number of international surfing competitions were held here.

And if you’re in to fishing and diving, west Nias and Teluk Dalam is your destination. Prepare your line for the fierce fish and you can go and isolate yourself on one of the many small  islands off the coast of Nias. Ya’ahowu!. _{(Source: “Inside Sumatera”, June 2010, page, 44-51)}

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