Betel smile

More betel?

East Sumba, February 2010.

Facing Sumba

Lamboya, West-Java, February 2010.

Pasola chief

The rato, a priest and village head of the Marapu religion in Sumba.

Lamboya, West-Java, February 2010.

Pasola on the beach

It all started on the beach then it moved to the 'highlands'.

Lamboya region, Sumba Island, February 2010.

Water balancing act

Lamboya, West-Java, February 2010.

Door step

Wuntalaka, Patiyala, West-Sumba, February 2010.

Kurt Cobain on Sumba island

West-Sumba, February 2010.

Betel nuts vendors

Chewed betel?

Lamboya region, Sumba Island, February 2010.

Sumbanese Marlboro Man

Lamboya region, Sumba Island, February 2010.

Sumba man

Lamboya region, Sumba Island, February 2010.

Pasola spectators

Lamboya, West-Sumba, February 2010.

Rice head climbing

Lamboya region, Sumba Island, February 2010.

Lamboya Pasola

Lamboya, West-Java, February 2010.

Foot massage

Waikabubak, West-Sumba, February 2010.

Ploughing a rice field, the animal way

The traditional way of ploughing a Sumbanese rice field does not involve any tool, just a small bamboo stick and a few buffaloes eager to have a walk. The buffaloes are just criss-crossing the field numerous times, turning the soil over and over with their feet, and reminded not to stop in between by a not too gentle slap on their backs with the bamboo stick.

West-Sumba, February 2010.

Breakfast on the grave

Graves are in the middle of Sumbanese traditional villages, the entrance of the houses facing them. Besides providing a house for the dead reflecting their status in life and ensuring that their happiness in the after world will benefit their descendants, graves have multiple functions. They provide a perfect surface for clothes to dry, for coffee to ripen, for dogs to sleep, for children to play, for old people to chew betel and exchange information, or for tourists sleeping on the veranda of a traditional house to have their breakfast. We enjoyed ours a lot!!

Wuntalaka, Patiyala, West-Sumba, February 2010.

Hiper Speed

Waikabubak, Sumba Island, February 2010.

Rural head work

Lamboya region, Sumba Island, February 2010.

Knife fashion

West Sumba, February 2010.

Mother and daughter

East Sumba, February 2010.