Darwin to Dili Yacht Race

July 17th saw the first of the contenders approaching the finish line. Hans had taken the bicycle for a spin to the Christo Rei statue on Fatucama Peninsula and was in a good position to see what turned out to be  the racing yacht sv Antipodes. Owner Geoff Hill’s 72ft yacht Antipodes although first over the line actually arrived a day later than he expected. It had been almost a “millpond” crossing the Timor Sea. Later with our alarm horn at the ready, Burney stood on the foredeck greeting the crew while Anne and Brian took their dinghy to greet them. Cruising along the coast was the Australian Navy and a Timor-Leste Maritime vessel. Whether they were also part of the greeting Committee or not, we never really established. The crew were predominantly Philliphino with an English navigator by the name of Allen. The yacht although Hong Kong based has travelled from one race meet to another in the Asian circuit. They will soon return to Darwin to compete in the Darwin-Ambon Race which departs August 4th.

Hans had a good view from Cape Fatucama, at the eastern end of the bay,

Antipodes first to arrive

Greeting committee

Anne and Brian from Hybresail, Antipodes mid photo and Aus Navy on horizon line

Over the next couple of days the little Dili harbour filled with more arriving contestants. The last of the boats arrived on the evening of Wed. the 18th. sv Colie was so keen to to rest and imbibe of a few beverages they chose to ignore Hans’ warnings that they were anchored very close to the port’s wharf. The next morning while they slept we watched a very skilled tugboat skipper nudge a tanker into to dock near Colie.

Colie near the port wharf

The tanker dwarfed Colie

This year’s event set off on the 14th with a slow start due to tide and wind. For weeks the south-easterlies had been blowing hard across the Timor Sea but not that week. We were hoping for kind conditions for our trip on a reciprocal course.

A few Darwin to Dili race boats

So when did these races begin?
It began when a small number of sailors from the Cruising Yacht Association of the NT in Darwin began a yacht race from Darwin to Dili in what was then Portuguese Timor. Six yachts participated in the 1973 Race, taking 4-5 days to reach Dili.
This coincided with the survivors of “Sparrow Force” conducting their first reunion in Timor since WWII. (see previous blog re Aus troops in Timor)

While 1974 saw 25 yachts compete, any further participation was cancelled during the years of Indonesian occupation. Apart from a small goodwill rally when Timor-Leste gained independence in 2002, the annual event really only became entrenched from 2010 with the East Timorese Government taking the initiative and developing an ongoing tourism opportunity known as Sail Timor-Leste. Many boats continue on to Kupang to join the Sail Indonesia Rally which would leave from Darwin shortly thereafter.

The crew of Antipodes

All the skippers in the race and the rally returning to Darwin.

On the afternoon of the 19th, all the Sail Timor-Leste team and contestants gathered at the Office for Tourism for the presentations. El Misti, Hybreasail and Brahminy Too were included even though we had joined the rally from another port. Surprisingly, a rare shower of rain had most participants scampering for shelter but the festivities continued with traditional dancing, awards and gifts. After a delicious evening meal many stayed on for the dancing. Many of the prizes included a cash reward, however traditionally the winning boats gift the prize money to a West Timorese charity, of their choice.

Traditional Dancers

Gifts for everyone

Having been permitted to join the rally, we also enjoyed the more streamline one-stop-shop for CIQP clearance in and checking out procedures. Although the turn-around period wasn’t as quick as was foretold, we didn’t have to find transport or Government offices.
A few of the yachts were returning to Darwin. Antipodes would enter the Darwin to Ambon Race due on August 4th, this year. Our boat was being loosely accompanied by 2 other vessels while Hybreasail elected to linger longer then possibly head to Saumlaki for a better angle to approach either Darwin or Gove. (Although, that plan changed.) Other boats would visit the neighbouring Atauro Island for a day of snorkelling and/or travel south west to Oecusse for a regional visit. At least one vessel was joining the Sail Indonesia in Kupang after visiting Oecusse.

Aus ambassador to Timor-Leste presented the award to Allen from Antipodes

 

First Prize

 

Dili and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

 

 

Traditional Sacred House

Timur was Malay for east. 
Leste meant east in Portuguese. 
So that would translate to East East.

Before colonialism, Timor consisted of some 60 small feudal kingdoms. Two domineering rulers enjoyed allegiance from those kingdoms. Roughly, an east west split. During that era, the island was reported as part of the Chinese and Indian trading networks, and in the 14th century was an exporter of aromatic sandalwood, slaves, honey, and wax. It was the relative abundance of sandalwood in Timor that attracted European explorers to the island in the early 16th century.

Brahminy Too was just to port of the cannons threat

Note the Portuguese ship on the wind vane of the old Roman Catholic Church, Motael

For the Portuguese, East Timor remained little more than a neglected trading post and goal until the late nineteenth century, with minimal investment in infrastructure, health, and education. While Sandalwood remained the main export crop, coffee exports became significant in the mid-nineteenth century. Indeed, we enjoyed some fine local coffee beans that came from self-propagated trees from the old stock, now grown wild.

Timor’s involvement in WWII

With the spread of WW11 across South-east Asia in 1942, Dutch and Australian soldiers arrived on the shores of Timor with scant regard for the Portuguese sovereignty. Shortly, thereafter the Japanese invaded ignoring Portugal’s claim of neutrality.

Timor’s rugged terrain offered ideal conditions for guerrilla warfare, but the early success of these operations was made possible by the support of the Timorese people, who provided food and shelter, ponies for carrying heavy equipment, acted as porters and guides, and helped set up ambushes. Some took up arms themselves and fought alongside the Australians. Many Timorese were executed by the Japanese for providing assistance to the guerrillas, especially when the allied forces departed.

Plaque in the Dare Memorial cafe

Palácio do Governo, Constructed in the late 1950s to the early 1960s to be the Governor’s Palace of the Portuguese administration. With independence in 2002, it became Government Palace for the office of the Prime Minister of the country.

Following the end of World War II and Japanese surrender, Portuguese control was reinstated. Known  to the rest of the world as Portuguese Timor since landing in 1515, that era ended 28 November 1975 after a military coup in Portugal in 1974 which opened new perspectives for the colonies.

Meanwhile the UDT party (União Democratica Timorense, Timorese Democratic Union) staged a coup in Dili on 11 August 1975, a brief civil war followed while the Portuguese administration withdrew to nearby Atauro Island. FRETILIN (Frente Revolucionária do Timor-Leste Independente, Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor), won the civil war and declared independence on 28 November 1975.

Unfortunately nine days later, it was invaded and occupied by Indonesia. Oecusse had already been occupied in June of 1975 with the western borders of East Timor being secretly invaded in October. Indonesian paratroopers descended on Dili, a landing fleet arrived and soon executions took place on Dili wharf. On July 17th, 1976, Indonesia annexed East Timor, making it the 27th province of Indonesia with Dili as its capital.

Appallingly Australia,  Britain and America (strongly) supported the Indonesian occupation as they assumed (incorrectly) that Fretilin had communist allegiances. Indonesia, rich in petroleum and strategic minerals, and emphatically anti-Communist, was possibly deemed too valuable a friend by the West to risk offending it for having committed aggression against so minor a land and people.

With the wealth of these nations providing military resources to track by air and land by ship, forces swept across Timor. Indonesia banned the press so only edified information reached foreign shores. One may recall  the killing of five Australian-based newsmen at Balibo, East Timor, on October 16, 1975. A deliberate act and not as a consequence of cross-fire during Indonesian-led attack.

Within 4 yrs of the Indonesian invasion, their own statistics showed a reduction in population by 23%. It was genocide.
Any local resistance  was pacified with a campaign of “encirclement and annihilation”.

Within the population there was some division with pro-independence groups clashing with pro-Indonesian supporters. Indeed some West Timorese were brought to Dili to “encourage” accepting Indonesia as their reigning government. It was during one such clash in the Motael Church that Sebastião Gomes was killed in 1991.

The Church de Santo António de Motael, the oldest Roman Catholic church in East Timor was rebuilt in 1955 in the old Portuguese style. This church was an important place in the story of the fight for Timorese independence

 Gomes’ funeral procession to Santa Cruz Cemetery attracted thousands, but resulted in the Santa Cruz Massacre.

Also known as the Dili Massacre, was the shooting of at least 250 East Timorese pro-independence demonstrators in the Santa Cruz cemetery in the capital, Dili, on 12 November 1991. It was a peaceful demonstration, the mourners were unarmed. Now commemorated as a public
holiday it’s remembered as one of the bloodiest days in their history, one which finally drew worldwide attention to their 25 year struggle, starvation and torture. (Footage of the shootings was smuggled out of the country)

Statue opposite church in remembrance of that horrific day

Santa Cruz cemetery presents the ornately beautiful graves for which the Portuguese and Timorese were famous.

We visited the Santa Cruz cemetery. There’s also an over-riding sense of sadness (and also outrage) as Burney wept near the graves of children, some 3 yrs of age, some only a day old.

In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory. East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on 20 May 2002

Now liberation of  their people from poverty awaits.

Christo Rei: A gift from the Suharto Indonesian Government  in the hope to appease East Timorese and pacify their quest for independence. Ironically it was built to the height of 27 meters, remember East Timor was Indonesia’s 27th region.

Public buildings, schools and clinics were destroyed when the Indonesians left East Timor.

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Timor, west to east.

Burney, bemo and a rooster

Does Kupang, formerly known as Koepang, have character?
Has Kupang been spoilt?

Memorial

Details tell a story of struggle

Years of visitors arriving from Darwin to Kupang as their first sailing destination/port in Indonesia has possibly taught the local touts to overcharge. Everything could be explained away as: “it’s only $5” – to watch your dinghy! No thank you.
Hans decided to choose one “beach assistant”. Ralli was his name and Hans would only deal with him thus fending off the fellows waiting under the jetty for our dinghy to land. Through Ralli a new low maintenance starter battery was sourced, correct costs for taxis and bemos (mini bus transport) acquired and regular assistance with drawing the inflatable up the steep beach provided. Thank you, Rallie.

(In 1859, with the Treaty of Lisbon, Portugal and the Netherlands divided the island between them. West Timor became Dutch, with its colonial seat at Kupang, and East Timor became Portuguese, with its governing seat in Dili.)
Given that past history, Burney struggled to find any noteworthy remnants while walking the town streets.

Fortunately, an English woman had painted several murals on older buildings giving some Street Art charm to the harbour side.
Wending her way uphill, older streets were lined with grand shady trees and gardens became farmlets as the neighbouring suburbs felt more like kampungs of yesteryear. The friendly “Hello mister” resonated in her wake but often she would head it off with “Hello laki laki (boy) . What’s your name? How old are you?”

Steps built during the Dutch era

The anchorage was uncomfortable. The winds piped up for most of the day making embarking and disembarking from the dinghy hazardous as chop and swell made the hull and inflatable collide and pitch. The sandy beach had breaking waves making landings, at times challenging. The night time sleep was disturbed by the occasional slap and roll.

Sundowners on Hybresail

Did we linger longer than was necessary for a reprovision and clearance procedures? No.
While we have discovered that every Immigration office varied slightly from regency to regency, we were a little surprised to have a tonnage tax for our vessel. That was a new one, not that it was expensive, just odd. Were we displacing more water than another? Were we creating wear and tear on their seas?

Hindu

Catholic Churches through the town.

July 10th, together with Hybreasail, we rattled the chain and set off at 6am. It was to be an easy day at the office with occasionally favourable winds to sail and wind shadows where we motored. With the desalination unit back in good working order Hans filled our tank and the spare water containers.

Dawn departure

The last of Indonesia and the diminished flag

Striking mountain peaks crowded the grey sandy shorelines. White bright chalk or sand on a distant escarpment drew our attention as we approached a slight indention along that roadstead at Tungung Gemuk, our anchorage for the evening. Hopeful, ever hopeful, that an annoying swell would abate come evening, Burney watched and waved to the villagers foraging the rocky shoulders and fringing reef exposed with the afternoon low tide. Free range pigs competed for the seafood treasures along the shore.

White patches in escarpment

Approaching the point.

Free range pigs on the beach

Next stop Oecusse:
As indicated on the map, a parcel of land midway along the coast belonged to East Timor, not Indonesia. Burney questioning the background struggled with poor internet to sate her curiosity. Variously known as Oecussi, Ocussi, Oekussi, Oekusi, Okusi, Oé-Cusse), formerly Ambeno and Oecussi-Ambeno, let’s call it Oecusse was among the first parts of the island of Timor on which the Portuguese established themselves in 1515, and was thus usually considered the cradle of East Timor. By the 1700‘s most of West Timor was left to Dutch forces, who were conquering what was today Indonesia. In a trade Portugal gave  Flores to the Dutch in exchange for keeping Timor-Leste. The previous European administration transferred to Dili which the Portuguese still held and Oecusse was left to fare for itself.

The curious corner of Oecusse

– So what happened with Oecusse?
Factions of Eurasians, the Topasses who had migrated  from Portuguese Larantuka on Flores held the outpost. Thereafter bouts of chiefdom infighting in the precinct made the enclave  undesirable and partially forgotten. When a treaty between Holland and Portugal was later agreed upon, Oecusse remained a Portuguese dominion which then fell under East Timor jurisdiction come final independence. Those many mountain folds hid waterfalls, caves and jungles worshiped for centuries by the inhabitants as sacred. It was in these mountainous caves that the folk took refuge during the Japanese invasion and the Indonesian occupation.

Jagged ridges dwarf Hybreasail

Oecusse aurora come daybreak

Back to sailing:
The next couple of days followed a similar pattern. Early rises, short day hops and rolly anchorages. That was until we entered the sheltered harbour of Gurita. Surrounded by hills then ranks of peaks, a finger width of harbour lay secluded midway between the coastal run of Kupang to Dili. The channel inlet was guarded by tall lateral beacons indicating drying reef. One rocky arm of the opening supported a substantial ferry wharf, the other a couple of thatched dome huts on sand. Mangroves and a fishing platform edged the bay with access to an inner basin bridged by reef at lowtide. Marina-calm! It was however very deep. With only limited choices we let all our chain out, 60 meters in 20 meters of depth and set the anchor-watch. Only a short distance astern was reef. [We were not far from Balibo, the site of those horrendous  massacres of 1975 which were reported by 5 Australian journalists (murdered) but kept from public media]

Guide book map of anchorage

Google Earth map of area

It was Thursday, July 12th and Anne’s birthday. Time for an afternoon gathering and a tune or two on Hybreasail.

Starboard bank of anchorage

Port bank

Regional hut style

Fishing net platform

First log entry Friday July 13th.
3.30am Departed Gurita following our track out and spotlightling for fishing boats. Conditions light with some katabatic breeze assisting. Hazy with the Milky Way dusting a swathe of night sky and several constellations sprinkled about we motor sailed towards a dawn. Hans had decided that if conditions remained light we’d continue on to Dili. A 55 nm leap. Another catamaran, El Misty, that was already moored in Dili harbour had experienced 25-35 knot winds “on the nose” and counter-current earlier in the week. What would we encounter?

Fighting the Indonesian Through Flow

Indeed, when we were 9nm from the “corner” our progress was slowed to a struggling 1.7 knots. We were 5 miles off shore in very deep water, 2000 meters. Attempting to escape the current we veered closer to the coast gaining speed the nearer we approached. Approximately 2.5 nm off shore we found “the sweet spot” and skimmed along at 6 knots of s.o.g. with virtually no wind. Whilst our bow yawed to land and the steep slopes of Carimbala Point,  our vector had us seaward, a difference of more than 30°.

Inur Carimbala (Point)

Once we rounded the coast it was slow progress creeping eastward towards Dili. We were in direct line against the current which we later discovered ebbed east. Having decided that entering the harbour after sunset was ill advised, we made a few attempts at anchoring along the roadstead. Steep inclines, growling pebbly terrain near the ruins of the Portuguese Ai Pelo prison gave poor holding and untenable swell had us re-anchoring 3 times at a different location near the Liquica village before we settled uncomfortably near Buku Acolla. But not for long… Come 1am Hans chose to go off shore and “stooge around” in light conditions till dawn. Remarkably the current that had held us at-bay was non-existent. Thinking it would take hours to cover the remaining 11nm we were actually slipping along at 3-4 knots with a reefed genoa. Oh contraire!

Ai Pelo was built during the Portuguese colonial days, primarily as a remote place of exile to send criminals and political dissidents from  various parts of Portugal’s empire, in particular from Macau. The old prison  became a Japanese Army base, and was eventually bombed by Allied Forces, reducing its walls to its present broken state.

Black Rock Resort and cafe at Liquica, located in between Maubara and Dili, was Portugal’s first capital within its Timorese colony.

Waiting for first light to enter Dili Harbour

Dili dawn

Well hello Dili or is that Rio?

See you in Dili.

The yellow triangle represents its prior colonial history, the black triangle represents the prior obscurantism, while red is symbolic of the struggle for liberation, and the white star is symbolic of peace.

Obscurantism = the practice of deliberately preventing the facts or full details of something from becoming known.

 

Come on down To Kupang

Having watched the weather for many weeks we had our misgivings about sailing to Kupang. The trade winds blowing across the Timor Sea had been particularly harsh reaching 25-35 knots. Kupang, on the south west extremity, appeared to bear the brunt of it! Fortunately, the landmass of Timor was relatively mountainous and the wind patterns indicated a wind-shadow along sections of the coast. It was decided that the port town was to be our clearance port or “checking-out” location. We were leaving Indonesia, as our allotted 6mths was approaching expiry date. Kupang was (usually) the first port for yachts travelling from Darwin to Indonesia, however the reciprocal course (for us) to Darwin would have been frightful with strong head-on winds. Our latest plan… what were we up to, Plan: A, B, C…. K(?) was to journey north-east along West Timor to East Timor and check into Dili. The “Darwin to Dili” rally was due to arrive mid-July. Several of the boats would return to Darwin after the festivities. We would sail either with them or with some of their insights from previous experience.. But first, “come on down to Kupang”, only 130nm.

Route Plan to Kupang then Dili

As mentioned, Ferry and Marlouke were joining us for the passage. Having a pair of keen crew to assist Hans with sails and hauling lines gave us both a reprieve from back-damaging deck work. Ferry had some experience having sailed little Lasers on the Ijsselmeer in Holland and he had the odd adventure on a tall ship cruise. Marlouke was just adventurous.

6th July
Our dawn departure was with dolphin escort as we coasted west along the Sawu Sea with the ebbing tide. Near the islands in Pantar Strait where the Indonesian Through Flow ran south, many peaking eddies and confluence  textured the water surface. With scant wind we enjoyed 6knots riding the current. Spilling south out of the straits near Treweg Island and entering the cooler waters of Sawa Sea we were surrounded by fins. Oh my goodness what were they? Everywhere we looked large dolphin-like creatures either lingered on the surface or frolicked in the swell. It was only after long scrutiny, observing their snub melon shaped head, long fins and strong muscular flanks that Burney decided that they were not dolphins per se but Short-finned Pilot Whales. A first for us all! Such huge aggregations were not uncommon in those waters, apparently.

Short-finned Pilot Whales

The day was sunny. The sea twinkled with flashing shards of sunlight. Come 2pm chatting in the cockpit, Burney was aware that a ship some several miles off was rising up off the horizon on a reciprocal course towards us. It was not appearing on our AIS. Giving the autopilot a few degrees to starboard to create a good offing, the chatter continued. Still keeping an eye on the ship, Burney noted that it had changed direction and was again on a collision course. The wake on its bulbous bow was becoming apparent as it drew closer. After making the crew aware of this behaviour, Burney again took diversionary actions. When the ship then again followed her course, Hans was called on deck and photos were taken. With Marlouke’s zoom len we  were we  to ascertain the vessels name. This was very strange and aggressive behaviour. Radioing the Captain on ASTA PERSADA, a tanker without functioning AIS, Hans alerted the Captain of his vessel’s behaviour and questioned his intentions. While they had initially responded, radio silence followed thereafter…? The ship slowed while passing us, then once astern it appeared to stop and turn towards windward. What? Why? Then it remained motionless as we continued south. A very curious encounter. Hans speculated that perhaps the vessel had some difficulty while Burney suggested a poorly behaved helmsman?

A dutch expression had come to mind: “Speak of the devil and you stand on his tail”.

Ferry and Burney had been discussing rogue encounters and piracy while sailing…

Bad Boat: Asta Persada

With a beautiful sunset and possibly the famed “green flash”, Brahminy Too took advantage of the off shore current and katabatic winds skimming parallel to the Timor coast. A fine meal of fresh tuna bought in Kalabahi by Ferry and Marlouke saw us into our 3 hourly late hour watches.
It was an easy night with a partial moon appearing soon after midnight. Both the genoa and mains’l were reefed for the evening so our new deck hands enjoyed sparkling phosphorescents, falling stars and flashing lighthouses while we slowed our progress for a daylight arrival.

1am with a partial moon, it’s a comfort.

From 20nm off we had our catamaran companions on Hybreasail showing on the AIS chartplotter. What a welcoming beacon, that was. By 8am, while anchoring nearby, the figurative became the literary with Anne and Brain waving a welcome from Hybreasail’s aftdeck.
Kupang, we had arrived.

Good morning Hybreasail.

 

 

The Allure of Alor

Spirit house, traditional village, Takpala

The Alor regency has 15 islands of which 9 are inhabited by humans and 1 by deer, Pulua Rusa (deer island).

Now that’s a bit different.

In the Pantar Strait were a few smaller islands with underwater attractions that boasted some 18-42 dive/snorkel sites.

Whilst we had boat jobs to attend to, we managed to enjoy just a few of the many attractions.

View from the bow

View from the cockpit

But first, the repairs. Soon after waking and viewing our anchorage in daylight, Hans set off in the dinghy to the main port. There he found a fellow named Charlez who took him on his motorbike to a battery shop. Also the brass fitting from our watermaker was resoldered, along the way. In the meantime, Burney who remained onboard was approached by a local “tour guide” and go-to-guy, named Akmed. We were later,  to decide, NOT TO USE HIM! Even though we tried to explain that we had some experience with Indonesian fuel prices and touts asking for a bit extra, this fellow was a total rip-off, unreliable and possibly a liar.

Tramp Australia

Sally & Mike

So when we were to meet the charming couple,  Sally and Mike  on mv Tramp Australia, we took their recommendation and contacted Marlon (his father was a Marlon Brando fan). Raymond Lesmana, our Indonesian sponsor and previous rally organisor also recommended Marlon: +6285213714576.
He was to become our main man and master masseur as we both still needed to care for our damaged backs.

Marlon

Recommended by Marlon, Thomas a resident expatriate from Germany, provided help with a few mechanical issues on Brahminy. Later we were to learn that he ran a dive tour business. Once most of our troubles had been resolved, Hans took himself off for a snorkel trip. On board were two young travellers from Utrect, The Netherlands. Of the 2 different locations, the site nicknamed Mike’s Delight impressed them all with it’s diversity of coral species. Fortunately, there was no sign of dynamite damage from poor fishing practices.

Thomas (right)

Dutch couple Marlouke and Ferry

Hans takes a dip

Hans was so enthused with meeting Ferry and Marlouke, he rang Burney and asked if he could bring them home! Like us, they were headed to Kupang. Recently,  they had used Kupang as their base while flying or motorbiking to other destinations. It would be a new experience to have crew for a passage but since we were all “up-for-it”. Plans were hatched for a departure a couple of days later.

Tiny red fish

Many Alorese were of Papuan origin which was reflected in their appearance and in their traditional culture. The Abui people were the largest traditional ethnic grouping on Alor. Whilst there were several tribes within the Abui people, the traditional village of Takpala was considered one of the best villages to visit.

On Wednesday the 4th of July,  we hired a car with driver and Marlon as guide, who answered many of our questions as we ventured out of town towards the north-eastern shores.  The sun sparkled on a calm Benlelang Bay before we ascended the hillside of Takalelang. Set atop a short set of stairs, the village was spread across 12 houses, more or less arranged in single rows upon terraces. The tribal leader and spiritual guide for that community,  Abner, was not in residence when we arrived however we were to be introduced to him later. Around a sacrificial alter (pig) the village members would preform their lego lego dances. Directly above and behind the alter on another terrace were 2 bamboo woven huts which only Abner as spiritual guide could enter. One was predominantly coloured white, the other black.

Spirit house white

Spirit house black

The family houses each had four levels, the basement (below the open-air deck), the open-air deck, then inside the thatch roof were two more levels, one a sleeping quarters and above that a storage area for grain and other staples. (The very large round section of wood acted as a rodent preventer)

The stronger beams and struts were made from a hardwood that would be replaced every 40-50 years

No metal nails only vines and twines.

Cooking below the roof overhang.

Housed in a special dwelling where certain rituals were enacted were 3 drums and various  gamalan gongs. Marlon explained that on Alor the bronze  Moko drums were used as trade in bygone days to purchase slaves. While many were accumulated over the years and became a status symbol giving the owner wealth and position in the social order of a tribe, they were often hidden from plundering. Legend has it that during a certain period of unrest many were buried. Some being lost through misplacement over time, later to be discovered and preserved in a museum. Indeed some 1,000 drums were found hidden underground. From an archeological stand point the kettle drum did not originate from this archipelago, but rather from the Dong Son culture in Vietnam.

Moko drums

These kettle drums functioned as a musical instrument during religious rituals to pray for rain, good harvest or profitable hunting.
While the Moko Drum was approximately 55cm in height,  the Nekara  bronze kettle drum which wasn’t seen at Takpala, was shorter and stouter in girth. Various decorative elements could be mounted on its top, body and/or base. Such ornamentation as stars, geometric patterns, animals, ships, and human figures have been noted on some drums.

Traditional dress

Head-dress and belts for lego lego dances

Another tribe called the Kabola Tribe were on a hillside above the centre of Kalabahi. As we wound our way up the switchbacks we passed groves of teak and candle-nut trees. A small field of cassava plants slightly obscured our view of the harbour before we arrived at Monbang Kampong (village). While their ceremonial huts were similar to the Takpala structures, they prized their use of scared black bamboo. They also used bamboo to make a  ceremonial fire at their alter.

Anti-rodent plates.

Black Bamboo

Friction: rubbing a blade along the creases creates a spark.

A lesson in fire-making at the alter

Soft fabric of this traditional dress is made from bark!

Famously these tribal folk made clothing from the bark of the Ka tree. It’s texture was as soft as felt. We were very grateful that Ivon took time not only to show us their traditional dress but to model it.

It was rather surreal when later the locals started showing me how to exchange photos from our mobiles via Bluetooth.

Old and new collide when we touched our mobiles to exchange photos

Their deity was a female/mother spirit that, when present, came in the evening via the heavens through a large tree. Images of this goddess was found in very monolithic stone carvings around the site.

Mother deity

Male deity – protector

Remains of a totem house

When we left Ivon (Vyonne), smiled with bright betel nut lips, embraced Burney and breathed her blessing touching noses. An experience much appreciated by Burney that would stay with her through many many memories.

Local motifs. The elephant motif had been adopted long ago after traders from India brought elephant tusks and “patol” to the archipelago. (Patol – silk double-ikat cloth from Gujarat).

Finally, because Burney has become fascinated by the various regional motifs used in ikat, we visited a weaving center. Traveling along the shoreline, 30 kms west,  then north-west, we saw from the road the route we had taken by night sailing to Kalabahi. Once at the Ikat Weaving House Gunung Moko, we were to meet Mrs Sariat Libana. The workshop was surrounded by garden producing many of the plants used to provide organic dyes. Indeed, even the very cotton spun into yarn.

We learnt that over 200 natural dyes were used by the weaver community. When Burney had the audacity to imply that some very bright colours looked artificia,l she was quickly directed to their organic sources – young papaya or a tree blossom in their garden.

Cotton grown on site

A kettle of organic material for dye

Tumeric yellow

Mrs Sariat Libana. Some of the works from this weaving centre have been in exhibits internationally.

Dutch Indonesia colonial architecture. It was the Governor’s residence

Thursday, July 5th
While refilling our water containers from the local “fountain” Hans befriended some young fellows who he then took for a fast dinghy ride around the cove. Inflatable boats with outboards remained a fascination, especially when Hans puts it up on the plane by gunning the motor. Yippee, thrill seekers.
Then it was time for a final massage and bidding farewell to Marlon and welcome to Ferry and Marlouke. With an evening of music, fine dining and a beverage or 2, we resigned to our bunks in preparation for an early start and 24 hour passage to West Timor, the extreme south east point of the Indonesian boundaries.

Note the bamboo spout

Fresh water source

Farewell Alor

Hello Crew