Bawomataluo Village
Bawomataluo is a village in Fanayama sub-district, South Nias Regency, North Sumatra province, Indonesia. This village consists of nine hamlets and this village is at an altitude above 324 m above sea level. Bawomataluo village is famous as a cultural and cultural village which is famous in this village is the tradition of “Jumping Stone”, Bawomataluo is a Nias language which means hill of the sun. A village on a hill that has been around for centuries and is still well maintained. This village becomes the capital of traditional villages spread on Nias Island.
Sun hill village is located on a hill with a height of 270 meters above sea level. It is said that the ancestors of Nias people chose to stay on the hill to hide from enemy attacks. Given the background of Nias people who often fought to expand and maintain their village territories. The selection on the hill is felt right because the enemy must be difficult to reach.
Welcoming Guests with War Dance
Not only famous for the traditional stone jump. Another cultural attraction that we can enjoy in Bawomataluo Village is Fataele Dance or war dance. This dance is ready to welcome the arrival of honored guests who stop by.
War dance is performed by more than 50 men, both young and old. They use traditional clothes in black and yellow, clothes from fibers and tree bark, accessories in the form of headgear, buffalo horns stuck in the nose, and complete weapons such as spears, shields, daggers and swords called Tologu swords. They are divided into two groups who both meet. Then they approached each other as if they were fighting, with back and forth in harmony and jogging.
Stone jumping is one of the traditions originating from Nias Island, North Sumatra. The Stone Jump tradition is usually carried out by young people by jumping over a pile of stones 2 meters high and 40 cm thick, this tradition used to ripen youth to fight but now to show that they are fit to be considered physically mature. The Lompat Batu tradition is one of the most well-known traditions on Nias Island.
The Meaning and Function of the Stone Jump Tradition
The Jumping Tradition This stone was used to jump over the enemy bamboo fence, in order to open the door when fighting, for the time being it functioned as one of the media for the youth to show that they were physically mature. this tradition becomes an intermediary or media to test the agility and virility of the youth. For the people there, this tradition can be interpreted as a process of maturing men to form strong and agile characters in living life.
In addition, if a young man is able to do it perfectly, it will be a pride for him and his family. Because not all young people can do this directly and must require hard training and long enough to do it. To do rock jumping, special abilities are needed because it is very high risk, so it is not uncommon for those who succeed to celebrate with traditional thanksgiving.
Google Maps : https://goo.gl/maps/ErKtKZq6Bh72
How do I become a Local Guides to promote Indonesian tourism (Indonesia Travel Bucket List Stories : Local Guides X Indonesian Ministry Of Tourism)
The name of the program is “SUSUR NUSANTARA” has a special agenda to revitalize the existence of tourist spots in Indonesia that are less exposed on social media. The West Side’s fame on social media is far less than the East side’s fame, where hashtags with locations in Bali, NTB, Sulawesi and Papua are always crowded with posts by local and international netizens.
I along with the team explored 8 destinations that are rarely exposed in Indonesia. I was officially invited to collaborate because I am a co-founder of Indonesia’s largest media on Instagram, @ExploreIndonesia, and also I am an alumni of the 2017 Local Guides Summit who are very active in helping local tourism in my residential areas, Sidoarjo and Surabaya.
Not only that, my job there is to photograph the beauty of the natural, cultural and regional heritage there. But it also helps to update the location with updated points of tourist attractions on Google Maps with the Local Guides program and Street View Trusted Photographer so that it will get maximum results.
My goal for sharing this story is to show my experience when traveling to unique places in Indonesia. And also helps provide insight to other global Local Guides friends. So, I will write my stories through the title “Indonesia Travel Bucket List Stories”.
Hopefully, one day, officially, @ExploreIndonesia and the Google Local Guides program also Google Maps can collaborate in Indonesia.