Anakalang is a society
and a
megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
The ...
ic site on the island of
Sumba
Sumba ( id, Pulau Sumba) is an island in eastern Indonesia. It is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands and is in the province of East Nusa Tenggara. Sumba has an area of , and the population was 779,049 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as a ...
, in eastern
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. It is noted for its quadrangular
adze
An adze (; alternative spelling: adz) is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing ...
s and numerous megalithic tombs.
The West Sumba island's best megalithic tombs are located here. They are large and well decorated and contain unusual carvings. Anakalang is the home of the "Purung Takadonga Ratu", an important Queen.
Geography
Anakalang is situated in a valley, the megalithic tombs spread over many villages, in the district of Anakalang. This valley is situated to the east of
Waikabubak
Waikabubak is a town in East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia and it is the capital of West Sumba Regency. Waikabubak is the second largest town on Sumba island after Waingapu; it had a population of 33,064 at the 2020 Census.Badan Pusat Statis ...
.
Anakalang is from Waikabubak and is close to the main road to
Waingapu
Waingapu is the largest town in the eastern half of the island of Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. It is the capital town of the Regency of Sumba Timur. The town (a district of the regency) had a population of 35,932 inhabitants at the offic ...
;
buses arrive at regular intervals.
The district has the greatest concentration of megalithic tombs in Sumba. At Pasunga's main road, there is one of the largest tombs in Sumba.
History
There is debate on the exact age of the site;
radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
The method was dev ...
has not been done to affirm this categorization. The stone
schist
Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock showing pronounced schistosity. This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a low-power hand lens, oriented in such a way that the rock is easily split into thin flakes o ...
grave with three adzes in it is inferred to be post-neolithic though no iron objects were found. The quadrangular adzes found in a small
cist
A cist ( or ; also kist ;
from grc-gre, κίστη, Middle Welsh ''Kist'' or Germanic ''Kiste'') is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East ...
do not exhibit characteristics of the Neolithic age and may be post-neolithic.
The tradition of building megalithic tombs has continued to the present age in West Sumba. Anakalang is said to be one of the few locations where the social practices and the traditional methods followed to build megaliths can still be seen. In 1880, Umbu Dongu Ubini Mesa became the first ''raja'' of Anakalang. In 1927, Umbu Sappy Pateduk succeeded to the title.
Umbu Remu Samapati was the third ''raja'', and his brother-in-law, Umbu Sulung Ibilona, succeeded him.
Megalithic tombs
The megalithic grave tomb in the village of Kampung has a stone slab erected vertically. Its carved images date to 1926, taking six months to complete. The burial ceremony involved sacrifice of 150 buffaloes, and the horns of these are kept in a local house. Another tomb is on the same road about away at Koboduk village. This tomb is made of concrete and tiles. It is reported to be the largest tomb in Samba. Another tomb, chiseled out of a single rock, took six years to create and is known as the Umba Saola tomb. It is and in thickness, weighing . It was pulled from the hill slope where it was carved over a distance of to the grave site in the Anakalang town. At the burial location there are also other tombs at the eastern side. These are upright slabs with carvings of the local king and queen with motifs of buffaloes and cockerels. Close to this tomb, the Raja's son lives with his wife and narrates the story to visitors.
Culture
Linguistically, Anakalang belongs to East Sumba, although politically and geographically it is situated within the ''kabupaten'' of West Sumba. The women are mainly weavers, making baskets and mats, while the men are involved in string twining etc. Ornaments are taken care of and hidden away for ancestors.
[Webb (1997), pp. 247-249]
References
{{Commonscat, Anakalang
Megalithic monuments
Archaeological sites in Indonesia
Sumba
Buildings and structures in East Nusa Tenggara