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Marangga are precious metal valuable of the
The marangga are archaic objects. Similar marangga-like objects have been discovered in archaeological sites throughout the archipelago of Indonesia. Marangga-like objects were first seen in small pre-classical gold pieces found in Java, dating back to the 4th-6th century. Other marangga-like objects were found in
Sumba people
The Sumba (or Sumbese) people are an ethnic group inhabiting Sumba Island in Indonesia, which is divided by two regencies, namely West Sumba Regency and East Sumba Regency. They refer to themselves as Tau Humba. The Sumbese have been able to reta ...
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 ...
Island, 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 ...
. They are found in the megalithic culture of the western Sumba people, e.g. the Anakalang society. They have the shape of a twisted metal sheet with a broadened end that has the shape of an axe. The marangga of Sumba is worn hung to the neck as a pendant, forming a kind of chest plate.
Form and evolution
The marangga are archaic objects. Similar marangga-like objects have been discovered in archaeological sites throughout the archipelago of Indonesia. Marangga-like objects were first seen in small pre-classical gold pieces found in Java, dating back to the 4th-6th century. Other marangga-like objects were found in Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Including the Komodo Islands off its west coast (but excluding the Solor Archipelago to the east of Flores), the land area is 15,530.58 km2, and th ...
(the ''taka'') and Babar
Babar ( ur, ), also variously spelled as Baber, Babur, and Babor is a male given name of Pashto, and Persian language, Persian origin, and a popular male given name in Pakistan. It is generally taken in reference to the Persian language, Persian ...
(the ''kapak''). Among these findings, the marangga of Sumba are much larger in size and still heavily used in the rituals of certain megalithic culture in for example the Anakalang society.
Marangga objects usually take the form of a thin metallic sheet shaped like a pair of axes. Marangga can weigh up to and measures up to in length. Historic photos of the Anakalang society shows a number of marangga displayed on bamboo frames, indicating the prevalence and the volume of gold objects in Sumba.
Function
The small marangga-like objects that were found throughout the archipelago may function as a twisted-wire earring, whose ends have been beaten flat. The large-sized marangga of Sumba, which are too large and too heavy for earrings, are worn as a pendant, by looping a twine through the hole on the twisted loop of the marangga. It acts as a kind of chest plate for the wearer. The marangga of Sumba are a kind of heirloom objects that was accumulated by the clan leader through time and kept in the interior most of the time. The marangga are usually kept in the attic of the noble's '' uma mbatangu'' or the traditional Sumbanese peaked house. They are taken out into the light only during special ritual occasions, and under the careful control of the village priests. One of the reasons of this is that it was believed that their power could kill onlookers or cause natural disasters.See also
* Mamuli * MadakaReferences
Cited works
* * * {{refend Types of jewellery Jewellery components Necklaces Sumba Archaeological artefact types Archaeology of Indonesia