Semau, also known as ''Pusmau'' and ''Pasar Pusmau,'' is an island in the

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up t ...

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 located 20 miles off the harbor of

Kupang Kupang ( id, Kota Kupang, ), formerly known as Koepang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. At the 2020 C ensus, it had a population of 442,758; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 455,850. It is the largest ci ...

. The inhabitants of Samau are the

Helong people Helong people are one of the indigenous inhabitants of Timor Island, in Indonesia. Most of them live in Kupang Regency, namely in West Kupang and Central Kupang; and some also settled in Flores Island and Semau Island. Their livelihoods are mainl ...

, who some believe are the original inhabitants of the

area. It is a supplier of firewood and charcoal and grows corn, watermelon, and mango. Semau is also used as a holiday village where snorkeling, swimming, and other water sports are popular.

References

Outer Banda Arc {{ENusaTenggara-geo-stub