Sumba, natively also spelt as Humba, Hubba, Suba, or Zuba is an Indonesian island located in the Eastern Indonesia and administratively part of the East Nusa Tenggara provincial territory. Sumba has an area of 11,243.78 square kilometres, about the same size as Jamaica or Hawaii (Island). The population was 686,113 at the 2010 Census and 779,049 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as of mid-2023 was 820,506. To the northwest of Sumba is Sumbawa, to the northeast, across the Sumba Strait, is Flores, to the east, across the Savu Sea, is Timor, and to the south, across part of the Indian Ocean, is Australia.
The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living. Some groups venerate their direct, familial ancestors. Certain religious groups, in particular the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Anglican Church, and Catholic Church venerate saints as intercessors with God; the latter also believes in prayer for departed souls in Purgatory. Other religious groups, however, consider veneration of the dead to be idolatry and a sin.
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 structures or arrangements in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea.
West Nusa Tenggara is a province of Indonesia. It comprises the western portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the exception of Bali which is its own province. The area of this province is 19,675.89 km2 (7,596.90 sq mi) which consists of two main islands, namely Lombok Island and Sumbawa Island as well as several other small islands. The two largest islands in this province are the smaller but much more populated Lombok in the west and the much larger in area but much less densely populated Sumbawa island in the east. Mataram, on Lombok, is the capital and largest city of the province. It shares maritime borders with Bali to the west and East Nusa Tenggara to the east.
Kaharingan is an indigenous monotheistic folk religion of the Dayak people such as Katingan, Lawangan, Ma'anyan, Ngaju, Ot Danum people native to the Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan region in Indonesia.
Hinduism is the third-largest religion in Indonesia, based on civil registration data in 2023 from Ministry of Home Affairs, is practised by about 1.68% of the total population, and almost 87% of the population in Bali. Hinduism was the dominant religion in the country before the arrival of Islam and is one of the six official religions of Indonesia today. Hinduism came to Indonesia in the 1st-century through Indian traders, sailors, scholars and priests. A syncretic fusion of pre-existing Javanese folk religion, culture and Hindu ideas, that from the 6th-century also synthesized Buddhist ideas as well, evolved as the Indonesian version of Hinduism. These ideas continued to develop during the Srivijaya and Majapahit empires. About 1400 CE, these kingdoms were introduced to Islam from coast-based Muslim traders, and thereafter Hinduism, which was previously the dominant religion in the region, mostly vanished from many of the islands of Indonesia.
Mentawai people are the native people of the Mentawai Islands about 100 miles from West Sumatra province, Indonesia. They live a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle in the coastal and rainforest environments of the islands and are also one of the oldest tribes in Indonesia. The Mentawai population is estimated to be about 64,000. The Mentawai tribe is documented to have migrated from Nias – a northern island – to the Mentawai islands, living in an isolated life for centuries until they encountered the Dutch in 1621. The ancestors of the indigenous Mentawai people are believed to have first migrated to the region somewhere between 2000 and 500 BCE. The Mentawai language belongs to the Austronesian language family. They follow their own animist belief system called Arat Sabulungan, that links the supernatural powers of ancestral spirits to the ecology of the rainforest. When the spirits are not treated well or forgotten, they might bring bad luck like illnesses and haunt those who forgot them. Mentawai also have very strong belief towards objects they think are holy. The people are characterized by their heavy spirituality, body art and their tendency to sharpen their teeth, a cultural practice tied to Mentawai beauty ideals. Mentawai tend to live in unison and peace with the nature around them because they believe that all things in nature have a form of spiritual essence.
Aliran Kepercayaan is an official cover term for groups of followers of various religious movements. It also includes various, partly syncretic forms of mysticism of new religious movements in Indonesia, such as kebatinan, kejiwaan, and kerohanian. In the Indonesian language, it is also used for new religious movements in other parts of the world. Based on data collected by the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace (ICRP), there are about 245 unofficial indigenous religions in Indonesia.
Bima city is a coastal city on the east of the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia's province of West Nusa Tenggara. It is the largest city on the island of Sumbawa, with a population of 142,443 at the 2010 census and 155,140 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid-2023 was 161,362. It is separate from the adjoining Bima Regency which had a population of 535,530 according to the mid-2023 official estimates.
The Manggarai are an ethnic group found in western Flores in the East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. Manggarai people are spread across three regencies in the province, namely the West Manggarai Regency, Manggarai Regency, and East Manggarai Regency.
Jesa is a ceremony commonly practiced in Korea. Jesa functions as a memorial to the ancestors of the participants. Jesa are usually held on the anniversary of the ancestor's death. The majority of Catholics, Buddhists and nonbelievers practice ancestral rites, although Protestants do not. The Catholic ban on ancestral rituals was lifted in 1939, when Pope Pius XII formally recognized ancestral rites as a civil practice. Many Korean Christians, particularly Protestants, no longer practice this rite. Christians generally avoid the rites, and many emigrants avoiding the rites.
The Bima language, or Bimanese, is an Austronesian language spoken on the eastern half of Sumbawa Island, Indonesia, which it shares with speakers of the Sumbawa language. Bima territory includes the Sanggar Peninsula, where the extinct Papuan language Tambora was once spoken. Bima is an exonym; the autochthonous name for the territory is Mbojo and the language is referred to as Nggahi Mbojo. There are over half a million Bima speakers. Neither the Bima nor the Sumbawa people have alphabets of their own for they use the alphabets of the Bugis and the Malay language indifferently.
The Sultanate of Bima, officially known as The Settlements and Lands of Mbojo, alternatively the Kingdom of Bima was a Muslim state in the eastern part of Sumbawa in Indonesia, at the site of the present-day regency of Bima. It was a regionally important polity which formed the eastern limit of Islam in this part of Indonesia and developed an elite culture inspired by Makassarese and Malay models. Bima was subjected to indirect colonial rule from 1908 to 1949 and ceased to be a sultanate in 1958.
The Sumba people are an ethnic group inhabiting Sumba Island in Indonesia, which is divided by four regencies, namely the Southwest Sumba Regency, West Sumba Regency, Central Sumba Regency, and the East Sumba Regency. They refer to themselves as Tau Humba. The Sumbese have been able to retain much of their culture despite foreign influences that arrived long ago on the Lesser Sunda Islands.
The Sumbanese traditional house refers to the traditional vernacular house of the Sumba people from the island of Sumba, Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. A Sumbanese house is characterized by a high-pitched central peak on its roof and a strong connection with the spirits, or marapu.
Mamuli are precious metal ornaments of the Sumba people, Sumba, Indonesia. They are found in the megalithic society of the western Sumba people, e.g. the Anakalang society. The mamuli ornaments have a shape which represents the female genitalia, symbolizing the woman as the giver of life. Mamuli are the most important Sumbanese precious metal valuables and are seen as heirloom objects which served in important exchange rituals.
The traditional Jamaican Maroon religion, otherwise known as Kumfu, was developed by a mixing of West and Central African religious practices in Maroon communities. While the traditional religion of the Maroons was absorbed by Christianity due to conversions in Maroon communities, many old practices continued on. Some have speculated that Jamaican Maroon religion helped the development of Kumina and Convince. The religious Kromanti dance is still practiced today but not always with the full religious connotation as in the past.
The Bimanese or Mbojo are an ethnic group of Indonesia that inhabits the eastern part of Sumbawa Island in West Nusa Tenggara province. With a population approaching a million people, they are the second largest ethnic group in West Nusa Tenggara.
Loli, historically also known as Lauli, is a district (kecamatan) of West Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. The district consists of nine rural villages (desa) and five urban villages (kelurahan) and has its seat in Doka Kaka village. The district has a total area of 132.36 square kilometres (51.10 sq mi) and had a population of 41,610 as at mid 2022. The most populous village in the district is Soba Wawi, which had a population of 6,092 people in 2020, while the most densely populated village was Wee Karou with a density of 731.67 people per square kilometre. The district is the site of Gollu Potto, a statue of Jesus which is one of the main landmarks of the regency itself and the largest in the island of Sumba.
The Shang dynasty of China practiced a spiritual religion that includes veneration of deceased royal ancestors. Shang ancestors were perceived to possess divine powers ranging from trivial matters to state-related affairs, and sometimes were interpreted as a component of the Shang supreme god Di. Towards the later years of the Shang dynasty, activities of ancestral veneration became increasingly frequent compared to those of supernatural deities. The Shang dynasty organized performance of ancestral rituals into a full year with 36 weeks, intended for all deceased members of the royal clan.
