The Legends of Nias People

Author : Darman Zebua

 

The origin of the Nias people is told in many legends.  There are many versions, but one common factor is that the first Nias person came down from skies. The Gomo area is normally considered whre the first people come down. According to traditional belief the Nias people are descendants of Hia who came from the sky to Zifalagö Gomo and from here his descendants spread to the south and the south.

 

According to one common version, the first person “coming down”  from the original country Teteholi’ana’a approximately 3.000-4.000 years ago were four sons and one grandson of Raja Balugu Sirao. They were called Silima Börödanömö.

 

Hiawalangi’adu (known as Hia) came to the southern part of Tanö Niaha (Nias), more exactly in the village Sifalagö Gomo. There is a monument of Hia in Gomo, but it is not clear if whether is also his grave or not.

Gözö Helaheladanö came to Laraga on northern Tanö Niha, in the area of present day Gunungsitoli and Tuhemberua. He later moved to the Lahewa area.

Hulu Hada came to the westeren part of Tanö Niha where Mandrehe is now.

Daeli came the the eastern part in present day Gidö. His grave can be seen in Desa Helöfanikha.

Silögubanua came also to the western part where mandrehe is now. He was son of a daughter of raja balugu.

Surfing Sumatra “one of Indonesia’s last surfing frontiers” Nias island.

Author : Darman Zebua

North Sumatra receives similar swell to the Mentawais and enjoys its peak swell season from May to September. Despite Indonesia’s reputation for hollow lefts, in North Sumatra righthanders are slightly more prevalent. While Lagundri Bay at Nias has been surfed for decades, it is the more obscure rights like Bawa (a Sunset-like right bowl that holds up to 15ft) and Treasure Island (a long, hollow, mechanical right peeling for 200 meters+) that have attracted the attention of late. Throw a mix of hollow and bowly lefthanders into the picture like Asu, Afulu, the Machine, and many more obscure rights and lefts and you have a dream-like setting for a surf trip.

Asian Beach Games, Silver Medal Women’s Short board (Yasniar Gea-Niassen)

Re-posted : Darman Zebua

Asian Games Federation
Kuta, Bali Indonesia
18 – 26 October 2008

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 24 October, 2008 : – - Kuta-Bali:  Indonesia’s Surfing Team put on a brilliant display of talent, strategy and teamwork to come home with another gold medal on the final day of surfing competition the first Asian Beach Games yesterday.

Made Garut Widiarta, Made Raditya Rondi, Made Adi Putra, and Dede Suryana worked together under the direction of coaches Om Arya and Made Switra to consistently post the highest scores in all three rounds of competition at Kuta Beach, ending the Grand Final with 12 points.

Also surfing very well in the 1-2 foot beach break surf were the team from Japan who came home with a silver medal, Shigenori Suzuki, Shuhei Kato, Yuichi Kurogi, and Akhihro Makino.  The Japanese team finished with 9 points. Gaining a bronze medal for their efforts were the team from the Philippines, Carlito Nogalo, Dionesio Espejon, and Luke Landrigan, and the only women surfer of  team event, Nildie Rietenbach.  The Philippine team finished with 6 points.

Eight of the Best Smaller Islands in Indonesia “One of them is Nias Island”

Re-posted by Darman Zebua

With over 17,000 islands in the archipelago, both large and small, the tourism possibilities seem endless. Each island virtually has its own culture and traditions, some dating back centuries. The larger islands like Sumatra and Java attract their fair share of foreign visitors as does the smaller island of Bali that is totally drenched in tourists. However, there are a great proportion of smaller islands in the archipelago that are rarely visited by your normal tourist and it these islands that are the most interesting with all manner of activity available such as surfing, diving and snorkeling, relaxing on isolated beaches, and fishing. But it’s not only these activities that draw the out-of-the-norm tourist to these smaller islands it is also the culture and the people of the respective island. So, I have put together seven of the islands that I consider to be the best in the archipelago. These eight islands don’t mean that the other islands in the archipelago aren’t worth visiting. On the contrary, they are, and each has its own uniqueness and each one just as attractive in its own right.

Nias Islands: The majority of visitors to this island are surfers who revel in the superb swells. Nias is the largest of the islands off Sumatra. The island was once part of the famous Hippie trail of the 1960s and particularly traveled by surfers, After Nias they went on to Bali. Nias is best known for its unique diversity of festivals and celebrations. The most famous events are the War Dances that are performed regularly and mainly for the benefit of tourists. Nias is also known for Stone Jumping, a manhood ritual that sees young men leaping over two meter stone towers to their fate. It is a beautiful island with super-friendly people and sweeping bays with white-sand beaches.

Lonely Planet Bluelist: The Best in Travel 2008 Friendliest Countries

“Time after time, these are the places where the welcome is warm. Explore the world’s friendliest countries as nominated by Lonely Planet in the latest edition of their Bluelist 2008 book”.

Re-posted by: DARMAN ZEBUA 

Ireland
Centuries of turmoil, conquest and famine — and subsequent immigration — have certainly taken their toll on the Irish: it’s left them with a deliciously dark sense of humour and a welcoming attitude towards strangers. That famous ability of the Irish — to find craic (fun times with convivial company) in boom or bust times — means you’re always in for a treat. These days, after the end of the ‘Troubles’, a cautious optimism reigns supreme, infecting the land once again with the sense that anything’s possible.

Boost Up Nias Tourism with Two Simple Viral Marketing Tools

Author : Darman Zebua 

There are two very powerful tools that are gaining in popularity more and more every day to boost up nias tourism industry. I believe both of these tools are invaluable to boost up nias tourism for a couple of reasons. First, people love to travel and online travel research is one of the most used aspects of Internet research (and it’s growing by the day!). Secondly, the Internet is becoming more and more multimedia oriented every day.

A unique tradition; measuring pigs in Nias Island

Author: Firman Zebua, SH

This Video is taken at BANUA SIBOHOU III-ALASA TALUMUZŐI, Hosted by: Youtube.com

Afore is a measuring system unique to Nias, used only for pigs. It is still in use in many areas. It is forerunner to modern time standardization and always mentioned in traditional laws. It is an app. 1, 5 m long stick of nibongwood with 15 marks. The Ketua Adat (head of tradition) in very village (except in Muslim village where there are no pigs), has one stick and all sticks in nias are almost identical. The original master stick is since long gone. To measure a pig, only a certain palm leaf can be used (some village they use a rope of plastic with two bottles: see the video above).

Managing Growth of Nias Tourism

Author : Darman Zebua

 

In the book of “The world is flat” (Thomas L. Friedman), influenced by open source and uploading activities make the world become flat and connected. By 2020 it is estimated that three times as many people as now will travel internationally. Where are all the extra tourists expected to go? Capacity at popular places is limited as are potential locations for intensive new development, without ruining the environment that holiday-makers are seeking.