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.

Before the arrival of these people there were no other people in Nias. According to one of the more unknown version of  the legend how the nias people came to Nias. Ina Sirici onece sent down her 6 children to the earth using a liana.

However the liana broke and the children fell down and spread out. Later Ina Nazaria sent down her son to the earth, but ased a chain that did not berak. Her son was the first ‘real” humen, a Niha in Nias language. The first six children who fell down can maybe interpreted as six tribes.

One other rather common story is that the first person to come to Nias was a prgnant princess, named Shi Swa, arriving from area near the Himalayas on the Asian maindland. She was expelled from her village due to her premerital pregnancy. Her only company was a dog.

She sailed with a chinese ship that wrecked on the shores of Nias, near the river  Sungai Susua. The ship became the first house and that is the reason why Nias houses remind of old ships. Shin Swa got a son whom named Hian Hok. Hok become the ancestor of the Nias people.

References :

Mahmud Bangkaru. Handbook to North Sumatara Indonesai.

The result of google search.

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.

North Sumatra is one of Indonesia’s last surfing frontiers. “North Sumatra” consists of the 5 islands or island groups: Hinako Islands, Nias, Telos and 2 other obscure island groups to the north.

WAVE OPTIONS:

A North Sumatra trip is a bit different than your classic Mentawais trip. The breaks while generally much less crowded (the exception being Lagundri Bay on Nias) are more spread out and there are fewer of them. Conditions from one surf break to the next can vary greatly. Some spots in the Telos and in the Northern islands require major swells from the right direction to turn on while other breaks like Bawa in the Hinakos more often than not have too much swell. Navigating the waters off North Sumatra and getting dialed into its best surf requires a higher degree of expertise than simply piloting a boat out to Playgrounds and waiting there for the next swell. The lack of ports, infrastructure, access, and good anchorages throughout North Sumatra make this a hardcore and difficult area to operate in, needing an experienced operator to navigate the waters.

Hinako Islands: Asu and Bawa are two breaks in this island chain. Asu is a 100 yard left that has a perfect face and barrel with a shocking end section that is even more shallow with the last earthquakes of 2005. A short boat ride from Asu is Bawa, an awesome Sunset like right hander. This right has a big take off then you set up for a long barrelling section. Bawa can hold up to 15 feet and is rarely below 4 feet, even when most of Indo is flat. Both breaks work on opposite winds, therefore almost guaranteeing off-shore surf every day at one of these spots (not to mention the many others nearby that the boat can get you to). There is also another left close by that breaks for 200 metres plus. This wave begins to turn on when it is too big for Asu or Bawa. ALL of these breaks are surfable during ALL tide variations so it is possible to surf ALL DAY!!!!

A short trip north from Asu takes you to a group of small islands which offers you another large variety of world class breaks (both lefts and rights). You can stay here as long as you like before either heading back to Asu or further north again where there is another larger island with more quality, uncrowded surf.

South from Asu we can take you via the famous right hander in Lagundi Bay on our way to the Telo Islands which lay a little further south of mainland Nias. The Telo Islands contain even more top quality waves that are rarely surfed due to minimal charters in the area

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.

The final bronze went to the Maldivian team, who were shorthanded due to one of there surfers falling ill, but still got 2 points and a great experience at the end of the day (Abdulla Areef, Mohamad Irushad, Sharel Ameen, and Ayya Amis). The final medal presentation for the surfing event is scheduled for this evening at 7 pm.

To recap the medal awards for the surfing event in the first Asian Beach Games, here are the breakdowns.

Gold Medals
Indonesia = 3:  Men’s Short board (Made Garut Widiarta) Aerial (Dede Suryana) and Team
Japan = 2 : Men’s Long board (Yuta Morimoto) and Women’s Short board (Akiko Kiyonoga)

Silver Medals
Indonesia = 2:  Men’s Short board ( Made Raditya Rondi) Women’s Short board (Yasniar Gea)
Japan = 2 : Aerial (Yuichi Kurogi) and Team
Philippines = 1 :  Men’s Long board (Luke Landrigan)

Bronze Medals
Indonesia = 4:  Men’s Long board (Wayan Widana and Husni Ridwan), Women’s Short board (Diah Rahayu Dewi) and Aerial (Made Adi Putra)
Philippines = 3:  Men’s Short board (Carlito Nogalo), Women’s Short board (Marnianita Alcala), and Team
Japan = 2:  Men’s Short board (Shigenori Suzuki), and Men’s Aerial (Shuhei Kato)
Maldives = 1:  Team

About the Asian Beach Games
The 1st Asian Beach Games started the 18th of October and will be concluded on the 26th.  45 countries are participating in 17 sporting events taking place on the island of Bali in Indonesia.  To find out more log onto asianbeachgames.com

Source : www.surfersvillage.com

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.

Bangka Island: Bangka is an island province together with Belitung Island and lies just east of Sumatra and separated by the Bangka Strait. To the north lies the South China Sea. To the east, across the Gaspar Strait, is the island of Belitung, and to the south is the Java Sea. Most of the island consists of lower plains, swamps, small hills, beautiful beaches as well as white pepper fields and tin mines. Basically, the majority of the inhabitants on the island are Malay Indonesians and Chinese, mostly Hakkas. The population is split between those who work the pepper farms and those who work on the tin mines. There are only a few isolated pockets of forest on the island and this doesn’t give much scope for exploring but the scenery is beautiful.

Moyo Island: Moyo Island is located at the mouth of Saleh Bay. It is a nature reserve with wild oxen, deer, wild boars and a great variety bird species. Visiting the island is best during the dry season from June through August. A few kilometres off the north coast of Sumbawa, the national park island of Moyo Island is probably the most rewarding as it is surrounded by beautiful coral reefs. It’s relatively easy to get to Moyo. Take a bemo from beside Seketang Market in Sumbawa Besar to Air Bari , a small port settlement to the northeast. From Air Bari, you can charter a boat to Moyo. There are basic private rooms at the PHPA post at Tanjung Pasir on the south coast, where most boats from the mainland arrive. It is quite a stunning place to visit. There is limited accommodation and camping outside is not such a good idea.

Rinca Island: Rinca, is a small island near Komodo island in the East Nusa Tenggara chain of islands. The island is famous for komodo dragons but not as much as the island namesake. Being the lesser known island and less visited than Komodo, it is an ideal place to see the Komodo Dragon in its natural environment with fewer people to disturb them. Day trips can be arranged from Labuanbajo on mainland Flores by small boat.

Bunaken Island: Bunaken is part of the Bunaken National Marine Park, which has some of the highest levels of marine biodiversity in the world. Scuba diving is the main attraction on this island. Bunaken is located at the north of the island of Sulawesi. Biologists believe that the abundance of hard corals is crucial in maintaining the high levels of diversity in the park. Although there are inevitable conflicts between resource protection and use by people, the Indonesian government is taking a fairly unusual and pragmatic approach to park management. Bunaken Marine Park has become an important example of how Sulawesi, and the rest of Indonesia, can work to protect its natural resources. Bunaken Island would rate, in my opinion, as the second best dive site in Indonesia.

Bacan Island: The island is to the north are the islands of Kayoa , Makian, Ternate and Tidore in the Maluku Island chain. The interior of the island is relatively uninhabited and none of the dwellers on the coast are indigenous. The most significant town on the island is Labuha situated on the west side of the island. Nearby is the town of Amasing once a significant settlement on the island. The island is in part of volcanic formation, and the existence of hot springs points to volcanic activity. There are, however, especially in the southern portion, ancient and non-volcanic rocks. Bacan is of interest to zoologists as the island is very rich in birds and insects.

Ambon Island: the island lies off the south-west coast of the much larger Seram island. It is on the north side of the Banda Sea, part of a chain of volcanic isles that form a circle around the sea. Wild areas of Ambon Island are covered by tropical rainforest and are part of the Seram rain forests eco-region. It is mountainous, well watered, and fertile. Ambon has few indigenous mammals and birds are more abundant. The insect diversity of the island, however, is rich, particularly in butterflies. Seashells are obtained in great numbers and variety here. Tortoise-shell is also exported. Corn and sago are produced, and hunting and fishing supplement the diet. Nutmeg and cloves, once grown in abundance, are produced in limited quantities. Ambon is another popular dive-island in Indonesia although the currents are strong and swift.

Raja Ampat Islands: This island group is located off the northwest tip of Bird’s Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea. Raja Ampat is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, bays and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo. It encompasses more than 9.8 million acres of land and sea that also contains Cenderawasih Bay, the largest marine national park in Indonesia. Raja Ampat’s coral diversity, resilience, and ability to replenish reefs make it a global priority for marine protection, as human activity here has the potential to be catastrophic. Over 1,070 fish species, 537 coral species (a remarkable 96% of all scleratinia recorded from Indonesia are likely to occur in these islands), and 699 mollusc species, the variety of marine life is staggering. Raja Ampat is the ultimate in diving with its crystal clear waters. If you are not a diver, then revel in the bays views and the white-sandy beaches.

Source : Trip to East Meagzine.

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.

USA
Blamed for the coming of World War III, the Anti-Christ, Bon Jovi, Tom Cruise, Michael Jackson, rampant street crime, and noise pollution through overloud talking, Americans just take it all in their stride — they know there’s no such thing as a ‘typical Yank’, so you can just stuff your stereotypes in a sack, mister! Americans may be patriotic and love their country but so are all the nationals on this list — they’ll invariably welcome you and help you get the best out of the US, and all they ask in return is for you to leave your shoe bomb at home.

Malawi
Whereas other African nations are beset by deadly tribal war and internecine fighting, Malawians describe themselves as ‘the friendliest people in Africa’ living in the ‘warm heart of the continent’. Anyone who’s visited will know that the rare (for Africa) cohesion of the country’s ethnic groups is solid evidence for this, as is the people’s propensity to welcome you into their homes as well as their nation. Malawi is small, poor and without a lot of facilities, but with a greeting like that who needs Western-style comfort?

Fiji
Fiji is one of the most coup-ridden countries on the planet, yet its citizens are generally considered to be the ‘friendliest people on the planet’. And why not? They’ve got plenty to smile about — lush islands, kaleidoscopic reefs, cobalt sea, a wealth of marine life, world-class diving, romantic coastlines, awesome cuisine — and they love to spread the love around. Fijians have a rep for helping all travellers feel welcome, thereby allowing you to uncover the best from this sprawling group of islands. Just don’t talk politics.

Indonesia
It’s hard to make generalisations about a country that contains so many different cultures … still, a cliché you’ll hear often is that ‘Indonesian’ people greet foreigners with open arms. Fact is they do, but the media limelight is stolen by the knack of their law-enforcement officers for welcoming drug dealers and bomb makers in an altogether different ritual. Word of advice: if you travel to the beautiful island of Bali, leave the ecstasy at home, otherwise diplomatic relationships with other countries will be strained, foreigners might not be so welcome anymore, and you’ll make fools of us for including Indonesia on this list.

Vietnam
Vietnam’s another country inextricably caught up in Western images and stereotypes: napalm death; tormented American soldiers; assassins hiding in the rice fields; the whirr of helicopter blades like the Grim Reaper’s scythe. But Vietnam put all that behind it a long time ago and is now on a huge drive to become the new ‘Asian’ tiger economy. Not even the rampant threat of bird flu can dim the people’s appetite for friendliness and hospitable greetings to travellers.

Samoa
What’s this? Samoa reckons they have ‘the world’s friendliest people’? Hmmm, trouble is there’s no ratifying body for such a claim, meaning the Samoans have to contend with the challenge of Fiji, which also self-applies the title. Okay, enough: let’s settle this with a Googlefight. A Boolean search for the phrase ‘Fiji world’s friendliest people’ garners 36,500 hits; the phrase ‘Samoa world’s friendliest people’ reaps 21,000. Sorry, Samoa, the interweb has spoken, although readers can rest assured that your beautiful country harbours lovely and warm people who will leave a deep and lasting impression on them.

Thailand
Southeast Asia’s most-visited country is bound to offer up a welter of stereotypes and clichès. Here are some of them: dazzling islands and beaches; lush and balmy weather; great shopping and great food; the ‘France of Asia’; lady boys. Here’s another one: ‘world’s friendliest people’. Gawd, not another contender (see Fiji and Samoa). But yes, the Thai people’s gracious hospitality does indeed take some beating. Why bother trying to analyse why the Thais are so easygoing and incredibly quick to smile? They just are and that’s all there is to it.

Scotland
Forget Begbie in the film Trainspotting — Scotland’s becoming the destination for visitors to the British Isles, winning out over dog-eat-dog London. The Scots have survived English invasion, brutal weather and the pain of having the world’s worst goalkeepers. This fighting spirit against insurmountable odds has left them with an extroverted, buoyant demeanour and a blackly humorous nationalism (you’d want to see the funny side after witnessing some of those goalies). Naturally, this attitude rubs off on travellers — Scots are so loyal they want you to share in the good stuff, too.

Turkey
It’s a shame that for such a long time the Western world’s image of Turkey revolved around the brutal drug-smuggling film Midnight Express — as an advertisement for a nation, it rates slightly below Chernobyl. Thankfully, we’ve all moved on from that and we can now report that the Turkish people actually have an unsurpassed reputation for hospitality. With their heavenly cuisine, dreamy coastline and spectacular historical sites, the Turks know there’s no reason to be secretive.

From Lonely Planet Bluelist: The Best in Travel 2008. Published by Lonely Planet, 2007. AUD$34.95

Sumber : Lonely Planet Bluelist, posted by Darman Zebua, Image are designed by Darman Zebua.

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. Both of these tools can be used by nias tourism industry to further promote their products, as a niassen and an independent writer found these two methods are incredible to promote nias with method of Viral Marketing.

Viral marketing is:It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet. Viral marketing is a marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily Viral promotions may take the form of video clips, interactive Flash games, advergames, ebooks, brandable software, images, or even text messages. (www.wikipedia.com).

The first viral marketing tool that could be used is Podcasting.  Podcasting is the practice of recording audio and uploading it to the Internet. It is so easy to do and the return that nias tourism industry can get from this easy-to-use tool is so incredible. Every time another blogger or tourism business website owner uses podcast, nias tourism industry is marketing to a different audience.The second technology that I recommend is video marketing. Nowadays there are a lot of free hosting provide space for video just with signing up as a member. This method is really easy and it doesn’t cost anything. Upload it to YouTube, or Google video, etc, and you’ll see the same traffic hikes that your podcasts produce. Viral marketing can boost up Nias Tourism Industry online in unimaginable ways. Podcasting and video marketing are both viral marketing methods that are inexpensive, easy to implement, and well worth the price and time to incorporate into your marketing plan.

• Author (Darman Zebua) is an independent traveler, a blogger of Nias Tourism, the coordinator of brainstorming of Nias Tourism through blog in English version and Indonesian version.
• © www.visitnias.wordpress.come-mail : visitnias@yahoo.com

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).

The chest measurement of the pig is taken with the leaf and the length is read against the afore. The whole length of the stick is one Batu. A batu is divided into 16 Rufia. One Rufia is divided in 2 Gufa. If the leaf is longer than one batu, the leave is folded and the additional length is measure backwards on the stick. The distance between the marks differs and for example the first three Rufia on the stick are much longer than the last three Rufia.

In Gunungsitoli, people starting to use scale to measure a pig, it is influence of modernization and more simple. But still many people use Afore as a standard of measuring a pig in Nias.

• Author is a one of the contributor of this blog.
• © http://www.visitnias.wordpress.com/
• e-mail : visitnias@yahoo.com

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.

Nias Island at the west of Sumatra is well known for tradition, culture and the trend of identity activities. I am an enthusiast for the benefits that tourism can bring for the niassen . But I am also concerned at the lack of coordinated management – and in many places; there is evidence of what can go wrong when tourism evolves according to demand. The question is: What to do to manage growth of nias tourism?

Three precepts of Nias Tourism

There are three ideas that nias tourism strategy-makers need to bear in mind from the outset:

• The tourists will come anyway, whether the nias island has a strategy or not. The question is, will they be the kind of tourists that the niassen want, and will the niassen be prepared to receive and manage them to increase the benefits and minimize the problems?
• Tourists are diverse: the backpacker trekking round the world is not looking for the same thing as the businessman, or the frequent leisure holidaymaker, or a person traveling to another country for medical treatment, or to visit friends and relatives.
• Nias Tourism Strategy must not only be about selling the nias tourism products – it is about management, about optimizing the social of niassen, economic of niassen  and environmental benefits that tourism can bring to niassen.

From the tree precepts above, the nias tourism strategy-makers need to work extra to earn the multi tourism effects. Generalized aspirations in a national tourism strategy are not enough. Tourism is usually concentrated in certain regions (Nias Island) and even more locally on small, highly popular areas which themselves need specific local plans. If Nias Island is not analyzed, planned, developed and managed, a simple national strategy is useless.

• Author (Darman Zebua) is an independent traveler, a blogger of Nias Tourism, the coordinator of brainstorming of Nias Tourism through blog in English version and Indonesian version.
• © http://www.visitnias.wordpress.com/ 
• e-mail : visitnias@yahoo.com