01/11/2023
Darwin to Sorong - The Stone Boat of Sangliat Dol
We were finally cleared into Indonesia and free to explore the far east of the country.
The Islands in East Indonesia are also known as “The Forgotten Islands” since they have neither much tourism nor significant industry. But they do have history.
Since we first came to Indonesia in 2019 I was longing for authenticity. By this, I don’t mean that Indonesia is fake, but having been a marine trading hub for centuries Indonesia is a huge melting pot of Indian, Arabic, Chinese and European culture. Even today, having visited the country multiple times in the last four years I am struggling to point out, what’s genuinely Indonesian.
Before we left Saumlaki we were so lucky to find a place with a history that goes back to the very first settlers of the Island of Yamndena.
In a tiny village on the eastern coast, you can find a stone structure that dates back to the 4th century. It was used for rituals and resembles a boat since the first settlers were arriving by boats and boats have been playing a vital role in people’s lives until today.
Paul’s mom is greatly interested in everything archeologic so before we left Saumlaki we had to pay a visit. We easily found a driver and after a two-hour trip over roads, that were partly ripped apart by the most recent earthquake, we arrived in the little village of Sangliat Dol.
Our plan was to have a stroll around, get a good glance at the stone boat, maybe stretch our legs at the beach and turn back to the Nora after an hour or so. However, we completely underestimated the importance the structure had for the local community. Before we could get even close to the boat, we were stopped by a gentleman, who directed us to a house a little up the road. Here we had to meet the chief and had to pay him a visit and show him our respect.
From here on in this story might as well have happened some hundred years ago, apart from the plastic chairs we were seated on.
We were guided into a rather simple hut, with a tin roof a raw concrete floor and windows without any glass. A man was sitting at the only table in the room and he obviously enjoyed the respect of the community. Over the last few years, I learned quite some Indonesian but in this situation that didn’t help at all, since these people spoke a local language that had nothing to do with “Bahasa Indonesia”, which was derived from Malay and introduced as the country's main language at the end of the second world war.
Using the international language of smiling, nodding and gestures we finally found out, that we were supposed to buy a bottle of Arak, a strong local spirit made of rice or coconut water. Once somebody came in with the bottle, it was placed at the table on top of a 100.000,- rp note (roughly 6,- €), which was also paid by us. Then he was (at least in our interpretation of the situation) talking to the spirits of the ancestors in the room, asking them to allow us to visit and step on the stone boat. The Arak was obviously also popular amongst the ancestors as he poured a good amount of it on the ground, where it slowly soaked the porous concrete. Now it was time for everyone else to taste the Arak and it was, if not exactly tasty, definitely very authentic and very strong. We had Arak before and when we tried to set it on fire to see, if it was above 40% alc, it burst into flames with a satisfying “Wuff”. The ceremony was concluded by some Christian prayers, also led by the man at the table, and we were finally free to visit the stone boat.
The structure was impressive. Intricate patterns and figures were carved into the stone and as we were sitting on a stone bench on the very top, overlooking the stairs down to the beach and the Indian Ocean, we felt that we got a glimpse back some 1600 years ago when the first settlers arrived from Polynesia.
As I am writing this however, I first of all remember the hour in the house with those people, who were so proud of their ancestor’s stone boat and found us, with our white baby, so interesting. All of us were smiling and laughing together without understanding each other’s words.
