Lembata
Encyclopedia
Lesser Sunda Islands
The Lesser Sunda Islands or Nusa Tenggara are a group of islands in the southern Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands...
, formerly known as Lomblen island, is the largest island of the Solor Archipelago
Solor Archipelago
The Solor Archipelago is a group of islands in the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia, lying to the east of Flores and to the west of the Alor Strait and the Alor Archipelago. To the north is the west part of the Banda Sea, while to the south across the Savu Sea lies the island of Timor...
, in the Lesser Sunda Islands
Lesser Sunda Islands
The Lesser Sunda Islands or Nusa Tenggara are a group of islands in the southern Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. It forms part of the province
Provinces of Indonesia
The province is the highest tier of local government subnational entity in Indonesia. Each province has its own local government, headed by a governor, and has its own legislative body...
of Nusa Tenggara Timur. The length of the island is about 80 km from the Southwest to the Northeast and the width is about 30 km from the West to the East. It rises to a height of 1533 m.
To the west lie the other islands in the archipelago, most notably Solor
Solor
Solor is a volcanic island located off the eastern tip of Flores island in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, in the Solor Archipelago. The island supports a small population that has been whaling for hundreds of years. They speak the languages of Adonara and Lamaholot. There are at least five...
and Adonara
Adonara
Adonara is an island in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, located east of the larger island of Flores in the Solor Archipelago. To the east lies Lembata, formerly known as Lomblen. It is the highest of the islands of the archipelago, reaching an altitude of 1,659 metres, and it has an area of...
, and then the larger island of Flores
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...
. To the east is the Alor Strait
Alor Strait
Alor Strait . divides the Solor Archipelago from the Alor Archipelago, in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia. It lies mainly between the larger islands of Pantar and Lembata....
, which separates this archipelago from the Alor Archipelago
Alor Archipelago
The Alor Archipelago is located at the easternmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands.Alor is the largest island in the archipelago which is located at its eastern end. Other islands in the archipelago include Pantar, Kepa, Buaya, Ternate , Pura and Tereweng...
. To the south across the Savu Sea
Savu Sea
The Savu Sea is a small sea within Indonesia named for the island of Savu on its southern boundary. It is bounded by Savu and Rai Jua to the south, the islands of Rote and Timor to the east, Flores and the Alor archipelago to the north/northwest, and the island of Sumba to the west/northwest...
lies the island of Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
, while to the north the western branch of the Banda Sea
Banda Sea
The Banda Sea is a sea in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia, technically part of the Pacific Ocean but separated from it by hundreds of islands, as well as the Halmahera and Ceram Seas...
separates it from Buton
Buton
Buton , is an island in Indonesia located off the southeast peninsula of Sulawesi.-History:In the precolonial era, the island, then usually known as Butung, was within the sphere of influence of Ternate...
and the other islands of Southeast Sulawesi.
Geography
The capital city Lewoleba (also known as Labala) is found on the Western part of the island alongside a huge bay facing the Ilê Ape volcanoVolcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
in the North. Ships frequently connect the coastal towns and surrounding islands, but the only bigger harbour exists at Lewoleba in the North of the island. From Lewoleba there are daily connections to Larantuka
Larantuka
Larantuka is a subdistrict of East Flores Regency, on the eastern end of Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Like much of the region, Larantuka has a strong a colonial Portuguese influence...
, Flores, and Waiwerang on the neighbouring island of Adonara.
Like the other Lesser Sunda Islands, and indeed much of Indonesia, Lembata is volcanically active. It has three volcanoes, Ililabalekan
Ililabalekan
Ililabalekan is a volcano located in the south-central part of the island of Lembata, Indonesia....
, Iliwerung
Iliwerung
Iliwerung is a volcano located in the south-central part of the island of Lembata, Indonesia....
, and Lewotolo
Lewotolo
Lewotolo is a stratovolcano located in the north-central part of the island of Lembata, Indonesia.- References :*...
.
People
The people of Lembata are, like many other inhabitants of Eastern Indonesia, famous for their handmade ikatIkat
Ikat, or Ikkat, is a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft fibres....
weavings.
The national language, Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
, is known by many people of all ages, but like on other islands the national language coexists with many local languages. The most widespread of these is probably Lamaholot (another lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
inside the Solor archipelago
Solor Archipelago
The Solor Archipelago is a group of islands in the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia, lying to the east of Flores and to the west of the Alor Strait and the Alor Archipelago. To the north is the west part of the Banda Sea, while to the south across the Savu Sea lies the island of Timor...
). Lamaholot is spoken as a native language on Eastern Flores
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...
and Western Solor
Solor
Solor is a volcanic island located off the eastern tip of Flores island in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, in the Solor Archipelago. The island supports a small population that has been whaling for hundreds of years. They speak the languages of Adonara and Lamaholot. There are at least five...
, and is itself divided into ten or more sublanguages (and many more dialects). It is spoken by 150.000 or more people in the region.
On the South coast of Lembata, the village of Lamalera (pop. 2.500) is known for its whale hunting
Aboriginal whaling
Aboriginal whaling is the hunting of whales carried out by aboriginal groups who have a tradition of whaling....
. Lamalera and Lamakera (on the neighbouring island of Solor) are the last two remaining Indonesian whaling communities.
Environment
In 2011, the Indonesian Institute of SciencesIndonesian Institute of Sciences
The Indonesian Institute of Sciences is the governmental authority for science and research in Indonesia...
(LIPI) found 2 rare coral reef fish in the sea of Lamalera, they were Yellow-fin fairy wrasse
Cirrhilabrus flavidorsalis
Cirrhilabrus flavidorsalis, commonly called Yellow Fin Fairy Wrasse, is a Wrasse from the Western Central Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 6.5 cm in length....
(Cirrhilabrus flavidorsalis) and Swallowtail hawkfish (Cyprinocirrhites polyactis), which only exist in waters surrounding Indonesia and the Philippines. The 2 species were the first to be found in Lamalera Sea, but the similar types of fishes has been found in Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
before. The fishes could only be found in seas with good coral reefs, although the traces of bombing activities had been found around the coral reefs in the Lamalera Sea, but it's not serious yet.
External links
- http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1134/is_8_110/ai_79051531