Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine October 2014 | Page 142
140
Travel | Rote
© Linda Puetter
They are natural artisans, musicians and
storytellers. In fact, one of Indonesia’s most
unique traditional instruments, the sasando,
was invented here.
I am fortunate enough to meet with a Rote
native and sasando expert in Lalukoen village,
half an hour’s drive east from Nemberala.
Hance Pah has lived on the island since he was
born and has dedicated his life to preserving
and promoting the art of sasando and
traditional Rote handicrafts, such as the ti’i
langga, a hat ornately fashioned from lontar
palm leaves, vaguely resembling a sombrero.
It was worn by Rotenese men for protection
from the sun, but today it is more of a
decorative headdress and is often worn
by musicians while playing sasando, which
is also made from the lontar palm.
Local fishermen bring in a hefty catch
of the day to be sold at the market.
Children on the island smile from ear to
ear when you approach them. After school
they enjoy a little beach football, cooling
their feet in the ocean between matches.
Hance Pah begins to pluck the strings of his
sasando, playing a folk song called ‘Flobamora’
(a portmanteau of Flores Sumba, Timor and
Alor), written generations ago to remind the
diaspora of these islands of their village
home and island life. To see and hear the
sasando being played in person, by an expert
no less, is an enchanting experience. As each
note is plucked and resonates outward from
the lontar leaf construction of the instrument,
I can hear the magic of Rote and the spirit
of its peaceful people. This is paradise.
According to local legend, a Rotenese boy was
inspired by his own dream while resting under the
shade of a lontar palm tree. In his dream he played
an instrument that he had never seen or heard before.
© Aditya Saputra
A lazy afternoon wander around the
beach or a nap under a palm is a great way
to recharge after a morning of surfing.
According to local legend, a Rotenese boy
was inspired by his own dream while resting
under the shade of a lontar palm tree. In his
dream he played an instrument that he had
never seen or heard before. Mesmerised by
the sound he had heard in his fleeting dream,
he created the sasando using the very tree
he had slept under. The delicate, harp-like
instrument produces dulcet tones that
ineffably sum up what it means to visit Rote.