Sumba 26668 225203821 2008-07-12T13:08:34Z LatitudeBot 6771835 robot Adding: [[ru:Сумба]] :''This article is about the Indonesian island. For the village in the Faroe Islands, see [[Sumba, Faroe Islands]].'' {{Infobox Islands |name = Sumba |image name = |image caption = |locator map = Nusa Tenggara Timur.png |native name = |native name link = |location = [[South East Asia]] |coordinates= {{coor dm|9|40|S|120|00|E|region:ID_type:isle}} |archipelago = [[Lesser Sunda Islands]] |total islands = |major islands = |area = |highest mount = |elevation = |country = Indonesia |country admin divisions title = |country admin divisions = |country largest city = |country largest city population = |population = 611,422 |population as of = 2005 |density = 54.8 |ethnic groups = }} [[Image:SundaIslands.A2003242.0225.500m.jpg|thumb|left|The Lesser Sunda Islands; Sumba is in the center]] [[Image:Sumba Topography.png|thumb|Topography of Sumba]] '''Sumba''' is an island in [[Indonesia]], and is one of the [[Lesser Sunda Islands]]. It has an area of 11,153 km², and the population was officially at 611,422 in 2005. There is a dry season from May to November and a rainy season from December to April. Historically, this island exported [[sandalwood]]. To the northwest of Sumba is [[Sumbawa]], to the northeast, across the [[Sumba Strait]] (Selat Sumba), is [[Flores]], to the east, across the [[Savu Sea]], is [[Timor]], and to the south, across part of the [[Indian Ocean]], is [[Australia]]. It is in the province of [[East Nusa Tenggara]]. The largest town on the island is [[Waingapu]], with a population of about 10,700. Before colonization, Sumba was inhabited by several small ethnolinguistic groups, some of which may have had [[tributary state|tributary]] relations to the [[Majapahit Empire]]. In 1522 the first ships from Europe arrived, and by 1866 Sumba belonged to the [[Dutch East Indies]], although the island did not come under real [[Netherlands|Dutch]] administration until the twentieth century. The Sumbanese people speak a variety of closely related [[Austronesian languages]], and have a mixture of [[Malays (ethnic group)|Malay]] and [[Melanesia]]n ancestry. Twenty-five to thirty percent of the population practises the animist [[Marapu]] religion. The remainder are [[Christianity|Christian]], a majority being Dutch [[Calvinism|Calvinist]], but a substantial minority being [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]. A small number of [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslims]] can be found along the coastal areas. Despite the influx of western religions, Sumba is one of the few places in the world in which [[megalithic tomb|megalithic burials]], are used as a 'living tradition' to inter prominent individuals when they die. Burial in megaliths is a practice that was used in many parts of the world during the [[Neolithic]] and [[Bronze Age]]s, but has survived to this day in Sumba. ==External links== * {{id icon}} [http://www.waingapu.com waingapu.com | Sumbanese Community Portal] * {{id icon}} [http://n.domaindlx.com/sumba/index.html Anahumba portal] * [http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/aa/aa0203_full.html Sumba deciduous forests (World Wildlife Fund)] * [http://www.sumbafoundation.org Sumba Foundation] * National Geographic/Fuel TV: OnSurfari program about Sumba [http://www.fuel.tv/OnSurfari] * [http://threadsoflife.com/cgi-local/TOLdb/db?product=04txsumba Textiles of Sumba] * [http://www.bali-travel-online.com/sumba_island/sumba_map.htm Detailed map] [[Category:Ecoregions]] [[Category:Islands of Indonesia]] [[Category:Lesser Sunda Islands]] [[cy:Sumba]] [[de:Sumba (Indonesien)]] [[et:Sumba]] [[es:Sumba]] [[fr:Sumba (Indonésie)]] [[gl:Sumba]] [[id:Pulau Sumba]] [[nl:Soemba]] [[ja:スンバ島]] [[pl:Sumba]] [[ru:Сумба]] [[simple:Sumba]] [[fi:Sumba]]