Sumba
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2008-07-12T13:08:34Z
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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]]
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