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Getting Know About the Prai Ijing, Sumba Traditional House

Holiday Ayo - East Nusa Tenggara has many traditional villages, especially on Sumba Island, they have unique traditional houses with various histories behind them.

The uniqueness of this Sumba traditional house makes many tourists come to explore it.

No wonder the Sumba traditional house is widely known to both local and foreign tourists, such as the Prai Ijing Sumba Traditional House. This Prai Ijing Sumba Traditional House is one of the many tourist sites that are wrapped in local cultural values, whose existence has existed for a long time, consequently to always maintain their local traditions.

Located in West Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, making this traditional village into an area that is projected to become a tourist destination by the West Sumba Regency Government.

One of the characteristics of the Prai Ijing Sumba Traditional House is that the village is elongated and in the middle, there is a fairly wide road with very unique traditional houses, neatly lined up on either side.

Sumba cultural tourism by visiting the traditional houses of Prai Ijing Sumba makes tourists more familiar with the customs, habits, and peculiarities of the Sumbanese people. Like the traditional Sumba house in Prai Ijing Village, which is called Uma Bokulu.


Uma Bokulu means big house, there is also the term Uma Batangu which means tower house. These traditional houses are very tall, with a height of up to 30 meters. The shape of the Prai Ijing Sumba Traditional House is the most attractive attraction for every visitor who comes. The shape is uniform, but the height is different.

Usually, the Sumba Uma Bokolu and Uma Batangu traditional houses stand and surround the stone tombs of the megalithic era, this condition is still highly trusted by the surrounding community. And in every part of the houses of Uma Bokulu and Uma Batangu, each has a philosophy that is still applied by the people of the Prai Ijing Traditional Village, including the towering roof, full of history and philosophy.

When viewed in more detail, this Sumba traditional house is shaped like a stilt house whose exterior is covered with red leaves and is divided into three main parts. The lower floor, which is called Lei Bangun, is usually designated as a place to raise livestock. Lei Bangun symbolizes the spirit. Then in the middle, it is called Rongu Uma, which is always used for human activities and household activities. Rongu Uma symbolizes human life that always goes on. Lastly is the top floor, called Uma Daluku. This place is intended as a place to store food stocks and heirloom tools. Uma Daluku is a symbol of the ancestors.

In the middle courtyard, scattered menhir stones which are commonly used for worship, there are also gravestones. In addition, there is also a buffalo head bone located in front of the traditional house. The buffalo skull has a philosophical value as a reminder of death that will surely come to anyone. Currently, the number of traditional houses in Prai Ijing is approximately 30 houses. And the original traditional houses that are hundreds of years old have constructions made of wood.



The existence of the Prai Ijing Traditional House is already packaged ready to receive many tourists. Evidenced by the availability of a well-managed parking lot. Well, from the parking lot, the traveler still has to walk to the village location for about 5 minutes. Although the road is a bit uphill because the location of the village is on a hill, this trip is still comfortable and easy to do for all ages.

The main dish of the Prai Ijing Sumba Traditional House is a cultural tourism dish. When tourists arrive, they are ready to be greeted with typical Sumba dances, such as Woleka Dance, Pajura Dance, and Kataga Dance. After that, tourists immediately drifted away to feel the hospitality of the local community.

The Prai Ijing Sumba Traditional House area is inhabited by 7 kabisu or clans of the Sumbanese, namely Wola Bawa, Wola Deta, Katoda Doungu, We'e Yewa, Tanabi, We'e Lewa and Wola. The leader or elder, namely the traditional queen of the Prai Ijing Sumba Traditional House, is called Katoda Watu.

The Prai Ijing Sumba Traditional House is still surrounded by beautiful natural views, moreover, the area of this traditional house is dominated by rice fields. And this traditional house area is in Praijing Hill. From the top of the hill, you can see the view of the capital city of West Sumba.

There is a viewing terrace or viewpoint in a high place that allows a traveler to take pictures of the beauty of this village.



This spot has become viral and is the target of tourists who come to this village and always take the time to take pictures here.

The cultural tourism location of the Prai Ijing Traditional House is in Tebara Village, Waikabubak City District, West Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara.

The road access to the Prai Ijing Traditional Village is good, the location is very strategic and there are road signs.

Prai Ijing Traditional Village is about 3 kilometers from Waikabubak, which can be reached by vehicle and takes only 10 minutes.

However, if the position is from Tambolaka Airport, it will take about 1 hour because the distance is 43 kilometers.

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