the child of the sea

He was born in this tiny island, his first cry was swallowed by the sound of waves, his liquor amnii was dried by the ocean wind, he is the son of the island, the child of the sea.

a house in an island

A typical house in a small island. The roof is made from wild nipah leaves. Wood for the wall is brought from the mainland because the villagers don't have tools to process their local log to plank. The house is built high to avoid high tide and wild animal, the space underneath is used to store boat and other stuff.

It is cloves season this time in Kabung

 

I went back to the island last end of year holiday with some friends. We were lucky that time because the sea was very friendly. It is cloves season this time, December-March, in Kabung. The fragrant, spicy, earthy smell of cloves filled the air. I love the smell because it makes me felt fresh and light. I think this is something to do with its chemical content which is not only addictive but also functions as anesthetic. 

These views and smell of Kabung flashed back in my mind recently because my friend had finished his Zamrud Khatulistiwa expedition and now one of the books documenting his journey and reflections during the expedition about the social, culture, economic and environment conditions as well as the living condition of the people on the coastline and remote isles of Indonesia is ready to be launched. ‘Indonesia, Mencintaimu dengan Sederhana’ is how the book is named. It was nutmeg season when I visited the island with him, and now it is cloves. But, there is one thing that never changes there, the people are still the same, living day by day from the grace of nature and, most of the time, from the mercy of lenders when the weather is unfriendly for fishing and planting. And that is just one of which the book wants to present, our paradoxical country: astounding, gorgeous and rich but poor in the same time.  

Dried salty fish

Provided by the sea, caught by Kabung's humble fishermen and dried by blazing hot of coastal sun, dried salty fish are one source of incomes of the island inhabitants.

Bagan

Bagan or termal is a small hut on the sea built to trap fishes and squids during the night. I always amaze on how the fishermen are able to build bagan in the 3-8 meters deep sea. First, they make the stake frames from bamboo in the village. Then they bring the frames to the sea with boats and embed them in to 3-8 meters deep seabed. Interlace between the frames makes it stable. It cost about 2-5 million IDR to construct a bagan and usually it can hold out for 1-2 years if not swept by big wave storm beforehand.

Soon before nightfall, the fishermen will paddle their boat leaving for bagan. On bagan, they scroll down the net into water, lit on petromaks, kind of lantern, and hang it under the hut, just before the sea level. The light from petromaks will attract fish and squid to gather under it, just above the net. Then the waiting part is began. It could stand from 10 minutes till hours, depend on how much fish and squid gathered above the net.

Each bagan need at least 2 persons to operate. When it's enough fish or squid gathered above the net, one person will roll up the net, the other will standby in the hut to pull up petromaks and then to catch the fish and or squid with a smaller scoop net with long handle from the net under.

Teluk Suak - Pulau Kabung

   

  

 

Every morning there are boats leaving for Pulau Kabung transporting the islanders and carrying goods to sell in the island. Between Teluk Suak, the mainland, to Pulau Kabung is a gruesome sea particularly during a high tide season around September-March, the wave easily reaches 2 meter high. My travel buddy also has the same thought and he is an adventurer doing an expedition from June 2009-December 2010 to visit 100 islands in Indonesia. In our way back to the mainland, we even didn't manage to take our camera out to catch the beautiful sunset due to the high wave. Fortunately at the end we survived...from seasick :). 

Ps. Kabung also have very beautiful sea life, colorful fish and corals. Too bad, I didn't have underwater camera so I couldn't take pictures and share them here..