Nias and Sumatra (1936)

off the west coast of Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies is the small island of Neos a place seldom visited by Travelers and where today live A Primitive people as yet Untouched by Western Civilization The Villages more or less cut off from outside contact are built in the forest clad Mountains and the houses with strange Gable rooms face upon one great Stone Court in the center of each Village stands the high carved Stone of manhood over which all youths must jump before being considered men and warriors to demonstrate their like to be called men the Youth of this Village or oili show their skill in leaping with apparent ease the young men more than clear the 8ft [Music] stone the chief and his attendants are in the audience the chief is the proud possessor of a prized cab his body guard has a less decorative one many hundreds of feet above orahil near the summit of a mountain is situated another and more interesting Village which can be reached only by a steep climb over Trails through the thick jungle near the end of The Climb Oro can again be seen far below after the narrow jungle Trail it is surprising to suddenly come upon wide Stone steps at the top of the stairway is Bara matalo largest Village in NEOS the roof of the tribal house Rises to a height of more than 75 ft the Warriors of Baba matalo prepared a stage of war and hunting dance in honor of the visiting strangers some of the men wear peculiar medieval looking coats of armor dating possibly from an attempted Portuguese Invasion several hundred years ago or the Shipwreck of a Portuguese man of [Music] war the men of Neos are noted for their fierceness and courage and only recently have they submitted to outside Rule and to Dutch [Music] dominance the dance begins and the whole village is on hand to watch it the women and children have front row seats behind the grills of the odd upper story Windows led by the headman with the only gun of the village the hunters armed with Spears and shields dance to the slow accompaniment of deep Grunts and occasional Savage yells n [Music] after a brief visit to this primitive Island one takes a ship and sails Northeast through the Indian Ocean to samatra seventh largest island in the world one of the most interesting sites of the Manan cabal country the plateau Highland along the west coast is the Sunday market at Pak combo here once a week the natives from the surrounding territory come to spread out their wees and barter and as is accustom in the Indies women do most of the [Music] trading some of the women wear 10 and $20 American gold coins around their necks the very latest in hairdressing a hat that will be even more useful when it rains the wealthier upper class women wear conventional Manan kapow dress around their neck or more elaborate ornaments of [Music] gold the well-dressed modern young men wear trousers of colorful bti [Applause] nearby at Fort Deco native curio Merchants bring their wear to the hotel and display them on the lawn it may be hard to decide just what to buy but it is almost certain something will be purchased before leaving [Music] a splendid motor Highway traverses Sara near the center of the island stands a simple column marking the spot where the road crosses the equator bamboo fixtures serve the motorist at a roadside water [Music] station bamboo is used by the natives for many purposes large stems are converted into handy buckets at paupu is a pool of holy fish these fish which are sacred to the Muslims are never eaten but visited and fed entirely by native pilgrims and curious visitors close by is another well-filled Pool Water Buffalo the common draft animals of Sumatra take their daily mud bath not as a beauty treatment but as a cooling relaxation from their heavy labor in the hot sun the pace of these patient animals is slow but steady and [Music] sure a batak village with its CR houses is one of the unusual sites which a traveler sees in Sumatra [Music] the Manan cabal structures with strangely gabled rules are perhaps the most picturesque even the grain houses are pleasing in appearance freshly harvested grain cannot be stored but must be spread on mats in the sun until thoroughly dry the quaintness and beauty of the Native scenes etched against dark backgrounds of impenetrable Forest linger long in our memory as pleasant reminders of Sumatra a tropical garden spot [Music]