Lembata
Native name: Pulau Lembata | |
|---|---|
 Location in Indonesia | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Lesser Sunda Islands |
| Coordinates | 8°24′S123°34′E/ 8.40°S 123.57°E |
| Area | 1,266.39 km2(488.96 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1,533 m (5030 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Province | East Nusa Tenggara |
| Regency | Lembata Regency |
| Largest settlement | Lewoleba(pop. 40,200) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 135,930 (2020 Census) |
| Pop. density | 107.34/km2(278.01/sq mi) |
Lembatais an island in theLesser Sunda Islands,also known asLomblen island;it is the largest island of theSolor Archipelago,in theLesser Sunda Islands,Indonesia.It forms a separateregencyof theprovinceofNusa Tenggara Timur.The length of the island is about 80 km from the southwest to the northeast and the width is about 30 km from the west to the east. It rises to a height of 1,533 metres.
To the west lie the other islands in the archipelago, most notablySolorandAdonara,and then the larger island ofFlores.To the east is theAlor Strait,which separates this archipelago from theAlor Archipelago.To the south across theSavu Sealies the island ofTimor,while to the north the western branch of theBanda Seaseparates it fromButonand the other islands ofSoutheast Sulawesi.
Administration
[edit]TheLembata Regencyincludes the island of Lembata and three small offshore islands. It is sub-divided into ninedistricts.
Geography
[edit]
The capital cityLewoleba(also known asLabala) is found on the western part of the island next to a bay, across which lies Lewotolovolcanoto the north.[1]Ships frequently connect the coastal towns and surrounding islands, but the only bigger harbour exists at Lewoleba in the north of the island. From Lewoleba there are daily connections toLarantuka,Flores, and Waiwerang on the neighbouring island of Adonara.
Like the other Lesser Sunda Islands, and indeed much of Indonesia, Lembata is volcanically active. It has three volcanoes,Ililabalekan,Iliwerung,andLewotolo.
History
[edit]The south part of Lembata was the site of the state of Labala.
People
[edit]The people of Lembata are, like many other inhabitants of Eastern Indonesia, famous for their handmadeikatweavings.
The national language,Indonesian,is known by many people of all ages, but like on other islands the national language coexists with many local languages. The most widespread and most widely understood of these is probablyLamaholot(anotherlingua francainside theSolor archipelago). Lamaholot is spoken as a native language on EasternFloresand WesternSolor,and is itself divided into ten or more sublanguages (and many more dialects). It is spoken by 150.000 or more people in the region. Some of those sublanguages are indeed very distinct from Lamaholot, i.e. the Atadei language ofAtadei District(Kecamatan Atadei), which again is subclassified as Eastern and Western Atadei, the former being spoken inAtalojofor example, the latter inKalikasa.[2]A very distinct language spoken in the eastern part of the island isKedang.[3]
On the south coast of Lembata, the village of Lamalera (pop. 2,500) is known for itshunting of sperm whaleand other deep-sea species. The hunting has been taking place for at least six centuries, and is allowed underInternational Whaling Commissionregulations concerningaboriginal whaling.However,conservationistsworry that commercial whaling also takes place, and that hunters use their engine-powered boats all year round to catch other protected species such as manta rays,orcas(Orcinus orca), dolphins and oceanic sharks.[4][5]Lamalera andLamakera(on the neighbouring island of Solor) are the last two remaining Indonesian whaling communities.
Environment
[edit]In 2011, theIndonesian Institute of Sciences(LIPI) found two rare coral reef fish in the sea of Lamalera, they wereYellow-fin fairy wrasse(Cirrhilabrus flavidorsalis) andswallowtail hawkfish(Cyprinocirrhites polyactis), which only exist in waters surrounding Indonesia and the Philippines.
The two species were the first to be found in Lamalera Sea, but similar types have been found nearBalibefore. The fish were only found in seas with good coral reefs, although traces of bombing had been found around the coral reefs in the Lamalera Sea, but it was not serious yet.[6]
In February 2016, a new species of flasher wrasse,Paracheilinus alfiani,was described from aholotypecollected from the reef around Lembata.[7]
References
[edit]
- ^"Global Volcanism Program | Lewotolok".Smithsonian Institution | Global Volcanism Program.Retrieved2022-09-14.
- ^Krauße, Daniel (2016)."A Brief Grammar of the Eastern Atadei Language of Lembata, Indonesia"(PDF).Linguistik Indonesia.34(2): 115–116.Retrieved9 August2017.
- ^Samely, Ursula (1991).Kedang (Eastern Indonesia). Some aspects of its grammar(Forum Phoneticum 46 ed.). Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag.ISBN3875480163.
- ^Emont, Jon (3 August 2017)."A Whaling Way of Life Under Threat".The New York Times.Retrieved24 May2022.
- ^"Spearing Whales For Survival: An Inside Look".Underwater360.7 August 2018.Retrieved24 May2022.
- ^"Two rare fishes found in East Nusa Tenggara".November 24, 2011.
- ^Adams, Jake.""Paracheilinus alfiani, P. paineorum&P. xanthocirritus,three new flasher wrasses "".30 August 2017.
External links
[edit]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
