Lombok Island

Blog post and photographs by Peter Hemenway

The history of a small Arab community in Lombok has history dating back to early settlement by traders from Yemen though generally little is known about Lombok before the seventeenth century.

85% of Lombok's population is Sasak They are related to the Balinese in language and ancestry, although the Sasak are predominantly Muslim while the Balinese are predominantly Hindu. Sasak people who practice pre-Islamic beliefs are also known as Sasak Boda in reference to the name of the Sasak people's original religion, Bodha.

The followers of the Bodha worship animistic gods, incorporating some Hindu and Buddhist influences in their rituals and religious vocabulary.

This drawing is from a book at a museum. The diagram is used for fortune telling.

Exhibit of Kris knives behind glass barrier

Celebrating Ishaq who became a cow according to the Koran

Muslims were originally told to pray to Allah 125 (1+2+5=8) times per day and then it was changed to 100 then again changed to five times a day. 25 is an important number as Mohamed is the 25 son (while Jesus is 24th.) The 8th child (Profit) is Ishaq who became a cow and this is why every year the Muslims kill a cow (if poor they kill a goat, as is shown in this picture taken on the Island of Lombok) 

A donkey is sacrificed in honor of Ishaq, the 8th child of Mohamed

Drying Rice