The Wai Humba Festival is an annual, traditional festival of Sumba that aims to protect the environment, especially the water sources of the island. The main basis of the Wai Hulba Festival is a reflection of Hinduism. This festival is not a tourist festival but a space for the consolidation of the culture of the people of Sumba Island. Due to the current flow of modern development, it has become a challenge to maintain a culture that is humanistic, environmentally friendly, and godly. Often, culture is only seen as a tourism asset, on Sumba culture is just… Sumbanese culture. The real thing.
Get close to nature and the Creator
The festival, which is a combination of worship, a people’s party, and environmental preservation, aims to strengthen the spirit of brotherly solidarity by sharing the love of heritage. Pancasila characters are applied to the holding of the Wai Humba Festival.
This festival is a new alternative bridge to get closer to the Creator and the surrounding nature. The goal is to express gratitude to the creator who has instilled natural wisdom.
This year the festivities were held in Tabera Village, West Sumba. Our students were given the chance to take part in the event; they wrote and prepared a song and a selection of poetry especially dedicated to the themes of Wai Humba. It was a wonderful event to be a part of and it was so encouraging to see people gather together, united through the purpose of protecting their island.
You can imagine the local community is very proud when the younger generations return to maintain their cultural identity and continue to preserve it. We’ll be back next year!
