To Boldly Go...

Nov 28, 11:33 AM

It’s a long time ago that I was in the Tanimbar islands in Indonesia, although it was good the other day to catch up with an old friend from there on Facebook, chatting in my now appallingly rusty Indonesian. I spent six months in Tanimbar back in 1994/1995, and it was in many ways an extraordinary experience. Tanimbar appears both as the model of sorts for my first novel, Cargo Fever, and also in my philosophy book, Finding Our Sea-Legs, which is launched next week, where I set up Tanimbarese thought in opposition to that of Immanuel Kant, and the Tanimbarese come off rather better. Although the Tanimbar islands were, back then, somewhat isolated, I was all too aware that I was by no means the only visitor. Indeed since the Dutch missionaries turned up in 1910, there has been a long trail of tourists, anthropologists, curiosity-seekers, missionaries and the like tramping to and fro in Tanimbar, and thus there is now, as there has been for a long time, a fairly vigorous, if small, tourist industry in the islands. These days they have Facebook, please note…

So imagine my surprise when I found an article published in the Singapore Business Times about a cruise company who specialise in travel to out of the way places, and who have managed to make contact with a hitherto unknown village in Tanimbar called Sangliat Dol. The cruise company’s visit, apparently, had been a “genuine first time experience” both for the folks on the cruise and for the people in Sangliat Dol, because they were the first group of travellers ever to visit the village.

This is perplexing. Back in 1994, there was a reasonable road from Saumlaki to Sangliat Dol – at least outside of the rainy season – and Sangliat Dol was firmly established as a part of the small, but nevertheless active, tourist industry in Tanimbar. It was mentioned in the guide-books. It was the place where everybody in Saumlaki thought that you should go, if you were a westerner.

I went there myself, some three months into my stay, with a friend from Saumlaki. We walked up the coast, stopping off overnight on the way; and when we came to Sangliat Dol, we found that the villagers were out in force, busy tidying up the stone steps that led up to the village, because (somebody explained) they would look better for the tourists that way.

Sangliat Dol

As a story, it’s not as superficially exciting as the idea of making contact with new and unknown peoples and places; but when we leave myths such as this to one side, it may be that in the end it’s possible to discover that there are more intriguing, and more complex, stories to be told…

 
  1. #1 · Ivan Irawan

    Dec 5, 08:35 AM

    Hello, Im being here at Saumlaki and found this blog. Im from Indonesia though, but from big city. I also finding the beauty of this island.
    Im teaching teachers here. Every people now using cellphone here, but internet is limited even its working… I like your story & experience

  2. #2 · Will

    Dec 7, 02:50 PM

    Hi, Ivan,
    Good to hear from you. I hope all is well in Tanimbar – if you meet anybody who knew me, send my best wishes!
    All the best,
    Will

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