Fahombe or stone jumping tradition in Nias island

Fahombe or stone jumping tradition in Nias island born of the habit of fighting between the villages of Nias Island community. The tradition was once exclusive in preparation for a war in which each village is usually guarded by a bamboo fence two meters so that the village men were trained to be able to jump over the fence through the practice of skipping stones. It also serves as a means of testing the courage and maturity of a boy on the island of Nias.

Nias is an ancient land. No one knows exactly how long the original people living here.According to local legend, lives on the island of Nias derived from Gomo River where the first descent into six gods and human civilization. Therefore, Nias community call themselves ono niha or 'child society'. Distribution of society starting from the Middle Nias then move to the North and South to develop the language, customs and art respectively. It is estimated that humans in Nias Island saudah existed since 30,000 years ago.

Traditionally, the villages on the island of Nias led by the village head who led the council of elders. In Nias are still many traditional villages which stand out from traditional villages that are arsitekurnya arrangement, either landscape or building. Once each village is headed by a king. Nias community adopts a hierarchy with nobility occupied the highest caste, followed by ordinary people. Nias tribe implement clan system following the paternal line (patrilineal). Clans generally come from the villages of existing settlements. Nias tribe recognize the caste system (12 levels Caste) where the level of the highest caste is Balugu. To achieve this level one must be able to do a big party by inviting thousands of people and slaughtering thousands of pigs in binge for days. The people of Nias have hard and strong character inherited from the culture war fighter.

Therefore, society and culture of Nias today able to survive the onslaught of foreign culture. Warrior culture of Nias has been going on for centuries when villages here declare war on each other. First inter-village or inter-tribal warfare underway since provoked by resentment or slavery. In addition attached to the warrior culture, the people of Nias was also once the farming community. They planted potatoes, corn and taro to memenui their needs. Swine besides being farmed animals also show the status of a person because the person has a lot of pork, the higher the position in rural communities. Nias is not without actual historical record because of this amazing island never entered the Chinese trader notes, Portuguese and Arabic. Nias island formerly known as the origin of obtaining slaves then traded by the Kingdom of Aceh, Portuguese merchants and Dutch traders. In fact, until the 19th century Nias was known to the outside world as the location of the slave trade. Dutch East Indies government control of Pulai Nias 1825. Despite this fact before the island had been in contact with the outside world, but the traditional culture remains miraculously intact. Visit to Lombok Island