Siberut

The Indonesian island of Siberut is the largest of lying to the west coast of Sumatra, Mentawai Islands.

Geography

The island is located more than 140 km off Sumatra, the south is the island of Sipora, to the north lie the Batu Islands. Siberut is 3828.5 km ² in size and up to 384 m high. In the south you are offshore located in the Bungalaut Street islets Karamajet and Masokut.

Management

Siberut is the sub-districts ( Kecamatan ) Siberut Selatan and Siberut Utara, which for 1999 formed government district ( kabupaten ) Mentawai islands and the capital Tua Pejat (on Sipora ), are part of the province of Sumatera Barat is in turn ( West Sumatra ).

Population

After the last Ice Age the island were separated by rising sea levels of Sumatra. Around 2000 BC Siberut was colonized from the north. The residents differ in language and customs of the inhabitants of Sumatra. The root of the Sakuddei lives in longhouses. The Tuddukat is a local slit drum. Even today there are stone age tribes living.

The island has 30,000 inhabitants. On Siberut is with Muarasiberut the most important place and port of the Mentawai Islands.

History

1792 reached a ship of the British East India Company, the Mentawai Islands. 1847, 1849 and 1852 toured the German scientist Hermann von Rosenberg the island. It was not until 1864 Siberut part of the Dutch East Indies. In January 1899 a German research vessel explored as part of the Valdivia expedition the sea in front of Siberut. 1901 German missionaries reached the Mentawai Islands. After Indonesian independence, the indigenous animistic religion was banned.

Today

Today, most of the inhabitants are Christians. The mid-1990s Australian surfers discovered with the islands of Siberut also for surfing. There are also organized tours from Padang from backpackers to the stone-age villages.

After the earthquake in the Indian Ocean off Sumatra in 2004, the seismic activity beneath the island has greatly increased.

Wildlife ( fauna)

Live on the island, some endemic species, including the Pagai macaque, whose existence is now under threat. Other species are the flying squirrel Siberut, the Siberut macaque, the Kloss Gibbon, the pig-tailed snub nose and the Mentawai langur.

The island is a recognized by UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1981.

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