Indonesia, Alor, Takpala Village – Hidden paradise is the right nickname for Takpala Village. Why so?
This traditional village located in the high plateau of West Lembur has a wonderful wide panorama of the sea and the beautiful island of Sika. Not only that, This village is also one of the oldest traditional villages in Alor and still preserves its traditional customs until now.
This makes Takpala is the main destination to visit everytime you go to Alor, Indonesia.
The journey starts from Kalabahi city center to the west Lembur village which takes about 30 minutes. Transportation that can be used is Oto (public transportation) or private vehicles such as Motorbike or Private Car. Motorbike is highly recommended for this journey! Don’t get confused, this village is located at the foot of the hill so that the more uphill the journey will increasingly spur adrenaline, and of course the more beautiful the scenery that looks.
Extraordinary natural panorama immediately greeted me upon my arrival in the parking lot. Vast expanse of natural Alor directly visible from this Takpala village, i immediately climbed the steps to the Takpala village.
I promptly welcomed with Takpala village sign and continually rushed to capture the moment, the expanse of nature that is still green with a traditional rural atmosphere that is still thick makes me want to learn more about this village.
Your trip to Takpala is less complete if you don’t try the traditional clothes of this village. I scurry changed my clothes to the traditional clothes of the Abui tribe, Alor. This traditional clothes is Hand-woven cloth (handmade) with the help of traditional looms.
Women’s clothing is wrapped with beautiful woven cloth, with a belt made of wood bark and some beautiful accessories such as baskets, bracelets and anklet.
As for men, the dashing traditional clothing starts from woven fabrics, belt made of wood bark, head-woven fabric, machetes, crossbows and some other beautiful accessories such as necklaces of conch shells and hats from chicken feathers. The price of renting traditional men’s clothing is IDR 100,000 and women’s IDR 50,000.
I directly met with the head of a traditional tribe in this village, he also the one who manage the village. He said If you come and inform in advance from afar, you will be welcomed with a lego-lego dance, a traditional dance of Takpala.
I can’t get enough by taking picture with this beautiful clothes, so I immediately went to this unique traditional house made of bamboo and reeds with four-storey commonly called Lopo. I was impressed exploring this traditional pyramid-shaped house, unexpectedly felt very spacious inside this house.
Alor has the epithet as the island of thousand Moko. What is Moko? Moko is the dowry that is needed when a man will propose to a woman. What makes this bronze drum unique and exceptional is, that it has never been produced new or in other words, cultural heritage or ancestral heritage and this tradition still runs today in Alor Island. So Moko has an important role that is very valuable and priceless for Alor People.
For those of you who like collecting traditional souvenirs, don’t be sad! The local peddle their beautiful handicraft souvenirs typical of the Takpala village that is difficult to find other than in this place. From walnut bracelets, pig fangs necklaces, beautiful weaves, and all of them are handmade!
Address: Desa Lembur Barat, Kecamatan Alor Tengah Utara, Kabupaten Alor, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.