Pantar

Pantar (Indonesian: Pulau Pantar) is the second largest island in the Indonesian Alor Archipelago, after Alor. To the east is the island of Alor and other small islands in the archipelago; to the west is the Alor Strait, which separates it from the Solor Archipelago. To the south is the Ombai Strait, and 72 kilometres (45 mi) away, the island of Timor. To the north is the Banda Sea. Pantar is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north-to-south, and varies from 11 to 29 kilometres (6.8 to 18.0 mi) in east-west width. It has an area of 776.12 square kilometres (299.66 sq mi). The main towns on the island are Baranusa and Kabir. Administratively, the island is part of the Alor Regency.

For the municipality in the Philippines, see Pantar, Lanao del Norte.
Pantar
Native name:
Pulau Pantar
Map of the islands of East Nusa Tenggara, including Pantar
Geography
Coordinates8°15′S 124°45′E
ArchipelagoAlor archipelago, Lesser Sunda Islands
Area776.12 km2 (299.66 sq mi)
Administration
Indonesia
ProvinceEast Nusa Tenggara
RegencyAlor
Largest settlementBaranusa and Kabir
Demographics
Population43,125 (mid 2019)
Pop. density55.6/km2 (144/sq mi)

Geography

The island consists of two distinct geographic zones. The eastern zone is dominated by a range of verdant hills which drop steeply to the coast of the Alor Strait. The western zone is relatively flat, consisting of a plain which gently slopes to the west from Mount Sirung, an 862-metre-high (2,828-foot) active volcano. The western zone is characteristically drier and much less densely populated than the eastern zone. Owing to its relatively low elevation, the entire island is drier than neighboring Alor. The dry season is long, interspersed with heavy rainfall during the rainy season, which peaks during January and February.

Aerial view of Mount Sirung

History

The earliest written reference to Pantar is in the fourteenth-century Javanese poem Nagarakretagama, which describes the power and extent of the empire ruled by the fourth king of Majapahit, Hayam Wuruk. Pantar is referred to with the term 'Galiao', which is known in the Alor archipelago.[1] The precise location of the Majapahit dependency within Pantar is a subject of discussion.[2][3][4]

Economy

The economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture and fishing. The most common crops are rice, corn, and cassava. Crops are harvested annually in April and stored for consumption throughout the dry season. Excess production is sometimes traded for fish or to help support school children studying in the district capital of Kalabahi. Recently, commercial production of seaweed has been promoted along the north coast. A limited craft industry focused on ikat weaving is centered in Baranusa. Tourism remains underdeveloped, though a small dive resort was recently established on the northeast coast.

Baranusa harbor, Pantar

Transportation

Access to the island is by water only; there is no airstrip on Pantar. Small wooden power boats ply the route between Alor and Pantar daily, serving numerous communities. The state-run ferry serves Baranusa weekly between Kalabahi (Alor) and Larantuka (Flores).

Administrative Districts

The island comprises five districts (kecamatan) of Alor Regency, tabulated below with their areas and their 2010 Census population[5] and the official estimates for mid-2019.[6] The table also includes the number of villages (rural desa and urban kelurahan) in each district, and its post code. Eight small offshore islands are included within these districts.

NameArea
in km2		Population
Census 2010		Population
Estimate
mid 2019		Number
of
villages		Post
codes
Pantar (a)119.828,7989,5191185881
Pantar Barat (b)
(West Pantar)		58.716,7297,281785880
Pantar Timur (c)
(East Pantar)		141.4410,74011,6211185884
Pantar Barat Laut (d)
(Northwest Pantar)		306.024,2764,627785882
Pantar Tengah
(Central Pantar)		150.139,31310,0771085883
Pantar total island776.1239,85643,12546

Notes: (a) includes just the northern part of Pantar Island. (b) includes offshore islands of Pulau Kura and uninhabited Batang and Lapang. (c) includes offshore Pulau Treweng. (d) includes offshore islands of Pulau Kangge and uninhabited Kambing, Rusa and Tikus.

Languages

At least eight different languages are spoken on Pantar. These include at least five (dependent on classification) Papuan languages belonging to the Alor–Pantar family (Western Pantar, Sar, Blagar, Nedebang, and Kaera) as well as the Austronesian language Alorese. A small community of Bajau speakers is located north of Kabir. Local varieties of Malay and more standardized Indonesian are used as languages of wider communication.[7]

See also

References
  1. Barnes, R.H. 1982. "The Majapahit dependency Galiyao". Bijdragen Tot De Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde. 138 (4): 407-412.
  2. Rodemeier, Susanne. 1995. "Local tradition on Alor and Pantar; An attempt at localizing Galiyao". Bijdragen Tot De Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia. 151 (3): 438-442.
  3. Holton, Gary. 2010. An etymology for Galiyao. Manuscript. University of Alaska at Fairbanks. https://www.academia.edu/2091684/An_etymology_for_Galiyao
  4. Kondi, Dominicus Dionitius Pareira, and Alexius BoEr Pareira. 2010. The stranger-kings of Sikka with an integrated edition of two manuscripts on the origin and history of the rajadom of Sikka. Leiden: KITLV Press. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10745941.
  5. Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
  6. Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2020.
  7. Klamer, Marian. 2010. A Grammar of Teiwa. Berlin: Mouton.

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