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The Province of West Nusa Tenggara, also known
as part of the Lesser Sunda Islands, comprise Bali and eastward
through Timor.
The two major islands in this province are Lombok
and Sumbawa. Lombok is where the transition from the western to
the eastern Indonesian fauna and flora begins. The northern part
of the island is mountainous and verdant with tall trees and shrubs
covering the land. The south is arid and covered by savannas. Large
Asian mammals are absent. The shift gets more pronounced as one
moves further east. Dry seasons are more prolonged, so in many areas
corn and sago instead of rice is the staple food.
Lombok island has white virgin beaches, an age-old
culture, separated by merely a narrow strait from Bali, it is only
now being discovered as a tourist destination of exceptional charm.
Here the motto is "you can see Bali in Lombok, but not Lombok
in Bali". It is an existing reality, formed by the superimposition
of strong Balinese influences in the past, upon a base that is entirely
Lombok's own. At around the time Islam first came to these islands
in the 16th century, four Hindu Kingdoms coexisted in apparent peace
in what is now West Nusa Tenggara.
At present, Hinduism is the religion embraced mostly
by the Balinese population of western Lombok. The indigenous people
of Lombok, the Sasaks, are predominantly Moslem. Even more so are
the people of neighboring Sumbawa.
At present, West Nusa Tenggara's cultural make-up
is a composite of the four main population groups inhabiting the
two islands: the Balinese, the Sumbawanese, and the peoples of Bima
and Dompu. The region is famous for its "ikat" hand-woven
textiles. Cattle and horses are the major export commodities of
these islands.
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