Jakarta, IO – The Gebong Memarong traditional village in Air Abik Hamlet, Gunung Muda Bangka Village, Bangka Belitung Islands Province, is a cultural tourism destination for tourists who want to get to know the Lum tribe up close and personal.
Lum itself means ‘not yet familiar with progress’. The Lum tribe is believed to come from various ethnic groups, including Bangka Malays and Chinese who choose to live in seclusion.
In this traditional village, there are seven houses built on stilts, all of which are traditionally made or are replicas of the houses of the Lom tribe. According to the secretary of the Mapur Customary Council Arsi Harmoko, the original Gebong Memarong is already extinct. Thus, this traditional village was established to preserve the tribe’s culture.
“So that the younger generation knows that our ancestors used to have a traditional house like this,” Arsi said, reported Kompas, Tuesday (18/4).
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The house itself is in the form of a stage with motherwood floors, bark walls and nipa palm thatched roofs. Four of the houses are used as homestay lodgings, while the rest a traditional hall, a gallery and a museum. (bp)