Nexus - 1904 - New Times Magazine-pages

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Megalithic statue near Lahat (Photo: Tropenmuseum) Three people standing beside the Palindo statue in the Bada Valley in the 1930s. (Photo: Tropenmuseum of the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), Amsterdam) Megalithic statue, South Sumatra. (Photo: Tropenmuseum) hills and low mountains at a distance of two kilometres complete the raw gracefulness of the statues. For some, the natural background wasn't enough. In 1984, the government asked the people in the Bada Valley to build a giant wooden house beside Palindo, as well as a vaguely traditional building behind that. They don't serve a clear purpose. The final blow to the statue is a system of paths around the statue, complete with flat, square stones. There is also a rice shed with a damaged platform under a raised storage area. The purpose of the shed is not known, but you can sit down in the shadow and watch the statue from behind. The Besoa Valley, a long day's walk north of the Bada Valley, houses (including leeches) a number of human- like statues as well as the big stone drums or kalamba. Together with three other megaliths and many big stone drums, Palindo—as the stone statue is named— is located in the Bada Valley, which stretches up to 15 kilometres south of Lore Lindu National Park. The Sungai Lariang runs through the entire valley and is crossed by three hanging bridges. This river, together with its smaller feeding rivers, is used to irrigate the terraced rice fields. Gintu, the capital of the sub-district Bada, has only a few thousand inhabitants. This village, with its several government buildings, shops and a handful of televisions, controls the area. There are about 10,000 people in 14 villages. The megaliths in Bada draw a handful of tourists and archaeologists. The fierce terrain forms an impressive background for the stone pieces of art. Eroded rows of 60 * NEXUS JUNE - JULY 2012 www.nexusmagazine.com