Babi Island Superstition and Lost in the Flores Sea

For 20 minutes, the boat sailed in the fog and shaking waves in the middle of the Flores Sea. Babi Island which should have been far behind instead appeared on the left.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

Roni, the driver of the motorboat on which Kompas journalist Pati Herin boarded on Saturday, December 18, 2021. The boat was sailing from Babi Island to Flores Island..

The sunny weather suddenly became overcast. The black clouds coming from the east seemed to stop and hang right above where we were. It was Saturday afternoon (18/12/2021).

It did not take long before droplets of rain the size of a green bean fell over Babi Island, which we were visiting. "Come onboard," shouted Roni (46) from the motorboat.

I ran through the surging water towards the bow of the boat, which was anchored a little ways offshore. I climbed up the bow, which was around 1.5 meters high.

"Hurry up, the condition is not too good," he said. His cheerfulness had evidently deserted him and his mood had turned tense.

Soon after pulling up the anchor, he went down into the boat hatch to start the engine. The boat turned around and headed south towards the coast of Flores Island. The Flores waters encroach Babi Island, an island of only 5.6 square kilometers located to the north of Flores.

Due to the heavy rain, a thick fog soon fell to obscure Flores Island, which is around 13,540 square kilometers. Without a compass, our boat sailed through the fog.

Hurry up, the condition is not too good.

It was like we were trapped in the middle of the ocean. It was not possible to go back anymore. Babi Island was far behind us.

Roni had been sailing the boat we were on for decades. However, the current condition made him appear to be disoriented. He rubbed his face repeatedly as he held on to the steering wheel.

He struggled with maintaining the boat’s direction because of the thick fog. The hard wind was beginning to stir up the waves.

Fortunately, the fog began to clear around 20 minutes later. We caught sight of Babi Island, but it was now somehow to our left instead of behind us.

Roni slapped his cheek as if to wake himself up.

It turned out that our boat had strayed off course. Instead of heading to Flores Island, we had veered north to an area to the southeast of Sulawesi Island.

FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

A well filled with brackish water on Babi Island, Sikka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday (12/18/2021). The clean water supply on the island is brought from Flores Island..

Roni immediately turned the steering wheel 180 degrees and realigned the bow on course to Flores Island. He then handed the wheel to me. "Hold it, please," he said.

He took off his shirt and strode up the bow. Muttering, he wrapped his wet shirt around the mast and then returned to the wheel.

"At sea as we are, we may sometimes experience an event like this,” he said in a superstitious tone. “Don't be afraid," he said with a big smile.

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Before long, the rain stopped and the fog lifted. Our boat was now on cruise control, sailing towards the coast of Flores Island. We were making for Nangahale village in Sikka regency, East Nusa Tenggara.

The storm extended the trip from Babi Island to Nangahale, which was supposed to take 1.5 hours, to more than 2 hours.

Local superstition

Before leaving for Babi Island, Roni had told us about the local superstition. For the inhabitants of Babi Island, he said, Saturdays in the month of December were sacred. On Saturday, 12 Dec. 1992, an earthquake and tsunami devastated the island. The horrific experience left them so traumatized that they avoided traveling on Saturdays.

Roni recalled one Saturday afternoon when he was swimming along the coast of Babi Island with other young men of his age. Suddenly, the sea grew hot, so they rushed to shore. "It was like hot tea," he said.

Before long, the ground swung left and right, up and down. Later, it was learned that the area had been struck by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake.

Around 700 people died, including my family. That's why I am still cautious.

A moment after the quake, the seawater receded, and then high waves started rolling in towards land, immediately sending the boys running and screaming in a panic. They ran to a nearby hill around 300 meters from the coast.

Unfortunately, they were not running fast enough to escape the rushing waves, which reached land quickly and swept away houses.

Among those struggling against the sweeping waves was Roni. Luckily, he was able to grab a plank of wood. In the blink of an eye, everything had been flattened to the ground.

“Around 700 people died, including my family. That's why I am still cautious. Every December, especially on Saturdays, we take precautions,” said Roni, who was born and raised on Babi Island.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

Residents' settlement on Babi Island in Sikka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday (12/18/2021). The island, which is in the middle of the Flores Sea, was once ravaged by the earthquake and tsunami on December 12, 1992. Now, residents are back inhabiting the island.

Following the huge number of lives lost in the disaster, the population of Babi Island dropped from 850 to 105 people (Kompas, 16/12/1992). Roni and the other surviving residents were relocated to Nangahale, because Babi Island was deemed unfit for human habitation.

For their safety, the people left the island they loved. The hearts of the residents, including Roni, who had lived there for 17 years, were heavy from abandoning their island. They occasionally visited to cherish memories about their island home.

While people were still struggling to come to terms with the aftermath of the disaster that occurred 29 years ago, the region was rocked by another earthquake on 14 Dec. 2021. The incident seemed to support the local superstition about the month of December.

"Especially Saturdays in December. We are very cautious," Roni said.

I visited Babi Island to observe the impacts of the 14 Dec. 2021 earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.4, as well as the traces of the 1992 quake.

There are still 20 families living on the island, farming, breeding livestock and fishing. I combed several areas of the island and saw the ruins of the structures that had been hit by the tsunami. I also visited the mass graves of victims.

Sahar (47), a current resident of Babi Island, said that on entering the month of December, the local people often experienced strange events. They often heard someone screaming for help in the middle of the night.

"Sometimes, it happens during the day. A voice may suddenly call our names. The spirits of the dead still roam here," he said.

I learned why Roni had associated the incident during which our boat lost orientation to the superstition of Babi Island. It may sound irrational, but I also believe it is real.

Regardless of whether it is true or not, the superstition has made the local people more cautious in dealing with natural phenomenon. This behavior is an attempt to minimize the damage and to survive the hazards in this land located on the Ring of Fire.

This article was translated by Musthofid.