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1

Local Knowledge of Tsunami among the Simeulue Community,

Nangroe Aceh Darusallam

by

Herry Yogaswara

Eko Yulianto

The earthquake followed by tsunami on 26 December 2004, struck several regions of

Aceh and Nias Island, North Sumatra, taking a toll of hundreds of thousands of lives and

causing the destruction of various physical facilities and infrastructure including houses

owned by the population. However, in Simeulue Island with 95% of its population living

on coastal areas close to the earthquake’s epicenter, the number of victims that died was

relatively minimal. According to an official report issued by the district government, the

number of dead victims was 7 people out of the total population of over 78,000.

The small number of victims was due to the fact that the majority of the population who

lived on the coast could save themselves by fleeing to the nearby hilly area, just after the

earthquake occurred and sea water was seen to retreat on the coast. The act of saving

themselves in the direction of the relatively higher and “safer” area was not merely a

spontaneous act, but was related to a tsunami occurrence of the past, that had been

repeatedly handed down from one generation to the next generation. This local

knowledge was known as “smong stories”, or stories about the tsunami incident in 1907.

The study attempts to delve into when the concept of “smong” first arose by using the

year 1907 as a reference point, namely whether the concept was created after 1907 or

whether it had existed prior to the occurrence of tsunami in1907.

The study also questioned how the process of transmission of knowledge occurred from

one generation to another. It then tried to borrow several lessons from the tsunami of

2004. This study combined a research approach of social sciences and culture, i.e. a study

of local community knowledge and a paleo-tsunami study. The social science approach

focused on historical assessment of when the incident considered to be of importance had

occurred and how the incident was told. Several study techniques were used such as in-

depth interviews, focus discussion groups, observations and assessment of documents.

While the paleo-tsunami study was conducted by performing excavations at several

sample points and looking at the possibility of tsunami deposits that remained.

Study results showed that a scientific paper on the earthquake and tsunami in the Sumatra

region as well as records of the colonial Dutch government provided information of the

1907 earthquake and tsunami that had devastated several areas of the Simeulue west

coast. These reports also gave indications of the tremendous number of victims and

highly significant economic decline at the time. The scientific paper even gave a more

detailed indication of the event, namely that it occurred on 4 January 1907.

Based on knowledge developing in the Simeulue community, the earthquake and tsunami

was known as the Smong of 07, referring to the giant wave occurring in 1907 which was

on a Friday. Besides oral stories developing of the 1907 tsunami, several physical

2

evidences of the incident still remain. For instance coral stones carried from the coast to

rice fields for a distance of approximately 500 m; 1907 victims’ graves; foundation

stones of a historic mosque in Simeulue (sendi batu); grave of an Islamic propagator that

was left intact by the tsunami in 1907; and various types of sea shells in the hilly region.

Smong stories of 1907 were told from one generation to another through the oral

storytelling media. To date, no other form of storytelling has been found, for instance

through poems, quatrains or lullabies. The general pattern that took place was that stories

were told from grandparents to their grandchildren during leisure time. But in several

cases storytelling also occurred from parents to their children, between neighbors, to

newcomers by the local Simeulue community. While the motive of the storytelling

included filling free time at home, the occurrence of another natural disaster being

compared with the tsunami of 1907 (for instance fire, earthquake and flood); advice to

teach good behavior; seeing the remains of the 1907 tsunami; and asking someone’s age.

In general the smong stories of 1907 illustrated the tremendous force of the tsunami

occurring at the time, namely the huge number of victims for that period, condition of

bodies, wave height, until the distance of the incoming wave entering into land. The

stories also depicted the signs preceding the tsunami, namely strong earthquake and

retreating sea water on the shore. Besides that, there are stories of people taking fish from

the sea at low tide and water spurting out in coastal areas. Additionally, these stories

finally advised, that after a strong earthquake was felt followed by retreating sea water,

the community should promptly seek a safe area without worrying about what belongings

to take along.

The tsunami incident of 1907 may be scientifically proven through the paleo-tsunami

study. Excavations made in the area of Teluk Langi (Alafan sub-district), Naibos village

(Teupah Barat sub-district), Latak Ayah village (Simeulue Tengah sub-district), and

Teluk Busung (Simeulue Timur sub-district) uncovered tsunami mud deposits of varying

thicknesses. For instance, some samples were found in Teluk Langi (30 cm) and Latak

Ayah (50 cm). While tsunami deposits of 2004 were relatively thinner. These findings

provided information that corroborated oral stories of the smong event of 1907 and

showed the degree of the tsunami force.

As regards the tsunami of 26 December 2004, interview results showed that many among

the population recalled the smong stories of 1907, that the tsunami had occurred in the

wake of the earthquake followed by receding sea water on the coast. They then sought

safety by heading to higher ground.

Besides the population members who were safe, there were victims who died in several

places. From interviews of these victims’ families, basically victims knew the stories

about what to do during tsunami. But the victims did not know the character of the

tsunami that could come repeatedly in one day.

Several related lessons from the parallels between the tsunami of 1907 and that of 2004

were, firstly, both happened in the morning to midday hours, so that evacuation was

3

easier to be carried out and situation of sea water was easier to control than at night time

Secondly, the population understood the tsunami with characteristic signs of strong

earthquake, receding sea water and incoming wave. While they had no knowledge of

tsunami that was not preceded by the two signs. Thirdly, efforts are required to

continuously remind the Simeulue population of ways to understand the tsunami signs,

evacuation process and disaster mitigation. For instance the tsunami incident of 1907

occurred on 4 January 1907 and the latest tsunami on 26 December 2004. Between the

two dates could be made a kind of “memorial day” filled with activities to encourage the

process of being prepared to face disaster among the community.

1

Chapter 1

Introduction

When the Tsunami struck the coastal region of Aceh and Nias on 26 December 2004,

over two hundred thousand lives were lost and declared missing. However on

Simeulue Island, one of the areas strongly hit by the tsunami, the number of

casualties was very small. Several sources mention that the total number of victims

who died was 7 people1, an insignificant figure as compared to the total population of

Simeulue island at the time, consisting of 78,128 people (June 2005) the majority of

whom dwelled along the coast.

The small number of fatalities due to tsunami on Simeuleu island was interpreted to

be due to several reasons, among them (1) Divine Power, (2) the presence of local

wisdom and (3) regional topography2. The principle of life for the Aceh community in

general and Simeuleu island in particular, which is very religious, frequently relate

various incidents in the world with Divine aspects, so that the Tsunami was also

considered as part of a test of faith . The second reason, the presence of local

“wisdom” in the form of stories handed down through generations on tsunami

incidents that had occurred during past periods. One of the local wisdom values is

that if a strong earthquake is experienced accompanied by receding sea water , the

community must climb to higher ground. While the regional topography in the

majority of community settlements in Simeuleu island consists of coastal area in close

proximity to hills, thus making it easy for the community to save themselves

This study will focus on the factor of Simeuleu community local knowledge of the

tsunami . Local knowledge to be assessed is related to (1) emergence of local

knowledge of the tsunami, (2) the transmission process of local knowledge, (3) how

the local knowledge was used when facing the tsunami of December 2004 and (4) the

prospect of local knowledge in the future . The focus of the study on local knowledge

does not mean that factors such as community ideology (religious and cultural values)

and topography are unimportant, but to provide deeper understanding of the

relationship between the factor of local knowledge and socio-cultural, economic and

physical environment factors .

Local knowledge itself has several variations of definitions. In the realm of social

sciences such concepts as indigenous knowledge system, indigenous technical

knowledge, local knowledge and local wisdom are known. These concepts basically

refer to one relatively similar understanding, namely...”is the knowledge that people

in a given community have developed over time, and continue to develop”3. Several

basic principles of local knowledge are (1) based on experience , (2) frequently its

use has been tested over a long period of time , (3) adaptive towards local culture and

the environment and (4) dynamic and ever-changing (ibid).

1 Report of Simeuleu district head, August 2005 mentions that the number of fatalities due to the

tsunami of 26 December 2004 was 7 people. While those who were killed by the earthquake of 28

March 2005 totaled 37. Most victims of the earthquake are in Sinabang city 2 See the speech of the Simeuleu district head in the program “Kick-off-tell-Net” in Kobe Japan, 18-21

January 2006. 3 See, IIRR, “Recording and Using Indigenous Knowledge: A Manual”, (1996 : 7)

2

Local knowledge of the tsunami among the people of Simeuleu is highly important

for study. The people’s action of promptly leaving their kampongs and heading

toward higher ground; the relatively small number of victims who died and various

incidents during the tsunami of December 2004 were important learning processes to

be understood in the context of ever-changing social and cultural as well as

environmental change . An important lesson gained among others is that folklore and

other oral traditions are useful in the matter of community alertness in encountering a

particular disaster which arrival or natural signs are not certain.

Issues

Local knowledge of the tsunami among the community has several times been written

in formats of newspaper articles4 , papers

5, reports and text of speeches

6. The essence

is that the Simeuelu community has been familiar with the concept of smong, which

is “sea water rising preceded by an earthquake and receding sea water in the vicinity

of the coast”. Publicity over the smong through various media has brought about the

perception that smong is the local expression (particularly in the Simeulue language)

in place of the common term of tsunami. Even in media reports, efforts have been

made to officially adopt the word smong into the Indonesian vocabulary in place of

the word tsunami (Pontianak Pos, 26 February 2005)

The local concept of smong, and academic concept of tsunami naturally have

differences. For instance, in the book “The Orphan Tsunami Tsunami of 1700”

(Atwatter, et.al, 2005 : 132), tsunami is defined as...”train of water waves driven by

gravity, commonly triggered by sea-floor displacement from fault slip during an

undersea earthquake”.... In addition, based on historical records of tsunami

phenomena in Japan, several designations have also been used to illustrate tsunami,

such as “high tide”, “high waves”, “unusual seas” and “tsunami” with several

variations in writing that differ in the Japanese alphabet system. Therefore it needs to

be questioned whether smong is identical to tsunami, or whether it is a variant of the

academic definition of tsunami.

The concept of smong has been present since before the tsunami of December 2004,

and is considered able to save the Simleuleu community from the flooding sea water.

The emergence of the smong concept is often related to the incident of tsunami in

1907 that struck several areas of Simeuleu, particularly in what are now the sub-

districts of South Teupah , West Teupah, Central Simeuleu and Alafan. These regions

are known as the west coast area of Simeuleu.

4For instance, Pontianak Pos, 26 February 2006 titled “Dipakai karena Mampu Selamatkan Ribuan

Nyawa 5 Anonymous (2006) : Smong dan Pembelajaran Tiga Generasi

6 Refer to the two speeches of the bupati Kabupaten Simeulue made during two

international forums, namely PRESENTATION OF BUPATI OF SIMEULUE, NANGGROE ACEH DARUSSALAM PROVINCE OF

INDONESIAN INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION OF UN-SASAKAWA AWARD,

ON OCTOBER,12. 2005, IN BANGKOK, THAILAND” and “PRESENTATION OF BUPATI OF

SIMEULUE, NANGGROE ACEH DARUSSALAM PROVINCE OF INDONESIA ON TELL-NET-KICK-

OFF ASSEMBLY PROGRAM ON JANUARY, 18 TO 21. 2006, IN KOBE, JAPAN”

3

This study tries to delve into when the concept of “smong” arose using the year 1907

as reference, whether it is true the concept was created after 1907 or whether it was

already present before the incidence of tsunami in1907.

Additionally, this study also attempts to look into the process of transmission of

knowledge from one generation to the next such that when the tsunami occurred in

December 2004, the vast majority of the Simeuelu community was able to save

themselves to a relatively safe place from the tsunami waves. However, recording of

the tsunami incident of 1907 in the Simeuleu region is carried out because various

notes that once existed , as well as verbal tales developing often relate the concept of

smong to the incident of tsunami in 1907. Later the paleo-tsunami study attempts to

prove the incident in several study regions .

Hypothesis

Based on various initial information on local knowledge of the Simeuleu community

about the tsunami, the study tries to answer three matters, namely the occurrence of

tsunami in 1907 that was the basis of emergence and development of local community

knowledge of tsunami incident Additionally, various incidents related to a variety of

disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, fire and so forth were events

reminding people of the tsunami of 1907, so as to reinforce the process of

transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next, or even from one

community to another. Lastly, this study attempts to observe that transmission of

knowledge from one generation to the next is structured and unstructured .

Unstructured (incidental) when people only relate an event after a reinforcing

incident , like incidences of natural disasters and man-made disasters. Structured

refers to periodic repetition, such as poems, folklore (legends, fables and myths),

including the content of school curricula.

Objective of the Study :

• To study when the concept of smong arose for the first time

• To study how the Simeuleu community maintained the concept of smong

• To provide recommendations for efforts to prepare the community in facing

earthquake and tsunami.

Methodology :

This study combines two study methods in an integrated manner, namely a socio-

cultural assessment of local community knowledge in Simeulue, and paleo-tsunami

study. The two methods are used as complementary information with other

information , including validation of various verbal stories with geologic findings and

other physical environment aspects.

The socio-cultural study employed the data collecting techniques of desk review,

depth interview, observation and community meetings. However the community

meeting technique was rather difficult to perform in the disaster area in view of the

high expectations of obtaining assistance.

4

While the paleo-tsunami study was conducted using a method of selecting sample

points in which it is believed tsunami sediment deposits are to be found.

Research Sites:

This study was conducted in several places , specifically in areas that once

experienced the tsunamis of 1907 and 2004. Besides that, the study was also

particularly conducted in Sinabang as the capital of Simeuleu district. Collecting of

field data for the socio-cultural assessment and paleo-tsunami study was performed

between 6 April – 19 April 2006. A field study was carried out more than 15 months

after the tsunami of 2004, in which collective memory of the community after the

disaster was still strong . Additionally, as another study activity, the paleo tsunami

study was performed for several points in the Lafakha area.

The sites of the study and data collecting activities are as follows :

Location Socio-cultural

Study

Collecting

documents

Paleo-tsunami

Langi village,

Alafan sub-

district

Yes Yes Yes

Naifos village,

Teupah Barat

sub-district

Yes No Yes

Salur village,

Teupah Barat

sub-district

Yes No No

Latak Ayah

village,

Simeuleu

Tengah

Yes No Yes

Teluk Busung,

Simeuleu Timur

sub-district

Yes No Yes

Labuhan Bajo,

Simeuleu

Teupah Selatan

sub-district

Yes No No

Sinabang,

Simeuleu Timur

sub-district

Yes Yes No

Note :

Socio-cultural study : in-depth interview, observations and group discussions

Paleo-tsunami study : based on geologic study (sediment analysis, stratigraphy)

5

Figure 1.1.

Simeulue Island and Locations Visited during the Study

Locations visited were mostly in the west coast area of Simeulue island. This was

done after receiving initial information from the population of Sinabang that the

tsunami disaster of 1907 struck the west coast of Simeulue island. Later on several

locations on the east coast, such as Sinabang and Ujung Tinggi were also visited as

comparison of the areas that were not hit by the tsunami of 1907.

Report Structure

This report consists of several chapters. Chapter 1 is an introduction containing

background of the issue, problem, hypothesis, objective of study , methodology and

study site . Chapter 2 provides an overview of Simeuleu district and study site,

consisting of data on geographic , demographic, socio-cultural aspects (ethnicity,

language and oral tradition ) and illustration of the study site . Chapter 3 describes the

tsunami of 1907 containing written records of the 1907 tsunami and descriptions of

informants the tsunami incident of 1907 and descriptions of informants on the

incident of 1907. Chapter 4 describes the process of transmission of knowledge.

Further, Chapter 5 on the relationship between knowledge of smong and rescue

efforts during the tsunami of 2004. Lastly is the Chapter on conclusion and

recommendations.

10o

Langi

Lafakha Ujung Salang

Latak Ayah

Lakubang

Naibos

Inor

Salur

Busung

Labuan Bajau

Sinabang

Ujung Tinggi

5

Chapter 2

Overview of Simeuleu District

Geographic Location

Simeulue district is situated at coordinates 2015’- 2055’ N, 95040’ – 96030’E. This district

consists of approximately 41 large and small islands , including Simeuleu island. Its total

area measures 205,148.63 ha. Of this area, about 55,947 ha (27,3%) are protected forest

and 43,369 ha (21,1%) cultivation area. From the area division it may be seen that the land

cover of Simeulue island is still sufficiently vast.

Geologically, a large portion of Simeulue island is covered by rock from the Miocene

period while the remainder is covered by Oligocene period rocks and Quarter period.

Geologic faults are well developed on the island and generally run in SE-NW or NE-SW

direction.

Simeulue district territory is an island region which borders to the north-south-east and

west on the Indian Ocean. Transport linking Simeulue with the island of Sumatra consist

of sea and air transport, both regular or charter. The District is about 105 miles away from

the city of Meulaboh (Sub-district West Aceh ), 87 miles from Labuhan Haji, 96 miles

from Singkil (South Aceh ) and 315 from Sibolga (North Sumatra). Regular passenger

transport between Sinabang-Singkil is by ferry with twice weekly frequency. While air

transport to Medan and Meulaboh is served by a private airline.

The capital of Simeulue district is Sinabang, located in Simeleu Timur sub-district.

Currently, Simeulue district is divided in eight (8) sub-districts of Simeulue Timur ,

Simeulue Tengah, Simeulue Barat, Teupah Selatan, Salang, Teupah Barat, Teluk Dalam

and Alafan. The largest sub-district is Simeulue Barat (43,945.59 ha), while the smallest

is Teluk Dalam (15,662.20 ha). From the number of villages in each sub-district, the sub-

district of Simeulue Timur has the most villages, 29, while the fewest number of villages

is in sub-district Alafan consisting of 8 villages. Seen in the context of regional situation ,

out of 135 villages in 2004, a total of 106 are coastal villages, 23 hill villages, 3 valley

villages and 3 villages on slopes.

Source : Pemkab Simeulue, 2005

6

Based on population data of 2003, the total population of Simeulue district comprises of

70,746 people constituting 14,402 families . The largest population is found in Simeulue

Timur , where the district capital is located . The lowest population is found in sub-district

Alafan. Based on livelihood, the population of Simeulue is composed of farmers (62,8%),

traders (5%), fishermen (4,7%), craftsmen (1,7%), civil servants (2,5%), labourers (13 %)

and others (10,3%). It is quite interesting to note that much of Simeulue region is coastline

but relatively few of the population are working as fishermen.

Figure 2.2. Composition of Simeulue Island Population Based on Kecamatan

From the aspect of ethnicity, the majority of the Simeulue population are ethnic

Simeulue1. However many newcomers originate from other regions such as Aceh, Minang,

Batak, Bugis and Jawa, giving this region a multi-ethnic nature. Inter-ethnic acculturation

and assimilation processes on pulau Simeulue have gone on for a long time, making ethnic

groups from “outside Simeulue island” a part of the Simeulue sub-culture through such

ethnic names as Dakwa (Ra’awa), Dainang, Lanteng (Bugis), Dagang, Aceh, Pamuncak,

1 According to Sufi, et al (1998) as quoted by Umar (2002 : 10-11) the Simeulue ethnic group in general

inhabits the island of Simeulue and adjacent small islands . The definition does not give a full explanation

of other limitations of who are categorized as the Simeulue ethnic group. It merely states that Simeulue is

composed of two local languages called island languages (ulau), namely Sigulai spoken by the population of

Simeulue Barat and Salang. The second is Defayan spoken by the population of Simeulue Timur, Tengah

and Teupah Selatan. This definition appears to overlook one other language present in Simeulue, which is

Leukon whose speakers are found in two villages of Alafan sub-district, namely Lafakha and Langi.

7

Pamuncak Mudo. Mahjungkan Lasali, Datuk Mudo, Abon, Bihao, Fangaon (Bengawan)

and others (Agur dkk, 1992 : 5). The acculturation process of various cultures has made

Simeulue cultural expressions through marriage rituals, art, artefacts, and literature, a

combination of various ethnicities. Moreover with Islamic influence entering through Aceh,

Minang and Nias, various cultural expressions present are also influenced by Islamic

nuances as can be seen on headstones, art with Islamic spirit , stories about life values

based on Islam, and so forth.

Photo 2.1. .Potrait of a Simeulue Community Core Family in Langi village

From the aspect of language use, there are four regional dialects 2 present, besides bahasa

Indonesia. These languages are Bahasa Devayan, Bahasa Sigulai, Bahasan Leukon and

Bahasa Aneuk Jame. Bahasa Aneuk Jame is the “lingua franca”, the medium of

communication of speakers of other local language besides bahasa Indonesia. Leukon is

the local language with the fewest number of speakers, namely the inhabitants of Alafan

sub-district , specifically in the two villages of Lafakha and Langi. And bahasa Leukon is

even considered to be almost extinct (Anonymous, 2005). Bahasa Devayan is the local

language with its speakers originating from the areas of Simeulue Timur, Simeulue tengah

and Teupah Selatan sub-districts. While speakers of Lamamek/Sigulai are found in the

sub-districts of Salang and Simeulue Barat. From the morphological aspect, vast

differences are found between the Devayan and Sigulai languages(Agur, 1996 : 6). The

presence of these “language regions” , is related to the kingship system that was once

found in the past in Simeulue region, namely Tapa, Simeuloe, Salang, Lekon and Sigulai

(translation : 4). These regions were exclusive 3 by nature and received different influence

2 Several written sources such as (Agur, dkk 1996 : 6 and Umar 2002 : 11) mention only two local languages

spoken , namely Devayan and Lamamek/Sigulai. 3 Agur, dkk (1996 : 12) recorded that …” before Islam entered Siemeulue island, the inhabitants of this island

lived in a form of associations or groups led by an ethnic chief and are autonomous. The areas inhabited by

the groups were known as bano, i.e. Bano Tapah, Bano Simeulue, Bano Alang (Salang), Bano Sigulai and

Bano Leukon. After Islamic influence entered the island , the ethnic nature government changed to small

kingdoms governed by kings under the Aceh sultanate in Kuta Radja. The small kingdoms were Tapah,

8

from the neighbouring islands such as Leukon (Aceh influence) and Devayan (Nias

influence).

Islam has adherents among nearly all of the Simeulue population, in statistics of worship

houses for 2004, no other worship places were found except for mosques and meunasah

(langgar). It is not known for certain when Islam was propagated for the first time in

Simeulue (ibid : 7). However, it is believed to have been not long after the kingdom of

Aceh Darussalam was established in the sixteenth century. The spread of Islamic teachings

in Simeulue occurred in an important period that can be made a kind of standard to know

approximately when various events took place, including its relationship with the tsunami

incident of 1907, through analysis of the tsunami incident that flooded graveyards and

mosques during the initial period of Islamic propagation in the Simeulue region.

Islamic teachings were brought for the first time by a person named , Halilulah who

originally came from Minangkabau. Initially, he paid his respects to the Sultan of Aceh to

request permission for going on haj pilgrimage to Mekkah. But the Sultan challenged him

to spread the Islamic religion in Pulau U (coconut island) whose population at the time

were still adherents of an ethnic religion. Eventually he chose to spread Islam on the

island which was later called Simeulue4. Hailullah who was later to be known as Tengku

Di Ujung may be considered to be the pioneer of Islamic teachings in Simeulue and his

grave in kampung Latak Ayah in Padang which is located on the coast could become a

monument during the tsunami of 1907 because it did not suffer any significant damage ;

likewise during the tsunami of December 2004. In the area of Devayan (Tapah) language

speakers, Islamic teachings were brought by a man named Gafaleta who was later known

by the name of Banurullah and in the area of Salur (capital of Teupah Barat sub-district)

known under the title of Bakudo Batu. His most important legacy was the first mosque on

Simeulue, at Salur village . The mosque with eights stones as its foundation is linked to

the story of the tsunami of 1907, in which one of the foundation stones was washed away

by the tsunami current , so that only 7 were left. While the propagator of Islam teachings

for the regions of Salang and Leukon kingdoms was Tengku Auduri, a student of Tengku

Di Ujung.

Art-culture in Simeulue basically reflects a meeting point between ethnic cultures that

were present from the start, to which were added ethnicities from outside the island,

mainly from Aceh and Minangkabau. The two ethnic groups that have been coloured by

strong Islamic culture subsequently produced various songs , dances, music and physical

prowess, such as Angguk, Rafa’i Debus (art of body invulnerability ) , the Andalas dance

( Minangkabau influence), Nandong (poems sung ) and the Kuala Deli dance.

Additionally a variety of folklore present in the community was also strongly influenced by

Islamic elements, such as nafi-nafi (stories related to formation of life values according to

Simulul, Alang (Salang), Sigulai and Leukon”. Therefore the presence of different regional languages in

Simeulue can be understood. 4 The oral history version in Simeulue states that the name Simeulue is derived from Si Melur, the name of

a young woman originating from the island , who by the sultan of Aceh’s order was wed to Hailulah.

Hailulah arrived on the island with his wife and finally settled at her birthplace, now known as kampong

Latak Ayah, Kuta Padang village. This also became the final resting site of Hailullah and his grave is an

important pilgrimage site in Simeulue.

9

religion ), buai-buai (lullabies for small children mostly songs from holy verses of the Al

Qur’an).

From the economic aspect, an illustration was obtained of sources of livelihood, the

community in general are working in the farming sector (62,8%), only a very few are

working in other fields such as trade, craftsmanship, as Civil servants, labourers and others.

The condition is portrayed from the largest contribution to the gross domestic product

(PDRB) which is the farming sector (67.01%). The animal husbandry sub-sector is the

largest contributor (23.39%) to the agriculture sector, while the forestry , food crops,

plantation and fisheries sub-sectors respectively contribute 21.48%, 12.02%, 7.26%, and

2.85% (BPS, 2003).

Overview of Locations Visited

The study was initially designed to conduct an intensive study of three communities5,

namely Sinabang (representing the “urban” area), Langi village, Alafan sub-district

(representing a “remote”area) and Naibos (representing the transition between “urban” and

“remote” area). Hopefully by observing the differences in community character from the

socio-culture aspect different responses to the transmission of knowledge from one

generation to the next will be seen.

However after initial orientation in Sinabang, the study will attempt to perform exploration

of various stories told of the tsunami incidents of 1907 and December 2004, both socio-

culturally as well as paleo-tsunami study. Therefore , the study has been expanded in

several regions that, based on initial information in Sinabang, are considered to have

significant incidents 6 with regard to the tsunami of 1907 as well as 2004. Therefore the

places visited increased with the additions of : (1) Langi village, Alafan sub-district , (2)

Naivos village, Teupah Barat sub-district, (3) Salur village, Teupah Barat sub-district, (4)

Latak Ayah village and Lakubang village Simeulue Tengah sub-district, (5) Labuhan

Bajo village, Teupah Selatan sub-district (6) Teluk Busung, Simeulue Timur sub-district

and (7) Sinabang, Simeulue Timur sub-district. Besides that there were several places

unintentionally visited, and various information was acquired related to the tsunamis of

1907 and 2004, including also the processes of how the stories of the 1907 tsunami were

handed down from one generation to the next.

Langi and Serapon are two villages in Alafan sub-district territory. The Sub-district itself

is composed of 8 villages. However the study was intensively made in Langi village, both

to delve into socio-cultural data and paleo-tsunami study. While a short visit was made in

the village of Serapon for documentation purposes of songs to commemorate the tsunami

of 2004. Langi village is the capital of the new sub-district of Alafan . It is located some

95 kilometres from Sinabang. Only sea transport connects Langi village with the adjacent

villages, including with Sinabang. The population in 2002 totalled 148 families consisting

of 601 people (BPS Simeulue, 2002). While according to results of natural disaster data of

Simeulue district(2005) the total population of Langi is 793 people. The rising number of

the Langi village population, besides due to natural growth, is also due to Langi village’s

5See, Term of Reference Studi Local Knowledge di Simeulue

6 Significant things include live witnesses in 1907, remains in the form of building artifacts , natural remains

(coral rock, trees, and hills), and families of victims who died during the Tsunami of 2004

10

position as the capital of Alafan sub-district. Langi village is categorized as an old village,

according to information, as before 1907 there were already several houses in the village.

However the area’s population began to grow around the 1960s. The population of Langi

village consists of speakers of two language , namely bahasa Leukon and bahasa Sigulai.

However from the aspect of ethnicity, descendants of ethnic Aceh, Minangkabau and

Bugis inhabit the village. From the economic aspect , the village people are fishermen and

farmers. Most fishermen are catch fishermen with non-motorized boats . However since

the tsunami of 2004, it might be said that the fish catching activity has relatively stopped.

Likewise sawah farming has also not returned to normal, as the sawah land is still covered

with the 2004 tsunami mud , and the village people are concerned that sharp objects carried

by tsunami waves might still be lying underneath the sawah mud .

Figure 2.1. : Langi village, sub-district Alafan

During the tsunami of 26 December 2004, Langi village suffered total devastation. Based

on data of the Simeulue (2005) district administration, out of 178 houses owned by the

community, all were in category of devastated. When the study was made , community-

owned houses were starting to be constructed with wooden building materials and zinc

roofs.

Naibos, Salur and Awe Kecil are villages administered by Teupah Barat sub-district. The

area of this sub-district is approximately 193.95 km2, extending along the west coast area

of Simeulue island including Teupah island which is located in front of the coastal area of

Teupah barat. The capital of this sub-district is the village of Salur located some 23

kilometres from Sinabang. The population of Naibos village in 2002 totalled 202 people,

Salur 649 people and Awe Kecil 284 people. This region is considered to have been the

most severely affected by the smong of 1907 and also the tsunami of 2004. A district road

connects the villages along the coastline of Teupah Barat toward Salang sub-district,

passing through Simeulue Tengah sub-district. Fishermen’s economic activities have not

returned to normal, likewise the community has not resumed its rice field farming

activities . Other income from agriculture is derived from cloves.

11

Figure 2.4. Naibos Village, West Teupah Subdistrict

When the tsunami of 2004 occurred, 107 houses of the 135 houses in Salur village were

destroyed. Most of these houses were located in the coastal area. Houses that did not suffer

damage were in areas near the hilly area. In Naibos, of 49 houses owned by the population,

some 39 houses were categorized as destroyed. While in Awe Kecil village, of 85 houses

owned by community members, all were destroyed (85 ). The settlement lay out in Awe

Kecil was initially in the hilly region, but since the road linking Sinabang and Simeulue

Tengah was built, many of the population relocated their houses to the coast. These houses

were destroyed by the tsunami of 2004.

12

Photo 2.3 Desa Latak Ayah, Kecamatan Simeulue Tengah

Kampung Aie, Latak Ayah and Lakubang are three villages in Simeulue Tengah sub-

district. The capital of this sub-district is kampung Aie, located a distance of 64 kilometres

from Sinabang. Kampung Aie has the largest population of 1406 people, Latak Ayah 267

people and Lakubang 272 people. These villages are also situated on the west coast area of

Simeulue island and directly face the Indian Ocean. In general , the main source of

livelihood of the community in Simeulue Tengah sub-district is farming, both dry land and

wetland. Two villages that were visited were Latak Ayah and Lakubang. Latak Ayah

village suffered total devastation during the tsunami of 26 December 2004, but the

cemetery complex of Tengku Di Ujung situated in the village did not suffer damage. The

Lakubang village centre lies relatively far from the coast; a visit was made to the village to

meet one of the villagers who witnessed the smong incident of 1907. During the 2004

tsunami, the number of houses destroyed in Latak Ayah village was 45 houses of a total of

69. While in Lakubang village, of the 80 houses in the village, 46 were destroyed.

The villages in the South Teupah area are also located on the coast. The sub-district capital

lies in Labuhan Bakti located some 51 kilometres away from Sinabang. Several of the

villages visited were Labuhan Bajau, Labuhan Bakti, Batu Ralang, Latiung (all houses

were destroyed), and Badegong (all houses destroyed). Based on data of the Simeulue

district administration (2005). Labuhan Bakti was one of the villages that suffered severe

destruction during the tsunami of 2004, in which 160 of 230 houses were destroyed; then

in Ulul Mayang village 85 of 121 houses were destroyed. The coastal location of Teupah

Selatan village resulted in quite a high level of destruction due to the tsunami waves. A

location that was relatively safe from tsunami waves was the transmigration settlement

unit (UPT) of Latiung, inhabited by some 335 families. As it lies far from the coast it was

not damaged during the 2004 tsunami.

13

Photo 2.4 Aerial view of Sinabang city (Simeulue Timur)

While the sub-district of Simeulue Timur (2002) is composed of 29 villages/wards with its

capital of Sinabang. This Sub-district is the most densely populated one , in view of its

position as the capital of Simeulue district. The population of the sub-district totals

23,127 people, concentrated in villages/wards around Sinabang, i.e. the wards of Suka

Karya, Sinabang, Suka Maju and Suka Jaya. From the aspect of villagers’ livelihoods

farming is the predominant occupation. But members of the population engaged in trade ,

industry and as employees (government and private) are quite significant in number .

Particularly the four wards, of Suka Karya, Sinabang, Suka Maju and Suka Jaya suffered

significant building destruction during the earthquake of 28 March 2005.but did not

experience significant damage after being hit by tsunami on 26 December 2004. The

number of lives lost as a result of the earthquake in Sinabang city reached 22 people,

mostly from buildings that collapsed.

12

Chapter 3

Tsunami 1907: Early Interpretation and its Development

Interviews made with a number of informants in Simeulue island provided a strong

indication of the occurrence of tsunami in 1907, that was later known as “Smong 07”, or a

shortened term to describe the tsunami disaster of 1907. Nevertheless, during the study,

besides verbal sources from informants, several other written sources were also

investigated, such as records of the Dutch colonial government and scientific articles that

discussed incidents of earthquake and tsunami in the general region of Sumatera and

particularly in Simeulue island.

Therefore, this chapter will discuss several findings related to: (1) notes from the Dutch

colonial government and research conducted by experts concerning tsunami in 1907, (2)

stories about the tsunami, (3) artifacts and environmental conditions due to the tsunami and

(4) distribution of stories about the tsunami, including migration patterns between sub-

districts (kecamatan) in Simeulue district which influences the distribution of stories about

tsunami in 1907.

Notes on the Event

In an article titled “Seismic History and Seismotectonic in Sunda Arc”, Newcomb and Mc

Caran (1987: 429) described an earthquake which occurred on 4 January 1907:

...”January 4, 1907. This event caused tsunamis that devastated Simeulue and

extended over 950 km along the coast (the extent of this tsunami appears to be

greater than 1861 event only because tide gauges were in use at this time). People

on Nias were not able to stand. The shock was probably located seaward of the

trench slope break, since islands on the seaward side of Nias and towns on the

seaward side of Batu island were devastated by the seawater. Guitenberg and

Richter (1954) have assigned this event a magnitude M = 7.6. The location they

report seaward of the trench by Simeulue, is inconsistent with that expected from

the extent of moderate intensities in the interior Sumatra. We prefer an epicenter

seaward of the trench slope break but lanward of the trench. Aftershocks were

reported for 8 days. While this was an intense shock, the damage was localized.

This description provides important information e.g., (1) date, month and year of the event,

(2) the extent of devastated areas, particularly in Simeulue and Nias islands1, (3)

magnitude of earthquake and tsunami events compared to those occurred in 1861. In

addition, this article also provides information about tsunami in 1907 which local

inhabitants in Simeulue only knew that it occurred in 1907 and on Friday2. Some

information received, particularly in Salur, Naivos and Airpun villages confirmed that the

tsunami in 1907 occurred on Friday, because some people were killed in mosques when

performing Friday prayer, or when they were in front of mosques. Other information says

1 In a fieldwork for other researches performed in Tello island, Pulau-pulau batu Nias sub-district in May

2006, stories about tsunami in 1907 were revealed because the finding of various types of kima (sea biota) on

hills in Sigata island and a village called Sibunu Asi (which means killed by seawater). There was also a myth

about a woman who could drive tsunami waves out using her powerful stick (Interview with Koligo Bidaya,

Tello 2 May 2006) 2 Some locals called it smong which occurred in year 7 (for 1907) and Friday, because many people were

killed in mosques after performing Friday prayer.

13

that the earthquake occurred in the morning, and tsunami waves struck from daytime to

about 5 pm.

Source : Newcomb and McCann (1997)

Figure : The tsunami of 1907 and the earthquake epicentre

In addition to this scientific article, two other notes made by the Dutch colonial

government describe among others:

Small earthquakes often occurred in Simeuloee. In 1907, all west coasts were

struck by giant waves. Many people were killed. Many villages were devastated

by these waves that their land turned dried, and local inhabitants could never

handle this disaster. They could no longer enjoy prosperity. Up to present, people

still keep old stories about their prosperous life in this island before high tides

devastated their villages along the coast3.

At first, these notes describe about geographical aspect of Simeulue island during the

Dutch colonial era. However, notes on this article provide evidences about tsunami in 1907

and its significant impacts toward socio-economic aspects. In addition, these notes provide

information that local inhabitants still remember their prosperous socio-economic

condition before tsunami in 1907.

In addition, a very short note from a Dutch ruler in Simeulue describes a village called

“kampung lama” (old village).

... Now (we can see) houses again in Bangkal + on the west of Loean Lachalos

estuary which was completely devastated by giant waves in 1907; Bangkal = low

land surrounded by swamps (Translated: 18)

This short note provides information about tsunami (“giant waves”) in 1907 and a start of a

new life in a place called kampung lama.

Written sources as well as visualisation of the earthquake and tsunami of 1907 that struck

Simelue island are relatively quite limited. This is different from the tsunami occurrence of

1833 that had hit the coast of Sumatra, that had been written in story form by a trader who

was incidently in the disaster region. However this does not rule out the possibility of

various archives or media reporting in 1907 during the Dutch colonial period being further

3 Translated from ……, page 1.

14

investigated to provide an overall illustration of the impact of tsunami on the population of

Simeulue island.

Artifacts and Aftermath of Tsunami 1907

Beside stories about tsunami 1907, corals and certain landmarks such as tombs and

damaged mosques remind local inhabitants of the magnitude of tsunami in 1907. These

remains may be categorized into two i.e., corals and sea biota, and human made

buildings/remains. Corals, Moluska kima (Pelecypoda)4 and bones of sharks and whales

are included in the first category while tombs of Moslem preachers from 17th

century,

remains of mosques and tombs of tsunami victims in 1907 are included in the second

category.

Corals

Based on research, corals and kima are found in rice fields and hills. Local inhabitants said

it is not normal to see these materials in their rice fields and hills as they should be in seas

or coastal areas. Some said these materials/animals were brought in by tsunami in 1907.

Corals in Naibos village were found based on information given by a source who was told

the story about tsunami 1907 by his father after he saw corals in his family’s rice fields5.

These corals were called Batu Alaih, which mean sea stones. “Alaih” does not refer only to

stones but also various materials from seas found on shores. Corals found in Naibos were

originally reefs (Coelenterata). Size of these corals is less than 1 meter. Based on site

surveys, these corals were covered by mosses and surrounded by bushes. In seas, reefs are

found less than 30 meter underwater. Corals found in rice fields were possibly brought in

by local inhabitants for certain purposes or by the tsunami waves. However the reason for

these being intentionally brought by the population to the rice fields cannot be proved yet

so far.

Tsunami waves in 2004, for instance, probably brought in more than one meter-long

chunks of corals to Langi Bay. These corals were found in rice fields in Naibos or about

300 m away from current coast. It is proven by thin layers of tsunami sands under these

corals. This sand layers are no longer found in rice fields probably because the sand layers

have been mixed with rice field mud.

4 Although stories about whales and sharks are quite popular, but their bones were not found during the

research. Similarly, no kima was found in hills. 5 Interview with Mr. Kauding, Naivos village, West Teupah Sub-district, 12 April 2006.

15

Figure 3.1.: Corals in Naibos village

Tombs of Moslem Preachers

During the research, we visited two tombs of Moslem preachers; they are the tombs of

Tengku Khalilullah or Tengku Di Ujung in Latak Ayah village, in Central Simeulue sub-

district and Nurullah or Bakudo Batu in Salur village, West Teupah sub-district. These

tombs are well-maintained and have constructions that protect them. Even Tengku Di

Ujung’s tomb has a boundary entrenchment which separates it from surrounding beaches.

Both tombs are situated by seaside. Tengku Di Ujung’s tomb is close with Latak Ayah

beach, and Nurullah’s tomb is situated some 300 meter away from coast.

A research financed by local government in Simeulue district describes that ”the presence

of Tengku Di Ujung and Tengku Nurullah’s tombs in Simeulue is because Aceh is known

for its enormous archeological remains i.e., Moslem tombs with special types of

gravestones, usually called “batu Aceh” (Aceh stones), Aceh gravestones...” (Local

Government in Simeulue District 2003: 23).

With regard to tsunami in 1907, we may assume that both tombs were built during

proselytization of Islam in this area during Sultan Iskandar Muda era (1607-1636).

According to folk stories and findings of paleo study on tsunami, Tengku Di Ujung’s tomb,

which is situated by coast in Latak Ayah village, was not devastated by tsunami in 1907,

whereas its surrounding areas were severely damaged. Similarly, this area was also struck

by tsunami in December 2004. It is proven by a ship which was found at the tomb’s

entrenchment, near the beach. This reminds local inhabitants of supra-natural power in the

area because Tengku Di Ujung’s tomb is not damaged despite being struck by two

tsunamis in 1907 and 2004.

16

Figure 3.2. Tengku Di Ujung’s Tomb in Latak Ayah village, Central Simeulue

Nevertheless, in the cemetery complex no written information is present that can reveal the

story of the tomb, especially related to stories of the tsunami incident in 1907 that did not

destroy the tomb. Various stories related to the tomb’s presence are still verbal tales with a

variety of plots from one story-teller to the next.

In addition, a communal leader from Langi village, in Alafan sub-district, said in Leukon

island, there is another Moslem preacher’s tomb which survived tsunami waves in 1907.

(See Box 3.1.) Even during tsunami 1907, some inhabitants who took shelter at the tomb’s

territory survived from giant waves, although its surrounding areas were severely

damaged. However, this story cannot be confirmed because we did not visit the source or

the tomb in Lafakha village, Alafan sub-district.

Box 3.1 : Saved by the Sacred Tomb in Leukon

The Smong of 1907 also occurred in Leukon island, now widely known as Harapan

(Hope) island, Alafan subdistrict. According to the story told by Tengku Syamsudin, a

community figure in Langi village, the smong incident of 1907 was highly recollected by

the old people of desa Lafakha and desa Langi, two villages still using the Leukon

language. There are two versions of why the tsunami of 1907 stayed in their memories.

First, the story of a person who in 1958 inquired why the height of a coconut tree in

Leukon island was different, then it was related that the smong incident caused other trees

to be carried away by the waves , while the coconut tree in question were not. Through this

coconut tree the person understood the story of the smong. While the second story was

about people who during the smong catastrophe of 1907 were in Leukon island, then

saved themselves by taking shelter near the sacred grave of an Islamic proselytizer in the

17

Leukon area. They believed that the sacred grave had saved many people from the smong

waves at the time.

Stone Structures of Salur Mosque

In Salur, West Teupah sub-district, there is a site where the first mosque in Simeulue was

built. Remains of this mosque (seven stone structures) are currently preserved in a new

mosque. Based on results of our cultural conservation in Simeulue district, we obtain

following information:...

”These seven stone structures are remains of pillars of the first mosque built in

Salur by Tengku Nurullah or Bakudo Batu. Based on stories and information

given by local inhabitants, these stone structures were awarded by Aceh Sultan to

eight tribal envoys from Simeulue who reported the construction of a mosque in

Salur to the Sultan. These stone structures are 22 cm wide and 16 cm thick. They

are made of andesit stones. Now (in 2003) they are used as pillars for Salur

mosque, four as central pillars (soko guru) and three as terrace pillars...” (Local

Government in Simeulue District 2003: 17)6

Local inhabitants in Simeulue believe there were eight stone structures initially which

represent eight tribal representatives. When tsunami struck Salur in 1907, this first mosque

in Simeulue was demolished, leaving only these 7 stone structures. While the other one

went missing and this becomes a story and myth for local inhabitants. For them, the loss of

one stone indicates the magnitude of tsunami in 1907. Local myth says that the missing

stone sometimes appears but misses again when people see it. Generally, local inhabitants

believe that the stone went missing because of the tsunami.

6 This mosque also stores other remains such as a Holy Koran hand written by Tengku Nurullah Bakudo

Batu, one knife grinder from Bakudo Batu and one royal seal with carved wood handle and octagonal iron

base, and ”1340 H” written in Malay-Arabic, Deputy Sultan Aji Datuk Pamuncak Negeri Teupah. (Ibid: 17)

18

Figure 3.3.: Octagonal Stone Structures in Salur

Grave of Victim of Tsunami 1907

In front of Salur Mosque, in West Teupah sub-district, there is an unknown grave which

people believe a grave of a victim of tsunami in 1907. It is plastered with cement at its four

sides about 10 years ago and “1907” was unclearly written there. According to a source7 it

is a grave of a male who was killed when leaving the mosque after performing Friday

prayer when tsunami 1907 struck Salur area. Although this grave is unnamed yet one of his

descendants works at the Regent’s Office in Simeulue (see box 3.2)

7 Interview with Mr. Amir Hamzah, a male, SMP (junior high school) teacher in Salur, on 16 April 2006.

According to Mr. Karim, due to influence of Acehnese language in local Simeulue language, kemong means

over flown water (flood)

19

Figure 3.4: Grave of a Victim of Tsunami 1907 in Salur village, West Teupah sub-district.

Box 3.2. Confirming the Grave of a Smong Victim in 1907

The smong of 1907 is still recollected by many adults in Simeulue. However evidence of

artefacts is still difficult to encounter. Study techniques that give longer research time in

the community are required. Nevertheless, interview results in Salur village, Teupah Barat

village unintentionally revealed information about a grave believed to be that of a smong

victim in 1907.

Following is an excerpt of a question and answer session that uncovered information about

the victim’s grave :

……(Result of previous interview)…..

Question (T) Actually according to expert records, this happened on 4 January 1907, we

don’t know what day but according to elders’ stories it was on a Friday, thus many

died in the Mosque in 1907.

Answer (J) This … person who died ?

T Was there ?

J This is a mosque, it is open there

20

T It was in 1907, the remains?

J Yes the remains

T Let us have a look

J This is the memory of everyone here, could be buried

T Whose grave is this ?

J That I don’t know, …………….

T So he died during the semong of 1907, and was buried here ?

J He died coming out of the mosque, that is the fact of semong, if said to be forgotten

……..

T Can you write the name? Person from salur ?

J From salur , the only thing is the fact that people died here, up to now the grave is

still here

T People still remember ?

J They still remember, tsunami also doesn’t show the graves, beside the mosque.

T Here graves don’t use names do they ?

J No, they use. …………………… (in local language). Before the tsunami ……..

there is also the witness’ place .

T Where ?

J Near …….. where …..

T Later if we have time we will look.

Based on the interview, an observation was made of the grave site. The observation result

showed synchronization between the stories of a person who died in front of the old

mosque, just before leaving the mosque on that Friday to save himself.

21

Meaning of Smong

Smong (tsunami) is interpreted differently by sources and documents. Devayan and Leukon

languages call it Smong But Sigulai language calls it Emong. In terms of linguistics,

different pronunciations by these three languages are only dialectical. However, for other

words, they have significant differences8. However, there are some opinions in interpreting

Smong e.g., (1) Smong comes from Acehnese language for kemong i.e., giant sea waves9,

(2) Smong is taken from Simeulue island language for splashing10

, particularly for West

Teupah and Central Simeulue speakers, (3) Smong, means sudden giant waves11

. Despite

various interpretations, yet Smong basically describes an event where seawater suddenly

strikes and brings many materials from seas.

Box 3.3 : Several Definitions of Smong

In interviews between the researchers and informants to uncover the meaning of the

word smong is not easy. The main constraint was lack of proficiency of the regional

dialect and certain dialects on the part of the researchers, so that translators were

needed. But a translator needs to understand the local dialect, because of the presence

of three local languages nemaly Devayan, Sigulai and Leukon and dialects of each

region. Besides that, the education level and experience of an informant in

communicating with other people in bahasa Indonesia will influence his

understanding of questions from a researcher.

From various interviews, some informants are able to explain the origin of the word

(etymology) smong, but many others tell about the “smong incident”, so that the word

smong is not interpreted as a single word, but a sequence of events. The following

excerpt of an interview will provide an illustration of the origin of the word smong as

explained by an informant :

Question (T) : Is it true that smong originates from the word kemong ?

Answer (J) : It’s the same , it means water that nearly breaks, the waves have not

broken yet, it first rises upward, it’s not white yet, on the coast it nearly

breaks. So what is meant by this kemong, is this, it rises like this , but it has

not broken, only on the shore will it break, now here is kemong, part of it

rises by itself, but it has not broken.

T So, before the smong of 1907 the word kemong already existed for people

here ?

8 For example, there are differences between Leukon and Sigulai (West Simeulue) languages about some

nouns related with the nature e.g., Hills = Delok (Lekon) and Leuleu (Sigulai); Rivers = Luan/Geloa; Beach

= Iting Asin/Getting Naha; Seas = Asin/Nahi; Fishes = Naae/Inaalan; Mangroves = Tengel/Dongo etc.

Different pronunciation for Smong between Devayan and Leukon languages and Emong for Sigulai language

is probably because of Smong 1907 occurred in areas where local inhabitants speak in Devayan and Leukon

languages, and this was then bruited about by Sigulai speakers. 9 Interview with Mr. Amir Hamzah, male, 45 years, a teacher who comes from Salur village in West Teupah

sub-district, Simeuleu district. April 2006. 10

Interview with Sutan Ruswin, an 81 year old male, a communal leader who lives in Sinabang, Simeulue

district. April 2006 11

Official address by the Regent of Simeulue District in “Tell-Net-Kick-Off” event held in Kobe, Japan on

18-21 January 2006

22

J Yes, only it was given by people, semong.

T Now what is the difference between semong and sapal ?

J Sapal comes from upstream, after heavy rain, it becomes sepal, the current is

swift, it floods they say

T If it comes from the sea then that is semong ?

J Semong

T But if is high tide then what? For instance there is high tide, until it enters the

kampung.

J Lulfuk

T Can you give us an illustration ?

J High tide from the sea, our language here ….. then it breaks, and floods,

meaning that everything is flooded by this sea water.

T Thus if we look at the words, kemong and semong do they have the same

meaning or not?

J O they’re not the same, because with kemong it hasn’t broken on the shore, it

rises, while semong should not break, the meaning is already complex, while

kemong has just rolled, so that at high tide it flares up …upuk, high tide

T While Lulfuk is not dangerous is it ?

J No

T What about kemong ?

J Kemong has not erupted yet, what’s dangerous is semong.

T Now the word semong is not often used for other things besides high wave,

for instance while joking about someone

J No, only we in simelum region still call this semong, while earthquake is the

same as linon

(Result of an Interview with a teacher in Salur village, Teupah Barat subdistrict,

April 2006)

The above dialog was held with unstructured questions, but produced some

information in relation to knowledge of the difference between several natural

phenomena such as tsunami, earthquake, tidal wave and flood, including the

perception of the dangers caused by them.

Basic questions about tsunami in 1907 are (1) Does the word Smong firstly appear in 1907

i.e., after tsunami devastated West Teupah and Salang? (2) Does the word Smong only

have specific meaning and have the same scientific meaning as tsunami, (3) Does Smong

have different meanings in other local languages in Simeulue?

It is apparently not easy to answer these questions due to different perceptions of various

sources. Besides, the Dutch’s notes about Simeulue area did not use specific terminology

for tsunami. For example, in the report about Simeulue’s geography, it only mentions

about “giant waves”, “tidal disaster” and “high tides” in 1907. Similarly, answers given by

sources were often mixed with “modern” sciences about earthquakes e.g., the use of

Richter Scale (RS) to measure earthquakes.

23

The word Smong might have been used before tsunami in 1907, but it does not mean it

appears because of an older tsunami than in 1907 in Simeulue. When asked if Smong

firstly appeared in 1907, a source answered:

…”it is a language of this island (Simeulue), Smong means splashing, because

people see water runs low and high. In this island language, it is called ni

semongan, which means splashing”.12

A master of education, who wrote a final examination about the structure of Devayan

language, explains the followings:

…Smong is a word with 5 letters, without any syllable. We may believe

assumptions which say kemong is tsunami or similar natural event. But due to

influences from Acehnese language, it became smong. But I still believe the first

tsunami in Simeulue occurred in 1907…And I believe the word had existed before

that, because it is a conversational language learnt from their ancestors. And this

word came again when such event occurred13

This opinion confirms that a word may disappear and reappear due to occurrence of major

events. It is apparent that a strong earthquake followed by sudden high tides proves that the

word Smong comes from Kemong, which means giant waves.

Based on our interviews with elderly people (90 years old and above), Smong means a

series of events which are started with strong earthquakes, low tides and giant waves.

Therefore, Smong is considered an interpretation and is not based on its original word.

Public opinion says that Smong is “a sudden high tide” coming from seas and not from

other locations. In Devayan and Leukon languages, water coming from mountains is called

Safal or flood. And a tide in Devayan language is called Lulfuk. Therefore, this opinion

confirms that smong is a specific terminology for sudden arrival of seawaters, because

other natural indications related with water have different terminologies.

Compared with Safal (flood coming from upper course), Smong has a more specific

meaning, which is “water which splashes from sea”, while Safal does not splash, it is

rainwater which comes from mountains14

. However, some said all types of over flown

water, including flood may be categorized into Smong. This opinion is only given by the

Head of Langi village who is still young15

Some other opinions were also given in various dialogs, Smong has different meanings and

is often related with incidents which occur in West and South Teupah sub-districts in 1907.

They said …

12

Sutan Ruswin, an interview in April 2006 13

Interview with Karim, staff of public relations department, the Local Government in Simeulue District,

April 2006. He is also a Master of Education who studied about morphology of Defayan language. 14

Interview with Sutan Ruswin, April 2006. 15 Interview with the Head of Langi village, Alafan sub-district, April 2006

24

It is assumed that smong appeared after tsunami struck two sub-districts, West and South Teupah

in 1907. Smong is defined among others as...”quick high tides”, “spilling out of water”,

“hurricanes” and “huge waves”. We will be safe during a smong if we are in the ocean16

Different meanings given by these people depend on their sources of information about

smong. A source said he heard the term “spilling out of water” from who was a child when

tsunami struck in 1907, and this person heard the story from his father who experienced

tsunami in 1907. While other sources heard it from their fathers who heard the story from

their grandfathers who experienced tsunami in 1907. It is difficult to track the various

meanings of smong to find out which story is the right one. However, we could get a useful

lesson from these dialogs i.e., “we will be safe during a smong when we are in oceans”;

meaning smong is very dangerous for those living in coastal areas and those within

tsunami range. However, this opinion has no scientific evidence.

Important Event in 1907

Tsunami in 1907 is told by sources with different information. It is due to several reasons,

(1) who originally told the incident, (2) sources’ ages and experiences and (2)

distance/location of sources from disaster areas.

Original source of information may be categorized into two i.e., those who were born

before and after 1907. Most sources were born after 1907. During this research, 3 persons

said they were born before tsunami 1907. They are one male from Lakubang village,

Central Simeulue sub-district and two females, one from Salur village in West Teupah sub-

district and one from Labuhan Bajau in South Teupah sub-district. Their ages are about

100-105 years. It is, however, difficult to understand information given by these three

persons because they have hearing problems but we could get a picture about tsunami in

1907 from their stories.

The second group is sources who were told stories from those who experienced tsunami in

1907. Their parents or uncles/aunties or relatives told them about the incident.

While the most dominant group is the third which consists of those who heard stories from

those who actually did not experience the incident in 1907. There are various sources in

this group but they have similar pattern i.e., stories told from grandparents to their

grandchildren.

Sources basically told similar stories i.e., the magnitude of tsunami in 1907, marked by

high death toll. But some story details are different from one source to another, particularly

about what happen to local situation where they live.

From various stories given about tsunami in 1907, sources generally mentioned about (1)

day and year of incident, (2) the most devastated areas in 1907, (3) its indications and

reactions given by people, (4) magnitude and victims of tsunami (5) advices given

Day, Year and Time of Incident

16 Dialog with a group of people in Sinabang, April 2006

25

Generally, we may say that all sources know about tsunami in 1907 which they called

“smong 07”. Hijriah Islamic calendar is not used to refer to the year of incident because of

some practical reasons i.e., it is easier to remember and more commonly used. Some

sources, however, did not know exactly the time of incident and often referred it as “our

ancestors’ era” or “our grandparents’ era”.

About the day of incident, sources in South Teupah, West Teupah, Central Simeulue and

Sinabang sub-districts knew exactly it was on Friday, because many people were killed

when performing or after performing Friday prayer in mosques. Therefore, it is assumed

tsunami waves struck their areas from noon to afternoon.

A story given by an 80 year old lady from her uncle describes situation during the tsunami

i.e., (1) she did not remember the year of incident (2) it was on Friday when people

performing Friday prayer, that many were killed in mosques, (3) some males were killed in

other places because they did not perform Friday prayer, (4) some survived after running

toward hills which are situated some 250-300 above sea level, (5) some of her relatives

were killed when they tried to flee (6) the tsunami is worse than the one in 2004, because

many people were killed on coconut trees.

Some sources said there were “small” earthquakes before tsunami waves coming in.

However, information about the earthquakes time is varied. Some said the earthquakes

occurred at nighttime, but some said they occurred in the morning; and then followed by

tsunami waves during Friday prayer. Similarly, some said the water level was lowered at 5

pm but some said 5 days later, that some victims must eat fruits on trees.

However, stories about the day of tsunami 1907 were not known for sure in Langi village,

Alafan sub-district. Only one communal leader who said it was on Friday, after asking for

such information from another person. It is apparent that people in Langi village does not

know about the incident because Langi is a relatively “new” village as it was initially

occupied in 1960s. Population in Langi originally comes from various parts of Simeulue

area, particularly Lafakha and other villages which are influenced by Sigulai language

(West Simeulue). Langi and Lafakha are two villages which still preserve Leukon

language, a nearly extinctive language in Simeulue Island. During tsunami 1907, Lafakha

is the most devastated village.

Devastated Areas In 1907

Based on stories given by local inhabitants, tsunami waves in 1907 struck areas from West

Teupah to Salang, particularly Salur, Kampung Air and Nasreuhe villages (in Salang sub-

district). However, other opinions said tsunami also struck South Teupah area and some

parts of West Simeulue (particularly Teluk Busung). In several interviews with villagers in

South Teupah sub-district, stories about tsunami 1907 are very popular. Some information

said in several regions there are huge kima (sea biota). They were brought in by tsunami

26

waves in 1907. In addition, some said about a lady from Salur who was moved by waves to

Baturarang village where she was saved and had a family there17

Based on paleo-tsunami study, sediments of tsunami were found in Langi and Latak Ayah

Villages (Central Simeulue), Lakubang village (Central Simeulue), Naibos village (Central

Simeulue), and Teluk Busung (East Simeulue). If we see from the map of Simeulue Island,

these areas are situated in Alafan, Salang, Central Simeulue, West Teupah and South

Teupah sub-districts. Teluk Busung is situated between East Simeulue and South Teupah

sub-districts.

Indications before Tsunami 1907

Information given by sources about indications during tsunami in 1907 is basically similar

i.e., (1) earthquakes, (2) sudden arrival of seawaters, (3) confused animals.

People generally told about earthquakes which occurred before tsunami in 1907. However,

some told different stories about the magnitude of earthquakes. Some said there were only

small earthquakes but some said they were very strong. Based on Newcomb and McCann

(1987: 427), it was 7.6 and following earthquakes occurred for 8 days.

There were different stories about time of incident. Some said it occurred during night time

but some said it was in the morning. Following the earthquake in the morning, people still

performed their usual activities e.g., going to mosques to perform Friday prayer. Therefore,

many people were killed in mosques during Friday prayer.

In addition, some said before the arrival of tsunami waves, coasts were dried that some

people collected fishes there. And they were eventually killed by sudden arrival of tsunami

waves.

Based on stories he heard, a source in Langi village said indications of Smong are (1)

strong earthquake, (2) water coming out of grounds, (3) low tide (4) frying sound (sound of

fish frying) and (5) high tide18

In addition, one told about strange behaviours of water buffalos, running toward hills

before tsunami waves. But this story is not common as it was told by one person only.

Magnitude of Tsunami in 1907

Most stories compare magnitudes of 1907 and 2004 tsunamis. These magnitudes are based

on (1) total death toll, including their locations, (2) power of tsunami waves that carried

various materials from seas e.g., corals and other sea biota, (3) height and traveling

distance of tsunami waves onshore.

17

However, based on information given by the head of Baturarang village, this event is only a story which

cannot be proven. His descendants still live in Baturarang village. (Interview with the Head of Baturarang

village, April 2006) 18 Interview with Zunaid family, Langi village, Alafan sub-district. April 2006

27

Stories from Naibos describe how tsunami waves hit rice fields which are situated some 1

kilometer away, bringing in materials from seas, including batu alaih such as corals and

other sea biota, sharks and whales. In addition, in Naibos, there is a hole in front of

people’s home which they believe due to tsunami waves. Similarly, stories about water

level reveal a level as high as “tip of coconut tree”, or about 8-10 meter high as some

victims and water buffalos were found dead on coconut trees.

Similarly, stories from Lakubang, Central Simeulue also provide similar stories about how

tsunami waves reached areas situated some 2 kilometer away from coastal areas and

dolphins and whales found some 3 kilometer away from coastal areas.

Stories from Awe Kecil, a village next to Salur village, also provide information about far-

reaching tsunami waves onshore. But many people in Awe Kecil lived in bukit delok (bukit

bunga) area, a hill by rice fields that they were safe there. However, after the construction

of roads, many people live in areas along the roads up to present.

Advices

In telling stories about tsunami 1907, it is difficult to see any “advice” which might be

useful for them to stay alert of tsunami waves. Nearly all stories only describe magnitude

of tsunami 1907 and its indications. However, some elderly people advised it would be

better for people to immediately run to hills when there is a strong earthquake and low tide.

In Langi village, some stories say seawater brought in by tsunami waves is poisonous, that

they should not collect or consume any dead fish found on beaches.

Outcome of Paleo-Tsunami Study

Sediments from paleo-tsunami 1907 are found in four study sites i.e., Langi Bay, Latak

Ayah, Naibos and Teluk Busung. In these areas, we can also see sediments from tsunami

2004.

Langi Bay

Langi Bay is a bay situated in northern tip of Simeulue Island. It is surrounded by narrow

coastal areas i.e., less than 500 meter. Most parts of this area are made of coral platforms.

These platforms are covered by mangrove sediments and beach sands. During our survey,

some parts of this beach, particularly on its western and southern parts, we can find many

mangroves. Behind this beach, are steep hills with bushes, secondary forests and

plantation. There is a small river on the western part of the bay, which empties into Langi

Bay. This river has a wide estuary (more than 50 meter). There is a small island called

Panjang Island on the western part of this bay. This island has a wide coast covered by

mangroves and a small hill in the middle.

In Langi Bay, sediments of tsunami in 1907 clearly buried mangrove sediments. These

mangrove muds cover greenish grey sediment of narrow sea. These sediments are up to 30

cm thick. In Panjang Island which is situated at Langi Bay, mangrove forest grows above

sediments of tsunami 1907. It is indicated by mangrove mud layers which cover sediments

28

of tsunami 1907. 2 to 3 cm thick of sediments from tsunami 2004 are covered by these new

mangrove mud layers. Tsunami waves in 2004 have also brought in up to 1 meter long

corals and settled them in the new land which appeared after earthquake in 2004 i.e., by the

edge of Panjang island.

A different condition is found on the western part of this bay. It has a significant rise after

sand sedimentation of tsunami 1907. As a result, mangrove can no longer grow on this

sediment. Sediments from land are found on top of sediment of tsunami 1907. These

sediments were then covered by less than 5 cm thick of sediments from tsunami 2004 cm.

Another interesting thing is the finding of at least three teras laut (sea nucleus) in Langi

Bay. The top nucleus is situated about 3 meter, second is about 2 meter and the last is

situated less than 0,5 meter above sea level. These nucleuses prove repetition of earthquake

and elevation which occurred in the past.

Latak Ayah

In Latak Ayah, there is a 500 meter wide beach. It has sands at its front and swamps or ex-

swamps at its back. In some locations, coral platforms grow at its front. Local inhabitants

built settlements on this beach.

Sediments of tsunami 1907 are found in Latak Ayah area. They are more than 50 cm thick.

These sediments buried grounds in 1907. Send sediments from old beach which contain

pieces of corals are found under the ground. A new land layer grew above these sediments

of tsunami 1907. This new layer was then covered by 2-3 cm thin sediments of tsunami

2004.

Naibos

Naibos is a small bay surrounded by hills. Distance from beach to the foot of hills is about

1 km. A small river cuts across this land. Beaches in Naibos area are sand beaches with

coconut trees. Behind this modern beach, there are long reefs. Narrow valleys are situated

between these hills. Some valleys have swamps. Large land develops beach reefs to the

foot of hills.

Sand layers of xx cm thick are found in Naibos. It is assumed that they are sediments of

tsunami 1907. These layers cover clay sediments which are full of organic materials

probably coming from beach swamps or mangrove underneath. Above these sediments of

tsunami 1907, green grey sediments are found. It is assumed that they are land sediments.

Different sedimentation between layers below and above tsunami sediments indicates that

Naibos are was elevated after earthquake 1907. Land layers are developed above land

sediments. These land layers are covered by 5 to 10 cm thick sediments of tsunami 2004.

Beside sand layers, a chunk of corals is found in this area. These corals are less than 1

meter long. They are situated in a land ex-rice fields, about 300 meters from current beach.

29

Teluk Busung

Teluk Busung is a bay situated in the southern tip of Simeulue Island. Behind this bay,

there is a narrow beach of about 200 m wide. This land is spread to the foot of steep hills

along this bay. Mid-Holosen coral platforms are found behind the coast. These platforms

were formed about 5000 years ago when sea level was higher than the current one. Sand

beach and ex-swampy areas which are covered by sand sediments of tsunami 2004 and

2005 are found behind these platforms.

Low slope of about 70 cm long is found behind coral platforms. It is assumed that this slop

appears due to abrasion of seawater. Sediments of tsunami 1907 are found by this slope

sides. These sediments are chunks of corals mixed with sands and swamps above mid-

Holosen coral platforms. Naibos was struck by tsunami in December 2004 and March

2005. Both tsunamis left sand sediments of 15 to 20 cm thick.

Tsunami sediments in 1907 have different characteristics than those in 2004 and 2005 as

they are rougher whereas those in 2004 and 2005 are softer (sand, silts). It probably

indicates tsunami 1907 was more devastating than those in 2004 and 2005. Based on

information given by local inhabitants, run-up of tsunami waves in 2004 and 2005 are

about 2 to 3 meter high.

Figure 3.5: Sediments of tsunami 1907 in Langi Bay (white sand), are covered by

mangrove sediments below and land sediments above them. White layers under grass are

remains of sediments of tsunami 2004.

30

Figure 3.6: Stratigraphic profile from Latak Ayah area indicates sediments of tsunami

1907 which buried lands (dark layers in the middle).

31

Figure 3.7. Sediments of tsunami 1907 (white sediment at bottom) in Busung. In this area,

sediments from tsunami 1907 are chunks of corals mixed with sand and mud.

32

Figure 3.8 White sand sediments from tsunami 1907 in Naibos. Dark layers above them

are covered by tsunami layers in 2004.

31

Section 4

Spread of the 1907 Tsunami Story and Knowledge Transmission

From various sources of information it became known that regions impacted by the

tsunami of 1907 were located along the west coast of Simeulue Island, from Salur to

Salang. Informants added that the sub-district of Alafan, and more specifically the

villages of Lafakha and Langi, particularly suffered because of the disaster.

Though the verbal story of the 1907 tsunami takes places along the west coast, it

eventually got distributed over almost the entire island. The transmission of the story may

be explained by the fact that (1) Sinabang was during the colonial period, and remains to

date, the civic centre and was therefore the island’s meeting place of people of various

regions, which promoted the story’s distribution and (2) a familial relationship exists

between people from the west coast and the east coast, and therefore when the tsunami of

1907 devastated West Teupah to Salang, people from other parts came to lend a hand or

simply out of curiosity.

After the smong phenomena in 1907, population migration from the disaster area (

Simeulue west coast) to other regions has not yet been encountered in colonial

government reports. But from several stories that developed, it is believed that there was

population migration from the west coast to the Sinabang area headed for the east coast.

Figure 4.1. Population Migration After the Tsunami of 1907

It is still difficult to encounter written sources able to verify the verbal stories of some of

the population who moved from the west coast, during the tsunami of 1907 as well as

subsequent to it. With regard to the smong of 1907, there are stories of people who were

carried by the tsunami wave from one village to another (see box 4.1), as well as stories

32

of population migration to seek new regions that were relatively safer and to live new

lives.

Box 4.1 : Carried by the Smong from Salur to South Teupah

This story was related by the district head of Teupah Selatan. He originally hailed

from Central Aceh region, but after several years of working in several places in

Simeulue island, he heard many stories of the Smong occurrence of 1907. One of

the stories he heard was about a woman who was carried by the smong current

from Salur village (West Teupah ) to Baturarang village (South Teupah). From the

map we can see that the two villages are located some distance away from each

other. The story goes that the woman was carried by the current from Salur, until

finally she landed at Baturarang. In the story the woman safely survived, and later

even married a man from Baturarang village so that her descendants still live in the

village.

Equipped with this story, four days later we sought the woman’s descendants in

Baturarang village. However, when we met the Baturarang village chief, and

inquired about the story, he had never heard of it, and even according to him it was

merely folklore. The stories related to the smong of 1907 that were still evident up

to now consisted of remnants such as large clam shells and coral stones in several

places. While the other stories were only folklore.

Several stories that developed indicated population migration to another region. A story

with sufficiently strong indications of population migration, for instance was that of

people in Lafakha village moving to Langi village, both in what is now Alafan

subdistrict. Population migration between two areas speaking the Leukon dialect is

possible, in view of the fact that the locations are only separated by a mountain range.

However, the finding of tsunami deposits in the Langi area, indicates that this area also

experienced a tremendous tsunami in 1907, so that population migration with the

objective of saving themselves or finding a new region is appropriately questioned. If

Langi village was considered a temporary stopover on the journey to villages in West

Simeulue (Sigulai), then population migration from the West coast area to the east coast

can be accepted.

However stories indicating the significant position of Sinabang as the “information

centre” of the smong of 1907 appears to be acceptable, considering the position of

Sinabang as the base of the Dutch colonial government ever since its arrival in Simeulue

around 1901, in which exchange of information occurred in this city.

Therefore, it can be concluded that population migration after the smong incident of 1907

was one factor resulting in the spread of smong stories from one group to another.

Furthermore, in these groups the stories were handed down from one generation to

another.

33

How the Story of Smong was Transmitted

The story of the 1907 tsunami got transmitted by word of mouth, told by grandparents to

their grandchildren, by parents to their children, by migrants to the people of Simeulue,

and by other means. However, the general trend would be the telling of the story by

grandparents to their grandchildren, and by parents to their children. Moment of events

during which storytelling takes place include (1) free time during evenings, (2)

occurrence of a particular event, e.g. passing away of a family member because of the

1907 tsunami, (3) natural or man-made disasters including earthquakes, flooding,

landslides and fire, (4) as part of effort to rectify behaviour, (5) natural or man-made

legacies, e.g. presence of coral amidst rice fields.

Storytelling to Pass Time

The 1907 tsunami story is usually told during free time among family members. In the

past, a residence would be made up of a core family (father, mother and unmarried

children) and grandparents. It allotted grandparents much time to interact with their

grandchildren. Time for storytelling are normally after the salat praying time of Isya and

after dinner. Stories are usually related to building good character and bear moral

messages.

Bereavement of Family Members

The 1907 tsunami story is often told because a family member died in the disaster. It is

illustrated in the following two cases:1

During one day grandmother told that “my uncle, the oldest son of my

grandparents is not Abdul Thalib whom we often refer to as Mamakwo; the

oldest uncle or Sia’a (Wo) is actually Aminullah, but he passed away during the

Smong. That’s how grandmother started her sad story with wet eyes. She was

working at a coconut plantation at Ulu (Hulu estate) when suddenly a powerful

quake occurred. After the quake we hurried back home where uncle Tua and my

grandmother’s younger sibling were. However, two hundred meters from our

seaside home and they could not go any further. They witnessed how the sea

water had reached as high as coconut trees. When the water subsided they

approached the home anxiously. The sight which they beheld. There was no

rubble. They searched left and right, and eventually they came upon uncle’s

corpse. To date my grandmother’s younger sibling remains missing; not even a

corpse was found. Wiping her tears grandmother said, “When a strong quake

occurs (she was not familiar with the Richter scale) do not hesitate. Run for the

mountains!”

The story contains a couple of lessons. One, it gives an idea on the level of sea water

intruding dry land after a strong quake, and two it tells that in case of a strong the right

action to do is to seek safety at higher grounds (mountains).

1 See Anonymus (2005) “Cerita Linon dan Smong Tiga Generasi”. A working paper that is not supplied

with the name of a writer. This working paper is prepared as inputs for a speech for the Regent of Simeulue

in his presentation in Japan and Thailand when he received a Sasakawa Award in 2005. The writer of the

working paper was once interviewed in April 2006.

34

A different case in the same paper describes a family which lost three of its four

members.

During one day I asked my father, ”Has grandfather no other siblings.” He then

told the story of my grandfather 70 years ago. “Your grandfather had two

brothers and one sister. He was number two (si ngah). The other three died in

the 1907 smong. Allah saved grandfather, whom got caught in a breadfruit tree.

In the tree he managed to survive by eating young breadfruit. It was only the

fifth day that he could come down and he proceeded to walk to the hills until he

came upon a shelter with a displaced family. He sought refuge with this family,

whom eventually adopted him. So we have our origins at Salur village. Father

ends the story saying, “Son, smong is very powerful! After the quake the

waterline recedes to come back in the form of a tidal wave. A smong!”

In the story there are several matters that are rather different with a story of the tsunami

that occurred in 1907, i.e. an event where a person has to be on top of a sukun tree for 5

days. This means that it is possible that water receded five days after the tsunami.

Whereas, in many other verbal stories, water recedes at about 5 in the evening or during

the night.

Natural Disaster

In several cases, a narration process of the Tsunami of 1907 was commenced due to a

natural hazard or a natural disaster, especially an earthquake or flood. However, an event

such as fire, at the end, is related to a tsunami event in 1907. For example, an earthquake

that occurred in 2002 - a quite strong earthquake that made the people of Simeulue

be prepared to go up to a mountain. But, at that time, the people did not see the sea water

had receded, so they did not go up to the mountain. Thus, the occurrence of small

earthquakes in Simeulue has become a base to tell a story that earthquakes are felt

insignificant compared to the tsunami that occurred in 1907. Hence, a story concerning

the tsunami in 1907 was commenced. The content of the story was started with a strong

earthquake, receding sea water, high columns of water that hit the coastal area. The story

would be supplied with victims, which are either human beings or animals. The story of

people who died and hooked into coconut trees, describes the horrifying tsunami that

occurred at that time.

An earthquake that occurred in 2002 also gives a lesson for people who do not come from

Simeulue to find out the tsunami that occurred in 1907. For example, the sub-district

chief of South Teupah, who comes from Tapak Tuan, Aceh, only knew the occurrence of

smong in 1907 after he saw people in Labuhan Bajo were prepared to run to a hill after an

earthquake occurred in 2002. At that time he heard people say smong, but he did not

understand what its meaning. Then he enquired concerning the word smong, and he got

an explanation concerning a story from the people, then he knew a story of a tsunami that

occurred in 1907. At the beginning did not believe the truth of the story, but after a

tsunami occurred in December 2004, he then believed the story.

35

Good Behavior

In an everyday life, the use of smong is to describe a certain emotional situation. Here is

an excerpt from an interview:

If father is angry, he is angry to his child. Such anger is meant that the child is

not taken away by the smong, he said. So, you won’t be taken away by the

smong, if I am angry. But ‘sapal’ never exists, but there is a smong, when a

parent is angry, it is called smong. When he is really angry, then it overflow2

The opinion describes a picture that the word smong is not a specially describes a sea

wave, but it expands to describe an emotional action of a person. However, it needs a

thorough linguistic study as the contraction of the meaning of smong may occur from a

broader and more special meaning concerning a sudden high tide.

That a tsunami that occurred in 1907 is considered as a base from the development of a

“local cultural wisdom” of the people of Simeulue, which was once written by several

people from Simeulue, and was published in a mass media, for example:

For the people of Simeulue who survived from the 1907 tragedy, smong is a mystery that brings

bad news and leaves a trauma. Believing that smong will still occur in the future, victims who

survived from the devastating smong in 1907, agree give a lesson on how to detect and avoid

from a smong disaster for generations to their offspring. The cultural wisdom has been well

maintained up to now, either in the island of Simeulue or the people of Simeulue who live

outside the island. The heir of the cultural wisdom becomes one of the factors when a smong

occurred on December 26th

, 2004. There were not many victims fro people of the Simeulue

island and the people of Simeulue who lives outside Simeulue (Meulaboh, Banda Aceh and other

cities in Aceh)3.

In several sentences the writing uses a metaphoric language such as ‘smong that will

occur in the future’ and ‘agrees to teach ways to detect and save their lives’ is an effort

from the writer to show that a local knowledge concerning signs of smong has been

considered to have saved the lives of Simeuleu from a tsunami that occurred in 2004.

However, there is a person who considers that the term of smong existed before 1907.

There are two arguments that have been written concerning the case from the same

writer:

smong that occurred in 1833 and 1907 has a time span of 74 years. The smong in 1907 and the

one in 2004 have a shorter time span of 73 years. With a time span of 73 – 74 years is a

sufficient time to convey a message to the next generation concerning the earthquake and smong (anonymous: 3).

Then, in another page, the writer quotes from one informant:

2 Interview with Sutan Ruswin, April 2006

3 Karisah Hamzah (2005), Smong dan Kearifan Budaya Lokal Masyarakat Simeulue. A writing on a piece

of paper and is not published.

36

There is neither tool nor any item that can save somebody from the devastating smong. That is

the message of the elderly. Mr. Sutan Ruswin is the oldest figure in Sinabang city narrated a

story from his parents, saying that when a smong occurred in 1907 not many people in Simeulue

were safe, except people who have heard of a story on smong from the previous generation (Anonimous: 5)

Unfortunately the writing does not state its reference source concerning tsunami that

occurred in 18334. However, from the two opinions, it indicates that people remember

that there was a tsunami that occurred before 1907. However, considering that in 1833

most people did not know much about a long span of time, the collective memory of the

people of Simeulue on the on the occurrence of the tsunami in 1907.

Story from migrants

A story concerning the tsunami that occurred in 1907 was not only told by people who

come from Simeulue only, but people who come from outside of the Simeulue island,

who also have a story concerning the occurrence due to a certain event. The following is

two stories concerning how a person who comes from outside the Simeulue island knows

a story of a tsunami that occurred in 1907

The first story comes from the sub-district chief of South Teupah. He comes from Tapak Tuan

Aceh who carried out his duty for several years in Simeulue. In 2002, when he lived in the

village of Kawat, the sub-district of East Simeulue, there was a quite strong earthquake. At that

time there were many people who came out of their house and started seeking higher places.

Then from the people he heard if there was a strong earthquake that was followed with receding

seawater, and then they must immediately go to higher places, as smong will go up. Although a

tsunami did not occur, but several people remained in higher places. When he heard a story

regarding the smong the occurred in 1907, at first, he made a joke to a person who told such a

story as a made-up story. But on December 26, 2004, at about 8.30 in the morning, there was an

earthquake and he heard a woman saying “ui naik” (water going up), then he remembered the

story of the people who were hit by an earthquake in 2002. From the event, he believes that the

tsunami once occurred in 19075.

In several interviews with informants, who come from the island of Simeulue and people

who come from outside the island, at the beginning when they heard about the tsunami

that occurred in 1907, they were doubtful, whether the really believed the story or not.

However, after a tsunami did occur in 2004 then they believed that the event in really

happened.

The second story comes from a migrant from Java. He has lived in the island of

Simeulue for 20 years. He has heard a story of the smong 3 times, and at the

beginning he did not believe such a story. For the first time he heard the word

smong in 1992, the second in 1996 and the third in 2002. In 1992 and 1996 there

4 Although in the writing of Newcomb and McCann (1987: 424) it is written “November 1833, the great

earthquake of 1833 had a maximum intensities and generated a tsunami over 550 km along the south

central Sumatra”. But it is not clear whether it is the tsunami that is described by the writer of the article. In

addition, the Busung peninsula region, the sub-district of East Simeulue shall get an option of an older

tsunami from 1970. But this case has not been scientifically proven yet. 5 Interview with the sub-district chief of South Teupahj, April 2006.

37

was a fire in Sinabang and in 2002 there was a quite strong earthquake. When

the fire occurred, he heard from the people that this fire was not too big if

compared with what occurred in 1907, which took many lives. Whereas in 2002,

after an earthquake he saw many people running to higher places. Then he heard

again the story on smong, but he did not believe it. However, on December 26,

2004, after he saw himself the effect of the tsunami wave, he believes the story

of the people regarding the smong that occurred in 19076

Folklore

Folklore is a verbal tradition that is existent in a certain community. The people of

Simeulue have various folklores, among them are riddles, parables, legends, tales, lavi-

lavi, folk songs and nandong. In the perception of the people, there is not often a standard

concept concerning the difference among a legend, a myth, a fable and a tale. For

example, the story of an Islamic struggle of Tengku Diujung. When he defeated the King

of Songsong Bulu in Kuta Padang, where a fight between them is characterized as a

legend. But the life story and the spread of Islam in the region are a historical fact that

can still be tracked.

So far there has not been found a folklore that describes the occurrence a tsunami in

1907. Although in several interviews there is a buai-buai (a story of sleeping a child)

describing a story of a tsunami in 1907. But when it was confirmed to many informants,

they do not know buai-buai that is related with the tsunami in 1907.

Thus the case with a traditional poetry in Simeulue which does not specifically describes

the occurrence of a tsunami in 1907. But two writings that describe the tsunami in 1907

talk about smong. The comparison can be seen below:

The comparison of the Linon traditional poetry

Working paper version Regent’s speech version

Kedang-Kedang Mo laek, uwak-uwak

mo Linon (Drums you are lightning, our

swing is an earthquake)

“Smong dumek-dumek mo,linon uwak-uwak

mo, ek laik kedang-kedang mo, kilek suluh-

suluh mo” (Your bath is tsunami, your swing is

earthquake, your drums are lightning and your

illumination is lightning)

The two versions of the “pantun Linon” (earthquake traditional poetry) are obtained from

two sources who once attended a tertiary institution (college) and worked in the

government office of the Simeulue regency. The first version actually a working paper

that has been prepared for a speech of the Regent of Simeulue in Japan and Thailand.

Both of the speeches would be read by the Regent in connection with praise on the people

of Simeulue regency that is considered to have been saved by a “local knowledge” of the

people as there is knowledge of savings lives from the tsunami in 2004. The working

paper version is known with the “Earthquake/Linon traditional poetry”. According to its

writer, this traditional poetry is widely known by the people, especially the generation of

6 Interview with “Pa Lik”, a migrant from Central Java, who has lived in the island for more than 20 years,

who lives in Sinabung, Interview was in April 2006

38

60 years old and above. In essence this poem shows the occurrence of an earthquake and

lightning is not something that fears the people of Simeulue. The objective of the

message of the poem is that a male child may not take part in dealing with the test of life.

The two horrifying stories are a test, if events have been over, the mental of the child has

been quite stable, and he will be strong in encountering a smaller test7 In addition, in one

of the life cycle events, i.e. the turun mek on cermony, i.e. a ceremony for a child who

for the first time he steps down from the house and at that time there is an earthquake,

then it is believed that the child will grow with brave life.

The regent speech version is a combination from various writings that have been

prepared. It seems that there is an addition of a smong dumek-dumek mo sentence. The

sentence is not existent in the first version. It is not yet clear whether the “original

version” of the earthquake traditional poetry the sentence regarding the tsunami has

indeed been existent. However, in nandong that develops in the community, it is possible

that one poem is connected with another poem based on an imagination of a person who

says the poem.

However, in various interviews with informants, they say that they never hear there is a

nandong that narrates a story of the tsunami in 1907.

Buai-Buai

A field note about a short visit to Simeulue gives the following description:

The news about Tsunami is never ending. No inhabitant is unfamiliar with the term “smonk” because it

has been a lullaby8

The above short note has given an inspiration for conducting a further research such as

what is the form of “the lullaby” that is related to the term smong.

Lullabies are known as buai-buai, derived from the verb membuai (to swing) that is to

swing/rock child in the cradle to put him/her to sleep. During the research on almost all

locations, a question is raised on whether or not there is a form of the word/phrase buai-

buai related to the tsunami that took place in 1907. All informants, women and men said

that they had never heard the word buai-buai related to the 1907 tsunami story. However,

the best way of recording is by listening directly to the women singing lullabies for their

children. During the research, the opportunity to record mothers singing for their children

was so limited that it is not easy to scientifically understand the sentences sung by those

who are putting their children to sleep. In several opportunities, the mothers putting their

children to sleep only sounded like they were only mumbling.

7 Anonimous : 3

8 A Diary of a Kogami Padang staff who visited Simeulue between 30 January and 13 February 2005

(Personal Communications)

39

An informant provides a description and the reason why buai-buai in Simeuleu is related

more to religion than to the reciting of an important past incident.

“ if the singing of lullabies…because of, our elderly people here, yes, the mothers, mums, do not

really care about singing as an art, when one puts her child to sleep, she is rather shy to sing. At

the most one will only mumble something like hailllahilallah, as an Acehnese, one will only puts

her child to sleep using a long story …. That is the characteristic of our women here.9

However, buai-buai is a form of spontaneous and personal mumbling without any

rhyme/poem. Therefore there maybe one person mumbling about the tsunami but it is not

intended to directly tell a story about the incident. It may have expectations related to the

child’s character for the future.

Box 4. : Why

9 Interview with Mr. Arsin, April 2006

40

Reference about the Incident

Smong is the sign of various daily incidents in the community. For instance, when parents

tell a story and they asked each other about their age, but no one remembers, then they

use a Smong incident as a point of reference, for instance how old was a certain person

at the time the smong that took place (in 1907)? Even when they tell of a flood that took

place in another area, the 1907smong is used as a reference.

The relationship of the Smong 1907 Smong Story and the 2004 Tsunami

This part will discuss how a local knowledge about the 1907 plays a role in the efforts of

the Simeuleu community to escape tam catastrophe. It will first indicate the impact of the

December 2004 tsunami on several areas in Simeuleu. Then several cases indicating how

a collective memory of the Simeuleu community about the 1907 incident becomes a kind

of “early warning” for the 2004 tsunami. Besides, there is also a story about a victim of

the 2004 tsunami.

The result of a study conducted by Edi Gaffar, ET all (2005) in 32 sample points for the

whole island of Simeulue indicates that the lowest wave reached 1, 64 m and the highest

more that 9 meters. The farthest wave from the coast reached up to 3000 meters. The

tsunami waves hit between 2 to 12 times. The death casualties of the 2004 tsunami were

7 people. Compared to the 37 casualties from the March 28 2005 earthquake and most of

them came from Sinabang, who were killed by the falling of buildings. Meanwhile, those

died in the December 2004 tsunami were from rural areas. The town of Sinabang is a

place with insignificant damage caused by the tsunami. But an observation in several

areas, such as the Langi village (Alafan sub-district) Salur village (sub-district of West

Teupah), Naibos village (sub-district of Simeulue Tengah), Latak Ayah Village (sub-

district of Simeulue Tengah) and Labuhan Bajau (sub-district of Teupah Selatan) were

badly damaged. Until the time the survey was conducted (April 2006) many people still

live in evacuation or temporary houses.

The damaged caused by the December 2004 tsunami in the sub-districts of Alafan,

Salang, Simeulue Tengah, Teupah Barat and Teupah Selatan reminds people of the 1907

tsunami. Even though from the story of several informants, the December 2004 tsunami

was weaker than that of the 1907. An eighty-year-old woman in Naibos says that the

1907 smong was as high as a coconut tree, and this one in not.

Monitoring and interview result in the Langi village (sub-district Alafan), Salur (Teupah

Barat), Labuhan Bajau (Teupah Selatan), and Naibos (Simeulue Tengah) indicates that

the December 2004 tsunami damaged many facilities and infrastructures. Data from

Simeuleu District government indicates that in the village of Langi, all house buildings

were (173 houses) were either destroyed or badly damaged, while 793 people are still

classified as permanent evacuators. While from 49 houses in Naibos, 39 of them were

completely destroyed; in Salur, 108 of 135 houses were destroyed and in Labuhan Bajau,

12 out of 84 buildings were destroyed.

41

According to several people at the areas being surveyed, the tsunami waves did not come

at once, but they came several times. According to the result of the survey by Edi

and gaffer, from the interview with the local people, they were informed that the high tide

came at least twice, in the village of Laytak Ayah, sub-district of Simeulue Tengah; and

the most was in Salur village, the sub-district of Teupah Barat, 12 times. However this

method still has some weaknesses because only one informant was asked in each

location. It is possible that everyone has his/her own perception, depending on where

he/she was at the time the tsunami took place. For instance, many informants say that in

the village of Langi, at the sub-district of Alafan the tsunami waves came four times, and

only the third destroyed the buildings in the Langi village.

The Significance of the Smong Story in Coping with the 2004 Tsunami

Almost all stories from the informants about the December 2004 tsunami are related to

their collective memory of the smong incident in 1907. An informant from Salur gave a

description:

On December 26, 2004, He woke up late because it was Sunday. All of a sudden

there was a very strong earthquake that caused him unable to walk. Because the

house was near the sea, he ran towards it, also to prevent from being hit by

electricity. However, as he was running to the sea, the waters seemed to have

subsided. He recalled the story of his parents about the 1907 tsunami. He

returned to his home to find a sarong. Then the waters return and rose up to his

heels. He could hear the hissing sound of the water and then he ran to the hill.

According to him, there were three symptoms before big waves came, namely

(1) a strong earthquake, (2) the coastal water subsided far enough, and (3) water

buffalos gathered besides a hill.10

Some people compare the situation of 26 December 2004 to the earthquake of the year

2002, as follows:

The 2002 quake was strong enough but houses were not damaged. The water of

the sea seemed to subside a little bit, and the people were out of their homes for

one day to watch the situation of the sea water. They decided to return home

because the water did not seem to rise. While during 26 December 2004, there

was an earthquake around 8 AM, then the water came out of the earth that

reached a height of half a coconut tree. Then they heard someone shouting,

“The water has subsided”. Then the people ran up to the hill. The water rose as

many as three times. The first rise reached Meunasah (approximately 300 m

from the coast), then the second reached Makam area (500 meter) and the third

destroyed all buildings in the village. IT took one whole week before the people

had the courage to return to the village. People of this village (Serapon) stayed

in the hill for 6 months, until now (April 2006) around 30 families are still living

in the mountain. The 2004 incident is referred to as “Kejadian Dahu Ta’alimbu

lentu kiamatan dunia” (A former event that is never forgotten until the end of

time)11

10

Interview with Amir Hamzah, a man of 45 years old from the village of Salur. April 2006 11

Interview with Serafon village chief, teh Sub-district of Alafan. April 2006

42

The 2002 quake is often compared to that of the year 2004, because they have similar

characteristics, such as a strong quake. According to the head of a family in Langi, after

the strong earthquake in 2002, several families already ran to the mountains, but his

family did not do so because the coastal water did not subside and there was no water

coming out of the earth. According the story he heard about the 1907 smong, the tsunami

was preceded by a low tide and water coming out of the earth.

The Stories of Victims and Those Who Escaped the Tsunami

The 2004 tsunami killed as many as 7 people in the whole island of Simeulue. The stories

regarding the death of two out of the seven victims were collected, namely about a boy in

the village of Lok Pauh (Alafan sub-district) and a male adult in the village of Labuhan

Bajau, the sub-district of Teupah selatan. But the information gathered directly from the

family of the deceased was only from a victim by the name of Lasamin (60 years old). It

was told directly by his wife, Jaidah and Sukran, who was carried by the victim on his

motorcycle before he died.

According to his wife, Lasamin, who hails from Sinabang knows the smong

story of 1907, he and his wife had the opportunity to try to run way on their

motorcycle towards the hilly area and escaped the first tsunami. Then, he told

his wife of his wishes to return and collect his important documents. He thought

that after the first tsunami, there would be a low tide, or even when it was a high

tide, he could still collect his documents. Using his motorcycle, he went down to

his house and met Sukran, his fellow villager and asked him to go together.

While on the way, both of them were doubtful about the possibility of collecting

the documents. Then Lasamin remembered his children both in Sinabang and

Banda Aceh, because he thought that the waves would be dangerous. On the

way, Lasamin’s motorcycle was hit by the tsunami waves and he fell to the

asphalted road. Sukran was still able to use a tree truck to escape, while Lasamin

passed away when he was lifted up.

This story of Mr. Lasamin contains a lesson that although the people are familiar with the

1907 Smong story, when faced by similar incident, it is still possible for them to become

victims. There are at least two lessons learnt from such a case. First, many people know

the story of the 1907 smong, but unfamiliar with the behaviour of waves, like their

strength and how many times they will go towards the dry land. Second, in the process to

escape, using a motorcycle is a dangerous effort. Besides, the two tsunamis in Simeuleu

took place during the day time that the situation of the coastal waters should be easily

noticed by the community. The low tide should be an early warning for the people to run

to a higher place. Also it is easier to evacuate on the day time than at night, especially

for tracks leading to hills.

The second story is about someone escaping from the tsunami, because he just followed

where the waves took him. This information is obtained directly from the head of a

hamlet in the Langi Village who escaped the 2004 tsunami in his area.

43

During the incident, the hamlet head was in Sibigo, the sub-district of West

Simeulue. In the morning he could feel the earthquake in Sibigo. After feeling

the presence of quake, he thought that he had to return home immediately to his

family who was in the Langi village. He knows about the 1907 smong story, but

because the waters around Sibigo did not indicate a low tide, he went home

quickly to his family. Using a boat with a “Robin” motor, he hurried towards

Langi that was around two hours away. When he approached Langi, he felt the

huge sea waves but he could not anything against such huge waves. Giving up,

he just let the waves take him all the way to the village of Lok Pauh, which is

situated across the Langi village. He let his boat to be carried away by the waves

until it was hurled upon a hill in Lok Pauh village. He survived but it took him 2

days to return to the Langi village. 12

The above incident provides an important lesson about the situation faced by someone in

the sea when the tsunami takes place; or what measures to take when a strong earth quake

is imminent, such as postponing or cancelling a trip through the sea.

12

Interview with the sub-village chief in the village of Langi, April 2006.

39

Section 5

The Tsunami of 2004 and How the Smong Story Developed

This section will show how the role of local knowledge of the tsunami in 1907 was related to

Simeulue community efforts to save themselves from disaster. The first part will show the

impact of tsunami in December 2004 in several regions of Simeulue. Then several cases show

how the collective memory of the Simeulue community of the incident in 1907 became a sort

of “early warning” for the incident in 2004. Besides that a case story of a tsunami victim in

2004.

Studies made by Edi Gaffar, et al (2005) at 32 sample points for the entire island of Simeulue

indicated that the lowest wave reached 1.64 m while the highest wave exceeded 9 meters. The

farthest wave from the coast reached a distance of 3000 meters. The tsunami waves struck

between 2-12 times. The number of casualties of the tsunami in December 2004 was 7

persons. Compare this with the number of victims who died as a result of the earthquake of 28

March 2005, totaling 37 people, most of whom came from Sinabang, and were hit by

collapsing buildings. Victims who died during the tsunami of December 2004 were from

relatively rural areas. Sinabang city is an area that did not experience significant damage due

to tsunami. But observations in several places, such as Langi village ( Alafan sub-district),

Salur village(Teupah Barat sub-district), Naibos village( Simeulue Tengah sub-district), Latak

Ayah village (Simeulue Tengah sub-district) and Labuhan Bajau (Teupah Selatan sub-district)

showed that these places suffered severe damage. Up to the time of the study (April 2006)

many of the population are still living in evacuation sites or in temporary houses.

The damage caused by the tsunami of December 2004 in the sub-districts of Alafan, Salang,

Simeulue Tengah, Teupah Barat and Teupah Selatan was reminiscent of that of the 1907

tsunami. Although based on stories told by several informants, the tsunami of December 2004

was considered less powerful than that of 1907. An 80-year-old woman in Naibos said

simply that the smong of 1907 reached a height of a coconut tree while the more recent one

did not .

Observation and interviews in Langi village (Alafan sub-district), Salur (Teupah Barat Barat),

Labuhan Bajau (Teupah Selatan), and Naibos (Simeulue Tengah) showed that the tsunami

wave of December 2004 destroyed many facilities and infrastructure. Data of the Simeulue

district government indicated that in Langi village all houses (173 ) were in condition of

severe damage or devastation, while a total of 793 people are still classified as permanent

IDPs. While in Naibos, of 49 houses, a total of 39 were completely destroyed ; Salur of 135

houses, 108 destroyed and Labuhan Bajau of 84 houses 12 were destroyed .

According to information from the local population in several areas studied , the tsunami wave

did not strike simultaneously, but several times. From the study made by Edi and gaffer, by

interviewing the local population, it was learned that the water rose twice, in Laytak Ayah

village, Simeulue Tengah sub-district; while the most times was in Salur village, Teupah Barat

sub-district, a total of 12 times. However this method still contains weaknesses, as only one

40

informant was questioned in every location. Therefore the likelihood is that each person had a

different perception depending on the person’s position when the tsunami wave occurred. For

instance, many informants said in Langi village , Alafan sub-district the waves came four

times, and only by the third wave were the buildings in Langi devastated.

The Meaning of the Smong Story in Facing the Tsunami of 2004

Nearly all informants’ stories about the tsunami of 26 December 2004 are related to their

collective memories of the smong incident of 1907. Informants in Salur gave the following

descriptions :

On 26 December 2004, since it was a Sunday he woke up rather late. Suddenly a

very strong earthquake occurred preventing him from being able to walk.

Because the house was near the sea, and to prevent the possibility of electric

shock and panic he ran in the direction of the sea. However he saw that the

water near the coast had receded . He remembered stories from his parents of the

tsunami of 1907. He ran back to his house to get his sarong. At that time the

water had begun to rise to his ankles. He heard the roar of water and he ran to

the mountains. According to him there were three signs before a large wave

came , namely (1) a powerful earthquake, (2) water on the coast receding quite

far and (3) water buffalos gathering by the side of the mountain.1

Some have also compared the situation on 26 December 2004 with the earthquake of 2002,

as follows :

In 2002 a strong earthquake struck but did not damage the houses. The sea

water appeared to recede somewhat, and the people were outside their houses

the whole day to watch the situation of the sea. Because the water did not rise

the people returned to their houses. While on 26 December 2004, a major

earthquake occurred around 08.00 in the morning, then water was seen to come

out of the ground to a height of half a coconut tree . Then there was a shout of

“water receding ”. Hearing this the people ran to the mountains. Three times the

water rose . The first time until Meunasah (about 300 m from the coast), the

second time the water rose until the graveyard area (500 meter) and with the

third wave the water destroyed all houses in the kampong. It was only after one

week that the people dared to go down to their kampong. The people of the

kampong (Serapon) lived for six months in the mountains , to date (April 2006)

about 30 families are still living in the mountains . The incident of 2004 was a

“Kejadian Dahu Ta’alimbu lentu kiamatan dunia” (A past incident that will not

be forgotten until the end of time)2

The earthquake of 2002 was indeed much compared with that of 2004, because it had the same

characteristic of being a powerful earthquake. According to a household head in Langi village,

in 2002 when the strong earthquake shook the area several families ran toward the mountains,

but his family did not do so because the water on the coast had not receded nor had water

1 Interview with Amir Hamzah, male, 45 year old villager from Salur. April 2006

2 Interview with Serafon village head, Alafan sub-district. April 2006

41

come out from the ground. Based on stories he had heard about the smong of 1907, it had been

preceded by receding sea water and water had gushed out from the ground.

The tsunami of 2004, for many people seemed to prove that the story of the smong of 1907

actually occurred. In various interviews with the population aged between 30-50 years,

although they had heard stories about the smong, initially there was also doubt as to whether

the 1907 smong was fact or just folklore. But after experiencing the tsunami incident of

2004, they believed that the story of the 1907 semong actually happened. Even many among

them declared that the story of the 1907 smong had saved the lives of the people on the island.

There were two things in the smong story of 1907 considered to have saved the people of

pulau Simeulue. Firstly was the message that in the event of a strong earthquake to

immediately run to the hilltop. Secondly, in the event of a strong earthquake and the sea water

retreated, never run toward the shore, especially to take fish. Because when the water on the

coast was at low tide after a quake, the fish were poisonous. Stories acquired by the Simeulue

community about the smong of 1907 are indeed varied. Variations in the stories have

developed from one region to the next depending on the distance of the region to the smong of

1907; likewise the people who related the incident. Informants whose regions directly

experienced the smong of 1907 --- particularly informants who acquired stories from people

who directly experienced the smong of 1907 – can describe in detail the processes that

preceded the smong of 1907, beginning with the earthquake , receding sea water, the

behaviour of people at that time when they saw the low tide, the process of the rising wave,

how the people saved themselves by running toward the hills, how long the sea water

inundated the land, the condition after ebb tide, the condition of corpses that were victims of

the tidal wave, until the situation of food scarcity after occurrence of the 1907 smong wave.

The nature of knowledge acquired from one story to another indeed contained “trial and

error”, since knowledge of the smong in 1907 was relatively recent when facing the tsunami

of 2004. Therefore, several incidents that showed similar natural signs as the smong of 1907,

caused the community to make an effort of climbing the hills to save themselves , even though

eventually the tsunami failed to materialize (See Box 5.1)

42

Box 5.1. : The Raised Level of the Coast Believed to Be Smong

The smong of 1907 left a deep imprint on the memory of the Simeulue

community, after which the arrival of the tsunami in 2004 strengthened the

collective memory of the Simeulue community of the disaster. From the smong

1907, one lesson that the Simeulue community always remembered was that in the

event of a strong earthquake to immediately find a region that was safe from the

waves. Such regions were the hills that are nearly always present in all villages of

Simeulue island. Therefore when a major earthquake struck in 2002, people

immediately fled to the hills to save themselves. Some people however did not

promptly run but first observed the condition of sea water on the shore. After

convincing themselves that the water did not recede, they did not run toward the

hills, but informed the people on the hills that the sea water would not rise, because

there was no low tide. Thus the people returned to their respective kampungs.

During the earthquake in March 2005, a village in Teupah Barat experienced the

opposite. Although most villagers were still living in refugee camps, several people

who were already settled in kampongs saw the water recede and they ran to the

hills. Actually what really happened was that the tectonic earthquake raised the

coral coastal area thus it seemed that the sea water ebbed. After waiting for some

time without any sign of tidal wave, the people were convinced that smong would

not occur.

The two incidents demonstrated that although the community knew the story of

smong 1907 (and the tsunami of 2004), information they possessed was still

incomplete, namely the coastal area lifted by tectonic earthquake, was not yet

understood by the community. But community “capacity” did not yet enable this

fact to be fully comprehended. However, early warning of a major earthquake and

the community running to the hills were initial steps to save themselves from the

danger of tsunami at the rural community level.

The story of the 1907 smong was not only understood by the Simeuleu community domiciled

in Simeulue island, this story was also strong in the collective memory of the Simeulue

community who had migrated elsewhere, such as to Banda Aceh, Singkil and Meulaboh.

Although during the study the team did not encounter any of the community who had

migrated, but in nearly every place where interviews were held, there were always stories of

how the migrant Simeulue community were able to save themselves from the tsunami of 2004

(Box 5.2)

43

Box 5.2 : Simeulue Migrants Save Lives of Other People

The stories that were told of the tsunami on 26 December 2004 in Aceh and Nias will

become historical occurrences that will be remembered for a long time. According to a

village head in Alafan subdistrict, the tsunami was…” Dahu Ta’alimbu lentu kiamatan

dunia (An incident that will not be forgotten until the end of time). Besides the extensive

narration reported by various media about the terrifying tsunami of 2004, with the

number of victims reaching hundreds of thousands of lives and destruction of facilities

and infrastructure in numerous places in Aceh and Nias; the Simeulue community also

has its own stories about the tsunami of 2004, particularly about those who had migrated

to other regions in districts/cities of Aceh province, such as Banda Aceh, Meulaboh and

Singkil.

One story derives from a woman who hailed from Simeulue who worked in a shop

owned by a person of Chinese descent in Meulaboh. When the huge earthquake struck

the woman immediately went outside and mentioned that a smong would arrive. Besides

mentioning the smong, she also said she would run to the hilly region. Her Chinese boss

was of course bewildered by her words for several reasons. First, the Chinese had no

understanding about the meaning of smong, since this word did not exist in the

Meulaboh vocabulary. Secondly, why should they run to the hills that were some distance

away from their home. Then it was explained that smong was sea water that rose and

flooded the land, so that to be safe they had to run toward higher ground. The Chinese

was confused and initially would not believe her. But because he did not know what else

to do, he followed his employee. Upon reaching the hills and looking back at the

direction of Meulaboh that was beginning to be inundated by sea water, only then would

he believe his employee’s words. He had been saved by the smong story.

Another story originated from a becak driver who hailed from Simeulue and lived in

Meulaboh. Seconds after a major earthquake shook the city, the people from Simeulue

shouted smong…smong…!. But others around them said , “These crazy Simeulue

people, an earthquake strikes and they say smong !”. People in Meulaboh were unfamiliar

with the word smong. Afterwards many of the Simeulue community attempted to run to

the hills to save themselves. This attempt was also laughed at by the people around ,

however many of them followed the Simeulue people. At the time many Simeulue people

found safety in the hills.

However from several other stories it was also learned that many Simeulue people had

become victims of Tsunami in Banda Aceh and Meulaboh, since the distance between

their houses on the coast and the hills was quite far, they did not become victims when

running toward the hills.

44

Stories from Victims’ Families and Those Who Were Safe from Tsunami 2004

The tsunami that struck on 26 December 2004 took a toll of 7 lives in the entire island of

Simeulue. Of that number a story was obtained of the deaths of two victims, namely a child in

Lok Pauh village (Alafan subdistrict) and an adult male in Labuhan Bajau village, South

Teupah subdistrict. However, direct information from a victim’s family was that of a victim

named bapak Lasamin (60 years). The information was obtained from the victim’s wife named

ibu Jaidah and Sukran, the last person to have ridden behind Bapak Lasamin on his motorcycle

before the latter died.

According to his wife, bapak Lasamin who hailed from Sinabang

actually knew the story of the smong in 1907, and when the earthquake

occurred, bapak Lasamin and his wife had a chance to flee in the

direction of the hills on motorcycle and were safe from the first tsunami

wave . However pak Lasamin told his wife he wanted to fetch some

important papers he had left behind in his house. He thought that after

the first wave the water would recede or even if another wave came

there was still time for him to get the important papers at home. Then

on motorcycle he descended the hill in the direction of his house. On the

way he met Pak Sukran, a friend from the same kampung whom he

invited to ride together (See Box 5.3). Actually at that time both pak

Sukran and pak Lasimin were a little doubtful as to whether or not there

was still time to take the papers. On the way, Pak Lasamin thought

about his children in Sinabang as well as Banda Aceh, because the

rising water was dangerous. Suddenly pak Lasamin’s motorcycle was

hit by the tsunami wave and he fell on the asphalt road. While Pak

Sukran could still swim and was able to save himself on a tree. When

they lifted him , pak Lasamin was probably already dead.

Pak Lasamin’s story demonstrated a lesson that although the community knew the story of

Smong 1907, when faced with the incident itself there was still a likelihood of accidents that

could befall them. There are at least two lessons from this case. First, many people were aware

of the story of the smong in 1907, but they did not know the wave behaviour well, such as

how many times it would head for shore, and its force. Second, using a motorcycle in this case

was a dangerous action in the process of saving oneself. Another matter, two incidents of

tsunami that struck Simeulue ocurred during daytime, so that the situation of the water on the

coast could be easily observed by the community. So that when the water ebbed it could be an

early warning for the community to flee to higher ground. Likewise, the evacuation process in

daytime would be easier compared with at nighttime, mainly the footpaths leading to the hills.

45

Photo 5.1. Pak Sukran from labuhan Bajau

Box 5.3 : When a Friend Died Hurled by the Tsunami….

“…..suddenly when we went along the new road, the one behind this ,

until behind the hospital before we knew it the wave had struck from

the front and we were flung by it , then I could climb on a tree

branch , while he was swept away and what is it called, mangrove,

after the mangrove leaves and suddenly in an instant the water soon

ebbed , it receded until knee high, I saw my friend, because he had

already been hurled down, I could not help him , I saw he had already

vomited near the mangrove branch, I tried to rescue him and save

him, then I raised him from there, because his body was so big…..”

(Sukran, Labuhan Bajo, April 2006)

The excerpt of the interview above told about the final moments in the life of

Lasamin (60 tahun) , retired South Teupah subdistrict employee. This story was

told by pak Sukran (25 tahun) Lasamin’s fellow kampung resident who had been

invited to ride on the latter’s motorcycle. Lasamin asked him along to take

several important papers at his house. Actually when the first tsunami wave

struck, pak Lasamin had already left his house for higher ground, together with

his wife. But since he wished to save some important letters, pak Lasamin

returned on motorcycle to the coastal area. Pak Sukran was the last man beside

pak Lasamin. He tried to warn the older man about the possibility of the next

46

wave coming; he was also the last man who heard pak Lasamin’s fears for his

children in Sinabang and Banda Aceh over the earthquake disaster and the sea

water rising to shore; he also tried to save pak Lasamin’s life. However as

expressed by Pak Sukran, pak Lasamin’s wife and the surrounding

community…”maybe he met his end there”

Unlike Pak Lasamin who died when he was flung by the tsunami wave, the second story was

about someone who survived the tsunami wave, because he had only followed the direction

where the wave took him. This information was directly obtained from a hamlet head in Langi

village who was safe when the tsunami wave struck his region in 2004.

During the disaster, the hamlet head (Zakirudin) was in Sibigo,

Simeulue Barat subdistrict. That morning he felt earthquake tremors .

He thought of immediately going home to see his family in Langi

village. He also knew the smong story of 1907, but because the waters

around Sibigo did not appear to lower, he made haste to go home to his

family in Langi. By boat and motorboat “Robin” he rushed to Langi

that was a two- hour journey away . As he approached Langi, he felt a

large wave at sea, but was powerless to fight the current. So he resigned

himself when the tsunami wave carried him until Lok Pauh village,

across from Langi. He allowed his boat to be carried by the wave and

was flung on top of a hill in Lok Pauh. He survived, but it took him 2

days to return to Langi village.3

The incident provides an important lesson about a situation faced by someone at sea when

tsunami wave strikes; or what action to take when a major earthquake hits, such as postponing

or cancelling a trip by sea.

Photo 5.2. Zakirudin, Langi Village

3 Interview with Langi village head, April 2006.

47

Remnants of the Tsunami of 2004 : Song Lyrics, Children’s and Radio Names

Unlike the tsunami of 1907 that did not leave behind many artefacts (material objects) or

folklore, the 2004 tsunami left many things that could record the event. There might be articles

remaining that could be proof of the smong 1907, but these objects have disappeared or have

been buried. The tsunami 2004 incident occurred when information technology and

documentation were already sophisticated, such that various documentation of photos, satellite

images, audio visual products and media products could be encountered everywhere. Similarly

the regional and central government that intensively monitored the post disaster situation

resulted in much data and information over the impact of the 2004 tsunami being documented.

Likewise the presence of various international organizations , such as

UNHCR,INICEF,UNESCO, IOM and so forth. Also international Non Governmental

Organization – NGO’s that were dispersed across Aceh and Nias made the documentation of

the tsunami impact able to be obtained everywhere.

However, in this study , besides various information on the impact of the disaster being

collected from several institutions, various information was also collected on how the

population tried to preserve the memory of the tsunami of 2004 by giving names to certain

things, such as names of radio studios and names of children born during the tsunami of 2004.

Similarly, various songs were composed with which to remember the tsunami of 2004.

Song Lyrics

After the tsunami of 2004, many local artists tried to preserve the memory of the tsunami 2004

through various expression media. According to information, several cassettes/CDs in the

Aceh language containing songs about the tsunami disaster of 2004 are already in the market.

However in the study two housewives were encountered who had written song lyrics with

which to remember the tsunami 20044. Interestingly, the two housewives lived in two villages

of Alafan subdistrict, namely Langi and Serafon. The two villages were the farthest away from

the capital Sinabang. The trip to the two villages required a sufficiently long time , about 6-8

hours by speed boat. (See Box 5.3)

Box 5.3. : Darnawisa, Singer from Serafon Village

Information on ibu Darnawisa (30 tahun), was obtained by chance. At the time we

were interviewing the village head of Serafon, Alafan subdistrict. During the

interview we inquired, whether there were poems or buai-buai that told about the

smong of 1907. He answered there were none, but for the tsunami of 2004 a

woman had written a song. We were thus interested in meeting her.

4 Both were willing to write, sing and have their songs recorded on tape recorder. But all copy right related to the

songs belongs to the two women. For ibu Rosniati we had a chance to give one copy of the recording, while for

ibu Darmawisa it has not been given yet.

48

After looking for her at her parents-in law’s house, we met ibu Darmawisa who

was surprised at our visit. Upon explaining that the purpose and objective of our

visit was to know more about the song she had written, she was willing to write and

sing the song. Following are the lyrics

Photo 5.3. Ibu Darmawisa, Desa Serafon

Tanggal 26 gempa tsunami (On the 26th the earthquake and tsunami)*)

Sagalomi Ita Moita Mengungsi (Everyone evacuated)

Bataenuge faga, A Iboda (We remember that we were very sad)

Luminaik Afi Nilu Matada (Our tears fell)

Satu tahun lah Ita Tersiksa (One year we were tortured)

Manita o haibaha penjara (Same as if we were in prison)

Baru-baru e mo afe duluh eba (Recently there was an earthquake)

Naek Idane Faga Alawa (The water rose very high)

Yu Ita Kapaling Ngeri (What makes us so terrified)

Bagi Neheda Fagiting Nahi (For us our houses are on the coast)

Nohe Ani Lagulau Mei (Our houses were lost carried by the current)

Yota Peduli Diri sendiri (What we care about is our own personal well-being)

Moita Ehuhum dung malei gampung (We ran from our own kampung)

Manithe nono dahur balanja (Carrying children without money)

Bata enuge peristiwa da (If we think of the incident)

Sagolo noheda umae ita cateda (All of us under tents)

Lebi-lebi e hakom heba (moreover the provincial capital)

Motalolo siaran berita (We heard from the news broadcast)

Bepulu ribu aluhae nata (Tens of thousands of people have died)

Botalogo ibo ededa (We hear with very sad hearts)

Yuita e bapaling sedi (Most sad are our families

Bagi ita yube famili

49

Mayat beserakan lagulan mei (Corpses strewn everywhere)

Me ate ‘Tuhan mengampuni (Only Allah will Forgive)

*) translated freely into bahasa Indonesia by the Serafín village chief

Besides Darnawisa who hailed from Serafín village, another person writing a song and lyrics

about the tsunami of 2004 was Rosniati (41 years) from Langi village, neighbour village of

Serafín (Kotak 5.4)

Box 5.4.: Ibu Rosniati : Poetess and Singer from Langi village

photo 5.4. Ibu Rosniati Langi Village

Ibu Rosniati (41 years) is a resident of Langi village. She is the wife of the Langi

village secretary. This woman was very active in village and subdistrict activities.

She was often asked to sing when visitors from the subdistrict and district came to

her place. She was also a writer of “instant” songs. When we asked her to sing

about the tsunami 2004, she even wrote a new song (The original text of this song

is in the Simeulue Barat dialect, but because it was not so clear, only the translation

is presented here)

It is a year in the past

That a tsunami occurred

All people left we evacuated

Making makeshift houses 2X

After evacuating we returned

50

We return to see the house

The power of emong is extraordinary

All our houses have disappeared 2X

That is the power of God

Nothing is left with us

So far the rich

Now we are the same 2X

The government pays attention to us

Gives asístanse to us

Beginning with our clothes

To our daily expenses2X

We compare with our houses

More people live in tents

Our government tells us

Someday later our houses will be built

The songs composed by the two housewives were basically spontaneous, made when they

remembered the incident, then they wrote it on a piece of paper. However, there was the same

pattern in singing the song, namely in the last line of each verse, where the sentence was

repeated .

Children’s Names

When the study was made, 2 cases of babies being born on the day of the tsunami, 26

December 2004, were encountered. The first case occurred in Langi village, where a baby girl

was born at 14.00 in the evacuation camp. The second case occurred in Salur village, where a

baby boy was born at night in evacuation. In the case of the Langi baby, when many

volunteers from outside knew of the birth it was proposed to give the name “Putri Tsunami”,

but the parents refused for the reason it was not proper to give someone a name linked to

disaster. Therefore she was named Aulia, meaning life or God’s blessing.

In the second case, the baby born in Salur village was named “Putra Smong” by his parents,

as a future reminder of the incident (Box 5.5).

51

Box 5.5 : Smong Putra from Salur

When about to make a field visit to Salur village, Teupah Barat subdistrict, we received

information from a teacher that in the village someone had been named smong. But

when we were in Salur village, we forgot this information. However when we stopped at

the house of a villager who was our guide during our stay in Salur, unintentionally we

heard that person call his son , “mong…mong”. Hearing the word we were interested and

asked the man what his son’s name was. He answered “Smong”, his full name was

“Smong Putra” then we met the boy, and were shown the wall decoration made of glass

on which was written “Smong Putra”, with the date of his birth. The name had been

given, because the boy had been born exactly on the day of the tsunami 2004 at

nighttime in the evacuation camp. The name was to remember the incident, and the

difficulty of childbirth at the evacuation site in Laayon village, neighbour village of

Salur.

Photo 5.5. “Smong Putra”, the boy born during the Tsunami of 2004

Photo 5.6. Wall decoration tells of the birth of “Smong Putra”

52

The births during the tsunami provided a lesson in the importance of preparedness in facing

emergency situations for special groups such as mothers in late pregnancy, the elderly, and the

disabled. The two stories reveal the difficulties of giving birth in evacuation, due to lack of

medicines and special personnel to assist in childbirth.

53

Radio Smong

The tsunami of 26 December 2004 did not have a major impact on Sinabang. This was due to

the fact that the Sinabang area is located on the east coast , so that the effect of the tsunami

was not so great. But Sinabang was the capital of Simeulue, and therefore all information and

assistance had to go through the city.

In this regard, a group of young people founded a private radio station that they named “Radio

Smong”. The name of the radio was used in remembrance of the tsunami of 2004. The word

“smong” was chosen so that it would be more specific to Simeulue island language.

43

Section 5

Conclusion and recommendations

Based on qualitative socio-cultural study of the history, meaning and method of tsunami

incident distribution in the past on Simeulue island, it was found that the earthquake and

tsunami occurring in 1907 on Simeulue island became the basis of local knowledge

known as Smong. The year 1907 was considered as the year of occurrence based on

several reasons, namely (1) geologic studies of earthquakes in the Sumatra region, (2)

records of the colonial Dutch government and (3) the way the Simeulue community

named the incident “Smong 07”. Even a geologic study more precisely mentioned the

date 4 January 1907; while according to the community the tsunami occurred on Friday.

January 4 1907, according to Gregorian calendar fell on a Friday.

The tsunami occurring in 1907 contains two meanings, namely the incident was

“traumatic” in view of the number of victims who died and the area affected by the

tsunami at the time. Secondly, the lapse of time since the disaster is less than one century

thus it is easily remembered by the community, as there are still living witnesses of the

incident or persons who heard the story from these witnesses.

However, transmission of knowledge about the smong in 1907 is verbal and with

unstructured pattern. This means that the story surfaces when there are other incidents

with connotations of disaster, such as earthquakes, floods, fires, landslide and so forth. In

addition, it emerges through social intercourse when inquiring about someone’s age or

certain incidents using the year 1907 to mark age or other important happenings. The

unstructured pattern is also encountered when someone sees coral stones among the rice

fields and asks how the stones were carried to the rice field.

While a structured pattern such as song lyrics, rhymes, poetry, other verbal traditions,

paintings and historical writings is not found so far. This is related to the cultural history

of Simeulue island that does not possess a great tradition characterized by written culture

and development of poetry narrating important incidents.

Verbal knowledge developing also varies from one place to another, and is dependent on

the narrator of the story. Therefore, information about the process of the smong of 1907

differs from one story to the next. The difference in information includes the Simeulue

community’s lack of knowledge prior to the 2004 of tsunami wave that may strike

repeatedly in one day, and has dangerous intensity in each coming wave. Ignorance of

this information has proved to cause loss of lives.

However, knowledge about the smong 1907 has contributed as an early warning for the

Simeulue community toward the danger of tsunami wave. Advice that after a strong

earthquake the community must maintain a distance away from the sea and seek a safe

region on higher elevation has proved to benefit the Simeulue community. However, the

topographic factor with the presence of hills near the settlement made rescue efforts

easier.

44

Generally, the Simeulue community had knowledge about early detection of tsunami that

displayed specific signs, namely earthquake and sea water that dried. Also, measures to

seek higher ground to save themselves. But detailed information about other tsunami

characteristics, such as wave frequency and strength are still unknown. Likewise, if the

tsunami strikes at night.

Discovery of tsunami sediments in several locations on Simeulue island reinforced the

proof of tsunami in 1907 and the level of intensity that occurred. These findings proved

that “tsunami traumatic” in 1907 was stronger than that of 2004 in Simeulue. The

ferocity of the tsunami are also indicated by the findings of coral stones in regions that

are relatively far from the coast. Another finding of the lifted coastal area due to

earthquake apparently became new knowledge for the Simeulue population with regard

to the signs that came before tsunami waves.

From the paleo-tsunami study, there are indications of an older tsunami than the one that

occurred in 1907, however this needs to be proved by a deeper study. Likewise, from the

qualitative socio-cultural study the opinion that there was a tsunami older than the one of

1907 needs to be assessed more deeply. But that knowledge of the smong developed

after the tsunami of 1907 has been able to be proven.

Recommendations :

With the tsunami of 2004, the Simeulue community’s knowledge of the tsunami became

more dynamic, because of new knowledge and methods of facing the danger of tsunami

waves. Use of traditional communication media is still important, namely through

traditional art (nandong and songs) as well as religious institutions (mosque and

meunasah). Besides that various campaigns and training on preparedness in facing

disaster are essential.

Preparedness for the long term is very important and may be done through memorial

days. Because the Smong of 1907 occurred on Friday 4 January, and on 26 December

2004 tsunami struck again, the community can determine the date of the event between

the two dates. This commemoration can take place through activities easily remembered

by the community. For instance stories of a person’s heroism in saving the community

from the tsunami danger.

The Simeulue community has experienced tsunami in the daytime, so that various

activities of disaster alertness are still essential for nighttime evacuation, both in urban

and rural settings. Additionally, an early warning system for tsunamis that are not

preceded by earthquake and ebb tide is still greatly required in pulau Simeulue. Because

so far the community’s understanding of tsunami is limited to the occurrences of

earthquake and receding tide.

45

Various government regulations, as qanun (regional regulations) as well as other

regulations related to disaster mitigation are required to be socialized to the community.

The wish to officially adopt the word “smong” to replace the term “tsunami” in bahasa

Indonesia needs to be assessed more deeply, because basically, smong is not identical

with the academic understanding of tsunami, but it is rather one of the variants of

tsunami, namely the presence of specific signs such as earthquake and receding tide.

List Of References

Agur, Nasarudin dkk.1996. Bunga Rampai Sejarah Simeulue. Unpublished document.

Kabupaten Simeulue Government. Sinabang. Simeulue

Atwater, Brian F et.al. (2005), The Orphan Tsunami of 1700 : Japanese Clues to A

Parent earthquake in North America Published by United States Geological Survey

(USGS), Reston Virginia in association with University of Washington Press, Seattle and

London

Anonymus (2005), “Cerita Linon dan Smong Tiga Generasi”. Unpublished paper.

Sinabang. Simeulue

Biro Pusat Statistik Kabupaten Simeulue.2003. Kabupaten Simeulue Dalam Angka 2002.

Sinabang. Simeulue.

International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR). 1996. Recording and Using

Indigenous Knowledge : A Manual. Silang, Cavite, The Philippines

Karisah Hamzah (2005), Smong dan Kearifan Budaya Lokal Masyarakat Simeulue.

Unpublished one page article. Sinabang. Simeulue

Newcomb, K.R and Mc Cann. “Seismic History and Seismotectonic in Sunda Arc” in

Journal of Geophysic Ressearch, Vol 92, No B 1 (421-439). January 10, 1987. Published

by American Geophysical Union.(Electronic Copy version)

Pemerintah Kabupaten Simeulue (2005). Laporan Bupati Kabupaten Simeulue Mengenai

Bencana Alam di Kabupaten Simeulue. Sinabang.

Pemerintah Kabupaten Simeulue.2006. Speech of Bupati Kabupaten Simeulue in the

program “Tell-Net-Kick-Off” in Kobe, Japan, 18-21 January 2006

Umar (EMTAS). 2002. Darah Dan Jiwa Aceh. Publisher Ditjarahnitra Nangroe Aceh

Darussallam Province.Banda Aceh.