JAKARTA: A massive fire has left the Sasak community of Sade hamlet, a popular destination in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), dealing with the loss of property and irreplaceable cultural artifacts, raising fresh concerns over how to protect indigenous settlements as tourism expands.
The blaze, allegedly caused by an electrical fault, broke out at around 10:15 p.m. on Saturday (Aug 22), razing at least 125 homes and forcing more than 300 residents to flee their 5.5-hectare hamlet, according to the NTB Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).
Emergency personnel from the local fire department, police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) extinguished the fire early on Sunday after an overnight operation. NTB Governor Lalu Muhamad Iqbal inspected what remained of the Sasak village on Sunday and confirmed that no one was killed in the blaze.
“Later on, we need to sit down with the Central Lombok administration [...] to discuss reconstruction and other measures. But the most important thing right now is that there are no casualties,” Lalu said in a statement.
Located around 30 kilometres from the provincial capital Mataram in Rembitan village, Central Lombok regency, the Sasak people have called Sade home for centuries. Sade hamlet was designated among 15 priority conservation and tourism areas by the local administration in 1989, and has since become one of the province’s most popular tourist destinations, attracting hundreds of visitors each day.
Repository up in smoke
Fires have occurred in Sade before, but the one on Saturday was the largest in recent years, according to Muhammad Ali Akbar, head of the Lombok Heritage and Science Society (LHSS), a local cultural organisation.
Ali said the vernacular structure of traditional Sasak homes, coupled with the narrow path between buildings, allowed the flames to spread rapidly.
The upper sections of the compact, low-lying houses are largely made of woven bamboo and grass thatch. The natural materials help keep the interior cool and provide some resilience to earthquakes, but they also make the structures highly flammable.
Meanwhile, the growing demands of tourism had brought another risk, Ali said. Electricity infrastructure was expanded to accommodate increased activity in the area, but the cables were sometimes installed without adequately considering the distinctive construction of Sasak houses.
“Indirectly, commercialisation through tourism that was carried out without balancing it with disaster risk mitigation at the cultural heritage site multiplied that risk,” Ali claimed.
The blaze also destroyed what he described as a “living repository” of Sasak culture, including hundreds of lontar (palm-leaf manuscripts), traditional keris (dagger) and musical instruments such as gendang beleq (double-sided drum) and old gongs.
“The visual authenticity of this centuries-old village was instantly lost, leaving only cultural trauma for the Sasak community, who lost the sacred space where their traditions were born,” said Ali.
Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana said on Sunday that the ministry was ready to coordinate with relevant stakeholders on the hamlet’s recovery. “Our priority right now is the people. Once the emergency situation is handled, we will work together to figure out its recovery,” she said.
The fire is the latest major blaze to hit an indigenous settlement this year. In July, a fire ravaged the Kasepuhan Cipta Mulya customary village in Cisolok district, Sukabumi regency, West Java, affecting around 400 people from 80 families. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
