Batu Islands

Map of Batu Islands.
A council house in Baruyu Lasara, Tello island (1922)
Bride in the Batu Islands (1938)
Wedding in the Batu Islands (1938)

The Batu Islands are an archipelago of Indonesia located in the Indian Ocean, off the west coast of Sumatra, between Nias and Siberut. The three primary islands, of approximately equal size, are Pini, Tanahmasa, and Tanahbala. There are seventy-five smaller islands, of which the largest are Sipika, Tello and Sigata (all off the west coast of Tanahmasa), Simuk (considerably further to the west) and Bojo (to the south of Tanahbala); less than half are inhabited. The total land area of the seven administrative districts is 1,201.1 km2. The islands are governed as a part of South Nias regency within North Sumatra province. In Indonesian and Malay, batu means rock or stone.

The equator passes through the archipelago, north of Tanahmasa and south of Pini. Administratively, Pini (with offshore islets) forms the Pulau Pulau Batu Timur (East Batu Islands) District of South Nias Regency. The rest of the archipelago at the 2010 Census formerly comprised the Pulau Pulau Batu (Batu Islands) and Hibala Districts of the same regency; however, both have been subsequently divided to form new Districts - Tanahmasa District has been formed from part of Hibala District, and three new districts have been formed from parts of Pulau Pulau Batu District - namely Pulau Pulau Batu Barat (West Batu Islands), Pulau Pulau Batu Utara (North Batu Islands, which lie to the north of Tanamasa) and Simuk Districts. The original districts remain with reduced areas and population, and thus the islands now form seven separate districts.

Name Area
in km2		 Population
Census
2010[1]		 Population
Census
2020[2]		 Administrative
centre (with location)		 Number
of
villages		 Post
code
Tanahmasa 451.43 (b) 4,807 Baluta (on Tanamasa Island) 12 22887
Pulau Pulau Batu Timur
(East Batu Islands)		 372.05 2,483 3,091 Labuhan Hiu (on Pini Island) 10 22884
Hibala (a) 225.75 9,620 7,716 Eho (on Tanabala Island) 17 22881
Pulau Pulau Batu (c)
(Batu Islands)		 105.09 16,365 9,731 Pasar Pulau Tello (on Tello Island) 22 22882
Pulau Pulau Batu Barat (e)
(West Batu Islands)		 21.06 (d) 2,320 Bawositora (on Sigata Island) 9 22883
Simuk (island) 20.42 (d) 1,934 Gobo (on Simuk Island) 6 22886
Pulau Pulau Batu Utara (f)
(North Batu Islands)		 6.30 (d) 3,894 Silima Banua Marit (on Marit Island) 12 22885
Totals for Kepulauan Batu 1,201.10 28,468 33,493 88

Notes: (a) Hibala District now comprises 42 islands, chiefly Tanahbala Island but including Bojo Island to its south.
(b) The 2010 population of Tanah Masa District (comprising that part of Tanahmasa Island previously part of Hibala District) is included in the 2010 population of Hibala District.
(c) Pulau Pulau Batu District now includes various small islands, including Tello, Batumakele and Sibele.
(d) The 2010 populations of Simuk District (Simuk Island), Pulau Pulau Batu Barat District and Pulau Pulau Batu Utara District are included in the 2010 population of Pulau Pulau Batu District.
(e) comprises numerous small islands including Sigata, Sipika, Pono, Sibaranu, Hayo and Bintuang.
(f) comprises numerous small islands including Marit, Lorang, Memong and Lorang.

The four new districts in the Batu Islands are Pulau Pulau Batu Barat (West Batu Islands), Pulau Pulau Batu Utara (North Batu Islands), Simuk (Simuk Island) and Tanah Masa (that part of Tanahmasa Island previously part of Hibala District).

People

A man speaking Li Niha, the language of the Batu Islands.

The people of the Batu Islands have had substantial interaction with the populations of Nias, to the north, whose language they share. The islands have occasionally been a destination for slaves who escaped from Nias, and in the past decade have become a destination for surfing boat charters from Padang, on the Sumatran mainland. The population at the 2010 Census was 28,468.[3]

The islands were visited by Simon Reeve during Equator, a 2006 BBC TV Series.

Wildlife

A population of the Sunda clouded leopard had been recorded here.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
  2. ^ Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.
  3. ^ Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
  4. ^ Wilting A.; Christiansen P.; Kitchener A. C.; Kemp Y. J. M.; Ambu L.; Fickel, J. (2010). "Geographical variation in and evolutionary history of the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) with the description of a new subspecies from Borneo". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 58 (2): 317–28. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.11.007. PMID 21074625.

0°12′S 98°30′E / 0.200°S 98.500°E / -0.200; 98.500