A Ceremony In The Barren Land : A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE FUNERAL OF TAMU RAMBU YULIANA,A SUMBA PRINCESS (1932-2003)

This is a thesis concerning the making of a short documentary movie about the funeral ceremony of the late princess of Rindi, Tamu Rambu Yuliana, who was well known as a preserver of old weaving traditions. Her funeral on November 20, 2003 was a very big event on the island. Even though the infra-structural development is quite poor, East Sumba is culturally rich. Most of cultural objects are related to the local Marapu religion, such as, the traditional houses, the megalithic tombstones and the funeral ceremony, which is the biggest ceremony of all the ritual ceremonies. With regard to Tamu Rambu Yuliana, as a custodian of the arts and culture of Rindi, her name will remain attached to her defense of the Marapu religion in its struggle to maintain traditional arts and her artistic creativity in the production of high quality fabrics. With her imposing tomb and the memory of her, her great funeral left a great impression on the collective memory of the people of Rindi. 2