Mentawai Islands Regency

Coordinates: 2°11′S 99°39′E / 2.183°S 99.650°E / -2.183; 99.650
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Mentawai Islands Regency
Kabupaten Kepulauan Mentawai
Area code(+62) 759
Websitementawaikab.go.id

The Mentawai Islands Regency is a

Sipura (or Sipora), North Pagai (Pagai Utara), and South Pagai (Pagai Selatan). The islands lie off the Sumatran coast, across the Mentawai Strait. The indigenous inhabitants of the islands are known as the Mentawai people. The Mentawai Islands have become a noted destination for surfing,[5] with over 40 boats offering surf charters to international guests.[6]

Administrative districts

Mentawai Islanders
C.B. Niewenhuis

The Mentawai Islands have been administered as a regency within the

Padang, the capital of the province, lies on the Sumatran mainland opposite Siberut. The regency is divided into ten districts (kecamatan), tabulated below from south to north with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census[3] and the 2020 Census,[4] together with the official estimates as at mid-2022.[1]
The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of villages (all classed as rural desa) and the number of named offshore islands in each district, and its postcode.

Name of
District
(kecamatan)
English
Name
Area
in
km2
Pop'n
2010
Census
Pop'n
2020
Census
Pop'n
mid 2022
Estimate
Admin
centre
No.
of
villages
No.
of
islands
Post
code
Pagai Selatan South Pagai 851.28 8,782 9,373 9,421 Bulasat 4 31 25391
Sikakap (a) Central Pagai 312.60 9,531 10,219 10,280 Taikako 3 8 25399
Pagai Utara North Pagai 371.25 5,212 6,031 6,157 Saumanganya 3 9 25390
Sipora Selatan South Sipora 348.33 8,460 9,812 10,022 Sioban 7 3 25392
Sipora Utara North Sipora 272.40 9,097 11,968 12,528 Sido Makmur 6 12 25398
Siberut Selatan South Siberut 328.00 8,446 9,933 10,173 Muara Siberut 5 1 25397
Siberut Barat Daya Southwest Siberut 1,013.83 6,069 7,058 7,213 Pasakiat Taileleu 3 17 25393
Siberut Tengah Central Siberut 589.75 6,069 7,089 7,251 Saibi Samukop 3 5 25396
Siberut Utara North Siberut 782.68 7,774 8,337 8,387 Muara Sikabaluan 6 4 25395
Siberut Barat West Siberut 1,163.64 6,733 7,803 7,969 Simalegi 3 1 25394
Totals 6,033,76 76,173 87,623 89,401 Tuapejat 43 111

Note: (a) Sikakap District covers the northern part of South Pagai Island and the southern part of North Pagai Island, plus some intervening small islands. Of the three desa, Matobek is entirely on North Pagai Island, while Sikakap and Taikato are mainly on North Pagai Island but each includes areas on South Pagai as well as the intervening small islands.

Villages

Administrative villages (desa) listed for each district:[7]

District Villages
Pagai Selatan Bulasat, Makalo, Malakopa (Malakopak), Sinaka (Sinakak)
Sikakap Matobe (Matobek), Sikakap, Taikako
Pagai Utara Betumonga, Saumanganya (Saumanganyak), Silabu
Sipora Selatan Beriulou, Bosua, Mara, Matobe (Matobek), Nemnemleleu (Nem-Nem Leleu), Saureinu (Saureinuk), Sioban
Sipora Utara Betumonga (Beutomonga), Bukit Pamewa, Gosooinan (Goisooinan), Sido Makmur, Sipora Jaya, Tuapejat
Siberut Selatan Madobag (Madobak Ugai), Maileppet/Maleppet, Matotonan, Muara/Muaro Siberut, Muntei
Siberut Barat Daya Katurai/Katurei, Pasakiat Taileleu (Pasakiat Taleleu), Sagulubbeg (Sagulubek / Sagalubeg / Sagalubbek)
Siberut Tengah Cimpungan, Saibi Muara (Saibi Samukop/Samokop), Saliguma
Siberut Utara Bojakan, Malancan (Malancang), Mongan Poula/Paula, Muara/Muaro Sikabaluan, Sirilogui, Sotboyak
Siberut Barat Sigapokna, Simalegi/Simaligi, Simatalu Sipokak

Tourism

Surfing

Macaronis was first discovered in 1980 by pioneer surf discoverers Chris Goodnow, Scott Wakefield, and Tony Fitzpatrick, who originally named the break ‘P-Land’ on their first visit (after Pasangan Bay / Pagai Islands). Amazingly, and considering the remote location, P-Land may have been the first wave surfed in the Mentawai Islands. Lances Right was discovered a full 10 years later, while Chris, Scott, and Tony continued to keep their discovery a secret. They returned in 1981 with friend Tim Annand, and again on a boat trip in the 90’s. [8] [9] [10] [11]

The first photos of the surf breaks in the Mentawais area were leaked after a surf trip in 1992 aboard the MV Indies Trader, with professional surfers Ross Clarke-Jones, Tom Carroll, and Martin Potter.[12] Ever since then, the Mentawai Islands have been well on the radar of surf travellers around the world. At the West of Sumatra, the Mentawai Islands have the most consistent surf breaks in Indonesia making it one of the preferred choices for serious surfers. The tropical waters surrounding the islands offer year-round waves up to 15 ft (4.5 m).[13][14]

Ecology

Dugout canoes on a river in Siberut
Mentawai Islands topography

The islands have been separated from Sumatra since the

primates: the Kloss's gibbon (Hylobates klossii), Mentawai macaque (Macaca pagensis), Siberut macaque (Macaca siberu), Mentawai langur (Presbytis potenziani), Siberut langur (Presbytis siberu), and pig-tailed langur (Simias concolor). They are highly endangered due to logging, unsustainable hunting, and conversion of rainforest to palm oil plantations.[15] Some areas of the Mentawai Islands rainforest ecoregion are protected, such as the Siberut National Park. Red junglefowl, the Asian palm civet , and crab-eating macaque are also native.[16]

Seismic activity

September 2007 Sumatra earthquakes

The Mentawai Islands lie above the Sunda megathrust, a seismically active zone responsible for many great earthquakes. This megathrust runs along the southwestern side of Sumatra island, forming the interface between the Eurasian Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate.

Earthquake and

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. In 1833, the region was hit with an earthquake, possibly similar in size to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake;[17] another large earthquake struck in 1797. On October 25, 2010, an earthquake in southern Sumatra led to a deadly tsunami that devastated villages in South and North Pagai.[18] On March 3, 2016, an earthquake of 7.8 magnitudes occurred off the Indian Ocean, a few hundred kilometres from Mentawai islands, as a result of strike-slip faulting within the oceanic lithosphere of the Indo-Australia plate.[19]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2023, Kabupaten Kepulauan Mentawai Dalam Angka 2023 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.1309)
  2. ^ "Penduduk Menurut Wilayah dan Agama yang Dianut Provinsi Sumatera Barat". sp2010.bps.go.id. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  3. ^ a b Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.
  5. ^ "SURFAID". SURFAID. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  6. ^ "Every Surf Charter Boat in the Mentawais | 41 Boats with Photos and Info". Indies Trader. Retrieved 2019-05-05.
  7. ^ "Daftar Desa & Kelurahan di Kabupaten Kepulauan Mentawai". www.nomor.net. Kode Pos Indonesia. 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  8. ^ "Finding-Macaronis-Part1". www.swellnet.com. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  9. ^ "Finding-Macaronis-Part2". www.swellnet.com. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  10. ^ "Finding-Macaronis-Part3". www.swellnet.com. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  11. ^ "Original P-Land Discoverers Reunion". www.macaronisresort.com. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
  12. ^ "Mentawai". www.surfindonesia.com. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  13. ^ "Top 10 Place to Surf in Indonesia". allindonesiatravel. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  14. ^ "15 Surfing Destination". indonesia.travel. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  15. ^ Whittaker, D. 2006. A conservation action plan for the Mentawai primates. Primate Conservation 20: 95–105.
  16. ^ "Mentawai Islands rain forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  17. ^ "INDONESIA - THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI OF 1833 OFF THE COAST OF CENTRAL SUMATRA - Dr. George Pararas-Carayannis". www.DrGeorgePC.com. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  18. ^ "Indonesia Earthquake and Tsunami Kill 113, Merapi Volcano Eruptions Hours Later". News article. politiktimes.com. October 26, 2010. Archived from the original on November 5, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  19. ^ "M7.8 – Southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia". Retrieved March 2, 2016.

External links