Ancestor figures
In wood and stone.
Rachmat04 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rachmat04 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rachmat04 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Rachmat04 — CC BY-SA 4.0
The main museum of Nias island, in Gunungsitoli on the east coast, founded by a German Capuchin friar who lived for decades on the island collecting its heritage, and opened in the 1990s. It holds thousands of objects telling the story of Nias's unique culture. Its halls show wooden and stone ancestor figures, weapons, armour and swords, gold jewellery, traditional dress, house models, and explanations of stone jumping and Nias megalithic culture. In the garden stand real traditional houses moved from villages and rebuilt, some of which take overnight guests. Entry is a small fee of about ten thousand rupiah, and the museum looks out to sea with a quiet garden and a small animal area. The museum is the best start for understanding Nias before heading south to Bawomataluo village and Sorake Beach. Flights reach Gunungsitoli from Medan in about an hour, and ferries run from Sibolga.
In wood and stone.
The old warriors' gear.
Moved from villages to the garden.
Gunungsitoli, on Nias's east coast
Fly from Medan to Binaka airport near Gunungsitoli in about an hour, or take the overnight ferry from Sibolga on Sumatra's west coast.