Moko Drums of Alor

Moko drums of Alor

If a family has lost it’s moko it is considered to be on a downhill slide and they loose a lot of respect in the community.

These drums can be used as a dowry when a wife is taken and they are used in celebrations bring in the new year.

How they got to Alor and surrounding islands is a bit of an unsolved mystery but it has been deduced that the early models came from Vietnam. The later models were made in China.

There is a one room museum in Kalabahi across from the Pelangi Hotel. You will have to find the caretaker to unlock the door for you.

There is no charge but I gave him 2000 rupiah because he was a great guy and enjoyed showing us around.

A big assortment of moko drums are on display including one enormous one that was unearthed in 1972.

The caretaker proudly states that his family had 2 mokos.

There are a lot of artifacts on Alor but the people generally do not sell them but rather keep them as family heirlooms.

One morning a man did approach me in the street to come to his house to see 2 bronze arm bands and a stone bead headband that he was trying to sell for 500 dollars. These were some real beautiful pieces that belonged in a museum.

He realized that these were valuable collectibles. I did not see any of the arm bands in the museum but they had some beautiful intricate bead work.

There really is some fascinating history on Alor, Indonesia.