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.

Moko drums of Alor