This wordpress tells the story of the Sasando from the perspectives of both local communities in Timor and Roté (the island where the Sasando comes from), as well as from my own perspective from the first time arrived in Timor as a curious outsider.
What is the Sasando?
The Sasando is a traditional musical string instrument from Roté island. The Sasando is composed of a wooden beam. Strings running all the way around the circumference of the beam with different lengths of string creating different notes.
About Roté
The island of Roté is found off the coast of West Timor. Roté is an island district in the South Eastern Indonesian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur. In the language of Roté, sasandu means vibrating instrument.
Sherwin Ufi
My name is Sherwin. I am from the island of Roté. I have been promoting the sasando and culture of Roté for 2 years now while studying in Australia. My mission is to teach others
about this culture and other endangered cultures from my province of Nusa Tenggara Timur. I have taught my Australian friend, Nick some sasando songs too and together we have made this wordpress to share information about the sasando and endangered cultures.
Nick Metherall
My name is Nick. I’m based in Canberra, Australia. Between 2013 and 2015, I lived in Timor for nearly 2 years. I’ve been playing Sasando every so often since September 2013. In essence, I’m a learner, not an expert. I enjoy learning and playing Sasando as well as promoting Indonesian language as a literacy ambassador with the Asia Education Foundation (AEF). The sasando is just one example of the impressive but commonly overlooked traditional and cultural assets of Eastern Indonesia.
The Sasando 