The Area
The Batu Islands, also known as the Telo Islands, consist of three large main islands and some 48 smaller islets. Located on the equator (at latitude zero degrees, hence our name), the Telos are situated between Pulau Nias and the Mentawai Islands. This places them strategically in the centre of an archipelago stretching along the west coast of Sumatra, an area, which over the last decade, has become one of the great surfing meccas of the world.

Megalithic cultures remain
The Telos are part of South Nias Regent, whose administrative centre is at Teluk Dalam on Pulau Nias. The peoples of the Nias island chain have been trading with other islands, cultures and mainland Asia since prehistory. Some archaeologists have cited aspects of Nias culture as among the few remaining megalithic civilizations in existence anywhere today.

A cultural oasis
Nias is remarkable for its tropical beauty and diversity of festivals and celebrations. Some of the better-known events are the war dances and stone jumping (historically, the top of the stone was covered in spikes and sharpened bamboo sticks). The music of Nias, usually performed by women, is noted worldwide for its haunting beauty. The predominant religion (around 80%) mixes animism with Protestant Christianity, a remnant of the European missionaries who once roamed these islands. The remaining 20% are mainly Muslim and Catholic.

History of Sumatra
The remains of the first settlers in Sumatra trace back 13,000 years. Artifacts uncovered appear to have come from hunter-gatherers living along the north coast of Sumatra on the Straits of Melaka across from what’s now Malaysia.  No significant discoveries of human settlements show up in the rest of Sumatra up until around 2,000 years ago, when migrants occupied in the western Sumatran highlands.

Sriwijayan Empire
The first empire to hold sovereignty over the greater Sumatran region was Sriwijaya Kingdom, founded in the 7th century and based close to current-day Palembang. Sriwijayans controlled the Straits of Melaka, a key trade route between India and China, and by the 11th Century, would control a large part of Southeast Asia, including the Malay Peninsula, Southern Thailand and Cambodia. In 1025, the Sriwijayans were conquered by King Ravendra Choladewa of southern India. The Sriwijayan dominion thus became limited to the Kingdom of Malayu (Malaysia). In 1278, Sumatra was taken over by Javanese kingdoms.

Aceh and Islam
The Sumatran kingdoms relocated to positions in the northernmost point of Sumatra (now called Aceh). At this time, many Sumatrans were animists. They began trading with the Muslim traders of West India (Gujarat) and soon adopted their religion. These traders were the first to give Sumatra its name. Eventually, Islamic sultanates were established around the northern region and given control of the seaports servicing the Straits of Melaka.

Sumatra’s rise
The capital of Sumatra, Medan (meaning battlefield or arena), was only a small village in the 16th century. By the beginning of the 20th century it had become an important trade centre. The population was set at around 75,000 during the Second World War, and is now estimated at over 10 million and growing. Sumatra’s first tobacco plantation was established by Jacob Nienhuis in 1863. Large numbers of workers from Java and China were brought in to work there, as well as other farms that sprung up after the news spread that growing conditions were very favourable to tobacco. Over 300,000 Chinese were brought to Medan between 1870 and 1930. Sumatra still boasts an eclectic mixture of religions and cultures – with 87% of the populace as Muslim, with the balance a mix of Christian, Protestant and Catholic, Hindu and Buddhist.

Enter the Dutch/Japanese occupation
During the Second World War the Japanese occupied Indonesia, including Sumatra, from 1942 to 1945. Caves near Bukit Tinggi were used by the occupying Japanese Army, and the remains of Japanese bunkers still exist on Pulau Weh, off the coast of Banda Aceh in the north. Indonesia gained its independence after Japan’s surrender to the United States, but it took four years – of intermittent negotiations, recurring hostilities, and UN mediation – before the Netherlands finally agreed to relinquish its valued colony.

A new nation finds its feet
Indonesia is now the world's largest archipelagic state. Current national issues include alleviating poverty, continuing the transition to popularly-elected governments after four decades of authoritarianism, implementing reforms in the banking sector, addressing problems of cronyism and corruption, and holding the military and police accountable for human rights violations. Indonesia has also dealt with armed separatist movements in Aceh and in Papua. Despite its problems, Indonesians remain among the world’s most easygoing, understanding and welcoming people.

The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century. It would become one the richest agricultural regions in the world over the next 320 years. However, there was always resistance against the Dutch, and this did not exclude the Sumatrans. It was not unknown for Sumatran villagers to burn their own settlement the ground and move elsewhere, simply to prevent the Dutch from taking it.