Pantar

Pantar (; ) is the second largest island in the Indonesian Alor Archipelago, after Alor. To the east is the island of Alor and other small islands in the archipelago; to the west is the Alor Strait, which separates it from the Solor Archipelago. To the south is the Ombai Strait, and away, the island of Timor. To the north is the Banda Sea. Pantar is about north-to-south, and varies from in east–west width. It has a land area of . The main towns on the island are Baranusa (which sits on a small peninsula in the middle of the north coast, projecting into Blangmerang Bay) and Kabir (a small port on the east coast facing Alor Island). Administratively, the island is part of the Alor Regency within East Nusa Tenggara Province.

Geography The island consists of two distinct geographic zones. The eastern zone is dominated by a range of verdant hills which drop steeply to the coast of the Alor Strait. The western zone is relatively flat, consisting of a plain which gently slopes to the west from Mount Sirung, an active volcano. The western zone is characteristically drier and much less densely populated than the eastern zone. Owing to its relatively low elevation, the entire island is drier than neighboring Alor. The dry season is long, interspersed with heavy rainfall during the rainy season, which peaks during January and February.

History The earliest written reference to Pantar is in the fourteenth-century Javanese poem Nagarakretagama, which describes the power and extent of the empire ruled by the fourth king of Majapahit, Hayam Wuruk. Pantar is referred to with the term 'Galiao', which is known in the Alor archipelago.Barnes, R.H. 1982. "The Majapahit dependency Galiyao". Bijdragen Tot De Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde. 138 (4): 407-412. The precise location of the Majapahit dependency within Pantar is a subject of discussion.Rodemeier, Susanne. 1995. "Local tradition on Alor and Pantar; An attempt at localizing Galiyao". Bijdragen Tot De Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde / Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia. 151 (3): 438-442.Holton, Gary. 2010. An etymology for Galiyao. Manuscript. University of Alaska at Fairbanks. https://www.academia.edu/2091684Kondi, Dominicus Dionitius Pareira, and Alexius BoEr Pareira. 2010. The stranger-kings of Sikka with an integrated edition of two manuscripts on the origin and history of the rajadom of Sikka. Leiden: KITLV Press.

Economy The economy is dominated by subsistence agriculture and fishing. The most common crops are rice, corn, and cassava. Crops are harvested annually in April and stored for consumption throughout the dry season. Excess production is sometimes traded for fish or to help support school children studying in the district capital of Kalabahi. Recently, commercial production of seaweed has been promoted along the north coast. A limited craft industry focused on ikat weaving is centered in Baranusa. Tourism remains underdeveloped, though a small dive resort was recently established on the northeast coast.

Transportation Until 2021, access to the island was by water only. Pantar Airport was opened in March 2021, near the village of Kabir. It has a single paved runway 2,950ft in length. Small wooden power boats ply the route between Alor and Pantar daily, serving numerous communities. The state-run ferry serves Baranusa weekly between Kalabahi (Alor) and Larantuka (Flores).

Administrative districts The island comprises five districts (kecamatan) of Alor Regency, tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and the 2020 census,Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. together with the official estimates as at mid 2025.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 27 February 2026, Kabupaten Alor Dalam Angka 2026 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5305) The table also includes the locations of the district administrative centres, the number of villages (rural desa and urban kelurahan) in each district, and its post code. Eight small offshore islands are included within these districts.

Kode Wilayah Name ofDistrict(kecamatan)English name Area in km2 Pop'ncensus2010 Pop'ncensus2020 Pop'nestimatemid 2025 Admin centre No.ofvillagesPostcodes 53.05.06 Pantar (a) Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Pantar Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5307010) 126.648,79810,06910,989Kabir11 (b) 85881 63.05.09 Pantar Barat (c) Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Pantar Barat Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5307011) West Pantar 71.386,7296,8787,107Baranusa785880 53.05.14 Pantar Timur (d) Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Pantar Timur Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5307012) East Pantar 161.3210,74011,36811,946Bakalang1185884 53.05.17 Pantar Barat Laut (e) Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Pantar Barat Laut Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5307013) Northwest Pantar 145.684,2764,9465,426Marisa785882 53.05.16 Pantar Tengah Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 26 September 2025, Kecamatan Pantar Tengah Dalam Angka 2025 (Katalog-BPS 1102001.5307014) Central Pantar 266.969,3139,75010,192Maliang1085883 Pantar Total Pantar Island 771.9839,85643,01145,660 46

Notes: (a) includes just the northern part of Pantar Island. (b) includes the kelurahan of Kabir. (c) includes offshore islands of Pulau Kura and uninhabited Pulau Batang and Pulau Lapang. (d) includes offshore Pulau Treweng. (e) includes offshore islands of Pulau Kangge and uninhabited Pulau Kambing, Pulau Rusa and Pulau Tikus. Languages At least eight different languages are spoken on Pantar. These include at least five (dependent on classification) Papuan languages belonging to the Alor–Pantar family (Western Pantar, Sar, Blagar, Nedebang, and Kaera) as well as the Austronesian language Alorese. A small community of Bajau speakers is located north of Kabir. Local varieties of Malay (Alor Malay) and more standardized Indonesian are used as languages of wider communication.Klamer, Marian. 2010. A Grammar of Teiwa. Berlin: Mouton.

Pantar

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