Visiting Sade Village: The Living Heart of Sasak Tradition

By Sinto

Amidst the clamor of world-class racing circuit construction and star-rated hotels starting to surround the coast of Lombok Island, Sade Village in Rembitan, Pujut, seems to remain unmoved. This village is the living heart and last fortress of Sasak Tribe traditions that has endured for hundreds of years. 

It was Sunday, August 10, 2025. The Lombok sun was blazing hot when I set foot back there. Thatched-roof houses were visible from the village gate. There, Sanah, the head of the Sade Tourism Awareness Group (Pokdarwis), was waiting with a broad smile. For Sanah, Sade wasn't just a tourist destination; it was the breath of life she had to protect to keep it beating.

"Welcome back. Come see how we care for the ancestral heritage," Sanah greeted enthusiastically.

We walked through the narrow alleys that split the settlement. The construction of the houses here remains faithful to the old rules: sturdy wood, bamboo as walls, and thick alang-alang (cogongrass) roofs.

There is a unique characteristic to the floors of the residents' houses which are frequently cleaned with buffalo dung—a multi-generational tradition believed to be able to strengthen the floor and repel insects naturally.

Along the front porches of the houses, colorful Sasak woven fabrics or ikat hang beautifully, competing with detailed hand-crafted products. The skilled fingers of Sade women nimbly move traditional weaving tools that produce a rhythmic tak-tuk-tak-tuk sound. 

For them, weaving is not just an economic matter, but a requirement for a woman to be considered an adult and ready for marriage.

Every cloth on display is a story. There are prayers tucked into every motif, and there are hopes hung upon every visitor who stops by. 

Tourists from various parts of the world often do not just buy souvenirs, but bring home a piece of the living history of the Sasak people.

In Sade Village, time seems to move slower. Behind the shadows of the straw roofs, Sanah and other Sade residents continue to prove that in the midst of the roaring current of modernization, the roots of tradition can still strike deep, providing an identity that is timeless.

Baca juga: A Peaceful Escape: 5 Best Things to Do on Kenawa Island, Sumbawa

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Sade Village and the Surrounding Hamlets

Sade as a tourism village is one of the 21 hamlets located in Rembitan Village, Pujut District, Central Lombok Regency, about 42 kilometers southeast of Mataram, the capital city of NTB or 13 kilometers north Mandalika International Circuit. 

There are 90 heads of households occupying the traditional houses, besides the houses, inside this hamlet, there is one mosque, 15 berugak (pavilions), 10 rice barns, one pelonggo, one balen gamelan (gamelan house), as well as two public toilets provided for tourists.

"This hamlet is a residential hamlet that has been inhabited for 15 generations, and has expanded into 9 surrounding residential hamlets, namely Sade Daye, Sade Lauk, Bontor Daye, Bontor Lauk, Panjar, Nampang, Lapuh, Kumbaq, and Pendong-endong," explained Sanah.

Sanah stated, this hamlet is led by a head of the hamlet called Jero Keliang.

Sade has been visited by foreign tourists since 1983. Sade Village is not a village prepared as a tourism attraction, but Sade is the original settlement of Sasak Tribe residents on Lombok Island. The Sasak Tribe is the oldest tribe on this island.

"Nowadays, Sade still survives as a traditional hamlet with buildings roofed with alang-alang. Woven bamboo walls and house floors that at certain times are mopped or cleaned using cow dung," Sanah explained.

Furthermore, Sanah conveyed that there are only about 100 units of buildings inside the hamlet. When a resident builds a new house, he must build it outside because there is no longer room for new house buildings.

Now, every day, Sade Village is very crowded with visits from both foreign and domestic tourists.

One of the attractions of this village is the life of its residents who still maintain traditions, buildings with ancient architecture, Sasak dances, hand weaving, and many other things to see.

"This is what makes Sade visited by many, also here visitors are not charged an entry fee, there is no ticket, only if one wishes to give a donation at the entrance gate," Sanah revealed.

In Economically side, Sanah continued, Sade provides benefits for all hamlets in Rembitan Village and also other villages because many of their products are marketed in Sade.

"Hopefully we, the residents here, can continue to maintain the existence of Sade as the remaining Sasak customary hamlet because there are almost no more traditional settlements that can be found in Lombok. This is also what keeps tourists coming here even though Sade has many shortcomings," said Sanah.

This article has been published in an Indonesian version. See original.

Editor: Ismail Zakaria