21-28oCPeople, Culture and Traditions
Total populations of 3 million people with local inhabitants are called Sasaks. The majority of the populations are the indigenous Muslim Sasak people who speak an official Indonesian language and Sasak as their mother language.
Approximately ten percent of Lombok’s 3 million inhabitants are Balinese, and it’s very easy - especially if you arrive in the west where most Balinese are settled, surrounded by their distinctive temples and household architecture to perceive Lombok simply as an extension of Bali. The other main inhabitants are Chinese, Arabian and Javanese.
The people of Lombok are extremely generous about opening up their homes and festivals to the ever-growing crowd of interested tourists. They do take great offence at certain aspects of western behaviors. The most sensitive issues on the islands are westerner’s clothing or lack of it and the code of practice that’s required when visiting holy places.
If you come to Lombok expecting the range and exuberance of the cooking elsewhere in Southeast Asia, you will be disappointed. According to some sources, the name “Lombok” translates as “Chilly Pepper” – highly appropriate considering the savage heat a traditional Sasak Food.
Traditional Sasak Food uses rice as the staple and together with a wide variety of vegetables, a little meat (no pork) and some fish, served in various sauces, often with a dish of chilly sauce on the side in case it isn’t hot enough already. Anything with Pelecing in the name is served with chilly sauce. Taliwang dishes, originally from Sumbawa are also available on Lombok, consisting of grilled or fried food with a chilly sauce. All parts of the animals are used and you will find plenty of offal on the menu.