FLORES is an exotic island least explored. The destination has a strong ethnic touch and nature settings are beautiful. There are soaring volcanoes, colored lakes and beautiful islets off shore with white sand beaches, coral garden and lush green mangrove forest in a healthy coastal ecosystem.
Despite it’s early contact with Western Civilization (16th century) the indigenous Flores inhabitants endure to keep their genuine values, believes system and Adat rules up to present time. Traditional villages with typical architecture are scattered along the island. Each area have their own traditional house, such as Lango Belen in east Flores, Sao Ria in the area around Kelimutu colored lakes and Sao inBajawa area.
The people of Flores are friendly and eager to start conversation with foreigners. It may influenced by their cultural background, which is accepting the difference among human beings. It is the fact that various ethnic groups, which are differ in cultural pattern, physical appearance and also language spoken, inhabit the island.
The work of local civilization is well traced at the sarongs and blankets, which are, produced manually both in Ikat and Songket techniques. Pattern and motives of sarongs are reflecting the philosophy and the taste of art. It is easy to find typical Flores hand-woven textiles both in the villages and weekly markets. One of the colorful weekly markets on the island is Geliting – Maumere that is held on Friday morning. It is one of the only few weekly markets where barter system is still take place up to present time.
The trace of civilization is also exist in agriculture. Lingko is one of the very typical Flores landmarks. It is a manmade sphere consists of dry or rice field. The land is divided in such a way that if one stand on a hill and look down to the rice fields, one will see a giant pizza or pie-patterned fields. The dikes of Lingko are all spread out from single point in the center of the field. Each section of the field is belongs to different clan. And it made the color of the rice field sections differ from one to the other, as they don’t start planting rice at the very same time.
Flores island, 6,627 sq mi (17,164 sq km), E Indonesia, one of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Flores is heavily wooded, rugged, and mountainous, rising to 7,872 ft (2,399 m). The inhabitants are predominantly Christian, mainly Roman Catholic; those in the west are chiefly Malayans, and those in the east are Papuans. Corn and coconuts are grown. Ende (1990 pop. 48,966) is the chief town and port. The Flores Sea is north of the island and S of Sulawesi.
Among the prehistoric inhabitants of the island were small-proportioned humans that some scientists consider a separate human species, which they classified as Homo Floresiensis in 2004; the individuals lived on Flores as recently as 13,000 years ago. Other scientists, however, believe that the ancient remains that have been found on Flores are those of micro cephalic modern humans who also suffered from dwarfism. Much later under the rule of the princes of Sulawesi, Flores came under Dutch influence c.1618. The Dutch gradually gained control of the island, although Portugal held the eastern end until 1851 and the natives were not completely subjugated until 1907.
The island is accessible by regular flight from Bali. There is daily flight from/to Bali to Maumere in the eastern part of the island and to/from Labuan
8/7/09
Flores Island - Indonesia
21:51 By Unknown
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