FLORES ISLAND
The Eastern side of Indonesian Archipelago
Flores boasts breathtaking scenery, spectacular volcanoes, hot springs, clear blue seas and pristine beaches, with black, white or even pink sand. Back in the day, the Portuguese explorers in the early 16th century appreciated the splendor of the place by naming in Flores, meaning “flowers”. It’s part of the Lesser Sunda island chain in Eastern Indonesia, just a ninety-minute flight from Bali, a beautiful mountainous regions of Indonesia.
FLORES BAJAWA
Flores Bajawa is located in a Flores Island far away at the eastern part of Indonesian archipelago, at the foot of the Inerie Volcano. This exotic island in Eastern part of Indonesia called NTT Nusa Tenggara Timur has one of the most beautiful and fertile landscapes throughout the archipelago.
MOUNT INERIE
It demands attention, every observer can’t help but notice Mount Inerie. With its almost perfect "symmetrical" conical shape, it rises almost irreverently above Bajawa and the villages that lie in its shadow.
The fertile volcanic soils support rice, maize, cassava, mango, papaya, five kinds of banana, macadamia and chilli .. almost everything. Cacao was introduced by european traders from Mexico by way of the Philippines; vanilla was transplanted from the islands of the Western Indian Ocean; and the cashew was brought by the Portuguese from Brazil while the Dutch introduced coffee cultivation during the colonial era.
CULTURE
MODERN BUT TRADITIONAL
The Island of Flores is a culturally very diverse place. It can be roughly divided into 10 ethnicities with their own local languages, Indonesian is widely spoken as well all over the island, as it is the national language of Indonesia. Flores has kept tradition among the strong current of modernization. Ceremonies are held at major events in people’s lives, such as birth and death, weddings, travelling and in case of illness. Communal rituals are performed to bless sowing, planting, or harvesting.
The practice of adat (customary law) is particularly strong, and incorporates ancient blood fertility rites and ritualistic animal sacrifice. Each house sacrifices a pig – offering its blood as thanks to mother earth to symbolically fertilise the land for the coming harvest.
RELIGION
CATHOLIC ISLAND
Portuguese explorers in the early 16th century mapped the coastline of Flores Island, and Dutch missionaries converted many Flores people to Catholicism. While the majority of the island’s inhabitants are now Catholic, the preservation of ethnic traditions and culture is often deemed more important than religious differences, and Islam, Catholicism and Animism are practiced harmoniously side by side.
HIGHLIGHTS
KOMODO DRAGON
The Island of Flores is also known as Island of an amazing giant lizard, the Komodo Draqon. It is extraordinary, just like the island itself. A unique place…
Today the Komodo Dragon is often thought though the closest living relative to the dinosaurs in truth is only 4million years old, which in fact is no where close to dinosaurs dating back to 231 million years ago. Some researchers had suggested the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) developed from a smaller ancestor isolated on the Indonesian islands, evolving its large size as a response to lack of competition from other predators or as a specialist hunter of pygmy elephants known as Stegodon.
DISCOVER OTHER REGIONS
FLORES
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EAST JAWA
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WESTJAWA
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SOUTH SULAWESI
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WEST SUMATRA
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NORD SUMATRA
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BALI
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LOMBOK
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SUMBAWA
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TIMOR
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PAPUA
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