|
One of the most popular tourist
destinations in the Indonesian state of Flores off the island of Bali,
the hill town of Bajawa is surrounded by lush slopes and striking
volcanoes.
 
Coming in on the road
from Ruteng, the first sight that will meet tourists to the area is the
Gunung Inerie, one of the active volcanoes near Bajawa. The volcano
itself can be an arduous but rewarding hike particularly at sunset. On
clear days, hikers can see all the way to Sumba from the volcano’s
summit.
Bajawa itself is the
largest town in the Ngada district, an area recognized as the spiritual
heartland of the Flores. A pleasant stop for most visitors, the
surrounding villages filled with traditional houses and ngadhu, carved
poles supporting a conical thatched roof like a huge umbrella.
Ngadhus are male symbols used in ancestor worship to guard against
sickness and preserve fertility.
Despite the influx of travelers in the area, indigenous animist
religions flourish and the villages mainatin fascinating houses,
megalithic stones, and interesting totems.
Tourists stopping over for a meal may also find themselves challenged
with the local specialties of moke, a type of wine that tastes like
methylated spirts and raerate, a dish made of dog meat marinated in
coconut milk and then boiled in its own blood.
Several ceremonial edifices also stand in the center of each village
which represent the ancestral protection of, and presence in, the
village. These include the Ngadhu , which resembles a man in a huge hula
skirt, the thatched skirt sitting atop a crudely carved, phallic, forked
tree trunk, which is imbued with the power of a male ancestor.
The female part of the pairing, the Bhaga, is a symbol of the womb, a
miniature house. A carved stake called a Peo, to which animals are tied
before being sacrificed, supplements the symbolic coupling.
Visit Asia Today! Your adventure awaits... |
