Flores is located in Indonesia, particularly in east Nusa Tenggara. This place is considered different from the rest of regions in Indonesia because it has the most distinctive cultures. Most people in Flores still keep their belief and tradition even in this modern era. They still hold ceremony, festivals, rituals, and other events coming from their original ancestors. If you are planning to visit Flores, it will lucky to witness one of them. Watching traditional ceremonies or rituals can give personal experience because everything might be beyond your imagination or expectation. There are unique and even bizarre things to see during.
Some of festival and other ceremonies in Flores you can witness
Attending a festival or ceremony in a new place means you gain new experience. You may find something fun, thrilling, or scary. However, you can learn more about the culture of the place you visit through traditional rituals, ceremonies, and festivals. They can also be fun because you can engage more with the locals and get to know them better. Here are some festival, rituals, and ceremonies in Flores:
- Reba ceremony is usually held at Bena and Be’a village in Flores. The villager’s beliefs based on ancestor spirit and deity gods. This makes them rely more on nature. They hold annual special ritual and ceremonies. You can see Ngada tribe hold the ceremonies with spectacle interesting to see. The ritual procession during ceremony means to show gratitude to gods and ancestors spirits for a year and they pray for welcoming New Year to be better.
- Penti ceremony is usually held at Wae Rebo. Actually, this ceremony is one of the major ones in Maggarai district. This is a thanksgiving celebration particularly for the past year’s harvest. This ceremony also means hope for a prosperous and new agricultural year. There are series of ancient rituals throughout the ceremony. It lasts for one day and night. This annual event is related to agricultural cycle. However, this ceremony is now only held once in every five years because it costs a lot and need intensive preparations.
- Toja Bobu is unique event held for Christmas. It is usually held at Sikka village in Flores. This event has Portuguese influence on it. Tajo Bobu itself is a dance-drama brought by the Portuguese to Sikka. It is usually performed on the 26th December.
- Traditional boxing Etu or Sagi is an event when you can see two men fight each other in traditional sarong using a pair of unusual boxing gloves. For sport lovers, this can be fun event to watch, for those who are soft-hearted, this is not your tea. The event is held in an open field surrounded by spectators cheering for their heroes. Every blood spilled from the fighters onto the earth are consider sacrifice and good sign of harvest for the year. This cultural event has been passed for generation and well preserved. This event is also considered as bonding time for villagers to strengthen their kinship and brotherhood.
