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82-649: Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands , a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia . Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. Including Komodo and Rinca islands off its west coast (but excluding the Solor Archipelago to the east of Flores), the land area is 14,731.67 km, and the population was 1,878,875 in the 2020 Census (including various offshore islands);

164-707: A consequence, Flores may be regarded as surrounded by a religious border . The prominence of Catholicism on the island resulted from its colonisation by Portugal in the east and early 20th-century support by the Dutch in the west. In other parts of Indonesia with significant Christian populations, such as the Maluku Islands and Sulawesi , the geographical divide is less rigid and Muslims and Christians sometimes live side by side. Flores thereby also has less religious violence than that which has sporadically occurred in other parts of Indonesia. There are several churches on

246-578: A deep rooted basal fault and many overlying imbricate thrust faults. The system is highly active, with more than 25 earthquakes of a magnitude 6 or above since 1960. In 2018, a large sequence of earthquakes (such as on the 5th of August and in July ) in Lombok ruptured sections of the Flores Thrust. The dip of the main thrust fault of approximately 2-3° compared to the 3-4° dip of the subducting plate on

328-449: A degree of their former textile culture and still use synthetic green only sparingly, compared to other places that are losing or have lost their textile culture, such as Manggarai and Ngada. In Sikka, it seems that chemical green has been frequently used since at least the 1960s and probably earlier. In the past, the whole Ilé Bura region was a major centre of weaving, which was an important contribution to family income. As of 2016, weaving

410-533: A dye is hardly used any longer in the Lesser Sunda Islands. In some regions of Flores such as East Flores and Ende, green is hardly found in any textile. Green warp stripes are most likely to be found in textiles produced in the area of Sikka Natar, and from Lamalera on Lembata island . It is produced almost exclusively by applying alternatively blue and yellow dyes, but in Lamalera region it

492-541: A flood.) Forth says that “‘Nusa Nipa’ is a designation which at present is widely accepted on Flores as the indigenous name for the entire island. In spite of the argument of Sareng Orin Bao (1969) who adduces a variety of evidence favoring this interpretation, it remains uncertain whether this was in a fact a traditional usage, or at any rate one that was known throughout Flores.” The names Tandjoeng Bunga or Tanjung Bunga and Pulau Bunga are also mentioned. The eastern part of

574-697: A general rebellion. After the war, Flores became part of independent Indonesia . On 12 December 1992, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale killed 2,500 people in and around Maumere, including islands off the north coast. In 2017 two men were killed in Flores due to land disputes between warrior clans; the Mbehel, a West Manggarai mountain tribe , and the Rangko from Sulawesi island who helped build Manggarai and were given land near Labuan Bajo by

656-464: A local dialect over 80% cognate with Indonesian , is used as a lingua franca in this area. Portuguese is used in certain Catholic religious rituals. Larantuka District comprises eighteen urban communities ( kelurahan ) and two rural villages ( desa ), listed below with their areas and their populations as officially estimated for mid 2023, together with their postcodes. The main part of

738-468: A loose, but mighty power in the region, whose influence reached far beyond the settlement. The core cell was the federation of Larantuka, Wureh, and Konga. Theoretically, they were subordinated to Portugal. But in practice they were free. They had no Portuguese administration and they did not pay taxes. Letters from the Lisbon government were ignored. For long years there was a bloody struggle for power between

820-467: A plant (tree?) called "lobah" are used in N'Dona (east of Ende) to obtain bright reds. Yellow translates as kuma . In the Sikka area , turmeric was used for producing yellow monochrome warp stripes, as well as orange or green stripes by overdyeing with either morinda or indigo; sometimes mango bark was used for that purpose. At Doka in the ‘Iwang Geté or Krowé region, a more durable deep mustard yellow

902-573: A strict social hierarchy within villages. It is similar to that in Lembata, East Nusa Tenggara ; and is reflected in the spiderweb disposition of the rice fields around Cancar (16 km west of Ruteng): started as a pie centered on the point where buffaloes are sacrificed, the allotments originally shaped as pie slices were later divided transversally by the heirs. Religion in Flores (2023) The native peoples of Flores are mostly Roman Catholic Christians, whereas most other Indonesians are Muslim . As

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984-451: A tendency to link people and plants (and animals) in particular ways, and not as a totalizing form of analogical classification such as described by Lévi-Strauss. He notes that many clans ( woe ) in Flores are named after various trees, and said species of trees have become taboo ( pie ): they must not be burnt or used as fuel ( pie ‘uge ). Thus the Nage people in central Flores bear the name of

1066-400: Is Sulawesi . Among all islands containing Indonesian territory, Flores is the 10th most populous after Java , Sumatra , Borneo ( Kalimantan ), Sulawesi , New Guinea , Bali , Madura , Lombok , and Timor and also the 10th biggest island of Indonesia . Until the arrival of modern humans, Flores was inhabited by Homo floresiensis , a small archaic human . Unlike most islands in

1148-453: Is confined to just three villages – Lewo Tobi, Lewouran and Riang Baring, the latter being the most active. People of the Iwan geté region produce a very distinctive ikat cloth: the widest bands (called ina geté ) bear such motifs as lizard ( teké ), a circular motif seen on some antique plates ( pigan uben ), spinning wheel ( jata selér ) and pineapple flower ( petan puhun ). Traditionally in

1230-466: Is endemic to Flores and surrounding islands and has been continuously present on Flores for at least 1.4 million years. Today, it is confined to a handful of small areas on Flores itself. The endemic fauna of Flores includes some rats (Murinae), some of which are now extinct, ranging from small-sized forms such as Rattus hainaldi , Paulamys , and the Polynesian rat (which possibly originated on

1312-653: Is limited, leading to the evolution of a high rate of localized species, most famously the Komodo dragon . As described by Alfred Wallace in The Malay Archipelago , the Wallace Line passes between Bali and Lombok, along the deep waters of the Lombok Strait which formed a water barrier even when lower sea levels linked the now-separated islands and landmasses on either side. The islands east of

1394-488: Is obtained by crushing leaves and using the green juice thus produced - notably from Annona squamosa ( dolima ). At Nita Kloang in the region of Krowé (Sikka regency) a green dye is made from the edible leaves of the Indian Coral tree ( dadap ), which may include such species as Erythrina variegata , E. subumbrans , E. indica and E. fuspa ). The tree is used as a shade plant for cocoa and coffee plants. For

1476-399: Is produced from turmeric, mango bark, Morinda citrifolia ( mengkudu ) tree bark (not root), jackfruit bark and powdered lime ( kapur sireh ). Dyers of that region also mix turmeric with mango bark. Another yellow was obtained from a combination of mango bark and morinda, without the addition of oil or loba. At Ile Mandiri (East Flores regency) and Loba Tobi a beautiful yellow dye

1558-403: Is reported in N'Dona (just east of Ende), where it is mixed with various mordants including candlenut ( kemiri , very oily nut). Barnes also reports its use in the villages of Ili Mandiri, East Flores - and describes at length the arduous process for its preparation and application. Close by, weavers from the village of Larantuka may use the tree called gemoli for red dye. Powdered leaves of

1640-420: Is richly endowed with natural resources, the resources of the small islands of Nusa Tenggara are limited and specialised; furthermore human resources in particular are limited. General observations about small islands that can be applied to Nusa Tenggara include: The Lesser Sundas comprise many islands stretching east of Java , most of which are part of Indonesia and from 1945 were administered (apart from

1722-714: Is separated by part of Ile Mandiri District from the rest of Larantuka District, and by the waters of the strait between Flores and Adonara , while Lamawalang desa lies at the western end of the built-up area of the town (and thus beyond the eighteen kelurahan ). Briefly before 1600 Portuguese traders left Solor and settled in Larantuka. The traders conflicted with the Dominicans in Solor because they were more interested in trade than in Christianization . In 1613

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1804-426: Is spoken on the island with the same name off the north coast of Flores. Locals would probably also add So'a and Bajawa to this list, which anthropologists have labeled dialects of Ngadha. To the east, Sika and Lamaholot can be found. Djawanai (1983) precises that Ngadha somewhat deviates from Austronesian norms, in that words do not have clear cognates and the grammatical processes are different; for example,

1886-399: Is that they are executed as stick figures, by which they resemble some prehistoric cave drawings. This gives them a strikingly 'primitive' appearance and makes them highly sought-after items. Most of the ikat on Flores is produced in villages located in the temperate, middle elevation zones — where indigo can be cultivated. The best known are Jerebuu and Langa, in a valley on the east side of

1968-453: Is the 1,639-metre-high (5,377-foot) Kelimutu volcano, containing three colored lakes, located in the district of Ende close to the town of Moni , although there is also the Inierie volcano near Bajawa . These crater lakes are in the caldera of a volcano, and fed by a volcanic gas source, resulting in highly acidic water. The colored lakes change colors on an irregular basis, depending on

2050-673: The Austronesian family. In the west Manggarai is spoken; Riung , often classified as a dialect of Manggarai, is spoken in the north-central part of the island. In the centre of the island in the districts of Ngada , Nagekeo , and Ende , there is what is variously called the Central Flores dialect chain or linkage . Within this area, there are slight linguistic differences in almost every village. At least six separate languages are identifiable. These are from west to east: Ngadha , Nage , Keo , Ende , Lio , and Palu'e , which

2132-710: The Dutch occupied Solor and the Dominicans moved to Larantuka, too. Larantuka was a nexus for the trade of sandalwood from Timor and became the Portuguese trading center of South East Indonesia . It was also a refuge for deserters of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Two waves of immigration brought additional population. As the Dutch conquered Malacca in 1641, many Portuguese moved to Larantuka. Two villages, Wureh and Konga , accommodated

2214-510: The Inierie volcano, and Lopijo and Toni, tucked behind the rim of mountains that surrounds Bajawa , north of the same volcano. The latter are still very isolated and conservative, still using indigenous cotton and indigo only. The cloths from these localities are admired throughout the Ngadha region - and nowadays in New York and Singapore as well. The most famous tourist attraction in Flores

2296-590: The Pliocene , about 15 million years ago, as a result of the collision between the Australian and the Asian plates . The islands of the southern archipelago, including Sumba , Timor and Babar , are non-volcanic and appear to belong to the Australian plate . The geology and ecology of the northern archipelago share similar history, characteristics, and processes with the southern Maluku Islands , which continue

2378-723: The tropical moist forests that prevail in most of Indonesia. The Lesser Sunda Islands are divided among six ecoregions: More than half of the original vegetation of the islands has been cleared for planting of rice and other crops, for settlement and by consequent forest fires. Only Sumbawa now contains a large area of intact natural forest, while Komodo, Rincah and Padar are now protected as Komodo National Park . While many ecological problems affect both small islands and large landmasses, small islands suffer their particular problems and are highly exposed to external forces. Development pressures on small islands are increasing, although their effects are not always anticipated. Although Indonesia

2460-605: The 16th century, mainly to Larantuka and Sikka . Their influence is still discernible in Sikka's language, culture, and religion. The first Portuguese visit took place in 1511, through the expedition of António de Abreu and his vice-captain Francisco Serrão , en route through the Sunda islands. The Dominican order played an important role on this island, as well as on the neighbouring islands of Timor and Solor . When

2542-470: The Austronesian family of languages makes an abundant use of prefixes or suffixes (which form new words by adding extensions either before or after root-words, such as [per-]form or child[-hood]), whereas the Ngadha and Keo languages use no prefixes or suffixes. The traditional social structure is based on complex extended family ties, where patrilinear and matrilinear lineages are at play and determine

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2624-435: The Dutch and Portuguese initiated negotiations towards delimiting the territories but these negotiations led nowhere. In 1851 Lima Lopes, the new governor of Timor, Solor and Flores, agreed to sell eastern Flores and the nearby islands to the Dutch in return for a payment of 200,000 Florins to support his impoverished administration. Lima Lopes did so without the consent of Lisbon and was dismissed in disgrace, but his agreement

2706-426: The Dutch attacked the fortress of Solor in 1613, the population of the fort, led by the Dominicans, moved to the harbor town of Larantuka on the eastern coast of Flores. This population was mixed, of Portuguese and local islander descent and Larantuqueiros, Topasses , or, as the Dutch knew them, the 'Black Portuguese' (Zwarte Portugezen). The Larantuqueiros or Topasses became the dominant sandalwood trading people of

2788-548: The East Nusa Tenggara provincial population as of 2023, and is the largest of all islands in the province, with the second-largest population (Timor has slightly more people). The eight regencies are listed below from east to west, with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and the 2020 Census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2023. Notes: (a) only the eight districts of this regency actually on Flores Island are included in these figures;

2870-549: The Indonesian archipelago, the modern name Flores was given by the Portuguese. According to Sareng Orin Bao (1969), the oral tradition of the Sika region gave the island the original name of Nusa Nipa, meaning ‘Dragon island’ or Snake island. ( Nipa nai means "ascending snakes"; kaju nipa nai is the name of an unidentified tree with a bark resembling snake skin, but it can also mean "driftwood", or any sort of wood washed up in

2952-733: The King of Portugal for their Sovereign yet they will not accept any Officers sent by him. They speak indifferently the Malayan and their native Languages, as well as Portuguese. In the western part of Flores, the Manggarai came under the control of the Sultanate of Bima , in eastern Sumbawa. The Dutch effectively established their administration over western Flores in 1907. In 1929, the Bimanese sultanate ceded any control over Manggarai. In 1846,

3034-565: The Larantuqueiros were Catholics, but the control of the belief was devolved to laymen organisations, which gave the belief a new direction. In Larantuka the most powerful organisation was A Confraria da Rainha do Rosário , the brotherhood of the rosary queen, which exists still this day. The contract between the Portuguese and the Dutch respected religious freedom. Thus Dutch Calvinism did not take root. However, Dutch Jesuits engaged in missionary work. Starting in Larantuka by building

3116-874: The Lesser Sunda Islands are located within the Wallacea region, except for the Bali province which is west of the Wallace Line and is within the Sunda Shelf . Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west, they make up the Sunda Islands . The islands are part of a volcanic arc , the Sunda Arc , formed by subduction along the Sunda Trench in the Java Sea . In 1930 the population

3198-705: The Lesser Sunda Islands — including Flores. On 14 May 1942 Labuan Bajo was the theatre of an amphibious landing by the Japanese Army landing force; and a Japanese Navy Special Naval Landing Force (SNLF) landed at Reo. Japan occupied Flores until the end of the Pacific War . During that time, the Japanese administration and forces saw Christians as suspected Dutch sympathizers and were exceedingly heavy-handed towards them in general; but not so much on Flores, where Christians were treated notably less harshly than in

3280-665: The Lombok Strait are part of Wallacea , and are thus characterised by a blend of wildlife of Asian and Australasian origin in this region. Asian species predominate in the Lesser Sundas: Weber's Line , which marks the boundary between the parts of Wallacea with mainly Asian and Australasian species respectively, runs to the east of the group. These islands have the driest climate in Indonesia, and tropical dry broadleaf forests are predominant, in contrast to

3362-537: The Manggarai king. Flores is part of the East Nusa Tenggara province. The island along with smaller minor islands is split into eight regencies (local government divisions); from west to east these are Manggarai Barat (West Manggarai), Manggarai (Central Manggarai), Manggarai Timur (East Manggarai), Ngada , Nagekeo , Ende , Sikka and part of Flores Timur (East Flores). Flores has 35.24% of

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3444-403: The Ngadha region, everyday clothing is a plain, stark indigo sarong. But there is also a type of ikat, often called Bajawa ikat after its capital, that is decorated with primitive-type designs and using only indigo dye. One characteristic of this ikat is the very intense blue, seen nowhere else in the archipelago; this comes from the high concentration of indigo due to long and repeated steepings of

3526-422: The Portuguese offered the Dutch the sovereign rights for sale. The contract was ratified in 1859. The Dutch sent a military and administrative officer, who took residence in a small fort. But they do not influence the population. Larantuka offered little promise, after the downturn of the sandalwood trade. The Larantuqueiros resorted to farming. Not much was left of the former profitable foreign trade. Formally

3608-530: The Queen of Roses) bathe the statues of Jesus and Mary. The holy water used is afterward considered special and is saved to cure ill children and to help women having birth complications. On the morning of Good Friday, the raja of Larantuka opens the door of the chapel of Tuan Ma thus making many for devotees to enter. His clan , the Diaz Vieira de Godinho, enter first followed by the brotherhood members and

3690-469: The Sunda Trench leads some to believe that the fault could someday be the site of a subduction polarity reversal and begin subducting. A volcanic eruption in southeast Flores triggered earthquakes that killed at least 10 people as of 4 November 2024. Authorities warned of the possibility of more earthquakes in coming days. Many languages are spoken on the island of Flores, all of them belonging to

3772-572: The chapel of Tuan Ma in nearby Lohayong village where the statue of the Virgin Mary is kept. On Holy Thursday , devotees enact the tikam turo ritual that prepares the route of the next day's seven-kilometer procession by planting candles along the road. After the candle is prepared, devotees attend the munda tuan ritual in which members of a religious fraternity known as the Konfreria Reinha Rosaria (Brotherhood of

3854-507: The cloth into the tincture. It also means that the motifs, made by ties on the warp, should have come out white but are more often of a very pale blue because the pigment bath has had time to seep into the yarn beyond the resist of the ties. The other characteristic of Ngadha ikat is in the motifs. Horses ( jara ) are a frequent one, as they are a sign of high social rank; this ties up with the fact that decorated cloths were traditionally worn only by respected clan members. The particularity here

3936-424: The dominant consensus is that these remains do represent a distinct species due to anatomical differences from modern humans. The most recent evidence shows that Homo floresiensis likely became extinct 50,000 years ago, around the time of modern human arrival to the archipelago. Flores was most likely first inhabited by Melanesians at least since 30,000 BC. Portuguese traders and missionaries came to Flores in

4018-428: The dye, the leaves are crushed with turmeric root and powdered lime . The earliest aniline dyes may have reached Indonesia in the 1880s, and brought to Flores by the Dutch steamers that serviced Ende and Larantuka . Up to the 1920s, they were likely only blue, red and magenta rather than green. It is impossible to say how quickly synthetic greens were incorporated into Lesser Sunda Island weavings. Any green that

4100-528: The eastern half of Timor island and Atauro island which constitute the nation of Timor Leste , all the other islands are part of Indonesia . The Lesser Sunda Islands consist of two geologically distinct archipelagos. The northern archipelago, which includes Bali , Lombok , Sumbawa , Flores and Wetar , is volcanic in origin. A number of these volcanoes , like Mount Rinjani on Lombok, are still active while others, such as Ilikedeka on Flores, are extinct. The northern archipelago began to be formed during

4182-531: The easternmost islands which have been always administered as part of Maluku Province) as the Lesser Sunda Islands ( Sunda Kecil ) Province of Indonesia, later called Nusa Tenggara. In 1958 this was split into three new provinces, as the provinces of Bali , West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara . The eastern half of Timor Island is the separate nation of East Timor (officially Timor Leste}. Religion in Lesser Sunda Islands (December 2023) Larantuka Larantuka Malay (also known as Ende Malay),

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4264-506: The families da Costa and de Hornay . In the end, they shared the power. The Larantuqueiros made "alliances" with the indigenous people of Flores and Timor. They followed a certain strategy; the most notable raja was converted to Catholicism by military pressure. He had to take an oath of allegiance to the king of Portugal and thereon the title Dom was granted to him. The raja was allowed to rule his folk autonomously, but in war, he had to supply auxiliary forces. The Larantuqueiros were

4346-425: The first rectory and reintroducing the orthodox form of Catholicism again. Monogamy was reinforced due to their influence. The missionaries even built Catholic schools and brought health care. With the independence of Indonesia, the Larantuqueiros gained new influence. They were able to reach leading positions because they had a more high level of education than the natives. Even the Indonesian language, which became

4428-406: The island), medium-sized such as Komodomys , and Hooijeromys , and giant such as Spelaeomys and Papagomys , the largest species of which, the still-living Papagomys armandvillei (Flores giant rat) is approximately the size of a rabbit, with a weight of up to 2.5 kilograms. Flores was also the habitat of several extinct dwarf forms of the proboscidean (elephant-relative) Stegodon ,

4510-443: The island, originally called Kopondai, was called Cabo das Flores (Cape of Flowers) because of the flowering flamboyant trees found there. That name remained. Before the arrival of modern humans, Flores was occupied by Homo floresiensis , a small archaic human . The ancestors of Homo floresiensis arrived on the island between 1.3 and 1 million years ago. As of 2015, partial remains of fifteen individuals have been found, and

4592-507: The island. On 26 May 2019, Flores' St. Paul Catholic University of Indonesia was formally inaugurated by Indonesian Education Minister Mohamad Nasir , becoming the first Catholic University in Flores. Aside from Catholicism, Islam also has a presence on the island, especially in some coastal communities. Totemism is still present, despite the best efforts of Lévi-Strauss (who declared it an illusion in 1962) and historian Robert Jones (2005). Forth (2009a) precises that it manifests itself as

4674-513: The most geologically complex and active regions in the world. The province of Bali is the only part of Nusa Tenggara located on the Sunda Shelf and that is not within the Wallacea region and that is west of the Wallace Line . There are a number of volcanoes located on the Lesser Sunda Islands. The Lesser Sunda Islands differ from the large islands of Java or Sumatra in consisting of many small islands, sometimes divided by deep oceanic trenches . Movement of flora and fauna between islands

4756-550: The most recent ( Stegodon florensis insularis ) disappearing approximately 50,000 years ago. The island before modern human arrival was also inhabited by the giant stork Leptoptilos robustus and the vulture Trigonoceps . Flores Island is bounded by active tectonic regions, with the Sunda Trench to the south and the Flores back-arc thrust fault to the north. As a result, the island experiences many earthquakes each year and on occasion, tsunamis. The largest recorded earthquake in

4838-440: The narrow strait. [...] people are very outgoing and friendly. Their bemos are brightly painted with murals on the sides and their radios are blasting the latest tunes. Lots of Catholic churches line the roads with a few mosques sprinkled in. [...] There are several tuna boats at the docks. They have a big square platform on the bow where fishermen line up with bamboo poles, flipping hooked tunas. "Semana Santa" ( Holy Week ),

4920-546: The neighbouring islands of Timor and Sumba. Remarkably, in Flores the European priests and nuns were neither interned nor evicted throughout the occupation. According to Paul Webb (1986), this is because Florenese Christians were "too many to ignore": nearly half the population of Flores was catholic and the Japanese, who could not afford to increase the size of their small occupation forces on the island, allowed European priests and sisters to stay at their posts rather than risking

5002-437: The new arrivals. As the Dutch attacked Makassar in 1660, most of the Portuguese from there also came to Larantuka. The Portuguese took indigenous wives, but they always wrote down their Portuguese ancestry. This new population group was called Topasses , but they called themselves Larantuqueiros (inhabitants of Larantuka). The Dutch called them also Zwarte Portugeesen (" black Portuguese "). The Larantuqueiros turned out

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5084-540: The new official language, was easy for them because it is very similar to the Malay language. Indonesia Tourism describes: Larantuka is a neat clean seaport with a beautiful view. Everything is within walking distance except for the pier where the boats leave for Timor (4-5 km from town). [...Larantuka is a] little port nestled at the base of a tall hill at the eastern end of Flores, from where Solor, Adonara, and Lembata islands (the small islands nearby) are visible across

5166-725: The official estimate as of mid-2023 was 1,962,405. The largest towns are Maumere and Ende . The name Flores is of Portuguese origin, meaning "Flowers". Flores is located east of Sumbawa and the Komodo Islands, and west of the Solor Islands and the Alor Archipelago . To the southeast is Timor . To the south, across the Sumba Strait , is Sumba Island, and to the north, beyond the Flores Sea ,

5248-402: The other hand their neighbours on the west side, the Ngadha people, have 14 animals taboos for 16 plants taboos. Weaving on Flores makes use of cotton grown in the low-lying zones of the island. Each ethnic group on Flores has its own tradition of dyeing), weaving and trading in textiles. The dyes used are essentially indigo , turmeric and morinda. Lamaholot people use maize starch to size

5330-435: The oxidation state of the lake from bright red to green and blue. There are snorkeling and diving locations along the north coast of Flores, most notably Maumere and Riung . However, due to the destructive practice of local fishermen using bombs to fish, and locals selling shells to tourists, combined with the after-effects of a devastating tsunami in 1992, the reefs have slowly been destroyed. Labuan Bajo , located on

5412-648: The region for the next 200 years. This group was observed by William Dampier , an English privateer visiting the Island in 1699: These [the Topasses] have no Forts, but depend on their Alliance with the Natives: And indeed they are already so mixt, that it is hard to distinguish whether they are Portuguese or Indians. Their Language is Portuguese; and the religion they have, is Romish. They seem in Words to acknowledge

5494-543: The region was the 1992 Flores earthquake and tsunami , a magnitude 7.8 event that caused Severe shaking on the Mercalli intensity scale. The Flores back-arc thrust is of particular interest to researchers as it is believed to accommodate the transition between the Sunda Trench in the west and the subduction of the Australian Plate in the east. The Flores Thrust is approximately 450 km long and consists of

5576-576: The rest of the population. Worshipers kiss the statue of Mary and pray for divine benevolence per Mariam ad Jesum (through Mary to Jesus). Meanwhile, the statue of Jesus is taken from the chapel in Larantuka and is brought on a seven-kilometer-long procession by land and sea. The procession has eight stops, each representing a major clan of Larantuka (among which are the Mulawato, Sarotari, Amakalen, Kapitan Jentera, Fernandez da Gomez, Diaz Pohon Sirih, and Diaz Vieira de Godinho clans). At each stop, there

5658-518: The rest of the year. The religious festivities begin on the Wednesday before Easter, known locally as Rabu Trewa or "Shackled Wednesday" in remembrance of the betrayal of Judas Iscariot that led to Jesus's arrest and shackling. Devotees surround the chapel of Tuan Ana where the statue of Jesus is kept, shouting in Latin to mourn the arrest of Jesus by Roman soldiers . Devotees likewise surround

5740-506: The rulers and established Portuguese as the official language to distance themselves from the natives. The language of commerce was the Malay language , which was understood on the surrounding islands. In 1640 the Larantuqueiros settled in Lifau on Timor to gain control over the sandalwood of Timor. From Lifau they expanded to the island's hinterland where sandalwood grows. With strong forces

5822-420: The same island arc to the east. There is a long history of geological study of these regions since Indonesian colonial times ; however, the geological formation and progression is not fully understood, and theories of the geological evolution of the islands changed extensively during the last decades of the 20th century. Lying at the collision of two tectonic plates , the Lesser Sunda Islands comprise some of

5904-408: The sovereigns there were compelled to enter into negotiations. For the delivery of musketry , the Larantuqueiros gained control over most of the sandalwood production and were able to control the price. Trade was flourishing when the “white Portuguese” came by order of the king of Portugal to exert influence, on Timor. But they were besieged by the Larantuqueiros and left empty-handed in 1769. In 1854

5986-677: The tamarind tree, Tamarindus indica . A few clans are not named after plants but also taboo particular trees. For example, the Wa or Ana Wa people, whose name means "wind" or "wind people, children", claim the nage or tamarind tree as taboo; the Dhuge people bear the name of a former village and taboo the zita tree ( Alstonia scholaris ); so do the Saga ‘Enge people, whose name origin is not known. The Nage people have plant totems but no animal totems (and therefore no taboo on killing and eating any animal). On

6068-423: The three districts comprising Solor Island and the eight districts on Adonara Island are excluded. (b) West Manggarai Regency includes Komodo and Rinca islands off the west coast of Flores; these islands are part of a National Park and thus poorly inhabited. The main towns on Flores are Maumere , Ende , Ruteng , Larantuka , and Bajawa , listed with their populations as of mid-2023. The Komodo dragon

6150-408: The town is situated along the eastern and southern coasts of the promontory created by Mount Ile Mandiri (which rises to a height of 1,510 m), and thus on the lower slopes of that mountain. The rest of the mountain lies in adjacent Ile Mandiri District - which physically separates Larantuka on the landward side from the rest of Flores Island. Of the two rural desa , Mokantarak desa is an exclave which

6232-487: The week before Easter , is an important time of religious celebration for the devoutly Catholic people of the Diocese of Larantuka . The celebrations center on two religious statues, one of Jesus Christ and one of the Virgin Mary brought by Portuguese missionaries Gaspar do Espírito Santo and Agostinho de Madalena in the 16th century. These statues are only presented to the public every Easter and are kept out of view for

6314-588: The western tip, is often used by tourists as a base to visit Komodo and Rinca islands. Labuan Bajo also attracts scuba divers, as whale sharks inhabit the waters around Labuan Bajo. Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands ( Indonesian : Kepulauan Sunda Kecil , Tetum : Illá Sunda ki'ik sirá , Balinese : Kapuloan Sunda cénik ), now known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( Indonesian : Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara , or "Southeast Islands"), are an archipelago in Indonesian archipelago . Most of

6396-412: The yarn before dying. indigo grows in the temperate zones at middle elevations; It is the most commonly used plant base for blues and black dyes. Bar a few exceptions, it is always used in ikat. Morinda citrifolia ( mengkudu , keloré in Lamalera ), extensively used in the archipelago as a source of red dye, does not grow well on Flores and, according to Hoopen, is scarcely used here. But its use

6478-457: Was 3,460,059; today slightly over 15.5 million people live on the islands. Etymologically, Nusa Tenggara means "Southeast Islands" from the words of nusa which means 'island' from Old Javanese language and tenggara means 'southeast'. The main Lesser Sunda Islands are, from west to east: Bali , Lombok , Sumbawa , Flores , Sumba , Savu , Rote , Timor , Atauro , Alor archipelago , Barat Daya Islands , and Tanimbar Islands . Apart from

6560-467: Was included in early weavings from around the turn of the century is likely to have faded to blue or brown by now (Brackman 2009, 61). Certainly by the 1950s and 1960s more modern lightfast synthetic greens were being used in the stripes in Sikkanese sarongs. They continue to be used in this way today without undermining the regions traditional textile culture. As of 2016, most areas of Flores still retain

6642-651: Was not rescinded and in 1854 Portugal ceded all its historical claims on Flores. After this, Flores became part of the territory of the Dutch East Indies . During World War II , Great Britain, the Netherland East Indies and the United States imposed on Japan an embargo on rubber and oil and froze Japan overseas funds. This was a strong incentive for Japan to get hold of the rich colonies of South East Asia, and its Operation "S" targeted

6724-427: Was obtained by boiling the wood chips of the 'yellowwood' tree, known locally as kajo kuma . Manggarai used to export Arcangelisia flava ( kayu kuning ) to Java for the yellows in batik. Another export (from Flores and Adonara ) in the same domain was a hardwood tree called kajo kuma , literally ‘yellow wood’, which gives a yellow dye. In the 1980s it was still brought to Lembata for that purpose. laban as

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