Everything about Flores totally explained
Flores is one of the
Lesser Sunda Islands, an
island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the
Java island of
Indonesia. The population is estimated to be around 1.5 million, and the largest town is
Maumere.
Flores is located east of
Sumbawa and
Komodo and west of
Lembata and the
Alor Archipelago. To the southeast is
Timor. To the south, across the Sumba strait, is
Sumba and to the north, beyond the
Flores Sea, is
Sulawesi.
On
December 12 1992, an
earthquake measuring 7.0 on the
Richter scale occurred, killing 2,000 people in the
town of
Maumere.
Administration
Flores is part of the
East Nusa Tenggara province. The island is split into seven
regencies (local government districts); from west to east these are:
West Manggarai,
Central Manggarai,
Ngada,
Nagekeo ,
Ende,
Sikka and
Flores Timur.
Flora and fauna
The west coast of Flores is one of the few places, aside from the island of
Komodo itself, where the
Komodo dragon can be found in the wild. The
Flores Giant Rat is also endemic to the Island.
In September 2003, at
Liang Bua Cave in western Flores,
paleoanthropologists discovered skeletons of a previously unknown
hominid species.
Homo floresiensis, affectionately termed
hobbits after the small characters in
the Lord of the Rings, appear to be miniaturized versions of
Homo erectus standing about one
metre tall. They may have existed until as recently as
11,000 BC. Local reports of
elf-like people, the
Ebu Gogo, or the
Orang Pendek of Sumatra, have caused speculation that Flores man may have survived into the historical period, or even to the present. The discovery has been published in the
October 28,
2004, issue of
Nature magazine and the
April 2005 issue of the
National Geographic Magazine.
Flores was also a habitat of the extinct
Stegodon dwarf elephant until approximately 18,000 years ago. It also was the habitat of species of giant rodents. It is speculated by scientists that limited resources drove the few species that lived upon the island to
gigantism and
dwarfism.
Culture
There are many languages spoken on the island of Flores, all of them belonging to the
Austronesian family. In the centre of the island in the districts of
Ngada,
Nagekeo, and
Ende there's what is variously called the Central Flores Dialect Chain or the Central Flores 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 is spoken on the island with the same name of the north coast of Flores. Locals would probably also add
So'a and
Bajawa to this list, which anthropologists have labeled dialects of Ngadha.
Portuguese traders and missionaries came to Flores in the 16th century, mainly to
Larantuka and
Sikka. Their influence is still discernible in Sikka's language and culture. In fact, the island's name, Flores, means "flowers" in
Portuguese.
Flores is almost entirely Catholic and represents one of the "religious borders" created by the Catholic expansion in the Pacific and the spread of Islam from the west across Indonesia. In other places in Indonesia, such as in the Malukus and Sulawesi, the divide is more rigid and has been the source of bloody sectarian clashes.
Tourism
The most famous tourist attraction in Flores is
Kelimutu; three coloured lakes in the district of Ende and close to the town of Moni. These
crater lakes are in the caldera of a volcano, and fed by a volcanic gas source, resulting in highly acid water. The coloured lakes change colours on an irregular basis, depending on the oxidation state of the lake (see Pasternack,
Keli Mutu Volcanic Lakes
), from bright red through green and blue. The latest colours (late 2004) were said to be turquoise, brown and black.
There is good
snorkelling and
diving on several 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.
Labuanbajo (on the western tip of Flores) is a town often used by tourists, from where they can visit
Komodo and
Rinca. Labuanbajo also attracts scuba divers, as
whale sharks inhabit the waters around Labuanbajo.
Tourists can visit Luba and Bena villages to see traditional houses in Flores.
Larantuka, on the isle's eastern end, is known for its
Holy Week festivals.
Gallery
Image:SundaIslands.A2003242.0225.500m.jpg|The Lesser Sunda Islands with Flores in the upper right
Image:Flores Moni Kelimutu.jpg|Kelimutu
Image:Jesus_Statue_Maumere.jpg|A statue of Jesus in Maumere, Flores
Image:MaumereBay.jpg|Maumere Bay
Further Information
Get more info on 'Flores'.
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