Flores Island

Flores Island

Flores island, the exotic place least visited by the foreigner. It is worth to visit the destination. It has strong ethnic touch with typical tribal work of civilization, more people still influenced by the animistic beliefs. The nature settings are so beautiful, there are soaring volcanoes, colored crater lakes, forests, beautiful sea gardens with white sands beaches, and prehistoric Giant animals too. Flores is a big, rugged remarkably beautiful island .Dominated by a string of volcanoes, the long impenetrable terrain has divided the island into many distinct ethnic groups. There are interesting cultures here, with layers of traditional beliefs beneath the prevalent Christianity.

Flores owes its name to the Portuguese, who called its eastern most Cape Cabo Das Flores, meaning Cape of Flowers. The island diverse cultures have enough similarities to suggest that they developed from common ancestry, differentialed by geographical isolation and varying influence of outsiders. Long before Europeans arrived in the 16 century, much of coastal Flores was firmly in the hands of the Makasarnese and Bugis from southern Celebes (Sulawesi). As early 1512, Flores was sighted by the Portuguese navigator Antonio de Abreu and Europeans had probably landed by 1550. The Portuguese involved in the lucrative Sandalwood trade with Timor, built Fortresses on Pulau Solor ( Solor island ) eastern of flores island .and at Pulau Ende ( Ende island ) south coast of central of Flores.

In 1561 Dominican Priests established a mission on Pulau Solor. Christianity was a successful import and today a church is the centerpiece of almost every village. In the 17 century, the Dutch kicked the Portuguese out of Flores. Ternate and Gowa ( a part of Molluceas island ) also ceded all their rights on Solor, Flores and eastern Sumbawa to the Dutch, giving them nominal control, but it was too complex and isolated to rule effectively. Around 1850 the Dutch purchased Portugal’s remaining enclaves in the area, including Larantuka , Sikka and Paga. Even into the first decade of the 20th century, the Dutch were constantly confronted with rebellions and inter – tribal wars. Unrest continued until a major military campaign in 1907 subdued most of the tribes of central and western Flores. Missionaries moved into the isolated western hills in the 1920’s. Flores is holding its breath for provincial statues . This will be a huge development for the island, as it is currently under the jurisdiction of Kupang and the Nusa Tenggara Timor (NTT) government and has only limited control over its affairs.

 

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