On finally have the chance to visit Bajawa, Flores, I noticed "Jawa" in the name. When I finally had the chance to visit the famous traditional houses Bajawa Bena, I learned that it was no accident
Despite my first impression though, I did not immediately connect :. The traditional houses of Bena are some external resemblance to the Javanese joglo , but they are also very different.
Born in Pati, a coastal village in north central Java-Bena ancestors sailed to Flores there 1,050 years. Their ship was aground on the southern coast of central Flores, and its bridge became the neighborhood Bena. Descending down to Bena, you can see the traditional houses lined up in a pair of curves in the shape of a ship's deck.
Bena The district is named after one of the seven founders of Java. Due to the practice of polygyny ancestors, the people of Bena track of common ancestors with people Maubena, Likowali, Benaliwo and Watujaji. Men leave homes to live with their wives of their first parent families, and if the first wife's consent, to spend time in the homes of his other women.
There are 45 traditional houses in Bena, six from each of the nine clans living there. Made of wooden walls, roofs of reeds and bamboo floors, these traditional houses speak volumes about the kind of local concepts that culture is based.
In the space between the undulating rows of houses, there are male altars umbrellas called form ngadu altars and female called bagha , which look like miniature houses with high racks in the center.
Watunabe is believed to have been erected by the giant Dakhe there are about 1050 years. The dolmen that looks like the dining table is the origin of the name Ba-plate Jawa Java.
Rituals involving ngadu and bagha are conducted by the household of a woman. The ngadu pole is used to tie cattle. Rope, pe'u symbolizes children born out of the man and the woman's union, forever bind them together.
To marry a woman in Bena, a man must first commit to three prenuptial Service -Year his father-in-law to be, then present a coconut offering, chicken, leaves betel and areca nuts to the family of his wife-to-be. If they accept the proposal, the woman's family slaughtered a pig and organizes a festival called Zeza . Then they welcome the groom, sitting him on an altar in the center of the house, and he officially becomes a husband.
Although most of the inhabitants of Bena now converted to Catholicism, the Zeza marriage and ngadu-bagha rituals come from pre-Christian practice ujukuwi . Ngada in the local language, ujukuwi refers to both an offer of prayer, and the name of faith. Followers of ujukuwi worship a "Heavenly Father" called Nitu Gale, and raise prayers to him by a personification of "Mother Earth".
Pak Kasmir, a local elder who for a small fee guide told me, "people tend to generalize these indigenous beliefs such as animism, but I refuse to label as such Ujukuwi . There were many generations here before Catholicism reached Flores, we already know God and prayed for him. "Pak Kasmir claims to have studied Islamic studies and lived in Java for 50 years with his wife, a native of Purworejo.
tradition that Bena was built by a giant named Dakhe, wearing magic rocks near the Mount Inerie to erect the famous Neolithic altar watunabe in the center of the village. Among dozens of standing stones is a large dolmen resembling a dining table with a round basin in a center like a cup holder on the folding table of an airplane seat.
"It is on this dolmen we raise our ujukuwi to our ancestors. This is where the name comes from Bajawa: it means "plate of Java," said Pak Kasmir
Dakhe was considered a man of great strength .. "It's like Goliath. But I think that Goliath had to be smaller because David so easily struck him with a stone. You can not do that to Dakhe. If Dakhe wants fish, he walks into the sea. He catches shark by the tail and slap them. Porter rocks that made this watunabe was a breeze for him, "said Pak Kasmir.
We then visited a traditional house. "The traditional house has three floors Bena But people often mistake this for Java. It is three stories high, but three floors inside," said Pak Kasmir
the southern end of Bena, outlooking hills on the south coast of Flores. the Savu
Seathe first floor is the open wooden air terrace where residents perform daily activities, such as weaving and woodworking, and flaunt their wealth in the form of bull horns and pig tusks previous celebration ceremonies. The second floor is the versatile central room where the family sleeps at night and where mataraga altar is. Behind the altar is a small sliding door on the third floor, where one must kneel and bow. The third and innermost floor of the house is a kitchen with an oven wood.
A good time to visit Bena is December 27 at Reba celebrations. Reba, traditionally celebrated on 15 December, is the New Year Ngada. However, since December 15 might interfere with Catholic commitments before advent, Reba celebrations are now postponed until after Christmas and just before the new Christian year.
I ended my visit to Bena climbing the south end of the neighborhood where a small shrine to Mother Mary overlooking the lush hills of Surelaki. deep shades of blue nature left me questioning where the sky ends and the earth begins. As the fresh breeze quiet play with my hair, I say goodbye to Bena with images of Javanese ancient marine and mobile giants mountains, establishing a settlement whose legacy has lasted a millennium.
Quick Facts
Country: Indonesia
province Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT)
the largest city: Kupang (capital of NTT, Timor Island)
ground: 566 islands, 47,349.9 km 2
the highest altitude: Flores Ranakah - 2350m AMSL
population: NTT - 4,899,260 (BPS 2012 estimate)
Getting there :. Daily flights Ende Kupang, Surabaya and Denpasar, the 4-5 hour drive from Ende to Bajawa
Alternatively, fly to Bali to Labuan Bajo (8 -9 hours) or Maumere (7-8 hours)
What to bring :. hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, polished dress (covered shoulders and knees), camera, cash for entrance fees and guide, cigarettes offer local men (especially when photographed) .
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