Ngada Villages of Flores

Ngada villages on Flores are yet another example of living by a mixture of animist and catholic rituals. The first village on our route was Luba where we were offered coffee and could take pictures inside of a house. The family refused to take a donation but one of the ladies very quickly picked up and hid 70k Indonesian rupees that slipped out of my pocket. I pretended I did not notice that. Bena village was much bigger and more appealing but we didn’t get invited to any of the houses.

Later that day in a bar in Bajawa, we met a student from West Java who explained the Ngada customs to us. The villages are controlled by several clans that decide for instance who occupies which house. A candidate needs to have skills of good hospitality, should be able to serve well and be good with neighbours. Women's life concentrate around weaving and cooking on open fire while men work in the field, mainly cultivating rice. There's no technology whatsoever, they navigate through the day by listening to the birds singing. Ngada people are very respectful towards with their ancestors, it's believed they live among them after death.