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RUTENG-FLORES HINTERLAND
Ruteng is
the capital of the district Manggarai, which is by far the biggest
of Flores; it consists of almost one third of the island. The
capital is located at the food of a high mountain range and forms
the center of a complicated network of valleys, which together make
the biggest rice-producing area of Flores. The area is part of the
most important coffee-producing areas of Indonesia.
Ruteng is a small, mainly Catholic town with a lively shop-and
market quarter. The commercial activities are dominated by Chinese
families. Because of it's high location Ruteng has a nice cool
climate.
Welcome mountain
The top
of Golo Curu ('Welcome mountain'), a hill north of Ruteng, offers a
nice view over the city and the surrounding sawahs. Follow
the road to Reo until a kilometer past Losmen Agung. Go straight
after the bridge - instead of following the main road which bends to
the left - until a church, the Santo Fransiskus Assisi. Behind the
church is an unpaved road which brings you to the top in about 20
minutes on foot. The best time for a trip to the top is in the early
morning, because in the afternoon the mountains are often obscured
by clouds.
The view is the best at sunrise, around 6.00, and just after. After
climbing for a while you can see graveyards: one for Catholics, one
for Chinese and one in between for war heroes.
On the
 top
of Golo Curu the view is obstructed by vegetation, but a little
lower you can look over the surrounding sawah's, which look
just as orderly as possible in such a rough landscape. Just west of
the hill you can see one of the few lingko rondang, a
traditional field in which wedge-shaped gardens are located around a
central point.
Above the entrance to the upper part of the hill is a gate with the
text 'Ave Maria'; behind that an altar for the Holy Virgin. The
story goes that a farmer from the neighborhood saw a bright light on
the top oft he hill. A supernatural voice told him that an altar for
Maria supposed to be built. The church obeyed, but there have no
miracles taken place yet.
Changing traditions
The
 residents
of Ruteng consider themselves modern Indonesian with pride and maybe
even a little regret because they have said goodbye to their
traditional lifestyles. The most spectacular habit of the old
religion is still popular: caci, or whip fights, in which the
participants hit each other with whips of buffalo skin. It's an
important part of the traditional ceremonies and also during a
Catholic marriage. The 'season' is from the end of June until the
end of August. The best way of tracking a marriage is asking for it
at the local market (in Indonesian) or even better is you know
someone that speaks the local language asking it for you. Attending
a marriage is worth while. Who dresses and behaves properly is
treated as a guest of honor.
In Kampung
 Ruteng,
which used to be an important ritual center, you can see a
compang (village altar). The village is two kilometers north of
Ruteng. The compang is a platform like stage of stone and
soil with the graves of the founders of the village; it is
surrounded by an oval-shaped stone surrounding fence. Too bad an
'administration-fee' is counted for tourists, and if you want to
make a picture, you pay double price.
The first large town near Labuhanbajo is
RUTENG , 140km to the east. Surrounded by stark, forested volcanic
hills and rolling rice-paddy plains, it's an archetypal hill town
and a cool, relaxing place. The market just to the south is the
central meeting point for the local Manggarai people, as Ruteng is
their district capital. They speak their own language and have a
distinctive culture
that's most in evidence in villages on the south coast. Their
traditional houses are conical and arranged in concentric circles
around a round sacrificial arena; even the rice paddies are round,
divided up like spiders webs, with each clan receiving a slice. Most
of these formations are no longer used, but a good example can still
be seen at GOLO CURU , a three-kilometre walk uphill from the
Agung losmen in Ruteng.
Most buses arriving in Ruteng will drop
you off at a hotel if you ask. Otherwise the bus terminal is
 relatively
central. Buses to Bajawa (5-6hr; Rp5000) and Labuhanbajo start
leaving at 7am and continue sporadically until early afternoon.
Buses to Ende take ten hours. The airport is about 2km out of town,
from where most hotels offer free buses. Bank Rakyat Indonesia
(Mon-Thurs 7.30am-3.45pm, Fri 7.30-11.45am & 1.30-3.45pm, Sat
7.30am-noon) is on Jalan Yos Sudarso opposite the Sindah
hotel. You'll find the post office on Jalan Dewi Sartika (Mon-Thurs
9am-3pm, Fri 9-11.30am, Sat 9am-1pm, Sun 9am-noon), 50m up from the
traditional houses. The 24-hour Telkom office is on Jalan Achmad
Yani.
Ruteng, a large town in the highlands that
was blissfully cool in the evening compared to the rest of the trip.
We visited the soccer stadium - in a few days home to the regional
championships - with amazing views over several valleys and volcanos.
We then had dinner at the home of freinds of Karrie and Michael's
co-worker, Father Adam. Ruteng (and most of Flores) is primarly
Catholic.
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