Ruteng
The roads in Flores are terrible. They constantly twist and turn, climb and descend. Fortunately, they are paved most of the way. We had to hold on to the seats in front of us not to get thrown around the bus. Four hours was the most that we could stand: enough to get us as far as Ruteng, a cool mountain town known for its Christian seminary. On the outskirts of town we noticed a gathering, but didn't think much of it. Later, as we walked around looking for the traditional village, we discovered that it was a “caci” tournament, a local kind of boxing. The men, naked from the waist up, wore long embroidered sarongs with white leggings and brightly-colored belts. Above their heads was a colorful mask with horns, propped up to look like a visor. A white handkerchief was carried in each hand to grasp a whip or a small shield and a long curved “bow”. Pairs of men would face off: the man with the whip would have one chance to strike the defender, who held the shield and bow. All the while the other participants danced a shuffling dance with their feet, cried and sang while the women played a thumping, driving rhythm with gongs and drums.
 |
 |
The new priest, for whose inauguration the festival had been organized, noticed us standing on the sidelines and invited us to sit next to him in the front row. Our Indonesian vocabulary was not sufficient to ask or understand more about what was going on, so we simply observed, trying to understand the rules. Two men would square off, the whip would fly, and one of the contenders would dance around excitedly. Either the whip-holder had managed to break his opponent's or his contender had successfully defended himself. When hit, a man would perform a shuffling dance around the arena or dance to the microphone to sing loudly. The movements of the men were graceful and elegant. Even with red welts trickling with blood on their torsos, the men continued to dance and sing. This was our first real contact with the rituals of Indonesian ethnic groups. Although we could not understand it, we could feel its power. We continued to watch the battles. Around dusk everything wound down and prizes were distributed. We never found out what the prizes were awarded for. Showmanship, perhaps?
Prev: Labuanbajo & Komodo