In the land of hobbits

Christina Schott, Contributor/Flores

The view is breathtaking, the potholes, too. Actually, the whole street winding the 14 kilometers from Ruteng down to Liang Bua, is more or less one big pothole. However, every meter of this bumpy trip is worth it for the wonderful panorama: lush rice fields as far as the mountains and beyond that the silhouettes of the surrounding volcanoes. In between, splendid bougainvilleas and other blossoming bushes -- after all, we are on Flores, the island in Indonesia's East Nusantara province the Portuguese named the "Cape of Flowers".

Liang Bua is the last of the simple bamboo-hut villages along the winding road that starts at Ruteng, the capital of the Manggarai region. Curly-haired women and children dressed in ikat (handwoven cloth) crouch beside the street caught up in their daily tasks. Foreigners are still rare in these parts as evident in the giggling school children who run after us until our motorbikes disappear behind the next bend.

Despite its remoteness, Liang Bua -- meaning ice cave in the language of the Manggarai people -- made headlines a year ago. It was here, in an inconspicuous limestone cave that gave the village its name, that a team of Australian and Indonesian scientists found the bones of an extremely small hominid. One year later, in October 2004, they published their discovery, which became known as the "hobbit".

The scientific classification of the Homo floresiensis has been a matter of controversy, but the discovery is, in any case, one of the most important in paleoanthropology in the last 50 years. The excavations brought to light the bones of seven very small human beings, besides stone tools, with an estimated age of between 94,000 and 13,000 years.

What makes this little prehistoric man so special is the fact that he is said to have lived as recently as 13,000 years ago -- and therefore at a time when Homo sapiens already existed. He passes for a descendant of the Homo erectus, who might have gone through a kind of shrinking process due to the extreme living conditions on the volcano island.

Professor Teuku Jacob, Indonesia's best known paleoanthropologist, contradicts the theses of the discoverers. The small skull was only a consequence of a pathological defect, argued the professor emeritus of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, who was to his annoyance not a member of the excavation team.

Nevertheless, the discovery created a stir in the media. Flores was described as a kind of "lost world", where prehistoric beings developed into giant or dwarf species due to the extreme living conditions -- like dwarf elephants or the giant lizards that still live on the islands of Komodo and Rinca.

The discoverers assume that the Homo floresiensis became extinct because of a massive volcanic eruption. However, some of these prehistoric humans seem to have survived. At least, if one believes in the local legend of Ebu Gogo. The Ebu Gogo were small, hairy cave inhabitants, whose last survivors allegedly were seen in the 19th century.

Also the inhabitants of Liang Bua village tell of the "short people", the Raberuek (meaning adolescents), who once lived in their area. Due to a fight with the "big men", the Raberuek retreated into the cave, eventually dying there. Some of them, though, may have mixed with the big people and their descendants may be living today. As proof of their story, the villagers guide us to a 1.40-meter-tall adult man, whose body is in perfect proportion.

"There are more short people in our village," said Agustinus Manga, the key guard of the suddenly-so-important limestone cave. The 27-year-old was also with the excavation team, when they found the first bones in the sectors 7 and 11. "We were all enormously happy to have discovered something. Though, that there were small human beings was no surprise to me." he says.

After the great discovery, the inhabitants of Liang Bua expected loads of visitors. Some travel agents in Bali offered package tours to the home of the Flores man. The combination of scientific sensation and prehistoric legend gave rise to fantasies of a prehistoric adventure park. "For the first time, something important happened in Ruteng," said the local tourism chief Timbul Marselinus.

Until now, however, they have been waiting in vain. In the slim guest book of key guard Agustinus only 31 visitors are recorded since last November, most of them scientists or journalists -- three foreigners among them. A visitor from Java mentions the main problem: "There is nothing to see anymore -- the discoverers took everything away with them."

For the average tourist, the journey to the heart of the Manggarai region is, to be honest, exhausting and time wasting. There are daily flights from Bali to Labuanbajo, but from the most western town of Flores it takes another four hours in a bus to reach Ruteng.

Those who make it to Flores usually continue to Komodo or hit the long road to Mount Kelimutu, the volcano famous for its three-colored lakes. Only 10 percent of tourists on Flores stop at Ruteng, more than half of them only to rest for a night from the tiring trip on the Trans-Flores-Highway.

But the cool and quiet market town is actually worth a stay of some days. While we were still shivering in the morning cold and thinking about taking a bath in the icy mountain water, the first sun rays hit the majestic beauty of the surrounding volcanoes - among them Mount Ranaka, at 2,382 meters above sea level, the highest mountain on Flores. Hiking to its peak before noon assures spectacular views, weather permitting.

Several traditional villages are easily accessible from Ruteng. Their center forms a round square with a Compang, a round stone altar, in its middle. Beside the square is a round community house, where the village elders used to gather, the huge conical roof covered with palm fibers is crowned with buffalo cones on its top.

Although the Manggarai converted to Catholicism, they continue to perform traditional ceremonies. The most important is the Penti ritual, which takes place in August to remember the ancestors. On this occasion, the Manggarai people slaughter buffaloes and pigs and perform the Caci whip dance.

The question of whether Ruteng and the land of the hobbits will become a tourist destination probably does not so much depend on the classification of the Homo floresiensis, since the scientific annals are written outside Flores. It depends on whether local institutions and organizations can promote the beauty of their region to visitors from far away. Part of any kind of promotion certainly must be the conservation of nature and cultural traditions, the improvement of transportation and the involvement of the local population. The masses, however, the key guard and the tourism chief are hoping for, probably will never make their way to this unique place. I am sure, the hobbits will be grateful for it.

Travel tips:

How to get there:

Daily flights by GT Air from Denpasar to Labuanbajo. From there take the frequent public busses or for a little more comfort on the bumpy road, rent a car.

Information and tour organizing: Sila Laga Jaya Tours, Labuanbajo/Ruteng, phone: 0812-3662110, E-mail: komodo_tours@yahoo.com

Where to stay:

Hotel Dahlia, Jl. Kartini, Ruteng, phone: 0385-21377

Ask for the "VIP rooms", but better provide yourself with breakfast: The bakeries in Ruteng sell delicious, small bread rolls.

Shopping:

In the lively, traditional market of Ruteng, villagers from the mountains sell fruit, vegetables and all kind of animals, besides ikat in the typical Manggarai style: strong, black material with colourful embroidery.

Excursions:

The perfect place to watch the sunrise is on top of the hill Golo Curu in the north of Ruteng. For fishing, swimming or just relaxing got to Lake Ranamese in the East of Ruteng, just beside the Trans-Flores-Highway.