Waiting for the Steps Forward to Guide East Flores Culture

Guide a culture of working without pay. Documenting and teaching cultural diversity that is starting to be abandoned.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

The cultural leaders from East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, were seen in the city of Kupang on Sunday, May 5th, 2024. They were in discussion with the Head of Culture Division of the Tourism and Culture Department of East Flores Regency, Silvester Petara Hurit (second from left).

The various cultural riches of the people of East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, which are slowly sinking, are now starting to be narrated again by a number of young people. Those who are called cultural guides document and teach students at school to recognize their cultural identity.

The cultural guides involved include Ferdinandus Kopong Huler (32), Antonius Lamablawa (32), and Maria Natalia Ana Yusti (32). When interviewed in Kupang on Sunday (5/5/2024), they were accompanied by the Head of the Cultural Affairs Division of the East Flores District Tourism and Culture Office, Silvester Petara Hurit.

They have just returned from attending the National Education Day ceremony held by the Ministry of Education and Culture in Jakarta on Thursday (2/5/2024). Cultural guides from four districts/cities in Indonesia, including East Flores, were specially invited to the event.

Kopong from Sulengwaseng Village, South Solor District, Solor Island, stated that for the past two years, he has actively attended various traditional rituals carried out by indigenous communities in several villages in Solor. He documented the rituals in audio and visual form.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

Residents take a motorboat from Adonara Island to Solor Island in East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday, October 23, 2021. The journey poses a risk of accidents.

"Like in Wuriblolong village, there is a harvest celebration which includes traditional prayers, dances, customs, and stories of sharing food. The community still upholds its traditions even though only the elder generation can perform them. The question is, do young people understand this?" he said.

All of those documents are now stored by Kopong. He plans to eventually publish them through a social media account that specifically covers cultural issues. From there, the local younger generation can learn and preserve it. On the other hand, the publication also aims to introduce Solor culture to the world.

This is the communal wealth of the people of East Flores that we hardly find anymore. We want to bring it back to life.

Like Kopong, Antonius also focuses more on documentation. He has now invited many youths from Adonara Island to participate in cultural exchange meetings. They will expand the areas they work on. The issues recorded are wider, such as cultural tourism and local food.

He admits that many young people are apathetic towards local cultural richness. They tend to underestimate and consider it as backwardness and lag. "But, I believe, this document will be sought after in the future," he said.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

Tuak putih and jagung titi are typical foods on Solor Island, East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, as of Saturday, October 23, 2021.

Natalia, who works as a teacher at the Catholic High School of St. Francis of Assisi in Larantuka, encourages her students to get to know their own culture. She happens to teach crafts and entrepreneurship, so local-based materials can be incorporated into the learning activities.

One of the methods employed is to assign students to visit traditional elders in the village for interviews and in-depth exploration. Afterward, they present their findings in class. Through experiencing this process directly, the knowledge acquired by the students easily becomes ingrained within them.

In addition to exploring history, Natalia also encourages her students to make traditional crafts, such as plates made of clay and spoons and glasses made of coconut shells. "That is the communal wealth of East Flores society that we almost never find again. We want to revive it," she said.

Also read: Local Food Inferiority

The Head of the Culture Department of the East Flores District Tourism and Culture Office, Silvester Petara Hurit, appreciates the efforts of young people who are preserving or revitalizing abandoned cultures. These cultures include rituals, oral literature, traditional technology, local cuisine, traditional songs, respect for nature, and much more.

KOMPAS/FRANSISKUS PATI HERIN

The sea procession is part of the Semana Santa event in Larantuka, East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, on Friday (7/4/2023). The sea procession, which takes place every Good Friday, is a tradition of the Larantuka Kingdom.

For this year, cultural guidance is expected to focus more on the issue of local food. Traditional communities are encouraged to consume local food that is available in their surroundings. By doing so, dependence on rice, which is currently priced very high due to scarcity, can be reduced. In East Flores, the price of rice once reached Rp 17,000 per kilogram.

According to Silvester, being a cultural guide is not easy. They are dealing with a generation that tends to be apathetic and difficult to reintroduce to their own cultural values. There will be resistance, so it requires determination. "Especially since working as a cultural guide is unpaid," he said.

The cultural guide's activities in East Flores have been ongoing for the past two years. They record, narrate, and remind us of the diverse cultural richness in the region.

Also read: Stimulating NTT Local Food Appetites