Rongga's Animism

The concentration of settlements of the Rongga tribe, generally living in East Flores & East Manggarai districts. The belief system during the Perundagian period still continued the previous period, namely animism & dynamism. The discovery of prehistoric sites proves that the ancestors of Indonesian people have long believed in animist beliefs, namely the worship of spirits in certain objects other than living creatures.

In the archipelago, before the arrival of religion from the outside, the people still adhered to old beliefs, namely animism & dynamism. Animism is the belief that everything on earth, both living and dead, has a spirit and must be respected so that it does not disturb humans. Evidence of animism & dynamism beliefs can be seen from the remains of local cultural beliefs of people who believe in the worship of ancestral spirits and supernatural objects.

Buildings left by adherents of animism & dynamism are often referred to as original buildings of past Indonesian society, such as punden terraces, dolmens, sarcophagi, and menhirs. Punden terraces are buildings arranged in tiers and function as a place of worship for the spirits of ancestors among adherents of animism and dynamism. Punden terraces in the Megalithic era always had 3 floors which had their own meaning.

Liang Bua is still in the karst hill area, Manggarai district. The expanse of large black rocks stacked neatly on a wide plain adds to the exoticism of this ancient area which can be reached from Frans Sales Lega airport using public transportation. This area was first discovered by a priest from the Netherlands named Theodore Verhoeven while conducting research in 1965.

Depictions of ancient life can be found on the Wae Racang & Wae Mulu rivers. It is estimated that the human fossils & stone tools are more than 13,000 years old. This prehistoric site is open 24 hours with an entrance ticket price of IDR 20,000 per person.

After the entry of religions from outside, especially Hinduism & Buddhism, then Islam, there was a fusion of cultures which then produced a new culture. Indian & Chinese civilizations are the oldest civilizations on the Asian plains. At the beginning of AD, these two countries had established good economic & trade relations with the East Flores district.

One of the local skills is reflected in the architecture of the buildings which we will see in the architecture of the Dhamma Manggala Monastery, the Nurjannah Riung Mosque & the Tilu Tuna Mosque. The division of the Dhamma Manggala monastery into 3 is by the 3 symbols/levels in Buddhist teachings, namely kamadhatu, Rupadhatu & Arupadhatu. On the southeast side, the relief appears open and can be seen by visitors.

In each stupa, there is a statue of Buddha. The ten levels describe the 10 levels of Bodhisattva that must be passed to achieve perfection in becoming a Buddha in nirvana. This illustrates Buddhist philosophy, namely that all life comes from rocks.

According to Rongga tribe tradition, this large stone was taken from a village called Watu Lajar village. This stone was taken to be used as a closing door to Mount Komba to anticipate attacks from the Todo Kingdom. This indicates that Buddhism entered & developed at that time peacefully.

Especially on the island of Flores, Islam began to develop rapidly in the 16th century. The name al Quds is written in Arabic on a stone inscription located above the mihrab. According to the story, the stone came from the city of Baitul Maqdis in Jerusalem, Palestine.

In each stupa, there is a statue of Buddha. The ten levels describe the 10 levels of Bodhisattva that must be passed to achieve perfection in becoming a Buddha in nirvana. This illustrates Buddhist philosophy, namely that all life comes from rocks.

According to Rongga tribe tradition, this large stone was taken from a village called Watu Lajar village. This stone was taken to use as a cover to enter Mount Komba to anticipate attacks from the Todo Kingdom. This indicates that Buddhism entered & developed at that time peacefully.

Especially on the island of Flores, Islam began to develop rapidly in the 16th century. The name al Quds is written in Arabic on a stone inscription located above the mihrab. According to the story, the stone came from the city of Baitul Maqdis in Jerusalem, Palestine.

Next to the tajug behind the mosque, there is a well called the Bandung Well. The mosque was then given a front porch which was built in 1344 H. In 1947, the mustaka was struck by lightning and was replaced with zinc.

It is not easy to just abandon the old cultural elements that they have acquired from their ancestors. This indicates that the architecture created by Indonesia's ancestors during the Megalithic era can still exist today without losing its original form. All of these prehistoric relics are part of the nation's identity to be preserved so that future generations can understand the origins of their ancestors.