The Baar people (Ata Baar) is an ethnic group that inhabits the central part of Flores, especially in the Greater Sambinasi region, which is located in the district of Riung, Ngada Regency to the village of Nampar Sepang, East Manggarai Regency in the province of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. They are different from the Riung people even though they are in the same area.[2]
The Baar people's settlements is located along the north coast of Riung on the Flores Sea side, between the borders of the regencies of Ngada and East Manggarai.[3] They inhabit areas consisting of arid hills, valleys, and coasts, side by side with the komodo dragon (mbau).[4] Most of them are Muslim, although they still retain remnants of local beliefs.[5]
History
The Baar people identify themselves as an indigenous people who have lived in the Greater Sambinasi region on the north coast of Flores for hundreds of years. There are no recorded figures regarding the historical population of the Baar people, but according to their elders in 2024, their population numbered around 200 people.[6]
Society
The Baar people live along the Trans Flores route on the north coast, from Nampar Sepang in the tip of East Manggarai Regency to Riung District in Ngada Regency, in an region called Greater Sambinasi.[7] Some of the villages inhabited by the Baar people include Damu, Ruki, and Martauk in West Sambinasi.[8] They speak Baar, a language whose vocabulary is very similar to Manggarai language, but is a mixture of Riung language, which is its basic language. Each Baar villages has its own distinctive accent.[9]
The Baar people's residential area is partly in the East Manggarai Regency, while the other part is in Ngada Regency. Their daily lives are farming and fishing. However, before the 1970s, the Baar people's livelihood was livestock farming and weaving. Later, they shifted to fishing and farming. Despite this, the daily life of Baar women has not changed. They still maintain the tradition of weaving (menenun).[9]
The Baar people consist of several clans or groups, including:[10]
Bande Boar
Buluk
Lindang
Lokon
Maki
Medeng
Pau
Rungang
Sari
Waeraut
Walio
Wangkung
Waru
Culture
Just like the Komodo people on Komodo Island, west of Flores, they also have a myth of kinship with the komodo dragon. In local folklore, mbau, which is the local name for Varanus komodoensis, was born from the womb of a Baar woman, so they are considered to be siblings. In the words of the Baar traditional elders, "we were taught not to be rude, let alone insult the mbau, because he is our brother".[6]
Hunting tradition
The Baar people have a hunting tradition known as malang, they will hunt timor deer together with komodo dragons. Apart from that, wild boars, porcupines, and civets are also hunted. Before the tradition begins, the Torong Padang Hills on the northern peninsula of Flores are deliberately burned a month or two before the malang is held, so that their prey cannot hide. Despite criticism, according to some environmentalists and activists, burning savanna helps grass grow faster in the rainy season, providing abundant food for deer. The traditional elders also said, "this is our tradition. We will suffer bad consequences if we don't do it". The adverse effects he mentioned included crop failure and sudden illness among the Baar people.[6]
In the hunt, the komodo dragon takes part. If the mbau manages to catch a deer, the Baar people do not take it because it is the Komodo dragon's share. On the other hand, the Baar traditional elders who led the hunt often shouted from the top of the hill. He asked the Komodo dragons not to chase deer that ran up the hills because they were human habitats. The sentence e miu pereng wa, on rapang gami, is used by traditional elders in the Mortauk language (a local language which is a dialect of the Riung language). This sentence can be interpreted as "you [komodo dragons] wait in the valley, the deer on the hill are the human's share". The komodo dragons seemed to understand the request of the traditional elders, instead of climbing the hill, the komodo dragons would guard and catch deer that ran down towards the valley.[6]
Weaving tradition
Baar women still maintain the tradition of weaving which continues. If every day the men farm and hunt fish in the sea, the women sat in the yard, under the roof, or under the shade of a tree in the yard, weaving from morning to evening, every day. Baar women are known as loyal and diligent weavers, as are women from all the ethnic groups of Flores.[9]
Baar women who live in Ngada Regency, they usually weave Ngada cloth (kain Ngada), a type of tenun, with various motifs. Years ago, they wove and sold the fabric themselves. Now, each village has residents who collect and sell the fabric in Bajawa, the capital of Ngada Regency. Some other residents received orders directly from government offices or private banks in Bajawa. The price varies, depending on the motif and difficulty, but on average it ranges from IDR 500,000 for sarongs and clothing fabric.[9]
Traditional marriage
The Baar people have unique marriage traditions, including the titi tako, which has become a tradition for the Baar people. The titi tako is as a way out if love in a relationship does not get the blessing of the family and one of the partners or both. So the solution is to carry out titi tako witnessed by religious leaders, local leaders, and traditional leaders.[5]
Nature conservation
The Baar people know pirong, which is a traditional effort to protect and preserve nature and historical sites, important locations for the public welfare, forest areas, water sources and places with rare species such as komodo dragon (mbau) which are in the Torong Padang Hills. These efforts are not only for the purpose of sustainability but also in an effort to improve the standard of living, while still maintaining unique and distinctive traditions and traditional ceremonies as a local identity.[11]
Rituals and other traditional activities
The Baar people has a biennial traditional ritual which is carried out in Riung District. A series of traditional activities that began with the pintu manuk ritual in Nambe (ritual location on the Torong Padang Hills), followed by hunting tradition (malang) for two days. The traditional ceremony was continued with traditional market activities in West Sambinasi involving the Baar people from Nampar Sepang in East Manggarai Regency to Riung in Ngada Regency. The next series of events closed with the larik tradition and the rentok ritual.[7] In addition, there is also a kaizo ritual to ask for rain and a tandak dance to welcome important guests.[12]
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