Sikka people

Sikka
Ata Sikka
	Radja Don Josephus da Silva of Sikka with his wife.
Total population
	237,000[ citation needed ]
Regions with significant populations
	Indonesia (Sikka)
Languages
	Sikka, Maumere Malay, and Indonesian
Religion
	Christianity (predominantly Catholicism)
Related ethnic groups
	Lamaholot • Lio • Palue

Last updated January 09, 2026

The Sikka people, also known as Sikkanese or Sika, are an Austronesian-speaking ethnic group native to the region of east central Flores between the Bloh and Napung rivers in the city of Maumere, the center of the region and capital of the Sikka Regency, where the Sikka people occupy a separate block.^[2] The Sikka language, which is a member of the Bima–Sumba languages, is spoken by the Sikka people. The Sikka language has at least three recognized dialects, namely Sikka Natar, Sara Krowe, and Sara Tana 'Ai.^[3]

History

Kingdom of Sikka

Coinciding with the Portuguese colonial period in the archipelago, the Sikka people at that time had their own kingdom, namely the Kingdom of Sikka.^[4] According to local tradition, its first raja (king) ruled from 1607 after introducing Roman Catholicism, although prior rulers had established themselves at Sikka Natar and spread their rule around modern Sikka. The Portuguese which previously held influence over Sikka ceded it to the Dutch in 1859, and the Dutch colonial government established a new center of power at Maumere by the 1910s.^[5]

Sikkanese of Timor

A group of mestizo from Sikka and Europeans settled in 1851 as a voluntary recruits from the UK according to the Dili Sikkanese over in Portuguese Timor.^[6] In that year, the Portuguese government had José Joaquim Lopes de Lima to sign a treaty with the Netherlands concluded that the west of Timor, Flores, and other areas of the Lesser Sunda Islands are ceded to them. This agreement was later confirmed by the Treaty of Lisbon in 1859. The Sikka people are formed in addition to the Bidau and Moradores as one of the three people groups that make up the Portuguese Armed Forces in the colony. All three ethnic groups lived in separate districts of the capital. As for language they still retained their original Malay language, but later switched to a Portuguese creole. Today they have been absorbed into the same population and do not form their own distinct group anymore.^[7]

Religion

Most the Sikka people are Roman Catholicism. Many of those living in the interior still maintain their traditional ancestor worship practices. Maumere, the main settlement of the Sikka people, known as the most famous Catholic town in Indonesia, along with Larantuka, so it is known as the "Rome of Indonesia" or "Rome of the East".^[8]

Culture

The Sikka people are part of the indigenous population of the Flores island.^[9] The material culture of the mountaineers retained more traditional elements than on the coast, especially in the western part, where the Catholic mission worked actively since the 17th century; where it is here that their culture acquired European features.

Traditional activities

Sika people engage in slash-and-burn agriculture with short forms of shifting cultivation.^[10] In the west of the coastal area, irrigation is used.^[11] Food crops farming include rice, corn, cassava and millet; and other commodities are such as peanuts and coconut palm. Sika people also raise horses, small cattle and poultry. Coastal fishing is also common. Weaving and braiding are well developed.^[12] Commodity-money relations are intertwined with numerous survivals of the traditional communal system, where it is manifested in the system of land ownership, regulation of marriages and in everyday life.

Lifestyle

Mountain villages are small and have a circular layout, are located on the steep slopes of the mountains; which served as protection against attacks. In the middle of the settlement there is an area with a temple and sacred megalithic shrines. Coastal settlements have a linear plan, located along a road or river. The dwelling frame and pillar structure, pile, in the mountains is designed for large families, while in the coastal areas, for a small family.

Clothing of those living in the interior consists of a skirt or loincloth. In coastal villages, they carry kain (cloth) and a jacket or shirt.

The dietary of the Sika people are such as vegetable and mostly cereals from wheat and corn with spices, fruit and juice. Fish and meat are eaten on holidays.

References

↑ Nuwa, G.G. (2017). "Campur Kode Dalam Transaksi Jual Beli di Pasar Alok Maumere Propinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur" (PDF). Jurnal Bindo Sastra (in Indonesian). 1 (2). Maumere: IKIP Muhammadiyah Maumere: 112–120. doi: 10.32502/jbs.v1i2.752 . ISSN 2549-5305.
↑ LeBar, Frank M.; Appell, George N. (1972). Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Andaman Islands, and Madagascar. Human Relations Area Files Press. p. 89. ISBN 08-753-6403-9.
↑ Tryon, Darrell T. (1995). Comparative Austronesian Dictionary: An Introduction to Austronesian Studies. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 3-1108-8401-1.
↑ Lewis, E. Douglas (2010). The Stranger-Kings of Sikka: With an Integrated Edition of Two Manuscripts on the Origin and History of the Rajadom of Sikka. BRILL Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-25377-3.
↑ Hägerdal, Hans (2025). "Dutch Colonialism and Portuguese Land Legacies in Flores". Colonial Land Legacies in the Portuguese-Speaking World. Calgary: University of Calgary Press.
↑ Thomas, Luis Filipe. "De Ceuta a Timor" [From Ceuta to Timor] (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved 2015-01-17.
↑ History of Timor (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-07-31, retrieved 2015-01-17
↑ Singereta, Ermelina (23 July 2021). "Maumere, 'Roma-nya Indonesia' dalam Pusaran Perdagangan Orang dan Prostitusi Anak". www.katolikana.com (in Indonesian). Katolikana. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
↑ Susan Legêne; Bambang Purwanto; Henk Schulte Nordholt (2015). Sites, Bodies and Stories: Imagining Indonesian History. NUS Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-99-716-9857-7.
↑ Ongko Susetia Totoprajogo (August 1989). Effect of deworming treatment on nutritional status in primary school children in Kabupaten Sikka, Nusa Tenggara Timur Province, Indonesia. Cornell University. p. 20.
↑ Metzner, Joachim K. (1982). Agriculture and population pressure in Sikka, Isle of Flores: a contribution to the study of the stability of agricultural systems in the wet and dry tropics. Development Studies Centre Monograph No. 28. Canberra: Australian National University. pp. 221–224. hdl: 1885/131368 . ISBN 09-091-5059-1.
↑ Jes A. Therik (1989). Tenun Ikat Dari Timur: Keindahan Anggun Warisan Leluhur / Ikat in Eastern Archipelago: An Esoteric Beauty of Ancestral Entity. Jakarta: Pustaka Sinar Harapan. p. 48. ISBN 97-941-6038-5.