TOLOLELA HAMLET

Located the closest to Mount Inerie, Tololela Hamlet offers a very amazing experience for travelers. Whether they want to feel the local culture, hospitality, local architecture, music, or even want to get away from mundane environment.

Administratively Tololela Hamlet is located in Manubhara Village, Jerebuu District in Bajawa. Just 29 KM distance from the city of Bajawa. To reach Tololela from Bajawa, it takes about 45 minutes drive until Bena Hamlet, and then walk about 15 minutes to Tololela. Other route is about 1 hour trekking.

Local people still maintain the indigenous architecture which already exist since thousand years ago. They use thatched for roofing and also room plan and decoration. The room has 1 room which is considered as sacred and private where the kitchen and other tools for hunting placed. This room is also a bedroom for the family. There is a living room where they accept guests and another room next to the private room located.

The door and wooden wall of the room is engraved with chicken, bull horn and dragon-like animals which has special meaning.

There are some activities to do in the village such as:

-Homestay
Visitors can stay overnight in the homestay which gives guest to mingle with locals. The locals are friendly and they do their daily activities such as going to farm, weaving and visitors can also hear about Tololela’s unique culture directly from the locals.

-Culinary
Tololela has some local menus and also fruits that are served or they can learn cooking as well.

-Bombardom Music
This bamboo instrument can only be found in Tololela hamlet. Usually played with bamboo flute orchestra. Both instruments creating very beautiful melody.

As other indigenous hamlet, located in the middle of the village are Ngadhu and Bhaga, small house-like building with different shape as symbol of men and women spirit, the number of Ngadhu and Bhaga show the number of ethnics living in the hamlet. There are also megalith tomb located in the center of the village. Bull horns slaughtered as sacrifice displayed in front of every house. To build a house, to find a wooden pillar, to decorate the house they must sacrifice pigs and bulls.

We went there invited by indecon and the village held ritual to welcome us. We entered the private room and as other village in Manggarai, a cock was given to the guest representative and then returned again to the village representative. The cock then slaughtered in the beak until it died. The woman of the house than took some blood by hand and swipe over some household items and spears in the room. The cock was then burnt to remove the feathers, and be cut to read the heart (intestine) of the cock.

Not long after the cock was cooked with coconut and served with red rice. We ate it using a hexagonal plate made of pandanus called beka. Along the meal, moke, local liquor is served in coconut.

Other traditional hamlets located nearby Mt Inerie are: Bena, Luba, and Gurusina.

Tololela undertakes Reba Ceremony annually on 28 December.