Clean-up ritual a la Manggarai people

Thu, May 5, 2016 / 02:37 pm

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A quadrated stone is used as a place to hold offerings for the ancestors in Bangka Tuke village in Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, during the Congko Lokap ritual that took place on April 4. The Jakarta Post/Markus Makur
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The offerings contain rice and chicken served on betel leaves for the ancestors (Teing Hang) by the customary head of Bangka Tuke village in Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, during the Congko Lokap ritual on April 4. The Jakarta Post/Markus Makur
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People of Tuke village perform the Congka Sae mass dance surrounding a Batu Compang – a big cobblestone – during the Congko Lokap ritual on April 4. The Jakarta Post/ Markus Makur
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The customary head of Bangka Tuke village in Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, carries out the ritual of calling ancestors to attend the Congko Lokap ritual on April 4. The Jakarta Post/Markus Makur
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Students along with their parents enjoy the Congka Sae dance on April 4. As the next generation, they have an obligation to uphold Manggarai culture. The Jakarta Post/Markus Makur
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Women wearing traditional clothes perform a shawl dance as part of the Congko Lokap ritual in Bangka Tuke village in Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, on April 4. The Jakarta Post/ Markus Makur
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The horns of a buffalo are seen on the roof of a Mbaru Niang traditional house in Bangka Tuke village in Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara. The Jakarta Post/ Markus Makur

Manggarai, a regency in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, is famous for a thousand thatch-roofed customary houses known as Mbaru Niang or Mbaru Wunut. The houses are oval-shaped with the roof material coming from palm leaves.

Manggarai people conduct a sacred ceremony aimed at honoring their ancestors and God [Mori Kraeng] before starting to build a house. After the house is built the community holds a ritual namely Congko Locap – a ceremony to clean up around the newly constructed house. They conduct the ceremony by slaughtering chickens, buffalos, and pigs. A customary village head leads the service.

The pigs are offered to ancestors [Ela Pantek] as the first step of the Congko Lokap ritual, followed by the tribute to wellsprings as a source of life [Barong Wae Tiku] and asking for the ancestors to attend the ritual [Baro Boa]. Manggarai people take two weeks to prepare for the four-day Congko Lokap ritual. [dan]

JP/ Markus Makur