CARA VILLAGE (SPIDER WEB RICEFIELD)

CARA VILLAGE (SPIDER WEB RICEFIELD)

Spider web rice field is one of the best tourist object in Flores Island, located in Cara village about 12 Lodok. In the center of this rice field planted trees, namely teno, and this tree is used as the center to make a line in measuring the field. In division, the land, The head of the village (tu’a teno) used his finger as the measuring instrument, and each people normally get the land section but not the same size, the size of the land depends on social status in the society. Some people who have high levels will ger larger sizes, but ordinary people, will get a smaller size sizes most of the land in Manggarai district is divided by using this system, and when the leader has measured it, next is pull the line to the end of the land that called cicing for all around the center, so it’s formed look like a spider web.

kms from Ruteng or 118 kms from Labuan Bajo. Spider web rice field has a unique circle form with its center called

Lingko or spider web also has relation with mbaru tembong (traditional house of manggaraian,) especially with the roof of Mbaru tembong. the roof of mbaru tembong has a conical shape from the top to down, and if we try to spread it in the land the form is the same. In this case, manggaraian believes with a local slogan “gendang onen lingko pe’ang” means lingko or land as the center for earning a living and mbaru or a house as the resting place for leaving.

In opening new land, always start the ceremony from Mbaru tembong (traditional house), where all people follow the ceremony to take an offering for the ancestors while praying might their soul always take care of all the people in processing of land division, then the next traditional ceremony is in the field as the new land to take an offering to something or someone as the guardian of the land.

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