Ende Tribe Cultures




The Ende tribe culture is part of the culture which is lead the Ende ethnic, the central of Flores island. The origin of the Ende tribe is now speared into 3 sub-districts:

  • Nanga Panda
  • Ende city
  • Ndona

Ende tribe is staying between 2 tribes, the Lio tribe in the Eastside and Negekeo in the Western part.

The natural environment of this tribe is mountains and squiggly hills. There is almost not found wetland, narrow plains are found in the South.

There is only 5% of the area which potentially for rice fields, it is rainfed rice fields. In the last development, there is a plan to make dams for ricefield irrigation.

Traditional Houses

The ancestors of the Ende tribe built houses with their own traditional architectures and cultural works during their era.

There are traditional houses made in the era such as Keda and Kanga. Tubu Musu is one of the ancestral heritage which is now still seen in Ende.

Here are some of the traditional houses in Ende:

  • Ranggase Village
  • Moni Village
  • Tenda Village
  • Wollojita village
  • NuaKota village
  • Saga village
  • Wollogai Village

There are still many more traditional villages in Ende which solid existence.

Language in Ende Tribe Culture

Ende Regency has two ethnic groups, Ende ethnic and Lio ethnic. Both ethnicities have a different dialect from each other.

The Ende tribe dialect is called ata jao, while the Lio tribe dialect is called ata ina. In addition, the daily spoken has also indigenous languages.

The expression of customary words is only used during various customary events. As well as the traditional ritual and others even related to the tradition.

The Traditional Dance

The Ende tribe dance is shown to express the feeling through the order of motion in the rhythm of the music. Judging from the structure and shape. Below are some of the traditional dances:

  • Toja is a group of dancers who dances to a variety of music. It is common to show in the official ceremony.
  • Wanda dance is shown by personal or group dancers in their own style.
  • Wendo dance is the freestyle dance which is the main focus on the foot motion. The dance is equipped with Mbaku (shield) and Sau (sword). Most of the dancers are men.

There are still many more dances you can find in Ende tribe culture. Through our Flores island tours, you will find more details about the Ende ethnic.

People & Culture