PEOPLE ON FLORES

According to the statistic the total population of Flores island recorded of two million people and about 5% increase each year. The population of Flores island is consisting of mixed ethnic origin, with considerable linguistic differences. Recent archeological findings indicate Flores is associated with Paleolithic Malay culture, besides having Melanesian cultural characteristics. In Flores, there are many descendants of the Portuguese. On the small islands in the Flores Sea and in villages scattered on the north coast, live the Bajau, Bugis and Butonese who originate from Sulawesi.

As mentioned earlier, Flores is divided into 6 districts, each speaking a different language, although all belonging to the Austronesian family. Of the 2 million population of Flores, approximately 254.000 live in Kabupaten Sikka. Population of the town of Maumere is + 20.000.

This is a typical monsoon area. The period of the N.W. monsoon (December - April) with prevailing wind from west to northwest brings rain, while the period of S.E monsoon (June-September/October) is the dry season, with prevailing wind east to southeast.

The two seasons are separated by intermediate months (November and May) when winds may come from any direction. According to the island's rainfall pattern, Flores can be divided into three zones: 1. The dry north coast with less than 1000 mm annual rainfall, 2. The central mountains with over 2000 mm annual rainfall and 3. The southern flanks which benefit from bimodal rainfall.