Ngada Regency

Ngada Regency is one of the regencies on the island of Flores, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. It is bordered by East Manggarai Regency to the west and Nagekeo Regency to the east, with the Flores Sea to the north and the Sawu Sea to the south. The Regency, which covers an area of 1,620.92 km2, had a population of 142,254 at the 2010 census, which increased to 165,254 at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 171,736 (comprising 84,763 males and 86,973 females). The town of Bajawa is the capital of Ngada Regency.

History
The Ngada Regency is one of the older regencies (kabupaten) in East Nusa Tenggara, having been formed in 1958. The regency was split into two on 2 January 2007, with the eastern part being formed into a new Nagekeo Regency. With the separate of Nagekeo, the residual Ngada now only has two main ethnic groups, the Bajawa in the south and the Riung in the north.

As is the case with other regencies across Indonesia, local events sometimes seize the headlines. For example, in December 2013 a row broke out when the Ngada Regency head (bupati), Marianus Sae, apparently became angered following an altercation over local travel arrangements. On Saturday 21 December 2013 Marianus Sae was apparently unable to obtain a seat on a local flight in East Nusa Tenggara. Angered by the situation, Sae is reported to have ordered his subordinates to blockade the runway of the Turelelo airport in Soa District (kecamatan). The incident attracted national attention leading to a formal investigation of Sae's actions.

Administrative Districts
The Ngada Regency as at 2010 was divided into nine districts (kecamatan), but since 2010 three additional districts have been created by splitting of existing districts - Inerie, Golewa Selatan (South Golewa) and Golewa Barat (West Golewa). The districts are tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 census and the 2020 census, together with the official estimates as at mid 2023. The table also includes the locations of the administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (totalling 135 rural desa and 16 urban kelurahan), and its postal codes.

Notes: (a) including 2 kelurahan - Aimere and Foa. (b) the 2010 population of the new Inerie District is included with the figures for Aimere and Jerebuu Districts. (c) including 9 kelurahan - Bajawa, Faobata, Jawameze, Kisanata, Lebijaga, Ngedukelu, Susu, Tanalodu and Trikora. (d) including 2 kelurahan - Mataloko and Todabelu. (e) the 2010 populations of the new Golewa Selatan and Golewa Barat Districts are included with the figure for Golewa District. (f) including the kelurahan of Mangulewa. (g) the Riung District includes 26 small offshore islands, of which the largest is Pulau Ontoloe in the northwest corner of the regency. (h) including 2 kelurahan - Benteng Tengah and Nangamese.

Language
The principal language in Ngada is Ngadha, but there are several indigenous languages in Ngada based on their ethnicity. People from Aimere, Bajawa, Golewa, Inerie and Jerebu'u might speak the same language with minor differences, while people from Soa speak a slightly different language, and people from Riung speak a totally different language. Unable to communicate each other in their indigenous languages, they use Indonesian.

Geology, geothermy
Mataloko (administrative center of Golewa district) has a geothermal area of 996.2 ha and is one of the most active geothermal fields in the Bajawa area, which stands along the southeast margin of the Bajawa Depression. Its heat source is deemed to be residual magma under the young volcanic cone and it generates more than 20 hot springs with temperatures up to 95 °C and flows up to 500 l/s. The northern springs are likely to be associated with Inielika volcano while the large group of features SW of Bajawa town are associated with Ineri cone and the many small recent eruptive centres to the east. The hot spring water is of acid sulfate (SO4) type — except for that at Nage where the waters are acid sulphate – chloride type. It results from shallower ground water being heated by gases containing hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and the ground water recharged from the surrounding area. Recharged meteoric water flows down underground, changes to geothermal brine, flows back up toward the southeast and results in a geothermal reservoir. As of 2022, Mataloko geothermal field has a total of 6 wells: 2 exploration wells (MT-1 and MT-2), which were drilled by the Japan-Indonesia Cooperation Research Program; 2 delineation wells (MT-3 and MT-4); 1 development well (MT-5); and 1 injection well (MT-6). Mataloko geothermal power plant has been in operation since 1998.

The locals do not accept that geothermal project for several reasons. Damages to 1,579 houses in 11 villages are mentioned in 2022. The roofs, most of them made of iron sheets, are corroded by the sulphur gas. The sulphur also affects agricultural crops such as cloves, coffee and cacao. And there are complaints about the strong sulphur smell from the power plant.

Tourism
Ngada Regency is one of the poorest regions in Indonesia but its popularity is increasing among international tourists, which somewhat brings a boost to the local economy.

The two most visited areas in the Ngada region are Bena and Wogo, both traditional villages with megalithic complexes. In Ngadha culture, the traditional houses have an important role as organizational units, as villagers must each belong to a house, thereby a clan. Clan totems can be ornately crafted symbols of this social organization.

Two hot springs are relatively easily accessible: Malanage and Mangeruda. Malanage hot spring (Tiworiwu, Jerebuu district), to the east of the Inerie volcano, is 20 km south of Bajawa and near the traditional villages of Nio or Ngio (2 km east), Niki Sie (4 km south-east), Nua Olo (7 km south-east), Bowaru (2 km south), Pali Ana Loka (12 km south) Tololela (6 km south-west) and Bena (6 km north-west). Malanage hot spring reaches a temperature between 42 °C and 45 °C. The collecting basin receives a hot current from the Inerie volcano and a cold current from the Wae Roa waterfall; by changing one's position in the basin, one experiences the whole range of temperatures from almost too hot to very cold. The local community from the nearby village of Dariwali takes care of that spring. Mangeruda hot spring (Indonesian Air Panas Soa, also known as Soa hot spring) is in Soa district, 22 km north-east of Bajawa. It is a bit hotter than the Malanage hot spring, and less isolated.

In the north, Riung is the portal to the beaches and underwater world of the 17-island marine park. The activities include snorkeling, diving, sun bathing, and observing flying foxes.

Culture
The "Ngada traditional house and megalithic complex" was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 19, 1995, in the Cultural category, but was pulled out from the list in 2015.



Soa Valley
In 1968 stegodon fossil and stone artefacts were found in the Soa Valley north of Bajawa. In 1991 excavations were carried out but no significant discoveries were found. In excavations in 1994 researchers found 12 sites of artefacts and the fossils. The age of the Soa Valley is put at around 650,000 to 1.02 million years during which time there were at least two devastating volcanic events. So far, researchers have not found human fossils but it is believed that human fossils may yet be found. Stone artefacts suggesting hominin activity have been found in caves such as Mata Menge in the area. If human fossils are indeed found, this may contribute to knowledge about migration into eastern Indonesia. Research at nearby Liang Bua cave to the west near Ruteng has also contributed to expanding knowledge about early human activity in the area.