Adonara


Adonara is an island in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, located east of the larger island of Flores in the Solor Archipelago. To the east lies Lembata, formerly known as Lomblen. Adonara is the highest of the islands of the archipelago, reaching an altitude of 1,659 metres, and it has an area of 509.6 km2. It is in the East Nusa Tenggara province.

Administration

The island is divided into eight districts, tabulated below with their areas and their 2010 Census populations.
NameEnglish nameArea
Population
Census 2010
Adonara63.69,745
Adonara BaratWest Adonara83.811,743
Wotan Ulu Mado83.77,871
Adonara TengahCentral Adonara38.710,686
Adonara TimurEast Adonara84.426,161
Ile Boleng49.913,958
Witihama65.714,140
Kelubagolit39.810,210
Total Island509.6104,514

History

on Adonara is documented from the sixteenth century, when Portuguese traders and missionaries established a post on the nearby island of Solor. By that time Adonara and the surrounding islands were ritually divided between a population of coastal dwellers known as Paji, and a population mainly settling the mountainous inland called Demon. The Paji were susceptible to Islam, while the Demon tended to fall under Portuguese influence. The Paji areas on Adonara contained three principalities, namely Adonara proper, and Terong and Lamahala. Together with two principalities on Solor, they constituted a league called Watan Lema. The Watan Lema allied with the Dutch East India Company in 1613, confirmed in 1646. The Adonara principalities had frequent feuds with the Portuguese in Larantuka on Flores, and were not always obedient to the Dutch authorities.
In the course of the nineteenth century, the ruler of Adonara in the north strengthened his position in the Solor Archipelago; by then, he was also the overlord of parts of eastern Flores and Lembata. The Demon areas stood under the suzerainty of the principality of Larantuka, which in turn was under Portuguese rule until 1859, when it was ceded to the Netherlands. The principalities of Larantuka and Adonara were abolished by the Indonesian government in 1962. Some post-independence local officials trace their roots to past rulers, called raja, of Adonara. These include:
Adonara Island is a part of the Indonesian regency of East Flores. It can be reached by airplane from Jakarta to Kupang, then by ferry to Larantuka, then by boat.
The administrative centre of Adonara is the town of Waiwerang.