The Ebu Gogo are a group of human-like creatures that appear in the folklore of Flores, Indonesia.[1] In the Nage language of central Flores, ebu means "grandparent" and gogo means "one who eats anything". A colloquial English equivalent might be something like "old glutton".
The Nage people of Flores describe the Ebu Gogo as having been able walkers and fast runners around 1.5 m (5 feet) tall. They reportedly had wide and flat noses, broad faces with large mouths and hairy bodies. The females also had "long, pendulous breasts".[2] They were said to have murmured in what was assumed to be their own language and could reportedly repeat what was said to them in a parrot-like fashion.[3]
The legends relating to the Ebu Gogo were traditionally attributed to monkeys, according to the journal Nature.[4]
An article in New Scientist gives the following account of folklore on Flores surrounding the Ebu Gogo: in the 18th century, villagers gave the Ebu Gogo a gift of palm fiber to make clothes, and once the Ebu Gogo took the fiber into their cave, the villagers threw in a firebrand to set it alight, killing all of the occupants (one pair may have fled into the forest).[5][6]
There are also legends about the Ebu Gogo kidnapping human children, hoping to learn how to cook them. The children always easily outwit the Ebu Gogo in the tales.[7]
The Ebu Gogo folklore has gained public attention with the discovery of Homo floresiensis, an extinct hominid species that inhabited Flores until c. 50,000 years ago. The ethnologist Gregory Forth (2008) has suggested that tales about Ebu Gogo and similar figures in the folklore of Indonesia such as the Orang Pendek are based on the memory of actual encounters between modern humans and Homo floresiensis.[7] This proposal has little mainstream support, especially after the dating of the extinction of Homo floresiensis which initially was assumed to have occurred at c. 12,000 BP was revised to 50,000 BP.[8]
^Forth, Gregory L. 1998. Beneath the volcano: religion, cosmology and spirit classification among the Nage of eastern Indonesia. Leiden, KITLV Press. ISBN90-6718-120-X. p. 104.
^Gregory Forth (10 December 2008). Images of the Wildman in Southeast Asia: An Anthropological Perspective. Routledge. p. 15. ISBN978-1-135-78430-0.
^SPAFA Journal: A Publication of the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts (SPAFA). The Centre. 2003. p. 46.
^Wong, Kate (June 2006). "The Littlest Human". Scientific American. 16 (2): 48–57. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0606-48sp.
^Kohn, Marek (15 June 2006). "Homo floresiensis: The little troublemaker". New Scientist. Vol. 186, no. 2504. p. 45.
^Kohn, Marek (18 June 2005). "Far Weirder Than Hobbits". Marek Kohn.
^ abForth, Gregory (2008). Images of the Wildman in Southeast Asia: An Anthropological Perspective. London: Routledge.
^Madison, Page (3 February 2020). "Investigating Homo floresiensis and the myth of the ebu gogo". Psyche. Aeon. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
External linksedit
Roberts, Richard (28 October 2004). "Villagers speak of the small, hairy Ebu Gogo". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 October 2009.
December 18, 2023
gogo, gogo, group, human, like, creatures, that, appear, folklore, flores, indonesia, nage, language, central, flores, means, grandparent, gogo, means, eats, anything, colloquial, english, equivalent, might, something, like, glutton, contents, folklore, record. The Ebu Gogo are a group of human like creatures that appear in the folklore of Flores Indonesia 1 In the Nage language of central Flores ebu means grandparent and gogo means one who eats anything A colloquial English equivalent might be something like old glutton Contents 1 Folklore record 2 Proposed connection to Homo floresiensis 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksFolklore record editThe Nage people of Flores describe the Ebu Gogo as having been able walkers and fast runners around 1 5 m 5 feet tall They reportedly had wide and flat noses broad faces with large mouths and hairy bodies The females also had long pendulous breasts 2 They were said to have murmured in what was assumed to be their own language and could reportedly repeat what was said to them in a parrot like fashion 3 The legends relating to the Ebu Gogo were traditionally attributed to monkeys according to the journal Nature 4 An article in New Scientist gives the following account of folklore on Flores surrounding the Ebu Gogo in the 18th century villagers gave the Ebu Gogo a gift of palm fiber to make clothes and once the Ebu Gogo took the fiber into their cave the villagers threw in a firebrand to set it alight killing all of the occupants one pair may have fled into the forest 5 6 There are also legends about the Ebu Gogo kidnapping human children hoping to learn how to cook them The children always easily outwit the Ebu Gogo in the tales 7 Proposed connection to Homo floresiensis editSee also Homo floresiensis The Ebu Gogo folklore has gained public attention with the discovery of Homo floresiensis an extinct hominid species that inhabited Flores until c 50 000 years ago The ethnologist Gregory Forth 2008 has suggested that tales about Ebu Gogo and similar figures in the folklore of Indonesia such as the Orang Pendek are based on the memory of actual encounters between modern humans and Homo floresiensis 7 This proposal has little mainstream support especially after the dating of the extinction of Homo floresiensis which initially was assumed to have occurred at c 12 000 BP was revised to 50 000 BP 8 See also editMenehune Nittaewo Orang Pendek Orang Mawas Bukit Timah Monkey ManReferences edit Forth Gregory L 1998 Beneath the volcano religion cosmology and spirit classification among the Nage of eastern Indonesia Leiden KITLV Press ISBN 90 6718 120 X p 104 Gregory Forth 10 December 2008 Images of the Wildman in Southeast Asia An Anthropological Perspective Routledge p 15 ISBN 978 1 135 78430 0 SPAFA Journal A Publication of the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts SPAFA The Centre 2003 p 46 Wong Kate June 2006 The Littlest Human Scientific American 16 2 48 57 doi 10 1038 scientificamerican0606 48sp Kohn Marek 15 June 2006 Homo floresiensis The little troublemaker New Scientist Vol 186 no 2504 p 45 Kohn Marek 18 June 2005 Far Weirder Than Hobbits Marek Kohn a b Forth Gregory 2008 Images of the Wildman in Southeast Asia An Anthropological Perspective London Routledge Madison Page 3 February 2020 Investigating Homo floresiensis and the myth of the ebu gogo Psyche Aeon Retrieved 18 June 2020 External links editRoberts Richard 28 October 2004 Villagers speak of the small hairy Ebu Gogo The Daily Telegraph Retrieved 11 October 2009 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ebu gogo amp oldid 1146272316, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
