Tourism space in Manggarai, Western Flores, Indonesia: The house as a contested place

Abstract

Recent research on how tourism has affected indigenous culture has steered away from the idea of 'impact' and the disappearance of traditional culture to emphasising how local culture is created and negotiated within the context of tourism. This paper uses the latter approach, focusing on the way tourism is used in Western Flores to 'authenticate' culture. The argument is that interaction with foreigners has opened up new ideas about what is 'authentic' and 'legitimate', and therefore has created new spaces for contestation and negotiation. The development of tourism in Manggarai, the largest regency on Flores, has stimulated a number of villagers to rebuild traditional style houses as an attempt to attract foreign visitors. A few of these cases are examined here to show how the status of these houses is negotiated and contested within the context of a number of different ideas about authenticity.