Legends of The Hobbit In Flores

Book Review



Legends of the Ebu Gogo, by Bill Prins. Published by Barnhardt & Ashe Publishing. 210 pages 



Most people who hear the word “hobbit” will instantly think of the small, loving creatures in the stories of J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Lesser known, however, is the fact that Indonesia has its very own hobbits. In his new book “Legends of the Ebu Gogo,” Bill Prins explores a legend from the island of Flores. “Ebu gogo” means “the grandmother who eats anything” and is the Flores natives’ description of the “little people” who once lived in a remote jungle in their island. Prins explores a potential fiction around the true-life discovery of 1200-year-old skeletons by scientists in 2003, which eventually led to the scientific recognition of those “little people.” Prins puts this reference in the prelude of the book. The story itself takes places in the years 1643 and 1644, which Prins describes as a time where the little people lived in a challenging world filled with giants, dragons and aliens. One of the characters is an American with a background in chemical engineering who has worked in the field of rocket propulsion. In general, however, early on at least, relating to the characters doesn’t come easy. Prins does not elaborate on their backgrounds and throws in new characters without much explanation. 



There is American marine biologist Darcy Louric, who has been in Flores for 10 years. Then there is Sofie Tanah, a Flores native who is married to a sailor from Chicago, as well as their daughter, Esmeralda. Sofie wants to share a legend about little people with Louric in a way it has never been told before. Louric’s lengthy stay in Flores is the reason Sofie picked her, despite the fact that Louric initially shows little interest in the legend. Sofie, however, believes the little people still exist. And, of course, there are the little people, or as they are referred to in the book, the Human Beings. The Human Beings are a primitive tribe who live in Liang Bua cave. They were later hunted to extinction because they were thought to be mischievous thieves responsible for stealing food, kidnapping children and eating human babies. Prins breathes life into these mysterious little people. Readers follow the adventures of Brio, a young male of the Human Beings, and his friends, sisters Elan and Glee, who face a world of mystical beings, including giants and dragons. Prins presents a world in which a tribe tries to survive against different creatures who seem to be closing in on it. It is easy to tell that Prins is fascinated by the legend and suspects modern man may have been the cause of the extinction of the little people. The book is peculiarly Indonesian, making it an engaging read for Indonesian children discovering how a local tale can be told from a distinctly foreign perspective. 



The Jakarta Globe Legends of The Hobbit In Flores Lisa Siregar | August 11, 2012 

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