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476 MALAYO-POLYNESIAN-SPEAKING PEOPLES
of the Muslim peoples of NTT as fishermen, sailors and traders also have their
bases in the history of these islands.
In the regency of East Flores, Muslims, who according to the 1980 census
number 53,255, are most numerous in the districts of East Solor, East Adonara
and East Lembata. These Muslims belong mainly to the somewhat diverse ethnic
group known as Solorese (see Lamaholot). A portion of the Kedangese population
of Lembata is, however, also Muslim, and there are a number of Sama-speaking
Bajau Laut settlements of Adonara and Lembata (see Kedang).
In the Alor Regency, Muslims, who number 27,397, are concentrated on the
coast of Pantar and on the northwestern corner of Alor, which includes the port
and regency capital of Kalabahi. Here the Muslim population (sometimes confusingly
referred to as Alorese) consists primarily of Solorese settlers with one
or possibly more Bajau settlements. Recently, however, there has been a substantial
migration of Bugis and Makassarese to the area around the town of
Kalabahi. Official statistics list one-third of the population of Kalabahi as Muslim.
The approximately 52,106 Muslims in the Ende Regency make up half the
population of the town of Ende and of the district of Nanagapanda and approximately
one-third the population of the district of Wolowaru. The Endenese are
part of a single ethnic group, a majority of whom are now Catholic. In the
nineteenth century, Muslim Endenese migrated to the north coast of Sumba and
have maintained their settlements there.
In the regency of Manggarai, where Muslims number some 33,898, the ethnic
composition of the population is mixed. Manggarai is located directly across the
Sape Straits from the old sultanate of Bima, on Sumbawa. For several centuries
the coast of Manggarai was dominated by Bima and was settled not only by
Bimanese but also by Makassarese and Bugi, and a considerable number of
Bajau. In contemporary Manggarai, Muslims can be found along the coast but
are most numerous in the districts of Komodo, which faces Sumbawa, and Reo
and Elar on the north coast. In Komodo, whose capital is Lauan Bajo ("Bajau
Harbor"), Muslims make up over 40 percent of the population.
The majority of the 19,816 Muslims in the Kupang Regency are to be found
in the town of Kupang. This urban population includes members of all the Muslim
ethnic groups of the province, including an increasing number of Bugis traders
as well as Muslim government officials from all over Indonesia. The President
of Indonesia recently provided funds to build a large mosque in the center of
the town which now dwarfs other smaller but historically important mosques in
the area.
The other regencies of the province have a smaller proportion of Muslims. In
the regency of Sikka on Flores, which has an Islamic population of 14,930,
Muslims are to be found mainly in the district of Maumere and in the town of
Maumere itself. The Bay of Maumere, which faces in the direction of South
Sulawesi, has long been open to trade and influence from this important Islamic
center. Bugis established a settlement there in the nineteenth century, as did
Bajau at Geliting near Maumere in a somewhat earlier period. A similar pattern