Ebu Gogo: a creature of cryptozoology

When Australian and Indonesian archaeologists excavated a limestone cave on the island of Flores, Indonesia, they found a skeleton of a new species of human, Homo florensiensis, believed to have lived 18,000 years ago. In life, the skeleton could be about a meter long, weigh about 25 kilograms, and have a brain the size of a chimpanzee. Along with the skeleton, archaeologists found sophisticated stone tools. Another team found another seven skeletons of these “dwarves.”

Indonesian culture like any other has folklore about ghosts, little people and mysterious beings. Folk tales are passed down from generation to generation. People in Indonesian villages would tell of an ape-like creature that walks like a man. They call this mysterious being ebu gogo. Ebu gogo means grandmother who eats anything. Ebu gogo is very similar to the boogie man used to scare children. The people of the island of Flores told the children to behave, otherwise Ebu gogo would catch them. These people believed that little people lived on this island, not like apes or humans.

Ebu gogo have fur-covered bodies, long arms, large bellies, and protruding ears. They would walk upright like humans, albeit with an awkward gait. They are agile climbers and quite strong for their size. They can easily uproot small trees to search for food. These creatures are voracious eaters. They would eat anything… from fruits, vegetables, insects, and if given the chance, human flesh.

There was a time when the townspeople tolerated the ebu gogo. They lived very close and gave them food. Although they don’t talk to people, they can repeat words spoken to them. However, these creatures became the concern of the local population when they began to destroy crops and kill animals. The Ebu gogo fled to the caves when people began to hunt them. In retaliation, the dwarf creatures destroyed the crops. Later they became bolder and took a baby. The crazy smokers set fire to the mouth of the cave. Apparently some Ebu gogo were able to escape as they were last seen in the late 19th century.

This would make you wonder about the veracity of the folklore, as the little people are said to have fled to the Liang Bua caves…the same cave where the skeletons of the dwarves were found.

There is a website that describes Ebu Gogo and many other cryptozoology creatures in detail, this website is called: Unknown Creatures and can be found at this URL: http://www.unknown-creatures.com

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