What is the Ebu Gogo legend Gregory Forth heard from the Nage people of Flores?

Gregory Forth says the Nage of central Flores tell of the Ebu Gogo, small hairy creatures that lived in a cave high on a nearby volcano and came down to join village feasts. They were described as stupid, eating the food and then biting into plates made of dried pumpkin skin, and were plied with palm wine. By local genealogies they were wiped out by Nage ancestors about 200 to 300 years ago. Forth treats the story as embellished but notes tellers insisted these were animals, not spirits.

• A Dutch Catholic missionary who lived for decades in the Nage region had never heard of the Ebu Gogo.
• The legend includes a familiar plot device of a sister and brother escaping to keep the line going.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on The Joe Rogan Experience (2026-11-05). Read the whole episode summary →

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