Daalder New Chiefs

NEW CHIEFS, NEW BELIEFS
A history of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene,

two nations in South-east Celebes (Indonesia),
until ca. 1950
Dr. Christiaan G.F. de Jong

2017
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Original title: Nieuwe hoofden, Nieuwe goden. Geschiedenis van de Tolaki en de Tomoronene,
twee volkeren in Zuidoost-Celebes (Indonesië), tot ca. 1950. ISBN 978-3-8443-8756-8
Translated by Truus Daalder-Broekman.
© Copyright of this publication is with the author. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission from
the author.
New chiefs, New beliefs
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CONTENTS
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.1. Aim, and scene of the action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2. Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3. A few preliminary remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2. The land and its inhabitants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

2.1. A connecting thread: four stages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.2. Climate, natural conditions and population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2.1. Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2.2. Natural conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.2.3. Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2.4. Diseases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.2.5. Transport, roads and paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.2.6. Traffic by water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.3. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.4. The inhabitants: language, prehistory, myth and hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.4.1. Population: a first acquaintance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.4.2. Languages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.5. Prehistory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.5.1. Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.5.2. The “Stone Cutters” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.5.3. The Potters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.5.4. The colonisation of South-east Celebes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.6. Summary of prehistory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.7. Modern Times; continuing migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.8. Tomoronene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.9. Development of the Social Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.9.1. The oldest dichotomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.9.2. From reality to myth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
2.9.3. Tolaki nobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
2.9.4. Middle groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2.9.5. The ata of the Tolaki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
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2.10. Nobility, free citizens and slaves among the Tomoronene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
3. Political and administrative history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

3.1. The East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.1.1. Mekongga, Konawe, Laiwoi. Internal relations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.1.2. The first heads of Konawe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.1.3. Politics and administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.1.4. External relations. Demarcation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.1.5. Political and military weakness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.1.6. The rise of Ranome’eto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
3.1.7. Vosmaer, Bugis and others in Ranome’eto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3.1.8. Developments after Vosmaer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.1.9. Lamango. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
3.1.10. Konawe and Luwuq. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.1.11. Laiwoi and the government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.1.11.1. The second half of the nineteenth century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.1.11.2. 1906-1942 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.1.11.3. Semi-autonomy. Conflict between Konawe and Ranome’eto. . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
3.1.11.4. The districts up to 1945. Government reforms and resistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
3.1.11.5. Administrative redistribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
3.2. The west . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
3.2.1. Political relations. Luwuq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
3.2.2. Luwuq’s sphere of influence in South-east Celebes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.2.3. Luwuq: tribute and trade; Bugis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
3.2.4. Luwuq, Mekongga and the government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
3.2.5. The Tomekongga and others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
3.2.6. The heads of Mekongga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
3.2.7. Mekongga and Luwuq after 1900. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
3.2.8. Kolaka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
3.2.9. Changes of administration; Luwuq’s influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
3.2.9.1. Demographic relations in Mekongga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
3.2.9.2. A solution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
3.2.9.3. The succession of Latambaga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
3.3. The south-west. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
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3.3.1. Two kada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
3.3.2. Munara in Rumbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
3.3.3. “Poleang is a large assembly of scum”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
3.3.4. Couvreur: a federation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
3.4. Japanese times and after, 1942-1950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
3.4.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
3.4.2. Resistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
3.4.3. Kolaka 1945-1948 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
3.4.4. Kendari and Rumbia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
3.4.5. Darul Islam/Tentara Islam Indonesia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
3.5. Government; political organisations 1945-1950 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
3.5.1. South-east Celebes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
3.5.2. Makassar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
4. Trade and the economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

4.1. Introductory remark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
4.2. The Dutch East India Company and the indigenous prahu trade shipping . . . . . . . . . . . 107
4.3. Recovery of the indigenous shipping trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
4.4. Old acquaintances: Makassar and China; Bugis expansion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
4.5. Makassar, the Dutch East India Company and Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
4.6. The sea and everything upon it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
4.6.1. Setting the scene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
4.6.2. Slavery; the nineteenth century “crusades” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
4.6.3. Decline of piracy and slave hunting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
4.7. Commercial shipping trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
4.7.1. The Bajos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
4.7.2. Other traders on the coast; Europeans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
4.8. The interior; Islam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
4.9. In their own kampongs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
4.10. Tolaki and Tomoronene along the coast, and travelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
4.11. What the traders sold, and how they paid and got paid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
4.12. Resources, agricultural and forest products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
4.12.1. Resins and rattan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
4.13. Copra and coconut oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
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4.14. Mining, industry and manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
4.14.1. Iron, gold and other mineral resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
4.14.2. Other industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
4.15. The role of cotton. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
4.16. Cattle breeding, hunting and fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
4.17. Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
4.17.1. Rice, sago flour and beriberi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
4.17.2. Depression, taxes and epidemics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
4.17.3. After the depression. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
4.17.4. During the Japanese occupation and afterwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
4.18. Peanuts, rubber, coffee, tobacco and other crops. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
4.19. Rice and Ritual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
4.19.1. The ladang cultivation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
4.19.2. Ritual and division of labour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
4.19.2.1. Hierarchy of plants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
4.19.2.2. A new ladang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
4.19.2.3. The rice harvest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
4.19.2.4. Other rice rituals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
4.19.2.5. Division of labour between men and women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
5. The government and Community Development 1910-1942 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

5.1. Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
5.2. Kampong formation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
5.3. Public education (volksonderwijs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
5.4. 1910-1942. The plans largely a failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
5.5. The adat versus the construction of sawahs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
5.6. The mission and agriculture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
5.7. During and after World War II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
6. Social cohesion the administration of justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

6.1. Control of the rule of law and hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
6.2. The government and the administration of justice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
7. Ownership of land, classes, material culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
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7.1. Ownership of land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
7.2. Commercialisation; material culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
7.3. Family ties and politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
8. Adat, religion and folk art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

8.1. Stories, songs and dances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
8.2. Traditional religion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
8.3. The pantheon of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
8.4. Priests and Rituals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
8.4.1. Tobouw. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
8.4.2. First among equals: the mbu’akoi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
8.4.3. His colleagues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
8.5. Diseases, dangers and defences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
8.6. Rituals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
8.7. Headhunting (mbongae, Tol.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
8.8. The life cycle of human beings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
8.8.1. Birth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
8.8.2. Name-giving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
8.8.3. Circumcision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
8.8.4. Adulthood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
8.8.5. Marriage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
8.8.5.1. Endogamy and exogamy; patriarchy and matriarchy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
8.8.5.2. Preparations for marriage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
8.8.5.3. Monogamy and polygamy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
8.8.5.4. Mixed marriages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
8.8.5.5. Funerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
8.9. Islamic and Christian influences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
8.10. Muhammadiyah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
8.11. Utopia in South-east Celebes: the arrival of the mission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
9. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
10. Glossarium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
11. Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

12. Interviews taken by author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
13. Archivalia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
14. Literature: articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
15. Literature: monographs, collections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

New chiefs, New beliefs C.G.F. de Jong
1. Introduction
1.1. Aim, and scene of the action

Where a painter uses brush and knife, a historian paints a picture with words and numbers. The only
difference is that the painter is restricted by what the eye can see, whereas the historian appeals to
the reader’s imagination. Although the latter is much more far-reaching and encompasses a great
deal more than the former, considered in a different light the viewer of a painting and the reader of
a historical treatise find themselves in a comparable position: they are confronted with someone
else’s reconstruction of a world or a reality unknown to them. They see this through the eyes of a
stranger and are entirely in his or her hands. They cannot do anything else.
The history offered here takes place on the borderline of worlds which have long since gone. It
describes the confrontation of different cultures which could not have been more incompatible: the
world of thought and action of the Tolaki and Tomoronene in South-east Celebes (Sulawesi), and
Islamic culture as well as modern, liberal, more or less Christian, Western Europe. The opinions the
representatives of the colonial rulers generally had about the inhabitants of the South-east Asian
archipelago are fairly easy to determine. There is an abundance of sources. It is much more difficult
to discover how the indigenous peoples experienced the tidal waves of economic, cultural and
religious change, and how they defined their place in their rapidly changing world.
The point of departure and scene of the action is the rugged land of South-east Celebes, with its
jungles, mountains, its wide and muddy estuaries and its vast marshes, with crocodiles, leeches and
malaria mosquitoes, and its population with a complex system of cultural, religious and social
customs and attainments: in the north and middle the Tolaki, and in the south-west the
Tomoronene. Their counterparts were disparate groups of seafarers, traders and adventurers, who
briefly landed on their coasts, or who settled there, as well as the Europeans and the system of
governance, and economic, legal, cultural and religious values and standards they introduced.
1.2. Sources
Apart from secondary literature the author has used the following unpublished sources:
1. correspondence, reports, notes and memorandums of government officials;
2. correspondence, logbooks and other communications by missionaries of the Dutch Missionary
Society (NZV) for the period 1916-1950, in the Archives of the Legal Predecessors of the Mission
Board of the Dutch Reformed Church, 1797-1950;
3. the archives of the congregations of the Protestant Church in the Dutch Indies in Kendari,
Kolaka, Raha (Muna) and Bau-Bau (Buton);
4. notes made by a number of Tolaki and Tomoronene, found in archives in South-east Celebes;
5. interviews with a number of, mostly older, inhabitants of South-east Celebes, all conducted by
the author during travels in the area in 1986 and 1992. These are of great significance, because they
reveal which parts of the past survive into the present of the Tolaki and Tomoronene and in what
way they survive and help shape the perception of the environment of the post-war generations.
The author wishes to thank the Rev. A.A. Rere, the then Chairman of the Synod of the Protestant
Church of South-east Celebes (Gepsultra), Prof. A. Tarimana (Universitas Halu Oleo, Kendari), the
Downloaded from www.cgfdejong.nl 7 version 1.0 Sept. 2017

Rev. B. Tonga and the Rev. K. Bartimeus for their assistance and advice in the preparation of this
book. He also wants to express gratitude to Dr. Th. Van den End for his commentary and advice.
1.3. A few preliminary remarks

1. For a survey of Tolaki grammar, see Gouweloos’ “Spraakkunst” and Tarimana Kebudayaan
Tolaki, Appendices II-V. For the language of the Tomoronene, see among others Storm’s
“Woordenlijst” and “Vocabularium”. The Tolaki and Tolomoronene languages never had a
communal linguistic standard. This means that in these and in other pre-war sources there is no
unified spelling. Where Gouweloos uses “oe”, Storm employs “u” in his “Woordenlijst”, but he
does use “oe” as a separate sound in his “Vocabularium”. For example, in Gouweloos and other
Tolaki sources, one finds (in old spelling) mboe‘oetoboe as well as poe‘oetoboe and poetoboe (the
head of a village or clan), and mboe akoi, mboe‘akoi as well as boe‘akoi (a priest). The spelling of
the Tolaki and Tomoronene languages was standardised after World War II and particularly by the
1972 spelling reform. In practice, however, several different forms of words still exist side by side;
for instance, ki oki, ki’oki, and kioki (no, not, Tol.) all occur, as do mbuu, mbu and mbu’u (lord, god,
Tol.), mo oli, mo’oli and mooli (to buy, Tom.1) and laa ee, laa e’e and la’a e’e (river, Tom.). The
notation used here for both the main languages of South-east Celebes has been borrowed from
Tarimana: Tolaki and Tolomoronene.
2. According to Gouweloos diphthongs did not occur. The “oe” sounded as it does in Dutch “koe”
(a sound similar to English “moon”). Since the reform of the language in 1972 replaced the “oe”
with “u”, the “oe” in modern Tolaki and Tomoronene is a diphthong: the words Toepe (a clan) and
Poea (a village) therefore consist of three syllables. In a few cases an apostrophe was (and
sometimes is) inserted, as in the proper name Po’enda. Except for quotations, where the original
spelling has been maintained, Tarimana has been followed: mbu’akoi, kioko, tonomotuo, etc.
Otherwise the spelling of 1972 has been adopted: tj=c, oe=u, j=y, dj=j.2
3. The article for persons is “I” and for objects it is “o”; “i” is also the preposition “in”. According
to Gouweloos, “Spraakkunst” 59, the rule was that “i” or “o” was (is) always used before words of
one or two syllables, but not used for words of more than two syllables. Disregarding a few
exceptions, the “o” was (is) not attached to the noun. In Tomoronene the article is “yo” (“jo” in the
old spelling); “i” is only used if it concerns a particular person. Articles have generally been
omitted here. Proper names which occur in the sources have in this respect been adopted without
change, such as, for example: “I Ndabio” and “I Ntera”, but “Munara” and “Pombili”. In sarano
Konawe (the syarat3 of K.) and similar compounds the possessive suffix “-no” has been kept. The
prefix “la-“ generally refers to water: for instance Lasampara – the Sampara River.
4. Several variants and spellings exist of the names of legendary figures, especially in post-war
literature. Below the forms in which they occur in the oldest sources have been kept.
1
Cf. footnote 831.
2
A survey of modern phonetics, morphology and the structure of the Tolaki language is found in Tarimana,
Kebudayaan Tolaki, App. II-IV.
3
Cf. Glossarium.

5. For the compilation of the map the following material was used: Schetskaart van Midden- en
Zuid-Celebes, Batavia: Topografische Inrichting, 1906 [Topographical Institute]; Overzichtskaart
van het eiland Celebes, Batavia: Topografische Inrichting, 1909; Schetskaart van Zuidoost Sélèbes,
Batavia: Topografische Inrichting, 1924; maps in part II of Het Gouvernement Celebes by Van
Vuuren; and travel reports and surveys by civil servants, military personnel and missionaries. Only
the most important villages and roads have been represented. In many cases the location of villages
and roads is only approximately correct. Traditionally the population spent only limited time in
permanent settlements, while the government programme of the construction of roads and the
establishment and consolidation of kampongs, which began after 1906, meant many changes
occurred. Roads and villages were also continually relocated as a result of epidemics, forest fires
and the meandering course and overflowing of rivers. Finally, most of the “roads” were no more
than footpaths and water buffalo tracks.
6. As the book mainly concerns the time the peninsula was called South-east Celebes and the name
South-east Sulawesi came into use only after War II, the first is used.

2. The land and its inhabitants

2.1. A connecting thread: four stages
Below an attempt will be made to tell the story of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene and their
interaction with their environment, at any rate with the most important aspects of this. In social,
cultural and religious respects the existence of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene during the period
under discussion (and afterwards) was characterised by constantly changing circumstances. What
stands out in this is the great adaptability of the population and its capability to integrate imposed or
exacted changes in a – as a rule – peaceful manner into their world view and their way of life. More
concretely, the connecting thread in the history of South-east Celebes is that of the continuing
colonisation by foreign groups or clans and the migration and/or integration of such groups once
they had arrived.
The history of both peoples began with (1) the settlement in South-east Celebes in prehistoric times
of different groups and tribes, which had their origin outside Celebes. (2) The modern, “historical”
time (obviously with respect to South-east Celebes) started with the arrival of Bugis, Makassarese,
Butonese, Javanese and other traders and colonists on its shores, and later the sporadic visits by
European ships (British, Dutch). The indigenous prahu crews brought Islam with them, a
monotheistic, cosmopolitan religion. The Tolaki and the Tomoronene, the modern-day descendants
of the prehistoric immigrants, then got to know something new: a universal religion and world view
with a precisely defined doctrinal, legal and ethical foundation, which transcended the boundaries
of their own community and its frontiers and in which the sacred, judicial and administrative
functions and powers were not concentrated in one person, as was mostly the case in their
communities, but divided among a number of officials. The Tolaki and the Tomoronene resisted
Islam as long, and as often, as it seemed useful. At times, however, they made use of it, and tried to
mould it to their will. A next and important stage in the process of change of their community
occurred when (3) in the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth century the colonial state
spread its wings in the eastern part of the archipelago and penetrated into the farthest corners with
its civil servants, regulations, procedures, courts of law, taxes, the opening up of the interiors, and
plans for reform. In the wake of the colonial administrative machinery Christianity also arrived,
both in its Protestant and in its Roman-Catholic form. (4) The fourth, and for the moment the last
phase in the process of colonisation of South-east Celebes, on this occasion disguised as liberation,
was the formal incorporation of the territory by the Republik Indonesia in August 1950. The new
rulers adopted some policy objectives from the Dutch, such as the continuation of the opening up of
the region, partly within the government’s framework of the transmigration policy to alleviate the
over-population on Java and Bali, and partly because of the enormous natural resources, the
building of villages for the indigenous population which lived spread out in the jungle, the
development of education for everyone, and the resumption of the construction of rice paddies,
which had been started by the Dutch in 1906, soon after the “pacification” of the peninsula.
However, this latter period is beyond the scope of this study, which runs until the end of the Dutch
presence in this part of Asia.
In order to do full justice to the first three periods to which this study limits itself, attention is paid
to the outside world around South-east Celebes in the first instance. There, all manner of economic,

social, and political changes and developments occurred which delineated the direction which
would give shape and identity to the population and which then carried it along. On top of climate,
geographical conditions, sara wonua (adat of the country), language and relationships, trade,
shipping, origin and migration, political and religious propaganda and other forms of interaction
between South-east Celebes and the outside world set the course which the development of the
Tolaki and Tomoronene would follow, with the provisional finishing point being the integration of
the region into Sukarno’s and Hatta’s Republic.
2.2. Climate, natural conditions and population

2.2.1. Climate
Viewed from north to south South-east Celebes straddles three climatic zones. Although in the
mountains and hills there is some rainfall throughout the whole year, there is nevertheless a dry
period, that is to say months with less than 100 mm of rain, and a wet period, with monthly rainfall
of more than 200 mm, and sometimes even considerably more. The high mountains above the line
Kolaka-Kendari are very wet with rainfall exceeding 3000 mm annually. The westerly wind, the
barat, or popularly known as the bara, brings rain. The wet period largely coincides with the
westerly monsoon, which means that the western part of the peninsula receives more rain than the
eastern part. Even in the dry period there may be banks of fog which only lift towards morning.
Starting in November or December, the westerly monsoon can last up to nine months, until July or
August, while in the months of January and February there may be westerly gales with very rough
seas in the Gulf of Bone. In spite of the shelter offered by the large island of Padamarang, the
anchorage at Kolaka, in the Dutch period the seat of government for the western half of the
peninsula, is at such times one of the most dangerous on the peninsula.4
Further south the annual rainfall is less (1500-2000 mm) and the wet period shorter, five to seven
months, starting in November or December. This also applies to Buton and the larger part of Muna.
October is the driest month in these places. Finally there is the south coast of the mainland and the
northern tip of Muna; these receive the same amount of rain, but in a significantly shorter period of
time than elsewhere: 1500-2000 mm in three or four months. On Muna the heaviest rain falls in
May and June, and, as was said in the old days, once in every 20 years it had no dry period at all.5
2.2.2. Natural conditions

The mainland of South-east Celebes extends from Lake Towuti, situated in the north to the east of
Malili, the water level of which is 300 metres above sea level, to the Vlaming Strait and the Tiworo
Strait in the south and the south-east. It lies wedged between two deep seas, the Gulf of Bone in the
west, and the Moluccan Sea in the east. The peninsula is the south-eastern spur of a high mountain
range in Central Celebes which is of volcanic origin. The juncture of South-east Celebes and
Central Celebes is the Watu Wawo Ombu or the Wawo Ombu mountain range (Wawo Ombu –
Place of the Lord). On Dutch maps this is sometimes given the name of the Verbeek mountain
4
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 9; Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [4],
5
Whitten, Ekologi Sulawesi, 23-27; Bouman, “Memorie”, 6.

range, named by mining engineer E.C. Abendanon for the geologist and archaeologist Dr. R.D.M.
Verbeek (1845-1926).6
The north and middle of South-east Celebes are dominated by three, roughly, parallel mountain
chains running from northwest to south-east, consisting of granite and limestone. These are the
southern spurs of the Watu Wawo Umbo ranges, the westernmost of which, which at some distance
follows the coast, continues into Poleang and Rumbia. The highest mountain is the Mekongga Peak,
2790 metres high, situated in the Watu Pinoha chain, also known as the Bingkoka, Mengkoka (both
of these are Bugis terms) and Mekongga mountains. These mountain chains, where sulphurous
springs and mountain lakes abound, are covered in dense rain forests.
Despite an ambitious programme of road construction, during the Dutch period connections were
extremely labourious in this northern mountainous region. Even today there are no roads negotiable
by cars, only horse tracks and footpaths, which as much as possible follow the river beds.
Settlements and groups of houses were situated one or more day’s march removed from each other,
which meant that the population has always lived in isolation, not just with regard to the outside
world, but also with regard to each other.7
Another consequence was that during the twentieth century there was hardly any exploitation of the
forests to speak of. Although a number of members of the genus Agathis (kauri tree) and
Dipterocarpacea family, which were in high demand because of their precious resins, have
virtually disappeared because of the injudicious harvesting of their resins, the forests of northern
South-east Celebes managed to preserve their original, unspoilt nature for a long time.
To the south this massive and almost impenetrable mountainous region is bordered by an elongated
and swampy lowland, a constriction of the peninsula that extends, as the crow flies, around 110
kilometres between Kolaka on the west coast and Kendari on the east coast. This lowland is part of
the catchment area of the meandering Konawe River and its tributaries, which is the longest river in
South-east Celebes and has its springs high in the mountains of Lapai. Under the name of
Lasampara or Sampara River it flows into the sea north of the Bay of Kendari, via two wide
estuaries, known as Muara Lasampara, or Lasampara delta. Upstream the river is called
Konawe’eha or Konaweha (“Big Konawe”). Close to Mowewe and Tinondo it runs on the northern
side of the Tinondo mountain ridge, which there forms the watershed: to the south and west of this
the rivers, among which the largest, the Woime’eto (“Black Water”), run to the Gulf of Bone via a
number of smaller marshes (epe, Tol.); to the north and east of this ridge they run eastwards. Along
the way they feed the A Opa8 and Koloimba swamps, extended watery and muddy plains covered
with orchids, bladderwort, lotus, bamboo, sago palms, and more than life size tall una or bu’u
(alang-alang), with numerous branches, arms, creeks and channels. According to tradition, recorded
by a traveller in Motaha in 1922, the source of the creation of the A Opa marsh was a tragic event:
6
Abendanon, Geologische en geografische doorkruisingen, II, 507, 559; IV, 1524-1527; cf. Van Vuuren,
“Celebes in vijftig jaren”, 338, n. 1; De Man, “Vervolgmemorie”, 2-3.
7
See for example the walking-tour made by Grubauer from Raurta to Wiwirano in 1911, Grubauer, Unter
Kopfjägern in Central-Celebes, 130 ff.
8
Vosmaer mentioned a lake called I-opa, Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 76; H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door
de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, ARRZ 2025, used the name A Opa-lake (A Opa-
meer).

In ancient times people lived happily together in the area of Rano Me’eto, until one of them committed
the great sin of taking his younger sister for his wife. After some time she became pregnant. Not long
after this it happened that she was in her house, busy preparing a tree bark jacket. Close to her a dog
was playing with her puppies. The woman said: “Why on earth does that dog play with her puppies?
She does not even know who is their father.” But all of a sudden the woman got a terrible fright. The
dog began to speak, and said: “We, animals, are used to this. And that is all right, we are only animals.
But you are pregnant to your own brother. And that is a great sin.” A cat sitting nearby also began to
talk, and said: “Hey, can that dog speak?” Then one of a flock of chickens looked up and said, also with
a human voice: “Yes, it is true, the dog is talking.” The woman was frozen with fear. But that was set to
get worse. For suddenly everything around her started to creak and to sink. A gap opened up in the
earth and water gushed out of it. Everything was submerged. In the middle the deep lake was created
and around it was nothing but marsh. This was the punishment for the incest.9
Ever since that time the A Opa marsh, infested by crocodiles, was prohibited terrain for the Tolaki,
taboo or mombado (Tol.); to enter it went against the adat.10 Whenever someone nevertheless
wanted to cross it, or go fishing or hunting there, sacrifices had to be made and mantra spoken.
Another, supplementary story has it that a section of the population of this region subsequently fled
westwards. When they had arrived in the Tinondo plain they thought they were out of danger. They
were soaking wet, so they wrung out their clothes and laid them out to dry. But here too the incest
pursued them. Immediately the earth split open and began to sink, and swallowed up everyone,
after which a swamp was created.11 Both here and at the A Opa marsh sacrifices were made at the
start of the rice harvest.12
On the eastern side the wide coastal mountains of Meluhu and the Staring mountain range, which in
the east drop into the sea, form the border of the A Opa and Koloimba marshes.13 To the south-west
of the A Opa marsh lies the Mambulu swamp. This lowland plain, which also encompasses the
north-west of the Ando’olo district along the Ruraya River, is bordered in the south-east by a hilly
landscape which has been largely deforested and eroded as a result of slash and burn cultivation,
and now in some places is covered with undergrowth and palm trees. This stretches from Benua, via
Alangga and Palangga, to the banks of the Tiworo Strait, which are covered in mangroves. In the
period under discussion the land had an abundance of deer, monkeys, semi-feral water buffaloes
and small predators. Near Angata lies a watershed: to the north of this village small streams flow
into the A Opa marsh, to the south of it they make their way to the Tiworo Strait.
To the west and south the Mambulu swamp is surrounded by two crescent-shaped mountain ranges
covered with dense rainforests, the Anggowala Mountains or Osu Anggowala, and the Mendoka
range, or Osu Mendoka or Huka Ea as the Tomoronene call these mountains. These separate it from
9
H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, ARRZ 2025.
10
Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 205, gives padopado lahu’ene. According to Vonk, “Voorstel”, 43, the
pemali were collectively called by the Tolaki barahala. Separately a pemali was called pombadoa.
11
H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, ARRZ 2025;
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 2.
12
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 15-16.
13
Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 191; Sarasin, Reisen, I, 334-381, spec. 345, 357; Van Vuuren, Het
Gouvernement Celebes, I, 332-333.

respectively the coastal plain along the Gulf of Bone and from Rumbia-Poleang. The wide coastal
strip of Mekongga, as the western part of the peninsula was popularly called, consists in the centre
of undulating low hills.14 In the mountainous region to the south and south-east of the Bay of
Kendari, which drops steeply into the sea along the east coast, there are a few peaks, of which
Baito, Osu Papolia and Osu Wolasi are the highest, albeit that they are no more than some hundreds
of metres high. On their slopes numerous rivers rise, which flow into the Tiworo, Buton and
Wawoni Straits as well as into Staring Bay.
The rivers and swamps soaked roads and paths and severely restricted travel, particularly in the
rainy season. The head of the local administration (gezaghebber) in Muna, Th.P. Graus, wrote to an
acquaintance about a 1928 trip from Kasiputih via Taubonto and Poleang to Buapinang: “I did not
see any sign of a road suitable for cars, it was mud and more mud from beginning to end.”15
Another traveller wrote in 1935 about the 19 kilometre long path between Rate-Rate and Poli-Polia,
which traversed the swamps: “As many as eleven times that day we had to cross meandering small
streams which had now become major rivers. On one occasion I thought I was losing my horse. It
disappeared under water up to the tip of its mouth.”16 The rivers, mud and marshes dominated the
lives of the people to such an extent that they not only played (and play) a significant role in
popular tradition, but also that one of the most important regions of South-east Celebes was named
for them: the name “Ranome’eto”, the area around the A Opa marsh, points to the predominant
colour in the landscape: “Black Mud” or “Black Lake”.17
Just as the Anggowala mountain range screened the vast marshy terrain of Mambulu and
Ranome’eto from the west coast, the Mendoke chain and its spurs, which formed the connection of
the south-western part of the peninsula with the rest of South-east Celebes, for centuries formed a
natural barrier, which kept the Tolaki clans in the middle and the north separated from the
Tomoronene in the south-west. Unfortunately this barrier failed to prevent the Tomekongga from
sometimes headhunting among the Tomoronene (Wolio: Tomburunene).18 As late as 1905, not long
before the arrival of the Dutch colonial government, a small army advanced from Mekongga
against the Tomoronene under bokeo Imburi, partly over land, partly by sea, for which 80 rented
outrigger prahu were used. However, the “mountain stronghold” withstood the assault and the total
catch was only five heads – which was all that was needed in any case. The bokeo was killed on the
journey home when a quick raid on coast-dwelling Bugis failed.19 But it was not just the Tolaki who
were sometimes successfully kept in check; also in their resistance against the hated colonial tax
collector the Tomoronene managed to turn the south-western peninsula into a sometimes virtually
invincible fortress by occupying strategic points and passes in the mountains.20
14
Whitten, Ekologi Sulawesi, 124.
15
G.C. Storm to Hb NZV, 27/4/1928, ARRZ 2018.
16
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 11/5/1935 ARRZ 2021.
17
In a narrow sense the name Ranome’eto was used for sandy soil bordering the A Opa marsh, whose colour was
black, cf. H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, (ARRZ
2025) 3.
18
Van den Berg, “Mededelingen”, 170; Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 33.
19
Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [40]; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 19.
20
Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 246.

The districts of Rumbia and Poleang, which together make up the south-western peninsula of
South-east Celebes, are dominated by a range of hills running from the north-east to the south-west,
which is a spur of the Mendoke mountain range; in the east this chain is transformed via the
Poleang lowlands into two parallel chains running from northwest to south-east, the Osu Opali (or
Tangketangkeno mountain range), with its highest peak being Tangkeno Eea (235 metres), and a
little further to the north the Osu Amolipa (or Tandu-Tandu mountain range), which reach the sea in
the south-eastern part of Rumbia. Together with the Mendoke mountains in the north these ridges
enclose the rectangular, slightly undulating plain of Rumbia, interrupted by rivers and marshes and
crisscrossed by a jumble of rivulets, paths, small roads and water buffalo tracks. In this plain there
were a number of villages:
After Langkowala there was no longer any hill to be seen and the road, which was hard at this time of
the year, ran continually between spinneys, which alternated with bare patches, which were only
covered with some short sun-burnt grass. But despite this the plain was not dead; deer darted across the
road all the time, and I needed to concentrate fully on my horse, which wanted to run after them. It is
wonderful to see those deer standing there with their heads lifted high, only to flee unexpectedly with
big leaps over the undergrowth and holes in the ground. Nor is this plain monotonous, for often one
gets surprising views, a beautiful group of trees, or a grove which forms a dark background for a bright
yellow plain,
thus wrote a traveller, who travelled through this plain from south-east to north-west in 1923.21
Extensive teak and mangrove woods grew along the coasts of Rumbia and Poleang, but further
inland the hills were covered with grass, Cycas palms, ferns, cacti, bamboo groves and other
bushes. During the period of the easterly monsoon (May to December) the drier areas became the
stage for huge fires, sometimes deliberately lit to free up land for agriculture. In September 1928
Taubonto, a village of 25 houses and a school, was threatened by such a fire. Accompanied by the
deafening roar of exploding bamboo stakes the fire raced past the houses at a distance of only a few
dozen metres; after the war such fires caused explosions of ammunition left behind by the
Japanese.22
2.2.3. Population
In November 1687 the British explorer and buccaneer William Dampier noted not only, while
sailing from north to south along the east coast of Celebes, that the coastal waters were dotted with
islets and coral reefs and that “extraordinary great high trees” grew on the mainland, but also that
the coast and the islands off the coast were virtually uninhabited. Only very occasionally he saw a
sign of life, such as one night when, off the coast near Luwu (East Celebes), a number of prahu
approached his ship, the biggest of which had a crew of 60. But that was it. The visitors made no
effort to come closer to his ship, and Dampier did not go ashore.23 When on the 9th of May 1831 the
21
22
G.C. Storm to Hb NZV, 24/10/1928, ARRZ 2018; Residentie Zuid, “Politiek Verslag (1-16 October 1946)”.
23
Dampier, A new voyage, 447-448.

Dutch merchant Jacques Nicolas Vosmaer sailed into the Bay of Kendari for the first time, he too
encountered deserted coasts. From 1824 to 1830 a number of Bugis and Bajos (or Wajos), a people
of seafaring nomads,24 had lived there but these had suddenly departed at the end of 1830.25 Nor did
he find any Tolaki there. The crew of the ship Krokodil, which called in at the Bay of Kendari in
1836, recorded the same observation, although it was apparent that a number of the Bugis and Bajos
had in the meantime returned.26
The Tolaki were a mountain people, albeit that they were not wholly unfamiliar with seamanship
and fishing, at least in shallow coastal waters. But in this too the nineteenth century brought change.
Increasingly the coasts were also inhabited by Tolaki, such as the narrow beaches along the bays of
Motui and Lasolo, north of Kendari. But there were not many. Mostly the Tolaki, afraid of malaria
and raids by pirates from the sea, only came to the coast for the purpose of selling their forest
products and to hunt for heads. Moreover, the coasts usually did not invite settlement. South of the
Lasolo Bay, which was edged with swamps and dense forests, but whose beaches left some room
for habitation, the coast was chiefly one of fjords: the cliffs which rose steeply from the sea were
part of the mountain range dividing East and South-east Celebes, and occasionally opened up for
river deltas. The south-west coast, from the Rumbia delta past the Vlaming Strait to Mekongga Bay
(Kolaka Bay), presented the same picture. North of this bay, where the Watu Pinohu mountain
range rose up, as far as Tanjung Tabako, the heavily forested and high mountains reached as far as
the coast.27 The scenery was wonderful:
The East Indies fjords are beautiful, yet over it all hangs a shroud of gloom, mystery and mysticism, just
as in the forests above on the black mountain ridges – – –
wrote a traveller who was overwhelmed.28

Not everywhere did the mountains reach the coast. Apart from river mouths which could fan out
widely and branch off into deltas, such as the mouth of the Lasampara north of Kendari, which was
several kilometres wide, there were also level coasts. The west coast south of Kolaka had many
spots suited to habitation, and there were a number of old kampongs, chiefly inhabited by Bugis.
The southern edge of the Bay of Kendari was also flat, sandy and swampy, as were parts of the
coasts of the mainland washed by the Tiworo Strait and the Vlaming Strait, and the islands of Muna
and Kabaena, the plains of Ando’olo and Laea up to the short, white beach near Kasiputih (“White
Sand”, Mak., Bug.), in Rumbia near Larete (“Flat Land”, Tom.) and further, with some
interruptions, up to the deltas of the Bambaea and Poleang rivers. These coasts, intersected by
innumerable gullets, creeks, brooks, streams and lagoons, were often covered with an impenetrable
strip, at times several kilometres wide, of mangrove woods, the baku-baku (or bako-bako,
24
According Van den Berg, “Mededelingen”, 179, note 10, “Wajos” was the name locally given to the Bajos.
The Bugis called them Bajos, the Makassese Bajos or Turije,ne’ (“People of the water”); nowadays they are
called Sama, see Spillet, A race apart; Chou, Indonesian sea nomads.
25
“Het eiland Celebes volgens de togten en ontdekkingen van Jacques Nicolas Vosmaer”, 209.
26
Voyages faits dans les Moluques, chapt. 19-21.
27
Van Vuuren, Het Gouvernement Celebes, I, 314-315, 324-325, 345.
28
Braconier, “Twee sproken van de zee”, 1376.

Rhizophoraceae), which, with their many branches and twisted black trunks, were subject to the
tidal movements and were (and are) the breeding grounds of numerous kinds of fish, lobsters, crabs
and other small marine animals.
Traffic between the impoverished, from the sea almost invisible, kampongs on the coast, was only
possible in light prahu with shallow draught. For bigger ships with a deeper draught, the coastal
waters with their numerous large and small islands, bare rocks, and coral reefs, were virtually of no
significance. These coasts were not suitable for habitation,29 but the waters were fascinating. One
delighted traveller recorded his impressions during a voyage on board a Bajo prahu in the Tiworo
Strait as follows:
When we had arrived opposite Kabaena, our prahu went through shallow water and we could see and
admire the most beautiful coral and other plants in the sea, while whole schools of tiny fish swam
among the coral bushes. The fish were green, light green, blue and purple. The whole showed itself to
us in a mixture of the most exquisite colours. Coral bushes and sea flora with shells and brightly
coloured fish reflected their most beautiful colours upwards. It seemed a miraculous garden in an
30
enchanted world.
The south and south-west coast of Muna, as well as its side facing Buton, south of Lohia, consisted
of hilly ground, steeply descending into the sea, with deep bays and inlets.31 Mangrove woods and
coral reefs were absent there, so that larger prahu could come close to the coast without danger.
Muna, which had little potable water, was, except for the west and north-west, covered with
impenetrable, thorny scrub, which, combined with soil conditions of coral rock, made large parts of
the island inaccessible and infertile. Woods, which supplied wood for carpentry, grew only in a
very few places.32
The low north-western and western coasts of Muna, almost inaccessible in the rainy season, and the
chiefly rocky coasts of North and Middle Buton (the highest peak on the island is 1150 metres), at
times interrupted by mangroves, marshes, extensive coral reefs and deep inlets, were and are only
sparsely populated. Except for a few bays in the south-east of Buton, only the flat, sometimes
slightly hilly west coast of the island, south of Matewe, and a few sections of the east coast were
suitable for habitation and cultivation on a larger scale.33 Most of the (coral) islands in the Tiworo
Strait were flat, low and sandy and covered with swamps and mangroves. Merely a dozen islands
with a stable and accessible shore, such as Lapana (Pulau Tembako – Tobacco Island) and the
nearby Wembe (Pulau Kambing – Goat Island) off the coast of the Bugis kampong Laora, were
inhabited.34
2.2.4. Diseases
29
Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 192.
30
H. van der Klift, “Onderzoekingsreis naar Roembia, Polea en Boeton”, 3/7/1923, ARRZ 2025.
31
Boll, “Eenige mededeelingen omtrent het eiland Moena”, 1022-1023.
32
Bouman, “Memorie”, 2-3; AR Buton, “Nota”, [13]-[21].
33
Bouman, “Memorie”, 35-36.
34
Bouman, “Memorie”, 45.

The abundance of rivers and swamps in the interior, and the mangroves along the coast played a
role in the lives of the people of South-east Celebes which should not be underestimated. These vast
areas abounding in water were ideal breeding places for the malaria mosquito and other pathogenic
organisms. The high mortality rate of the population and the low population density related to this
were important determinants in the lives of the population of South-east Celebes.
The people were ravaged by fevers on a regular basis. They themselves attributed these to “evil
vapours” released, according to their beliefs, when new fields or gardens were developed for
cultivation. Malaria was one of the worst diseases. Between 30% and 60%, and, in some kampongs,
even all members of the population, suffered from it, or from its after effects.35 In addition scabies
was rife, a disease which also troubled Europeans, and the people in addition suffered from
neglected wounds and ulcers, yaws, syphilis, and other venereal diseases, whose rapid emergence
and spread, particularly after 1900, was directly connected with the opening up of the interior. In
1927 venereal disease was already a “plague”.36
Especially in the rainy season influenza, bronchitis and pneumonia were frequent. For infants these
disorders were a significant cause of death. During an influenza epidemic in March 1931 an
observer recorded: “Hardly a day goes by when we do not hear of a death in the kampong.”37 At
times bouts of smallpox,38 tuberculosis, typhoid, filaria, measles, conjunctivitis, ringworm (tinea),
hookworm and cholera were rife, and many elderly people suffered from rheumatism. Around 1900
a small tribe of about 1000 people (200 adult men), the Toepe, experienced the enormous difference
which living in the mountains and living in the lowlands can make to people’s health. They
exchanged their abode from the upper reaches of the Lalindu, high up in the mountains of North
Laiwoi, for the narrow and swampy coast of Tinde Inia, which was covered in mangroves. Within a
few years malaria and a smallpox epidemic had reduced the population to a third of its original
number.39 Further south the situation was also serious. When in 1907 the first Dutch soldiers and
military police traversed the central river terrain, there happened to be a smallpox epidemic at that
time,40 while a year later there was smallpox in Rumbia, which claimed a lot of victims. This was
the reason that a government vaccinator travelled with the expedition of the German geologist and
explorer Johannes Elbert (1909) to vaccinate the population against smallpox along the way.41
In the 1930s rabies was detected in South-east Celebes, a disease which until then was said to have
been unknown there.42 After a failed harvest the population suffered massively from malnutrition.
During widespread cattle deaths from anthrax in the early 1930s, many people died of food
poisoning because they had eaten the meat of sick animals, in spite of a prohibition on hunting and
35
36
Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [50].
37
J. Schuurmans to Hb NZV, 11/3/1930, ARRZ 2018.
38
Koloniaal verslag 1872, 17; Idem 1882, 21.
39
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 503-504; Bouman, “Memorie”, 41.
40
41
42
G.W. Mollema to Hb NZV, 4/7/1935, ARRZ 2021.

slaughtering. Dysentery epidemics occurred on a regular basis and caused much loss of life, and
they also did not leave the families of Europeans untouched, as in 1926.43
Mentally ill people and people with other disturbances were isolated by the population inasmuch
they were dangerous. After 1900 they were sometimes temporarily put in the stocks until there was
a place in an institution, if only to prevent their being killed by their family or others.44 Another
disease the population greatly feared was ichthyosis (fish scale disease), although this was a
genetic, not a contagious disease. This virtually incurable skin disease was attributed to contact
with the skin of a legendary crocodile which had perished, with the skin becoming dust spread by
the wind.45 This crocodile was born to the daughter of a tribal chief who had become pregnant while
bathing in the river.46 Whoever suffered from this disease was inevitably exiled to a lonely place.
According to an observer, in the subdivision of Kolaka in 1908, at least 80% of the population
suffered from this disease, there called kulit dua, which literally means “second skin”.47 In 1916 a
traveller in the interiors of Mekongga, Rumbia and Poleang came across totally depopulated
regions. He blamed this depopulation on the high infant mortality, the working to death of women
and the poor nutrition.48
The Spanish influenza of 1918, which had a worldwide death toll of millions, also hit Celebes
hard.49 In September, a few weeks after the flu’s eruption, the settlement of Kolaka had virtually
died out: of the little over 900 inhabitants 177 had died within three weeks, the rest had fled into the
mountains.50 However, even in the interior one was not safe. The settlement of Singgere, a day’s
march east of Kolaka, was taken down at the start of 1919 and rebuilt a few hours’ walk further,
high on a mountain slope. Anggoami, on the Konawe’eha, although quietly and solitarily situated in
the midst of the dense forests of Lapai, high up in the mountains, was even permanently abandoned
as a consequence of the Spanish influenza.51
Traditionally leprosy was rare in South-east Celebes, that is, few cases are known. However, with
the opening up of the peninsula from around 1900 the population got its share of this affliction as
well. In 1936 the government doctor of Kendari reported that Konawe was “infested with leprosy”.
For example, the kampong Lalosabila, in the vicinity of Wawotobi, on the northern bank of the
Konawe’eha, had more than 30 patients at that time, and in Hudoa, a village near Lambuya, there
43
Wieland, “Memorie”, [11]-[12].
44
45
In the old days the keeping of crocodiles was wide spread in Celebes. According to several sources they were
seen as family members and addressed with saudara (brother). It was held that each time a woman gave birth
to a child she also gave birth to a crocodile. The animal was subsequently considered to be the brother of the
new born child. Hawkesworth, An account of the voyages, II, 506-508; A general collection of voyages and
travels, V, 316-319. Cf. the articles of Kruyt on the place of the crocodile in Central Celebes folklore in
Wolanda Hindia, 1935.
46
Treffers, “Drie verhalen”, 232-233.
47
Wieland, “Memorie”, [13]. Probably psoriasis.
48
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 19/7/1916, ARRZ 2025.
49
In Central Celebes missionary P. ten Kate (in Napu) died of the flu (30/11/1918), A.C. Kruyt to J. Kruyt jr.,
8/12/1918, 25/12/1918, ARRZ 1335.
50
See Crosby, “The Past and Present of Environmental History”, 1177; H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 15/12/1918,
ARRZ 2025.
51
H. van der Klift, “Onze onderzoekingsreis door een deel van Mekongga”, 15/7/1920, ARRZ 2025.

were then 31 leprosy sufferers among the 300 inhabitants, more than 10%.52 As a rule the
population itself isolated such people.53 In the early 1930s a separate pavilion was established for
them near the hospital in Kendari. This was later followed by a small kampong for leprosy
sufferers. With respect to South-east Celebes the Health Department (DVG) in those years adopted
the point of view that leprosy was not infectious, or at most for small children, and that leprosy
patients could stay in their own villages, and outpatient treatment was adequate.54
There was also a very high death toll among horses, water buffalo and other cattle, as during the
anthrax epidemic of 1931-1933. Despite a massive vaccination campaign this epidemic wiped out
the cattle livestock in a large area of the central river region, which affected particularly the anakia,
members of the aristocracy, who were also the principal stock owners in South-east Celebes.
However, anthrax also affected the population, with significant discrepancies between villages. In
the first four months of 1932, when the epidemic there was at its peak, 170 people out of a
population of about 700 died of the disease in Rate-Rate and nearby Woi’iha (“Big River”); in
Simbune, in the district of Singgere, it was three to four every day in February 1932. On the other
hand in Tinondo, which was situated nearby, only a total of five people died, and two in Kesio.
Also disastrous was a beriberi epidemic, which lasted till after 1933, and unfortunately in part
coincided with the anthrax crisis.55 At the start of 1934 an observer wrote about Rate-Rate: “This
region has been incredibly ravaged in the past few years. Anthrax, malaria, dysentery, beriberi, all
these alternate and are rampant. It is also a fatal vicious circle, because the consequences of one
disease create favourable opportunities for the next one.”56 It is estimated that at any time at least
half the population suffered from beriberi; dozens, hundreds of people even, already weakened by
the ever-present malaria, died after usually having been ill for only one or two days. According to a
1935 report this was a total of 228 people in Kolaki and Kendari, but according to others it was
many more.57
To deal with all this there was a modest medical service, just a drop in the ocean. In Kendari and
Kolaka there were small government hospitals, each with a mantri nurse, and, from the late 1920s, a
doctor in Kendari. From 1932, at the height of the anthrax epidemic, there was a government
outpatient clinic with a nurse in Wawotobi. In Lambuya, Mowewe, Sanggona and Taubonto
(Rumbia), there were small missionary outpatient clinics where medications were handed out and
wounds were dressed. In the late 1930s missionary Mollema had a house built in Sanggona which
also served as a tiny hospital. It was among other things intended to look after people who had been
caught by a crocodile and had survived it, something which occurred in Sanggona approximately
once a month.58 The size of the need in general was evident from the number of patients: in
Taubonto in 1930 about forty to fifty people a day came to seek treatment;59 in Kolaka this was
52
J. Schuurmans, “Jaarverslag 1938”, -/2/1939, ARRZ 2133.
53
Taatgen, “Memorie”, 2; “Melaatschheid op Celebes”.
54
55
M.J. Gouweloos to Governor of Celebes and Dependencies [copy to Hb NZV], 20/1/1933, ARRZ 2020.
56
M.J. Gouweloos, “Jaarverslag 1933”, -/2/1934, ARRZ 2133.
57
58
G.W. Mollema to Hb NZV,7/10/1935, 3/3/1936, 3/10/1936, ARRZ 2021; id. to id., 9/4/1937, ARRZ 2022.
59

about thirty a day,60 while missionaries Gouweloos and Schuurmans in Kendari each treated
between ten and forty people daily. Whoever had the means to pay for it, such as the Europeans,
some anakia and government and mission staff, went to a hospital in Makassar, Palopo or Rantepao
for serious cases.
Until 1926 no doctors were stationed in South-east Celebes. Once or twice a year the Palopo
military physician came to Kolaka, and the government physician from Bau-Bau visited Kendari.
They never went to the interior. The districts of Poleang and Rumbia were part of the practice of the
government doctor and the mantri nurse of Raha, on Muna, but these hardly ever came there.61 In
1929 the hospital in Raha was taken over by the Roman Catholic mission. A native government
doctor also remained posted there, a not uncommon government requirement.62 For Rumbia and
Poleang this made little difference. In the first years after World War II the population had to rely
completely on Bau-Bau, situated on the south-western point of Buton island, where there was a
small hospital. A doctor or nurse from Buton however never visited South-east Celebes.63
From 1926 Kendari had at its disposal its own government physicians, all but one Indies doctors.
These were doctors who had received their training in the Dutch East Indies. The first one only
stayed for a few months. The second one was Maengkom from the Minahassa (1926-1929), who
had absolutely no confidence in the medical skills of the missionaries, and refused to cooperate
with them or supply them with medicines. He was succeeded by a Roman Catholic doctor, who in
1932 departed for the mission hospital at Raha on Muna. After him came D. Fleischer, an Austrian
military physician, who, in contrast to his predecessors, travelled often in the interior and was open
to cooperation with the missionaries. In 1934 he was replaced by a Javanese doctor called Basah
Karnen, who in his turn was followed in May 1938 by Wisnu Judo, also from Java.64 During the last
years before the war Kendari had a doctor from the Minangkabau. By this time Kolaka got its first
doctor, partly with a view to the medical care of the personnel of the East Borneo Company, whose
daughter firm, the Mining Company “Boni Toli”, established itself in nearby Pomala’a in 1937.
It was not true that, not counting hospitals and outpatient clinics, the colonial government did
nothing for the population. During the anthrax epidemic in the early 1930s it saw to it that no meat
of water buffalo or horses was consumed, although in spite of this it happened anyway. One can
also point at the improvement of hygiene in the kampongs, which was part of the kampong
establishment programme, the distribution of free quinine against malaria, treatment of syphilis and
yaws for the purpose of which vaccinators visited villages and markets, the draining of marshes and
several “mosquito-net campaigns”. The efficacy of these programmes was, however, very limited.65
2.2.5. Transport, roads and paths
60
61
62
Bouwman, “Memorie”, 17.
63
T.S. Houtsma to Dir. SZC, 26/5/1947, ARRZ 2022; “Verslag van de besprekingen in zake eenige onderwerpen
betreffende het Landschap Boeton (op 9 Juli 1946)”, 1.
64
M.J. Gouweloos to Hb NZV, 4/11/1934, ARRZ 2020.
65
E.g. Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 34.

Until 1906 there was no question of roads in South-east Celebes. The land was crisscrossed by a
jumble of narrow paths which were hard to negotiate. These were broken up by water buffalo and it
was, moreover, easy to get lost. Semi-feral water buffalo which roamed around were caught when
needed and were used for hauling jobs of rattan and tree trunks, but otherwise, where possible,
freight and goods were transported by water on bamboo rafts (niya, Tol.), or carried on the back,
hanging from a band around the forehead, the morongo (Tol.). Horses, introduced by Bugis freight
transporters from South Celebes, were used only as draught or pack animals. These horses, or rather
ponies, were, however, unreliable and hardly usable both in swampy and in mountainous terrain.66
Only Europeans used them to ride on, sometimes with unwanted results. When they got a fright,
they sometimes threw off their rider or bolted.67 The wives of Europeans generally used the sedan
chair, the kalata or tandu (Tol.), and children were transported in a buleka, a large carrying basket
topped with leaves.
After 1906 an efficient government policy, the intended development of the population, the
construction of rice paddies and irrigation infrastructure, the mobility of military troops, the
exploitation of minerals and the use of lorries for the speedy transport of mining and forestry
products required a good network of paved roads and paths which could be used in all seasons. It
was for this reason that the government, as happened everywhere in those years in the pacified
outlying districts, almost immediately started a programme to widen and pave paths, and to
construct bridges and culverts. The pattern of gravel roads and paths created in this manner largely
determined where and how the new kampongs were built, sometimes with a school, church or
mosque, endless and soulless monotonous rows of houses, some on stilts, with traditional roofs
made of leaves, and later with zinc roofing. Before 1906 the houses were built with the ridge beam
running north-south, with the stairs at the front, but after this date they invariably had their facade
facing the road, with a yard, fence and house number, each house properly inhabited by one family,
and all tax paying adult men supplied with a kampong identity card. That is how the government
wanted it.68
One of the first road construction projects, executed by “haradiensie” (herendienst, i.e. enforced
labour), was the building of an east-west through road which was suitable for cars, between Kendari
and Kolaka, one of the most important connecting roads on the peninsula. With this in mind the
elevation, widening and gravelling of the old path from Kendari in a westerly direction was begun
soon after the arrival of the Dutch. By 1922 the section of road as far as just past Lambuya was
ready, plus a section near Rate-Rate on the border of the subdivision (onderafdeling) Kolaka.
Except for the rainy season the road was excellent: almost everywhere two cars could easily pass
each other. Bridges were built over the Konawe’eha, such as one near Wawotobi, which was
provided with a wooden roof. Later the road from Kendari was extended to Kolaka town through
the southern part of the Mowewe plain and the western coastal mountains. In 1930 the whole road,
180 km long, was ready and in October of that year was officially opened by the Governor of
66
Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 220; Rookmaker, “Oude en nieuwe toestanden”, 524.
67
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 30/6/1916. ARRZ 2025.
68

Celebes and Dependencies, L.J.J. Caron (1929-1933). In addition a branch leading to Mowewe was
then finished. The travelling time, by car, between Kolaka and Kendari was reduced to half a day.
In the mid 1920s lorries drove from Kendari via Lambuya to Tinanggea on the south coast. From
Lambuya, the regions of Abuki and Latoma, situated further to the north, were then also accessible.
However, terms such as “drive” and “accessible” were relative, since until the war the usefulness of
all roads for motorised traffic was restricted to the dry season. During the rainy season dams,
bridges and culverts were often damaged or even swept away. A problem with large infrastructure
projects on this scale was not merely the low population density, but also the fact that South-east
Celebes was treated in a rather step-motherly fashion by the central government. Much of the
monies allocated to this region were used elsewhere on Celebes, leading to economies being made
in Kolaka and Kendari.
At the end of the 1930s a road was also constructed from Kendari-town to the new airport, called
Kendari II, just outside the township. From the early 1920s work was carried out on the road from
Kendari-town through the Wolasi and Anduna mountains to the south coast, which connected
villages such as Konda, Amoa, Wolasi, Alangga and Tinanggea with each other. The intention was
to extend this road via Daole (or Dole, Doole) and Kasiputih along the south coast of Rumbia and
Poleang to Towari, a coastal village on the border of Poleang and Kolaka, where it was to connect
with a new coastal road, which led northwards via Tangketada to Kolaka. This latter stretch
assumed great economic importance in the 1930s because of the mining industry near Kolaka. The
southern coastal road was also intended to connect to the sea links with Makassar, Kendari, Buton,
Muna and Kabaena. As early as the 1920s some work was carried out on the sections through
Poleang and Rumbia, but it took many years before the road was completed.
For the opening up of the northern interior the new road, which ran from Lambuya, a village
situated halfway on the Kendari-Kolaka road, via Rate-Rate into the very thinly populated,
mountainous interior of northern Kolaka, was of significance. By following the south-west bank of
the Konawe’eha river it connected kampongs such as Ameroro, Singgere, Tawanga, Sanggona,
Woi’esi, Watumendonga (“Shared Stone”), Ahilulu and Alaha (“Big Rice Barn”). By 1930 the
construction had progressed to post number 87, on the border of the districts of Lapai and
Konawe’eha, near Alaha, where the road changed into a path through the forest. From this point it
was still a five-day march to the coast of the Gulf of Bone.69 The road north along the north-eastern
bank of the Konawe’eha into the mountains to the north, on which work was done in the 1930s, was
also of economic importance. It was connected to the Kendari-Kolaka road via an iron bridge near
Uepai. This connection also primarily served the transport by lorry of forest products.70
For the same reason, the transport of rattan, wood and resins, the elevated road, which in 1920 and
1921 was constructed from Lambuya to the south via Watundehoa and Puriala to Motaha, straight
across the A Opa marsh, was of importance. It was necessary to construct pontoons and bridges for
this purpose. The wooden bridge south of Moholeleo was a true work of art: it was more than 600
69
De Man, “Vervolgmemorie”, 12; Nouwens, “Nota”, [3]; Cf. H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de
onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, (ARRZ 2025) 16 ff., which contains a description of
Lasolo.
70

metres long, and located high enough to offer protection against the crocodiles.71 In Motaha this
road connected to the road which ran from Kendari via Tetenggaluri to Alangga and Palangga near
the south coast. In the 1920s this road was extended from Alangga to Tinanggea and Lakara on the
south coast, from where one could cross to Muna and the Tiworo islands, and to the border with
Rumbia near Lanowulu. There the road came to an end; only “misery” lay ahead for whoever
wanted to continue into Rumbia.
The interiors of Rumbia and Poleang were the last to get their turn, and in a few cases did not get a
turn at all, chiefly because, it was said, the government in Bau-Bau did not go to any trouble about
it. The economic significance of the district was slight. Because of the small size of the population
there was no development of rice paddies and concentration of kampongs either; the only
development was that in the 1930s an attempt was made to improve the home gardens.72 The road
from Kasiputih into the interior, which was to some extent negotiable by cars and was constructed
in the 1930s, ended a short distance beyond Taobonto. Apart from the coastal road I have
mentioned, there were only footpaths and water buffalo tracks through the jungle. There was no
question of economic development of any significance.73
Over land the peninsula of South-east Celebes was not accessible by car from South and Central
Celebes. In this respect it had the characteristics of an island. Even at the end of the 1930s the path
between Poli-Polia in Mambulu and Rarongkeu in Rumbia, which ran via Wonuambuteo and from
there through the Mambulu marsh, and which subsequently crossed the Watu Mohai, was hardly
passable for horses, and not at all for cars, while someone on foot took three or four days to make
the journey. The northern coastal road from Kolaka via Mangolo and Pakue to Malili, was no more
than a winding footpath which at times had to be won back from the jungle. A through road from
Wawotobi, the rapidly expanding new centre of Konawe, to Lasolo, north of Kendari, and beyond
was not considered urgent before the war; the horse trail which existed in places as a widened and
gravel track along the coast was considered adequate, nor did a connection negotiable by car ever
exist along the east coast between Kendari and South Bungku. There construction was restricted to
brief sections of gravel roads between and through coastal villages, and the building of bridges
across a number of river mouths and bays, such as near Kokapi, Sawa and Lembo. In the wide
valley of the Lasolo river paths were also widened and improved, but to little avail, since they
remained muddy.
In the central part of the peninsula the road from Kolaka to Kendari ran for many kilometres
between two small chains of hills: in the north the Tamosi hills, and in the south the Tondo-Mbao
hills. In the Tamosi hills in particular, innumerable big and small rivers and streams had their
source, such as the Konawe Mohala, Tawa Pandere, the Iwoi Meraka west of Lambuya, and the
Amberi, Iwoi Sonai, Iwoi Puru-Matea and the Iwoi Usi-Usi to the east of it,74 which fed the A Opa
and Koloimba marshes and necessitated the construction of many culverts, dikes and bridges for the
71
Taatgen, “Memorie”, 11; H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli
[1922]”, (ARRZ 2025) 4.
72
H. van der Klift, “Samenvattend overzicht 1937”, -/3/1938, ARRZ 2133.
73
M.J. Gouweloos to Hb NZV, 14/1/1930, ARRZ 2018; Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 3.
74
H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, (ARRZ 2025) 2-3.

building of a new road. This work progressed slowly, not only because of financial constraints, but
also because many kampongs only existed on paper, or were inhabited for just a few months of the
year and therefore few or no labourers were available.75 The maintenance of existing roads and
bridges was also in a sorry state. Flooding caused by rapidly rising rivers often caused much
damage, as a result of which new roads, among them the roads built on stilts with great trouble, and
the large wooden pontoons through the numerous swamps, could sometimes not even be found
back after only a few years. This happened, for example, in the rainy season of 1923-1924, when
the Kolaka kampong and its surroundings were inundated fifteen times.76
During the Japanese occupation only those roads which were of significance for the conduct of the
war were maintained, while between 1945 and 1950 almost nothing was done to the road system,
nor was anything done in the 1950s. Cars had then lost their usefulness. Large parts of the interior
were only accessible on foot or on horseback, while the connections of Poleang and Rumbia with
Kolaka and Kendari were chiefly maintained by sea. As late as the 1990s the connection between
Kasiputih and Taubonto was still no more than a muddy path.77
2.2.6. Traffic by water

Travel was not simple, and sometimes dangerous, both by land and by sea. Marshes, lakes and
rivers were made unsafe by the presence of iguanas and crocodiles which claimed many victims.
Hacking their way through the jungle, climbing along narrow and steep paths, often following the
course of streams and rivers, and making huge detours around inaccessible ravines and cliffs, the
Tolaki and Tomoronene travelled through the hills and mountains, hunting game, seeking resins
and rattan, headhunting, or on their way to their rice paddies, corn fields or coconut plantations. In
their wobbly canoes, cut from the mango tree, they fished and hunted, along the way making
sacrifices to their ancestors, and begging for protection and guidance. When they crossed fast-
flowing rivers or passed through dangerous spots in the mountains they threw a stone on a heap of
stones already there, a sacred act which was to prevent the ever-present spirits to lead them in the
wrong direction or cause them to have an accident.78
Only exceptionally the rivers were navigable for bigger ships, and even then only the lower reaches
and in the rainy season – such as the Lasolo and the Lalindu up to Padalere, as the crow flies a
distance of 32 kilometres – or just in their estuaries, such as the Lasampara river.79 When the tide
was in the latter was navigable for bigger ships up to the waterfalls of Pu’uhara, the place where the
Konawe burst through the eastern mountain range. The Lepo-Lepo, which flowed into the sea near
Kendari, was navigable for larger prahus over a distance of more than 16 kilometres; already in the
nineteenth century this was a much used transport route for forest products. Other rivers, such as
the Lahumbuti, the Matarambeo, the Latoma, the Towiau and the Woime’eto in the north and
75
Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 256; H. van der Klift to NZV, 22/4/1930, ARRZ 2018; Slabbekoorn,
“Memorie”, [4].
76
De Man, “Vervolgmemorie”, 12; H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 15/4/1924, ARRZ 2026.
77
T.S. Houtsma to Dir. SZC, 26/5/1947, ARRZ 2022.
78
79

middle of the peninsula, and the Poleang, the Labandia, the Roraya, and the Watumokala in the
south, could not be used for shipping. The use of prahus was too dangerous because of the many
crocodiles; only rafts could be utilised. These were generally made of bamboo and provided with a
high pagar (high protective fence). People regularly disappeared in the swamps and rivers and were
never found back.
Not only was (and is) South-east Celebes inaccessible by road, but before the war it also had no
telephone or telegraph connection with the outside world. Although plans did exist to extend the
telephone and telegraph lines which were constructed in the 1920s between Kendari and Kolaka
and between Palangga and Kendari, to Malili, a centre of government and trade, which had had a
connection with Makassar from as early as 1918,80 these plans were abandoned at the same time as
the plans for a road for cars between Kolaka and Malili. Before the war all contact with the outside
world was conducted by sea, and, since the late 1930s, also by air.
The sea was dangerous, and not just because of the sometimes sudden whirlwinds and tornadoes.
The coastal waters were littered with sandbanks, coral reefs, and sharp rocks covered by water.
River estuaries were often impossible to reach for bigger ships because of mud banks, the top soils
of denuded hills and mountains carried out to sea. In Dutch manuals for seamen, and on nautical
charts, which were unreliable until long after 1900, reefs and shoals were indicated with terms such
as “Dwars in den Weg” (“Across, in the way”), “Pas-Op” (“Take Care”) and “Kijk Uit” (“Watch
Out”).81 Especially at night sailing was virtually impossible. In the daytime it was sometimes a little
easier. As early as the seventeenth century the most dangerous shallows along the east coast of
Celebes were indicated by beacons, which had the shape of huts built on tall stilts, something the
traveller who recorded this had not seen anywhere else.82
Coming from Ternate and on her way to Buton, the ship of Sir Francis Drake, The Golden Hind,
heavily laden with cloves from Ternate and Spanish silver, struck a reef off the east coast of
Celebes on the 9th of January 1580.83 On many maps of those days Celebes was shown not as one
island, but as a collection of bigger and smaller islands which a good skipper could sail between.84
Food supplies, eight canons and three tons of valuable cloves were jettisoned, but in vain. Only
when the wind changed direction a few days later the ship was afloat once again.85 Coming from
Makassar, ships travelling to Ambon and Ternate had to sail through the Selayar Strait, but because
of unreliable nautical charts and “contrary currents around the West”, in the course of time several
ships ran aground or were wrecked there.86 During Vosmaer’s voyage to the Gulf of Bone at the
start of 1830 one of his ships sprang a leak because of hitting a rock in the Selayar Strait, and was
80
De Man, “Vervolgmemorie”, 12; A.C. Kruyt to J. Kruyt sr., Letter nr. 45, 20/5/1918, ARRZ 1335.
81
Van der Hart, Reize rondom het eiland Celebes, 54-55; Edeling, Oostkust van Celebes; Van Vuuren, Het
Gouvernement Celebes, I, 316.
82
Dampier, A new voyage, 450.
83
The English year of 1579.
84
The oldest map of Celebes was probably made in 1512 by the Portuguese Fr. Rodriguez. Seen from some
distance the mountains appeared to him as separate islands. Abendanon, “De beteekenis van den naam
Celebes”, 318.
85
Lives and voyages, 103-104.
86
Cf. Tiele, Bouwstoffen, II, 163; Dagh-Register 1631-1634, 12-13, 308.

subsequently looted by the inhabitants of Bulang Rua, two small islands in the Gulf of Bone;87 in
February 1833 he once again lost a ship in the Selayar Strait.88 The ship which took missionary
Jellema from Batavia to Ambon in February/March 1844 went off course and got stuck several
times on under water coral reefs between Muna and Kabaena.89 The Reynst, a new steamship of the
KPM (1890), on its maiden voyage in 1891 hit a then as yet unknown reef off the south-west coast
of Kabaena (later called the Sogori reefs) and could not be salvaged90 – a century later, in July
1992, the wreck was still there. Later KPM ships had a pilot on board and large sections of the
voyage were only negotiated during daytime.91 In September 1909 Elbert’s ship also hit a rock
while approaching the east coast of Rumbia near Daole, sprang a leak and could only be salvaged
and towed to Kolaka with much effort.92 The same thing happened to the destroyer Banckert at the
end of August 1946 off the Bay of Kendari, while it was in the process of unloading passengers and
their luggage.93 Only by exercising the utmost caution when manoeuvring between the sandbanks
and coral reefs KPM and navy ships could reach the coast for the loading of freight and
provisions.94
2.3. Conclusion
It is difficult to think of a greater contrast than that between South-east Celebes and its neighbour,
South Celebes. The favourable physical conditions for agriculture, trade and the breeding of cattle
found in South Celebes, did not exist in South-east Celebes. Many parts of the coast of South
Celebes, from Palopo in the north-east via Sinjai, Jeneponto and Makassar in the south, to Polewali
and Majene on the Gulf of Mandar in the north-west, consisted of wide fertile lowland plains.95
Bone and its surroundings was one of the most important cotton and rice-producing and exporting
centres of the archipelago.96 The coasts commanded natural, sheltered harbours, and river mouths
which fanned out widely and offered space for various branches of industry connected with the sea,
shipbuilding and shipping trade.
Compared with South Celebes, South-east Celebes, situated not much more than 100 kilometres
away in a straight line, still had a long way to go. The region was poverty-stricken, the population
very fragmented, an easy prey for hawkers, buyers of forest products and fortune hunters, and
occasionally plunderers and slave hunters. More follows below about the manner in which the
colonial government after 1900 attempted to ameliorate the lot of the Tolaki and Tomoronene by
87
“Het eiland Celebes volgens de togten en ontdekkingen van Jacques Nicolas Vosmaer”, 199-201.
88
89
Dornseiffen-Rutgers, Levensbericht van Jelle Eeltjes Jellesma, 19-20.
90
Cf. Van Vuuren, Het Gouvernement Celebes, I, 362.
91
Koning, Een halve eeuw paketvaart, 63, 85, 243; Broersma, “De beteekenis van Selebes, oostkust voor den
handel”, 1048.
92
Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 234-235.
93
94
95
A notable exception was the subdivision of Jeneponto (S. Celebes), which by lack of an appropriate irrigation
system was dry and poor in the dry season. Lili, “Memorie”.
96
Matthes, “Beknopt verslag van een verblijf in die binnenlanden van Celebes”, 7; Rookmaker, “Oude en nieuwe
toestanden”, 522-523.

means of an ambitious plan of kampong formation, the drainage of marshes, registration of the
population, education, health care, agricultural advice and the construction of wet rice paddies,
irrigation systems and gravel roads.
2.4. The inhabitants: language, prehistory, myth and hierarchy

2.4.1. Population: a first acquaintance
South-east Celebes is a world of contrasts: the striking political and military role of the rich island
of Buton97 in former centuries is in sharp contrast with the almost universally unknown history of
the mainland. The centuries seem to have bypassed it without touching it in any way. Although lack
of information does not make it easy to reconstruct the history of South-east Celebes, it is possible
to improve upon the prevailing image of a pond of deep and stagnant water, and it turns out that
more can be said than relating just myths and legends.98
Since times immemorial the Tolaki have inhabited the north and middle of the mainland of South-
east Celebes, and the Tomoronene have inhabited the south-western peninsula. The exonym for
Tomoronene is Moronene, but here the endonym Tomoronene is used. Nothing definite is known
about population numbers in prehistoric times.99 F. Treffers, an army officer who from November
1910 to July 1913 was one of the first Dutch authorities in Kendari, records for the subdivision of
Laiwoi, the southernmost subdivision of the division East Coast of Celebes, a number of 13,560
men “fit for work”. Assuming an average family size of three to four persons, this gives a
population of around 40,000 to 55,000 people.100 Konawe was the most densely populated area,
followed immediately by the south-east coast. The next data after this were obtained from the
census figures of 1920 and 1930. The subdivision of Kolaka then had respectively 16,491 and
35,859 indigenous inhabitants (among whom 24,366 were Tolaki),101 while the subdivision of
Kendari had more than three times that number, respectively 59,696 and 89,183 indigenous
inhabitants (among whom 76,065 were Tolaki).102 In 1930 the population of Poleang was 13,271
and that of Rumbia 10,728, while some hundreds of Tomoronene were counted in neighbouring
regions such as Muna, Buton, Malili, Poso and southern Kolaka. In addition in 1930 there were in
Kolaka 139 Chinese and other Foreign Orientals (Arabs, Japanese, Chinese, Klingalese and other
Asians from outside the colony), in Kendari 548, in Rumbia 13, and in Poleang 15. These figures
are not accurate. The significant “population increase” between 1920 and 1930 was primarily
97
Buton was rich according to Drake who visited the sultanate in February 1580. The name he gave it was
Baratane, Lives and voyages, 104-105.
98
In: Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 331-346, and Suwondo, Sejarah, 29-34, several legends and myths are
communicated.
99
Cf. Schaap, Statistiek.
100
Treffers “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 202, gives the following numbers: Lasampara/Kendari: 1909; Abeli 771;
Kolono 960; Konda: 707; Bugis southern coastal villages: 414; Palangga: 832; Ando’olo: 1028;
Uepai/Lambuya: 608; Wawotobi: 398; Pu’undidaha: 760; Tongauna: 667; Abuki: 768; Latoma: 453; Lasolo:
1757; Asera/Wiwirano: 428 and Wawoni: 1100, in total 13.560.
101
The numbers given by the government regarding the population were sometimes inaccurate. According to
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 13, the number of inhabitants of the subdivision of Kolaka amounted per 1/6/1935 to
31.324: Kolaka 13.878, Kondeha 7074, Rate-Rate (Mambulu) 2041, Singgere 3468, Tawanga 2730, Konaweha
1145 and Lapai 988. Among them were 584 Christians.
102
Laiwoi had 70.243 inhabitants (1924), Vorstman, “Memorie”, App.

related to the improved registration of people. It is nevertheless remarkable that, while the number
of registered indigenous people in Kolaka and Kendari had increased by more than 47% and 27%
respectively, the number of Foreign Orientals had increased threefold. South-east Celebes was
faced with a strong inflow of foreigners, the more so since even the growth in the number of
indigenous people was largely due to the Bugis and other neighbours.103 For that matter, the inflow
of Bugis had by then been going on for at least a century and a half, and also Selayerese,
Makassarese, Butonese and Chinese had felt attracted to the natural riches of the area since the end
of the Dutch East India period. The islands of Buton, Muna, Kabaena, Manui and Wawoni also had,
apart from a core of indigenous people, a mixed population of Bugis, Bajos, Javanese, and people
from Ternate, Sangir and other migrants.104
Treffers disputed the opinion of the cousins P. and F. Sarasin, who, in February and March 1903,
had traversed the isthmus between Kolaka and Kendari from west to east, that the original
inhabitants of Pu’undidaha and Lambuya were called Tokea and were distinguished from other
Tolaki by a lighter skin colour, a slightly taller frame and a straight nose.105 “Tokea” (or “Tokia”),
which both with the Tolaki and with the Tomoronene means “friend”, was, according to Treffers
and others, merely a name used by Bajos and Bugis for the inhabitants of the interior,106 a view
confirmed by others.107 The name “Tolaki” is derived from to, a prefix used to designate a human
being, and laki (Mal.), which means “man”, “brave”.108 Today the name is used to designate all
inhabitants of the area between Kolaka and Kendari who speak the Tolaki language, although one
still comes across cases where it is reserved for inhabitants of Konawe.109
The Tolaki were divided into a number of relationship groups or clans. The members of the clan
were subdivided, with the addition of the prefix to (human being), according to their habitat, in the
Tomekongga or Tomengkoka, as the Bugis called them, (districts of Kolaka, Singgere and
Tawanga), Tomowewe (Singgere district), Tolapai and Toasera (Lapai district), Tokondeha
(Konawe’eha district), Tolaiwoi (districts of Konawe’eha and Tawanga), Tolatoma (Latoma
district), Tosanggona (Tawanga district), Toepe (Wiwirano district), Tokanawe (central and east
South-east Celebes), Tolamoare (Latoma district), Toairi (Mambulu district, and various districts in
south-east Kendari), Towoiesi (Konawe’eha district), Towiau (Wiwirano district), Tolambatu
(districts of Rauta and Wiwirano), and others.110
103
Volkstelling 1930, V, 21, 133, 149; Volkstelling 1930. Voorloopige uitkomsten, II, Buitengewesten, 21.
104
On Buton, see Schoorl, Power.
105
Sarasin, Reisen, I, 358; Koloniaal Verslag 1881, 19.
106
Treffers said that South-east Celebes was inhabited by the “To Lalaki”, Treffers, “Enkele kantteekeningen”,
226. The name Tolaki, also “To Lalaki” and “To Lolaki”, was also used to designate a clan which lived in the
district of Tawanga and in the village of Potuha, in the border area of Ando’olo and Mambulu. It is not known
where they came from. H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 19/7/1916 (ARRZ 2025) 14; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 10.
107
E.g. by the district head of Palangga in July 1922, H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari
van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, ARRZ 2025.
108
Treffers, “Enkele kantteekeningen”, 226; Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 5; “Tokea” is also used by Roman
Catholic historians, so Vriens, Sejarah, II, 156-158; cf. H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling
Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, ARRZ 2025.
109
Interview with S. Galukupi e.a. (Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992) 29.
110
As was the situation in the 1930s.

Sometimes these were further subdivided: for example a part of the Tolambatu clan was divided,
according to whether they lived in Rauta or Wiwirano, in the Torauta and the Towiwirano.111 The
northern clans of the Towiau, Tolawatu, Toasera, Towatuwatu and Towoiesi were included in the
Tolaiwoi by the government.112
2.4.2. Languages
The history of research into the Tolaki and Tomoronene languages began with the arrival of the
first missionary, Hendrik van der Klift, in 1916. After this date nearly all his colleagues engaged in
this work, some with greater enthusiasm and insight than others. According to Noorduyn and others
Tolaki is spoken in an area bounded in the north by Bungku, and in the south by Rumbia and
Poleang.113 Around 1930 Tolaki was used, or at the very least understood, by more than 100,000
people. In Mekongga (western South-east Celebes) and the larger part of Konawe (eastern South-
east Celebes), Tolaki was the accepted medium of communication.114 It has absorbed words from
Malay, Bugis, Makassarese, and other languages. Within Tolaki there are several regional and
dialect variations, which do not differ greatly from each other, such as Tomekongga, also referred
to as Mekongga, Mekonggese and Konio (from the word for “no, “not”),115 which was then spoken
by about 25,000 people in the districts of Kolaka, Singgere and Mambulu. Although Adriani116 as
well as Van der Klift considered Tomekongga to be a separate language,117 Esser118, who carried out
research in South-east Celebes in 1935 and 1941, doubted this. He even questioned the legitimacy
of considering it a dialect of Tolaki,119 since the differences were minor.120 In addition to this there
was the Kondeha dialect in the north-western mountain region (Kondeha and part of Lapai), the
Konawe dialect in the east, and the Airi dialect (or Toairi dialect), or Tambu’oki (or Kioki, for
“no”,”not”) in Mambulu.121 Another dialect, Lawoi, was spoken in the rest of Lapai,
Watumendonga and Tawanga and also by the Towiau, along the upper reaches of the Konawe’eha,
Latoma and Lasolo. As well, there existed in Mekongga, as in many other regions of Celebes,122 a
111
Vgl. Noorduyn, A critical survey, 113-114; Gouweloos, “Het doodenritueel bij de To Wiaoe"; Baden,
“Rapport”, 1; Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 184-185.
112
Baden, rapport, 3.
113
Noorduyn, A critical survey, 113; Mead, “Kinship terms in Bungku-Tolaki languages”.
114
Gouweloos, “Spraakkunst”, Introduction.
115
116
Dr. Nic. Adriani; *15 Sept. 1865 - †1 May 1926; 1893 Doct. Leiden University; 1894 left for the Dutch East
Indies as Bible translator; 1895-1902 at Poso (Central Celebes); 1902-1905 Minahassa (North Celebes)
employed by the government; 1905-1906 at Kuku (Central Celebes); 1908 Tentena (Central Celebes); 1914-
1919 furlough in the Netherlands; 1919 again to Central Celebes, Swellengrebel, In Leijdeckers Voetspoor, II,
28-67; H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, “Verslag van mijn tocht naar M.-Celebes”, 28/8/1916, ARRZ 2025.
117
Adriani, De Bare’e-sprekende Toradja’s, III, 220-230, 235-239; Van der Klift, “Mededeelingen”, 149.
118
Dr. S.J. Esser (1900-1944); starting in 1923 he studied the languages of Central Celebes (Mori, Toraja, Wotu);
died in a Japanese prison camp, see Swellengrebel, In Leijdeckers Voetspoor, II, 68-77; and Noorduyn,
“Mededelingen”.
119
Noorduyn, “Mededelingen”, 362.
120
At present Mekongga is not seen as a separate language or even a dialect. The language spoken in the west of
South-east Celebes is according tot Kaseng, Pemetaan, 7, Tolaki.
121
122
See Adriani, “Indonesische priestertaal”.

separate language, a secret or priests’ language, which at the beginning of the twentieth century was
used only in a religious context and known to very few people.123
As stated above, apart from the Bugis coastal settlements, there were south of the Wawo Umbo
mountain range hardly any remarkable differences of language. An exception was a group of seven
villages on the Lalindu, among which were Landawe and Mopute, where a separate language was
spoken, called Landawe-Moputo, albeit that it was somewhat related to Tolaki.124 Some Europeans
reserved the name “Tolaki” for the inhabitants of Konawe, to distinguish them from the
Tomekongga, Toairi, Tolambatu, Torete, Tokapontori and other clans. But usually the whole
indigenous population was designated as such, insofar as they were not Tomoronene.125
The language of the Tomoronene who lived in Poleang and Rumbia, was Tomoronene, also referred
to as Moronese, Maronese and Naihina (from na, the word for “no”, “not”).126 According to the
government employee for languages in Bau-Bau, Dr E.J. van den Berg (1940), this language was
closely related to the language spoken on Kabaena.127 At that time few Tomoronene spoke Malay,
and only the odd one spoke Wolio, which was spoken in the south of Buton. Tomoronene too had
dialects; at any rate in 1926 an observer was under the impression that the Tomoronene spoken in
Poleang was closer to the Tomekongga (or Tolaki) of Kolaka than the Tomoronene spoken in
Rumbia.128
The districts of Rumbia and Poleang are sometimes together referred to as Moronene, after a river
in Rumbia, the Laa Moronene. As far as the name “Moronene” is concerned, a current
interpretation has it that the word is derived from “nene”, a type of fern which grew especially
along the river Laa Moronene, which was named after it, and whose dried fibre was used to make
rope; “moro” means “kind of”, and thus “Moronene” would mean “a kind of nene”. A kada
(legend) tells that the very first Tomoronene lived along the Laa Moronene, under their first ruler
and clan ancestor Dendeangi.129 Another explanation has it that “moro” refers to seafarers from
Tidore, who were stranded in South-east Celebes and were said to have remained there.130
123
Kruyt and Adriani saw the priests’ language of Poso as consisting of mutilated and twisted words, some of
which were borrowed from neighbouring languages, Kruyt, “De oorsprong van de priestertaal in Poso”.
124
H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, (ARRZ 2025) 17;
Noorduyn, A critical survey, 117.
125
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 10. It was difficult to determine the administrative northern border of the Tolaki area,
but the government drew the line in a bend south of Lake Towuti, just north of the mountain village of Rauta.
Tribes inhabiting the border area with Mori and Bungku, such as the Toepe and the Towiwirano (of Towiau),
did not consider themselves Tolaki, Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 198.
126
127
Van den Berg, “Mededelingen”, 169-172. According to Kaseng, Pemetaan, 7, the language which is spoken on
Kabaena island is called Tokotua. A small minority of the population of Kabaena spoke Tomoronene or
another language found in the area. Together with Wawoni, Tokotua and Tomoronene constitute a separate
language, according to Anceaux, “The linguistic position”.
128
G.C. Storm to Hb NZV, 18/61926, ARRZ 2032.
129
As suggested by Lode, Jawaban, 10. Riasa, Perkembangan, 8, and others say that “Moronene” is the
indigenous name of a fern, the Gleichenia linearis, which grows in Rumbia, among other places on the banks
of Laa Moronene; Paulus, Agama suku Moronene “Sangkaleo mpae”, 2.
130
VOC-governor at Makassar Roelof Blok (1756-1760), several nineteenth century Koloniale Verslagen,
Goedhart and Treffers, all call the Tolaki and other tribes in the eastern half of Celebes “Alfoeren” or
“Alifuru”. This term does not designate a specific tribe or clan, but means “uncivilised, course” people. [Blok],
“Beknopte Geschiedenis”, 53; Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 493, 516; Van Fraassen, Ternate, I,

2.5. Prehistory
2.5.1. Migration
Although particularly in the last decades detailed research has been conducted into the prehistory
and waves of migration in East and South-east Asia, little is known of the prehistory of South-east
Celebes and of Celebes as a whole. The humid, tropical climate is as a rule not conducive to the
preservation of material remains of earlier civilisations, although there are exceptions to this rule.
On the basis of the available evidence it is impossible to name more than a few highlights, and then
only with some reservations; however, these are sufficient to give the outlines of the prehistory of
the island. One of the first persons to believe that the original inhabitants of Celebes wholly or in
part originated from East Asia, was Albert C. Kruyt (1869-1949), who from 1892 to 1932 worked
as a missionary of the Dutch Missionary Society (NZG) among the Topamona in Central
Celebes.131 Kruyt’s reconstruction of the prehistory of the peoples of Central Celebes partly fits in
with the most recent insights.132
In recent times Bellwood, Glover and others have described how, from about 6500 BC, a fast-
growing, Neolithic agricultural civilisation developed in central China. Around 3500 BC this
civilisation reached the eastern and south-eastern coastal regions of China and Taiwan. This was the
cradle of the big family of Austronesian languages, although this does not imply that this
civilisation formed a unity in ethnological and linguistic respects. Depending on its habitat (climatic
zone, mountain slopes, lowland plains, coastal areas, river banks) the population applied itself to
the cultivation of dry or wet rice, sorghum or cane sugar, and kept poultry, dogs and pigs. They
built canoes with sails for fishing and coastal navigation, they used bow and arrow in battle, and
fashioned stone tools and utensils. They lived in villages in wooden houses and had mastered the
arts of weaving and making pottery, and the making of clothes from bark cloth, and carpentry.
From about 3000 BC representatives of this civilisation left the region of their birth in various
waves, and migrated via the Philippines to Kalimantan, the Moluccas and Celebes. From there they
spread out over a gigantic area, which by 700 AD stretched from Madagascar via Malaysia to
Hawaii and Easter Island. As far as the later Big East (the archipelago east of Borneo/Java) is
concerned, which Celebes came under, the colonisation by Austronesian migrants reached its peak
in the second millennium BC.133
In all probability Celebes until then was inhabited by hunter-gatherers, whose presence is assumed
by Kruyt, Bellwood and others, but about whom they are silent because of lack of evidence. It is
quite possible that these people were the descendants of pre-Austronesian colonisers, the first of
whom, according to Bellwood, moved into Celebes (and the Philippines and other islands in this
region, to far in the Pacific) from the west between 28,000 and 35,000 years ago. According to
83. Some contemporary authors considered the Tolaki to be Toraja, Van Braam Morris, “Het Landschap
Loehoe”, 513.
131
Kruyt presumed that they originated in Japan; sometimes he speaks of “the North”; others spoke of Manchuria
and Taiwan as their places of origin. [Kruyt], Brieven. Nr. 43, 15 sept. 1918.
132
As a result of modern multi-disciplinary research Kruyt’s observations have shown broadly correct, Science, 23
Jan. 2009, quoted in “NRC Wetenschap” (24-25/1/2009) 2; cf. Sagart, The peopling of East Asia; Bellwood,
“The origins”; idem, “South-east Asia”, and Bacus, “The archaeology of the Philippine archipelago”, 259-263.
133
Bellwood, “The origins”, 25-38.

Kruyt, this concerned hunter-gatherers from Melanesia or Polynesia, a hypothesis which cannot be
ruled out either.134 Possibly both waves of migrants and their descendants contributed to the
development of this culture. Whatever the truth of these speculations, the hunter-gatherers had not
completely disappeared in Kruyt’s time. He suspected that in Mori and elsewhere in East Celebes a
few isolated tribes of the earlier migrants still existed. These stood out because they were not
aggressive towards neighbouring tribes and did not, or only minimally, hunt heads, although they
had absorbed certain elements of the agriculture and funerary rites from the Austronesians.135
Going by archaeological finds, folk legends which occurred in certain mountain regencies in
Central Celebes, the boat symbolism in the use of language and at funerals, the lay-out of villages,
the building of houses, and eating habits, Kruyt distinguished two relatively recent waves of
migrants. He classified the older of the two as the “Stone Cutters”, who brought with them dry rice
cultivation, the cutting and tooling of stone and a new language; the more recent wave he called the
“Potters”, who introduced the making of pots, wet rice cultivation, the water buffalo as draught
animal and beast of burden, and the large family home built of wood and bamboo, and erected on
piles.136
2.5.2. The “Stone Cutters”

According to Kruyt, more was known about the second wave of migration, the “Stone Cutter”
people. After having come ashore on North Celebes, they crossed the Gulf of Tomini and settled at
the mouth of the Tambarana River in Poso, and from there travelled further southwards. Even apart
from the “Caucasian and Mongoloid features”, which Kruyt came across in the Western Torajas –
perhaps guided in this direction by T.S. Raffles, who from 1811 to 1816 was Lieutenant-Governor
of Java and Dependencies, who had noted that especially the women of Celebes had Tartar
features137 – and which he traced back to the “Stone Cutter” people, in his time material remains
and other traces of their culture were still present in Central Celebes. These were also found in New
Guinea, Sumba, East Java, Southern Nias and around Rantepao in Tanah Toraja (South Celebes).
Kruyt dated this second wave of migrants to “some centuries ago”. These farmers were the people
who in part displaced the existing culture of hunter-gatherers and in part supplemented and
assimilated it, and introduced words, motifs, and shapes derived from shipping.138 They were
familiar with headhunting, which may have occurred incidentally before then, as a ritual which was
a requirement at the death of every free member of the clan. They did not know irrigated rice
paddies, only dry rice fields, and they had hereditary chiefs. They were warlike and militarily
superior because of their better weapons, such as bronze axes and spears, which in Kruyt’s time
were still from time to time found in the soil and in river beds.139 They introduced grain, at any rate
one particular kind, Job’s tears (Coix Lacryma Linn.), in Central Celebes (and elsewhere, as with
134
Kruyt, “De Bewoners”; documents in ARRZ 1335; Bellwood, “The origins”, 31, 35.
135
Bellwood, “South-east Asia”, 14.
136
A.C. Kruyt to R.A. Kern, 5/12/1924, ARRZ 1335; Kruyt, Van Heiden tot Christen, 11-13.
137
Raffles, History of Java, II, Appendix F, lxxxvi.
138
Bacus, “The archaeology of the Philippine archipelago”, opp. 203, 263-268.
139
Kruyt, Van Heiden tot Christen, 12.

the Dayak in Borneo) called jola, dole, dalle and other names, to which they added the cultivation
of tropical plants such as sago, several kinds of tubers and coconuts.140 They cut mortars and
cylindrical barrels out of stone. These vessels, which were found particularly in the mountain
regencies of Napu, Tawaelia, Besoa, Bada’, Rampi and Leboni, had a diameter of two, sometimes
three metres and some were provided with heavy stone lids, adorned with carved figures of
monkeys and humans. The mortars were used to pound the Job’s tears, the vessels were used as
tombs.141
Belief in a god of creation and in a fertility cult, testimony of which exists in gigantic four-metre
tall stone statues, were important elements of their religion. This concerned phallic symbols:
vertically erected stone needles, and male figures with heavily emphasized genitals.142 Kruyt
remarked about these statues that “they are certainly not to our taste, but we must nevertheless
admire the makers for the purity of line”. From these material remains the name “Stone Cutters”
was derived. Although in later times occasionally betel nut and other things were put near these
vessels and figures as sacrifice, in Kruyt’s time the then living Torajas of Central Celebes knew
nothing about these people and no one knew the meaning behind their remaining artefacts.143
2.5.3. The Potters

Of more recent date and in Kruyt’s time still the subject of many a folk story, were the third
migrant people, a people of “Potters” who were influenced by Hinduism, and described by Kruyt as
“Hindunised Javanese”.144 According to him, these came from the south or west. In 1913 Grubauer
suggested, on the basis of their ironwork and household goods, as well as particular details of the
construction of houses and funerary rites, that the Tolambatu tribe, which had once populated the
area of Rauta in South-east Celebes, had come from Borneo.145 They buried the bones or the ashes
of their cremated dead in ceramic pots and urns, which were interred in burial mounds, caves and
rock graves, accompanied by burial gifts.146 The “Potters” introduced terraces in Central Celebes
and with this the cultivation of rice in irrigated fields. The water buffalo made its appearance as
ploughing and draught animal and beast of burden, after which, according to Kruyt, rice replaced
Job’s tears as staple food, although the latter crop never disappeared completely. The remains of
their culture, terraces and deserted dikes of rice paddies, were still visible for a long time, at any
rate in the mountains, not in the lowland plains.147
140
A.C. Kruyt to H. Fiedler, 16/9/1927, ARRZ 1335.
141
[Kruyt], Brieven. Nr. 43, 15 Sept. 1918; A.C. Kruyt to H. Fiedler, 16/9/1927, ARRZ 1335.
142
At the beginning of the twentieth century a fallus ritual existed among the Toraja in Seko and Rongkong, J. de
Ligny to A.C. Kruyt, 6/5/1927, ARRZ 1335.
143
A.C. Kruyt to J. Kruyt sr., Letter nr. 43, 15/4/1918, ARRZ 1335; [Kruyt], Brieven. Nr. 43, 15 sept. 1918.
144
In: A.C. Kruyt to H. Fiedler, 16/9/1927, ARRZ 1335. See also Andaya, “Social Value”; Bellina,
“Archaeology”; Bosch, “Het bronzen Buddha-beeld van Celebes’ Westkust”; Bosch, “Het vraagstuk”; Miksic,
“The classical cultures of Indonesia”, 238.
145
Grubauer, Unter Kopfjägern in Central-Celebes, 124-125.
146
Alb.C. Kruyt to Secr. Bat. Gen. van K. en W. te Weltevreden, 29/9/1927, ARRZ 1335.
147
A.C. Kruyt to J. Kruyt sr., Letter nr. 43, 15/4/1918, ARRZ 1335; [Kruyt], Brieven. Nr. 43, 15 sept. 1918. But
see also A.C. Kruyt to R.A. Kern, 5/12/1924, ARRZ 1335.

The society of the “Potters” was more complex and hierarchical than that of the “Stone Cutters”.
Wet rice cultivation demanded division of labour and forced the population to live together in
permanent kampongs, which were reliant on one another, both in times of war and in times of
peace.148 The memory of the introduction of rice was kept alive in the funeral rituals of some clans.
That this ritual predated the arrival of the “Stone Cutters” is suggested by the – by no means always
observed – prohibition for the mourners, in particular for those who were still in contact with the
deceased, to eat rice. The idea was that rice was unknown to the ancestors and that the consumption
of it contravened the adat.
2.5.4. The colonisation of South-east Celebes

It is possible, even probable, that groups from Central Celebes, perhaps driven on by the arrival of
new migrants, came down from the north to the south via the east coast. These “proto-Tolaki”
settled along the bays and river mouths of South-east Celebes, and on islands off the coast. As in
Central Celebes they met with little resistance. They were superior to the hunter-gatherers already
living there because of their better weapons and more closely-knit social organisation. From the
coast, at some point in time, a number of them penetrated the northern mountain ranges, going
upstream via the Lasampara, the Konawe and other rivers. Using a process, which it is no longer
possible to reconstruct in detail, of expulsion, subjugation, annihilation, and assimilation of clans
already living there,149 or by simply ignoring them, they settled close to the source of the
Konawe’eha, at the eastern foot of the Watu Pinohu mountain range, from which region they later
spread out across many parts of South-east Celebes. They called themselves “Andolaki”, which
means “brave people of the river”, and from which the name of the area is also derived.150
Gouweloos, who based his conclusions primarily on linguistic research, developed a similar theory
about the colonisation of South-east Celebes. He used this to explain the remarkable phenomenon
that in the district of Laiwoi in the east of the peninsula, the original inhabitants, Melanesian or
Polynesian hunter-gatherers as he called them, following Kruyt’s description, whom he believed to
recognise in the Tolaiwoi, were hardly still to be found. In his opinion these had retreated into the
northern mountain regions ahead of the invasion by the proto-Tolaki.151 According to this view the
inhabitants of Landawe, Mopute and surroundings were the descendants of older inhabitants of
South-east Celebes, although even now it is impossible to be absolutely sure that these were pre-
Austronesians; if so, their language, Landawe-Mopute, was (then) the most ancient known language
of the peninsula. At the beginning of the twentieth century this view of their own origin and ancient
lineage was still held by the inhabitants of Landawe and Mopute themselves.152
148
A.C. Kruyt to H. Fiedler, 16/9/1927; cf H.T. Coolenbrander to A.C. Kruyt, 21/1/1898, both letters in ARRZ
1339.
149
Regarding South-east Celebes no evidence has been found supporting Kruyt’s contention of the forceful taking
of the women of conquered tribes by the men of victorious tribes, Kruyt, Van Heiden tot Christen, 12.
150
Treffers, “Enkele kantteekeningen”, 226; Pingak, Dokumenta Kolaka, 16; Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 54.
151
Kruyt, “Reis”; Kruyt, “Een en ander over de Tolaki van Mekongga”, 428; Sarasin, Reisen, I, 374; Gouweloos,
“Het dodenritueel bij de To Wiaoe”, 19-20.
152

Gouweloos also called upon the work of Adriani and Esser, who had noted that Tolaki belonged to
the Bungku-Mori group of languages, albeit that, according to Esser, it was in a more recent stage
of development. Moreover, in his view Tolaki had not directly evolved from Bungku-Mori.153
Gouweloos, who at the end of the 1930s cooperated with Esser for some time, confirmed this on the
basis of his own observations. He came to the conclusion that Tolaki differed more from Bungku-
Mori than Tomoronene, which Esser considered to be a dialect of Bungku-Mori. According to
Gouweloos, along the coasts of East and South-east Celebes and on the islands off the coast there
existed a belt of related languages, which comprised the languages of Mori, Bungku, Landawe, the
Tokapontori, Wawoni, northern Buton, Kabaena, Rumbia-Poleang and to a certain degree also
Wolio on Buton. This is consistent with the results of modern research which has found that in the
province of South-east Celebes there are eleven language groups: on the mainland: 1. Tolaki and 2.
Tomoronene, which is also spoken on Kabaena; on the islands: 3. Muna; 4. Masiri; 5. Busoa; 6.
Wakatobi; 7. Wolio-Kamaru; 8. Cia-Cia-Wabula; 9. Kulisusu-Wawoni: 10. Lawele-Kakenauwa;
11. Mawasangka-Siompu-Laompo-Katobengke.154
A missionary, Gerard Storm, in Taubonto (Rumbia) noted in 1924 that there was a linguistic
affinity between Poleang-Rumbia and North Celebes, when it turned out that his teachers from the
Minahassa had little difficulty learning Tomoronene “because their language in the Minahassa
shows a remarkable likeness to Maronese; they even have some identical words”.155 Another
observer noted a similar linguistic affinity between the Tomekongga and Manado.156
This fits entirely with Gouweloos’ theory that the ancestors of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene had
come down in various waves from the north along the east coast of Celebes. Modern research also
confirms this.157 At a certain time a number of them had penetrated the country to high up in the
mountains, in the form of a blunt wedge upstream along the Lasampara, Konawe and Lalindu,
separating the already present Bungku-Mori group in the north and the also older Rumbia-Poleang-
Kabaena group in the south from each other, and driving before them the Tolaiwoi. These latter
people were only still to be found in the north, along the upper reaches of the Lalindu and
Konawe’ehe.158
In this way, over the centuries, a relatively stable division of ethnic groups developed in South-east
Celebes, in the course of which the Tolaki, after the passage of time descending from the mountains
once again, probably in small groups or clans, settled chiefly on the fertile lands along the big
rivers, roughly a wide strip between the later centres of government Kolaka and Kendari. Others
settled further to the south, while some stayed behind in the northern mountain region.
153
Noorduyn, “Mededelingen”, 361-363.
154
Kaseng, Pemetaan, 87. Vgl. Noorduyn, A critical survey, 113-114; Mead, “Functions”; Couvreur,
“Ethnografisch overzicht van Moena”.
155
G.C. Storm to Hb NZV, 5/5/1924, ARRZ 2030. At the end of the seventeenth century Dampier noticed a
likeliness between North Buton and Mindanao (Filipines) concerning the way in which houses were built,
clothing, etc., Dampier, A new voyage, 456.
156
157
Mead, “Kinship terms in Bungku-Tolaki languages”.
158
Gouweloos, “Spraakkunst”, Voorwoord; M.J. Gouweloos to Hb NZV, 18/4/1935, ARRZ 2021.

2.6. Summary of prehistory

At the time they entered history, the inhabitants of South-east Celebes were semi-nomadic,
consisting of clans of farmers, gatherers and hunters, of whom most, but not all, were headhunters.
Because of regularly recurring food shortages, diseases, conflicts between the clans, the high infant
mortality and the low life expectancy for adults, their numbers, taken over a longer period of time,
were virtually stationary, or perhaps even dwindled a little. They used dogs for hunting and on
certain occasions sacrificed them. Different from, for instance, the Topamona of Central Celebes,
they knew neither irrigated rice paddies nor the use of the plough; they had no herds of cattle or
draught animals, and had few or no trade relations between one another. They lived spread out and
isolated lives, like islands in an archipelago. They used hand-held axes and wore clothing made of
tree bark. They lived in caves or built their huts and dwellings on stilts, mostly in a small cluster, in
the midst of ever-changing dry rice paddies, the ladangs. These were separated from each other by
natural barriers, such as rivers, peaks, woods, rocks, hills, mountain ranges and swamps. They
sometimes derived their names from these geographical conditions, such as the Toiwoiesi (“People
of the small river”) and the Toepe (“People of the swamp”) and they attached certain stories and
legends to these. Property was held communally. Their social structure was that of relationship
groups living communally: families or clans of three or four generations, consisting of the head of a
family with relatives. The loyalty of the individual members of the clan was to their own group in
the first instance, since the continued existence of the clan depended on this.
Before the introduction of fire arms in the eighteenth century and for a long time after this, their
weapons were those of hunters and headhunters: traps, machetes, broadswords, blowpipes with
poisoned arrows, lances, shields and spears. Although they cultivated dry rice, the consumption of
rice during certain phases of funeral rituals was mombado with them, in violation of the adat,
something that appears to point to a still limited integration of rice into the life of the community.159
It is true that in later days the eating of ladang-rice during funeral feasts was accepted, but sawah
rice remained taboo until after World War II.160 More follows below about the origin and position
of ladang rice.161
With some clans certain customs and motifs of the funerary rites reminded of shipping; for
instance, the way of carrying the coffin imitated the rolling motion of a ship on the waves, which
could be both a recollection of the origin of their ancestors from overseas, and a reference to the
journey of the soul to the realm of the dead. Legends about ancestors who came from overseas are
still told, and these give them a well-established place and reputation in the memory of their
descendants.162
Words and expressions which in all probability refer to the older situation in South-east Celebes
which preceded the “Stone Cutters” are no longer recognised as such. An example is tonowonua,
the “people of the land” or “owners of the land”, the original population. It did not know a separate
aristocracy, their society was structurally egalitarian. Their chiefs were the tonomotuo (elders).
159
This was no different in Central Celebes, see Kruyt, “De beteekenis van den natten Rijstbouw”.
160
A.C. Kruyt to H. Fiedler, 16/9/1927; R.A. Kern to A.C. Kruyt, both documents in ARRZ 1335.
161
See par. 4.19.2.1
162
Gouweloos, “Het doodenritueel bij de To Wiaoe”, 24, 34, 40.

Their authority was based on personal qualities and rested on both spiritual and military prowess,
and on merit in battle.163
2.7. Modern Times; continuing migration

The pattern of clans, their continuing dispersal and mutual relations are not easy to disentangle.
Around 1900 there were still villages along the upper reaches of the Konawe’eha which had until
then managed to keep themselves apart from the influence of the relatively large and powerful clans
of Konawe and Mekongga, and some even lived in a constant state of enmity with them. The
mountain ridge between Singgere and Pehanggo, and further north across the peak of the Watu
Pinohu mountains up to the Peak of Mekongga formed the border between the Tomekongga in the
west and the Tolaiwoi in the north. Gouweloos considered the Tolaiwoi not to be headhunters,164
while Grubauer thought they were.165 The Tolaiwoi, Towiau, Towoiesi and other mountain dwellers
of this region did have a hereditary nobility, but this had little or no territorial power. According to
controleur (head of a subdivision) Baden (1925) they hailed from Konawe, but it is also possible
that this (powerless) nobility consisted of the descendants of immigrants who had stayed behind in
the mountains after their clansmen had settled in the river region and along the west coast.
Whatever the truth of this, the heads of the mountain dwellers were the tonomotuo and others, who
were in all respects considered more distinguished and respectable than the anakia of, for example,
Konawe. Among them certain elements of the old, egalitarian and “democratic” ideas obviously
lived on, which as a matter of fact never completely disappeared in the lower regions of Tolaki-
Tomoronene society either.166 Gouweloos’ opinion that the Tolaiwoi, the Tolambatu and other clans
in the mountains of north Kendari were an older group, driven away by newcomers from Central
Celebes, or an oppressed group of inhabitants from the eastern part of South-east Celebes, is
supported by this.167
The Tolaiwoi (“People of the river”) derived their name from their place of residence, the areas
where the Konawe’eha, Lasolo and Lalindu rose, in the southern foothills of the Wawo Umbo
mountain chain (Verbeek mountain range). With the continuing spread of the Tolaki over large
parts of the peninsula the name “Laiwoi” came to be used for the entire basin of these rivers as far
as the south and south-east coast.168
Migration, assimilation, subjugation and driving away neighbouring tribes and clans are not
phenomena which on South-east Celebes remained restricted to pre-history.169 Likewise
spontaneous migration from the mountains due to a shortage of useable land and food was still
continuing after 1900, resulting in a certain amount of blending. Before the arrival of the colonial
163
Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 199.
164
Gouweloos, “Het doodenritueel bij de To Wiaoe”, 20.
165
166
Resident Celebes and Dependencies, “Bestuursorganisatie in Kolaka. De hadats”, 3; Baden, “Rapport”, 9.
167
At the start of the twentieth century the population of Wiau, Kuete, Lawatu, Asera and Watu-Watu, in the
districts of Latoma and Wiwirano, subdivision of Kendari, were considered to belong to this group, Baden,
“Rapport”, 3.
168
Esser, “Talen”; Anceaux, “The linguistic position of South-East Sulawesi”, 281.
169
Baden, “Rapport”, 4.

government, during the rule of mokole Lamanau of Kondeha, a number of Tolaiwoi from the
mountains to the north of Tawanga had settled in the territory of the Tokondeha, where, around
1900, they made up a third of the population. By 1925 this had increased to half. The kampongs of
Wawo, Woimendaa (“Long River”) and Suasua were then even exclusively populated by Tolaiwoi,
while there were also many Tolaiwoi in Lapai and Pakue, near the border with Malili. The
expectation then was that they would soon outnumber the Tokondeha. This indeed came to pass,
and that they did not develop into the dominant section of the population in Kondeha was due to the
numerical preponderance of the Bugis along the coast.170
In 1922 the inhabitants of a number of villages along the Lalindu in Lasolo also turned out to
originate from elsewhere: those who lived in Hailu came from Abuki (Konawe), those who lived in
Sambandete from Asinua (central Kendari), and those from Wawo-Landawe came from Sanggona
and Tongauna (“Alang-alang plain”) in the district of Lapai. It is not known when this migration
took place, but at the beginning of the twentieth century their language and adat were still those of
their place of origin and people still remembered that parts of Lasolo had belonged to the area under
the authority of the ruler of Pu’undidaha.171 Something similar applies to the Tokonawe’eha and
Tolapai in the west, who, according to controleur Hartsteen (1935), “almost certainly” came from
the east coast.172 Below I will discuss further the fact that the various marriage customs also
contributed to the blending of clans, but anticipating this I can here already point to the observation
of a traveller that along the south-west coast on South-east Celebes both the language of the people
from Poleang and their smaller facial features resembled more those of the Tomekongga than those
of the “round-headed people from Rumbia”.173
In 1911 the German anthropologist Grubauer found the village of Rauta, situated on the southern
slope of the Wawo Umbo mountains, virtually deserted. The inhabitants, the few descendants who
remained of what, according to him, had once been a numerous and powerful people who had
dominated large parts of northern South-east Celebes, had left the area and had settled in
Tokolimbu and surroundings on the Towuti lake – according to one source this was because of an
old blood feud matter in which other groups, such as the Toepe, were also involved; according to
another source, it was in order to live more closely to the Bugis and Chinese buyers of resins.174
2.8. Tomoronene
The Tomoronene, together with the original inhabitants of the islands Manui, Wawoni and
Kabaena, make up a separate linguistic group, which is also the case with the oldest inhabitants of
Muna and Kulisusu (north-east Buton), while both groups as a whole are mutually linguistically
related.175 The fact that some geographical names in the current Tolaki language region have been
170
Baden, “Rapport”, 3-4; Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 23.
171
172
173
174
Grubauer, Unter Kopfjägern in Central-Celebes, 114-123; Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 452,
514, 519; Abendanon, Geologische en geografische doorkruisingen, II, 518-519; Van Vuuren, Het
Gouvernement Celebes, I, 305; Wieland, “Memorie”, [2]-[3]; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 1.
175
Noorduyn, A critical survey, 117 ff.

derived from Tomoronene, also supports the theory that migration occurred in waves: the place-
name Lambuya is derived from lampu, the Tomoronene word for “feral water buffalo”. The
Tomoronene, whose difference in build from that of the Tomekongga was observed by a traveller in
1916,176 have their own line of descent, and most probably are descended from older clans which
migrated from East Celebes (Mori or Bungku), judging from the relationship between the languages
of the Mori-Bungku group and the Tomoronene. Almost certainly proto-Tomoronene originally
lived in large parts of South-east Celebes, but new migrant people forced them to retreat beyond the
Mendoke mountains. It is not known when this happened. However, it is probable that this was at
the time of the invasion by the proto-Tolaki. In the eighteenth century the rise of Konawe may have
caused a repetition of this event.177
Until the present the rise of Konawe and the resulting antagonism between the Tomoronene and
their northern neighbours have been kept alive in the collective memory.178 Not only does the
appointment of a kapitang to guard the border point in this direction, but also a legend, which tells
the story that a certain Sangia Lerentapupu, a mokole, and a free man,179 called Matapilo, both from
Konawe, settled with their retinue south of the Mendoke mountains and later fetched their slaves
from Konawe.180 One day they went on an expedition to Konawe. This involved a small army of
some 40 men under the command of a certain Tangko Ule. This was no hunt for slaves or heads,
but was carried out to bring back the abducted daughter of a ruler, called Pontewoy.181 The
expedition was unsuccessful, and as punishment they had to work for some time in the gardens of
the Tolaki on the Konawe’eha. The story also includes the fact that the adat forbade these warriors
to drink water in Konawe, and that for this reason, as they left, they took with them stems of the
bambu duri, a plant which contains a lot of water, but which does not grow in Konawe. Since that
time the border between the Tomoronene and the Tolaki lies where the bambu duri woods change
to bambu lemang woods, roughly along a line which traverses the peak of the Mendoka mountains
to Tinanggea on the coast.182
The conclusion that the original inhabitants of Kabaena, Kulisusu, Muna, Wawoni and Manui were
descendants of people ousted from the mainland of South-east Celebes by the proto-Tolaki appears
justified. Leaving aside the Bugis and people from Muna and other immigrants, South Buton is a
very complex, hardly explored territory from an ethnic and linguistic point of view, so that little can
176
177
HPB Kendari (contr. W.F.G. van Oosten) to Res. Z.-Celebes, 22/3/1948, ANRI Mak., NIT Archive 89/20;
Lode, Jawaban, 4.
178
Interview with Rasami (Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 1, according to whom the Tomoronene originally came from
Konawe.
179
Storm: Sangia Lerentampunu, see: Collection G.C. Storm, Or. 585, KITLV-inventory 77, nr. 9.
180
Interview with Rasami (Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 1. He mentioned as their present habitat the village of
Wumbubangka, located in the south of the Rumbia Plain. This village only came into existence at the
beginning of the twentieth century. Cf. Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 33;
Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 74.
181
Meaning: “jangan lagi masuk” (“don’t enter”), according to Ramasi this amounted to an order because the
abducted woman had already become a chief’s wife. Interview with Rasami, Kasiputih, 20/7/1992.
182
Bambu duri - Bambusa spinosa; bambu lemang comprises several different species of bamboo. Legend in:
Interview with Rasami (Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 2.

be stated with certainty except for the observation that the languages spoken on the Tukangbesi
Islands are related to the Wolio language of South Buton.183
2.9. Development of the Social Structure

2.9.1. The oldest dichotomy
The outline presented above suggests that the indigenous population of South-east Celebes unites at
least two separate lines of descent which differ in nature, language and culture. This society
developed in the first instance from the subjugation and assimilation of a people of hunter-gatherers
by a people who originated in East Asia and who were warriors and seafarers, and brought a simple
system of agriculture, fishing and cattle breeding. It will be argued here that these two lines of
descent are still recognisable in the social stratification of the population, in the sense that the
division of Tolaki society in elite or aristocracy (anakia) and subordinates (ata) goes back to the
division between conquerors and the vanquished, later and earlier migrants. This is a phenomenon
which is not unique to South-east Celebes, but which occurs in numerous societies in South-east
Asia and the Pacific.184 With the necessary modifications the same is true of the Tomoronene. This
model offers a useful template to interpret a significant part of the course of the history of South-
east Celebes, and places most, if not all, developments within a socio-historical framework.185
In the course of time, and under divergent influences, this original dichotomy developed into a
complex social stratification, during which different transitional forms and degrees of dependence
came into being both within the clans and between the clans. But this does not alter the fact that,
taking into account the potential that every civilisation has to undergo social development and
diversification, the specific gap between the anakia and the ata was recognisable until after World
War II. In this sense the anakia stood “outside the community”, as someone remarked in 1922.186 In
rather isolated regions, until after 1900, the anakia did not only get the ata to kiss and wash their
feet, and did not permit the ata to pronounce their names arbitrarily,187 but they also had all kinds of
privileges and rights the ata did not have. In this type of system all wealth and power is inevitably
concentrated at the top of the pyramid. If a member of the ata class was rich – something that
happened only rarely – the whole village or clan shared in his wealth, but a rich anakia kept all his
possessions for himself and his close relatives; in addition the anakia had control without restraint
over the possessions, time and labour of the ata, and could prevent them from becoming affluent.188
Although from 1906 the power and position of the heads were regulated by means of local
government duties and forced labour, taxes, job and position descriptions, permits and such like, as
late as 1947 the domination of the anakia was experienced as usurpation to the degree in which
183
Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 18; Noorduyn, A critical survey, 121-131; on
Wolio, see Van den Berg, “Mededelingen”, 165-167.
184
Bellwood, “The origins”, 34.
185
Following Kruyt, Van der Klift noted in 1922 about the anakia from Lambuya: “It is obvious that the anakia
originally belonged to a different people”, H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24
juni - 25 juli [1922]”, (ARRZ 2025) 3.
186
H. van der Klift to Head of Government Kendari, 28/6/1922, ARRZ 2025.
187
Pingak, Dokumenta Kolaka (1963) 10.
188
H. van der Klift to Gezaghebber Kendari, 28/6/1922, ARRZ 2025.

they had ousted, generations earlier, the tonomotuo and putobu, heads who belonged to the ata
class, and had not only appropriated much of the once collective, “democratically” administered
property, but also the informal administration of justice. The counter attack of these non-aristocratic
heads, which was discernible since the 1930s, will be discussed below.189
2.9.2. From reality to myth

In this section I will try to say something about a few myths of the Tolaki and Tomoronene which
deal with their origin. The objective is to see if from the development of these myths, insofar as this
can be reconstructed, something can be deduced with regard to the wider cultural development of
the population. This can only be done with the strongest possible reservation, if only because many
clans had, and have, their own myths and legends, due to their isolated existence, and because the
extent to which they experienced outside influence diverged sharply. Below, the traditional religion
of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene, in which these myths play a central role, will be discussed in
greater detail.190
According to most myths, all Tolaki are related to each other, and the same goes for the
Tomoronene. This is because of the descent from a communal ancestor. But the question is who
this ancestor was, and where he, or she, came from. The (probably) oldest myths make mention of a
common ancestor and support the north-south migration theory. In Kendari in 1913 Treffers
recorded in addition to the stories of beings who had descended from the upper world to earth,
among whom were Wekoila and Onggabo, a story which related that at the beginning of time there
was a period of continuous twilight; it was neither light nor dark, neither day nor night. The first
inhabitant of South-east Celebes was Sangia Sulemana, who floated across the sea from Ternate in
a chest and came ashore near the mouth of the Lasampara. Subsequently he moved inland and built
his smithy on the banks of Lake Matano, where iron ore was plentiful, and turned the Towuti lake
into his bathing place.191 He married local women and had many descendants: the Tolaki.192
Another legend193 also situated the origin of the Tolaki in the north-east of the peninsula, in the
region of the Lasolo. At the beginning of time the supreme deity, Ombu Mbu’u or Ombu Samena194
sent a certain Oheo to earth to beget people. Oheo, who also appears in other stories, was lowered
in a basket on a mountain in Lasolo, which since then has been called Osunoioheo (the Mountain,
or Peak, of Oheo). After he had arrived on earth he begot sons and daughters by two female wali
(ghosts), who married each other and became the ancestors of human beings. An old popular belief
in Bungku and Mori, which concerns the communal descent of the Tomoronene, the Tolaki and the
189
J. Schuurmans to Dir. SZC, 19/3/1947, ARRZ 2022.
190
See chapt. 8.
191
The theme of the bathing place often occurs in legens. It is said of Oheo (p. 42) that one day after returning
home safely he took a bath in Lake Hiuka in the Wiwirano district. Sangia, whose wife Oheo had taken, had
his revenge and saw to it that he drowned in the lake. H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling
Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, (ARRZ 2025) 19.
192
193
Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, chapt. II. Het Volk.
194
Mena (Tol.) - true, real. Vgl. Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 8. Also Sangia Mbu’u, Sangia Samena.

tribes and peoples from Banggai, Tojo, Matano, Laiwoi and Buton from an ancestor who had
descended from the upper world to earth, is in agreement with this.195
However, gradually the elements and themes of I La Galigo, derived from Islam, a Bugis epic
dating from before 1600 AD, were incorporated in the legends. The history of the Tolaki and
Tomoronene became increasingly interwoven with the I La Galigo poems, while in the lowlands
the memory of the north-south migration faded. This was preserved chiefly among isolated clans in
the northern mountainous region. This process of obliteration probably began in the eighteenth or
nineteenth century. For that matter it is not known whether the custom to ascribe supernatural
powers to these poems and, for instance, in case of illness to read from them as a form of prayer,
which was prevalent in some parts of South Celebes, had been adopted in South-east Celebes. But it
is not impossible.196 An anthology:
According to H.W. Vonk, who, first as controleur of Kendari (1925-1928) and a decade later as
Deputy Resident of Buton and Laiwoi (1933-1938), made a study of the land and its people, and
who recorded his conclusions in several reports and accounts,197 the first anakia who settled in
Laiwoi was the celestial Wekoila, or Sangia Wekoila. Different stories circulated about her.
According to one of these she had descended with four brothers and two sisters at Palopo in South
Celebes, from which place she went to Andolaki high in the mountains of South-east Celebes, and
later settled in Konawe, the land between the Konawe’eha and the Lahumbuti, where the
tonomotuo, the heads of the population which was already present, recognised her supreme
authority. Wekoila’s brothers and sisters went to Goa, Bone, and Luwuq in South Celebes, Ternate,
Buton and Java to reign over those regions. Wekoila was also called Sangia Ndudu, the
tolangianga, the one who descended from the upper world,198 and reigned under the title bonoani
Laiwoi; her successors held the title of mokole – although one source speaks of wati, “he who reigns
over the world”, as the title of the first rulers.199 She and her descendants, the aristocracy, governed
the whole of South-east Celebes.
In a legend reported by Plas something of the north-south migration also lives on. He states that
these rulers who had descended from the upper world ruled over the population which was already
present. Wekoila, which means “Sea Turtle”,200 was a great granddaughter of Wulumeombu, who
was a brother of the prophet Mohammed.201 Her parents were Batara Guru, who occurs in I La
Galigo as the first human, and Aletima. Wekoila was married to Imbeyangi Sangia Ndie, a god who
had risen from the sea.202 Her mother Aletima was a sea goddess, the daughter of the sea god Sangia
Puritai (or Sangia I Puri Tahi). Both these names were generally known among the people, but they
also had secret names which were only known to a few. Whoever knew the secret name of Sangia
195
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 471, 532.
196
The difficulties of reading I La Galigo are described in Matthes, “Beknopt verslag van een verblijf in die
binnenlanden van Celebes”, 5-6, 11-12.
197
See below, Archivalia.
198
Ndudu - descend (Tol.), in Makassarese turung, Indon. turun.
199
Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 20.
200
Suwondo, Sejarah Kebangkitan Nasional, 29 ff; Bergink, “Mosehe”, 299.
201
Plas, “Militaire Memorie” , 11.
202
Kern, Catalogus, s.v.

Puritai would never have an accident at sea, while whoever knew the secret name of Aletima would
never forget the myths and legends of the Tolaki.
More within the sphere of history is the story that in later times, when there were unrest and war in
South-east Celebes, a punggawa (Bug.) was appointed in the east, in Ranome’eto,203 who ruled over
the whole region between the Lasampara and the Tiworo Strait; in the west (Latoma) a sahbandar,
a harbour master, was stationed. The title of sahbandar could indicate that Latoma then extended as
far as the Gulf of Bone. Both officials had as part of their duties the defence of the coast and
warning the interior in case of a threat from outside. The unity of this realm was eventually lost,
after which there were two realms between the Wawo Umbo and the Mendoko mountain ranges:
Konawe in the east and Mekongga in the west. According to tradition, the first bokeo of Mekongga
was Laduma Sangia Nibandera, who received his appointment from the hands of the sulemandara
of Pu’undidaha in Konawe. This would mean that Mekongga and its heads204 were subordinate to
Konawe.
Pingak, who wrote after World War II,205 relates that the Tokondeha believed that Wulumeombu,
after his death called Sangia Manyapai, was their first ruler. The place of Manyapai (now Lanipa),
on the border of Konda and Lelewau, north-east of present-day Kolaka, was sacred. Wulumeombu
had there descended from the upper world with a bamboo, after which the bamboo took root – a
theme that also occurs in stories of the Toraja is that of bamboo or rattan whose crown grows up to
the upper world and from which the first people originated.206 Manyapai was subsequently used as a
place of sacrifice which one could only visit if one had dreamt of it, for otherwise one would fall ill.
Small twigs of bamboo, taken from the bamboo rootstock, protected against illness. Wulumeombu
subsequently was appointed datu of Luwuq, on the order of Sawerigading, Sultan of Luwuq, and
hero of I La Galigo. From then on Wulumeombu’s family ruled there. This meant that Kondeha and
Lelewau, which made up a large part of the north-west coast of the peninsula between Malili and
Kolaka, were brought within the sphere of influence of Luwuq, and as a consequence the nobility of
this region to this day considers itself related to the Sultans of Luwuq. In 1920 the bamboo
rootstock was cut down by the then Sultan of Lelewau, a Bugis from Luwuq, and a garden was
established in its place. However, a ghost remained present there, and when Andi Jemma, the new
datu of Luwuq, visited Kolaka in 1936, he also visited this place.207
Stories recorded by Riasa in 1983 from elderly inhabitants of Poleang mention that Luwuq, Goa,
Bone, Konawe, Mekongga, Moronene, Ternate and Buton were colonised by Sawerigading in the
thirteenth century (sic) and that he appointed the first sultans. His half-sister Wekoila became the
203
Punggawa could indicate several different functions, see e.g. Van den Berg, “Mededelingen”, 179 ff.
204
Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 11.
205
Ch. Pingak was born in Kolaka in 1913. His Manadonese father was employed as a teacher at Rote Island.
After transfer to Kolaka he married a local noble women. After training as a teacher Pingak jr. became a
teacher in Kolaka in 1933, 1935 at Mandar (Majene); 1942 at Kolaka; 1952 chairman local parliament; 1960
Head of the Office of the Education and Culture Department (Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan) in the
kabupaten Kolaka; 1966 administrator in the province of South-east Celebes; 1971 retired. De Jong, “Een
kerkhistoricus en de Indonesische revolutie”.
206
Riedel, “De Topantunuasu”, 77-95.
207
Baden, “Rapport”, 13-14; Pingak, Dokumenta Kolaka, 35-37.

first mokole of Konawe, while Larumpalangi, one of Sawerigading’s army commanders,208 became
the first bokeo of Mekongga, Dendeangi the first apu or apua209 of the Tomoronene, Baabullah the
first Sultan of Ternate and Wakaka the first Sultan of Buton. After having done this, Sawerigading
embarked to go to South America, where he spent the last years of his life. It was in this “time” that
Palopo became the capital of Luwuq.210
In the Tomekongga version the legendary Larumpalangi, together with his sister Wekoila and a
female slave called Wasasi, descended from the upper world on a holy sarong to the Kalumba
mountain near the kampong of Balangtete (Mekongga), later the residence of the bokeo.211 From
then on he was venerated as Sangiaha (Sangia’aha, “High Lord”). He married a woman from
Mekongga, called Wedalulu. Their son, Lakanungku, the second ruler of Mekongga, and after his
death named Sangia Mbendua, “Second Lord”, had the power to make the sun stand still, to create
rain and to cause thunderstorms. He too had descended from the upper world on the Kalumba
mountain, and, like his father, had returned there. The regalia of Mekongga, originating from the
Majapahit kingdom (East Java, fourteenth century), were also said to date from the time of
Larumpalangi. They were said to have been subsequently preserved in Wundulako.212
While the chief dynasties went back to sons and daughters of gods who had descended to earth,
among whom Wekoila played an important part in Konawe, sometimes the common people, and
after the evolution of a separate class of slaves, even the slaves, also had a heavenly origin. The
slaves went back to Wetemba, a slave girl of Pasa’eno Sangia Ndudu, who had descended from the
upper world. This origin of slaves meant that they were doomed always to remain slaves.213
According to legend, the renowned Lakidenda, who after his death was called Sangia Ngginoburu,
208
Kern, Catalogus, 137, 140 (nr. 11), 183 (nr. 103), 316 (nr. 60), etc.
209
According to Adriani the root of the word apua (or pu’a) is pu, pun, pung, meaning “lord”, “owner”, “master”;
(a)pu is related to Mal./Indon. pohon - tree, stem, => progenitor etc. Lode, Jawaban, 12, cites a kada (legend)
as the source of the word apua: “Lingkudu kita Ombu, somba kita Apua - Sembah sujud kepada raja atau yang
dipertuan”. Cf. Niemann, “Mededeelingen over Makassaarsche taal- en letterkunde”, 66-67.
210
Riasa, Perkembangan, 4-7. A life of Sawerigading in Pelras, The Bugis, 87-90.
211
Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, App. I, nr 2.
212
According to one of the first controleurs the rulers of Mekongga included the following: 1. Larumpalangi (x
Wedalulu); 2. Lakanungku Sangia Mbendua (x Humehele); 3. Lagaliso Sangia Inato (x Wanilengka); 4.
Melange Sangia Lombo-Lombo (x Wungabai); 5. Teporambe Sangia Nilulo (ca. 1800) (x Wehiuka); 6. bokeo
Laduma Sangia Nibandera (x Basimbu); 7. bokeo Talaga (had offspring only through concubines); 8. bokeo
Sipole, brother of nr. 7. (x I Tunggo); 9. bokeo Imburi (x I Turu), hereafter I Manggeko, represented his mother
as wakil bokeo, died without offspring; 10. bokeo I Bio (1905-1906, brother of 9.); 11. Latambaga, the eleventh
bokeo (temporary from 1903, bokeo 1907-1933); [12. bokeo I Nduma, 1935-1947, nephew of 11;13. bokeo
Pu’uwatu Raeyati, 1947-ca 1950, distant relative of 11.]; see Baden, “Rapport”, App. I. Pingak, Dokumenta
Kolaka, 69-70, 167-168, switches 3. and 4. and gives the title of Sangia Mbendua to Lagaliso; Lamba-
Lambasa, sun of Lagaliso, was the fifth mokole and Melange Sangia Lombo-Lombo or Sabulombo was the
sixth as well as the first bokeo; Teporambe was according to Pingak the seventh ruler and second bokeo,
Laduma the eighth ruler and the third who bore the title of bokeo. Kruyt, “Een en ander over de To Laki van
Mekongga (Zuidoost-Selebes)”, 451, tells that Teporambe received the title Sangia Nilulo because he had
introduced the choral dance (reidans, lulo) among his people. Another story has it that people danced at his
funeral, i.e. that he was buried in the traditional Tolaki way. Baden, “Rapport”, 15-16, App. I; Pingak,
Dokumenta Kolaka, 38.
213
Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 203, does not answer the question whether the status of permanent slavery
is only passed on through the mother.

was a son of Pasa’eno Sangia Ndudu. Wekoila was Lakidenda’ s mother. The son of Lakidenda was
Sangia Inato, the first Tolaki.
In conclusion it can be said that since the eighteenth or nineteenth century not only the trade and
economy of the Tolaki and Tomoronene were dominated by the Bugis, but also to some extent their
religion and mythology. The growing influence of Bone and Luwuq changed and widened the
cultural horizons of the Tomoronene and Tolaki. Hand in hand with the increasing complexity of
social and economic reality the origin of royal dynasties from the invasion of the “Stone Cutters”
was replaced in the collective memory by creatures descending from the upper world. But this did
not happen in a random manner. Figures and themes derived from I La Galigo and Islam were
adapted and included in the cultural heritage of the Tolaki and Tomoronene. This concerned in
particular those stories, figures and themes which fitted in with their social and cultural reality. The
prominent role of Wekoila as the progenitrix of the Tolaki of Konawe points to a matriarchal bias in
Tolaki culture, a theory supported by other observations. This will be discussed in more detail later.
The dichotomy between the nobility on the one hand and the common people and slaves on the
other thus had a foundation in mythology and religion which was considered sacrosanct. All groups
had their own lines of descent going back to supernatural creatures – if the common people and
slaves even had such lines; sometimes they were simply there.214
Magic also adapted, possibly after the example of legends from South Celebes: in Mekongga a
special ritual was developed to test the “purity” of someone’s blood, for the “whiter” the blood was,
the higher the place of the person in the social hierarchy, and the more magnanimous and noble the
person’s disposition.215 After all, in the highest nobility, both men and women, the perfection of the
first ancestors had been preserved in its purest form.216 Even from the use of language one could
hear if someone belonged to the anakia class. This was different from that of both other classes, the
common people and the slaves, which also differed from each other in this matter. In South-east
Celebes the three layers of the population, the nobility, the middle groups and slaves each had their
own words, linguistic constructions and expressions. For example: when an anakia spoke of mokoli
(beristirahat (Ind.) – to rest), a member of the middle groups used the term mo’iso (tidur (Ind.) – to
sleep) and a slave merumbahako (berbaring (Ind.) – to lie).217 The way one dressed also betrayed
one’s class. A Tomoronene noblewoman knotted her sarong on the right, an ata woman on the left;
a nobleman wore his sirih pouch on the right, an ata man on the left; an anakia man often wore
trousers and jacket, while an ata man wore a sarong.218
2.9.3. Tolaki nobility

At the top of the social pyramid of the Tolaki was (is) the nobility, the anakia or sometimes called
the pu’u o kasu,219 the progenitors and protectors, the owners of the land and of the people, the
214
Pingak, Dokumenta Kolaka, 95.
215
Cummings, A chain of kings, 1.
216
Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 180-187, 198-204.
217
Ibidem, App. V.
218
Interview with several inhabitants of Kasiputih (20/7/1992) B3-B4.
219
Pu’u o o kasu - tree, trunk => “lord”, “owner”, “master”, see note 209. Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 199,
234, gives pu’uno o kasu resp. pu’uno kasu and pu’u nggasu; cf. ibidem, App. III.

descendants of the conquerors from the north, who later, predominantly under Bugis influence,
traced back their descent from mythological ancestors descended from the upper world. The
descent of the highest nobility, the anakia, went in a straight line from the god of creation or
progenitor or progenitrix, but that of the lower nobility, the anakia ndina’asi, anakia mbatua and
others, as a rule went via brothers, sisters or possibly concubines of the progenitors. Legendary
heirs and rulers were called Sangia (Sania, Sangian) after their death, a term which probably
originated from Hindu Java.220 In the hierarchy of the pantheon they ranked below the highest
gods.221
The nobility exercised its political power by means of the state council, the hadat of rijksraad,
which later was sometimes called sara (derived from syarat, in fact the Islamic council of clerics).
The most highly regarded sultan was chairman of this hadat, which must be seen as an advisory
body of lower heads of clans, the “sons” of the founder of the hadat. An interesting question is that
of the relationship of the hadat with the original population, and whether the latter was represented
in the hadat, and if so, how and by whom.222
Most of the anakia never had territorial power; at most they had privileged positions and influence
within the community, because they generally had the biggest gardens, controlled the gathering of,
and trade in, forest products in their territory and could benefit from the services of their
environment by having their serfs cultivate and harvest their gardens and tend their cattle. Although
the anakia were, as a rule, treated with respect and courtesy, and had themselves addressed as
inggomiu, a polite form of address as against the colloquial inggo’o, used for their inferiors,223 only
a few had enough property, influence and followers to be of significance in a wider context. The
latter were heads with “pure” lines of descent, and titles such as sapati, sulemandara, kapitang and
others, some of whom were members of the state councils (rijksraden). In the Dutch period the
government appointed them to certain positions and they were comparable to the Javanese regents,
whom Professor Kielstra from Utrecht University described as “half traditional feudal ruler, half
civil servant”.224
The ruler, by virtue of his position as chairman of the hadat, had the title of bokeo,225 mokole or
lakina, dependent on the period and the region. The descendants of a mokole, whether in a ruling
position or not, were the anakia motaha or anakia songo, pure nobility, although these were
indiscriminately sometimes also incorrectly called mokole. Somewhat below this were the anakia of
less pure descent: the anakia ndina’asi, whose father belonged to the pure nobility, but whose
220
Bergink, “Mosehe”, 301 noot 15, emplanes that sangia is derived from Javanese sanghyang. Generally the
word denotes deified forbears. Tarimana translates sangia as dewa (“god”). In Rumbia also it was supposed
(1992) that sangia comes from “sanghyang”, which is a Hindu term for a god; interview with several
inhabitants of Kasiputih, 20/7/1992; Van der Klift, “Het monahoe ndao”, 70-71.
221
222
It was similar in South Celebes, see Bouman, “Het Bakoe-wezen in Zuid-Celebes”, 37-38; Rookmaker, “Oude
en nieuwe toestanden”, 404-406; Mattulada Latoa; “Niemann over de Latowa (1884)”.
223
According to Bartimeus inggomiu means kelompok besar, “a large group”, while inggo’o means the singular
“you”, interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 5; cf. Gouweloos, “Spraakkunst”, 16.
224
Kielstra, Het koloniale vraagstuk, 62.
225
Bokeo - crocodile. In folk tales the bokeo wila (“white crocodile”) often plays the part of servant and mount of
the sangia of the see.

mother belonged to one of the middle groups, and the anakia mbatua, whose mother was a pure
noblewoman, but whose father belonged to the middle groups. During the Dutch period anakia
were appointed under various titles such as bokeo, kapitang, mokole (head of village or district) and
sarea (or sareang) or – as in the south of the peninsula – wakil (deputy village head) in
administrative functions which were available for indigenous persons.226
2.9.4. Middle groups

Beside the tonomotuo and tonowonua mentioned above, the Tolaki also had a few middle groups
which did not belong to the nobility, such as the tonotoka itono, tonome’ombu, tononggapo and
tonodadio.227 These terms all have the meaning of “ordinary people”, or “free people”, albeit that
they were hierarchically arranged among themselves, with the tonomotuo the first among equals. In
the mythical ranking of the Tolaki they were the descendants of Larumpalangi’s concubines, or
sometimes those of Pasa’eno, the son of I Wesande.228 In pre-colonial times, the tonomotuo with a
few other heads in some areas formed a council of elders of the napo, an adat-legal unit, which
consisted of smaller entities, the anggalo, which each encompassed less than ten houses; after 1906
kampong heads were in some cases recruited from their ranks.229 The settlement of Mowewe, which
was created by the government, was an example. This had as head a tonomotuo who did not belong
to the nobility. And in the districts of Ando’olo and Palangga in southern Kendari the villages had
no anakia either, but men from the people as head and deputy head, while the heads of the districts,
who also did not belong to the nobility, were given the title of diseteri in that region.230
This had the implication that, like the clans before this, after 1906 many newly constructed
kampongs and settlements were mutually hierarchically organised. For example, that was the case
with Tutuwi and Andawe in Singgere, which belonged to Ambapa, and with Lamara and Pu’uosu in
the Lambuya district, which had their superior in the head of Benua village. Pu’udambu had
Lalowuta as its subsidiary kampong. Rate-Rate had two subsidiary kampongs: Woi’iha and Tawa-
inalu, governed, under the mokole of Rate-Rate, by a kepala and two village heads of lower rank.
The appointment of persons not of noble birth in Palangga and Ando’olo was unique in South-east
Celebes and strongly opposed by the anakia. A source mentions that the head of the Palangga
district, a low-born farmer, owed his position to the fact that he had once saved the life of a civiel-
gezaghebber (government administrator).231 Whatever the truth of this is, wherever the authorities
appointed someone as head who was not of the correct descent, the person involved could count on
significant difficulties. At times his surroundings reacted with resistance, which might be ritualised
226
H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, (ARRZ 2025) 6; H.
van der Klift to Hb NZV, 19/7/1916, ARRZ 2025. See interview with Parenda (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 1-2.
Parenda (*1905) was an anakia, whose father before WW II was village head of Puriala.
227
Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 198-204.
228
Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, App. I, nr. 4.
229
Resident Celebes and Dependencies, “Bestuursorganisatie in Kolaka. De hadats”, 3.
230
The term diseteri was a corruption of the Dutch “district”, H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling
Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, (ARRZ 2025) 6; H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 19/7/1916, ARRZ 2025.
231

or not, to correct this breach of the adat, and to neutralise the negative consequences for the people
around him.232
2.9.5. The ata of the Tolaki

In the discussion above the term ata has been used several times. This merits an explanation. The
introduction into Tolaki society of the ata and the ata wonua, in the sense of serf, is a relatively
modern development in a society which was in origin fairly egalitarian, except for the dichotomy
mentioned above. The oldest slaves were the ata mepotudu.233 These were people who had
committed an offence and placed themselves under the protection of an anakia in order to avoid
their punishment. They then became his property. Their descendants generally also remained
slaves. After Bugis example, in the first half of the nineteenth century forced labour and slavery,
both for a specified period and without such limitation, were introduced. Debt was an important
cause, and at times it happened that children were given away by way of payment.234 Slavery was
also incorporated as punishment into adat jurisdiction. There were ata inoli, slaves who were
purchased, and ata i’a laika’aha, who were connected with the households of the elite;235 but it
could also be a matter of hostages, the ata mbinetawa, or anakia and free persons who could not
pay their debts and became slaves temporarily, as well as people whose parents were themselves
slaves, the ata mbotuula. Slaves who laboured in agriculture were usually in a worse situation than
slaves on board ship or slaves who travelled or traded for their masters, for these sometimes even
received a share of the profits.236
After the trade in, and possession of, slaves was prohibited in the Dutch East Indies from 1860 (in
South-east Celebes this was 1885, but it was subjected to inspection only from 1906) – for the time
being on Celebes this was with the exception of pusaka slaves, who were inherited and counted as
members of the family237 – the boundaries between the tonowonua, the original “owners of the
land” and the ata became blurred, and the name ata was used for this group as a whole. In the
twentieth century the term nearly always designated the “common” kampong inhabitants to
distinguish them from the anakia. Although they formed the lower echelons of society, after 1906
they could rise to high positions, such as village or district head. The government could then boast
about the new opportunities which the redistribution of power, wealth and income offered these
groups.238
232
As a privilege the bokeo of Mekongga had the exclusive right to the eggs of the Maleo (Macrocephalon Maleo,
boskip). These were found in the neighbourhood op Buapinang in the south-west. Baden,”Rapport”, 1-2.
233
Mepotudu (Tol.) - surrender.
234
Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [10]; Sarasin, Reisen, I, 374; Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 200; on the slave trade
in Luwuq, see Van Braam Morris, “Het Landschap Loehoe”, 514-517.
235
Laika’aha (laikaha) - big house, palace.
236
Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 199-200; Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 19-29;
Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [7], [8]; i.c. the Bugis and Makassarese, see “Vertaling eener ‘Verzameling van
inlandsche wetten’”, § 25, 26.
237
Koloniaal verslag 1860, 6; Idem 1878, 73-74. Immediately after arriving on Celebes in 1811 the English
banned the slave trade, but nobody paid attention. Van Kampen, Geschiedenis, 617.
238
Rookmaker, “Oude en nieuwe toestanden”, 521-522.

In fact the prohibition on slavery had only a limited effect in South-east Celebes (as on the whole of
Celebes) and slavery continued to exist, particularly in the central and eastern part of the peninsula,
although the Chinese traders as a rule no longer accepted slaves as payment. In many coastal
villages freed former slaves often stayed with their old masters, where, under the guise of their
being employees, the old ties of dependence and clientism continued to exist. To quote a few other
examples: the ata were expected to carry out unpaid duties for their heads without complaining:
after the death of a head his erstwhile slaves were forced to carry out various duties at the funeral,
although it has to be added that a growing number shirked these. At harvest time the gardens of the
anakia always came first. The trade in water buffalo and in rattan also depended on the servitude of
the ata vis-à-vis the heads. The old situation, i.e. that the ata gathered the rattan and resins and
supplied these for little money to their masters, who subsequently sold them on to the wholesale
buyers continued to exist until after World War II.
Roaming the forests was a good way to withdraw from such constricting ties and to achieve
financial independence. As well, some former slaves returned to the land or village of their birth, or
started to live together in the same neighbourhoods under their own head, such as the Selayarese in
Wawotobi. The ancestors of the Munanese and Tiworese who lived along the Konawe and
Lasampara rivers, in villages such as Wawolemo, Sabulakoa and Parauna, hailed fromTiworo, a
small princedom which consisted of the coastal strip of North and Northwest Muna plus a number
of small islands off the coast. These people had been brought there at the start of the nineteenth
century, when a scion of the princely family of Bone, Aru Bakung, ruled the region along the Bay
of Kendari (1824-1830). They had developed their own form of Islam, called Islam-Tiworo, in
which the worship of the sun, the ancestors and crocodiles from their traditional religion had been
integrated into Islam. They even had their own guru.239 Their surroundings, both Christians and
Muslims, regarded them as “pagans”. These former slaves were of use to Chinese, Butonese and
Bugis entrepreneurs, coconut plantation owners and prahu seafarers in Kendari, Belalo (Lasolo),
Tinanggea, Torobulu and Kolaka as cheap labour; the subdivision of Kendari in particular had a
large population of these “free” Munanese at the beginning of the twentieth century.240
2.10. Nobility, free citizens and slaves among the Tomoronene

As with the Tolaki the social structure of the Tomoronene consisted of three layers: nobility, free
people and slaves. The most important heads in Rumbia had the title of apu (ruler), such as the apu
Rumbia, the Lord of Rumbia; the latter was sometimes also called mokole pauno Rumbia, or pau
for short, after the mythical La Pao, another name for Haluoleo, from whom he was said to have
descended.241 There was supposed to have been a time among the Tomoronene when no distinction
was made between the descendants of La Pao’s first wife and those of his concubines: both groups
239
M.J. Gouweloos, Verslag eerste kwartaal 1932, 29/4/1932, ARRZ 2133; interview with J. Lakebo,
Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992.
240
Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 196-197.
241
Lode, Jawaban, 12, suggests that pau is an abbreviated form of payung (parasol). The Tomekongga also knew
(know) a legend about Haluoleo. Hij was a son of Larumpessi, who came from Luwuq. Larumpessi crossed the
sea and settled at Olo-Oloho (Uepai) near the Konawe river, the residence of Latuanda, the progenitor of
Konawe. See Pingak, Jawaban.

were mokole, a term which here only meant that one belonged to the nobility. Probably in the
course of the eighteenth or nineteenth century this changed. At that time the distinction between
higher and lower-ranking nobility came into being. Vonk illustrated this distinction with the
example of a child of a lower-ranking nobleman and an embesi-wife (a woman from the higher
nobility), who was not automatically recognised as mokole, but could purchase the rank, or earn it
by, for instance, showing great courage in battle. But this was an exceptional event. Descent was
patrilineal and someone’s rights and responsibilities were determined by the father’s rank. At best
such people formed a separate in-between class, with hardly any more rights than those enjoyed by
free citizens.242
The most important segment in terms of numbers were the middle groups, the free citizens, who, it
is true, were held in servitude by the heads as regulated by the adat, but who did not form a class of
slaves in the usual meaning of the word. They were divided into several groups. At the bottom of
the social ladder were the miano (or meano) medohoi, the people who were obliged to carry out
various duties for their clan heads and the ruler. Above these minao medohoi was the limbo class.
Members of this class, the limbo-limbo, were not obliged to carry out such duties, but did have to
hand over part of their harvest and fishing catch to their heads.243 The rice which was handed over
was stored in the kampiri, the mokole’s storage shed for rice. One could borrow from this supply in
times of shortage, and from the proceeds of this the obligatory tribute to the Sultan of Buton was
paid.244
And finally each tobu, an administrative unit which consisted of a number of kampongs, had one or
more bonto, older men who had the function of arbiter or mediator. Their responsibilities were
many and varied from the conveying of complaints of the population to the heads and the ruler, to
the allocation of agricultural land and sago trees to each of the tobu and to the different kampongs
and individual inhabitants of these. They were also responsible for the handing over of part of the
harvest to the prince, for the imposition of punishments, and the arrangement of the succession of a
deceased Lord of Rumbia by – inevitably – one of his sons or closest male relatives. This prince
lived in Taubonto.245
It was possible for someone to get the status of servant of a head as punishment for an offence
against the adat. Occasionally someone was convicted to be a slave for life, and his descendants
also remained slaves, but their number was limited. Most slaves in Poleang and Rumbia were the
sangkinano, not Tomoronene but male or female labourers (ata inola) kidnapped or bought in
Mekongga, Konawe, or on the islands or elsewhere. These did the heavy work on the land and in
the forests, and raised the children of their owners. Their lives were completely at the disposal of
242
Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 34-35.
243
According Rasami (interview Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 3-6, the miano (of meano) medohoi together with the
limbo-limbo were called the paluma (pa’aluma).
244
245
On Buton the functionaries belonging to the de kaum group bore the title of lakina (raja), those from the
walaka group bore the title of bonto (mantri), “Verslag van de besprekingen in zake eenige onderwerpen
betreffende het Landschap Boeton (op 9 Juli 1946)”, 4. According to Rasami (interview Kasiputih, 20/7/1992)
3-6, the function of the bonto in Rumbia and Poleang was similar to that of the members of the post WW II
Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat - Daerah (DPR-D, regional parliament), but that seems a bit stretched.

the aristocracy. Payment of a ransom was possible, but rarely occurred because of the high
charges.246
246
Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 33; Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 199-200.

3. Political and administrative history
3.1. The East

3.1.1. Mekongga, Konawe, Laiwoi. Internal relations.
After the division of the Tolaki into two realms, Mekongga in the west and Konawe in the east, it
was said that one of the most important political entities in the east was Laiwoi. However, it is not
immediately obvious what was meant by this name. During the nineteenth century the name Laiwoi
was probably occasionally used for Ranome’eto. This region encompassed the entire east coast of
the mainland, from Laeya (also known as Lahia, Laya, i.e. the eastern part of the later district of
Palangga) on the Tiworo Strait in the south to the Lasampara delta, the estuary of the Konawe river.
Because of its location, this region had the most contacts with the outside world, and its rise in the
first half of the nineteenth century was due in the first place to these contacts. But in a wider sense
the name Laiwoi was also used for the entire eastern region which was bordered by Mekongga in
the west, Lelewau in the northwest, Bungku and Mori in the north, and the Mendoke mountain
range in the south-west. In this context it was referred to as the “Federation of Laiwoi”, the “United
Regions”, the “Realm of Laiwoi”, or simply “Laiwoi”. In this sense Laiwoi also encompassed
Konawe, and even largely coincided with it until the rise of Ranome’eto at the end of the eighteenth
century.247
Konawe was a loose federation of seven tobu, aggregates of villages, which from a certain moment
in its existence was administered by the sarano Konawe, which federation accordingly had seven
members. These tobu were situated in the southern foothills of the northern mountains and in the
swampy areas through which the Konawe River and its tributaries meandered, up to the estuary of
the Lasampara. In ancient times the residence of the most prominent of these seven heads, and of
the chairman of the sarano Konawe was Olo-Oloho (Uepai) on the Konawe River, the abode of the
mythological Latuanda, the ancestor of Konawe, and after this it was Una’aha, approximately
halfway between Kolaka and Kendari.248 From west to east these seven oldest regions of Konawe
were Latoma, Abuki, Tongauna, Uepai, Asaki (the region of Puriala and Lambuya), Waotobi and
Pu’undidaha. Their seven aristocratic heads, the anakia putobu, who were usually referred to as
mokole, had different ranks and responsibilities: initially Tongauna did not have a head who was an
anakia, but a tonomotuo, while later it acquired a punggawa, who, however, never had great
authority; Latoma had a sahbandar, who also had hardly any authority; Asaki had an inoa; Uepai
and Wawotobi each had a kapitang, the military commanders and coast guards; Pu’undidaha had a
sulemandara or pabicara, the deputy chairman of the sarano Konawe, and a mediator in conflicts,
and Abuki had a bokeo. The sahbandar, inoa and bokeo were also the collectors of tributes and
247
Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 74-76; Treffers, “Enkele kantteekeningen”, 226; B. Suwondo, Sejarah, 32-33.
apart from Konawe, the Jaarboekje Celebes 1866, 32, mentions Latoma, Waiwuki, Lanomutong and Sampara
as belonging to Laiwoi. Cf. the unpublished thesis of Velthoen, Contested Coastlines.
248
Baden, “Rapport”, 12; Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 51.

taxes. However, these were not collected on a regular basis, but only when the head of Konawe
considered it necessary.249
3.1.2. The first heads of Konawe

Countless tales and legends about the oldest rulers of Konawe did, and still do, the rounds; often the
same names recur in these, but they contradict each other in essential details. One of the possible
reconstructions goes as follows: the semi-legendary, semi-historical ancestor of the heads of
Konawe was Sangia Inato, the grandson of the mythical Wekoila; he was said to have established
the sarano Konawe.250 Sangia Inato was thought not to have been a Tolaki, but a Bugis by the name
of La Madukelleng. This, however, is improbable. A less improbable variant of this has it that
Sangia Inato was the son of We Sangia, the daughter of Tawe Niruku, a head of Konawe, and of a
“scion of the royal family from Bone called Madoekalla”. Perhaps the latter equates with La
Madukelleng.251 According to tradition La Madukelleng had ended up in Kendari while fleeing
from Goa via Buton. There he established ties with a head of Konawe, Tawe Niruku, whose
daughter he married. He sought the protection of Bone and entered into commercial contacts with
Buton and Ternate. If this Madoekalla was the same as Madukelleng Arung Singkang Arung Peneki
Sultan Pasir (1700-1765), ruler of Wajo (arung matao Wajo) from 1737 to 1754 – which is not
certain, for the story could also be based on the peregrinations of the mythical Sawerigading, as one
of his names was La Madukelleng – then Sangia Inato lived in the second half of the eighteenth
century.252 Whatever the truth of this, Sangia Inato had many sons, three of whom each had a Tolaki
mother of equal, noble status. In decreasing order of right to the succession to the throne by
249
There are several versions of the dignities and background of the heads of Konawe. According to Plas,
“Militaire memorie”, 13-14, the composition of the sarano Konawe was as follows: Laluo was the first
sulewatang (Bug.) or sulemandara of Wawotobi/Lasampara; Paluwu became punggawa of Tongauna;
Taridalla became kapitang molepo of Uepai; Orima became sahbandar of Latoma; Kalanggo became pabicara
of Pu’undidaha; Maranai became sapati (after the death of Lakidenda Sangia Ngginoburu ca. 1850, this dignity
was changed into inea assenumo, wutambinotisso and finally bokeo) of Abuki; Toapomanu became inoa of
Asaki (Puriala, Lambuya). According a simplified and probably not quite reliable version of the dynastic
history recorded in 1992, the first ruler of the Tolaki was called Sangia Mbina’uti. After him came 2. Laduma
Sangia Nibandera, under whose rule Konawe cut itself loose, after which he became its first bokeo; hereafter
Konawe was ruled by 3. Sangia Inato, 4. Sangia Ngginoburu (“He who is buried”), who was supposed to have
introduced the Islam into Konawe, 5. Sangia Watanambe, 6. Sangia Lakidenda. During his life time S.
Watanambe was sulemandara and lived in Pu’undidaha. His duty was to appoint other rulers, amongst whom
was the bokeo of Mekongga (notwithstanding the secession). The sarano Konawe, called siwole mbatohuu, had
seven members. The principal was the sulemandara, who appointed the remaining six, among whom was the
raja of Kendari. Each of the seven members had his proper function. Interview with S. Galukupi e.a.
(Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992) 29. Galukupi (and others) maintained that Kendari was subordinate to Konawe.
Parenda, from 1953 district head of Lambuya, told that the seven members decided among themselves who
was to be the head of the sarano Konawe; they chose the ruler of Wawotobi. Interview with Parenda
(Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 2.
250
Sangia Inato is supposed to have ruled at the time of the secession of Poleang, Rumbia and Mekongga.
251
Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 12-13; cf. note 280.
252
Noorduyn, “Arung Singkang”, 64, mentions only one story about a visit of La Madukelleng to Padamarang, an
island in the Bay of Mekongga, which he dismisses as “fiction”. Patunru, Sedjarah Wadjo, 64-69, has a
different view; Bakkers, “Het Leenvorstendom Boni”, 165; cf. Patunru, Sejarah Bone, 212-213. It is unlikely
that Sangia Inato and La Madukelleng are the same person, if only because of his name. “Inato” derives from
ate, (Mal. atap) - roof, meaning: buried under a roof (in a cave), i.e. following non-Islamic practices. La
Madukelleng was a Muslim from Wajo and would no doubt have been buried following Islamic practices.

inheritance these sons were Mago, Maranai and Sorumba whose mother was called Namenggena.253
Mago’s lineage (Mago was also called Maago, Tinorai and Latolai, and after his death Sangia
Pinauti and Mbina’uti254) died out when his son Lakidenda Sangia Ngginoburu was expelled and
died towards the middle of the nineteenth century (more about this later), after which only two
tempayan penuh (“full water vessels” (Ind.), i.e. rulers of 100% royal blood) remained, Maranai and
Sorumba. Probably because of pressure exerted by Bone, already during Sangia Inato’s lifetime
Maranai was designated as mea sinumo (“betel nut placed in readiness”, Tol.), that is to say as
mokole Konawe in reserve. For unknown reasons the succession by Maranai’s son Tohamba did not
take place, probably because the sarano Konawe did not agree,255 which made it possible for the
descendants of Sorumba to assert their rights. But even after World War II the descendants of
Maranai had not forgotten that their claims were equal, if not superior, to those of Sorumba. They
considered Sao-Sao, the raja of Laiwoi, and his son and successor Malaka Arifin Tekaka as
usurpers as both were from the lineage of Sorumba; this latter lineage was merely the possessor of
the rank of sapati and had thus less authority than Maranai’s lineage.
At Lakidenda’s death around 1850 the sarano Konawe fell apart, and the title and rank of mokole
passed to Te Bawo, a descendant of Sorumba, whose territory for that matter was restricted to
Ranome’eto, the middle and southern parts of what after 1906 was to be the subdivision of Kendari.
No separate laika’aha, the traditional adat residence of a mokole, was erected for him.256 According
to tradition, other sons and descendants of Sangia Inato divided the remaining ranks amongst each
other, and in this way the division already mentioned above (in broad outline) of seven functions
among seven heads of clans, connected to the seven regions of Konawe mentioned, was arrived
at.257
3.1.3. Politics and administration

In the heyday of Konawe, the century from about 1750 to 1850, the seven tobu of Konawe were
divided over four administrative entities (provinces), which together formed the realm of Konawe.
Besides these small states, there were still a number of smaller tobu along the northern bank of the
Tiworo Strait, some of whom also had a putobu, such as Ando’olo, Palangga, Lakara, Laeya,
already mentioned before, Kolono, Muramu and Laonti. After the capture of the southern coast
from the Tomoronene, Andao’olo and the western part of Palangga came under the inoa of Asaki,
while the eastern part of Palangga, as well as the adjacent kampongs of the two tobu Kolono and
Konda came under the sapati of Ranome’eto as the putobu-ship of Laeya (the term putobu-ship for
tobu was a Dutch concoction). The authority of the inoa of Asaki over Ando’olo and western
Palangga however was only nominal and lasted only briefly. The putobu who had captured this
region from the Tomoronene started to behave more and more independently, and adopted the title
253
According to Van Oosten, “Voorlopige schets”, App. B, Namenggena was the mother of all three sons.
254
Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 13. According to Plas Mago was also one of the names of Sangia Inato.
255
256
Van Oosten, “Voorlopige schets”, App. A; Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 17.
257
See par. 3.1.1.

of mokole. Konawe’s claims therefore did not get recognition anywhere in this region in later
times.258
In the eastern coastal mountain range north of the Bay of Kendari there also lived a number of
isolated groups, which were partly Tolaki and which partly originated from Bungku to the north.
Others had crossed over from islands such Wawoni, Manui, Muna and Buton. In time these groups
mixed with Bugis, Butonese, Munanese and other migrants.259
Finally, in the north, on the border with Malili, Towuti and South Bungku, on the banks of Lake
Towuti, several small realms came into being after Lakidenda’s death. Among these was the
northern Wiwirano (wiwi – bank, rano – swamp, lake), which was inhabited by the Tolambatu. The
anakia in this region in time adopted the title of mokole, a step which was not recognised outside
their area. Even before Lakidenda’s rule several anakia from Konawe had settled in Lasolo and on
Wawoni and these acted virtually independently. All this caused power versus the outside world to
disintegrate.260
3.1.4. External relations. Demarcation

During the century and a half until 1667 South Celebes came to be increasingly dominated by Goa.
This Makassarese kingdom did not just manage to subject parts of Celebes and realms such as Bima
(1619), Sumbawa (1619), Buton (1626), Gorontalo (1638) and Sula (1666) by means of treaties,
marriages, cunning or arms,261 but also developed into one of the most important trading nations
and maritime powers in the South-east Asian archipelago.262 As a result of the capture of Makassar
by the Dutch East India Compagnie in 1667 the Makassarese empire collapsed. The north and east
of Celebes were handed back to the Sultan of Ternate, while the realm of Bone was “lifted out of its
state of humiliation”263 and was given the same status as Goa. When in 1683 the Dutch East India
Company, as a consequence of a conflict with Kaicil Sibori, Sultan Amsterdam, ninth sultan of
Ternate, acquired the whole territory of Ternate, Banggai, Bungku, Mori and Laiwoi also formally
fell to Batavia. The Dutch East India Company returned these territories to Ternate as a contractual
loan, which meant that they remained under obligation to pay tribute to the sultan, albeit under the
explicit recognition of Dutch sovereignty.264 Subsequently a form of administration was introduced
in Banggai and Bungku, but not in South-east Celebes, which was analogous to that which existed
on Ternate, although the kings were forced to sign a separate contract with Batavia.265
Laiwoi, Wawoni and Manui were on the border of the spheres of influence of Buton and Ternate.
Vosmaer argued that Laiwoi was subordinate to Bungku;266 according to Ligtvoet, who wrote half a
258
HPB Kendari (contr. W.F.G. van Oosten) to Res. Z.-Celebes, 22/3/1948 (ANRI Mak., NIT Archive 89/20) 2;
259
Kartodirdjo, Ikhtisar, 292; Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 75-76.
260
261
Ligtvoet, “Transcriptie van de Lontará-bilang”, 87, 89, 124. The surrender of Makassar into the hands of the
Dutch East India Company was formalised by the Treaty of Bongaya dated 18 November 1667, ibidem, 128.
262
Cummings, A chain of kings, 3-8; The modern part of an Universal History, deel 9, 334-338.
263
264
Stapel, Geschiedenis, 117-118; Laging Tobias, “Memorie”, 11-13, 24-25.
265
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 443-448, 494-498; Clercq, Bijdragen, 125-126.
266
Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 99 ff.

century later, it belonged to the Sultan of Buton.267 The islands of Wawoni and Manui once
belonged to Ternate. However, from the beginning of the nineteenth century the inhabitants paid
tribute to Buton, which appointed the heads there. In 1915 Buton relinquished all rights to both
islands, after Wawoni had ceased paying tribute as early as 1870.268
In reality the east and south-east of South-east Celebes thus formed a no man’s land, a free port for
those who were fleeing, for whatever reason, and a place where Bugis and Butonese without any
impediment conducted excellent trade and levied their tribute. There was no question of any direct
administrative interference with the Tolaki by Bungku, Ternate or Buton. The fact that Blok (1759)
and others mention the “Alifuru” (mountain dwellers) as the eastern neighbours of Luwuq in South-
east Celebes, and not Ternate, Buton or Bungku, is an additional indication that as early as the
eighteenth century there was no longer any effective exercise of power in the interior by Ternate,
Buton or Bungku; neither does Blok mention Bone and Wajo. Moreover, there was then no
question of a disputed border zone between Luwuq and Bungku in South-east Celebes, as was the
case in Mori. This was to happen only later.269
3.1.5. Political and military weakness

As a result of the malaria, smallpox and cholera which recurred on a regular basis, and the mortality
of the population connected with this, as well as the semi-nomadic way of life and the strictly
maintained divisions of rank, South-east Celebes, so rich in rivers, marshes and coasts covered in
mangrove woods, was thinly populated. A consequence of this was that in terms of politics and
military prowess the Tolaki were extremely weak, something their internal divisions often added to.
Their weakness had already become obvious around 1800 from the virtually unimpeded advance of
a few tribes from Bungku to the south along the east coast. For a century after this the coastal
region between the Talowa Bay in Bungku and Matarapa Bay, called Tinde Inia, was considered to
belong to Bungku, although the original inhabitants spoke the Konawe dialect, one of the chief
dialects of Tolaki; they had after all belonged to Konawe until after 1800.270
Not only did the “federation of states”, then still primarily Konawe, lack the power to do anything
to counteract this, but not long after this invasion they also had to stand by helplessly when
Bungku, both because of economic motives and because of hostilities experienced from the side of
Mori, advanced even further south and pushed through to the south of the Lasolo Bay. In several
places sengaji, district heads (a title from Ternate), were appointed, and annually the population
was forced to pay tribute in the form of rice, sago, sarongs, braided headcovers, sometimes a few
slaves, and in the case of the Bajos karet (literally: rubber, the carapace of a small species of sea
turtle), fish and trepang or gamat (sea cucumber), to be paid in part to the kumis ampat (state
council) of Bungku, in part to a Ternate official who resided in Labua, the capital of Bungku (also
267
Ligtvoet, “Beschrijving en geschiedenis van Boeton”, 94-95.
268
Van der Hart, Reize rondom het eiland Celebes, 22; Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 493.
269
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 512, 529-532; “Het eiland Celebes volgens de togten en
ontdekkingen van Jacques Nicolas Vosmaer”, 281.
270
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 490.

known as Pombaleya).271 Whoever controlled the Lasolo Bay, also controlled the mouth of the
Lasolo, and with it the transport of forestry products, something that gradually became a
geopolitical factor of importance. The entire Lasolo Bay as far as Lembo in the south was formally
a feudal estate of Bungku until after 1900, while Mori occupied the region of the Toepe, a Tolaki
people in northern Laiwoi, until 1856, which was the year of a Dutch punitive expedition against
Mori. Because Bungku was a vassal of Ternate, Lasolo therefore was a subfeudal estate of this
realm.
After 1870 the influence of the “federation of states”, especially Konawe, in Lasolo increased
again, albeit briefly, when Pagala, the punggawa of Tongauna, and at that time the most
authoritative anakia of Konawe, succeeded in subjecting the region and entrusted its administration
to a vassal, the Tolaki La Samana, whose origin was the island of Wawoni. He was a Muslim and
after his travels to Mecca was known as Hadji Tata.272 He ceased the payments to Bungku/Ternate
and Bone and developed into a powerful lord, due to the fact that he controlled the export of
forestry products in Lasolo. Although formally the region was then subordinate to the ruler of
Pu’undidaha (Konawe), Hadji Tata did not take much notice of Konawe either, and ruled as “King
of Lasolo”.273
At the onset of colonial times, Hadji Tata was appointed district head of Lasolo. He was succeeded
in this function by his son. This meant that Hadji Tata was one of the first Muslims of Tolaki
descent in South-east Celebes who became a government administrator in colonial service of a non-
Islamic people. This was unusual, since in recently subjected territories as a rule officials were
appointed from the Minahassa, Timor or Ambon, indigenous people who were considered to belong
to the Christian cultural sphere. The Tolaki part of the coastal population of Lasolo, which
consisted of 150 adult men in 1908, then had its agricultural fields and its hunting and gathering
terrains in the mountains west of Lasolo and along the Lalindu river, a region which belonged to
Laiwoi. Although a short time after the turn of the century it was proposed that Bungku would
relinquish the territory against a compensation payment of 300 guilders (the amount of the annual
tribute), on account of the great riches in damar (resin) forests, it took till 1931 before the definitive
boundary between Bungku and Laiwoi was fixed.274 This started on the northern bank of the Teluk
Dalam (Dalam Bay), north of Lasolo Bay, and ran from there across some mountain ridges to the
place where three states, i.e. Malili, Bungku and Laiwoi, met, east of Lake Towuti.275
3.1.6. The rise of Ranome’eto

As said, almost without exception the rivers of South-east Celebes were unnavigable for bigger
ships. However, they could be used to transport forestry products to the coast on rafts made of
bamboo. And that happened, even on a large scale. From Tinondo, Mowewe (Singgere), and
Sanggona (Tawanga/Latoma), where the Konawe became navigable for rafts, the population
271
Laging Tobias, “Memorie”, 24-25; Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 490-493, 501-502.
272
H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, (ARRZ 2025) 13.
273
Ibidem.
274
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 490-493.
275
Taatgen, “Memorie”, 1-2; Platt, “Algemene gegevens”, 2.

preferred the export centres along the east coast into the twentieth century.276 Although the river
was winding and dangerous, and teemed with crocodiles, and although the journey sometimes took
a week or more, the people preferred this form of transport to the overland route to Mekongga Bay,
to which they would have to carry their trade goods for four or five days on their backs while
negotiating steep mountain ridges and deep valleys or wading through swamps. This meant that
from an economic, and therefore also a political viewpoint, the whole catchment area of the
Konawe from Sanggona was oriented towards the east coast.277 The rise of Ranome’eto was a direct
result of this.
Little is known of the period when Sangia Inato and his direct descendants wielded power, i.e. the
second half of the eighteenth century. Afterwards this changed. As a result of his visit in May 1831
Vosmaer reported that between 1824 and 1830, during the time of the Bugis Aru Bakung, a number
of Bugis, Makassarese and Bajos along the Bay of Kendari had benefited from his good relations
with several Tolaki chiefs. The Bajos engaged in the catching of turtles and trepang and to this end
had a considerable fleet at their disposal. In 1830 it consisted of 200 prahu, a figure which suggests
that the Bajo population counted around 1000 people. The Bugis and Makassarese engaged in
barter trade with the Tolaki population, in which they were keen to get rice, beeswax and other
forestry products. However, at the end of 1830 the good relations with the Tolaki had turned to
hostility, and they had left the bay precipitately. This was, however, no more than an incident. The
Bajos told Vosmaer that they were keen to return to the Bay of Kendari, as long as they received
protection from headhunting Tolaki. After some Tolaki chiefs had assured Vosmaer that they
wanted nothing more than to resume trade relations, 40 Bajo prahu returned to the Bay of Kendari
in the middle of 1831, followed by a number of Bugis, Makassarese and others.278 In addition the
Dutch colonial government seized this opportunity to open a station along the Bay of Kendari.
The background to this course of events was almost certainly Konawe’s wish to keep control of all
trade as much as possible. This was a phenomenon which also occurred elsewhere, as in the part of
Mekongga occupied by Luwuq, and in Bangggai, Bungku and Mori.279 For this purpose, and to
enhance safety in the region, a separate state council, the sarano Ranome’eto, was established at the
Bay of Kendari as early as circa 1800, with a head and three members, a sapati, a punggawa and a
kapitang.280 One of the first heads of Ranome’eto was Tobouw (c. 1810 - c.1835), who lived in
276
277
Van Vuuren, Het Gouvernement Celebes, I, 318; Treffers, “Het landschap Laiwoei”, 188-221; Wieland,
“Memorie”, [4]-[5]; Baden, “Rapport”, 23-24; Sarasin, Reisen, I, 349.
278
279
Atkinson, Gender, 9, discusses a similar case among the Towana in Central Celebes.
280
Some say they were also the sons of Sangia Inato: Sorumba (Sa,a Nibondo) became sapati of Ranome’eto;
Haribau became kapitang bontoalo of Lasampara, and Latada became punggawa of Poasia (Abeli). Both
Lasampara and Poasia belonged to Ranome’eto and their heads recognised the sapati, who in turn recognised
the authority of the anakia Konawe, Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 14. There exists a legend about a certain Mago
(Maago?, see page 55) being the founder of the sara of Ranome’eto, which was to collect taxes on the export
of forest products along the coast. Mago was the son of a prince of Bone and a noble woman of Konawe. After
his death he was called Sangia Indita (another source gives Sangia Mbina’uti). Until his death he lived in
Konawe. Yet another legend mentions Niruku as the daughter of Tawe; We Sang Guni, his younger son was La
Tua. The girl married a prince from Bone, from which union Mago was born. We Sang Guni had many
descendants, from amongst whom the seven members of the sarano Konawe were elected; We Sang Guni

Lepo-Lepo, a day’s march into the interior. He was the one with whom Vosmaer entered into an
agreement about the resumption of trade and the safety of the coastal population. He had the title of
lakina Konawe (ruler of Konawe), which suggests that the functions of head of Konawe (mokole or
anakia Konawe) and head of Ranome’eto (lakina Lepo-Lepo) were at that time still united in one
person, the mokole Konawe. In other words, Ranome’eto was still subordinate to Konawe.281
3.1.7. Vosmaer, Bugis and others in Ranome’eto.

After the collapse of Makassar in 1667 it took until 1831 before a European called in at the east
coast of South-east Celebes, although there were at that time “vague memories” of a ship of the
Dutch East India Company which had visited the Bay of Kendari, “seven generations” before. A
canon from this ship was still preserved. This may possibly refer to the “fluit” (cargo vessel)
Velsen, which ran aground near Wawoni in 1635, and whose crew was subsequently assassinated
on the order of the Sultan of Buton.282
This European was Vosmaer, mentioned several times above, a trader who had good relations both
with the colonial government and with various indigenous prahu skippers and heads. As a
representative of a European trading firm in Batavia, Brouwer Nolthenius and partners, and a few
others, and with the support of the Governor of Makassar, he carried out an investigation into the
commercial opportunities of the still virtually unknown coasts of this part of Celebes, at the
beginning of the 1830s.283
Vosmaer reported that the coast of South-east Celebes from the Gulf of Bone to Bungku was
virtually uninhabited, but that he expected that trade could be conducted with the inhabitants of the
interior. The control of the export of forestry products from the Bay of Kendari had until recently
been in the hands of Aru Bakung and his Bugis and Bajos. These sailed directly to Singapore,
bypassing Makassar. The government adopted his proposals, which included that a trading post was
to be established along the Bay of Kendari, which would be under his management. As stated, the
Bugis and Bajos, who had fled from the Bay of Kendari at the end of 1830, returned. Vosmaer
attempted to steer trade there in the right directions, apparently not without success, although he
rarely visited the bay. After his death in 1836 (from “bilious fevers”), a European official was
posted there (1837), but, after a smallpox epidemic the trading post was abandoned in 1842. The
coasts were depopulated, and Tobouw had meanwhile died. The government had hoped that
Makassarese traders, on whom it had much more of a grip than on the Bugis, would have replaced
the latter as wholesale buyers, but this did not happen. The Bugis did not allow themselves to be
driven away. The establishment of a Dutch administrative and trading post was also a thorn in the
apparently plays the same role as Wekoila, who is also called the ancestress of the Tolaki, [Mallinckrodt],
“Gegevens over Mandar”, 390.
281
Van der Hart, Reize rondom het eiland Celebes, 37.
282
Van der Hart, Reize rondom het eiland Celebes, 38; Vosmaer also suggested such a visit might have taken
place, “Het eiland Celebes volgens de togten en ontdekkingen van Jacques Nicolas Vosmaer”, 215.
283
A report of his adventures in “Het eiland Celebes volgens de togten en ontdekkingen van Jacques Nicolas
Vosmaer”.

side of the Sultan of Buton, who considered Laiwoi to fall within his sphere of influence. But the
reward of one hundred slaves he had put up for whoever killed Vosmaer was never paid out.284
3.1.8. Developments after Vosmaer

Both along the Bay of Kendari and in Lasampara radical changes occurred in the years subsequent
to this. Kendari grew into a lively settlement of Bugis, Bajos and other migrants, where notably the
family of Aru Bakung controlled trade, religion and politics. An increasing number of Tolaki left
the interior and settled close by.285 In the second half of the nineteenth century the head of Kendari
was a Bugis called Daeng Pawata, who was married to a granddaughter of Aru Bakung, I
Kasiwiang. He was also the sahbandar and collected the rights on the vessels which visited the bay.
Like his predecessor, Timananang, whom he had succeeded in 1849, Daeng Pawata had been
appointed to both functions by Bone. From 1861 to 1867 the kapitang lau of Lohiya on Buton,
Laode Kantada, who had been expelled by the sultan, resided at the Bay of Kendari. Kantada was
married to I Pasiya Daeng Matene, a daughter of Aru Bakung.286
The population increased rapidly, and around 1900 the banks of the Bay of Kendari were inhabited
by some 1200 or 1300 traders and fishermen. An important figure there at that time was the rightful
pretender to the throne of Bungku, although he had been passed over by the Sultan of Ternate and
had subsequently fled, a Muslim called Kumisi.287 These migrants lived on what they could catch
from the sea and from barter trade with the Tolaki. They lived spread out over six settlements, and
had at least one big mosque at their disposal.288
The power of Konawe and Ranome’eto was quickly eroded by this massive presence of strangers,
and this erosion was reinforced by the actions of Luwuq in the interior of Konawe (more about this
later). Once it had been the king at Una’aha who controlled export by means of a separate sara, but
now it was a foreign sahbandar who, in the name of a foreign power, Bone, controlled trade and
exacted export taxes. As a token of their subordination the Tolaki paid tribute to Bone: annually this
amounted to one male or female slave (luale), 50 pikol (à 62 kg, i.e. over 3 tons) of rice and 50
wooden lance shafts.289 Although later this amount was reduced, until the Dutch administrative
settlement in 1906 every year an envoy (suro) from Bone arrived with his prahus. First he called in
at Lakara on the Tiworo Strait. The tribute which had to be raised there consisted of 20 small
woven bags containing white rice (about one pikol); 20 lance shafts, a bunch of coconuts, a bundle
of betel leaves, a bunch of betel nuts and a cash amount of approximately one guilder. All this was
offered on a gilt platter, which in between times was not allowed to be used for any other purpose.
The suro then continued his journey to Lahondopi on the Bay of Kendari where he also collected
tribute payments. At the end of the nineteenth century this consisted of two female slaves, which
the anakia had the duty to supply. The relatively small size of this tribute gives an indication that
284
Ibidem, 335.
285
Van der Hart, Reize rondom het eiland Celebes, 42; Koloniaal verslag 1875, 21.
286
Ligtvoet, “Beschrijving en geschiedenis van Boeton”, 102.
287
288
Vriens, Sejarah, II, 156-158.
289
Van der Hart, Reize rondom het eiland Celebes, 33, 37.

Bone was more concerned about a show of subordination than that it considered Kendari as a rich
colony.290
If this reconstruction is accurate, Kendari was one of the last regions of Celebes to be opened up for
trade. Elsewhere, as in East Celebes, foreigners had appeared much earlier: enterprising traders,
sons of heads driven out of Bone and Goa by disturbances and rebellions, Butonese who had fled in
fear of their lives or who had been kidnapped by pirates. The fact that their presence had political
and military implications became evident from their involvement during a number of rebellions of
Bungku and Banggai against the rule of the Sultan of Ternate.
The history of the Bugis along the east coast of Celebes is one of confrontations with the Sultans of
Buton and Ternate. Valentijn (1726) reports that Robert Padbrugge, who was Governor of the
Moluccas from 1677 to 1680, discovered, during a visit to Banggai in 1681, that the local
population had fled on ships which had been provided by the Bugis Arung Palakka. This had been
done to evade the Sultan of Ternate after their own ruler had been assassinated at the sultan’s
instigation.291 Difficulties arose again in 1825 and 1826, when the head of Bungku, Kaicil Papa,
tried to evade his obligations to the Sultan of Ternate.292 In 1829 the king of Banggai rose up, when
a Bugis called Daeng Mangajae made waves by sending the sultan’s officials packing, a revolt
which eventually failed because of lack of support by the population of the island.293 In 1839 Bugis
who came from Kendari and Lasampara supported a rebellion in Bungku, but an expeditionary
force from Ternate managed to defeat the rebels.294 In 1840 and 1841 another rebellion erupted,
which was initially successful. The ruler called Dukakombi, who had been appointed by the sultan,
was deposed and in his place a Bugis prince, Daeng Makala, was appointed as head. Several times
the Sultan of Ternate sent his war fleet to Bungku, but it was not until the end of 1841 that he could
suppress the revolt.295 In 1846 and 1847 Bugis and Makassarese who lived in Kendari supported the
king of Banggai, whose name was Agama, in his resistance against his liege lord. Agama fled to
Tojo and Kendari, both subordinate to Bone, and subsequently, pursued by a kora-kora fleet from
Ternate, to Buton, and from there on to Bone. There, to the annoyance of the government, he
received protection from the ruler who had been recently installed, La Parenrengi Sultan Akhmad
Muhiddin Arung Pugi Matinroe ri Ajang Benteng (1845-1857). In retribution Banggai was almost
completely depopulated.296 After a renewed attempt by Bone in 1849 and 1850 to appropriate the
coastal territory of south Bungku had been thwarted, the sultan had a number of coastal kampongs
cleared in retaliation.297
3.1.9. Lamango
290
291
Valentijn, Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën, II, 348; [Padtbrugge], “Het journaal van Padtbrugge,s reis”.
292
Clercq, Bijdragen, sub 1825/6; Laging Tobias, “Memorie”, 20-23; Van der Hart, Reize rondom het eiland
Celebes, 67.
293
Clercq, Bijdragen, sub 1829.
294
Clercq, Bijdragen, sub 1839.
295
Clercq, Bijdragen, sub 1840; Laging Tobias, “Memorie”, 13; Michielsen, “Journaal van D.F.H. Helbach”, 583.
296
Kartodirdjo, Ikhtisar, 344-346; Ligtvoet, “Beschrijving en geschiedenis van Boeton”, 95; Van der Hart, Reize
rondom het eiland Celebes, 97-98.
297
Van der Hart, Reize rondom het eiland Celebes, 61, 65.

Until 1871 Lamango, or Andi Mango in its Bugis form, was head of the Tolaki in Ranome’eto.
Through his father’s line he was a grandson of Aru Bakung; through his mother, I Maho, his
grandfather Te Bawo and his great grandmother Sa’a Tiningga, he was descended from Sorumba,
the third son of Sangia Inato, the branch which possessed the rank of sapati. This title had passed
from Sa’a Tiningga’s father Balani, Sorumba’s grandson, to an older brother of Sa’a Tiningga
called Tambika, from whom later sapati, such as Tanduala and Mali (born circa 1900) were
descended. Lamango, whose branch had possessed the rank of mokole since the time of his
grandfather, Te Bawo, was head of the sarano Ranome’eto, by virtue of which he could call himself
lakina Lepo-Lepo (king of Lepo-Lepo). He took advantage of his connections with traders along the
coast and managed to strengthen his position vis-à-vis the rulers in the interior. He became the most
powerful head in the hierarchy of the Laiwoi “federation of states”, and outranked the lakina
Konawe, the head of Konawe in Una’aha.
According to Van der Hart, a certain Labakala had the function of lakina Konawe in 1850, which
would mean, apart from the fact that the (highest) rank of mokole had disappeared with Lakidenda
from Konawe (and had gone to Ranome’eto), that Labakala was one of the successors of
Lakidenda. If this is indeed the case, his hereditary title was that of sulemandara, not that of
mokole. There are signs that point, in addition to the disintegration of Konawe which occurred after
the expulsion of Lakidenda, to increasing rivalry between coast and interior in these years. This was
chiefly related to the growing Bugis influence, which in some places in the interior met with
resistance. Most probably this led to a rift between Konawe and Ranome’eto under Lamango. In the
mid 1920s this muddled situation caused an administrative reorganisation, with which the name of
controleur Vonk is linked. However, until after World War II the dynastic confusion, which was a
result of the rivalry between coast and interior, would turn out to be a complicating factor in the
internal politics of Laiwoi.298
The background to the long drawn-out conflict between a number of clans in Latoma and Konawe
was probably the fact that the Tolatoma, descendants of the indigenous population of South-east
Celebes, resisted Konawe’s thirst for power, and in particular that of the anakia there; their
resistance was apparently successful, for they acquired their first mokole only when the Dutch
appointed a district head in 1909. His name was Bungalawa.299
3.1.10. Konawe and Luwuq

Against the background of the growing influence of Bone and Ranome’eto in the nineteenth
century, and the tension this created between the east coast and the interior, Luwuq made an
attempt to expand its influence to the east from Mekongga.300 It is the story of a military expedition
from Luwuq to Konawe. This began when Lakidenda, the mokole of Konawe, on a visit to the court
in Palopo (Luwuq) to seek support against Bone, was impressed by the palace compound (salassa,
Bug.) of the datu, which included a mosque. Once he was back home in Una’aha he also built a
298
Van der Hart, Reize rondom het eiland Celebes, 37; Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 55-56.
299
Baden, “Rapport”, 12; Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 55-56.
300
Baden, “Rapport”, 12-13.

salassa, which was rumoured to be as big and beautiful as the one he had seen in Palopo. For that
matter, it is difficult to gain a clear impression of this edifice. In 1856 Matthes warned against
imagining such palaces as very grand: “many a tradesman in Holland lives more neatly and better
than most Bugis kings.”301 Whatever the truth of this, it was considered by Luwuq as an insult and a
attempt at rebellion. The datu sent an army, which, reinforced with troops from Kondeha under
Tomeaso, and from Mekongga under bokeo Laduma, advanced to Konawe, where it took revenge,
chased away Lakidenda and burnt down the salassa. This event remained known as the “burning
down of the house with wood carving” (tinunuano raha mbinatipati). In spite of this, tradition has it
that Islam entered the court of Konawe under Lakidenda and that after his death Lakidenda was
given the title of Sangia Ngginoburu, “the lord who is buried [according to Islamic rites]”.302
Lakidenda was the last monarch from the lineage of the mokole of Konawe – the disappearance of
the rank of mokole from Konawe was possibly a disciplinary measure by the new rulers. Later kings
such as Lamango and Sao-Sao used, among others, the Malay title of raja (king), a custom adopted
also by the government when, in November 1933, the new self-government official Tekaka
received the title of raja Kendari; Lakidenda’s successor as (titular) head of Konawe was the
sulemandara, a member of the sarano Konawe.303
If there is a grain of truth in this story and it is correct, as one version has it, that Lakidenda had
been introduced to the court in Palopo by Laduma from Mekongga, then Konawe in the first half of
the nineteenth century for some time sought protection by Luwuq, very probably pushed into this
action by the advances of Bone from the east. This situation, however, would appear not to have
lasted for long, and soon Luwuq was replaced as a political and commercial point of orientation for
Konawe by Ranome’eto and Bone. For, as mentioned before, economic interests forced Konawe,
separated from the west coast and the port of Kolaka by extensive marshes and a steep range of
high mountains covered with dense jungle, to look east, to the Bay of Kendari and the estuaries of
the Konawe and Lasampara, and therefore to Bone. For it was the Bugis from Bone and Wajo who
there ruled the roost and were the principal wholesale buyers of forestry products; if Luwuq’s
action was aimed at counteracting the growing influence of Bone in Konawe, that action can be
judged to have been a failure. After all, Luwuq had not been a match for Bone for some centuries
now. These events place the introduction of Islam to the court of Konawe around the middle of the
nineteenth century.304 But the disintegration of the realm of Konawe into seven virtually
autonomous tobu, which started with the fall of Lakidenda, was the most important feat of arms
301
Matthes, “Beknopt verslag van een verblijf in die binnenlanden van Celebes”, 7.
302
Baden, Raport, 12-13. Ngginoburu, derived from keburu - grave; cf. Mal./Indon.: kubur, mengubur - bury.
303
Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 55; Assistent-Resident, “Nota van toelichting”.
304
According to Baden, “Rapport”, App. I, Sangia Nibandera was the sixth head (and first bokeo) in succession
after the first, legendary Larumpanglangi. The eleventh head (bokeo) was Latambaga, appointed in 1907. His
predecessor, bokeo I Bio, governed only one year (1905-1906). Assuming that the time spent in power by each
of I Bio’s predecessors averaged between 20 and 25 years, Laduma Sangia Nibandera and Lakidenda ruled
about the second quarter of the nineteenth century, see note 212.

which prevented Islam from becoming one of the pillars of the national identity of the Tolaki of
Konawe as early as that.305
3.1.11. Laiwoi and the government

3.1.11.1. The second half of the nineteenth century
Concern about the growing British influence in the maritime South-east Asia was the primary cause
for a revival of the colonial government’s interest in South-east Celebes in the second half of the
nineteenth century. In addition it had the wish to shield the vassal states and trade routes from the
expansion of Bone’s sphere of influence in Mondono, Banggai, Buton and Kendari.306 In 1850
Naval Captain Van der Hart showed the Dutch flag in the waters of East Celebes with two war
ships and visited the Bay of Kendari. In April 1858 the government concluded a “Long Contract”
with the ruler of Ranome’eto and his state council. In 1860 Bone was defeated on the battlefield,
after which it became a “feudal state” (leenroerig land), while a year later Luwuq became an “allied
state” (bondgenootschappelijk land) of the government.307 This ruler of Ranome’eto was Lamango
who has been mentioned earlier; apart from Lamango, the state council consisted of a sapati called
Batuangan,308 a kapitang, the head of the armed forces and administrator of Lasampara, by the
name of Malaka, and a punggawa, called Lapalewo. In 1885 this “Long Contract” was replaced
with an adapted contract, which was signed by Lamango’s son Sao-Sao, who in 1871 had
succeeded his father as a minor,309 and his state council. This (again) decreed that Laiwoi belonged
to the territory of the Dutch East Indies, and that all customs and rules which interfered with free
trade were prohibited.310 In addition Sao-Sao and his state council promised “loyaly, obedience and
subordination” to the government.311 This contract remained in force until 1917. In order to obtain
formal approval from the government in Makassar for his appointment as king of Ranome’eto, and
consequently of the whole of Laiwoi, Sao-Sao had had to sign a document of subordination in 1880,
during a visit by the Governor of Celebes and Dependencies to the Bay of Kendari. The
government had also extracted from him his permission for the establishment of a Roman Catholic
mission station at the Bay of Kendari.312
305
The first ruler of Mekongga who converted to Islam was Laduma (duma - jumat, “believer”). After his death he
received the honorary title of Sangia Nibandera, “the Lord who got a flag”. According to Tarimana a flag was
given to him by Luwuq as token of gratitude for his assistance in a war against Soppeng. Pingak, Dokumenta
Kolaka, 89; Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 53-56, cf. Kruyt, “Reis naar Kolaka”, 692.
306
Kartodirdjo, Ikhtisar, 346-347; Clercq, Bijdragen, sub 1826; Van Vuuren, “Celebes in vijftig jaren”, 332-333.
307
Koloniaal verslag 1858, 14. For Luwuq see Koloniaal verslag 1861, 19; De Indische Gids, vol. 9, I (1887) 758.
308
When Te Bawo became mokole of Ranome’eto, Humo, the son of Tambiha (a nephew of Te Bawo) was
appointed as the new sapati, Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 17.
309
Koloniaal verslag 1875, 23; Idem 1877, 25; Idem 1881, 19.
310
Ibidem, art. 7.
311
“Contract met Laiwoei”, art. 1.
312
Koloniaal Verslag 1881, 19. In October 1885 father Franciscus Ignatius Antonius Voogel S.J. came to live and
work on the Bay of Kendari. His efforts however bore no fruit and he left in September 1887. See “Missie aan
de Kendari-Baai”; “Missie op Celebes”; Vriens, Sejarah, II, 156-158; Van der Velden, De Roomsch-Katholieke
Missie in Nederlandsch Oost-Indië 1808-1908, 204-207; Koloniaal verslag 1888, 18; De Jong, Menjadikan
Segala-galanya Baik, 43-47.

In 1858 Lamango signed on behalf of “Laiwoei”, because the Dutch considered the king and state
council of Ranome’eto, the sarano Ranome’eto, to be those of the whole of Laiwoi. Formally this
was inaccurate. According to the adat, the primacy lay with the state council of Konawe, to which
the one in Ranome’eto was subordinate. But they could hardly do anything else, because
Lakidenda’s death had brought an end to Konawe’s heyday, and there had been no question of a
king of the whole of Laiwoi, the old “federation of states”, ever since Tobouw. It was, however, a
fact that the king and state council of Ranome’eto had no authority whatever in the interior.313
From 1858 there was once again a government official posted to the Bay of Kendari, while an
extraordinary assistant-resident (assistant-resident ter beschikking), who was responsible for
matters of security among other things, made regular inspection visits from Makassar.314 Bone’s
defeat by the Dutch in 1860 and the treaties which had been entered into meant an unwelcome
restriction of their freedom for Daeng Pawata and his Bugis in Kendari. In 1877 the Dutch
appointed a head over them and other foreigners at the Bay of Kendari, with the title of matoa.315
During these years various factors contributed to the end of the claims of Ternate and Bungku to the
region south of Tinde Inia, such as the independent actions of Hadji Tata from 1870, and the
appointment of European government officials in Banggai (1880)316 and Bungku and Mori (1901).
Finally there was the Hassan insurrection against Ternate in North Halmahera in 1875-1876.
Although this insurrection failed, it did result in the sultanate of Ternate becoming more dependent
on the support and protection of the European administration.317 In 1908, six years before the
disappearance of the last Sultan of Ternate, the dominance of Ternate over Bungku, Mori and
Banggai, which had by then lasted for more than 300 years, but had already been in decline for a
number of decades, was formally terminated. The government from then on was the sole authority
there.318
3.1.11.2. 1906-1942
The years of 1906-1909 witnessed the expansion of colonial authority in South-east Celebes. For
some time a guerrilla war was conducted against the Dutch in some areas, as, for instance, in
Wiwirano, where resistance only diminished after 1909. On the whole it remained quiet after this
until the Japanese period, apart from a few minor rebellions, which flared up in some spots. These
were primarily the result of resistance against the programme of concentration of kampongs, the
formalising of indigenous administration, and other governmental measures.319
The region was split up into three subdivisions: Kolaka (popularly known as Mekongga), Laiwoi
(also known as Kendari, from the seat of the administration), and Buton. These were divided into
districts, subdistricts and kampongs. Some re-allocations followed later. As far as the indigenous
313
Vonk, “Memorie”, Preface. Cf. “Contract met Laiwoei”.
314
Koloniaal verslag 1879, 23.
315
316
Koloniaal verslag 1882, 21-22.
317
See Michielsen, “Journaal van D.F.H. Helbach”, about the close contacts of the Dutch Resident at Ternate with
the sultan and his family (1839-1847).
318
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 496-498; Vorstman, “Memorie”.
319
Grubauer, Unter Kopfjägern in Central-Celebes, 143.

administration is concerned these subdivisions were self-governing territories, the former “feudal
states” and “allied states” in a new appearance, largely stripped of their sovereignty. The chairman
of the state council of Mekongga became the self-government administrator (zelfbestuurder) of
Kolaka and retained the title of bokeo. His Laiwoi colleague had the title of raja, but sometimes the
title mokole was used for him as well. Above them there was a hierarchically organised colonial
administration, consisting of (European) assistant-residents stationed in Bau-Bau and Palopo, and
lower ranking civil servants (gezaghebbers and controleurs) in Bau-Bau, Raha on Muna, Kendari
and Kolaka. Police and army units were quartered in strategic locations, as in Kolaka (1907),
Kendari (1907), Bau-Bau (November 1907), Raha (April 1908) and in other encampments and
bivouacs, which might or might not be temporary. The native detachment in South-east Celebes
was under the command of a European officer. Higher ranking government officials were also
predominantly European, while the lower ranking ones, such as (assistant) administrative
employees, office personnel, prison guards, caretakers, kampong police, school inspectors, (most)
government doctors, nurses, vaccinators, interpreters, foresters, and mandoers (supervisors), who
together formed the administrative machinery and personnel of the regions and services, were
sometimes recruited from the local population, and sometimes originated from other regions, such
as North Celebes, Java, the Moluccas and West Timor.320
During the first decades of colonial rule the function of head of a subdivision was usually given to
officers of the East Indies armed forces. The most important reason was that the exercise of
governance and the maintenance of contacts with the population, which was difficult because of the
size of the territory and the fact that it was new and unknown, as well as the specific problems
involved in the subjugation of a semi-nomadic population, happened in the first instance by means
of military patrols.321 In the early years recognition of Dutch authority nearly always had to be
exacted by military means.322 However, once this had happened, most heads adopted a loyal attitude
to the government, if only outwardly. Imprisonment, exile and the burning of homes or gardens
usually soon put an end to disturbances.323
The administrative settlement of Kendari was a nice place to be. The village lay stretched out along
the northern bank of the eponymous bay and had been built up against the hills. Although smaller
than Kolaka, and with less shade provided by trees, it was inhabited even more than other coastal
villages by a medley of people, with the Bugis the largest group of the population. From the hills on
the southern side of the bay one got a beautiful view of the shopping street of Kendari and its white
buildings, among which were the government school, the barracks, the post office, the
pasanggrahan, the dwellings of a few Dutch families and Pasar Street with its more than twenty
shops owned by Chinese and Klingalese.324 The dome of a mosque reached for the heavens, and on
320
Interview with Ishak Mikel Ohyver, Kolaka, 10/7/1992.
321
Heijting, “Memorie”, 6-7.
322
Abendanon, Geologische en geografische doorkruisingen, II, 463; Mailrapporten 1909 (1569, 1633, 1664).
323
324
Klingaleezen of Tamils. See Ferdinandus, “Iets over de Klingaleezen”.

Pulau Panda, a small island in the estuary of the bay, one Chinese had his shop, and his small
trading fleet was also moored there.325
On special occasions, such as the festivities for the Queen’s birthday, which was as a rule
celebrated in August or September, and could last up to a week, and was often combined with a
harvest festival or another indigenous festival, both the indigenous heads with their entourage and
the Bugis notables paid their respects in Kolaka and Kendari. This was to express their loyalty and
gratitude to the generous and beneficent mother country to the heads of the European
administration as representatives of Her Majesty, and to attend the festivities. Some people on that
occasion received an honour for services rendered. For the populace there were the pasar malam,
festivities and markets planned on a grand scale, where school children were also present and
played all sorts of games. Prohibited games of chance (meboto), such as playing at dice or cock
fights were temporarily allowed – not that the prohibition was ever enforced or had any effect – and
at every school Dutch games, such as “zaklopen” (a race made difficult by having one’s feet in a
sack), and ”koekhappen” (bite-the-cake: children, blindfolded, have to try to bite a piece of cake
hanging from a rope) were conducted. And of course the Dutch national anthem was sung
everywhere. Attendance at the official ceremonies was not compulsory, and for many trade,
gardens and fields had priority.326
3.1.11.3. Semi-autonomy. Conflict between Konawe and Ranome’eto

In 1917, together with two other members of the sarano Ranome’eto, the punggawa and the sapati,
Sao-Sao signed a “Short Declaration”.327 Ranome’eto was the last of the semi-autonomous regions
of Celebes and Dependencies to sign. In it the signatories declared among other things to
acknowledge that [their region] formed part of the Dutch East Indies and was therefore governed by
the Netherlands; to be loyal to Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands and the Governor-General
as Her representative; and to refrain from entering into treaties with foreign powers.328 This was a
mere formality, as Sao-Sao’s function remained that of a self-governing administrator (head of the
self-governing authority), which he performed until his death in 1928. He was succeeded by his son
Malaka Arifin Tekaka (*1901, r. 1928-1955), who, after a probationary period of five years, signed
the “Act of Affiliation” (“Acte van Verband”) on 9 November 1933, and who was sworn in as the
new ruler of Laiwoi in Una’aha, the capital of the old realm of Konawe, where Sangia Inato and
Lakidenda Sangia Ngginoburu lay buried, in the presence of the Governor of Celebes and
Dependencies. He was then given, on top of the “ordinary” title of raja Kendari, the honorary title
of sangia Konawe, in addition to that of mokole Laiwoi which he already had, but not that of
mokole Konawe, probably because, given his descent from Sorumba, the least of the three principal
sons of Sangia Inato, his right to this rank was open to dispute and rested entirely on the contract of
Sao-Sao with the government, in which it was decreed that this right became hereditary.329
325
Van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1921]”, ARRZ 2025, 9.
326
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 5/12/1927, ARRZ 2027; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 18.
327
The other two were resp. Rakawula and La Tombili, Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 55.
328
“Overeenkomsten” (1911).
329
Ass. Res., “Nota van toelichting”, 70; Caron, “Memorie van Overgave”, 81; “Proces-verbaal”.

In terms of administration the eastern part of the peninsula formed the subdivision of Laiwoi. With
the subdivisions of Buton, Muna, Bungku and Mori, Luwuk and Banggai it made up the
(temporary) division East Coast of Celebes of the Residency of Manado, which belonged to the
Government of Celebes and Dependencies. The divisional head, the assistant-resident, at first lived
in Luwuk on the western bank of the Peleng Strait, and later in Bau-Bau on Buton. In 1926 Buton,
Muna and Laiwoi, were consolidated into the division of Buton and Laiwoi, under an assistant-
resident in Bau-Bau (who just before the war was relocated to Kendari after an administrative
restructure), and attached to the residency of Makassar. At the same time the subdivision, which
had previously consisted of a number of putobu-ships (subdistricts), as well as a number of outlying
areas, was administratively reorganised into five districts and sixteen subdistricts.330
The indigenous administration of the subdivision of Laiwoi had now been reshaped as an semi-
autonomous region, in which initially, as was to be expected, the representatives of the sarano
Ranome’eto ruled the roost. As with the self-government administration of Kolaka, it acquired a
number of administrative tasks and functions. In the name of the assistant-resident in Bau-Bau it
was advised and supervised by gezaghebbers, controleurs or other heads of local administration
(HPB). Self-government was considered to have roots in the adat – which in this case was only true
to a limited extent. It consisted of a chairman (Sao-Sao, succeeded by his son Tekaka), who lived in
Sadoha, a short distance west of the town of Kendari, and other three members of the realm’s elite:
the sapati, ruler of the Kendari district (called Tanduala, who died in 1944, but replaced by his son
Mali as early as 1924), the punggawa at Abeli (called Rakawula, who died in 1928, but was only in
1947 succeeded by his son Bunggasi; father and son could, however, hardly claim any right to this
rank), and the kapitang of Uepai. The administrative tie between these functionaries and their adat
jurisdiction became less close after the administrative restructure of the 1920s. The self-government
administration was then expanded with a sulemandara, who, together with the (new) kapitang of
Konawe (1922) had to keep alive the memory of the sarano Konawe; the other three members
represented the state council of Ranome’eto. Most of the heads in Konawe felt that this division of
tasks and powers was offensive, since Sao-Sao’s state council was – rightly – considered as no
more than a regional body with limited authority. This new kapitang of Konawe (also: kapitang of
Laiwoi) was Lasandara (born around 1896 and a nephew of Rakawula), who claimed to be a
descendant of Lakidenda and Sangia Inato through his mother’s line. He cleverly took advantage of
the discontent with Ranome’eto. The population of Wawotobi and other places in the Konawe
plains, and particularly he himself, regarded himself as superior in rank to Tekaka, and at a meeting
of heads at the start of 1930 he demanded the position of ruler or king of Konawe. However, when
Tekaka produced the realm’s regalia Lasandara’s claim was rejected.331 Moreover, Lasandra could,
330
This was as follows: Konawe consisted of the districts Wawotobi with ca 2800 inhabitants, Pu’undidaha with
2000, Tongauna with 3000, Abuki with 2300, Latoma with 1800, Uepai with 1000, Lambuya with 4100, total
17.000 inhabitants. Ranome’eto consisted of the districts Kendari with 5500 inhabitants, Lasampara with 3100,
Abeli with 3400, Kolono with 3800, Konda with 3200, total 19,000 inhabitants. Ando’olo consisted of the
districts Ando’olo with 4700 inhabitants and Palangga with 6700, total 11.400 inhabitants. Wiwirano had just
the one district Wiwirano with 2000 inhabitants; Lasolo-Wawoni consisted of the districts Lasolo with 6200
inhabitants and Wawoni with 3800, total 10,000 inhabitants. Vonk, “Voorstel”.
331
Detachment Kendari, “Bijzonderheden betreffende het patrouillegebied”.

because of his subordinate position in the line of descent from Sangia Inato – even if his claim to
this position was correct – in no way claim this highest office, and even his right to the rank of
kapitang was hardly defensible.332 In spite of this, his part in the politics of South-east Celebes was
not played out, not least because of the fact that he and his older and influential brother Aresunggu,
who had the title of anakia Konawe, selected the marriage partners of their children with care.333
As early as 1923 Lasandara had (at the recommendation of Sao-Sao) been appointed as a member
of the self-government and thus, after the war,334 when political tensions mounted, he was the
member with the greatest number of years in office. In addition to this he was virtually the only
person in Laiwoi who had gained experience in national politics. In December 1946 he had been
present at the Denpasar Conference, where the Negara Indonesia Timur (NIT) was set up, and since
then had represented South-east Celebes in the temporary chamber of representatives
(“parliament”) of the NIT in Makassar.335 As well he was a member of the Hadat Tinggi Daerah
Selebes Selatan (Council of South Celebes) on behalf of Kendari, the intended successor of the
residency of Makassar. His discontent with respect to the supposed subordinate position of Konawe
(and himself) led to him having himself proclaimed mokole Konawe (king of Konawe) by his
brother Aresunggu in April 1947, head of the new semi-autonomous self-government of Konawe,
the first mokole since Lakidenda. While he and his brother pretended this to be a cultural
renaissance, as an attempt to restore Konawe to its old glory as centre and bearer of Tolaki culture,
and to show Ranome’eto where the oldest dynastic and political rights were situated, as they said in
their defence during the official investigation, Lasandara’s colleagues in the self-government and
the government saw it in the first place as a “coup”, an attempt to advance Konawe at the expense
of the federation of three new semi-autonomous territories (now called daerah) being established in
South-east Celebes, of which Konawe was one – the other two being Ranome’eto/Kendari and
Kolaka. In 1948 a minor, but significant incident offered the government a welcome argument to
sack Lasandara, who by now had himself addressed as mberiou (majesty), as district head and
remove him from the self-government: he had lodged a complaint, which later turned out to be
incorrect, from a number of kampongs in Palangga about the violent actions of the army, directly
with the resident of South Celebes in Makassar, J. van der Zwaal, bypassing his superior Tekaka,
the chairman of the new federation of the three semi-autonomous territories. This put an end to the
administrative career of Lasandra, at least for the time being.336
332
Van Oosten, “Voorlopige schets”, App. B, assigns him a place in the lineage of Sangia Inato. But it not sure
that is correct.
333
Lasandara himself was married to We Rikati, the daughter of the sulewatang of Wawotobi, Samuale. He
succeeded his father in law in 1918.
334
According to M.J. Gouweloos to Hb NZV, 14/11/1934, ARRZ 2020.
335
In the election for this position he had beaten H. Konggoasa, interview with H. Konggoasa, Kendari, 6/7/1992.
336
“Notulen dari Rapat Zelfbestuur Laiwoei”, 28/12/1948, 8-12; Personalia, 32; De Conferentie te Denpasar, II,
47. Lasandare was not among the candidates at the elections for the NIT-Parliament representing Konawe in
Nov. 1949. H. Konggoasa was elected. He was born in 1920 the son of a low ranking anakia, who was the
village head of Benua Lembo and afterwards, until his death in 1938, deputy district head. H. Konggoasa was
since 1947 HBA at Kendari. He should not be mistaken for the other Konggoasa, son of bokeo Latambaga of
Mekongga, at that time a rebel leader. W.A. Kraijenhoff van de Leur, controleur at Kendari, to AR Buton and
Laiwoi, 20/8/1949, ANRI Mak., NIT Archive 22/3; interview with H. Konggoasa, Kendari, 6/7/1992.

3.1.11.4. The districts up to 1945. Government reforms and resistance

Since Governors A.J. baron Quarles de Quarles (1908-1910) and W.J. Coenen (1910-1913) it was
considered necessary to involve the traditional adat chiefs in the modernised administration, either
as heads of villages and districts and members of the hadat, or as assistants of local administrators,
to act as intermediaries between the government and the population. It was thought that these
officials must be the familiar heads of the population, since heads from outside or those who had
links to the nationalist movement, were hardly ever accepted by the people.337 Thus the new
districts of the subdivision of Laiwoi, constituted in 1926, were administered by heads who had
been appointed by the government in conjunction with the self-government authorities and on the
basis of restricted elections (musyawarah), in which only village heads had a say and were allowed
to vote.
In the 1920s the East Indies administrative reform took place, which rested on the Ethical Policy
(Ethische Politiek) drafted in 1905, and amongst other things was manifest in the taking effect on 1
January 1926 of the Act on the East Indies Polity (Wet op de Indische Staatsregeling, ISS), which
replaced the Government Regulations (Regeringsreglement, RR) of 1854.338 The ISS was to bring
an “immediate form of freedom”, but in fact was an attempt to take the wind out of the sails of both
the awakening nationalist movement, which from 1916 had become more and more radical, in
particular the Sarekat Islam, and communism, by allowing some decentralisation of government.
The principal objective was to preserve colonial authority and to give the Netherlands time to
educate the population to attain a sufficient degree of self-reliance and maturity. And that could
take some time. The vision of A.W.F. Idenburg, Minister for the Colonies (1902-1905, 1908-1909,
1918-1919) and Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1909-1916), and certainly that of H.
Colijn,339 who from 1922 was the leader of the increasingly conservative Anti-Revolutionary Party
(ARP), Idenburg’s party, which under the leadership of A. Kuyper had still supported the Ethical
Policy, was that democracy in the Dutch East Indies had to be realised on a limited scale, and
through local institutions and heads. Someone else later described this procedure in a somewhat
cynical, but not inaccurate way, as the government having to “rule via the adat heads”.340 And this
is what happened. Of a democracy on the Dutch model there could be no question, neither at a
national, nor at a regional or local level.
The difference lay not so much in the removal of the feudal element, which meant that the person
(or family) and his (their) function were not kept apart, and someone’s administrative position
could not be divorced from his social status, as in the counteracting of the concomitant wrongs,
such as corruption and the abuse of power. The new rulers remained members of families who had
a right to a certain function or rank, but, except for the very highest (such as sultan, mokole, bokeo,
sulewatang, sapati and others), they had to be elected from a number of candidates. To all applied
that in the execution of their function they were subjected to rigid rules and strict supervision. That,
at any rate, was the principle, for one authority might be stricter than another. For Celebes and
337
338
Van den Doel, De stille macht, 357 ff.
339
Cf. Colijn,“Staatkundige hervormingen in Nederlandsch-Indië”; Brouwer, De houding van Idenburg.
340

Dependencies this meant, apart from the replacement of the military administration by a civilian
one, the expansion of the number of indigenous administrative assistants, the introduction of semi-
autonomy in Rumbia and Poleang, and the introduction of a new election procedure for lower
indigenous administrators.341 This “emancipation of the indigenous administration”,342 which was
meant to give indigenous administrative employees more say at the expense of the administrative
apparatus as far as it was managed by Europeans, and to bring them closer to the people, was only
ostensibly democratic, and did not affect their position vis-à-vis the people, but on the contrary
strengthened it in comparison with the situation before 1906. Just as the whole of the East Indies,
South-east Celebes remained a part of the realm which was governed autocratically, albeit
somewhat less by European and a little more by indigenous rulers. The conversion of the
relationship nobleman-serf into that of mayor-citizen succeeded only in a very limited way. Nor did
this operation mean that the adat chiefs acquired a lot of room for manoeuvring vis-à-vis the
colonial authorities. This was evident in the lament by the head of a kampong in Poleang in 1931:
“What am I? I no longer have any power. I just have to work on the road and collect taxes. But I
have a semblance of power. The government is everything.”343
Given the conservative, or rather neo-traditionalist, wind which blew ever more strongly through
the corridors of the colonial government, supervision from below of the authority of indigenous
heads and rulers was seen as undesirable. In the first place self-governing authorities were pillars of
the colonial administration. Secondly, semi-autonomic rule was a great deal cheaper than direct
administration. For the rural population in South-east Celebes this meant that it never had political
or administrative clout. It did get a little more room to celebrate its traditional rites and customs
when new chiefs were installed, but this was of no political importance, or possibly only in the fact
that such festivities at times inflamed anti-colonial feelings and led to riots.344
A direct and visible consequence of the revaluation of cultural heritage, in part inspired by the
cultural relativism of the influential Leiden jurist Cornelis van Vollenhoven (1874-1933), was the
investiture in Una’aha of Malaka Arifin Tekaka as the new king, and thus the new self-government
authority in Kendari, in November 1933. This happened in grand style and entirely according to the
adat. It was the first time that this happened in this manner since Lakidenda. Whereas the previous
election regulations had stated that everyone was eligible for the position of village and district
head (except minors and heads who had been dismissed in disgrace or with a conviction), without
including restrictions based on status or birth, the new regulations of 1927 stated that “as candidate
for election may be accepted adult persons who are direct members, or, where this is customary,
members related by marriage, of the families of heads who have traditionally governed the Adat
community.”345 In other words, only members of the lineages of heads were from then on eligible
for indigenous administrative positions. That village heads and district heads were elected did not
341
“Verkiezingsreglement 1927”; Couvreur, “Circulaire no. 2”.
342
Van den Doel, De stille macht, 392.
343
344
Kooreman, “De feitelijke toestand”; Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 10-11.
345
Art. 6, “Verkiezingsreglement 1927”.

alter the fact that the resident or controleur had to give his approval for a nomination or
appointment in all cases. Illiteracy was sufficient reason to reject someone.
This series of administrative reforms, which was supported by, and continued in, the Self-
Government Regulations (Zelfbestuursregelen) of 1938, which enhanced the administrative
autonomy of the self-governing regions at the expense of the central colonial government, came to
an end in 1948 and 1949, when, as part of the conversion of self-governing regions into new
daerah, the last jurisdictions were transferred to the self-governing administrators and the
interference of the central government in Makassar with local governance and appointment policy
(virtually) disappeared. This intervention was met with approval everywhere, except in Kendari,
where the self-government authority Tekaka baulked at so much responsibility.346
What did not change was the basic principle that the heads of districts were elected by village heads
and imams, and village heads by the male villagers – that, at any rate, was the intention, but in
reality family ties and the influence of the district heads and self-government authorities decided
most appointments with the result that governance stayed in the hands of the traditional elites. In
1949 only 25% of all heads of kampongs in South-east Celebes had been elected in free elections.
These heads were bound to terms of office and carried out their tasks under the supervision of the
self-government (daerah) authorities, even though Tekaka was not someone who quickly proceeded
to sack someone in case of poor performance. He was a man of compromise, and inclined to side
with the central government.347
After 1906 most indigenous government officials were prohibited from having additional functions
and income, and traditional adat levies and rights were abolished. Only those of members of the
hadat and district heads were salaried and privileged positions. Kampong heads were not salaried,
and had to be satisfied with 8% of the taxes they collected, the so called collecteloon, for which
“they [had to] wear themselves out, particularly in ladang areas with populations which were
widely dispersed, and keen to hide.”348 The virtually unlimited access heads had to the labour and
possessions of the ata, was replaced in the case of the district and village heads by the right to the
services, called pinonto, of every adult man in their district or kampong, respectively for four and
two days per annum. This formal restriction of their power for that matter did not mean that the
anakia lost their grip on their serfs, for, in the words of Sao-Sao, serfs “were water buffalo without
power of discernment, which in everything merely followed their anakias.”349 Many heads did not
stick to the permitted number of days and got their ata to do more work for them than was allowed.
The installation of traditional heads as the new government officials, one of the most important
aspects of the East Indies governance reform, required greater knowledge of the adat jurisdiction
and its position in society and of the dynastic relationships than the government initially had at its
disposal. This was the reason for controleur Vonk of Kendari to conduct an investigation into this.
However, he had the misfortune to strike as his principal informant and adviser Lasandara, whose
346
“Verkiezingsreglement 1927”; AR Buton and Laiwoi (L. Fontijne) to Res. of van S. Celebes (J. van der
Zwaal), 7/6/1948, ANRI Mak., NIT Archive 46/14.
347
H. van der Klift, “Samenvattend overzicht 1937”, -/3/1938, ARRZ 1937.
348
349
J. Schuurmans, “Bijlage bij Notulen conferentie 26 Juli 1930”, ARRZ 2016; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 48.

advice favoured a reinstatement of Konawe in its former glory.350 On the basis of this investigation
the subdivision of Laiwoi was reorganised several times. The first time this happened was in 1926,
and then again in 1935, when it was divided into two new, larger districts, while at the same time a
reassessment of the adat functions was conducted. One district consisted of a number of fringe
areas in the east, north and south, namely Ranome’eto (which had since 1929 consisted of the
subdistricts of Kendari, Lasampara, Puasia and Kolono), Lasolo, Wawoni, Ando’olo and Palangga,
and came under the authority of sapati Mali, son of Tanduala, even though Tekaka also directly
intervened in this region, while for the other district, which consisted of Konawe, Wiwirano, Rauta
and Asera, and which had Wawotobi as its capital, Lasandara, mentioned earlier, put himself
forward as head and thereby became the most powerful man, although formally he occupied the
lowest position in the self-government structure. According to someone in the know Tekaka and
Mali never interfered with Konawe, so that they alienated this region and gave Lasandara ample
scope to assert himself.351
Although Konawe considered itself the core state and heir of the old glory – and indeed it was –
formally both new districts were of equal status. Each was divided into a number of subdistricts, of
which some, but not all, coincided with the previous putobu-ships. These subdistricts and old
putobu-ships were now put on an equal footing, however much they might initially have differed in
rank and status. These administrative interventions met with strong resistance from the descendants
of the traditional rulers of the realm, who had already been “condemned” to lead a dishonourable
existence as subdistrict head, kampong head, tax collector or private citizen. After the war, the
unrest this created was sufficient reason for a number of rulers of the realm to tolerate the
“nationalist revolution” of Lasandara, one of the heads of Konawe, which had risen again from its
ashes, and Aresunggu. For, after all, Tekaka was a descendant of sapati Sorumba, the third son of
Sangia Inato, via Lamango and Te Bawo, and therefore was at best the equal of, if not subordinate
to, the other rulers of the realm of Konawe.352
3.1.11.5. Administrative redistribution

After the war the administrative reorganisation outlined above was continued, now within the scope
of the formation of daerah of the State of East Indonesia. First of all some regions of the old
Mekongga, namely Kolaka and Solewatu, then the area ruled by the sulewatang ngapa, were cut
loose from Luwuq and added to the division of Buton and Laiwoi, which from then on was called
Buton and Konawe, and the assistant-resident of which lived in Kendari.353 This action restored the
situation which had existed until the mid 1930s, at least as far as the restricted authority of the
hadat of Luwuq over Mekongga was concerned. As regards indigenous governance, a plan was
drafted to divide South-east Celebes into three administrative units: Kolaka, and the districts of
350
Van Oosten, “Pemeriksaan Aresunggu”.
351
Missionary Schuurmans strongly disapproved of the way in which Vonk introduced the administrative reforms,
as he and the military commander were taken in by some corrupt heads, especially Lasandara. J. Schuurmans
to Hb NZV, 15/6/1927, ARRZ 2029; J. Schuurmans, Jaarverslag 1938, -/2/1939, ARRZ 2133.
352
See also note 249.
353
Van Oosten, “Voorlopige schets”, 5; see also note 336; J. Schuurmans to Dir. SZC, 19/3/1947, ARRZ 2022.

Konawe (the interior of Kendari) and Ranome’eto (the coastal area of Kendari) formed in 1935.
Each was to get its own head and self-government authority, and together the three would form a
federation with Tekaka, the self-government authority of Kendari, as raja. It hardly needs to be
stated that because of the rapid political changes at national level which took place in these years,
this plan was never realised.354
Furthermore it was the intention to set up a new system of subdistricts, for which the territories of
the previous putobu-ships were the point of departure, although this should not lead to the
resurrection of old clan relations.355 This was the reason why for the governance of these new style
putobu-ships the old (hereditary) adat function of putobu was not resurrected in Ranome’eto and in
Palangga and Ando’olo along the south coast, since the village and district heads of Palangga and
Ando’olo were originally not anakia, but belonged to the ata. On the contrary, it was the intention
to place them as subdistrict heads in a handful of districts, the governance of which was reserved
for descendants of the five or six (of seven) historical members of the former state council of
Konawe, for whom there was no room in the self-government authority. Study of the history of this
region led the assistant-resident of Buton and Laiwoi, L. Fontijne, to raise Ronga, the young bokeo
of Abuki (in fact the first in Konawe in terms of birth), taking the place of Mali, the sapati of
Ranome’eto, who had resigned in 1947, to sapati for Konawe, Wiwirano, Konawe’eha, Asera and
Lasolo, and Saranani, rightful scion of the sulemandara, to sulemandara of Laiwoi, and to include
both in the “federal” self-government authority. After the war the other members were, apart from
mokole Tekaka, punggawa Bunggasi and Lasandara, who had meanwhile been discharged from his
function as self-government authority of Konawe and transferred to the town of Kendari.356 In
September 1948 the putobu-ship of Laeya (eastern Palangga) was created, and incorporated as
subdistrict in the district of Ranome’eto, under wakil anakia Hadji Umar. Umar lived in
Pu’unggaluku. The rest of Palangga also became a subdistrict and for the time being remained
independent, not incorporated by a neighbouring district. Palangga was the capital and the
subdistrict was governed by an elected head, who was subordinate to a member of the self-
government authority, the punggawa.357
Because of the transfer of sovereignty in December 1949 this series of governance reforms and the
transfer of administrative authority to the dearah bodies, which had already experienced significant
delays because of the unruly times, controversies and family feuds, was never completed. The
formation of the Hadat Tinggi Daerah Selebes Selatan (Council of South Celebes), the coordinating
umbrella body of self-government authorities and daerah councils in South and South-east Celebes
located in Makassar, which was to take the place of the residency, proceeded slowly. The cause of
the delay was the fact that no agreement could be reached on the exact form and size of the separate
daerah.358
354
355
HPB Kendari (contr. W.F.G. van Oosten) to Res. Z.-Celebes, 22/3/1948, ANRI Mak., NIT Archive 89/20.
356
Lasandara was made responsible for the new government office in Kendari. Van Oosten, “Voorlopige schets”,
9.
357
Pemerintah Kerajaan Sendiri of Laiwoi to Res. Z.-Celebes, 15/10/1948, ANRI Mak., NIT Archive 89/20.
358
Min. van B.Z., “Rede”.

Tekaka appears to have shunned the political scene in the Japanese period. He only acted in public
when forced to do so by the Japanese. To assure themselves of his loyalty some of his relatives
were placed under house arrest. Tekaka himself spent some time in prison in the Japanese period,
after which he went into voluntary exile in the interior, in Abeli. After the liberation he was pro-
Dutch – he claimed – and indeed, in January 1946 he received the new controleur of Kendari, G.J.
Wolhoff, most cordially. They shared the same administrative and political vision, and both
rejected in unison the pro-republican proposals and demands of the sulewatang of Kolaka, such as
the hoisting of the red and white flag in Kendari. In this matter they received support from
Lasandara in Wawotobi, who had created a people’s militia of some 100 men there, which was
intended to prevent possible guerrilla actions by the pro-republican Gerakan Merah Putih, the “red
and whites movement”, in the area.359
Lasandara, however, had a dual agenda. Making use of Tekaka’s aloof stance vis-à-vis Konawe and
the fact that the Japanese had no interest in adat matters, Lasandara and Aresunggu took control in
Wawotobi and surroundings and even during the occupation made a start with the restoration – not
of the putobu-ship as administrative unit – but, of the figure of the putobu, beside the existing heads
of subdistricts. Entirely against the plans of the central government in Makassar,360 they aspired to
restore claims to power based on traditional relations of clans, since they wanted nothing to do with
elections. They appointed putobu in areas where these had once existed, but had long since
disappeared, such as in the old realms of Abuki and Uepai, and also in Wawotobi, where Samuale,
Lasandara’s father-in-law, who, it was said, bought this title by paying 40 buffalo skins and one
female slave, became the new putobu. For Lasandara and Aresunggu this was an attempt to tie as
many as possible unemployed and private chiefs to themselves to have a position of strength in the
confrontation with Tekaka and his self-government authority. Aresunggu, who was pensioned off in
August 1945 as the subdistrict head of Konawe (a function in which he made sure he was
succeeded by his son Umar), had himself proclaimed as the chief potubu, the mokole putobu, of
Konawe, a kind of Lord Chief Justice, a totally new function. This made him the second man in
rank in the old kingdom of Konawe, after district head Lasandara, the kapitang Konawe, mokole
Konawe or raja Konawe, as he sometimes – wrongly – had himself addressed.361
The duties, rights and income of Konawe’s new-style putobu were exactly circumscribed, in order
to forestall questions of competence with the Islamic officials, who also had a number of legal
powers. This cost the imams, katib, and their colleagues part of their income, powers and influence
to the benefit of the putobu and their head, Aresunggu. This involved in particular weddings,
divorces, the distribution of estates, and disputes of a civil nature. It was not so much the power of
the putobu to act as judge or mediator that was new, as their right to receive certain levies which
belonged to these – the traditional 10% for divorces, deaths and weddings. If a putobu did not
359
“Notulen dari Rapat Zelfbestuur Laiwoei”, 28/12/1948; see also “Pemeriksaan Mokole Tekaka”, 13/2/1949.
360
“Keterangan ringkas”. Not only the duties, rights and prerogatives of the putobu were established in 1945,
those of the syarat islam were also determined; these entailed: 1. conducting marriages; 2. notification of
divorces and retractions; 3. arranging funerals; 4. collecting the zakat fitrah (charity taxation); 5. dividing
legacies if requested; 6. supervising the correct application Islamic laws. Lasandara, “Losse aantekeningen”.
361
Van Oosten, “Voorlopige schets”, 5-6.

manage to resolve an issue, the matter was referred to Aresunggu and his advisory council, the
Majelis Agama Islam.362 These reforms meant just as many new, or once again erected pillars under
the old feudal Tolaki society. In the new Indonesia after 1950 the putobu remained as chairman of a
semi-democratised, semi-public body of mediation and advice at village level.363
3.2. The west

3.2.1. Political relations. Luwuq
Just as Laiwoi in the nineteenth century had its economic, political and dynastic relations primarily
with Bone, the west of South-east Celebes was for a long time oriented towards Luwuq. Until about
1600 Luwuq, the ancestral home of the Bugis, founded by the mythical Batara Guru, and the birth
place of Bugis culture (beside Bone, Sidenreng and Soppeng364), was the most important state of
South and Central Celebes.365 But even in the course of the sixteenth century, the military, political
and economic centre of gravity of South Celebes began to shift to the south, first to Bone, and
towards the end of that century, to the rising Makassarese double kingdom of Goa and Talloq. The
decline of Luwuq continued and by the end of the nineteenth century it was an insignificant region
from an economic and political point of view; it could only dream of a time that its power extended
as far as Buton and Selayar. As a regional player it only kept limited influence in Central and
South-east Celebes.366
Luwuq argued that at one stage Palu, the region of Poso, Mori, Bungku and Banggai were its vassal
states (palili) in West, Central and East Celebes, but by the end of the nineteenth century only the
first three still maintained connections with Luwuq. Bungku and Banggai no longer did.367
Although Blok and Matthes’s lists of vassal states of pre-Islamic Luwuq368 mention Ware’ (near
Palopo) as its capital, it is more probable that the ancient capital of Luwuq was situated elsewhere,
namely on the estuary of the Cerekang River, in the coastal strip between the villages of Wotu and
362
The duties of a putobu, as determined Lasandara and Aresunggu, comprehended: 1. supervising the correct
application of the adat laws; 2. determining everybody’s pangkat (social status); 3. determining the amount of
the mas kawin (marriage gold) to be paid; 4. arranging funerals; 5. solving disputes about property; 6. the
management of woods and ladangs; 7. supervising the strict application of the pemali negeri (pombadoano
wonua); 8. organising and supervising all adat ritual (pomboko owosi); 9. arranging adat ritual according to
one’s pangkat; 10. solving cases of elopement and kidnapping; 11. supervising the proper settlement of the
consequences of adultery; 12. making sure the proper dances were enacted at adat ritual. If a putobu failed to
solve a conflict or a problem concerning the adat, the matter was to be referred to the Majelis Agama Islam; if
that body could not find a solution, the matter was to be left to the government or the Dept. of Justice.
Lasandara, “Losse aantekeningen”.
363
After 1950 the putobu was the chairman of the village council, the sara wonua (Tol.) The other members were
the pabicara, the hakim, the jaksa and the sudo, the treasurer. Although members were elected (using the
musyawarah-system), they had to be members of prominent families. The village council which was
supervised by the village head, was responsible for a variety of matters, similar to the duties of the pre-war
putobu, see previous note; interview with S. Galukupi e.a. (Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992) 12-13.
364
Adriani, Verzamelde geschriften, I, 48 ff.; Kern, Catalogus, 9. [Blok], “Beknopte Geschiedenis”, 28-50, has his
own genealogy of the rulers of Bone and Soppeng, cf. Van Fraassen, “De positie van Luwu”, 18; for Luwuq
and Sidenreng, cf. Ian Caldwell’s communication in Baruga, 6 (May 1990) 2-4.
365
Matthes, Kort verslag, 37.
366
[Blok], “Beknopte Geschiedenis”, 6; Noorduyn, Kroniek, 68 ff.; Andaya, The heritage of Arung Palakka, 20-
38.
367
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 529-531.
368
A list of the fifteen vassal states of Luwuq in S. Celebes, in Matthes, Kort verslag, 37.

Malili on the northern point of the Gulf of Bone. Wotu, or an older form of this which has now
disappeared, is supposed to have been the language of the aristocracy.369
3.2.2. Luwuq’s sphere of influence in South-east Celebes.

In the epic I La Galiga, which dates from before 1600, Mekongga is already described as an
outlying district of Luwuq.370 According to Blok, who based his account on old Bugis and
Makassarese chronicles in the city archives of Makassar,371 the “jurisdiction” of Luwuq stretched
from Larompong on the west bank of the Gulf of Bone over “the entire south-eastern part [of
Celebes], between the gulf [of Bone] and the eastern beaches of this part of Celebes, as far inland as
the Alfur people would allow them to.”372 This returned in the contract of the colonial government
with the king and hadat of Laiwoi (= Ranome’eto) of 1885, in which it was laid down that in the
west Laiwoi bordered on Luwuq.373 As far as people in Mekongga could remember around 1900,
the administrative border had always been the watershed of Tinondo.374 In practical terms this
meant that Luwuq’s sphere of influence ranged over those peoples and tribes from the Watu Pinohu
mountain range who came to sell their rice, sago and forestry products on the west coast, and, until
the expansion of Bone along the east coast, also over Konawe. In addition some mountain tribes
living along the upper reaches of the Konawe River, and even in the kampongs of Wiau, Kuete,
Lawatu, Asera and Watu-Watu situated further to the north, on occasion paid tribute to Luwuq.
However, this sphere of influence of Luwuq was not undisputed. The appeal of the east coast
reached far, and also made the region west of the line Singgere (Tinondo) and Tawanga (Sanggona)
cast a glance towards the east, the more so because familial ties of the heads of both territories were
significantly closer with Konawe than those with Mekongga. The 1880 military campaigns of
Mekongga against the putobu of Ambapa, who ruled over Singgere and Mambulu, were prompted
by this. Administrative unity certainly did not equate with social cohesion. Half a century later the
eastern part of Mekongga was still a contested area, which escalated because the Dutch in 1921
fixed the border between the subdivisions of Kolaka and Kendari too far to the east.375 In the region
concerned this led to all sorts of problems, among others with respect to the collection of taxes,
sago and rattan rights, and municipal and vassal duties. Sometimes a chief ordered that a kampong
be relocated in order to safeguard traditional rights.
The old, smouldering distrust between west and east flared up again in 1931 when a new district
head had to be elected in Singgere, after the incumbent district head, who belonged to the principal
anakia clan of Konawe, had been sacked by the Dutch. The chairman of the self-government
authority of Mekongga, bokeo Latambaga, ordered the village heads of Singgere to elect his son-in-
369
Sirk, Yu. Kh., communication in Baruga, 2 (May 1988) 10-12; Van Fraassen, “De positie van Luwu”, 2; Kern,
Catalogus, 153-157, mentions Ware, as the location of Sawerigading’s palace.
370
Kern, Catalogus, 204; see also Koolhof, “The ‘La Galigo’ - A Bugis Encyclopedia and its Growth”.
371
Noorduyn, “The manuscripts”, 458.
372
[Blok], “Beknopte Geschiedenis”, 4, 53; “Bijdragen tot de geschiedenis van Celebes”, 226-227; Buddingh,
“Het Nederlandsche Gouvernement”, 420; Baden, “Rapport”, 10.
373
“Contract met Laiwoei”, Art. 2.
374
Sarasin, Reisen, I, 342; Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 1-2.
375
The government assumed that the border between the subdivisions of Kendari and Kolaka would coincide with
the border between the Tomekongga and the Tokonawe as it existed before 1906. Baden, “Rapport”, 1.

law, Latuma’a, to mokole of the district, which was tacitly tolerated by controleur Van Geer – the
other candidate, a son-in-law of the sacked mokole, was about to become a Christian, and
Latambaga did not want such a person on any account.376 Although in this way he succeeded in
forcing back the influence of Konawe in his territory, his victory was short-lived. Not much later
Latuma’a was replaced by Abdulkarim, a scion of the ruling anakia family of Konawe.
A similar situation existed in Mambulu, the anakia of which were also related to those of Konawe,
and where the function of mokole was more than once claimed by Konawe. The region was
inhabited by the Toairi, a Tolaki people who, according to tradition, were descended from an
anakia woman from Konawe, called Weairi. To avoid an arranged marriage she had left Konawe,
accompanied by a number of faithful supporters,377 and settled along a river later called Iwoi Airi
after her, in the region where the borders of Mekongga, Rumbia and Poleang met, in the forested
foothills of the Mendoke mountain range. She had founded some settlements, among which were
Lambandia, Mekupa, Penanggo and Wonuambuteo. However, the Toairi did not have a peaceful
existence; they constantly felt the hostility of the Tolaki in the north and of the Tomoronene in the
south. For this reason a number, about 30 families, fled to Rarowatu in Rumbia, an area then still
called Olo Watu and inhabited by the Toraro Matapilo, the descendants of a certain Matapilo.378
Another group of them settled along the Bay of Mekongga. From 1909 the remaining people were
ordered by the government to leave the mountains and they constructed new villages in the north of
Mambulu, such as Rate-Rate and Poli-Polia, and in the south of Kendari. Since they were nomadic
and people who cherished their freedom they experienced problems with the ruling elite in their
new settlements.379
In terms of economics the orientation of a large part of Mekongga towards the east coast meant that
in the three quarters of a century before 1950 a significant part of the export of forestry products
went through Kendari and Muara Lasampara, which was to the detriment of the regional treasury of
Kolaka. On the other hand it became obvious from this that the economic importance of an easily
navigable Konawe river over as large a part as possible of its length was very great; because of this,
in the most dangerous spots, as near Pu’uhara, boulders were removed from the river as early as in
1912, not merely to drain the A Opa and Koloimba marshes, but also to facilitate the transport of
forestry products on rafts.380
3.2.3. Luwuq: tribute and trade; Bugis

The Bugis had little respect for the mountain dwellers, who were mostly clad in bark cloth or
woven grass fibre loin cloths. For a long time only the Tolaki elite along the coast could afford
376
377
A source from 1931 has it that this flight occurred 400 years earlier, i.e. during the first half of the sixteenth
century. H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 3/10/1931, ARRZ 2019; but see also Zendingsblad voor de Classis
Rotterdam der Ned. Herv. Kerk, nr. 237, jan. 1936.
378
Interview with Rasami (Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 2-3.
379
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 36-37; H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 22/6/1926 ARRZ 2027; H. van der Klift to Hb
NZV, 28/6/1923, ARRZ 2025.
380
Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 193-194.

imported cotton clothing and other luxury items.381 Every few years heads paid their respects at the
court in Palopo,382 accompanied by the mencara ngapa of Mekongga, an official appointed by
Luwuq.383 They brought tribute and gifts in the form of slaves, rice, weapons, beeswax, chickens,
and other matters, as did the neighbouring peoples in North Laiwoi and Central Celebes. New heads
received their appointment from the hadat of Luwuq. Sometimes Luwuq imposed fines, and the
Tolaki had to perform court duties in Palopo, and had to provide warriors for Luwuq’s wars and
marauding expeditions.384
Roughly until the mid nineteenth century Luwuq controlled trade along the west coast of South-east
Celebes. Prahu which called in on the Bay of Mekongga or other ports along the west coast without
permission of the datu of Luwuq in Palopo were confiscated, with their payload falling to the
population and any firearms which were on board to Luwuq.385 Even passengers and crew of vessels
which had run aground could become victims of the rights of wreck, something that happened as
late as 1883 to two Chinese ships and their crew. All were beheaded. The government fined Luwuq
for this act, and forced it to put an end to such practices, although this action did not have much
effect.386 All this could not hide that Luwuq’s authority in Mekongga was by now in decline. This
was related to several factors. Due to the rise of Bone the role of Luwuq as regional super power
had long since been played out. In addition it was faced with a decrease in population in its own
region,387 while along the coasts of Mekongga the number of colonists from Bone, Sinjai, Makassar,
Enrekang, Wajo, Mandar, Sadang Toraja, the Eastern Districts of South Celebes and elsewhere
began to increase significantly, a process which started around 1860 or 1870. These migrants left
their home land, which was faced with a sharp increase in population and, as a result of this, less
available land for agriculture, and in Mekongga supplanted the Bugis from Luwuq already living
there, who mainly withdrew to Kondeha and Lelewau.388
The Bugis in Mekongga came under the authority of the sulewatang ngapa, an official seconded by
Luwuq to the state council of Mekongga, and who was also entrusted with the administration of
justice under its authority.389 He was responsible to the mencara ngapa. He represented Luwuq’s
authority in Mekongga and supervised the payment of tribute to the court in Palopo. The Bugis paid
their taxes to him. As a consequence of the rivalry between Bugis living in Mekongga who
381
Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 66-67; Van Braam Morris, “Het Landschap Loehoe”, 544.
382
383
I.e. the mencara or mencyara of the ngapa Mekongga. The ngapa Mekongga was the administrative unit of
South-east Celebes as far as it was ruled by Luwuq. It comprised the western part of the peninsula, stretching
from Poleang in the south to Malili in the north. According to Matthes mencara or mencyara was an old Bugis
title given to a member of the nobility, later called jennang (or jenang), cf. Adatrechtbundels, XVII, 251.
Grubauer, Unter Kopfjägern in Central-Celebes, 70, speaks of mencaran. The representatives of Bone in Tojo
were the jenang, Van Geuns, “Memorie”, 15-16.
384
Adriani, “De invloed”; Kern, Catalogus, 193, noot 1.
385
Adriani, Verzamelde geschriften, I, 54; Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 72.
386
Koloniaal verslag 1887, 14-15; Idem 1988, 17.
387
Koloniaal Verslag 1870.
388
389
Sulewatang - “representative of the fountain”, i.e. of the datu and the sultan. In Bone all members of the hadat,
the aru pitu (seven rulers), each had a sulewatang (representative), Bakkers, “Het Leenvorstendom Boni”, 71-
72.

originated from Luwuq and Bugis from Bone, a kingdom which around 1900 under Sultan La
Pawawoi Karaeng Sigeri Matinroe ri Bandung (*1835; r. 1895-1905) was about to be at war with
the Dutch, the sulewatang ngapa depended on protection and support of the Dutch.390
3.2.4. Luwuq, Mekongga and the government.

In the nineteenth century contacts between Makassar and Mekongga usually went via Luwuq.
Direct trade relations between the two did not exist, and Dutch ships too were unknown there until
Vosmaer’s visit to the Bay of Mekongga (called by him Baaikonka) in early 1833. At any rate no
one could remember a Dutch ship ever having called in at Mekongga.391 In September 1861 the
datu and the state council of Luwuq signed a contract with the colonial government, as Bone had
done a year earlier. This made Luwuq, and Mekongga with it, an “allied state” of the government.
This was repeated in September 1887, and was followed on 15 September 1888 by the signing of an
“Act of Confirmation” (Acte van Bevestiging) by the ruler of Luwuq. On this occasion a Governor
of Celebes and Dependencies visited Mekongga for the first time.392
With the subjection of large parts of Celebes after 1900, and the signing, after a fierce battle, of the
“Short Declaration” by the Queen of Luwuq, We Kambo Opu Daeng ri Sompa, Mekongga,
Kondeha, Lapai, Tongauna, Watumendonga (or Konawe’eha), and other parts of South-east
Celebes up to the Latowu River in the north, were united in the subdivision of Kolaka and
incorporated into the new division of Luwuq in 1907.393 This meant that the assistant-resident in
Palopo, the administrative capital of Luwuq, was the superior of the government official in Kolaka,
the new administrative settlement. The population of Mekongga felt that the Christian Netherlands
took over power from Islamic Luwuq. This period lasted about 40 years.
3.2.5. The Tomekongga and others

The Tomekongga, as the Tolaki west of Konawe were sometimes referred to before the war, were
divided into a number of clans each with its own head, sometimes a mokole (a head of aristocratic
descent), or if such a person was not available, as happened with some of the groups living in the
mountains, a commoner became head, the tonomotuo. Until the beginning of the twentieth century
the residence of the most important heads of Mekongga was Wundulako, a kampong south-east of
Kolaka.394 By means of marriages, cunning and violence they managed to increase their sphere of
influence to Lelewau in the north, something that, according to tradition, happened particularly
since the reign of Melange Sangia Lombo-Lombo, grandfather of Laduma. According to Pingak,
Melange was the person who had determined the adat law (pohuku) of Mekongga.395
390
Baden, “Rapport”, 20; Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 257; Sarasin, Reisen, I, 342; Abduh, “Perlawanan”, 3.
391
Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 70-74; “Het eiland Celebes volgens de togten en ontdekkingen van Jacques
Nicolas Vosmaer”, 285-287.
392
393
Before WW II the division of Luwuq consisted of six subdivisions: Palopo (where the Assistant- Resident was
stationed), Masamba, Malili, Kolaka, Rantepao and Ma,kale. This too was altered in 1949, cf. Kadir, Sejarah,
71-81; Hadimuljono, Sejarah, 73; Baden, “Rapport”, 7-8.
394
395

Many stories and legends exist about the history of the Tomekongga clans, but little is known for
certain. The names of the heads and their descendants leave ample room for uncertainty, or are
demonstrably incorrect, in spite of the genealogies which were constructed in later times. On the
whole such genealogies, just like the myths and legends about the origin of a community and in
particular its elite, served to legitimise the existing balance of power and claims to the throne. From
the 1920s they offered the government a tool to put an end to the conflicting claims of the various
pretenders. In this way it was sometimes possible to facilitate the appointment of members of the
self-government authorities and lower heads, or to give them legitimacy in the eyes of the
population.396
In the eighteenth century the authority of the head of Mekongga probably did not reach much
further eastwards than the slopes of the Mendoke and Watu Pinohu mountain ranges, and to the
south no further than Pomala’a. Without a doubt the armed expedition of Luwuq against Konawe,
which must have taken place not long after Vosmaer’s visit to Mekongga, would have enhanced the
prestige of the head of Mekongga. Although for a number of clans servitude to Luwuq was not
equivalent to recognition of the head of Mekongga as their overlord – as was the case with the
Tolaiwoi in the basin of the Lasolo, who were hostile towards Mekongga, but did pay tribute to
Luwuq – Luwuq liked to use its vassal states to expand its sphere of influence or call rebellious
clans to order. The punitive expedition against Konawe was not the only example of this. Around
1880 the then bokeo of Mekongga (probably Sipole), supported by troops from Luwuq, forced
Tondowatu, the head of Ambapa, Lasalawatu and Tinondo, in the border area with Konawe, into
submission by means of arms. The provocation was that Tondowatu refused to pay tribute to
Mekongga and, assisted by Konawe, even went there on headhunting and predatory raids from time
to time. Tondowatu, who was related to the ruling inoa dynasty of Asaki, and who was the
grandfather of the ruler who was mokole of Singgere in 1925, had even erected an earthen
fortification at Kasuwideke, which in emergencies was manned by warriors equipped with canons,
blunderbusses, flint rifles and all manner of spears, knives and swords.397 But these were no match
for the modern arms and tactics of the Bugis. The price of peace was high: Tondowatu had to pay a
war tribute of 30 water buffalo. However, the servitude of Singgere to Mekongga exacted in this
way existed more in name than in reality, and did not prevent Tondowatu’s son, Manggurani, from
becoming mokole of Lambuya.398
At approximately the same time Mambulu was also forced into submission by means of arms,
probably not for the first time. A few anakia subsequently supervised Tinondo and Mambulu on
behalf of the ruler of Mekongga. In Mambulu this was Robe, a grandson of Laduma. These small
tribes, which before had looked east rather than west, were now subordinate to Mekongga, which
itself was subordinate to Luwuq.399
396
See note 212.
397
The weaponry of the Tolaki is discussed by Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 4-5; Kruyt, “Een en ander over de To
Laki van Mekongga (Zuidoost-Selebes)”, 470, n. 15.
398
Baden, “Rapport”, 6; this was probably the same military expedition as the one mentioned by Slabbekoorn,
“Memorie”, [35]-[36].
399

3.2.6. The heads of Mekongga

As a result of this expansion of territory and the presence of many Bugis along its coasts,
Mekongga was the most populous region of the western part of South-east Celebes. It comprised
the later (colonial) districts of Mekongga, Singgere (Tinondo) and Mambulu (Rate-Rate). The
introduction of the titles of bokeo and mokole owose, which were supposed to have been used for
the first time by Laduma, the scourge of Konawe, symbolised the imperialism and increased power
of Mekongga vis-à-vis the other heads in the region.400 The creation of the state council or sara
owose of Mekongga is also connected with this. According to tradition this went back to
Teporambe Sangia Nilulo, who must have ruled not long after 1800, and who gave each of his five
sons a function in the governance of the state before his death. Laduma in Wundulako became
bokeo, a new position which could be described as chairman of the sara owose. Wa Sangka Sangia
Omore became kapitang. He settled in Balangtete and was given the task of organising the defence
of the eastern part of the Gulf of Bone against raids by the feared Tobelorese and other pirates, in
cooperation with the Bajos and the court of Luwuq. Tabutoalo Sangia Ninuburu became pabicara,
who administered justice together with the bokeo, supervised weddings and the payment of tribute
to Luwuq, and the cultivation of the gardens of the bokeo. As a reward for this he received part of
the profit. He lived in Epe, where the population provided for him. Tabenua Sangia Kolaka became
sapati, who, from his residence in Sakuli, situated on the estuary of the eponymous river close to
the kampong of Kolaka, collected import and export duties and caught and punished criminals. The
fifth was Tabandera Sangia Powuta, who became anakia putobu of Woime’eto with the right to
have the population of the kampong cultivate his gardens.401 All these officials had certain
additional privileges, such as the right to carry arms, to be accompanied by armed body guards and
being exempted from paying tax. In the Dutch period some kept the right to such services, and they
received a fixed percentage of the taxes collected by them for the Dutch.402
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries other prominent heads in Mekongga were the mokole
of Tangabili, Lapai, Kondeha, Lelewau just across the border in Malili, Latowu and Batunong, as
well as the putobu of Ambapa, some of whom lost some of their power and prestige as a result of
the diminishing influence of Luwuq.403 And one should not forget to mention the notorious Pombili,
a member of a powerful clan in Konawe, “with his unpleasant face and burning hatred for
everything that was white, who had so much influence because of his rudeness and big mouth.”404
After 1906 the Dutch nevertheless appointed him as district head of Latoma, but on more than one
occasion he was imprisoned and exiled, first to Makassar (about 1912) and later to Java, for the last
time in 1920, when he was made to do forced labour in Bandung for 10 years. However, this hardly
undermined his authority. Once he had returned to South-east Celebes he was considered a widely-
travelled man and enjoyed the prestige of a man of the world. He had acquired magical powers on
400
Pingak, Dokumenta Kolaka, passim; Baden, “Rapport”, App. I. Cf. note 212.
401
Baden, “Rapport”, 17-18. Slightly different in Pingak, Dokumenta Kolaka, 167-168.
402
Wieland, “Memorie”, [4]; Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, 257; Baden, “Rapport”, 17-18; “Een brief van Br. v.d.
Klift”, Zendingsblad, nr. 25 (1 mei 1918 ) 2.
403
Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 19-20.
404
D. Kok, “Onze vestiging te Sanggona op Z.O.-Celebes”, 1920, ARRZ 2028; Van Oosten, “Voorlopige schets”,
1-3.

Java: he asserted that he was invulnerable to bullets and invisible to his enemies.405 Moreover,
Pombili who by preference spoke Malay and dressed in the way Javanese grandees did for festive
occasions, with a Javanese headcloth, in a loose blue worsted coat and a blue sarong, had on Java
converted to Islam, and on his return he fervently propagated his new religion.406 After World War
II he was for one person a hero and shining example, one of the first nationalists of South-east
Celebes, for another he was a great friend of the missionaries, particularly Van der Klift, for a third
person he was no more than one of the last headhunters of South-east Celebes.407
Around the turn of the century one of the most influential adat heads outside the state council was
an anakia called Ingaru, who was originally from Singgere, but who had settled on the coast.
Because of his poor health he did not have an administrative function in the Dutch period. He owes
his fame not just to the fact that he was one of the few Tolaki who could read and write lontara’,
the Bugis script, but especially to the fact that he knew most about the adat and was always
consulted in matters which involved the adat.408
3.2.7. Mekongga and Luwuq after 1900

With the establishment of Dutch governance around 1906-1907 the subordination of the western
part of South-east Celebes to Luwuq disappeared. In fact the government had had the opportunity to
impose restrictions on the economic and political power of Luwuq and Mekongga from 1861, but it
seems to have made hardly any use of it. After 1907 the region was transformed into the
subdivision of Kolaka, with a self-government authority and seven districts.
The first district head of the area between Rate-Rate and the Mendoko mountain range was Sangia
Nibandera, a son of Robe and great grandson of Laduma, the sixth king of Mekongga. The area was
also given a new name: Mambulu. Later this was officially changed to Rate-Rate, but Mambulu
also continued to be used, among other things in the title of the district head: mokole Mambulu. In
contrast to the population around them, the great majority of the Toairi of Rate-Rate and the nearby
village of Poli-Polia, the main villages of the district, wanted nothing to do with Islam, which they
associated with the pushy anakia of Konawe. A number of them therefore opened their minds to
Christianity.409
From the start, descendants in (more or less) direct line from Larumpalangi were appointed to the
position of chairman of the new self-government authority of Mekongga (Kolaka).410 They had the
title of bokeo. In 1907 the position was filled by Latambaga, the eleventh in succession. The Dutch
abolished the positions of pabicara, anakia putobu, sapati and mencara ngapa, and where
necessary replaced them with bureaucratic services. Only those of bokeo, kapitang and sulewatang
405
Baden, “Rapport”, 4-5; Hartsteen, “Memorie”,19; Kruyt, “Een en ander over de To Laki van Mekongga
(Zuidoost-Selebes)”, 445; D. Kok, “Onze vestiging te Sanggona op Z.O.-Celebes”, 1920, ARRZ 2028; idem to
Hb NZV, 10/7/1920, ARRZ 2028.
406
H. van der Klift, “Onderzoekingsreis door een deel van Mekongga”, 15/7/1920, ARRZ 2025.
407
Interview with Parenda (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 8.
408
Wieland, “Memorie”, [9].
409
Baden,“Rapport”, 5; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 35.
410
See note 212.

ngapa continued to exist and their authority was even expanded.411 The figure of the tonomotuo as
commoner village head disappeared in favour of an elected village head – to return in the 1930s in a
slightly altered form. To ensure that the territory of the new subdivision overlapped with that of the
self-government authority as much as possible, the latter was expanded to include Singgere and
Mambulu (Rate-Rate), two regions which used to take up a position independent of Mekongga, as
well as Tawanga, Kondeha, Watumendonga (Konawe’eha) and Lapai in the north.412
As part of the governance reforms in the East Indies, which had the objective of strengthening the
traditional governance structure, at village level in Mekongga the offices of tonomotuo, pabicara
and sapati (or sudo) were re-established, where necessary. This happened during a ceremony in
Mowewe at the end of April 1937, an occasion when even two Christians were elected to the
positions of respectively tonomotuo and sapati of Mowewe. The duty of the new pabicara was the
arbitration of minor disputes between village inhabitants, the sapati prepared for the reception of
distinguished visitors, while the tonomotuo, the most prominent of the three, received these visitors
ceremonially on behalf of the village community, and presented them with the matters to be
discussed. Although formally these were separate functions, as a rule they arranged these matters
together. In so far as it concerned questions of the adat, and only in such matters, they formed the
new village administration, the syarat kampong. As in Konawe, this arrangement was maintained
here after 1950.413
In some places an official with the title of kapitang still existed, where he only had local
significance, as in Simbune. What this title had signified originally was no longer known locally,
but that it had to do with the conduct of war and defence of the realm seems likely.414
3.2.8. Kolaka
Until the arrival of the Dutch the kampong of Kolaka was a humble, impoverished fishing village
predominantly inhabited by Bugis. From that time on it rapidly expanded. In 1916 it had around
1000 inhabitants, chiefly fishermen and traders, as well as a few Tomekongga. The kampong with
its neat gravel roads, neat houses and well-maintained yards made a favourable impression on
someone who visited it in 1921, although it was not a healthy place because of its hot and humid
climate.415 It had a mosque, one of the oldest in the country, a prison, a smart school, a reasonably
equipped pasanggrahan, and military barracks. In addition civil servants and more highly ranking
military men and their families lived in Kolaka. The indigenous employees came from West Timor,
the Moluccas and North Celebes, a total of some forty people. Most of them were members of the
Malay parish of the Protestant Church in the Dutch Indies.
As in Kendari, the regional head in Kolaka was charged with the supervision of the self-government
authority and the district and village heads, as well as the election of indigenous officials and the
performance of their duties. He also supervised the Bugis and appointed or sacked the sulewatang
411
Baden, “Rapport”, App. Il; Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [52].
412
Baden, “Rapport”, 18-19; Contr. Kolaka to AR Luwu, 10/3/1925, ANRI Mak., Celebes Archive 6/1.
413
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 3/5/1937, ARRZ 2022; see note 363.
414
415
M. Lindenborn, “Verslag van mijn reis naar Zuidoost-Celebes, April-Mei 1921”, ARRZ 1827.

ngapa. The latter, dismissal, occurred in 1907 or 1908 to sulewatang La Makawaru Daeng Paraga,
because of his too close interference with the internal affairs of Mekongga, which he exerted
through his bother-in-law, bokeo Latambaga (this man had five wives, the second of whom, I
Mbanua, was a sister of Daeng Paraga). This was the reason why gezaghebber G. Wieland
dismissed Daeng Paraga. For the rest Wieland was not dissatisfied with the loyalty of the heads and
the rest of the population. Apart from a few “prayer sessions” which had got out of hand, by which
he meant certain sacrificial ceremonies of the Tolaki during which they performed war dances, and
some unrest during and in the first years after the end of WW I, which had chiefly blown over from
South Celebes,416 there was hardly any question of overt resistance against the Dutch presence.417
Compared with Halmahera and South and Central Celebes, which in these years were the setting of
a number of insurgencies, raids, round-ups, and shootings, during which a controleur was
assassinated (Halmahera, September 1914), a mission station in Halmahera was closed,418 and the
house of a guru of the Protestant Church was shot at (Barung, Mamasa, August 1915),419 South-east
Celebes was, but for a few incidents and minor rebellions, a model of order and peace.420
In 1918 the mission got involved in matters of governance. In this year missionary Hendrik van der
Klift urged Governor W. Frijling (1916-1921) to remove the sulewatang ngapa from South-east
Celebes, because he had shown himself to be a forceful opponent of his presence. According to Van
der Klift Frijling was “a man of liberal principles, but from a political point of view very favourably
disposed towards the mission”421 and ever since their meeting at Weltevreden (Java) in February
1916, when Frijling was still advisor to the central government, Van der Klift had kept good
relations with him.422 Frijling did not accede to this request. The sulewatang, a Bugis, had
meanwhile become an indispensable link in the colonial government. The importance of his
position reflected the economic and political significance of the Bugis community in Mekongga as
a whole. In 1924 the sulewatang and the kapitang were even involved directly in the regional
administration. Each received his own jurisdiction: the kapitang was assigned the southern part of
the Kolaka district up to Towari on the border of Poleang, while the sulewatang was given the
northern part of Kolaka and the Kondeha district because of the large number of Bugis in the area.
On top of this the sulewatang was charged with some matters of governance which affected the
whole of Mekongga, such as the preparation of the census of 1930. All this was under the
responsibility of the self-government authority.
However, the self-government authority of Mekongga functioned badly. Bokeo Latambaga was a
sickly old man (he died in 1933) and moreover he had moved from Wundulako to Balangtete, near
Kolaka, on the coast, with the result that he had lost touch with the interior. He was still under the
impression that the mokole of Singgere and Mambulu were more or less independent district heads
416
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 15; cf. H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 24/7/1934, ARRZ 2020.
417
418
“De troebelen in Djailolo, (Westkust Halmahera)”.
419
Heijting, “Memorie”, 42.
420
Wieland, “Memorie”, [8]-[9]; Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 257; Baden, “Rapport”, 19; Slabbekoorn,
“Memorie”, [38], [56]; Mailrapporten 1912, (928, 23/7/1912), Toelichting bij begroting van de Landschappen.
421
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV te Rotterdam, 28/4/1916, ARRZ 2025.
422

over whom he had no authority, and his authority over the interior was therefore still as slight in the
mid 1920s as it had been before the Dutch intervention in government matters. Part of this territory
had de facto fallen into the hands of the inoa of Asaki, an important man in Konawe and a relative
of the putobu of Ambapa. In order to remedy this, the bokeo was charged with the administration of
the districts of Kolaka, Singgere and Mambulu in 1924, which meant that not merely the district
head of Kolaka, but also his colleagues in Singgere and Mambulu were accountable to the bokeo of
Mekongga.423 After a few more alterations the situation in 1932 was such that the self-government
authority controlled the district heads of Lelewau, Kondeha, Lapai, Konawe’eha, Tawanga,
Singgere (Tinondo) and Mambulu (Rate-Rate).424
3.2.9. Changes of administration; Luwuq’s influence

3.2.9.1. Demographic relations in Mekongga
But even after this the sarano Mekongga did not function satisfactorily. The cause of this was the
demographic relations of the subdivision, in particular in the coastal region. The register of taxation
of the Kolaka district for 1937 mentions no less than 3002 Bugis who were taxed, as against 4965
Tolaki subject to taxation; in addition there were 1119 Toraja (whose place of origin in South and
Central Celebes also came under the jurisdiction of the state council of Luwuq) who were taxed, as
well as 150 Tomoronene, 146 Bajos and 137 Toairi: almost as many migrants as indigenous
members of the community.425
3.2.9.2. A solution
The Bugis in Mekongga did not accept a Tolaki as their head, and on the other hand the influence
the Bugis had on governance and daily life in Mekongga was a thorn in the side for many Tolaki,
among whom was the old bokeo family. This situation forced the government to intervene. The
solution consisted of two parts. The first part consisted of a change in the composition of the
administration, in the sense that the Bugis element was strengthened. This was achieved by some
new appointments and reforms. The first appointment was that of I Nduma as bokeo of the sarano
Mekongga, in 1935. He was related to bokeo Latambaga who had died in 1933, and had close
family ties with Luwuq, because his mother was a sister of the sulewatang ngapa. The second
appointment (1936) was that of a son of a former sulewatang ngapa, a Bugis from Luwuq, to
sapati, a position which was now reinstated. In addition to these measures, the powers of the
sulewatang ngapa, and the newly established hadat ngapa under his chairmanship, were enlarged
while those of the sarano Mekongga were restricted.426
To support these arrangements some territorial redivisions took place which had the aim of
strengthening the hold of Luwuq on the Bugis along the coast, and on the other hand of restoring
423
Baden, “Rapport”, 18-19.
424
Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [13], [52]; Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 19-25.
425
Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 1, 8, 21, 23, 25; the Bugis lived predominantly in the districts of Kolaka and
Patampanua, the Toraja in Patampanua.
426
Resident Celebes and Dependencies, “Bestuursorganisatie in Kolaka. De hadats”; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 37;
cf. [Adriani], “Mededeeling van Dr. Adriani over vorstenbestuur”.

the authority of the sarano Mekongga in the interior, and to counteract the claims of Konawe to
territory of eastern Mekongga. To this end Mekongga was divided into two spheres of influence.
The western district of Lelewau was joined with Kodeha district and part of Lapai into the new
district of Patampanua, which was given a Bugis as head. He was accountable to the hadat ngapa.
Five other districts, i.e. the rest of Lapai, Konawe’eha, Mambulu, Tawanga and Singgere, which
were located in the interior, were reduced in status to subdistricts, and combined to form the new
district of Solewatu, with the new kapitang of Mekongga, and the third new member of the sarano
Mekongga, Pu’uwatu Raeyati as head. Although the first three subdistricts kept their own mokole,
who carried out day-to-day administrative duties, the governance of both new subdistricts of
Singgere and Tawanga was handed over to Pu’uwatu, the only member of the sarano Mekongga
who had no family ties to the Bugis.427
Pu’uwatu, a distant relative of the bokeo family of Mekongga, was a former district head of
Lambuya and belonged to one of the most prominent anakia families of Konawe. He lived in
Mowewe and was, according to his fellow villager, missionary Van der Klift, a “very active and
sensible man”,428 that is to say pro-Dutch, educated in the Western sense, no overt opponent of the
mission, and passionate about good education for the people – he was the person who in 1926
managed to persuade missionary Schuurmans to settle in Lambuya, solely with an eye to the
schools he would establish.429 He was also a Muslim; he had only been this for a few years, and
besides he was moderate. And finally, he was no friend of Luwuq. Governance of the interior of
Mekongga, the region where the mission had its strongest following, was assigned to him.
The government in Makassar instructed the hadat of Luwuq in Palopo to take a greater interest in
the affairs of Mekongga. In this respect the sulewatang ngapa in particular received greater powers.
At set times members of the state council of Luwuq were sent to Kolaka, among other matters to
collect taxes and to impart information about matters of governance, something that had not
happened within living memory. The result of these changes was that Luwuq’s influence in
Mekongga increased and with it the influence of Islam, which could be seen from the building of
new langgar (prayer houses) and mosques. The Tolaki population felt that Mekongga was
increasingly becoming an outlying district of Luwuq. This became obvious when the queen of
Luwuq died in 1935. The heads of Mekongga had to attend her funeral, and her son and successor
Andi Jemma (*1901; r. 1935-1965) visited Kolaka in January 1936, accompanied by the whole
state council of Luwuq and the assistant-resident. All heads had to swear the oath of allegiance to
the new datu in the mosque of Kolaka. After this the company travelled through a part of the
subdivision to receive the obligatory homage and congratulations from the people. This had, as far
427
There were two mokole of Singgere and Tawanga: one was appointed as juru tulis (secretary) to the kapitang,
the other by the name of Albert Rumono was demoted to become a mantri of agriculture. H. van der Klift to
Hb NZV, 4/1/1936, ARRZ 2021.
428
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 3/12/1935, ARRZ 2021
429

as people could remember, never happened before. Some had the feeling they were suddenly
residents of Luwuq.430
3.2.9.3. The succession of Latambaga

The succession of Latambaga by I Nduma happened contrary to the adat and had been accompanied
by exceedingly fierce conflicts, intrigues and insinuations. To meet the grievances of Laloasa, one
of the sons of Latambaga passed over in 1935 for the position of bokeo of Mekongga,431 to some
extent, as well as the grievances of, amongst others, the mission, against the strong influence of
Luwuq in Mekongga, I Nduma was succeeded in March 1947 by Pu’uwatu Raeyati. Konggoasa,
who was inclined towards a republic, had been intended to be Pu’uwatu’s successor as kapitang,
but he was never appointed – it was the time of the formation of the daerah, against which
republicans were vehemently opposed. This administrative game of musical chairs came to an end
on 1 August 1949, when all administrative powers of the (former) colonial government in Kolaka
were handed over to the self-government authority in Luwuq.432
3.3. The south-west

3.3.1. Two kada
According to an old kada (legend) the ancestors of the Tomoronene came from overseas with their
ships, under the leadership of their patriarch, La Pao, from the place where the sun rises, called
mata oleo. After having visited Kabaeno, they settled on the south-west coast of South-east
Celebes, then still an uninhabited territory. In time they recognised the son of a king from Luwuq,
called Haluoleo (according to another version Haluoleo came from Konawe) as their lord. After
Haluoleo’s death his two sons disputed their patrimony, which was then split up into two parts. This
led to the creation of Rumbia, under one son, Marorimpu, and Poleang under the other,
Tewaleka.433
This account about Haluoleo and his sons was recorded in Rumbia in the 1930s. From the research
in Poleang in 1983 mentioned earlier,434 another story emerges. According to a kada then recorded,
the first ruler (apua) of the Tomoronene was Dendeangi.435 Initially he and his wife Manuasa lived
430
H. van der Klift, “Jaarverslag 1936”, ARRZ 2133; see V. Sidupa, in Interview with V. Sidupa, J. Karamasa, F.
Buke, N. Lakasa, Aser (Kolaka, 10/7/1992) 4. Victor Sidupa, *1927 at Mowewe as member of a tonomotua
family from Singgere; 1935-1937 mission school at Mowewe; 1938-1940 continuation school (vervolgschool)
at Kolaka; 1940-1945, 1948-1949 teacher training at Palopo/Makassar; since 1950 teacher at Mowewe and Ko-
laka; 1963 to 1983 school superintendent; 1964-1992 member DPR-D of the province of Sulawesi Tenggara
(South-east Celebes) on behalf of PNI and Golkar.
431
The rightful successor of Latambaga was his son Laloasa, but his high-handed conduct towards subordinate
heads disqualified him in the eyes of the government. The other candidate to succeed Latambaga was
Konggoasa, but he also proved unfit. H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 3/5/1937, ARRZ 2022. I Nduma was a close
relative of Tekaka. Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 24.
432
Residentie Makassar, “Rondschrijven”, 31/5/1949.
433
In Kendari it was said that the first Sultan of Buton, Murhum by name, hailed from Konawe, though his name
then was Haluoleo (or Waluoleo). Cf. Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 19, 33,
124-133. Cf.[Mallinckrodt], “Gegevens over Mandar”, 386-390; AR Buton, “Nota”, chapt. II.
434
See page 44.
435
Riasa, Perkembangan, 8-11.

in Rumbia on the Laa Moronene (Moronene River), where they had water buffaloes and tilled the
land. Their wealth was fabulous, and widely known. Because of malaria Dendeangi and Manuasa
were forced to flee to Wonuaea in present-day Poleang. There they had three sons, Nungkulangi,
Lukuberesse and Hendera. After the death of his parents Nungkulangi, the eldest, succeeded his
father as apua of all of Moronene. After his violent death during a raid by Bugis from Luwuq, his
son Ririsao Elu’utentoluwu, came to power. Ririsao went to Luwuq and there married Sitti Abiah, a
daughter of a ruler of Luwuq, who was called Opu Topayung, and who was the same man who had
killed his father. Tradition has it that because of this marriage Moronene, or at any rate Poleang,
became a vassal of Luwuq. Since that time Poleang formed the southern border of Luwuq’s sphere
of influence along the west coast of South-east Celebes. It was there that Luwuq came up against
Buton’s sphere of influence. If this kada contains a grain of truth, then it is possible, taking into
account the lists which have been handed down of heads of Rumbia and Poleang, that these events
took place around the middle of the eighteenth century.436
Ririsao and Sitti Abiah had three children, a son called Tama’ate and two daughters, Tina Sio Ropa
and Hdaulu. Still during his lifetime Ririsao divided his kingdom into three tobu, which were
assigned to his children and their offspring after his death. Tama’ate received the tobu Lelentula
(Poleang) and lived in Toburi, Tina Sio Ropa settled in Keu Wia in the Rumbian plain and ruled
over the Rumbia tobu, and Hdaulu, the youngest, lived in Tangkeno in the south-east and ruled over
the Kotuo tobu.437 Subsequently the number of tobu increased, as did their size, and they formed the
network of clans and settlements which the Dutch encountered on their arrival. According to one
source there were then fourteen tobu.438
However, the situation which the Dutch came across when they arrived only reflected this history to
a limited extent. They reached the conclusion that the oldest tobu were those of Larete and Po in
Poleang, and Poea, Sayo, Daole and Liano in Rumbia. Most of these were located in the mountains,
a day’s march or more into the interior. Tradition has it that both the tobu heads and the highest
kings of the Tomoronene adopted the title of mokole, after this title had disappeared from Konawe,
something that happened at the death of Lakidenda around the middle of the nineteenth century.439
It is remarkable how small a part Buton plays in the legends of the Tomoronene. And yet Moronene
was tributary to the Sultan of Buton. This meant that until the Dutch period the population had to
produce every year part of the harvest, an amount of money for every head of a family, and one or
more water buffaloes as proof of their subordination to the kraton (palace) in Bau-Bau on Buton.
The goods had to be taken to Bau-Bau by a man and a woman, where they joined fellow citizens
who had to perform certain services for the kraton there. To keep track of all these duties and
payments the Butonese had set up a sophisticated administrative system.440 The representatives of
436
Assuming that the average time in office was 25 years. Munara is named as number nine. He was appointed in
1940.
437
Riasa, Perkembangan, 8-11; interview with Rasami (Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 6-7.
438
These were Taubonto, Rarowatu, Ladumpi, Lameroro, Poea, Tawutio, Pomontoro, Liano, Saeo, Rau-Rau,
Pangkuri, Lakomena, Wumbubangka and Kantoba. Some of these tobu were ruled by a mokole, others by a
non-noble free man; interview with Rasami (Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 5-6.
439
Fontijne, “Memorie”, 14, App. B2.
440
Interview with Rasami (Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 8-10.

the sultan were also entitled to various services during their visits to Moronene. For such visits the
court in Bau-Bau had at its disposal two mantri, one each for Poleang and Rumbia. Respectively
these were the mantri besar sukanago and the mantri besar matanago, who arranged the payment
of the tribute and other matters.441 After 1906 the tribute was replaced with regular taxes and forced
municipal and vassal services of a few days every month for all taxpayers.
As elsewhere along the west coast, the Bugis from Luwuq were the most important and influential
group in economic and political respect in Poleang. Their numbers were probably hardly fewer than
those of the Tomoronene.442 They had their own head, the sulewatang, who lived in Buapinang. The
area of his jurisdiction was sometimes called Poleang Bugis, the coastal strip, to distinguish it from
Poleang Tomoronene, comprising the Tomoronene villages, most of which were located in the
interior.
After the pacification of 1907, Hadji Turu, a Bugis from Bone, appointed himself as sulewatang of
the Bugis, but he was unacceptable to the government because before 1907, when he was still called
Hadji Punggawa, he was alleged to have engaged in slave hunting and human trafficking. Someone
else was appointed, whose name is not known, but of whom it was said that he was an educated and
ambitious man. He spoke Malay, Bugis and Tomoronene, knew the Latin alphabetical script, and
had himself addressed as “toean Soelewatang”. In the 1910s and 1920s the economic and political
supremacy of the Bugis in Poleang was already so great that the sulewatang attempted to expand
his power and influence over the whole south-western part of the peninsula. He had Bugis
appointed as heads in Moronene villages, in which he was able to make use of the fact that Poleang
Moronene had an extremely weak internal government and the heads were no match for him. The
power vacuum which had arisen after the mokole of the Tomoronene, I Ngkosa (or Inkosa), had
been removed from his post in 1923 also played a part. This had happened – as rumour had it – as a
result of agitation by the sulewatang who himself coveted the new position of district head.
However, in part because of forceful lobbying of Governor A.J.L. Couvreur (1924-1929) by the
mission, these plans of the sulewatang failed and he was instructed to restrict his administrative
duties to the Bugis. It was also decreed that Bugis were prohibited from settling in Tomoronene
villages – but this happened anyway.
These attempts by the sulewatang have to be placed within the framework of the administrative
reform which Governor Couvreur initiated in Poleang and Rumbia. Both in Rumbia and in Poleang
self-government authorities, called syarat, were created in the 1920s. Before that time Rumbia had
two officials beside the apua, who with him formed a body for discussion or consultation
(kongkosa): the kapitang lao, who watched over the coasts and the border with Konawe in the
north, and the sahbandar, who lived on the coast and supervised the ports.443 The new syarat of
441
“Verslag van de besprekingen in zake eenige onderwerpen betreffende het Landschap Boeton (op 9 Juli
1946)”, 4. Members of the state council, apart from the sultan, were the sapati and the kenipulu, representing
the high nobility (kaum), and the mantri besar matanago en mantri besar sukanago on behalf of the lower
nobility, the walaka.
442
The number of Tomoronene living in 1926 in Poleang was estimated to amount to 1200, the number of Bugis
to 2000; the figures for Rumbia were 2000 Tomoronene over against 600 Bugis. Compared to the census of
1920 and 1930 the number of Tomoronene seems to low. G.C. Storm to Hb NZV, 18/6/1926, ARRZ 2032.
443
Interview with Rasami (Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 1, 7.

Rumbia, which replaced the kongkosa, and to which a number of the administrative duties of the
Butonese mantri besar matanago were transferred, was smaller than that of Poleang, and had no
mokole members, because of which it had greater freedom of action and was more independent than
that of Poleang, or at least this was what was hoped for. But many traditional heads retained their
influence and authority, which were usually not inferior to those of the members of the syarat.444
In Poleang the syarat, which formally was chaired by the mokole, was in fact steered by Butonese
officials. It is true that a few anakia were members of the syarat, but their authority was confined to
local issues. But before this could be arranged the position of mokole, left open after the dismissal
of I Ngkosa, had to be filled. Because initially the family relationships of the elite were not clear,
the Dutch appointed a certain Tuko as acting mokole (1924). As he proved unsatisfactory he was
replaced by Talide, the village head of Ee Moiko. He too proved unsatisfactory. He made common
cause with some Bugis rattan buyers and with an administrative assistant, the Manadonese
Warouw, and extorted money from the population. Because on top of all this he did not belong to
the mokole family of Poleang and, like his wife, even had some slave blood flowing through his
veins, and thus had no right whatever to the position of mokole, many village heads ignored him
and one or two people even announced they would leave the region if he remained in function. This
had the result that Talide was deposed in 1926 and was – again temporarily – replaced by the apua
of neighbouring Rumbia, I Ntera. Initially the battle to become the highest dignitary in Poleang
appeared to have been won by Laura, the village head of Rompu-Rompu, but eventually the dispute
was settled in 1930 in favour of another head, who, in view of his place within the old mokole
lineage of Poleang had the strongest claim to it, called Onda S. Moauno, son of Ngkalu Sangia
Wunumea. He stayed in the position till his death in 1936.445
3.3.2. Munara in Rumbia

Even before a self-government authority had been established in Rumbia, a member of Rumbia’s
nobility, Munara, became the most influential figure in the region. Munara, born about 1906 and
educated at the government primary school in Bau-Bau on Buton, was a skilful politician, and a
good strategist, who was also on good terms with the kraton. He was married to Laga, the eldest
daughter of his uncle I Ntera, the apua of Rumbia. After the death of I Ntera’s only son, of the four
candidates in line to succeed I Ntera in the honourable role as king – the village head of Tampoa,
his son Ferdinand Bawea Rahia Powatu, Munara and Tama’ate, son of the village head of Taubonto
– the strongest claimant in terms of descent was the village head of Tampoa, but as ruler and
diplomat he was no match for Munara. The latter was called the apua mongura, the young ruler, not
least after I Ntera had got into trouble in 1925 because of shady trade practices not unlike those of
Talide in Poleang.
After having served as acting mokole for more than a decade, Munara was appointed mokole of
both Rumbia and Poleang Moronene in 1940. Because he was strongly attached to the adat, he
could identify to some extent with the political and social views of the government and the Dutch
444
According to missionary Storm, in De Soendanees, Nov. 1930; Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 185.
445

mission and assisted in the realisation of these, of course insofar as his interests and those of the
Sultan of Buton, Laode Falihi, who had come to power in 1938,446 were consistent with them. He
did resent the social tensions and breakdowns both the mission and Islam at times gave rise to, in
the sense that families, clans and villages became internally divided and sometimes opposed each
other. Because of his loyalty to the sultan he could not openly oppose Islam, but, like so many
heads, he would have none of the Muhammadiyah. For a long time he did not keep the puasa
(fasting), he did not wear a songkok, and on his tours of inspection he sometimes intervened in
favour of the mission, as when Christians at the end of the puasa were forced by their heads to pay
the fitrah, or felt insulted by the attitude of “we are the best”, which some Muslims adopted
especially during the puasa.447 The fact that he followed religious instruction in baptism for some
time led one of the missionaries to assert that Munara was “a Christian at heart”.448 But this was a
pious mistake. Munara kept his distance from both religions in their most strict and dogmatic forms
and had a political agenda all his own.
Probably it were the loathing of the Bugis and the powerlessness of the Sultan of Buton to maintain
law and order in Rumbia and Poleang which were the main causes of a number of heads opening
their minds to some extent to the mission, as for instance was the case with the district head of
Palangga in southern Kendari. However, although Governor Couvreur as early as the 1920s urged
his civil servants in Bau-Bau to support the mission, and some Tomoronene heads tried to get the
mission to take a stand against the sulewatang of Poleang Bugis, against whom they were not able
to hold their own, the government in Bau-Bau usually exercised restraint. This aloof and impotent
attitude of the government formed a fertile breeding ground for the “Break-Ties-with-Buton”
movement on Muna, and in Poleang and Rumbia, which of course found no favour in the eyes of
the sultan. More about this later.
After World War II Munara turned out to be a supporter of the colonial daerah policy. He was also
highly spoken of as one of the pillars and protectors of church and mission in his region during the
Japanese occupation. For the sulewatang still showed himself a formidable and influential opponent
of everything Dutch, something that became evident, among other matters, from his support of the
armed resistance which broke out at the end of 1945.
3.3.3. “Poleang is a large assembly of scum”449

From time immemorial the spheres of influence of Luwuq and Buton came up against each other in
Poleang. In practice this meant that this region was a no man’s land. Not much changed after 1906.
Although military units sometimes travelled through the region, there was no question of an
effective exercise of authority by the Dutch in Poleang and Rumbia even ten years after formal
annexation, and also afterwards, till 1950, this left much to be desired. In contrast to Kendari, which
446
Caudri, “Memorie”, 13. In 1952 Buton was reorganised into a kewedanaan (district); head of government
Falihi was replaced by a wedana. The first wedana was N. Rieuwpassa. N. Rieuwpassa to heads of
departments, Buton, 8/3/1952, ANRI Mak., NIT Archive 89/20.
447
448
449
Ibidem.

also belonged to the division of Buton and Laiwoi, no Dutch government official was stationed in
Poleang and Rumbia. At the end of the Dutch period the regions of Poleang and Rumbia were still
as much neglected colonies of Buton as they had been in previous centuries. In contrast with
Poleang, where several hadjis resided to whom the mokole was receptive, the heads and population
of Rumbia had opened up to Islam only to a limited extent, although it was sometimes brought in to
assist in locking out the mission and defend the traditional values and norms of the population. But
it also happened that the mission was brought in for the same reason. The heads of the Tomoronene
jealously guarded their independence, with the result that the region had loose ties with colonial
authority. This gave them, at least in European eyes, a bad reputation: according to an observer,
they formed “on close inspection a collection of lowlife nobodies”.450 But for many persons who
wanted nothing to do with the authorities the area was an ideal sanctuary.
Not only was there no European government official, but also the self-government authorities
functioned badly, and the HPB, an indigenous government official, for Rumbia and Poleang, who
lived in the Bugis kampong of Buapinang, came under the controleur of Muna and the gezaghebber
of even further away Buton. These officials seldom travelled and therefore could do little.
Furthermore Rumbia and Poleang were on odd occasions visited by one of the mantri besar of
Buton, who, where necessary, dealt with current affairs and acted as the eyes and ears of the
European government – not always reliably because of divergent interests. Even more than Rumbia,
Poleang was a forgotten, chaotic and badly governed outer province of the sultanate, where, until
after the war, education, health care and other public services were at a very low level, or were even
completely absent. Forced labour and municipal services were not, or only rarely, performed, the
population continued to burn off mountain slopes in order to establish gardens, in spite of the fact
that this was prohibited, and little was done by way of kampong formation or the construction of
roads. Safety was also in a sorry state. Although in Rumbia it was relatively orderly and peaceful,
in Poleang abductions, murder and manslaughter were regular occurrences. Many heads did not
take any notice of the adat in their contact with their subjects, particularly female ones. Several
times revolts against the government broke out in Poleang, as in the mid 1920s when, in the vicinity
of Paria, a kampong north of Buapinang, a certain Masala drew attention to himself. At the end of
the 1930s the village head of Ee Moiko with a number of followers took up arms against the
“Kompania”. Though such rebels were mercilessly routed by military patrols, the government did
in fact not really know what to do about Rumbia and particularly Poleang, the more so because the
sultan went his own way and usually paid little attention to his European superiors.
3.3.4. Couvreur: a federation

Governor Couvreur had little faith in the ability of the self-government authorities of the
Tomoronene to put their own house in order, and even less in that of the Sultan of Buton. He
therefore proposed a plan to arrive at an administrative affiliation of Rumbia and Poleang with the
subdivision of Kendari, or alternatively the formation of a federation of Kolaka, Kendari and
Rumbia-Poleang. In the second case three indigenous heads, among whom the sulewatang in
450

Buapinang also counted himself, would form a syarat, an indigenous supreme government for the
mainland of South-east Celebes, which would perform its duties under the supervision of one single
European official. It did not come about, it was said, because of the strong resistance of the
population of Rumbia and Poleang against any form of cooperation with the old enemies in the
north, and also because the sultan had no wish to cede this territory. In spite of this the wish for
affiliation with Kendari stayed alive among certain circles in Rumbia and Poleang. Some time later
this endeavour, which from its inception had been able to count on support from the mission,451 was
espoused by a wider movement which also comprised groups on Muna and became known as the
“Break-Ties-with-Buton” movement. The final attempt to achieve an administrative redistribution
of the region along these lines was made via the Hadat Tinggi Daerah Selebes Selatan, but the
sultan and his vassal Munara managed to prevent this. Both had other plans.452
3.4. Japanese times and after, 1942-1950

3.4.1. Introduction
The Japanese invaded Kendari on the 24th of January 1942. They left the administrative division of
South-east Celebes and the nearby islands unchanged. Kolaka remained a subdivision of Luwuq
and kept its autonomy; Kendari too retained its autonomy; the sultan retained his position and the
districts of Rumbia and Poleang continued to be a part of the subdivision of Buton and the
Tukangbesi Islands, which had been established in the 1930s. Immediately after their landing
various senior employees of the East Borneo Company in Pomala’a, civil servants and military
personnel, were arrested and interned. An estimated number of about 60 people were executed.453
Captured allied soldiers, sailors and pilots were interned on Muna,454 while Europeans were
interned in various camps elsewhere on Celebes. Most village and district heads were loyal to the
Japanese and kept their positions, although the Japanese tended to treat them as providers of
supplies for the Japanese army.455 One of these, Parenda, an anakia, was charged with the provision
of food for the forced labour of the mining operations in Pomala’a which the Japanese had
annexed,456 others served as customs officers to control the indigenous shipping movements, or as
nurses, guards and in other functions.457 According to Efnassus Hukom, at that time a preacher in
the Protestant Church in Kendari, a much-feared spy for the Japanese was the Ambonese Pilip
Sinay, an ex-KNIL army man, while various gurus of the mission were deployed to conduct
propaganda meetings for the Japanese.458 Munara press-ganged labourers in Rumbia for work on a
new airport in Amberia (southern Kendari) and for the provisioning of Japanese navy vessels in
451
Sub B. in Notulen CVZ, 18/8/1926, ARRZ 2015.
452
Vonk, “Nota”, 140-141; Baden, “Rapport”, 7; Fontijne, “Memorie”, 11, App. A2.
453
454
Interview with H. Konggoasa, Kendari, 6/7/1992.
455
“Politieke bijlage”, 1.
456
457
Interview with Laode Mandati (Bau-Bau, 15/7/1992) 1; interview with A.B. Mandeno (Raha, Muna,
14/7/1992) 7.
458
Hukom, “Keadaan agama Kristen”, 2; “Verslag van de besprekingen in zake eenige onderwerpen betreffende
het Landschap Boeton (op 9 Juli 1946)”, 5, contains a list names of persons who were suspected of spying for
the Japanese on Buton island.

Staring Bay.459 In 1943 Lasandara received an honourable mention in the Pewarta Celebes because
of his merit for promoting the Japanese ideology of Pan-Asianism, which had become apparent
because of his assiduous tracking down of “spies” for the United States. Tekaka left Kendari for
Abeli, with the result that the Japanese did not confront any head of importance other than
Lasandara.460
The number of Japanese military forces in South-east Celebes was relatively high in relation to the
size of the population, i.e. over 2000 men. This was caused by the importance of the mining
operations in Pomala’a and of the port and the two airports in Kendari. Using these airports, the
Japanese organised bombing raids in other parts of South-east Asia and the western Pacific.461
The Japanese forced the population to provide rice and vegetables for the army and the forced
labourers, which led to shortages of food. All ladang cultivation (slash and burn agriculture) was
prohibited, for fear that the burning off on mountain slopes would attract the attention of the allied
forces. Near Wawotobi the Japanese established cotton plantations and built a spinning mill. For
reasons of security a large part of the population of Kendari-town was interned in Wawotobi and
surroundings, in as much as the Japanese army did not need them as labourers. For the very heavy
labour services, which almost amounted to slavery, needed for mining, and for the construction and
maintenance of roads, bridges, ports and defences, labourers were shipped in from all over the
archipelago. Large numbers died because of malnutrition or maltreatment, or perished in allied
bombardments, which started late in 1943. There was no question of irregularities, resistance or
sabotage against the Japanese oppression. Occasionally someone was beheaded in public as a
warning, such as the murderer of the wife of an administrative head of Rate-Rate. The general
health of the population and medical facilities were set back decades.462
Except for a number of heads, the Tolaki and Tomoronene population remained virtually
impervious to the Japanese propaganda. This was not the case with the Bugis in the coastal
kampongs. The large majority welcomed the Japanese as people who ousted the Dutch and brought
national independence closer.
After the Japanese surrender, the country made a lonely, impoverished and miserable impression on
the first visitors, one of whom was controleur G.J. Wolhoff in January 1946.463 Many kampongs
were deserted or had even disappeared, and houses had collapsed. He hardly encountered any
people, for during the war they had sought refuge in the bunggu, the jungle, where they lived in
poor huts and cultivated their gardens. Once life had returned to “normal” to some degree, the
results of the pre-war programme of kampong formation turned out to have been largely
annihilated, in as much as there had been results. The population was impoverished and short of
virtually everything, but of clothing and rice in particular. However, the population had not been
affected equally badly everywhere: those along the strategic road between Kolaka and Kendari, and
459
Interview with R. Sinsoru, Rusiala, L. Zamrud, S. Zamrud, Luther (Kasiputih, 19/7/1992) 10.
460
Van Oosten, “Voorlopige schets”, 4-8.
461
Interview with H. Konggoasa, Kendari, 6/7/1992; J. Schuurmans to Dir. SZC, 30/81946, ARRZ 2022; Nortier,
“Japan verovert het vliegveld Kendari in Zuidoost Celebes, januari 1942”.
462
Interview with V. Sidupa, J. Karamasa, F. Buke, N. Lakasa, Aser, (Kolaka, 10/7/1992) 17.
463
“Notulen dari Rapat Zelfbestuur Laiwoei”, 28/12/1948.

in the surrounding areas of both centres, had had to endure by far the worst conditions. A principal
town of a district, such as Wawotobi, which before the war had been a fast-growing regional centre
of commerce and government, with one of the most important mosques in the country, had fallen
into serious disrepair. The only buildings which looked to some extent in reasonable condition were
the schools, the small hospital and the dwellings of Lasandara and his brother Aresunggu, both of
them faithful servants of the Japanese. Lasandara had risen to be the head of a para-military youth
movement. He and others who had served the occupiers, some heads and a number of Manadonese
and Ambonese civil servants and teachers, had made it through the war relatively well.464
Except for the Muhammadiyah, a religious organisation where during meetings political matters
were sometimes raised, there was hardly any question of organised political activities in South-east
Celebes before the war. Branches of the Sarekat Islam (from 1929 the Partai Serikat Islam
Indonesia, PSII, the United Islamic Party of Indonesia) existed in the 1920s in the subdivisions of
Bungku, Mori and Banggai, but the accounts do not mention Kendari and Kolaka in this respect.465
There were, however, individual Muslims who openly agitated against the Dutch, but this was rare.
After the war this changed.466
A remarkable contradiction becomes evident from the relevant political and police reports about the
situation in South and South-east Celebes during the period 1945-1950: in contrast to the extensive
activity on the political and military fronts in South Celebes, South-east Celebes was, apart from
some outbreaks of violence discussed below, quiet and peaceful. While in the city of Makassar
there existed in these years dozens of political parties, movements and groups,467 on Buton, Muna
and the mainland of South-east Celebes hardly any particular activity of this kind was noticeable in
the first years after the Japanese capitulation. It was only with some hesitation that the population
began to organise itself into political parties. This happened on Muna in the first instance, but in
this case the number of those involved was limited; even one of the most active parties on Muna,
the Partai Buruh Indonesia (PARBI), was threatened with dissolution in November 1949 because
of a lack of members.468
464
H. van der Klift, “Rapport betreffende den toestand op het zendingsterrein der Nederlandsche
Zendingsvereeniging: Z.O. Celebes”, Makassar, eind januari 1946, ANZR 504.76
465
Vorstman, “Memorie”, 61.
466
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 15; cf. H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 24/7/1934, ARRZ 2020.
467
After WW II four types of political parties existed in S. Celebes:
1. The federalists like the Nederlandsche Bevolkingsgroep, the Indo-Europees Verbond (IEV), the Indische
Katholieke Volkspartij (IKVP) and the Partai Negara Serikat Indonesia led by Najamuddin Daeng Malewa
and G.R. Pantouw;
2. The Islamic parties, of which the biggest were the Masyumi and the PSII;
3. The republican parties PKR, PARINDRA and PNI (reorganised July 1950);
4. The socialists and communists such as the Partai Sosialis Indonesia led by Sjahrir (PSI, founded in 1950),
the Partai Murba and four regional federations of workers and peasants parties: the Penghubung Buruh at
Makassar; the Persatuan Buruh Indonesia at Pare-Pare; the Gabungan Organisasi Tani Indonesia (GOTI), and
the Partai Buruh Indonesia (PARBI)), see “Berita Politik 1-15 Djuli 1950”. The number of members these
parties had was limited. Generally the number of visitors of party meeting in Makassar did not exceed 100
persons. There were two exceptions: the PSII and the PKR, whose public meetings drew more then 1000
visitors at a time. Among the non-political parties, whose meetings were attended by 1000 or more persons
were Muhammadiyah and its women’s department Aisiyah (1500 or more visitors). Documents in ANRI Mak.,
NIT Archive 129/26.
468
Madlener, “Warta Politiek Selebes Selatan untuk bulan November 1949”.

3.4.2. Resistance
The allied NICA troops, primarily Australians, only landed in South Celebes six weeks after the
Japanese capitulation, and still later in South-east Celebes. Moreover, they did not meddle in
politics. The result was confusion, which was increased by radio broadcasts from the Indonesian
Republic on Java.469 In some places people resorted to (Japanese) weapons, particularly on Muna
and on the mainland in the river area between Kolaka and Kendari, as early as September 1945.
Raids and assaults were carried out. Kidnappings and intimidation of opponents of the republican
ideals were the order of the day. On the 17th of September 1945 the sulewatang of Kolaka, Andi
Kasim, proclaimed that the kampong of Kolaka was a de facto part of the Republik Indonesia.470 In
the region of Buton, where initially only a handful of soldiers were quartered,471 the attacks on the
position of power of the old nobility emanated chiefly from the nobility itself. All kinds of motives
played a part in this, from political differences of opinion to the battling out of feuds and the pursuit
of personal ambitions. The second half of 1948 in particular was turbulent. In paragraph 12 of the
Treaty of Linggajati (11-13 November 1946, signed 25 March 1947) the 1st of January 1949 had
been fixed as the date for the transfer of sovereignty; in many places there was euphoria, and many
people hoped, while others feared, that the Dutch would finally depart, taking with them their
political plans and neo-colonial framework for future government. The Republic was to send troops
to assume power in the whole of the previous “Grote Oost” (Big East) and the Republik Indonesia
Serikat, that last vestige of Dutch colonialism and imperialism, would finally be gone. While the
Dutch continued indefatigably with their government reforms, in South-east Celebes and on the
islands preparations were made, covertly or openly, to get even with the old feudal powerbrokers,
the self-government officials and other pillars of the colonial government, from the 1st of January
1949.472
3.4.3. Kolaka 1945-1948

Against the background of on the whole more or less passive resistance by the indigenous
population, and especially the anakia, against the recovering Dutch administrative machinery,
which was supported by the Australian NICA troops, armed resistance broke out in Kolaka after the
Japanese capitulation.473 Several groups emerged, among whom were the Persatuan Pemuda
Republik Indonesia, which was founded by Andi Kasim and Andi Kamaruddin, and the Gerakan 19
469
“Politieke bijlage”, 1-2.
470
Sejarah Masa Revolusi Fisik Daerah Sulawesi Tenggara, 87; Interview with Ishak Mikel Ohyver, Kolaka,
10/7/1992. Nationalist historians contend that in October 1945 the sulewatang hoisted the republican Red and
White flag also in Wawotobi, the second largest village in Kendari, Lasandara being present. If this is correct,
then Lasandara must have changed his mind soon afterward, for in January 1946 he rejected a similar request
from the sulewatang in the case of Kota Kendari. Because of this Konawe and Kendari were lost for the
Republic of Sukarno and Hatta, at least for the time being. Sejarah Masa Revolusi Fisik Daerah Sulawesi
Tenggara, 18. Cf. page 76.
471
1946)”, 5.
472
“Overzicht en ontwikkeling van de toestand, 1-16 Dec. 1948”; Res. S. Celebes to the chairman of the Syarat at
Raha, 8/11/1948, ANRI Mak., NIT Archive 89/20; Res. Z.-Celebes to AR Buton and Laiwoi, 22/2/1949, ANRI
Mak., NIT Archive 89/20.
473
NICA, “A short survey”, 5.

November.474 These and other groups formed part of a wider movement, the Gerakan Merah Putih,
the “red-whites”. This movement, which received its instructions from Palopo, is said to have had
hundreds of supporters, divided over several battle groups.475 Among them were deserters from the
KNIL, former heiho (indigenous auxiliary forces of the Japanese), a number of Christians and a few
civil servants, but most of them were Bugis.476
In support of, and as a sequel to, the proclamation of Andi Kasim in Kolaka on the 17th of
September 1945, a meeting was held in Rate-Rate on the 27th of December 1945, where Kasim and
a member of the hadat of Luwuq incited those present to armed conflict. The “red-whites”
crisscrossed the country in Japanese Toyotas as far as Kendari to organise and stir up the resistance
against the Dutch. Every now and then a military patrol was ambushed; delegates were sent to
Sukarno to ask for instructions and for money for the war chest. Although they were active in and
around the town of Kolaka, the headquarters of these “malcontents”, as the Dutch dismissed them,
were in Pakue, close to the border with Malili. However, the republican title did not always convey
the true intent, for only a part of the followers acted from political motives. Many fighters were
hangers on, who during the war had been collaborators of, or interpreters or advisers for the
Japanese or had done the (well paid) dirty work for them, such as the spying on and denouncing of
fellow citizens, guard duty in prison camps and of forced labourers, and the establishment of a
brothel in Kendari,477 and who after August 1945 feared the population’s revenge. Red-white was in
those cases a good camouflage.
But there were also people who joined the “red-whites” out of conviction. Among these were a
number of teachers and evangelists who had been employed by the Dutch mission before the war.
One of these was Luther Latamoro I Ndabio, a son of the village head of Rate-Rate, who was
involved in a number of raids, but who was captured by the Dutch and was thrown into prison.478
Paul Watung and Jonathan Ponggohae were other Pejuang 45, formerly employed by the mission.
Ponggohae did not survive a confrontation with the KNIL.479
For some time the “red-whites” controlled a large, if thinly populated, area in the northwest and
west of South-east Celebes, from where they, in pamphlets and letters to the population, announced
the arrival of the new era and the coming of auxiliary troops from Java. They also penetrated
further to the south and east of the peninsula, and invaded the central river area and the south of the
subdivision of Kendari.480 They lived on the theft of livestock and plundering and where they could
they conducted a reign of terror – by which they showed that they understood hardly anything of
what inspired people such as Syahrir and Sukarno. Even children were not safe, judging by the sad
fate of a schoolboy in Mowewe, Frans Sirigai.481 In the course of time this resistance was stamped
474
Interview with J. Lakebo, Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992.
475
476
Ohyver was one of them, interview with Ishak Mikel Ohyver, Kolaka, 10/7/1992.
477
According to H. Konggoasa there were about 20 prostitutes in Kendari-town, both Tolaki and Japanese
women, interview with H. Konggoasa, Kendari, 6/7/1992.
478
J. Schuurmans to Dir. SZC, 30/8/1946, ARRZ 2022; interview with Ishak Mikel Ohyver, Kolaka, 10/7/1992.
479
J. Schuurmans to Dir. SZC, 30/8/1946, 26/9/1946, ARRZ 2022; interview with Ishak Mikel Ohyver, Kolaka,
10/7/1992.
480
481
Interview with V. Sidupa, J. Karamasa, F. Buke, N. Lakasa, Aser (Kolaka, 10/7/1992) 22.

out, and although the inhabitants of the kampongs had in some places fled or did not return from the
mountains or jungle on any account, the unrest did not assume dramatic proportions. Occasionally
someone would shout “merdeka”, but massive support did not ensue. By the end of 1946 the actions
seemed to be over. The damage to buildings, plantations, weaving mills and other corporations was
enormous, in as much as the Japanese had left any of them standing.
Among those who continued the struggle against the NICA and the Dutch longest were Andi
Kasim, Hadji Wahid, Lasupu and the teacher Ch. Pingak, as well as a number of Japanese, who
were armed with carbines and pistols. Their operations were usually confined to the spreading of
unrest and a few small raids, such as that by Wahid, who, with seven others, on the 1st of July 1946
attacked a freight-carrying prahu. A short time later the district head of Lambuya was assassinated
by an unknown assailant. A number of insurgents surrendered in Tamboli (Kolaka) on the 4th of
July 1947. They had participated in a “rampok party” (a pillaging expedition) in Wawotobi and in
fights near Rate-Rate, Kolaka and Pobiau. On the 9th of July 1947 Andi Kasim and a number of his
fellow fighters were arrested – Kasim was sentenced to 20 years exile at Ende (Flores).482 However,
Hadji Wahid and Supu, a former indigenous civil servant and a nephew of Lasandara, as well as a
few Japanese, continued the struggle. Supu managed to keep a step ahead of the KNIL until
September 1947, but then he handed himself in to the authorities in Kolaka.483
In Kolaka in July 1946 the government had laid hands on about 450 insurgents, among them
important leaders such as the Bugis Sanusi and Andi Tanriajeng, while in Rumbia at around that
time the resistance leaders “Captain Azis” and La Toma’a were arrested.484 Although Poleang and
Rumbia, where no KNIL troops were quartered, remained for some time a refuge for those who
wished to withdraw from control by the Dutch government, these arrests delivered a blow to
organised and armed resistance in South-east Celebes which it did not recover from. It is true that in
the south of Kendari, near the airport of Amberia, a few bridges were destroyed and at times
fighters were caught who were in possession of weapons and explosives obtained from Japanese
stores, but these were minor incidents.485
However, in the course of 1946 other groups of fighters, who had infiltrated the area from Palopo,
took up the torch of the anti-Dutch and anti-NICA resistance. In the mountains north of Kolaka,
Tawanga and Mowewe a number of groups travelled around, one of which, Batalyon Lima, was
under the command of Ishak Mikel Ohyver, who styled him self as the pemimpin terdepan
(“supreme leader”). Ohyver was a civil servant from the Moluccas and a member of the Protestant
Church. In these years as a Pejuang 45 he acquired so much authority among his fellow citizens
that a decade later (1957), in the heyday of NASAKOM, he and a few others were sent by a number
482
Sejarah Masa Revolusi Fisik Daeran Sulawesi Tenggara, 84, provides a list of those who in the week of
28/6/1948-5/7/1948 were tried before a special tribunal and their punishment. The tribunal fell under the
authority of the Hadat Tinggi and met in Watampone (Bone). It was chaired by the ruler of Bone, Andi
Pabenteng. The sentences pronounced ranged from five years in prison to 25 years internal banishment.
483
Residentie Zuid, “Politiek Verslag (1-15 October 1947)”, 5.
484
“Verslag over de Algemeene toestand van Zuid-Celebes loopende over de maand Juli 1946”, 9-10; Fontijne,
“Memorie”, 2, App. A2.
485
Residentie Zuid, “Politiek Verslag (1-16 October 1946)”, 17-18; AR Buton and Laiwoi to Chairman Hadat
Tinggi at Makassar, 29/10/1949, ANRI Mak., NIT Archive 169/29.

of groups of war veterans in South and South-east Celebes to Bogor to urge Sukarno to stick to the
constitution of the Republik Indonesia, the Undang-Undang Dasar 1945.486 Another group of
fighters, Batalyon Telepon, was under the command of Konggoasa, a son of Latambaga, a former
bokeo of Mekongga, whom Supu had joined. These groups occupied the telephone exchange in
Kolaka (hence its name), raided arms depots, erected road blocks, torched houses and bridges and
for some time cut off the road which connected Kolaka and Kendari. An important motive for the
republican Konggoasa to take up arms was his power struggle with the current bokeo of Mekongga,
Pu’uwatu Raeyati, who was pro-NICA and pro-Dutch.487 In contrast to Ohyver, Konggoasa had
been on the side of the Japanese during the war, as had Lasandara, the inoa of Asaki, and a number
of other heads.488
The number of men per group of fighters usually varied from ten to forty, though was at times
more; in 1947 a number of them broke away under the command of Nonci Daeng Pabali, but these
were arrested soon after. The monthly and fortnightly political and police reports of the various
government services usually did not manage to say much more about Ohyver, Konggoasa and their
fellows than the fact that they were still at large, with one exception: this was in March 1947, when
Konggoasa suddenly caused a great uproar in that he assaulted and robbed the mokole Konawe’eha
in the kampong of Woi’esi and Lasandara in Wawotobi. The fact that Lasandara became a victim of
his actions was undoubtedly due to his having meanwhile turned into a fervent supporter of the
principle of national federation. He himself said that he had been converted to federalism during the
Denpasar Conference in December 1946, but in all likelihood it had already happened a year
earlier. He was not the only head who reoriented himself in a political sense at this time.489
Konggoasa subsequently went to Tongauna, where he set up a party with a republican orientation.
He circulated pamphlets which in forceful terms exhorted people to join him, but they had little
success.490 In August 1947 some of his fellow fighters were arrested near Patampanua (north of
Kolaka), but he himself managed to evade imprisonment, partly because of the support he received
from some heads, among whom was Hadji Umar, a former sapati of Mekongga, and the deputy
district head of Kolaka.491 However, in 1948 Konggoasa and Ohyver gave up their armed struggle.
With the approval of the authorities they settled in Makassar, which however did not prevent
Konggoasa from gaining mythical status among later generations.492 Ohyver entered politics. He
became one of the leaders of the local branch of the Parkindo and a member of the regional
486
Interview with Ishak Mikel Ohyver (Kolaka, 10/7/1992) 42-44, contains a report of his meeting with Sukarno
and other prominent figures of the Republic.
487
See note 336.
488
H. van der Klift, “Rapport betreffende den toestand op het zendingsterrein der Nederlandsche
Zendingsvereeniging: Z.O. Celebes”, end Jan. 1946, ANZR 504.76.
489
Lasandara was a member of the Parliament at Makassar until 1949. He held his first speech on 8 May 1947, in
which he urged the government to prioritise the interests of the people and defended the position of the self-
governments.
490
Residentie Zuid, “Politiek Verslag (1-15 November 1946)”, 13; Residentie Zuid, “Politiek Verslag (16-31
Maart 1947)”, 7; Hogendorp, “Relaas”.
491
“Politiek Verslag over het tijdvak 17 tot en met 31 Juli 1948”, 8.
492
He is considered an orang wali, a saint, who could disappeared into thin air and appear suddenly out of
nowhere were and when nobody expected him, interview with R. Sinsoru, Rusiala, L. Zamrud, S. Zamrud,
Luther (Kasiputih, 19/7/1992) 12.

parliament (DPR-D). Neither was ever subjected to criminal prosecution, although it was said that
Konggoasa had “more than 30 murders on his conscience” even before the end of August 1946.493
But this number was probably an exaggeration. What counted in his favour, apart from his
candidature for the position of bokeo of Mekongga, was the fact that he and Ohyver had, it is true,
assaulted heads who were pro-NICA and pro-NIT, but in this they had gone less far than other
militant leaders, such as Daeng Pabali, who had such heads murdered.494
In 1948 there was hardly any armed resistance left in the subdivision of Kolaka, except for a few
Japanese soldiers who still roamed the area, as in Sua-Sua, northwest of the town of Kolaka, where
a small group led by the Japanese Sakata conducted raids. Most of the insurgents had laid down
arms or were imprisoned in the notorious prison of Masamba in Luwuq.495 However, the military
victory of the Dutch and NICA did not mean a political victory. Since 1946 several ships arms had
been intercepted. Between the 25th of December 1948 and early January 1949 landings of units of
the (republican) Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) from Java were expected in a number of places
along the coast. Although several Javanese in Lapai, who had been warned, hastily fled, closer
investigation did not reveal anything, and except for some arrests because of the circulation of
“mendacious rumours” nothing happened. It is likely that the Second Police Action (19-31
December 1948) on Java played a preventative role in this. The same situation existed in Raha
(Muna) and Bau-Bau (Buton). There too, many Javanese, Timorese, Ambonese, Manadonese and
particularly Chinese left for safer places as a matter of precaution.496
3.4.4. Kendari and Rumbia

In Kendari it was relatively quiet during the entire period of 1945-1950, judging by the reports of
the various intelligence services.497 This was in part due to the pro-Dutch attitude of the self-
government, in particular Tekaka, who, although a “conscientious Muslim”,498 declared in 1946 that
he and his Tolaki people did indeed want to be “merdeka”, but only under the “Maharadja
Wilhelmina”. The same applied to many people in Rumbia, many of whom at first were hardly
aware of what was afoot. There was no military occupation; internal law and order was maintained
by the regional police.499 Only a limited number of Kendari anakia was nationalistic and merah-
putih minded, among whom, remarkably, were sons of all members of the state council. With the
exception of the mountainous region north of the big rivers and west of Lambuya, it was possible to
travel, with care, and preferably in a military convoy. A detachment of NICA troops was quartered
in Kendari, as well as a number of Ambonese police-soldiers. Apart from a latent anti-Dutch mood,
493
494
Residentie Zuid, “Politiek Verslag (16-31 Augustus 1947)”, cf. several documents in ANRI Mak., NIT Archive
22/3.
495
Lapré, “Verslag Masamba-affaire”.
496
AR Buton and Laiwoi, “Politiek Verslag van de afdeling Boeton en Laiwoei over de 2de helft December
1948”, 2; Latippa, “Tourneeverslag”, 6; “Politiek Politioneel Verslag 16-31 Januari 1949, buiten de Afd.
Makassar”.
497
Interview with J. Lakebo, Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992.
498
499
1946)”, 5; interview with R. Sinsoru, Rusiala, L. Zamrud, S. Zamrud, Luther (Kasiputih, 19/7/1992) 13.

one of the first things which controleur G.J. Wolhoff noticed upon his arrival in Kendari was that
there were only a few incidents and arrests, and these often did not have a political but an economic
or criminal background. On the south coast there were, however, rumours of republican arms
transports, made possible by the renewed shipping connections with Makassar and Java, whereas
some were openly involved in agitation against the Dutch and NICA.500
Although small coastal trade resumed fairly quickly after the Japanese capitulation, there was a
shortage of nearly all the essentials of life. During the first months the supply of NICA aid goods
was far less than the amount needed, and later too the distribution of goods such as rice, textiles,
petroleum and salt, which until the middle of 1946 were rationed and which all had to come from
Makassar, was severely impeded by the destruction of infrastructure, such as ports and roads,
minefields in coastal waters, the wide-spread refusal to work for the NICA, a rampantly flourishing
black market (“pasar goerila”), corruption, theft and manipulation. There was also a tremendous
lack of tonnage.501 The Japanese had destroyed all useable equipment, such as cars and tyres, oil
and fuel depots and motorboats. Except for the indigenous prahu traffic, some army vessels, a few
old cars and a rusty old KPM boat no means of transport were available. It was even impossible to
buy a horse or a bicycle.502
3.4.5. Darul Islam/Tentara Islam Indonesia

After the transfer of sovereignty in 1949 end resistance erupted in the national sphere against
Sukarno’s brainchild, the Republik Indonesia, based on the Panca Sila and in part democratic. The
stage was dominated by contrasts and conflicts between various interest and population groups,
between the army and the civilian authorities, as well as between the weak central national
government in Jakarta and subversive groups and rebellious army units in the outlying areas. An
influential and violent movement which originated in western Java and became well-known under
the name Darul Islam/Tentara Islam Indonesia (DI/TII), had an anti-government and anti-Western
(anti-Dutch) bias and aimed to establish an Islamic state, or at least subjected the population
controlled by it to severe Islamic discipline. On Celebes Kahar Muzakkar proclaimed such a state in
1953.This also comprised the coastal region north of Kolaka, which policy also cast a shadow
elsewhere on the peninsula and on Muna and Buton.503 It is difficult to determine with accuracy the
number of victims killed, but this was dozens, if not hundreds.504 However this insurgency, which
ended with the death of Muzakkar early in 1965, falls outside the period under discussion here.505
500
L. Boer to Dir. SZC, 28/8/1946, ARRZ 2022.
501
“Tjatatan bulanan: Tentang keadaän Politik Sosial dan lain-lain dari tanggal 1 sampai 30 April 1950”, 1. A
report about the rebuilding of the economy, in De Klein, “Bestuursmemorie”, 5-6.
502
503
Interview with A.B. Mandeno (Raha, Muna, 14/7/1992) 9-10.
504
Interview with V. Sidupa, J. Karamasa, F. Buke, N. Lakasa, Aser (Kolaka, 10/7/1992) 23-26, interview with
J.C.H.A. Bermuli (Raha, Muna, 14/7/1992) 2.
505
Abdul Kahar Muzakkar (La Domeng); *24/3/1921 in Palopo (Luwuq); 1937-1940 attended the Mu’allimin
Muhammadiyah school in Solo (Java); 1941-1943 member Pemuda Muhammadiyah; attended a
Muhammadiyah school in Luwuq; 1943-1945 in Solo; 1945 founding of the Gerakan Pemuda Indonesia
Sulawesi, precursor of the Kebaktian Rakyat Indonesia Sulawesi, 8/10/1945; 1946-1948 commander TRI-
Persiapan Sulawesi, 24/4/1946; 1949-1950 Komando Grup Seberang; June 1950 sent to Makassar to combat
insurgents, but instead joined them; March 1951 commander Hasanuddin Regiment/Division; March 1952

3.5. Government; political organisations 1945-1950

3.5.1. South-east Celebes
In 1950, in the last year of the short-lived State of East Indonesia (NIT), the time of an
administrative reorganisation and organised politics arrived in South-east Celebes, as it did
elsewhere in the Big East. In anticipation of the formation of the province of Sulawesi Tenggara (=
South-east Sulawesi = South-east Celebes), which was to eventuate in 1964, the self-governing
regions were transformed into four kewedanaan (districts), each with a wedana as its head: Kolaka,
Kendari, Buton and Muna.506 During the years of the State of East Indonesia (1946-1950), political
opinion in its capital Makassar was convinced that a future without Java was unthinkable. On the
other hand many realised that there was a good chance that a vast, difficult to govern and internally
strongly divided archipelago such as East Indonesia, would not be treated as the equal of Java in
Van Mook’s future Federal State of Indonesia.507 However, of such nuances which could be heard
in the Makassar Parliament, not much could be noticed not just in the hutan (forest), but also under
the urban population. There all attention was directed to Java and the international struggle against
colonialism.508
One of the first pro-republican parties which attracted attention in Kolaka was the local branch of
the Partai Nasional Indonesia (PNI), which was founded by Ch. Pingak in May 1946. This
happened at the same time as the large and influential South Celebes branch of this party was
established in Jongaya (Makassar). The Dutch prohibited the PNI in September 1946, but, although
there are no data about the number of members, it certainly did not disappear.509 There are no
reports which mention violence inspired by the PNI against those heads in South-east Celebes who
were loyal to NICA, something that did occur in South Celebes. It was known about a number of
prominent traders and administrators in Kolaka that they were members of the PNI, among them
Andi Kamaruddin and Tahrir, two rich Bugis traders, who were respectively the chairman and
deputy chairman. The PNI rejected the concept of a federal Indonesia and the entire programme of
daerah formation with the involvement of the old elite in the future organisation of Indonesia.
Membership of the PNI implied civil disobedience, as, for instance, the refusal to pay tax. The party
established cooperatives, built up stocks of rice and formed alternative administrative bodies. It was
hoped that one day it would be possible to push aside the old adat rule with one blow and then take
over the administration.510 In February 1950 the Kolaka branch of the PNI, which had been re-
established by Ch. Pingak, demanded that all political prisoners, insofar as this had not happened
yet under the amnesty scheme of late 1949, would be set free immediately. It also demanded that
the arrival of TNI troops would be accelerated, and that all civil servants who had been sacked
Kesatuan Gerilya Sulawesi Selatan (KGSS) renamed Tentara Kemerdekaan Rakyat; Aug. 1953 Celebes was
declared part of the Republik Islam Indonesia (RII), Muzakkar made Deputy Minister of Defence; 3/2/1965
killed near the Lasolo river in South-east Celebes, interview with J.C.H.A. Bermuli (Raha, Muna, 14/7/1992) 2.
506
Interview with V. Sidupa, J. Karamasa, F. Buke, N. Lakasa, Aser (Kolaka, 10/7/1992) 3-4.
507
De Jong, “Henny Bergema”.
508
Velthoen, “Hutan and Kota”.
509
“Politieke bijlage”, 3; “Berita Politik 1-15 Djuli 1950”; IJzereef, De Zuid-Celebes Affaire, 72-76.
510
"Politieke bijlage”, 3-4.

because of their political persuasion, were to be reinstated. Finally it was decided to step up their
propaganda actions.511
In Kolaka an umbrella organisation of freedom fighters was established, the Panitia Korban
Perjuangan Kemerdekaan Indonesia Kolaka (KOPKI), which undertook the peace-loving task of
maintaining the graves of fallen freedom fighters, but which did not refrain from political
discussion and action.512 The first branch in South-east Celebes of the Partai Serikat Islam
Indonesia (PSII) was not founded in the capital Kolaka, but in Lapao-Pao. A branch of the Masyumi
was also established in Kolaka.513
In Kendari in 1949 a branch of the PSII did exist, but this was not very active;514 early in 1950 a
branch of the Partai Kedaulatan Rakyat (PKR) was formed there, as well as a branch of the PNI,
which from there spread to Kolaka in that year, and, via its secretary, Laode Muhammad Taoha,
taxation officer (mantri) in Kendari, also spread to Raha on Muna. In Kendari a branch of the
Masyumi was also established, and the foundation of a branch of the PARBI was in a state of
preparation.515 Soon after 1950 members of the PSII, the Masyumi and others initiated a branch of
the Nahdlatul Ulama on the island of Wawoni.516
In South-east Celebes, at any rate in Kolaka, the Partai Kommunis Indonesia (PKI) was prohibited
until 1965. But at the end of the 1950s and at the beginning of the 1960s branches of some umbrella
organisations did exist, in particular the Barisan Tani Indonesia (BTI), the Sarikat Buruh
Kehewanan (SBK), the Gerakan Wanita Indonesia (Gerwani) and the Sarekat Buruh Kehutanan
Seluruh Indonesia (SARBUKSI).517 In 1948 the Persatuan Islam had become active, which was
chaired by Tanukila, a trader in Kendari, who, at the end of 1949, was chosen to be elector in the
elections for the Parliament in Makassar. The objectives of this party were the same as those of the
PSII: the struggle against the communists. They also favoured independence and “the coming into
force of the Islamic laws in Indonesia”, although it is not clear if this implied an Islamic state as
envisaged by Darul Islam, or something else. Two years later this association no longer existed: it
had been swallowed up by the PSII and the Masyumi.518
In Kendari, as in Kolaka, there were no political parties which had their roots in the indigenous
Christian population. Many Christians found themselves in a somewhat uncomfortable position.
Not everyone was as outspoken as Chris Pingak, who was the son of a Christian Manadonese
teacher in Kolaka. Nevertheless, people in these circles were very much involved in the political
developments, perhaps even more than most Muslims. On the one hand they were patriotic enough
to support the national pursuit of independence, on the other hand their aversion against the
Netherlands was, as a rule, considerably less than in Islamic circles. The strong involvement of
511
“Tjatatan bulanan: Tentang keadaän Politik Sosial dan lain-lain dari tanggal 1 sampai 30 April 1950”;
Madlener, “Warta Politiek Selebes Selatan untuk bulan Februari 1950”.
512
Madlener, “Warta Politiek Selebes Selatan untuk bulan Februari 1950”, 9-10.
513
“Tjatatan bulanan: Tentang keadaän Politik Sosial dan lain-lain dari tanggal 1 sampai 30 April 1950”, 2.
514
“Politiek Politioneel Verslag 16-30 Juni 1949, buiten de Afd. Makassar”.
515
“Tjatatan bulanan: Tentang keadaän Politik Sosial dan lain-lain dari tanggal 1 sampai 30 April 1950”.
516
517
Interview with J.C.H.A. Bermuli, (Raha, Muna, 14/7/1992) 5, 8; Lindayati, The Role.
518
“Politiek Politioneel Verslag 1-15 Nov., 1948, buiten de Afd. Makassar”, 6; Madlener, “Warta Politiek Selebes
Selatan untuk bulan Februari 1950”, 10.

indigenous Christians in the political developments could be inferred from the fact that of all
electors for the Parliament in Makassar in South-east Celebes 20-25% were Christians, while their
numbers in the population were less than 1%.519
3.5.2. Makassar
After the war a few associations existed in Makassar for the protection of the interests of people
from South-east Celebes: the Persatuan Putera Sulawesi Tenggara, founded in 1946, from 1950
called the Pelopor Masyarakat Sulawesi Tenggara (Permaist), and the Rukun Keluarga
“Marunene”, founded in October 1949. There was a special youth organisation for Butonese,
Ikatan Pemuda Indonesia Sulawesi Tenggara, with 200 members.520 In addition many Tolaki and
Tomoronene and others of South-east Celebes origin met each other within the Parkindo.521
519
G.W. Mollema to Dir. SZC, 2/8/1949, ARRZ 2022.
520
“Notulen Rapat Panitia Pembentukan Rukun Keluarga ‘Marunene’”; “Notulen Rapat Umum Panitia Perancang
Pembentukan ‘Ikatan Pemuda Indonesia Sulawesi Tenggara (IPIST)’”; “Politiek Politioneel Verslag van de
Daerah Sulawesi Selatan 1-15 Oktober 1949”, 9.
521
See also note 467.

4. Trade and the economy
4.1. Introductory remark

The story of the opening up of South-east Celebes is the story of modern trade and economic
activity in the eastern part of the archipelago. In its turn this story is closely linked with that of the
Bugis and other migrants, traders and prahu sailors who in the course of time visited the waters of
South-east Celebes, or settled along its coasts. For a long time they formed the principal link of the
Tolaki and Tomoronene with the outside world. This fact justifies a brief excursion into a world
which was alien to both peoples, but would nevertheless increasingly determine their future.
4.2. The Dutch East India Company and the indigenous prahu trade shipping
The arrival of the Dutch East India Company, with its trade monopolies, quotas, mercantilism and
protectionism, soon after 1600 spelled in some respects the arrival of dark times for Insulinde (the
Dutch East Indies). The rise of Batavia was at the expense of other trade centres such as Bantam,
Malacca, and Makassar. Moreover, Surabaya, because of the founding of Batavia in 1619 and its
war with Mataram in 1625, lost its prominent position in the Javanese trade in spices and the prahu
trade with the Moluccas.
The Dutch East India Company concentrated chiefly on the export to Europe of spices from the
Moluccas, coffee and tobacco from Java, and on the import of all manner of painted cloth, pepper
and cinnamon from the Malabar and Coromandel coasts, Bengal and Ceylon, as well as the supply
to the Moluccas of rice and other manufactured goods, foodstuffs and ammunition. Alongside this
the indigenous prahu trade managed to maintain itself in the archipelago, albeit reduced in scope
and, where it was allowed, controlled and regulated. In spite of this, in the seventeenth century the
prahu sailor-traders played an important part in the supply of provisions for Batavia and in the
forwarding of goods in transit and the distribution of these goods, which had been transported there
by the Dutch East India Company and by Chinese junks. Starting in 1624 the number of arriving
and departing indigenous vessels (insofar as they paid toll) was recorded in the Dagh-Registers of
Batavia. In 1657 that was on average 53 a month, but a decade later the number had risen to over a
100. They arrived in Batavia with extremely varied loads, such as beans, rice, salt, oil, fish,
flaxseed, charcoal, various kinds of livestock, sugar, kapok, eggs, ceramics, wood, pepper and
slaves; their return cargoes consisted in the main of cotton cloth from India, gold thread, arak,
copper, iron pots, “comptant” (cash), tin, weapons, lead, scrap metal and Chinese “amphioen”
(opium). They sailed to ports in East Java and on Bali, as well as to Malacca, Johor, and Patani on
the Malay peninsula, and to a growing number of other ports in Southeast and East Asia.
After the Dutch East India Company had conquered Makassar in 1667 and subdued the
Makassarese as a trading nation, Bugis from Bone, Wajo, Mandar (West Celebes) and Butonese
could take the places left open by the Makassarese in the eastern part of the archipelago without
many problems. Ports such as Malacca, Sulu, an elongated group of islands between North-east

Borneo and South-west Mindanao, and to a lesser extent Aceh, offered them virtually unhindered
access to international trade.522
4.3. Recovery of the indigenous shipping trade

After 1667 the Dutch East India Company enlarged its sphere of influence in Southeast and East
Asia further, but this lasted less than a century. Moreover, its hold over territories in maritime
Southeast Asia which were not directly within its sphere of interest was not equally strong
everywhere. The Dutch were not exactly liked. In December 1687 the Englishman William
Dampier, who just like Drake a century earlier, had been royally entertained by the Sultan of Buton,
noted in his journal:
The Sultan seem’d very well pleas’d to be visited by the English; and said he had coveted to have a
sight of Englishmen, having heard extraordinary Characters of their just and honourable Dealing: But
he exclaimed against the Dutch (as all the Mindanayans and all the Indians we met with do) and wish’d
them at a greater distance.523
Also after Dampier the sultan extended a cordial welcome to English ships and supplied them with
provisions.524 An omen warning the Dutch East India Company was also that at the end of the
seventeenth century the Sultan of Ternate refused to sell his cloves to the Dutch, and had his own
ships transport them directly to Manila, Batavia, Malacca and Siam (Burma). Later the position of
the Dutch East India Company improved, and a Dutch traveller, Jacob Roggewein, concluded in
1721 that the Dutch could not wish for a more loyal ally than the fabulously rich Sultan of Buton,
even if the Dutch had to pay a considerable sum for this.525 This situation of relative quiet and
stability did not last long for the Dutch East India Company. After 1750 the rot set in. Posts were
abolished, such as those on the Obi islands east of Celebes in 1758, and during the following three
quarters of a century there grew a considerable power vacuum in the region. More than ever the
British made use of this to penetrate into all the far flung corners of the archipelago in search of
spices, gold, silver, and other valuables. In December 1767 a British warship, the Swallow,526
appeared off Makassar, and, threatening a bombardment, exacted provisions. It subsequently spent
six months anchored off Bantaeng (or Bontaing), a port in South Celebes, waiting for the easterly
monsoon. Dampier (1686-1691), James Cook (1770),527 Thomas Forrest (1774-1776) and other
foreign merchant vessels and explorers had not paid the slightest attention to the restrictions of
navigation imposed by the Dutch and in 1784 (Peace of Paris) the right of free passage for the
British was extended from the China-Batavia-Europe route and vice versa to all waters of the East
522
Van Kampen, Geschiedenis, 615; Ileto, Magindanao, 13, 32; Knaap, Transport 1819-1940, 16-17; Meilink-
Roelofsz, Asian Trade, 256.
523
Dampier, A new voyage, 456.
524
Henry, An historical account, II, 72-73 (1710).
525
Kerr, A general history and collection of voyages and travels, 117-118.
526
Henry, An historical account, III, 152-159; Prior, All the voyages, 291-292.
527
Cook’s travels in the South-east Asian archipelago, in A general collection of voyages and travels, V, chapt. 8-
12.

Indies archipelago. They managed to assert their authority or established a trading post for a shorter
or longer period on Ambon (1796-1803, 1810-1817), Banda (1796),528 Ternate (1801-1803),529
Balambangan (1774-1775),530 in the Sulu archipelago (1761-1837)531 and elsewhere.532 The profits
were huge, but so were the risks: the waters of Southeast Asia were anything but safe, and the
attitude of the population was unpredictable and often hostile.533
The indigenous prahu sailors did not lag far behind. Not that they had ever left the stage entirely or
had ceased their activities. On the contrary, during the whole period of its existence the Dutch East
India Company had to struggle with “Boegyse lorrendrayers”, Bugis who did not take the slightest
notice of its monopoly and trade regulations.534 But from the middle of the eighteenth century they
too profited from the growing power vacuum. Spurred on by the insatiable demand in China for
nearly everything the Indies had to offer, they expanded their sailing routes and trade practices and
breathed new life into old establishments and contacts.
A trade prahu was in some respects a floating market, because the captain and crew were as a rule
traders and owners of the cargo as well, and bought and sold at their own risk. Occasionally the ship
belonged to the captain, or it was rented from a trader on shore for a share of the profits. In
particular the Bugis from Mandar and Wajo were known for their entrepreneurship, strict
organisation, their fast, home-built sailing ships and their excellent seamanship.535 There was fierce
competition, and the markets were mutually divided. They had at their disposal trade networks
which encompassed the archipelago, and were held together by linguistic and family ties. They had
establishments in the most important trade centres and loading ports of the archipelago and the
mainland of South-east Asia, where they called in at set times, following the rhythm of the trade
winds, and usually taking set routes.536 On the eastern parts of Ceram and Goram they had never
been away. Soon after 1760 the first Bugis prahu sailors of the post-VOC period arrived on Banda,
which half a century earlier had been a collection centre for confiscated prahu. One could hardly
imagine a clearer sign that a new age had dawned.537 In 1780 trade in Riau, Johor, Selangor, Penang
and Malacca on the Malay peninsula, and in ports along the coasts of Celebes, Borneo, Sulu, Bali,
Lombok, Ceram and in many other places in the Big East was completely, or at least partly, in
528
Lennon, “Journal of an expedition”.
529
Leupe, “Stukken”; Idem, “Overname”.
530
Island to the north of North Borneo, see my “Alexander Dalrymple en Thomas Forrest: twee Britse empire
builders aan het eind van de 18de eeuw” on this website.
531
Ileto, Magindanao, 13.
532
Ibidem, 12-13.
533
Poelinggomang, Makassar abad XIX, chapt. 2/2; “Een Engelschman, gevangen op de Tenimber-eilanden”.
534
Stapel, Pieter van Dam’s Beschrijvinge van de Oostindische Compagnie, II/1, 100-101, 212.
535
Van Vuuren, “De Prauwvaart van Celebes”, 107-116.
536
The routes taken by Mandarese and Bugis ships in: Van Vuuren, “De Prauwvaart van Celebes”, 110-111
(Mandar – Singapore – Mandar – Spermonde – Makassar – Bantaeng – Balangnipa and from there on to
Ambon/Banda, or to Kendari – Salabangka – Bungku – Mori – Banggai – Sula – Bacan – Tidore/Ternate and
back to Makassar/Mandar). Ships departed for Singapore at the end of October in order to use the east
monsoon, Van Vuuren, “De Prauwvaart van Celebes”, 113, 338-339.
537
Van der Crab, De Moluksche Eilanden, 19-20, 70-72, 78; Stapel, Pieter van Dam’s Beschrijvinge van de
Oostindische Compagnie, II/1, 212.

Bugis hands.538 In the year 1834 alone, 100 Bugis prahu from East Borneo called in at the port of
Singapore, with a total cargo of 3000 tons.539
Their most important trading partners were the Chinese and the Arabs. These bought up goods
brought to Singapore, Padang, Benkulen and Batavia by the Bugis by the shipload. Although they
repeatedly attempted to penetrate the world of the indigenous prahu sailors in the East Indies, and
even chartered Bugis and Makassarese ships complete with crew and everything else, they met with
little success.540 As the nineteenth century progressed their chances took a turn for the better.
Making use of the economic liberalisation in the East Indies after 1850, they brought into action
their own sailing, steam and motor vessels, or they employed the services of Chinese shipping
agents in Manilla or Singapore, such as Wee Bin and Associates, and the ships of the Holt lines,
and, after 1900, of the Java-China-Japan Line. Among other routes these sailed from Singapore to
Celebes and the Moluccas and on from there, whether or not via Java.541 As early as the 1860s and
1870s Gorontalo had a busy, international anchorage.542 Because of the increase of British, German
and other European and American merchant vessels, this meant that the relative share of the
indigenous prahu sailors in merchant shipping in the archipelago gradually declined. The packet
service organised by the government, which started its activities in 1825, did not even get a look in
in the first half century of its existence. This was in part because of lack of ships, but chiefly
because, except for mail, until 1894 there was no direct KPM connection between the Big East and
Singapore. All goods to be exported first had to be transhipped in Tanjung Priok, with all the delay
and potential damage this entailed.543
4.4. Old acquaintances: Makassar and China; Bugis expansion

Even if trade between the Big East and Singapore and the Malay Peninsula was impeded to some
degree by the Dutch control of the straits in between, there was hardly any question of the Dutch
dominating the connections with the north. The insatiable Chinese market was therefore a factor
which should not be underestimated in the recovery of indigenous prahu shipping. The Makassarese
and particularly the Bugis expansion, which took place in the eastern and south eastern parts of the
archipelago after 1750, happened chiefly because of growing demand from China.544 Trade contacts
between the Big East, the Philippines, India and China already developed between 300 BC and 700
AD. The oldest glazed porcelain imported from China found in South Celebes dates from the
twelfth and thirteenth century (Song, 920-1279, and Yuan, 1279-1368), and bronze and iron
utensils and ornaments from India have found their way to the Big East from as early as the fourth
or fifth century AD, probably by means of Austronesian traders as well as traders from the Indian
538
Earl, The Eastern Seas, xi-xiii; Koloniaal Verslag 1877, 27; Pelras, The Bugis, 254-268.
539
Earl, The Eastern Seas, 339.
540
Dick, “Prahu Shipping in Eastern Indonesia”, 11/2, 72 ff.; Koning, Een halve eeuw paketvaart, 223, 262-266;
Van Vuuren, “De Prauwvaart van Celebes”; Bickmore, Travels, 101; Turpijn, “Boegineesche
handelsprauwen”, 118 ff.
541
Van der Crab, De Moluksche Eilanden, 170-172; Koloniaal verslag 1853, 198; Koloniaal verslag 1878, 222.
542
Van Musschenbroek, “Toelichtingen”, 97; Broersma, “Gorontalo”.
543
Knaap, Transport 1819-1940, 24-25; Koning, Een halve eeuw paketvaart, 16, 222.
544
Bickmore, Travels, 315.

subcontinent. Sanskrit inscriptions found also point to early contacts of the region with South Asia.
Until the subjugation of Makassar by the VOC (1667) indigenous fishermen and prahu sailors there
conducted trade with Portuguese, Chinese, British and other traders. Goods traded came from all
parts of South-east Asia and included cloves, nutmeg, mace, pepper, cinnamon sandalwood, karet,
i.e. loggerhead turtles, which were abundant in the waters of the Big East, resins, beeswax and
slaves from Celebes, Buton and surrounding islands. Beeswax and ivory came from Cambodia, lead
from Thailand, copper from Japan, iron from Borneo and Celebes, gold and silver dollars from
Manilla, and cotton and steel from India.545
The first phase of the Bugis expansion to the west, which culminated in Bugis supremacy over Riau
and a number of Malay sultanates, consisted of the settlement of Wajorese in Pasir and Kutai on
East Borneo. In response to this, Chinese junks from Sulu visited East Borneo soon after 1720. In
1736 they arrived in Makassar, which established the first trade contacts between Makassar and
China of the (approaching) post Dutch East India Company era. Occasionally ships diverted to
other ports in the Big East, such as Pare-pare, Bau-Bau, Gorontalo, Manado, Ternate and Ambon in
the Central Moluccas. This happened not only to avoid the high import and export duties in
Makassar, but also at times when Batavia judged it necessary to close Makassar for foreign ships
and forced the Chinese to sail to China from Java. Such measures usually turned out not to be very
effective. After he Chinese insurgence of 1740 the trade of China with Batavia declined, while the
export from the Big East to the Chinese mainland grew. Although Makassar was then already past
its peak, the annual export of sea cucumbers to China around 1850 still amounted to about 9000
pikol, with a total value of one and a half million guilders.546 The export from Amoy and Canton to
Makassar and Borneo included opium, sugar, porcelain, earthenware and copper and brass plates
and dishes, kettles, gongs, umbrellas and other utilitarian objects, tobacco, linen and silk. From
Makassar these goods found their way either to the US or Europe, or further into Southeast Asia.
4.5. Makassar, the Dutch East India Company and Singapore

China was not the only export market for products from the Big East, nor was Sulu the only
warehouse, even though Sulu remained of strategic importance for the trade to the Far East for
much of the nineteenth century.547 Victory in the battle of Plassey (1757) gave the British not only
power over the Indian subcontinent with all its riches, but also placed them at the centre of a
gigantic empire which stretched from the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea in the west to East and
South-east Asia. The Dutch East India Company paid dearly for this. Batavia and Makassar could
only look with envy at how they were relegated to second or third place by the explosive growth of
Calcutta and subsequently by Singapore, which Raffles founded in 1819.548
After 1780 the Dutch East India Company attempted to restrict the damage by means of
protectionist measures, military action against Bugis settlements (destruction of Riau, and
545
Noorduyn, “De handelsrelaties”, 3; Villiers, “One of the especiallest Flowers in our Garden”; Henry, An
historical account, III, 50; Sutherland, “Trepang and wangkang”.
546
The Chinese trepang trade on Macassar is discussed in: Sutherland, “Trepang and wangkang”; Lion, “De
Tripang-visscherij”, 2.
547
Earl, The Eastern Seas, 327 ff.
548
Wong, “The Trade of Singapore 1816-69”, 11-25;Chew, “Dr John Crawfurd (1783-1868)”.

Sukudana on West Borneo in 1786 and Mampawa in 1787) and by concluding new treaties with
indigenous rulers (amongst others Banjarmasin, 1787). After the British had handed back the East
Indies to the Dutch in 1816 and 1817 heavy taxes (up to 75%) were levied on the import of textiles
from Singapore to Makassar, and in 1835 even a total prohibition of import came into effect.549 The
British attempted to get round this by sailing directly to the Big East. Their attempts between 1824
and 1849 to establish some trading posts on the north coast of Australia, the last of which was Port
Essington, were intended to be able to trade in the Big East bypassing such restrictive trade
practices.550 Although this British policy was a failure, the direct trade of the Big East to Singapore
assumed alarming proportions in the first half of the nineteenth century, seen through Dutch eyes.551
The domestic trade from the port of Makassar declined, with only the export to China providing an
acceptable income.552 Moreover, an unceasing stream of British weapons and opium reached the
archipelago and rumours regularly surfaced about British intended hostilities against Dutch
interests.553 Not only were the Bugis a formidable trading nation, they were also about to become an
imposing military and political power in the archipelago – that at any rate was what the Dutch
feared. Their fears were not realised, however, for the anti-Dutch Bugis-British commercial and
military unity, which was demonstrated by the visit of the later “king of Serawak”, the Englishman
Sir James Brooke554 to Bone, Wajo, Sidenreng (Pare-Pare) and Luwuq, in 1839 and 1840, where he
entered into trade contracts and was said to have even discussed a military alliance, in hindsight
turned out to be of much less significance than it was initially feared. Possibly the violent
subjugation of Bone by the British in 1814 had not yet been forgotten.555
Carried along by the rising tide of liberalism and free trade, as well as the wish to do something to
counter the appeal of Singapore, and to undermine the position of the Bugis as a trading nation, the
Dutch from 1846 opened up an increasing number of ports to international shipping, such as
Makassar in September of that year, followed by Manado and a few ports in the Moluccas in 1853.
In subsequent years a number of protectionist measures were revoked, some of which dated from
the Dutch East India Company period, while others were connected with the cultivation system
(Cultuurstelsel). Of particular significance for South and South-east Celebes was that ports in self-
governing regions, so-called indigenous ports, such as Malili, Palima, Bajoé, Kendari and Bau-Bau
were opened up for international shipping, which provided them with a direct connection with
Singapore, China and Japan. Except for the implementation of a customs union in the Big East
around 1900, this liberal trade policy existed until a few years before World War II.556
549
Wong, “The Trade of Singapore 1816-69”, 15-16.
550
Earl, The Eastern Seas, 431-433.
551
Tideman, “Zuid-Celebes voorheen en thans”, 77.
552
553
Michielsen, “Journaal van D.F.H. Helbach”, 587.
554
A Selection from Papers Relating to Borneo, 19; Keppel, Expedition, II, chapt. 10; Runciman, The White
Rajah; Low, Sarawak.
555
Van Kampen, Geschiedenis, III, 617; Van den Bosch, Nederlandsche bezittingen, 80; Wong, “The Trade of
Singapore 1816-69", 14-15; Kartodirdjo, Ikhtisar, 291.
556
On Celebes island, the number of international port rose from three (1846), via four (1874) and 34 (1912) to 41
(1938), Knaap, Transport 1819-1940, 47.

The commercial and military expansion of the Bugis also forced the colonial government in another
way to abandon its somewhat aloof attitude towards the Big East; it was forced to establish its
authority over the whole of Celebes, even if only on paper. Because of this the Governor of
Makassar was promoted to Governor of Celebes and Dependencies, which took place in November
1846. As early as in 1824 the government had decided to open military posts in some strategic
spots, such as Donggala (Bay of Palu), Buton and Pare-Pare, locations which were of importance
for international shipping, and where trade was chiefly dominated by a few rich Arabs.557 Although
military campaigns against small realms such as Bungku, Banggai, Tomini (1854), Mori (1855-
1856), Bone and its allies (1824-1825, 1859-1860 and later) and Jailolo (Halmahera, 1876), did not
affect South-east Celebes directly, they were significant in a wider context because they brought
more and more territory on Celebes under colonial rule and gave the government more say in the
choice of heads en rulers and other internal affairs of the regions than had previously been the
case.558
Of importance was also that in 1874, in connection with the war in Aceh (1873-1903), a general
prohibition on the importation of weapons and ammunition was proclaimed in the Dutch East
Indies, which, as far as Celebes was concerned, were mostly shipped in from Singapore to Pare-
Pare.559 The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 brought about an increase in intensity of the
economic, governmental and political relations between Europe and Asia/Australia and guaranteed
the Asiatic world fast and easy access to growing European markets. Also in part due to the
introduction of steamships the time of the voyage was reduced from several months or half a year to
several weeks.560
Of the crops and forestry produce of the Big East one must mention copra and soy bean oil first of
all; both were used in the European and American manufacturing industries of margarine and soap.
Additionally copal and resins of a number of Agathis and Dipterocarpaceae varieties, of which
even in 1850 80% was exported via Singapore, and further cinnamon, beeswax, sago flour, rattan,
tapioca (cassava flour for cattle feed) and tropical woods such as jati (teak), ironwood, balam, bitti,
kolaka wood, ebony561 and tolunga (dyeing wood, Tol.).
The figures show what enormous wealth was at stake: the total value of the export from the Outer
Territories increased explosively. While it was 66 million guilders around 1900, by 1910 it had
increased to 157 million. It grew further to 320 million in 1913, more than 700 million in 1919, and
964 million guilders in 1925. After this there was a decline, which accelerated after 1929. The
lowest point was reached in 1933-1935, namely 260 million guilders. Subsequently there was some
recovery, with an average of 475 million in the last years before World War II.562
557
Matthes, “Beknopt verslag van een verblijf in die binnenlanden van Celebes”, 1-3; Matthes, “Beknopt verslag
mijner reizen in de Binnenlanden van Celebes”, 71-72; Koloniaal verslag 1877, 15; Idem 1889, 18.
558
Locher-Scholten, “‘Een gebiedende noodzakelijkheid’”, 147; Militaire Spectator, 3rd series, 1st part (Breda,
1856) 527; Herfkens, De Expeditie naar Boni; Van Musschenbroek, Medeedelingen, 95.
559
Koloniaal verslag 1874, 6; Koloniaal verslag 1880, 17.
560
Wong, “The Trade of Singapore 1816-69”, 5.
561
562
Clemens, Regional Patterns, 33-34; Cohen, “De economische beteekenis der Boschbijproducten van de
Buitengewesten”, App. I1 and Ib (1928-1938), II.

The wealth of South-east Celebes did not just consist of forestry produce. Quite early there existed
plans with regard to fitting out the Bay of Usu (Malili) to be an ocean port in case the ore mines in
the Wawo Umbo mountains would turn out to produce the quantities of iron ore which were
expected to be found there. In order to be able to gain maximum profit from all these natural riches,
in 1899 the whole of the Big East was turned into a customs union, in which import and export
duties had to be levied in the shipping ports themselves. The right to charge excise the relevant
local indigenous authorities had to transfer to the colonial government, for which purpose it
established tollhouses in various ports. The 1906 termination of the status of free port for Makassar,
the biggest international port of the Big East, a status which it had been given in 1847, fitted within
this framework and was intended to be the conclusion of this trade policy. This economic and
political expansion of the colonial government met with forceful resistance, however, of the most
important and until that time semi-independent princedoms of South Celebes. This had dramatic
consequences: the military campaign against Bone of 1905-1906.563
The significance of Singapore as the commercial centre of South-east Asia can hardly be over-
estimated. Among other things this was noticeable from the changing pattern of trade relations: the
British captains of tramp ships, who once stocked up on their forestry produce, potable water and
coconuts along distant bays and secluded coasts, were ousted by Bugis, Chinese and a few Arabs
and Japanese who had connections with Singapore, India, Canton, Amoy (present day Xiamen in
Fujian) and Fukien, who settled in Makassar, Gorontalo, Manado, Ambon and Ternate and there
opened business firms and agencies. From these they controlled an elaborate network of buyers and
suppliers and also from there they shipped their goods.564 L.P.D. op ten Noort, principal agent of the
then recently established KPM, during a voyage of inspection in 1890, had to come to the
conclusion that Makassar at that time was little more than a “suburb of Singapore”.565 The
commercial supremacy of Singapore over the eastern part of the archipelago lasted until World War
I, after which Makassar began to recapture ground as an international trade, handling and
transhipment port.566
4.6. The sea and everything upon it

4.6.1. Setting the scene
Elbert, who during his 1909 expedition thought he detected pirates and slave-traders behind every
rock and spit, and whose description of the land and people of South-east Celebes and the islands
contains rather a lot of factual errors, was put in his place by several other contemporary travellers
and researchers. One of these was Van Vuuren, who from 1910 to 1922 was the Head of the Office
for Encyclopaedic Research (Encyclopaedisch Bureau) at Weltevreden, and in that capacity
travelled through Celebes in the years of 1912-1914.567 He contrasted Elbert’s “inflated pages”, in
which he painted a one-sided and negative picture of the island’s inhabitants,568 with the kind words
563
Locher-Scholten, “‘Een gebiedende noodzakelijkheid,”, 149-154.
564
Van der Hart, Reize rondom het eiland Celebes, 99; Van Musschenbroek, “Toelichtingen”, 93.
565
Koning, Een halve eeuw paketvaart, 56.
566
Ibidem, chapt. V.
567
See also Bouman, “Memorie”, 11.
568
Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 137-142.

of the zoologist Max W.C. Weber, the leader of the Siboga expedition of 1899-1900, who referred
to them in positive terms569 and came to the conclusion that “the inhabitants of these islands
[belong] to the best subjects of our government. They diligently conduct trade with their good
prahu. Otherwise they live off fishing, while the women weave textiles which are used in barter
trade”.570 Such satisfaction was, it must be added, a fairly new phenomenon. In earlier days the
islanders generally were discussed in far less favourable terms.
4.6.2. Slavery; the nineteenth century “crusades”

Before the arrival of the Europeans in the sixteenth century piracy was a relatively rare event in the
archipelago; trade was free – except for Ternate’s short-lived monopoly on the spice trade in the
Moluccas in the fourteenth century –, the seas were rich, the land fertile. The demand for the
products of see and forest in China, which under the Song and Yuan dynasties went through a
period of great prosperity, about which Marco Polo wrote with so much enthusiasm,571 brought
hundreds of Chinese junks to the waters of the archipelago every year. This continued until the
isolation imposed on China by the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), which began towards the middle of
the fifteenth century. Apart from the Bugis and Makassarese, in the fifteenth century Javanese and
Arab traders also turned up in Bau-Bau,572 Ternate and Banda (in 1609: 1500 Javanese traders),
which stimulated the trade of the Big East to Malacca and India, situated further to the west.
But, as has been argued above, the arrival of the Dutch East India Company around 1600 dealt the
indigenous prahu shipping trade a severe blow, although it did not disappear. The shipping trade to
China had already been in strong decline after 1433,573 and in the seventeenth century the
Portuguese and Arabs disappeared from the Moluccas and Makassar. The period of flourishing
trade and tremendous profits was over. Forced by necessity prahu sailors looked for other
employment, and a number of them turned to plunder and pillage, an existence that gained in
respectability in the next two and a half centuries, and in which sultans, princes and heads
participated. Pillage became a flourishing trade activity, and the most important commodity
consisted of men, women and children. Hijacking and piracy were tools in the struggle for the
scarce amount of trade still available to the indigenous prahu sailors. At the same time it was
possible in this manner to settle old feuds between states, kampongs and heads, in which the
hunting for slaves and so-called hongi expeditions (inspection expeditions) were ways of
conducting trade as well as war. Upon their arrival the Dutch fitted into this system with ease, and
added little to it. However, at times they outdid their competitors in malice and inhumane
behaviour. The despotic power over the indigenous people which in the eighteenth century some
569
Weber, Die Niederländische Siboga Expedition.
570
Van Vuuren, Het Gouvernement Celebes, I, 395.
571
Rodzinski, The Walled Kingdom, 123-143, 151-152; zie [Polo], The Travels, chapt. IV.
572
The population of Kulisusu (North Buton) consisted for a part of slaves who had been brought there during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Bouman, “Memorie”, 40.
573
Levathes, When China Ruled the Seas, chapt. 10.

employees of the Company had managed to acquire, had even damaged its status to such an extent
that it considered itself obliged to issue instructions to restrict this practice.574
The trade in people met the increasing demand for labour: without slave labour the cultivation of
cloves in the Moluccas and the wet rice cultivation on a big scale in South Celebes would have been
impossible.575 For many centuries, until the time of Ligtvoet (last quarter of the nineteenth century),
slaves were an important item of trade for Buton and Kendari: as early as the beginning of the
seventeenth century the British bought their slaves in Bau-Bau for trading posts in Makassar,
Banten, Benkulen and Jambi.576 During a visit to Buton in December 1687 Dampier wrote about the
Dutch slave trade:
For Macassar is not very far from hence, one of the cheifest Towns that the Dutch have in those parts.
From thence the Dutch come sometimes hither to purchase Slaves. The Slaves that these People get
here and sell to the Dutch, are some of the idolatrous Natives of the Island, who not being under the
Sultan, and having no Head, live straggling in the Country, flying from one place to another to preserve
themselves from the Prince and his Subjects, who hunt after them to make them Slaves. For the
civilised Indians of the Maritime Places, who trade with Foreigners, if they cannot reduce the inland
People to the Obedience of their Prince, they catch all they can of them and sell them for Slaves,
accounting them to be but as Savages, just as the Spaniards do the poor Americans.577
Apart from Buton, slave markets existed also on Bali and Mindanao, north of Celebes, the latter of
which exported to, among other destinations, Batavia, Pontianak and Singapore. The Sulu
archipelago had a slave market too, at any rate until the Spanish intervened in the years 1848-1862;
in this respect also Belu and Bulongan on the east coast of Borneo were notorious. Around 1900
Pare-Pare, on the west coast of south Celebes, was an important market and port for the export of
slaves.578 The Paternoster Islands between East Java and South-west Celebes, Flores, Donggala,
Jampea, Bonerate, Labuantobelo (“Port of the Tobelorese”) on north Buton, Kalatua, Bonerate, the
Obi and Banggai Islands and Muna, were all favourite refuges for pirates, refugees and slave
hunters.579 On Java in the nineteenth century Dutch language newspapers contained advertisements
for slaves, and slaves were sold by bids at auction.580 From 1873 the Dutch Consul in Jeddah (Saudi
Arabia) was confronted with a growing number of slaves from Celebes who used the haj
(pilgrimage) to obtain their freedom.581
After the British upon their arrival in 1811 had prohibited all forms of slave trade in the East Indies,
the Dutch, after the return of the archipelago in 1816/1817, organised “crusades” against
574
“Compagniesverzameling uit 1755 en bijbehoorende instructie”; Reid, Southeast Asia, vol. I, 102, 129-136;
575
Broersma, “Rijst en Mais in Bone”.
576
Sutherland, “Power, Trade and Islam”; Villiers, “One of the especiallest Flowers in our Garden”, 166.
577
Dampier, A new voyage, 456-457.
578
à Campo, “Patronen”, 103; Sarasin, Reisen, II, 170-171; Van Braam Morris, “Het Landschap Loehoe”, 515-
517; Koloniaal verslag 1865, 57; “Het eiland Celebes volgens de togten en ontdekkingen van Jacques Nicolas
Vosmaer”, 321-328.
579
Koloniaal verslag 1853, 53; Idem 1860, 44; Idem 1861, 19 ff.; Laging Tobias, “Memorie”, passim.
580
“De zeerooverijen der Soeloerezen”; Earl, The Eastern Seas, 27-28.
581
Bigalke, A social history of “Tana Toraja” 1870-1965, 62-63.

buccaneers and pirates. In 1827 the pirates on Wawoni, a large island off the coast of Kendari, were
the target582 and in the years following (1828-1832) the Dutch started to fight the Bugis colonists on
West and North Muna. It is likely that the latter had been instrumental in a rebellion of Tiworo
(North Muna) against Buton, which erupted in 1816 and lasted until 1823. These Bugis laid claim
to the north of Buton, Wakarumba and Kalisusu, inhabited by many Munanese. This was territory
still belonging to Ternate – the renunciation of 1682 to Buton had been forgotten and the
sovereignty was not definitely settled until 1847583 – even though the sultan was only recognised in
name and could not maintain his authority there. In all probability at the bottom of this was the ruler
of Tiworo, called Lasambawa (also known as Lapadaku Daeng Mampawa584), a son of the Bugis
Aru Bakung and a princess from Tiworo, who was married to I Maho, a member of the elite of
Laiwoi. If this supposition is correct, close ties existed between the Bugis of Buton and those of
Lasampara and the Bay of Kendari, and the events of the years 1816-1823 were not a case of
piracy, as the government and later historians classified the situation,585 but the – for the local
population for that matter equally disastrous – settlement of complicated claims to power which
were related to the trade and marriage policies of the Bugis.586
In the struggle against buccaneers and pirates a distinction was made between trepang fishermen
and traders who raided a lost or beached ship or lonely coastal kampongs whenever they got the
opportunity, and “professional pirates”. Among the latter were included the inhabitants of some
coastal hamlets in Kolaka, Banggai and Bungku,587 the inhabitants of Toli-Toli in North Celebes,
and of Lohia on Muna,588 of Tobelo and Galela on the north-west coast of Halmahera,589 as well as
the Sulurese and seafarers of North-Borneo and Magindanao.590 These usually had well-armed and
well-equipped ships at their disposal, and, in case of emergency, could withdraw to their own ports
of refuge or settlements.591 In 1850 Van der Hart was met by a series of complaints about
plundering raids and hijackings on Buton and in Kendari. A very short time before his arrival a
certain Sorani, a Tobelorese who was said to enjoy the protection of heads in Ternate and Banggai,
had hijacked two Bugis prahu from Laiwoi, the crew of which were in part murdered, in part
carried off as slaves.592
582
Obviously with success. Vosmaer found the island uninhabited, “Het eiland Celebes volgens de togten en
ontdekkingen van Jacques Nicolas Vosmaer”, 284.
583
Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 176.
584
Ligtvoet, “Beschrijving en geschiedenis van Boeton”, 22; Van Oosten, “Voorlopige schets”, App. A.
585
Sutherland, “Power, Trade and Islam”, 161.
586
Ligtvoet, “Beschrijving en geschiedenis van Boeton”, 22, 95.
587
Clercq, Bijdragen, describes how in 1822 the coastal village of Kolongcucu, Buton, had been attacked by
pirates from Magindanao and Jailolo (Halmahera). The village was ransacked and all villagers were carried off.
588
Boll, “Eenige mededeelingen omtrent het eiland Moena”, 1024-1026.
589
Koloniaal verslag 1879, 27-28,
590
Koloniaal Verslag 1849, 26-29.
591
Koloniaal verslag 1850, 19-20; Idem 1853, 53; Bickmore, Travels, 319-321; à Campo, “Patronen”, 80 and note
7; cf. Lapian, “Holy Warriors from the Sea”.
592
Van der Hart, Reize rondom het eiland Celebes, 43, 64, 90-93, 109-110; Laging Tobias, “Memorie”.

4.6.3. Decline of piracy and slave hunting

When Weber wrote the words quoted above, both slave hunting and piracy were in decline.
Although during most of the nineteenth century, in part as a result of the influx of arms from
Britain, such “mischief” occurred to a degree the government considered unacceptable, after a peak
in the third quarter of that century, the fight against it gained in effectiveness and the number of
instances diminished.593 New shipping lines for freight and passenger transport were opened and the
KPM and its daughter company, the Celebes Kustvaart Maatschappij (Celebes Coastal Shipping
Company) in Manado (1935), expanded their services. Marine patrols were intensified, and carried
out with ever more modern and faster ships.594 The Bay of Kendari was included in this.595 Large
parts of Celebes were brought under the supervision of the government, often with a firm hand.596
The Spanish too, whose military power in the southern Philippines had grown significantly since
1815, the year when they lost Acapulco in Mexico,597 and who as a rule obstructed the Dutch
wherever they could, and the British, participated in the fight against hijackers and pirates.598
Another factor of importance was that the troops of a number of rulers and sultans, among whom
the powerful Sultans of Kutei (east Borneo), Tidore and Ternate, some of whom were suspected of
involvement in piracy, were placed under direct colonial command in order to enhance maritime
safety.599
The fact that successes were achieved in the fight against hijackers and pirates did not alter the fact
that these remained extremely inventive. They knew the coasts and seas better than anyone. They
changed their routes and adapted their strategies, for example, by concentrating more on swift raids
on coastal villages and by organising slave hunting expeditions in the interior of Celebes and on
Selayar, Binongko, Kabaena, Muna and Buton.600 South-east Celebes also got its share. In Kendari
panic broke out in 1874 because of an imminent raid by Tobelorese, but this did not eventuate.601
Until after World War II the Tolaki and Tomoronene told each other stories about raids by
Tobelorese and hijackers from the island of Banggai,602 and about the heroic deeds of Haluoleo in
the fight against them.603 During a journey from Poso to Mori in 1899 Adriani noticed that many of
the slaves used by the Bugis in Central Celebes were Tolaki (called by him “Tolalaki”) and Tomuna
and from this he drew the conclusion that South-east Celebes supplied many slaves.604 That even
after 1900 the threat of pirates was still current is shown by the fact that a short time before this the
593
à Campo, “Patronen”, 95-99; Van Musschenbroek, “Toelichtingen”, 94.
594
“Kort verslag van den stand van zaken en van het personeel in de residentie Amboina over de maand Mei
1872”, 6/6/1872, AA 587.
595
Veth, “Beccari’s reis van Makassar naar Kendari”, 201.
596
Laging Tobias, “Memorie”.
597
Schurz, The Manila Galleon; Hecht, “The Manila Galleon Trade (1565–1815)”.
598
à Campo, “Patronen”, 102; Koloniaal verslag 1862, 1863, 1864, passim.
599
Koloniaal verslag 1877, 12; Idem 1876, 22; Idem 1879, 30; idem 1880, 22; Idem 1890, 19.
600
Bigalke, A social history of “Tana Toraja” 1870-1965, 64; Van Vuuren, “Unter Kopfjägern in Central-
Celebes”, 1539; Van Musschenbroek, “Memorie”, 14 ff; Tideman, “Zuid-Celebes voorheen en thans”, 86-87.
601
Van Musschenbroek, “Memorie”, 32.
602
Retold in Marie C. Kooy-van Zeggelen, Het zeerooversjongetje. First edition 1920; reprinted as recently as
1989.
603
604
Adriani, “Van Posso naar Mori”, 160-161.

coastal settlement of Towari on the border of Kolaka and Poleang was relocated a few kilometres
inland because too many inhabitants had already been abducted by sea. The last raid, of which
Hadji Punggawa was accused, had taken place in 1902.605 Although on the arrival of the
government “the notorious head” So Yawie turned out to be deceased and “sixteen members of the
gang” of So Yawie had been eliminated by the local population, the civilian authority in Kolaka in
1908 had to advise that “in recent times reports have reached us of iniquities committed, which
refer to the plundering of prahu and the threat to people.” Suspicion fell on another “notorious gang
leader”, Hadji Hasan from Palopo. Hasan was one of the most feared commanders of the 1905-1906
war, who received support from the highest circles in Luwuq. It took the government a long time to
apprehend him, but he died in prison in 1915.606 The area on the border of Kolaka and Poleang and
further south was a no man’s land and, until the Japanese period, a free port for anyone who wanted
nothing to do with the colonial authorities, the kraton in Bau-Bau or the self-government of
Mekongga. All this was connected with the fact that many Tomoronene villages in this region, most
of which had been established on the orders of the government, only existed on paper. The area was
too unsafe. As late as the 1920s children were kidnapped in Rumbia from Poleang, and vice
versa.607
In September 1906 an investigation was begun into possible slave trade in South-east Celebes. It
then became clear that on Muna slave hunts were conducted, and children, young women and men
were abducted and taken to Kendari, where they were put up for sale, generally to Chinese from
Makassar. Undoubtedly Sao-Sao will have had his share of the profit. Investigations in Makassar at
that time resulted in the liberation of 72 slaves; as a consequence of this affair the population of
Muna was registered more quickly, and a military garrison stationed there.608
4.7. Commercial shipping trade

4.7.1. The Bajos
Above we saw the larger framework within which trade on the coasts of South-east Celebes
occurred. However, apart from the prahu sailors of Celebes another people of seafarers deserve
attention: the Bajos or Sama.609 Because they had been around in coastal waters of the whole of
South-east Asia for centuries, they occur in numerous old tales and legends.610 Raffles wrote about
them with appreciation.611 Their language contained Bugis, Makassarese, Javanese and Malay
elements. Many Bajos spent their lives on board their prahu covered with wooden roofs (atap),
home-built sampan, soppek and padewakang, and lived off what they caught from the sea and the
shipping trade. Some of them built “sea villages”, which consisted of groups of dwellings on stilts
605
Baden, “Rapport”, 6; Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 200; Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [8]-[9]. In 1923 Hadji
Punggawa lived in Baru, a village east of Buapinang, H. van der Klift, “Onderzoekingsreis naar Roembia,
Polea en Boeton”, 3/7/1923, ARRZ 2025.
606
Wieland, “Memorie”, [7]-[8]; [Dirks], “Memorie”, 11; Heijting, “Memorie”, 22.
607
608
609
Note 24.
610
Pingak, Dokumenta Kolaka, 38; Van Verschuer, “De Badjo,s”.
611
“Discourse of the Honorable the President Tho. Stamford Raffles”, 19-20.

above the water, one of which was located a few miles off the coast off Buapinang (Poleang) in
1916.612 Others had permanently settled on land somewhere, whether ordered by the authorities to
do so or not, or had placed themselves under the protection of a local ruler or head, e.g. the son of
Lolo Bajo, a Bajo head, who was married to a daughter of bokeo Laduma.613 Pulemo and Lemowajo
were coastal villages in Lasolo entirely populated by Bajos. They had established coconut gardens
and over time had achieved a certain measure of affluence. They had adopted Islam and built some
langgar, simple structures where sembahyang (prayer sessions) were held, and where a guru
instructed the village boys in ngaji, reciting the Koran in Arabic.614 The Bajos on Bawulu, a small
island off the coast of Sawa, and on the islands of Tembako and Wembe in the Strait of Tiworo,
also applied themselves to the cultivation of coconuts in addition to trade and fishing.
Goedhart (1908) reported that the Bajos in the waters of southern Celebes traditionally came under
the authority of the rulers of Bone and paid tribute to them, while before this, in the heyday of
Makassar, they had been tributary to the rulers of Goa, who, until they were driven away by Bone,
which was supported by the Dutch East India Company, had also exercised their authority over
parts of the east coast of South-east Celebes.
There are in existence kelong (quatrains of eight, eight, five, eight syllables per line) from Makassar
in which Bajos are mentioned.615 Agreeing with Makassarese chronicles, these relate how one of
them once was elected as ruler of Goa. Having come to shore to look for coconuts and drinking
water the population took him to be a tomanurung, a celestial being who had descended to earth.
Sometimes it concerned the daughter of a Bajo head, who, shipwrecked on the coast of Goa, and,
taken to be a tomanurung, married a Makassarese ruler. Another tradition has it that a certain
Karaeng Bajo married a tomanurung, who appeared in Goa at the time of the nine rulers
(gallarrang). According to the kelong printed below the Makassarese rulers are descended from
them:616
Manna Bajo tabajonu Whether you are a Bajo or not

Manna Tidung tatidungnu Whether you are a Tidung or not
Bajo karaeng The Bajo is lord
Ana’na tunisombaya His descendants are rulers
Teako callai Bajo Don’t raise your voice against the Bajos
Caccara’ka turije’ne’ Do not criticise the people of the water
612
613
614
615
Cf. the story told by Treffers, in “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 197.
616
Before the coming of the tomanurung in S. Celebes there existed nine small Makassarese kingdoms (Tombolo,
Saumata, Parang-Parang, Data, Agang Je,ne,, Bisei, Kalling, Sero), each having its own gallarang (king). The
political situation lacked stability until at a place called Taka,bassia (taka, - coral reef, bassi - iron) the
tomanurung appeared. She married Karaeng Bajo and by doing so became the queen of the nine kingdoms.
After having established through her children a new dynasty, which ruled to general satisfaction, she
disappeared again. The new political entity she and her children created was Goa, according to Noorduyn, “The
manuscripts”, 461; cf. Matthes, “Boegineesche en Makassaarsche Legenden”, 382-384; Friedericy, “De
Gowa-Federatie”; Buddingh, “Het Nederlandsche Gouvernement”, 445-446; Cense, Woordenboek, 308, sub
kasuiang.

Nia’pa Bajo Only since there was a Bajo

Nania’ somba ri Goa has Goa had rulers
Manna Bajo manna Tidung Whether you are a Bajo or a Tidung
Mannamamo turije’ne’ Also if you belong to the people of the sea
Minawang ngaseng Everyone follows him
Irawangngang parentana Is subject to his rule.617
Since the subjugation of Makassar by Cornelis Speelman in 1667 the heads of the Bajos lived in
Bajoé, a port in Bone called after these people, where they had their own hadat. Their ruler had the
title of lolo, other members of the hadat were a punggawa, a gallarrang and a kapitang. Lower
ranking heads were the punggawa laut and a punggawa ca’di, heads of larger and smaller groups of
families. Their fate shows that trade and war are incompatible, for twice they had to leave Bajoé as
a result of riots and on both occasions a number of them sought refuge in South-east Celebes. The
first time this happened as a consequence of the government campaign against Bone in 1824 and
1825, the “Bone War”,618 when many Bajos and others fled to the Bay of Mekongga, where they
erected “over 200 houses”, which, however, had disappeared again ten years later.619 At that time
others settled along the Bay of Kendari under Aru Bakung, who has been mentioned above. The
second time they were forced to seek refuge was in connection with the eruption of a conflict, at the
start of the year 1900, between the government and the then ruler of Bone, La Pawawoi Karaeng
Segeri Matinroe ri Bandung (1895-1905). This conflict concerned the right to levy taxes in Bajoé
and in another port on the Gulf of Bone, the busy Palima – a conflict that was to end with the
subjugation of Bone and other realms in South, South-east and Central Celebes in 1905 and 1906.620
As a result of this the Bajo heads left Bajoé; the lolo settled in Kendari, the gallarrang on the
Salabangka islands off the coast of Tinde Inia (South Bungku), followed a short time later by the
punggawa. This led to a substantial increase in the Bajo community and its fleet in this place. In
1908 the Bajos of the east coast of Celebes had at their disposal 80 larger padewakang and 20
smaller soppek.621
They joined groups which had spread along the east coast of Celebes long before. As a rule they
were obliged to pay tax to the ruler or authority of the area they inhabited. This could add up to 20
or 30% of the catch (1854).622 For the rest they were virtually independent, at least in as far as they
maintained their traditional life at sea. They recognised only their own heads and had their own
617
This and other kelong were collected by the author in Makassar and on Selayar island. The author is grateful to
dr. J. Noorduyn (Leiden) who gave advise regarding the translation. Cf. Cummings, A chain of kings.
618
Indische Gids, XXVII (1905), 1185-1186.
619
Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 72-74.
620
Locher-Scholten, “‘Een gebiedende noodzakelijkheid,”, 149-154; Patunru, Sedjarah Bone, 271 ff; Lucardie,
De expeditie.
621
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 472, 517-520.
622
Bosscher, “Schetsen”, 91, 105; Van der Hart, Reize rondom het eiland Celebes, 269; Elbert, Die Sunda-
Expedition, I, 184.

judges.623 In the popular tradition of Muna they left behind their footprint, as the following story
will show:624
Once, in the old days, some people came here to Muna, about thirty families; they stayed on the beach
of the village of Mantobua,625 called Meleura. They all came with their own boats. As soon as they had
come ashore on the beach they went to report to the village head, who is called lord of Mantobua. When
they came before the lord of Mantobua, he asked them: “Who are you, and where have you come
from?” The newly arrived people replied: ”We are roaming Bajos, our abode is any beach where we
think there is something to eat. At present we are constantly pursued by bad people who kill us at sea.
This is the reason why we left and fled, until we arrived on the beach of your village. And the reason of
our appearance before you is this: we ask permission to live here, on the beach of your village.” The
lord of Mantuboa spoke: “You have permission to live there, but you must not keep yourselves apart
from solidarity,626 I mean: what we call helping each other in this village you belong to as well.” The
Bajos replied: ”How would we alone keep ourselves apart from solidarity? After all, we have now heard
what you have reminded us of. All different customs in this village we will observe.” Then the lord of
Mantobua spoke again. When they had heard these words from the lord of Mantobua the Bajos present
were very happy; they immediately asked for permission to depart and returned to the beach. When they
had arrived there everyone at once started to cut wood for their houses. They did not yet worry about
food as much, since they had brought quite a few provisions. When they had lived there for just over
three months all their houses were finished.
A month went by, a year went by, and they also cultivated the land, they planted crops to sustain them,
apart from what they caught at sea. After this they also learnt to weave sarongs from the cotton they had
planted themselves; in short, what they saw the Munanese from Mantobua make, they themselves also
made. The distance from where they lived to the coast called Meleura was probably around a thousand
fathoms. Close to where they lived was the well where the people of Mantobua fetched their water, and
this therefore also became the place where they obtained their fresh water.
After they had lived there for a long time they noticed that the yield and crops they lived on were
diminishing. Therefore they discussed seeking a stretch of beach elsewhere to live on. Then they asked
the people of Mantobua what the beach on the west coast of Muna was like. The people of Mantobua
replied that it was not all that far away. Subsequently, some time later, four people went to try it; they
took provisions and walked over land. After two days and one night they arrived at the beach along the
west coast of Muna. Not far from the place where they stayed there was a small cold-water lake called
Wula Moni.627 After they had slept there for a night, they went back, for they saw no dead land in the
place where they wanted to settle.628 When they got back to Mantobua they said that they had seen a
good place to live on the west coast of Muna. When they left the west coast of Muna, the provisions
they had brought with them were finished, so they had simply taken water from lake Wula Moni to
623
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 498; Vosmaer, “Gegevens over Kendari en over de Badjo,s
(1835)”, 144.
624
From Ceritera Rakyat Sulawesi Tenggara, text 37.
625
At present Mantobua is located 10 km south of Raha and circa 5 km inland from the east coast. In the old days
is was situated somewhat to the southeast in the hills.
626
Kakolalo, here translated “solidarity”, actually means “sensibleness”, “maturity”.
627
Wula Moni - rising moon.
628
“Dead land” indicates an area which has been stricken by a natural disaster like an epidemic of draught. The
absence of “dead land” in fact is a good omen.

drink on the way back. They had not finished this supply of water on the way, so there was still some
left when they got back to Mantobua. When they arrived in Mantobua they poured the leftover water
into their water barrels, so that it got mixed with the water from Mantobua. And how is this possible,
but as soon as these two kinds of water mixed with each other, the sky suddenly darkened, while it was
the middle of the dry period. Then came rain and wind. When the rain and wind had lasted seven days
and seven nights, a man came to the house of the lord of Mantobua to ask him how it was possible to
get the rain and wind to end. He also told him that the rain and the wind had started as a result of the
fact that water from Wula Moni had been mixed with water that had been drawn from the well where
they lived, near the beach of Mantobua.
While the lord of Mantobua was still speaking with the Bajos, how is this possible, suddenly a report
arrived that the abode of the Bajos on the beach had been submerged. They went to take a look, the lord
of Mantobua and his entourage, and indeed it had been submerged, and had become a small lake, there
no longer was any house, they had been completely submerged together with all the people. Only the
people who had come to speak with the lord of Mantobua had survived. Therefore this place is called
Motonuno.629 From then on the lord of Mantobua has instructed his subjects that water from Wula Moni
should not be mixed with water from Motonuno. This was the story of the village of Motonuno on
Muna.
As far as the east coast of South-east Celebes is concerned, the number of Bajos declined in the
second half of the nineteenth century. The main cause was the high levies which the sahbandar of
Kendari (who hailed from Bone) charged them. Some sought refuge in the Salabangka archipelago,
where, since 1876, they had their own head, who was appointed by the European authorities.630
Most, however, settled along the Gulf of Tomini. This migration led to a considerable decrease in
the supply of trepang and karet to Makassar, to the benefit of Gorontalo.631 Of the Bajo settlements
along the east coast of South-east Celebes around 1900 the one in the Salabangka archipelago was
the most important. It was larger, more affluent and more populous than those in the Bay of
Kendari.632
There were Bajos who lived in dwellings on stilts built over water near ports or above rich fishing
grounds, others lived their lives on board their small prahu equipped with sails, occasionally
visiting an island or going ashore. They were (and are) known in all ports and conducted trade with
the local population. They formed an important link in the economic relations of the Tolaki and
Tomoronene with the outside world. Until the anthrax epidemic of the 1930s they bought water
buffaloes from them and transported these via Makassar, Luwuq and Malili, to, amongst other
destinations, Tanah Toraja, where they were used during festivals for the dead. Afterwards they
reintroduced water buffaloes in South-east Celebes, to replenish the herds which had been
decimated by anthrax. Water buffaloes were essential for the heavy hauling in the forests, for work
in the wet irrigation rice paddies which were being established in various spots, and as suppliers of
skins, meat and horn.633
629
Motonuno - submerged.
630
Koloniaal Verslag 1881, 19.
631
Van der Hart, Reize rondom het eiland Celebes, 30, 40, 99-100, 267-268; Van Verschuer, “De Badjo,s”, 6.
632
633
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 23; Taatgen, “Memorie”, 7; Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 15.

The Bajos began their voyages towards the end of the rainy period, around April. Their hunting and
fishing grounds lay, apart from near the coasts of Celebes, in the waters of Bonerate, Tanimbar,
New Hollandia and northern Australia.634 These were rich in trepang, seaweed, which, when boiled
and dried, produced a sought-after jelly (agar-agar), oysters, karet, sea cows (Halicora dugong),
called by them diyu (cf. Indon. duyung), sharks and all sorts of shells.635 In Kendari, in 1848, they
landed an estimated 500 to 600 pikol trepang and 12 pikol karet, which subsequently was
transported to Bau-Bau, Makassar or Gorontalo, and from there to China. At the beginning of the
twentieth century (1908) the annual trepang export from Salabangka amounted to about 28 tons
(450 pikol), the export of shells was 37 tons (600 pikol), and the export of agar-agar 125 tons (2000
pikol). Near Banggai they fished for pearl oysters, with the permission of the Sultan of Ternate,
who, for a consideration, had made an exception for them in his contract with the Nederlandsche
Nieuw-Guinea Handelsmaatschappij (Dutch New Guinea Trading Company), which owned this
right exclusively for a long time.636 As economic activity along the coasts increased, the Bajos also
hired themselves out as divers to Japanese, Filipino, Australian, Chinese and Manadonese pearl
fishermen, as carriers and coolies in ports, as stokers on board of KPM ships, and worked as
couriers for the government.637 The transport of asphalt, which was extracted on Buton since the
1920s, was (and is until this day) also largely in their hands.638
4.7.2. Other traders on the coast; Europeans

When many Bajos fled from Bone to Mekongga in 1824 and 1825, they there encountered Bugis.
These traders and pedlars, whom they called Towelado, bought coconuts, sago, rice and yellow
wax, which they exchanged on Buton, in South Celebes and on Selayar for dried fish and water
buffaloes. The farmers in these places got rid of the water buffaloes when the ploughing and
planting of the wet rice paddies was finished and fodder was becoming scarce. This fish and the
water buffaloes were then exchanged in Makassar for other goods with which the rice, coconuts and
sago in Kolaka, Bau-Bau and Kendari were paid – so that the circle was complete.
The knowledge of Europeans with respect to the southern part of Celebes limited itself chiefly to
“the south-western limb”, of which Makassar was the most important town. Raffles had heard
rumours that the interior of Celebes contained Hindu temples, while the names of “their divinities,
Batara Gúru, Baruna &c. seem to indicate either a common origin or a former intercourse” with
British India. According to Raffles, the typical traditional costume of the inhabitants of Luwuq and
Bantaeng also pointed to this.639 Although this shows that few or no concrete data were known
about the population of Central, East and South-east Celebes, it was widely known that these
634
Koloniaal verslag 1879, 219; Macknight, The Voyage to Marege,, passim.
635
Broersma, “De beteekenis van Selebes, oostkust voor den handel”, 1047. See also Donselaar, “Aanteekeningen
over het eiland Salayer”, 303; [Blok], “Beknopte Geschiedenis”, 62; Van der Hart, Reize rondom het eiland
Celebes, 46; Clifton, Islands of Queen Wilhelmina, 184;Vorstman, “Memorie”, 38; Bouman, “Memorie”, 47,
48.
636
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 450; Koloniaal verslag 1888, 20; Broersma, “De beteekenis van
Selebes, oostkust voor den handel”, 1047-1048.
637
Earl, The Eastern Seas, 334-335.
638
Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 63-65; Bouman, “Memorie”, 20, 42, 49.
639
Raffles, History of Java, II, App. F, lxxxv-lxxxix.

regions were rich in wood and mineral resources. It was to exploit these rich natural resources that
Vosmaer made his exploratory voyages along Selayar, Kabaena, Buton, and the coasts of South-
east and East Celebes in the early 1830s.640
As the nineteenth century went on, the exports from South-east Celebes comprised an ever wider
range of goods and consisted, apart from coconuts, rice, beeswax and sago, of rattan for furniture
and walking sticks, slaves, wood, prahu, skins, corn, bamboo, bingkuru root (Mak.) which produced
a red dye, various kinds of bark such as soga, tangir, rako and baku-baku, which were used as
tanning and dyeing materials, fibres, seagrass, charcoal from mangrove wood, kapok, balasari, an
aromatic substance, shark fins, dried and roast fish and many more items. The estimated value of
the export from the Bay of Kendari, which also included the export of the Muara Lasampara (the
Lasampara delta), in 1881 amounted to 143,000.- Dutch guilders, for a population in Ranome’eto,
the surrounding region, of some 20,000 people, an average of around seven guilders per head of
population.641
Towards the end of the nineteenth century the prahu sailors from South Celebes began to lose their
monopoly on trade. They started to get competition from Arabs and Chinese, who established their
businesses in places like Sua-Sua and Kolaka and in Tudaone in the district of Kendari, where they
exchanged their trade goods for forest produce. Subsequently they sold these on to large firms
which operated internationally in Makassar, such as the American Makassar Produce Cy, W.B.
Ledeboer & Co., Manders Zeeman, Oei Seeuwen, Oei Soei Goan, Maints & Co., Liem Djin Gie and
others, some of whom had traded to and from the Big East for more than a century. Except for a
few relatively easily accessible places in South-east Celebes, such as Wanggadu on the Lasolo,
where until 1922 a number of Makassarese and Chinese shop owners cum rattan buyers were
located,642 these larger firms did not position their agents in the interior, but on the periphery, as in
Malili, along the Gulf of Tomini (1857643), on Jampea (1860644), Muna, Wawoni, Buton,645 the
Salabangka archipelago and other islands, where they acquired land on a long lease or in
ownership, and developed gardens, coconut plantations and forests.646 To give an example: in the
village of Salabangka, on Kaleruan, one of the islands of the Salabangka archipelago, there lived, in
1914, apart from eleven Bugis, also eleven Chinese and three Arabic traders; in the village of Waru
on the similarly named island, there were eight Bugis buyers. The trading fleet of the Salabangka
islands then consisted of nine palari of 20 tons carrying capacity each and 21 soppek of 4 tons
each.647 Further north were Labua (Bungku), which has already been mentioned, and the port of
Wosu, while in Kolono, the south-easterly peninsula of Kendari, Labuanbili was one of the biggest
storage depots and export ports of the region of bamboo.648 A visitor in 1914 even called these
640
Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 73, 96; Bakkers, “Het Leenvorstendom Boni”, 139.
641
Koloniaal Verslag 1881, 19.
642
643
Adriani, “Verhaal”, 856 note 29.
644
Koloniaal verslag 1860, 1-6.
645
Van Vuuren, Het Gouvernement Celebes, I, 338, 357; Sutherland, “Power, Trade and Islam, 158-159; Schoorl,
“Islam”; Ligtvoet, “Beschrijving”.
646
Bouman, “Memorie”, 43; Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 5; De Man, “Vervolgmemorie”, 27.
647
Koning, Een halve eeuw paketvaart, 314-318.
648

settlements “affluent”.649 Tinanggea, a coastal village in southern Kendari on the Strait of Tiworo
had five toko (shops) in the 1920s, two with Bugis owners, and three which belonged to Chinese
owners. The “post office”, located in a Chinese shop, was, however, in Raha on Muna.650
Japanese traders also arrived, among whom was Matsumoto, who bought ebony in Lambaresse
(Wotu), and S. Twai in Malili, a buyer chiefly of copra and resins.651 Another Japanese, Heiza
Ogawa, had a farm in Bau-Bau (Buton) around 1920.652 Later some Japanese lived in Kendari, who
worked at a fish market. They probably were not there only for trade purposes, at any rate they were
afterwards suspected of spying for Japan; as early as 1910 the government discouraged visits of
such “Japanese travellers” and other foreigners as much as possible.653 Politically traders also made
their mark. One of the most important traders of Buton at the beginning of the twentieth century
was a certain Abdul Rahim. He was immensely wealthy, to such an extent that the assistant-resident
considered him the actual Sultan of Buton, since he literally laid down the law there.654
Most of the exports from Mekongga, at any rate those controlled by the government, went through
the ports of Kolaka, Sua-Sua, Tangketada and Malili. Malili in particular was an important centre of
trade. In 1911 1500 of the 2000 inhabitants were migrants.655 The export went to Makassar, from
where goods were shipped to Java, Borneo and Singapore. As early as at the time of James
Brooke’s visit to the Gulf of Bone (1839-1840) there turned out to be lively trade interaction and
frequent contacts between the “gulf states” and Singapore,656 and half a century later seven or eight
ships annually arrived from Singapore and Pontianak, both centres of trade with large Bugis
populations, in the Gulf of Bone to take on board all kinds of products. In 1886 the number was
twelve, among which were two big three-masters.657
The inhabitants of the villages along the southern coasts of South-east Celebes, among them
Tinanggea,Torobulu, Napamandati, Lakara, Lapulu, Lanowulu and Kasiputih, apart from trade,
applied themselves to fishing. These villages had a mixed population of Bugis, Butonese, Bajos and
the odd Tolaki and Tomoronene. Most dwellings were built on piles and lay well hidden between
mangroves, invisible from the sea. They could only be reached during high tide by small prahu, and
apart from a few exceptions, they lacked a connection with the shore. Laora and Daole, two Bugis
kampongs, the first on the Strait of Tiworo, the second on the east coast of Rumbia, were not only
centres of trade and fishing but also places of slaughter. They supplied the transport of buffalo
skins, dried fish, the antlers of deer and their skins, monkey bones and the dried meat of buffaloes
to Buton – a reason why Daole was sometimes called “Pasar Buton (Buton’s market)”.658 Daole was
649
Van Vuuren, Het Gouvernement Celebes, I, 314-315, 338 vv; vgl. Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 188.
650
G.C. Storm, “Reisverslag 1922", 18/4/1922, ARRZ 2030; G.C. Storm to Hb NZV, 3/5/1922, ARRZ 2030.
651
De Man, “Vervolgmemorie”, 10, 31.
652
Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 74-75; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 24.
653
654
655
656
Mundy, Narrative, I, chapt. XII; Pringle, Rajahs and Rebels, chapt. II, III; Buddingh, “Het Nederlandsche
Gouvernement”, 680; Wong, “The Trade of Singapore 1816-69", 14-15.
657
Van Braam Morris, “Het Landschap Loehoe”, 508-509.
658
Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 188, 235, 241, 245; Van Vuuren, Het Gouvernement Celebes, I, 339.

not a pleasant place to be. A 1924 visitor descried the village as “a dirty, squalid place”, where the
stench was intolerable.659
4.8. The interior; Islam

From the last decades of the nineteenth century on travellers and traders increasingly ventured into
the interior. In Meraka, in the vicinity of Lambuya, the Sarasins in 1903 came across a Bugis
goldsmith, who had already lived there for a number of years.660 In 1900 a number of Bugis,
Makassarese, Chinese and Butonese lived in Lepo-Lepo, a village approximately 16 kilometres
south-west of the Bay of Kendari. Others had settled in various places along, or in the vicinity of,
the Konawe River, and along the Lasolo. Even before the turn of the twentieth century Chinese and
Bugis hunted game in the marshes and hills of Mambulu, Poleang and Rumbia, and bought rice,
resins and rattan from the local population. Toraja from Ma’kale and Rantepao and Bugis from
Luwuq crossed the Gulf of Bone, built villages along the coast of Kolaka, and fanned out over the
Wawo Umbo mountain range and its southern foothills in Kondeha, Lapai and Konawe’eha,661
where they tapped resins and collected rattan. Some returned to their place of birth comfortably off,
others settled there permanently.662
These migrants brought land under cultivation with tobacco and corn gardens, they bred goats and
built houses of prayer. At markets, which popped up here and there, at crossroads and at river
crossings Chinese and Bugis opened their shops, where not just all kinds of goods were sold, but
where also religious treatises and books were offered for sale. Some taught those interested the
salat (or shalat) and instructed them in the reading of the Koran, sometimes free, sometimes for
payment. Chinese, Japanese, (Indo-)Arabic, Sangirese, Makassarese and men from the Minahassa,
coolies from Makassar, carpenters, cabinet makers, masons, and other tradesmen increasingly found
employment thanks to the government programme of sawah and road construction, the building of
bridges and schools, and the formation and concentration of villages, initiatives which were started
around 1910. According to an observer, there were in the 1920s and 1930s a few hundred Islamic
gurus working in Kolaka and Kendari, by which he referred to traders, fishermen, and teachers at
government schools, who disseminated their religious beliefs among the indigenous population.663
Some of these gurus were highly respected, particularly if they were hadjis. The veneration these
people enjoyed sometimes assumed extraordinary proportions. An Arab in Lamoare, in the
mountains above Latoma, was worshipped like a “deity”. The villagers had built him a house free
of charge and also provided him with free food. It was said of him ”His ire causes the water to rise
to the foot of the mountains, and with his mouth he blows away the rain clouds.”664
In the 1920s the Islamic guru of Lambuya, a Bugis hadji, had to admit, however, that the interest of
most people in Islam was slight. Almost no one knew Arabic, so that knowledge of the Koran was
limited. He had been charged by the caliph of Kendari, a man born in Mecca of mixed Arabic-
659
660
Sarasin, Reisen, I, 354.
661
662
Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 9.
663
664

Bugis descent, to effect a change in this.665 He quickly succeeded, for in 1929 the local mosque had
become too small. A new one was built, which measured 15 by 15 metres. Elsewhere in this region
too new mosques were built, and a growing number of Tolaki travelled to Mecca on pilgrimage.
That this was not a temporary upsurge is shown by a remark about Lambuya from a European
traveller in 1934 that it had surprised him “that there are so many mosques here and even more that
they are so overcrowded.” During his visit it happened to be a time of fasting, and the gatherings in
the mosques were held in the early hours of the evening, after sunset. These were chiefly used for
communal meals, which were interspersed with prayers and Koran readings. Said traveller was
struck, during his visit to one of the mosques, by the informal atmosphere among the 400 male
worshippers present. He was impressed when, after the drum beats, the shalat was performed,
during which all those present simultaneously made the prescribed bows.666
Not just in Lambuya, but in the whole of South-east Celebes heightened activity among Muslims
was noticeable during the ramadan, the month of fasting and certain feasts, such as the end of the
ramadan, and maulud, the celebration for the birth of Mohammed. At those times meetings were
held where dozens, and sometimes more than 100 people, were present.667 In June 1922 another
(European) traveller, who spent the night in the pasanggrahan (guest house) of Alangga
(Ando’olo), noted the following:
On Sunday morning I saw a whole crowd of people coming from the Mokole house. All were men and
boys, who were neatly dressed. Beautiful silk sarongs, and all with white jackets. The whole procession
started moving – there were at least a few hundred people – and came in the direction of the
pasanggrahan. I thought: what is going to happen now? Perhaps a collective request to make myself
scarce? Meanwhile the whole caboodle had solemnly approached the pasanggrahan, and I noticed
among them many heads from the surrounding regions, with only a few wearing a fez. The puasa
(fasting) had finished, and now all came to wish me a happy New Year, which I reciprocated with
equally good wishes. I add to this that at the religious ceremony the previous evening I had also heard
the voices of women and children, which sounded above everything. These are the simple facts which I
observed with respect to religion at Alangga itself. In Tinanggea lives an Islamic guru, who has been
here a few times to lead the religious service. Also I once saw a woman pass by who was heavily
veiled.668
That same day a piece of water buffalo meat was delivered to his house. As they were economically
of less interest to developers and traders, the interiors of Rumbia and Poleang were confronted with
migrants much later than Kolaka and Kendari. But they did go there eventually. In March 1916
rumours spread on Java about mass conversions in Poleang. A few pilgrims returned from Mecca
were said to have converted “more than 1300” people, among them the mokole of the district.669
Although this number was an exaggeration, these rumours were not entirely without foundation,
665
666
G.W. Mollema to Hb NZV, 5/1/1934. ARRZ 2020.
667
668
669

since the mokole and his entourage had in 1915 submitted to circumcision according to Islamic
rites.670 In the 1920s and 1930s the sulewatang of Poleang Bugis regularly organised religious
meetings in Buapinang, which were conducted by gurus from Makassar and from Selayar, Bugis
hadjis and sometimes by an Arab.671 When missionary Storm, at the suggestion of Governor
Couvreur, attempted to add Poleang to his sphere of responsibility, he was too late in many villages,
as in Rompu-Rompu, where, in 1926, as he put it, he “fell flat on his face with respect to the
establishment of a school”.672 Islamic gurus had beaten Storm to it, and it was impossible to
consider many Tomoronene in Poleang to be “heathens”. Moreover, these gurus were on the whole
more assertive than their colleagues in Rumbia, where the ruler, I Ntera, and his family still had
little interest in Islam in these years.673 But Rumbia too got its share. In 1928 six Islamic gurus lived
in Laora and in Lemo, two villages on the south coast. Four of these were Tomoronene and two
were Bugis, and their influence in the neighbouring Tomoronene kampongs of Pomonotor, Liano,
Sayo, Lalao, Puwaia and Doala was considerable. A guru from Kabaena also visited the area
regularly and conducted sembahyang (prayer meetings) there.674 By no means all heads observed
the puasa (fasting), although the number gradually increased.675 Although Muslims were still a
minority in Taubonto (Rumbia), I Ntera built a langgar there in 1932, and in 1940, after
intervention by the Sultan of Buton, the village got a mosque.676 During the Japanese occupation a
number of mosques were also built in Poleang and Rumbia.677
4.9. In their own kampongs

In so far as they did not lead a nomadic existence or stayed on board their own ships, migrants lived
in their own kampongs or suburbs together, usually under their own heads. Some Bugis married
daughters of indigenous heads, but only mixed with the lower orders of the population to a limited
degree. Via this route migrants, or at least their children, could climb the local social ladder. The
head of Watundehoa, a village on the edge of the A Opa marsh, an anakia, had, according to an
observer, “strongly Bugis features”, from which he drew the wrong, but understandable, conclusion
that the anakia of the Tolaki were originally of Bugis descent. It was a fact that, at the start of the
Dutch period, most heads in the central river region had family ties with Bugis from Bone or
Luwuq.678 The names of the migrant settlements, which attracted attention because of their
neatness, the presence of wells and well-kept yards and gardens, left little doubt about the origin of
670
G.N. de Jonge (Buton) to N. Adriani, 27/12/1915, ARRZ 2034.
671
672
673
Notulen CvZ 4/2/1927, ARRZ 2025.
674
G.C. Storm to Hb NZV, 27/4/1928, ARRZ2018.
675
676
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV 2/3/1939, ARRZ 2022.
677
678
H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, ARRZ 2025; D.
Kok, “Onze vestiging te Sanggona op Z.O.-Celebes”, 1920, ARRZ 2028.

their inhabitants.679 For the islands and reefs in the Strait of Tiworo and other coastal waters the
Bajos, Bugis and Butonese also each had their own names, sometimes more than one.680
4.10. Tolaki and Tomoronene along the coast, and travelling

Just as many Toraja since the end of the nineteenth century had left the mountains of Celebes to
build a new life for themselves along the northern and eastern shores of the Gulf of Bone,681 the
Tolaki and Tomoronene from this time on settled increasingly in their own villages in between the
migrant settlements along the coasts. Some became fishermen, agriculturalists or small traders,
while others stuck to their nomadic existence. Some served as crew on board Bugis and
Makassarese prahu, or as boilermen or porters on board KPM ships, which from the second half of
the nineteenth century called in at a growing number of ports in Celebes.682
Such contacts also offered the Tolaki and Tomoronene a chance to leave South-east Celebes, and
settle elsewhere, or to enter as entrepreneur the inter-island, or even the international trade. Some
made the pilgrimage to Mecca. The district head of Wiwirano (1911), a Tolaki and a nephew of
Hadji Tata, spoke Malay fluently, dressed in an old KNIL uniform and had a long beard. But of
greater importance was the fact that he controlled the trade in rattan, resins, sago and rice in the
region, in search of which his subjects on his orders roamed all over the mountains for a large part
of the year, leaving their villages empty and their gardens untended.683 The head of Lambandia, a
settlement of around fifteen houses in the western foothills of the Anggowala mountain range, who
was called Nawoli,684 whose wealth had already been noted by Elbert,685 was another such
enterprising Tolaki. He was a trader in forest produce who travelled a lot, and had been as far as
Batavia and Singapore. He spoke fluent Malay, and wore a fez (1918).686 In the 1920s an affluent
Tolaki, who had made his fortune on Java, lived in Wawolalindu, on the lower reaches of the
Lalindu.687
4.11. What the traders sold, and how they paid and got paid
Although the number of exchange goods was still limited at the beginning of the nineteenth
century, by the end of the century the supply comprised all sorts of goods, such as salt, which was
harvested from sea water near Laikang, Takalar and Jeneponto in South Celebes, and on Selayar,
679
There were many instancies, e.g. Ranteangin, a Toraja village in Kondeha, Soppe and Wajo in Poleang, Bone
and Wajo on Muna, Polewali in Kolono and Pasar Wajo on Buton. Etc.
680
Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 145; Bajo and Bugis names are used on most
government maps, Schetskaart van Zuidoost Selébès, Batavia: Topografische Inrichting, 1924, and Schetskaart
van het landschap Boeton, by G.J.J. de Jongh, Buton, 15 April 1916.
681
Among the new Toraja villages in Wotu (Gulf of Bone), were Waranindi, Bandoa, Liku Lambara, Manangalu,
Lanosi, Mambotu, Lambarese and Kampong Baru, A.C. Kruyt to J. Kruyt sr., Letter nr. 45, 20/5/1918, ARRZ
1335.
682
This gave rise to stories about Tolaki and Tomoronene crew on merchant ships. See the story “Anadalo ronga
anakoda” (“The boy and the captain”) below (note 1009).
683
684
Van der Klift, “Photo’s”, 74-75.
685
686
“Een Brief van Br. v.d. Klift”, Zendingsblad, nr. 23 (1 maart 1918) 2; H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 26/6/1926,
ARRZ 2026; Van der Klift, “Photo’s”, 74-75.
687

and was intended for water buffaloes and the drying of fish; also leaves of the gambir bush (for
betel chewing), all sorts of knick-knacks and confectionery, sugar, coal for the blacksmiths of
Sanggona, silver and gold jewellery, European thread, medicines from Batavia, opium from Bengal,
Thailand and China, fishing lines, and expensive sarongs and cotton khaki suits from Singapore,
Mandar, Bone, Gorontalo and Buton, blunderbusses, various kinds of cannons with accessories,
matches, earthenware plates, dishes, finger and dessert bowls, beakers, petroleum, all kinds of
glassware, sarongs, head cloths, sewing machines, metal suitcases, buttons, haberdashery, tinned
vegetables, potatoes, fruit, lemonade, syrup, soda water, beer, wine, arak and other spirits, knives
(badik, kawa-kawali, pade, parang) Javanese gamelans and krisses, axes, iron dishes, pots and
frying pans, Beaumont and Winchester rifles from Singapore and Penang, sewing machines and
typewriters, pink baby bonnets from Japan and many other useful, and sometimes useless, goods.688
And what is one to think of the cocktail onions which a trader, who was originally from Kabaena,
sold in Poleang in 1930 to enhance the productivity of fields and gardens?689 A garment which
gradually found its way into South-east Celebes was the songkok, the black or red skull-cap (fez)
which was worn by men and boys and supplanted the traditional head cloth of the Tolaki and the
Tomoronene.
The monetary value of the imported goods was limited as yet. In 1881this amounted to 44,000
guilders in the Bay of Kendari, which yielded a not insignificant export surplus of about 100,000
guilders. From a macro-economic perspective South-east Celebes did well from this.690 For such
transactions, which were extremely sensitive to market conditions because of the dependence on a
mere handful of export products, money seldom played a part. Apart from the trepang trade, for
which silver coins were occasionally used, generally trade was barter trade.691 The forest produce to
be supplied was bought and paid for in advance by means of imported goods, with the result that
the population in the case of disease, failed harvests, plagues, exhaustion of the resins and rattan
woods by overcropping, or poor quality of the forest produce which was supplied, could incur
massive debts. As a consequence of this, as well as the high interest and fines, and the custom of
many Bugis and Chinese not to give their indigenous suppliers the chance to pay off their debts,
many coconut plantations, sago woods and gardens which had been given as securities, passed into
foreign ownership, in spite of this being prohibited, and even affluent Tolaki and Tomoronene
became poverty-stricken.692 It became apparent in 1922, for instance, that all coconut trees in and
around Wawosambara, a Bugis kampong at the mouth of the Lasampara, had in this manner
become the property of a Chinese in Makassar.693
688
Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 4; Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 165, 243; Bickmore, Travels, 101-102; Van der
Crab, De Moluksche Eilanden, 87-89; Koloniaal verslag 1878, 222; Van Vuuren, “De Prauwvaart van
Celebes”, 111.
689
Storm, “Moroneensche goedgeloovigheid”.
690
Koloniaal Verslag 1881, 18-19.
691
Contrary to Buton and Central Celebes the Tolaki and Tomoronene in South-east Celebes were not familiar
with pieces of cloth used as currency. Matthes, “Beknopt verslag mijner reizen in de Binnenlanden van
Celebes”, 29-30.
692
Art. 8, 9, “Contract met Laiwoei” (1885), 167-168.
693

Among the Tolaki and Tomoronene themselves such relationships of dependency also occurred.
Many heads had their subjects collect rattan for large parts of the year, to be able to pay off their
own debts. Because this situation amounted to a modern form of slavery, and frequently led to
murder and manslaughter, or at the very least to a neglect of the cultivation of the fields, the
authorities intervened. For instance, it helped with the formation of cooperatives, and tried to stop
the heads from accepting advance payments; sometimes it even prohibited this,694 while it also
prohibited Foreign Orientals to take over the ownership of forests and gardens as payment. At times
the government even bought back such a garden.695 Very occasionally a government employee was
sacked because he encouraged the population to enter into far too big loans from the buyers, or
acted as an intermediary for such transactions, as was carried out in 1925 by the government
assistant of Rumbia and Poleang Warouw, who himself made a handsome profit from this lucrative
trade. Although it was strictly prohibited, teachers and others too, both those employed by the
government and by the mission, set themselves up as links in the trade between the Bugis and the
Chinese on the one hand and the indigenous population on the other, making use of the trust they
had managed to build up in the indigenous people.
As a rule this intervention by the colonial authorities was hardly effective, and could not compete
with the economic power of the Chinese and Bugis. Grubauer, who visited Malili in 1911, was of
the opinion that the local Chinese had greater power over the population there than the government
official.696 Competition was fierce among the suppliers of forest produce. As long as demand was
growing (until 1929/1930 and again from 1935), there were few people who were worried, except
for those who were victims.697
Although there was no question in South-east Celebes of a prohibition of barter trade and a forced
transition to money-based payments, as had for instance been introduced on the Sangir and Talaud
Islands (North Celebes) in 1890,698 until World War II, the need for coins among the indigenous
population grew, as a result of the introduction of a system of taxes and import and export duties
after 1900. Coins were in use even in the nineteenth century in South-east Celebes, albeit in small
quantities. These were brought into circulation by traders who, in the case of a feud, paid the
required blood money to the party claiming redress in order to prevent raids and other actions of
revenge, which interfered with trade. A favourite means of payment was the use of the non-current
kind, the unofficial cents, of which there were 120 to a guilder.699 Silver two and a half guilder
coins and ten cent coins, gold coins, guilders, and even fake money produced in China and
694
Taatgen, “Memorie”, 2; Van Geuns, “Memorie”, 19-20; Van Son, “Aanvullende bestuursmemorie”, 6;
Vorstman, “Memorie”, 38 ff.
695
Staatsblad, 1923, no. 475.
696
697
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 24; Vorstman, “Memorie”, 38 ff.; cf. Cohen, “De economische beteekenis der
Boschbijproducten van de Buitengewesten”, 480-483, and literature on page 484.
698
This operation was meant to discourage the use of opium and alcohol, Koloniaal verslag 1890, 18; Idem 1891,
18.
699
The official money in the Dutch East Indies consisted of rix-dollars (two-and-a-half guilder coins), guilders,
half guilders, 25-cents pieces, 10-cent pieces, 2½-cent pieces, 1-cent pieces, and ½-cent pieces.

Singapore, were also used as amulets.700 Various coin purifications were held in Celebes, the last
one in 1934-1935. The silver two and a half guilder coins remained the most popular means of
payment in South-east Celebes, but after the depression these became rare. The Tolaki and the
Tomoronene mistrusted paper guilders and other paper money, although traders sometimes used
them.701
This did not mean that barter trade disappeared. On the contrary. The traders and buyers, who
themselves were often tied to big trading firms via credits, kept a preference for advance payment
in the form of forest produce, for with the use of cash the true market price for rattan and other
forest produce would play a bigger role than in barter trade, which was to their disadvantage.702
Moreover they were less vulnerable in this way to toll collectors and pagora (robbers, Tol.), who
were after their money pouches. The lack of safety was a big problem which could severely disrupt
daily life. Sometimes rumours of raids and massacres even created panic. Children stayed home
from school when this happened.703 But stories of how people had got the better of robbers also did
the rounds:704
Once there was an old man who sent someone away to sell his goats. The boy said: “where are the goats
I have to sell?” The old man said: “down there,705 straight ahead are forty goats. Go and sell them.” The
boy fetched the forty goats and set off. Along the way he met four robbers. The robbers said: “where are
you going, boy?” The boy replied: “I am going to sell my forty goats.” The boy said: “these are my
goats.” The robbers took them off him, and he went back. They went after him in order to kill the boy.
The boy fled. When he got back to his house, with his father, the father asked for the money from his
goats. The boy said: “there is no money, the robbers took the goats away.” “You have been stupid, boy,
why do you give away your goats for nothing? Watch me, I am going to sell four goats.” The old man
fetched four goats and fed them gold half guilders, each of the goats got a half guilder. After this the old
man set off with his goats. Along the way he met the robbers. The robbers said: “where are you going,
old man?” The old man said: “I am going to sell my four goats. My goats vomit gold half guilders.” The
robbers said: “You are lying that there are goats which vomit gold half guilders.” The old man said:
“just watch, I get them to vomit gold half guilders.” He then squeezed their throats which made the gold
half guilders come out of the goats’ mouths. The old man took the gold half guilders. “It is as you say,
your goats vomit gold half guilders” said the robbers.
The old man said: “I have owned these goats for a very long time.” The robbers then took [i.e. offered]
two hundred gold half guilders. The old man said: “I don’t want to sell them for two hundred gold half
guilders.” The robbers offered three hundred, and the old man then sold the goats. When the deal had
been done he returned home. The old man said: “where should I go, I cheated the robbers.” The robbers
700
Wieland, “Memorie”, [11]; Koloniaal verslag 1895, 206; voor Poso, zie Adriani, “Verhaal der ontdekkingsreis
van Jhr. J.C.W.D.A. van der Wijck”, 857.
701
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 26; “De muntzuivering”.
702
Taatgen, “Memorie”, 10; cf. Broersma, “Gorontalo een handelscentrum van Noord Selebes”, 231-238.
703
A triple murder in Tutuwi (Singgere) in 1926, which claimed the lives of three traders from Bone, caused a
general and widespread feeling of anxiety. For quite some time school children were kept at home, especially
at Ameroro and Rate-Rate. The perpetrators were caught and convicted. The leader of the gang was sentenced
to forced labour for the rest of his life, two others were handed 25 and 26 years of forced labour, the remaining
two got a year of forced labour each. H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 3/11/1926, 4/12/1926, ARRZ 2026.
704
Translated by D. Kok, ARRZ 2028.
705
“Up”, “down” and “climbed” in this story refer the fact that the house was built on stilts.

returned home, where their comrades asked them how much they had paid for the goats. The robbers
said: “three hundred gold half guilders.” They squeezed [the four goats], whereupon their stomachs
came out. After this the robbers’ four goats died.
While the robbers were talking to each other, the old man slept and dreamt that the robbers had come to
kill him because he had cheated them. At dawn he slaughtered a goat. He took the stomach and filled it
with blood. He mounted the stairs of his house, and gave his friends the blood to drink, which they kept
in their mouths. The old man said to his friends: “When I call you the first time, you should not reply,
and also the second time you should not reply. Only answer the fourth call.” The robbers came and
climbed up into the old man’s house. The old man took his knife and lance and sat in front of the
robbers. The old man then called his friends. When he called the first time, Patima came to tell him:
“they don’t answer.” The second time too they did not answer. Only the fourth time there came a reply.
He [the old man] then got up and fetched his lime container [sirih-box]. When his friends had come up,
he took a knife and stabbed them. They fell over eastwards, their blood gushed out. The robbers said:
“why did you stab your friends?” [The old man said:] “I wanted to show you something, I want to bring
them back to life.” The robbers said: “what will you use to revive them?” The old man said: “I have a
whistle, when I blow it both of them will come back to life.” The robbers said: “try it and blow the
whistle.” The old man took his whistle and blew it four times. Patima’s friends returned to life. The
robbers said: “do you want to sell your whistle?” The old man said: “I won’t sell my whistle.” The
robbers took [i.e. offered] one hundred gold half guilders. The old man said: “if you give me two
hundred gold half guilders I will sell my whistle.” One of the robbers said: “all right then, where is it? I
will buy it for two hundred gold half guilders.” He gave it to him.
The robbers returned home. While they were still on the way home one of them said to himself: “I will
do it first and then whistle my comrades [back to life].” He then went to the house of a robber and
stabbed his friend the robber. When he fell his children cried. The robber said: “don’t cry, I will bring
him back to life.” The children asked: “what will you use to bring him back to life?” The robber said:
“with my whistle.” He got it out, and blew on it repeatedly, but he did not come back to life. The robber
said: “bring me someone else.” This person asked if he would be brought back to life. The robber said:
“why would you not be brought back to life?” He stabbed his comrade, who died. The robber then got
out his whistle and blew it many times, but he did not get revived. The robber again had someone else
brought to him. He stabbed him too. He went on and on, until all friends of the robber were dead. He
took his whistle and blew it time and again, but they were not brought back to life. He had someone else
brought to him, who, when he came upstairs, asked if he would be brought back to life. The robber
replied: “why would you not be brought back to life?” He stabbed him, and he died. He once again took
his whistle and blew it, but his comrade was not brought back to life. The robber said: “why can’t I
bring them back to life?” His comrades said to the robber: “four are already dead.” “Well, I can’t bring
them back to life”, said the robber. “Tomorrow we are going to kill the old man.”
The old man was sleeping. He dreamt that the robbers would come to kill him. At dawn he slaughtered a
goat and took it to the meeting house a bit further. He paid those present there thirty gold half guilders
[and said]: “when the robbers pass by on their way to my house, don’t call out to them; but when they
return, call them.” The old man returned home and immediately tied himself up in a sack. After the old
man was tied up in the sack the robbers arrived. They said: “where has the old man gone?” They said: “he
is over there, tied in a sack.” The robbers said: “it is good that he is tied in the sack.” The robbers hoisted
him onto their shoulders. When they passed the meeting house again, the people who were present there
said: “come inside first.” At that they put down the sack with the old man and entered the house. The old
man quickly crept out of the sack, took a goat and put that in the sack. Thereupon he fled. The robbers left

the house again and hoisted the sack onto their shoulders. They went down to the sea, and got on board a
boat. They sailed south until they were in the middle of the sea. There they threw the sack into the sea.
After the sack had been thrown away the robbers said: “the old man is dead.”
The old man baked a tin of pastries. He dressed as a hadji. After he had dressed as a hadji the old man
took his pastries and set off. Along the way he met the robbers. The robbers said: “where do you come
from, old man, aren’t you dead yet?” The old man said: “your guardian spirits send you these: pastries.”
The old man gave them the pastries and divided them between them. The robbers asked: “how can we
meet our guardian spirits?” the old man said: “that is not difficult. I will put you in the sack, the four of
you.” The robbers said: “put us in the sack, us four, and throw us into the sea.” The old man put the four
robbers into it. He took them to a boat, and paddled out to sea. He paddled very far, and then the old
man took the four robbers and let them sink into the sea. The robbers died.
4.12. Resources, agricultural and forest products

4.12.1. Resins and rattan
Although the forced Cultivation System (Cultuurstelsel) never existed on Celebes, the population
nevertheless benefited from its abolition and its replacement with private companies in other parts
of the archipelago in the second half of the nineteenth century, and from the subsequent
introduction of a free market for agricultural crops. Encouraged by the growing demand for forest
products both domestically and on the world market between 1900 and the years of the
depression,706 Tolaki and, to a lesser extent, Tomoronene moved at times far outside their own
territory. They joined a large army of migrant workers and gatherers, which occupied itself with
drawing off copal and resins and with the collection of rattan in the hills and mountains of South-
east, East and Central Celebes. Most of them did so for a few months a year, after the gardens and
ladangs had been laid out and planted, but some maintained such a nomadic existence for years on
end, leaving the care of their gardens to their wives and children. Some travelled to the mountains
around the Bay of Mori, and to Mehoki in Luwuk (East Celebes)707 and there formed small
communities, each with its own head. In 1922 the village head of Lembotolaki (Lasolo) told a
visitor that he had spent six years in the vicinity of Kolonedale and that there still existed a Tolaki
settlement of resin gatherers over there.708 The north of South-east Celebes itself too, the Wawo
Umbo mountain range and its southern foothills, the Watu Pinohu, Matatombea, Meluhu, Pu’uwatu,
Laikawatu, Anggowala, and Tangkelemboke mountains, as well as the Salabangka archipelago and
other islands, were rich in resin trees.709 The biggest island in the Bay of Mekongga, Padamarang
(also known as Pulau Damar = Resin Island) even derived its name from it. These giants of the
forests, which only started to produce after decades of growth, were also present in the Mendoke
mountain range in the place where three districts met, i.e. Mekongga, Kendari and Rumbia. Resins
706
It is still debated whether the economy of the Indies expanded or not as a result of the Ethical Policy (Ethische
Politiek), see Van der Eng, “Challenging Changes”; Boomgaard, “The Welfare Services”; Cribb,
“Development Policy in the Early 20th Century”. More general on the economics of the Outer Islands is
Touwen, Extremes, which however does discuss South-east Celebes.
707
Adriani, De Bare,e-sprekende Toradja,s, I, 122.
708
H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni-25 juli [1922]”, (ARRZ 2025) 12-13.
709
Van Vuuren, Het Gouvernement Celebes, I, 305, 360, 423, 522; Abendanon, Geologische en geografische
doorkruisingen, II, 489, 545 ff., 560.

and copal, collective names for a variety of resins of different compositions, purity and quality,
were much sought after as raw material for the manufacture of aromatic oils, paints and varnishes,
torches, insulation material for electric cables and for the making of batiks. Beside rattan and rice
these resins formed Kendari’s principal export product until World War II.710 The subdivision of
Kolaka also got a share of the wood, rattan and resins prosperity, albeit on a more modest scale
than, for instance, Kendari and Central Celebes. In 1911 the value of the export of forest products
in Kolaka amounted to 24,000 guilders, as against Palopo, where it reached 240,000 guilders in the
same year, and against Malili, where it amounted to as much as 360,000 guilders.711
However, demand kept growing and, except for a few slumps in trade, such as in the first years
after World War I (1918-1923), when many wholesale buyers and traders had to shut up shop and
departed,712 the income was such that the population had the sense it was rich. On the eve of the
depression in some places people spoke of hujan mas, “it was raining gold”.713 A controleur in
Kolaka argued in 1927 that “the population is not nearly as poor as one might suppose at first sight”
– to reach the conclusion that taxes and export duties were too low.714
From 1918 the exploitation of the forests in South-east Celebes, and including the drawing off of
resins, was regulated by means of concessions granted by the government, which meant that every
citizen was awarded a certain number of trees by his village head. It was hoped that this would
guarantee the income of the population and the sustainable management of the forests. However,
because of the administrative chaos which ensued, the government saw itself obliged to abandon
the overly strict rules and left regulation to the local heads.715
Although the assessments for income tax suggest a relatively high standard of living, at any rate for
part of the population in Kolaka and Kendari,716 neither the sense of wealth of the indigenous
population, nor the optimism of the controleur had a basis in the official export figures. It is true
that in 1928 the profit from ladang (dry) rice on the market was slightly above the average of
previous years,717 but the average income from export was low: in the early 1930s the registered
annual export of forest products, including resins, in the subdivision of Kendari had a total value of
240,000 guilders from a population of 60,000,718 while it was 46,000 guilders with a population of
36,000 in Kolaka.719 As a footnote to this it must be added that, as far as the export of the whole of
South-east Celebes in these years is concerned, it is true that the share of copra had increased to
710
Taatgen, “Memorie”, 9; Broersma, “De beteekenis van Selebes, oostkust voor den handel”, 1041.
711
Mailrapporten 1911, 355.
712
713
Nouwens, “Nota”, [4].
714
Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [49]; Bouman, “Memorie”, 52.
715
“De dienstuitoefening van het Boschwezen”.
716
Until the Great Depression the income tax collected in Kolaka on average amounted to almost ƒ 7,- per tax
assessment (indicating a yearly income of ca. ƒ 175,-); in 1931 this was ƒ 6,77, in 1932 ƒ 4,33, after which a
slow recovery took place 1933: ƒ 4,53; 1934: ƒ 4,61; 1935: ƒ 4,68; 1936: ƒ 4,81; 1937: ƒ 5,51; 1938: ƒ 5,79,
see Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 25. See note 782.
717
Mori, in Van Son, “Aanvullende bestuursmemorie”, 4.
718
Broersma, “De beteekenis van Selebes, oostkust voor den handel”, 1041.
719
Figures are taken from Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 51-52; the figures of 1935 only cover the months of January to
May inclusive. From then on prices stayed low, on average ƒ 0,13 per kg for the top quality (1936), De Man,
“Vervolgmemorie”, 37.

almost half of this, but that this copra came almost exclusively from Bugis and European
plantations. The local population only shared in this income through the wages paid to coolies,
which amounted to 6 cents per day.
The sense of wealth was, however, soundly based on fact. This is related to one of the chief
problems for the government, i.e. that the export of forest products largely took place without the
knowledge of the government’s customs officers (mantri). The coasts of Kendari, Mekongga and
Kondeha were over 1000 km long and means were lacking to supervise in all places of loading the
collection of anchorage and the sussung romang, an export tax of 10% (sometimes a bit lower) on
ships, wood and other forest products, calculated according to their export value. In 1935 this fact
caused a controleur of Kolaka to lament: “from here there is by far no taxation possible on what
forest products are still being exported. From the capital of the subdivision itself this is very
little.”720
In part this was also due to the fact that, as a result of the depression, the value of the (registered)
resins export had collapsed, from 11,235 guilders in the peak year of 1928 to about 1000 guilders in
1935. In the mid 1930s resin was almost valueless. It took a man a week or more to bring a pikol
resin from the forests on the upper reaches of the Konawe’eha River, the chief location of resin, to
Kolaka, where a Chinese buyer might then pay him at most one and a half guilders, and usually
less.721
Exports of resin from Kolaka 1926 to the end of May 1935722

1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 to ult. May
1935
kg 16,535 21,601 50,691 36,471 24,236 36,071 21,601 41,052 30,865 5713
ƒ 5615 5484 11235 8786 6564 8750 5484 1282 1124 461
Export of Rattan from Kolaka 1926 to the end of May 1935723

1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 to ult. May
1935
kg 486,539 1,855,337 414,75 611,765 486,429 611,065 172,463 129,834 172,64 57,67
ƒ 39,454 120,861 39,556 50,202 39,442 50,102 4610 6045 8610 3908
720
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 27-28, 50-51; Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 26-27; De Man, “Vervolgmemorie”, 31.
721
M.J. Gouweloos to Governor of Celebes and Dependencies [copy to Hb NZV at Oegstgeest], 20/1/1933,
ARRZ 2020.
722
723
Ibidem.

Export of rice from Kolaka 1926 to the end of May 1935724

1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933725 1934 to ult. May
1935
kg 211,803 145,246 79,726 105,205 38,262 10 38,494 38,494 41,773 10,69
ƒ 36,676 24,255 27,131 34,356 8865 400 9098 9098 2155 1103
4.13. Copra and coconut oil

One crop has so far hardly been mentioned: the coconut palm, although its cultivation had been
essential to the economy of the Big East from around 1880.726 From 1914 Celebes, especially the
north and south (Minahassa, Mandar), had the biggest copra export of the whole archipelago; in the
last years before World War II the copra export from South Celebes even amounted to 40% of that
of the whole of the Dutch East Indies. Those of South Celebes and the Minahassa combined
amounted to 60% of this.727
While on the one hand the production of copra of the whole of Celebes increased steeply in the half
century before the Japanese period, going from north to south along the east coast the importance of
it decreased, however. In Tojo and elsewhere along the Gulf of Tomini Bugis had planted coconut
gardens as early as 1860.728 The export of copra from Una-Una, a small island in the Gulf of Tomini
inhabited mainly by Bugis, as early as 1906 amounted to more than 900 tons (15,000 pikol), which
provided an income of 120,000 guilders for 400 families.729 In 1908 620 tons (10,000 pikol) was
shipped from Banggai, chiefly to Gorontalo in North Celebes, a quantity which 20 years later had
increased to 5600 tons, almost ten times more.730 The copra export from Bungku and Salabangka at
the beginning of the twentieth century was negligible, about 9 tons (150 pikol) per annum, but
developed very quickly and in the space of 20 years (1928) grew to 744 tons (12,000 pikol), eighty
times as much.731
What was the coconut palm cultivation like in South-east Celebes? As is mentioned earlier
generations of Chinese, Bugis, Makassarese and other traders bought the coconuts from the
indigenous population. As the demand for copra and coconut oil increased, they began, just like the
Bajos, to establish their own coconut plantations along the coasts of Poleang, Rumbia, Lasolo, and
Mekongga, and on islands such as Pulau Tembako. Only Muna and Kendari lagged behind
somewhat in this respect, although after 1906/1907 the government did attempt to establish coconut
gardens on Muna.732
724
Ibidem.
725
Probably no figures were available for 1933, which led a clerk to repeat the figures relating to 1932.
726
Koloniaal verslag 1882, 20 ff.
727
Clemens, Regional Patterns, 43-44, 71; Heijting, “Memorie”, 93; Van Vuuren, “De Prauwvaart van Celebes”,
332; Copra-productie.
728
Van Geuns, “Memorie”, 16-17.
729
Ibidem, 17.
730
Broersma, “Gorontalo een handelscentrum van Noord Selebes”, 226 ff; Broersma, “De beteekenis van Selebes,
oostkust voor den handel”, 1046.
731
732
Bouman, “Memorie”, 48; Boll, “Eenige mededeelingen omtrent het eiland Moena”, 1032.

The most important coconut plantations intended for export lay on the islands of Lemo, Big and
Small Lambasina, Masakorang and Maniang (or: Masadiang) in the Bay of Mekongga. These were
medium-sized gardens, in 1914 consisting respectively of 700, 700, 525, 500 and 300 trees, which
were entirely in Bugis hands.733 In addition there were two coconut corporations which were foreign
owned, an Australian one in Tamponabale on Muna,734 and one in Lapao-Pao, situated on the
eponymous bay in the north west of the Kolaka district, which had been granted as a concession to
an Armenian, J.E. Galstaun.735
Because in all these cases it concerned new plantations, the copra production was initially
limited.736 But the export from Kolaka grew: first it increased to an average of some 300 tons a year
in the last years before the depression, and, after a decline to just over 17 tons in 1932, to almost
500 tons in just the first five months of 1935.737 A comparison of the subdivision of Kolaka with the
coconut island of Selayar, which had a population of about twice the size of that of Kolaka,
convincingly shows how much South-east Celebes lagged behind: the export of copra from Selayar
over the period 1926-1930 amounted to over 4000 tons annually.738
Of less importance for the mainland were the coconut gardens on Buton, which were in European
hands. The largest were the Tampenan Estates at Tampunabale, which together covered 900
hectares and had 70,000 trees. On Buton there were also coconut gardens in Bubu, Latambera and
Walue. Together with sea fishing and a few timber exploitation corporations these gardens were the
chief employers for the local population before the war. On the island of Big Tobea (Groot Tobea,
Pulau Battoa) in the Strait of Tiworo there existed since 1911 a coconut concession of 1800
hectares with some 80,000 trees (1933), called “Little Banda” (Klein Banda) . The owner of the
concession was the Cultivation Company Limited “Tobea” (N.V. Cultuur Maatschappij “Tobea”)
in Makassar.739
733
Van Vuuren, Het Gouvernement Celebes, I, 318, 326, 342, 414.
734
Interview with Laode Mandati (Bau-Bau, 15/7/1992) 4.
735
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 25; Dirks, “Memorie”, 11; Galstaun was the only farmer in South-east Celebes who
raised cattle from Bali.
736
Van Vuuren, Het Gouvernement Celebes, I, 413-416, 424.
737
738
Van Bodegom, “Memorie”.
739
These concessions were Tampenan I and II, located on a peninsula in the Strait of Buton, Bouman, “Memorie”,
42; Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 74-75.

Table of copra exports from Kolaka from 1926 until the end of May 1935740
1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934741 to ult. May
1935
kg. 341,179 266,685 326,053 356,418 244,216 340,08 17,504 298,944 17,504 489,741
ƒ 89,19 59,724 85,012 73,766 69,554 132,024 5,434 20,212 5,434 15,85
Because the east of South-east Celebes lagged behind the west economically, the authorities in the
last years before World War II stimulated the production of copra in Kendari by means of building
furnaces fired with coconut shells. Although the quality of the copra produced in this way was said
to be as good as that of copra dried in the sun, this enterprise had little significance in terms of
size.742 In 1940 the price of forest products on the world market collapsed. The Copra Fund, hastily
established in that year, which fixed minimum market prices, made storage facilities available and
provided advance payments to farmers and the distribution trade but could not protect the producers
against the head winds. After the war the copra production came to an end.
After 1945 demand concentrated on coconuts for consumption and coconut oil, the trade in which
was completely in the hands of Chinese from Makassar and Surabaya. Besides, labour was scarce,
and therefore expensive. Coolie wages in 1947 were from one to one and a half guilders a day,
twenty times as much as before the war. The production of copra was labour intensive and costly,
and the coconut pickers demanded up to 50% of the proceeds, against 20% in 1920. Add to this the
fact that the KPM service to South-east Celebes had virtually disappeared, forcing trade to rely on
prahu shipping. But this was anything but regular and besides, taking advantage of the scarcity of
shipping capacity, charged high tariffs, up to 10% or 20% of the value of the cargo, against no more
than around 5% before the war.743
4.14. Mining, industry and manufacturing

4.14.1. Iron, gold and other mineral resources
In East and Central Celebes iron ore, in the form of marsh or lump ore had been mined since time
immemorial. Old legends already tell stories about it, and link the manufacture of iron with the first
human being, Sangia Sulemana. Long before 1000 AD contacts existed between Java and
Celebes.744 Banggai is mentioned in a Javanese poem dating from 1365, entitled Nagara-
kertagama, as a kingdom of islands which controlled Bungku’s production of iron and exported
knives, axes, spear points and swords to Majapahit on East Java.745 Later observers also mention
Bungku’s iron industry, the products of which were exported to all parts of the archipelago and
740
741
Probably no figures were available for 1934, which led a clerk to repeat the figures relating to 1932.
742
Taatgen, “Memorie”, 7.
743
Van Bodegom, “Memorie”; Asba, Nasionalisasi Coprafonds.
744
Caldwell, “Three locally-made bronzes from South Sulawesi”.
745
"The Nagara-kertagama”, 17.

were also supplied to Ternate as tribute.746 Luwuq’s position as a regional power was in part based
on its control of the iron producing regions of Central Celebes and the manufacture and export of
weapons related to this.747 In the nineteenth century it was primarily the smithies of Utono and
Soroako, situated on Lake Matano, north of lake Towuti, which were widely known because of
their “Utono iron”. There, but also elsewhere, agricultural tools, utensils, blades for scimitars,
machetes, lances and pick axes were manufactured – according to Abendanon, who conducted a
geological exploration of Central Celebes in the years of 1909 and 1910, these were “of excellent
quality”. But most of all the Toraja and Tomori were famous of old for their skill in the forging of
weapons.748
According to Blok (1759), the rivers of Luwuq contained gold, which was extracted by Bugis.749
After 1910 gold was found in some rivers, but the quantities were too small for commercial
exploitation.750 The Chinese goldsmithing firm, which was established in Kendari in the early
1920s, and soon after was widely known in the whole of the East Indies, therefore had to import its
raw material from elsewhere.751 In 1909 Abendanon demonstrated that laterite containing iron ore
occurred in the Wawo Umbo mountain range. This iron ore contained a high percentage of nickel
(25%) and chromium.752 The quantities of iron ore in the Wawo Umbo mountains, which was more
closely examined in 1918 and 1919, seemed promising. Just the iron deposits near Lake Towuti and
those near Lake Matano to the north, were estimated at over a billion tons. However, because of the
huge distances and the inaccessibility of the area, exploitation was not viable,753 much to the relief
of missionary A.C. Kruyt in Pendolo in Central Celebes. For both he and his son and co-missionary
Jan feared the moment when Western big business would begin to exploit these natural riches and
disturb the peace and quiet of the region. The opening up of the land to the outside world, the
inflow of strangers and the attraction exerted by the mines and blast furnaces on the indigenous
population, would lead to mass migration, which both for the population and for missionary work
would constitute a catastrophe.754
What did not happen in Central Celebes did happen in South-east Celebes. People here were less
“lucky”, that is according to Kruyt’s criteria, which were shared by missionary Van der Klift. In
Kondeha coal and brown coal were discovered, while the reddish brown earth of the hills in the
river valleys of the Lalindu and Lasolo in the north east indicated the presence of iron. The soil of
the islands of Padamarang, Lemo, Lambasina and Maniang in the Bay of Mekongga, and that of the
746
Noorduyn, “De handelsrelaties”, 103-104; Laging Tobias, “Memorie”, 5-6; Meilink-Roelofsz, Asian Trade, 98
(over ijzeruitvoer van Banggai naar Ternate).
747
Bulbeck, Land of iron; Reid, Southeast Asia, I, 110; Adriani, De Bare,e-sprekende Toradja,s, II, 410; Adriani,
“Verhaal”, 857.
748
Abendanon, Geologische en geografische doorkruisingen, II, 491; IV, 1684-1686; Goedhart, “Drie
Landschappen in Celebes”, 540; Van Fraassen, “De positie van Luwu”, 3; Sarasin, Reisen, I, 310-313l; Van
Musschenbroek, “Toelichtingen”, 96; Grubauer, Unter Kopfjägern in Central-Celebes, 74 ff.
749
[Roelof Blok], “Beknopte Geschiedenis”, 53;
750
Heijting, “Memorie”, 105; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 3.
751
752
Abendanon, Geologische en geografische doorkruisingen, II, 565-566; “De millioenen van Celebes”.
753
De Man, “Vervolgmemorie”, 34; Nouwens, Nota, [4]; “Kroniek”, (1919) 473-479; cf. Verslagen en
Mededeelingen; Van Vuuren, “Celebes in vijftig jaren”, 339.
754
A.C. Kruyt to J. Kruyt, brief 38 (17/1/1918), ARRZ 1339.

mainland near Lapao-Pao, Oko-Oko, Pomala’a and in a few other places along the west coast
contained abundant quantities of ferronickel, as well as magnesite, and chromite, from which
respectively nickel, magnesium and chromium were extracted. The first applications for
concessions for exploitation were lodged in the 1930s. From this moment the East Borneo
Company via a daughter corporation started the exploitation of some of these fields.755 During
World War II this firm passed into Japanese hands, the Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. After the war
the mining of ore in South-east Celebes was granted to Pertambangan Toraja (Perto). In 1961 this
company was nationalised with the name PT Pertambangan Nickel Indonesia (PNI). A number of
mergers led to the development of PT Aneka Tambang, also a state-owned company, which up to
today in Pomala’a and Tapunopaka is mining chiefly ferronickel, assisted by a German firm.756
The Tolatoma, the Tolamoare and the inhabitants of Sanggona and Asera belonged to the clans in
South-east Celebes which had skills in metal forging even before 1900, although smiths could also
be found in other regions. The Sanggonese, who in all probability had learnt the craft from the
Tolatoma, and were possibly even descended from them, had for generations been famous far
beyond their own region for their durable, if hardly elegant machetes, hand-held hoes, sharp swords
(pade), and various kinds of spears and lances and scraping irons, which were used to scrape out
hard betel nuts and peeling branches of alder trees. Asera was known for its beautifully inlaid
swords with special marking in the blades caused by the high percentage of nickel in the iron ore
they used, which was obtained from Central Celebes. This was the reason why the makers of krisses
on Java and elsewhere also preferred using this ore.757
In the Dutch period a prohibition on striking and stabbing weapons, combined with the competition
of cheap Chinese and European iron, which had already existed for a longer period, delivered a
major blow to the indigenous manufacturers of iron goods. On Celebes, however, the demand for
iron tools remained strong, and after 1900 blacksmiths from Sanggona and Latoma were to be
found spread out over the whole of South-east and Central Celebes. In most kampongs one could
find smiths who could make knives out of scrap iron, which was generally tolerated by the
authorities.758
4.14.2. Other industries

Little is known about the distilling of arak in South-east Celebes, except that it happened, even on a
fairly big scale. In the Dutch period excise was of course charged on pongasi, as arak or rice beer
was called in South-east Celebes, with the result that there was a lot of illegal distilling and
trading.759 Ship building also flourished, but this was, as with brass, gold and silver smithing,
completely in the hands of the Bugis and Chinese. Important shipbuilding yards were to be found
755
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 3; Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 3, 16. De Steenkolen-Maatschappij Oost-Borneo was
founded in 1888 at Kutai, East Borneo. In 1897 the name was changed into Oost-Borneo Maatschappij (OBM).
756
Munggoro, Menggugat.
757
Reid, Southeast Asia, I, 110.
758
Bouman, “Memorie”, 20; Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 5; Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [48].
759

along the Bay of Kendari and in Kolaka, Wawo, Sua-Sua and Tangketada. In 1935 it was possible
to buy a sound 5 metres long sampan made of bitti-wood for 4 guilders.760
In the Dutch period attempts were made to create additional industries for the indigenous
population. It was expected that good profits could be made for a small outlay of capital. There
were mangrove woods aplenty and because there was a sizeable export market for bakau bark and
tannin (cutch), the government established a small factory in Kendari, where this bark was
processed and tannin was manufactured.761 In the longer term this plan was, however, a failure. The
only industry of the Tolaki and Tomoronene which was export oriented was the processing of the
leaves of the common Gebanga or Corypha umbraculifera palm tree. These were used for the
production of agil, fibres employed for the twining of sacks, caps, shields, fish nets and ropes for
ships. They were also used for the weaving of mats which were in use as sails on ships and as a
building material for the construction of houses, with every region having its own patterns and style
of processing them.762
Most of the plans to raise the standard of living of the indigenous population in this way failed.
There were several causes of this, but the principal one was the grip the Chinese and Bugis had on
the economy. Although a missionary in 1920 was impressed by the riches of the country and wrote:
“when you look around you full of admiration, inevitably the strong flowing Konawe’eha tells you
that its water has enough force to power a thousand wood sawing mills”,763 it was only after World
War II that a few wood processing companies were created which successfully produced for export.
The industries of most Tolaki and Tomoronene remained focussed in the first place on the supply of
their own day-to-day essentials. The natural environment surrounding them provided abundant
material for the manufacture of all sorts of simple articles for everyday use, from striking and
stabbing weapons, kitchen utensils and cutlery made of buffalo horns and hides, to clothing and
building materials for rafts and canoes. Red or yellow alluvial clay was used for the manufacture of
earthenware, which was made watertight with resin. Among these were the well-known red and
brown jars, some over a metre high, which had lizard or crocodile motifs. Their manufacture was
carried out with very simple tools as the potter’s wheel was unknown. In 1923 a European traveller
noted significant differences in the crafts of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene. In the south the
embroidery on clothes and head cloths and the carving were more artistic and elegant than in the
north. More than in Kolaka and Kendari, almost everything he saw in the south was decorated, from
graves, the talino tina (headband, Tom.), bodices and houses, to the bamboo used for the fetching
of water. The artistically worked armbands and other ornaments which he came across there were,
in his opinion, of Butonese origin.764 They reminded of the heyday of the Butonese sultanate, when
the kraton was a centre of the art of gold and silver smithing, of which the treasures of the realm
760
Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 141, 190; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 28; vgl. Vonk, “Nota betreffende het
zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 62; Bouman, “Memorie”, 48.
761
762
Taatgen, “Memorie”, 4; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 30-31; Van Vuuren, Het Gouvernement Celebes, I, 360.
763
D. Kok to Hb NZV, 10/7/1920, ARRZ 2028.
764

and other precious objects, which in the 1980s were exhibited in the sultan’s residence in the
kraton, which was turned into a museum after World War II, bear witness.765
4.15. The role of cotton

Cotton played a remarkable role in indigenous society. The Tolaki and Tomoronene never had a
weaving industry of any importance, although some Tolaki and Tomoronene women learnt sewing
and weaving as servants of Bugis and Chinese people. In contrast to Buton, where cotton was
cultivated as early as around 1600,766 the cultivation of cotton on the mainland only started in the
Japanese period, albeit by force. The harvest was for the Japanese, not for the population itself. At
that time weaving by hand also gained some acceptance. But until then the women beat clothes and
blankets from bark which was soaked and beaten, the fuya, or kinawo, and sinomiti, as the Tolaki
called these. They twined trousers, mosquito nets, bonnets and caps out of grass, fibres and strips of
bark (karoro, Tol.). This applied both to everyday clothing and to garments and rugs used for
special occasions. If they wanted cotton bodices, trousers and sarongs they had to rely on expensive
imports or on Bugis and Chinese tailors.767
Even in the course of the nineteenth century some changes in clothing were observable. Varying by
region, but first along the coast, bark clothing was gradually superseded by cotton clothing, first of
all in wealthier circles, but later throughout the whole of society.768 Vosmaer met Tolaki heads
dressed in sarongs woven by the Bugis or Butonese, and 70 years later, during the travels of the
Sarasin cousins through South-east Celebes (1903) it became obvious that imported cotton, linen
and even silk cloth, sometimes finely worked and decorated with embroidery, had penetrated even
into the interior, while their cost continued to go down. Although for clans in the northern mountain
region cotton was taboo until long after 1900 to wrap the around the dead, and they continued to
use fuya blankets for this,769 on all kinds of festive occasions more and more people, men, women
and children, attired themselves in orange, light blue, white, yellow-green and red garments,
adorned with beads, shells, gold and silver coins, and other ornaments. This was a sign of
increasing affluence rather than of the backwardness of the population, which both learned
travellers interpreted it as. But of course they lacked the historical perspective.770
Because of their scarcity imported silk and cotton cloth formed a popular investment object for the
families of indigenous heads after 1800: the bride price or gifts (from the young man or his family
to the parents of the bride-to-be) often included, apart from water buffaloes, objects made of copper
and brass and Chinese porcelain, cotton cloths, sometimes up to half of the money payable, while
the groom’s father also had the obligation to provide the bride with new cotton clothes. Anyone
765
Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 62-63; Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 154,
206-218; eigen waarneming auteur, 1992.
766
Muller, Reizen en Onderzoekingen, 13.
767
“Een brief van Br. v.d. Klift”, Zendingsblad, nr. 25 (1 mei 1918) 1; H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 18/11/1920,
ARRZ 2025; H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”,
(ARRZ 2025) 4.
768
Van Braam Morris, “Het Landschap Loehoe”, 525.
769
770
Sarasin, Reisen, I, 359-360; Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 242-243; H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 2-3/7/1936,
ARRZ 2021.

who wanted to buy a slave from a head in Mekongga in 1900 had to pay 20 pieces of cotton
material or their value of 20 rijksdaalders (two-and-a-half guilder coins). Cotton became not only
currency, but also permeated into the adat ritual and the morality, particularly in the lowlands of
South-east Celebes. The shrouds of the water buffaloes which were sacrificed to Ombu Mbu’u on
various occasions, were made of white cotton, a symbol of purity; they replaced the traditional
cloths of bleached kinawo. Sexual intercourse outside marriage was taboo both with the
Tomoronene and the Tolaki, and little, if any, prostitution occurred; infringement of the rather strict
sexual morals during the period of preparation for a wedding could, if discovered, lead to the
cancellation of the wedding as well as a fine, to be paid in the form of a piece of white cotton cloth
to the value of one and half guilders or more. Here too, the white cotton symbolised renewed purity
and virginity.771
4.16. Cattle breeding, hunting and fishing

South-east Celebes had an abundance of water buffaloes, particularly in the lowlands. The
population used them for dragging rattan and wood in the forests and for consumption, while also
exporting the animals, their meat and their hides. They also had a role in certain rituals. The biggest
cattle breeders were the anakia: in 1930 the herd of the ruler of Rumbia, I Ntera, consisted of more
than 100 animals. The water buffaloes, here called kaoe, probably an onomatopoeic word of oe, the
sound of their mooing, were semi-feral, and spent most of the year running around loose, although
of most the owner was known. As a rule the heads had their herds tended by their children, family
members, slaves or subjects. In Rumbia as many animals as possible were rounded up once every
year, in the dry season, for a period of three months, and were then counted and at that time,
because of the growth of the herds, the size and composition of everyone’s property was calculated
anew. This was the mompakani, a general term which means “tending”, the “breeding of cattle”, but
in Rumbia referred in particular to these three months. Whoever did not own cattle, but had tended
the water buffaloes of a head during the preceding year, was given a calf as payment, and could in
that way build up his own herd. At the end of the three months the mododo ngani was held, a
fertility ritual. A bull was selected, and round him spears were stuck into the ground. Subsequently
the animal was fed black rice with ground coconut, and its head was sprinkled with water which
had been consecrated in a special jar. The other bulls were sprinkled with the remaining water. At
the end of these three months the animals were once again set loose in the jungle.772
Another traditional source of subsistence, both on the mainland and on the islands, was the hunting
of such diverse animals as deer, monkeys, water snakes, birds, pheasants and antelope cows or wild
mountain buffaloes, the anuang or anoa, as the Bugis called them, and of which there were two
species. The Tolaki and Tomoronene bred imported goats and a few sheep and fished in rivers and
marshes. An ancient way of fishing was the meroro, catching fish with a scoop net. Less innocuous
was the poisoning of the water with tuba, the poisonous root of the Derris elliptica Bth.. This
method, also used in South Celebes and elsewhere, was so efficient and the catch so big, that the
771
Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 66-67; Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [23]; Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 242-
243, 272-273.
772
Interview with several inhabitants of Kasiputih (20/7/1992) B1-B2.

fish stock in such places was sometimes wiped out for years – this led to the use of tuba being
prohibited in 1936.773 Some Tolaki and Tomoronene also engaged in fishing at sea, but in the main
they left this to the Bajos, the Bugis and later to Javanese migrants. During, and after, World War II
Japanese explosives were used in fishing, which sometimes caused great damage to flora and fauna
near the coast for a long period of time.774
Kendari before World War II had a fish auction, and Pu’unggaluku (Palangga) had a sea fishing
firm, which after the war had a number of Javanese employees. Apart from being a source of
income for the region, this firm was also a centre of republican inspiration and agitation. Until his
arrest in October 1946, a company clerk called Kusnawi, a member of the Partai Nasional
Indonesia (PNI), (which at that time was prohibited) was at the centre of these activities. This was
the same with his colleague Laode Makhmud in Bau-Bau.775
4.17. Agriculture
4.17.1. Rice, sago flour and beriberi
Old stories tell of great riches and magnificent harvest festivals.776 According to Vosmaer too,
poverty was unknown among the Tolaki and Tomoronene and the rice harvests were even
“plentiful”, which he attributed both to the diligence of the population and to the excellent fertility
of the soil. The land was thinly populated, so there was no pressure on potential farmland.777 The
name “Taubonto”, a settlement in Rumbia, was composed from ”tau”, which means “year”, and
“bonto”, which, apart from “old”, also means “rotten”, “gone off”: at one time crops were so big
that there were not enough hands to harvest them, and not enough mouths to eat everything, so that
the crops rotted in the field and in the storage barns.
The staples of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene consisted of sago flour (sinonngi, Tol.) and rice.
Sago flour, which has little nutritional value, was made (“beaten”) from the flesh of several
Corypha palms (lano), the Arenga saccharifera Lab. (feather or sugar palm), the Borassus
flabelliformis L. (Lontar palm), and the “true” sago palm, the Metroxylon Sagus Rottb., which
provided the best flour. These palms grew in low-lying, moist areas in big numbers in the wild, and
were at times planted. There was sago flour aplenty: one tree provided sufficient flour to feed one
person for a year. Although in the Dutch period the sago palm seems to have disappeared from
large parts of Rumbia, Rumbia derived its name from this tree: “Rumbia” is Makassarese (and
Malay) for sago palm. The Tolaki and Tomoronene call this tree tawaro.778 In the district of
Bantaeng on South Celebes there was also a region called Rumbia, which had been named for an
ancestor of the local population.779
773
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 22; Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 16.
774
Madlener, “Warta Politiek Selebes Selatan untuk bulan November 1949”. 7.
775
Residentie Zuid, “Politiek Verslag (1-16 October)”, 17-18; Residentie Zuid, “Politiek Verslag (16-28 Februari
1947)”, 10.
776
De Braconier, “Twee sproken van de zee”, 1377.
777
Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 66, 71, 74, 91; “Het eiland Celebes volgens de togten en ontdekkingen van
Jacques Nicolas Vosmaer”, 281-282.
778
779
Goedhart, “De inlandsche rechtsgemeenschappen in de onderafdeling Bonthain (1920)”, 171-174.

4.17.2. Depression, taxes and epidemics

This diet of sago flour and rice was supplemented with corn, cassava roots and leaves cooked in
bamboo, cane sugar, kapok seeds, and at times some coconuts, and was washed down with pongasi.
In itself this was a fairly one-sided diet anyway, but in the 1930s this not particularly healthy food
situation was further affected by the economic depression, which caused the price of forest products
to plummet. Food shortages and malnutrition were the result. The incomes of the kampong
population were lower than many people could remember, and a feeling of despair and anxiety took
possession of many.780 To earn at least a comparatively decent income the men were forced to stay
in the forests longer than before. This meant that there was less time available for work in the
gardens, which had the more serious impact because the search for rattan, and the creation of, and
work on, a ladang both had to happen in the relatively short dry period. In the years 1932, 1933 and
1934 the rice harvest in Mekongga failed, owing to disease on a grand scale and lack of rain,781 and
added to this there was the fact that traders bought up large quantities of rice from the population
for low prices – the population had no choice, for they needed money to pay their taxes – and sold it
on at a profit to the collectors of resin in the hinterland of Malili. The population had extreme
problems in raising the money for these taxes, called the sima assaparang atuong.782 This was
levied on all income from labour and was pro rata according to the size of the wet rice paddies, the
amount of rice sown, and the number of mice, deer, pigs, buffaloes and other animals caught. Rice
flour produced 12 cents per kati (0.61kg) in 1926, but by 1931 this had declined to an average of
3.4 cents, and by 1932 to 2 cents, and it has to be kept in mind that an adult consumed on average
about one kati per day. In 1935 a farmer had to sell two or more pikol of rice flour from a harvest
which averaged less than four pikol seed rice per annum to be able to pay his tax. In these years of
the depression the taxes were, as a controleur admitted, “a very heavy burden”, which was most
certainly the case, if compared with the daily wage of a labourer or coolie, which averaged six
cents.783 Moreover, because the population was usually paid in kind – “where will the people get the
money when the coastal traders only pay in bits of cotton and such like and jealously preserve their
money?” an observer wrote in 1933784 –, there was a shortage of money everywhere during these
years, which also made the pawning of furniture to a pawnbroker to obtain cash and food more and
more difficult. Until the day arrived when there was nothing left to pawn. Combined with a
shortage of rice because of malaria and a mouse plague, causing the population to rely on eating
sago, this led to widespread malnutrition, which in the early 1930s resulted in a beriberi
780
J. Schuurmans to Hb NZV, Lambuya, 7/1/1933, ARRZ 2020.
781
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 11/5/1935, ARRZ 2021; H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 2/7/1935, ARRZ 2021.
782
Governor Heijting (1913-1916) established the income tax (sima assaparang atuwong, s.a.a., a Bugis term;
Mak.: s. katalassang or s. ulu) at 4% of someone’s estimated annual income and possessions, allowing for the
quality of his land, natural resources, number of wives and children etc. Minimum amount to be paid was f. 2,-;
minimum taxable income was f. 50,- per year. Some groups were exempted from these taxes, such as certain
indigenous civil servants, Islamic functionaries, and elders and teachers employed by the mission. In the case
of Europeans, Chinese, Japanese and other strangers there existed a separate tax system. Heijting, “Memorie”,
77 ff.; Frijling, “Circulaire no. 22”; Idem, “Vaststelling van den minimum-aanslag”.
783
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 23, 42, 50; De Man, “Vervolgmemorie”, 8.
784
G.C. Storm, “Jaarverslag Ressort Poleang Roembia, jan. 1933”, ARRZ 2133.

epidemic,785 which cost many lives. Subsequently an anthrax epidemic took the lives of hundreds of
water buffaloes and horses. Some villages, such as Rate-Rate even lost all their cattle, while the
export price for water buffaloes plummeted from 40 to 50 guilders per head in the 1920s to 5 to 10
guilders in 1933.786
In those years of rigorous economies all responsible authorities in charge, from village heads to
controleurs, were judged according to the amount of taxes they managed to collect. In Kolaka it
went so far that a register was maintained listing which heads were the most efficient during the
slump. In Mekongga, I Nduma, the bokeo, was at the top of the list, with the mokole of the
Konawe’eha district in second place, and the head of Simbune kampong in third. The government
rewarded them with money, a bronze or silver Star of Merit or an honourable mention.787 It did not
occur to the government, or at least it seemed that way, that this strict approach impoverished the
population, and thus wrecked the programme of kampong formation and other measures aimed at
increasing prosperity.
– – – from the deputy village head to the controleur, [they] do nothing but press and push to collect the
tax from a population which cannot pay more (at least most people) and pounds the last bundles of rice
and pawns the only copper kettle or cooking pot they still own, to be able to offer at least something to
the constantly demanding heads.788
Although the tax collectors, who crisscrossed the country to impose the tax assessments and collect
the cash which was due, were confronted by physical violence, and occasionally someone was even
murdered for this reason, such as the Ambonese government assistant Korputy in 1931, the
government remained intransigent. The actual income from taxes in the subdivision of Kolaka in
1934 amounted to an average of 4.61 guilders per male head of population, and 5.38 guilders in
1935. This was above the standard amount of 3.60 to 4.- guilders.789 The fact that the total revenue
was fairly high was mostly due to the taxes paid by the resin and rattan gatherers. An agricultural
region such a Rate-Rate in 1934 only managed an average of 3.34 guilders per head, and Singgere
3.72 guilders.790
If one had no rice which could be sold, just to be able to pay one’s taxes one had to spend 50 or 60
days of every year to search for rattan and resins. This was not the only burden the government
imposed on its subjects. Every male resident between 18 and 45 years was obliged to carry out
municipal and vassal services (herendiensten). These services were used for the construction or
maintenance of houses, ladangs and gardens of hadat-, district and village heads, roads, bridges,
watercourses, schools, pasanggrahan and bivouacs for travellers and soldiers, for the delivery of
letters for heads and civil servants and similar people, jobs which sometimes had to be carried out
785
ARRZ 2020.
786
J. Schuurmans to Hb NZV, Lamboya, 7/1/1933, ARRZ 2020.
787
788
789
790

far from home. In Kolaka in 1924 this was 51 days annually.791 People who had fallen behind in
paying tax, and those who did not have a valid kampong card, were given extra work, or received a
“supplementary” tax assessment.792 When the search for rattan and resins (for tax purposes) and this
compulsory labour are added up, every adult man had to do work for the government and the heads
some 110 days annually, labour from which he did not earn a cent for himself.793
The population, squeezed between the low prices they received for their rice, water buffaloes, rattan
and resins on the one hand, and on the other by the high taxes and very heavy municipal and vassal
services, became embittered. This was aggravated by the fact that when someone defaulted,
confiscation, forced sale of his possessions or other humiliating measures followed, such as
corporal punishments and punitive expeditions of sometimes as much as 80 or 100 kilometres. The
oppression and the shortage of food led people to flee to inhospitable regions, out of reach for civil
servants, missionaries and tax collectors. The south west coast of Poleang was such a place of
refuge, as was the north coast of Muna, where, in 1933, a entire village in Ando’olo, Roraya-on-sea,
sought refuge. The village of Hao Momalu, high up in the mountains north of Uepai, consisted
wholly of people who had fled.
In view of the deplorable conditions of the population missionary Gouweloos in 1933 turned to
Governor Caron in Makassar in an urgent letter to bring to his attention the needs of the Christians
and to request moderation of the tax burden.794 An added incentive to do so Gouweloos had in the
fact that in 1933 propagandists of the Partai Sarekat Islam Indonesia (PSII) roamed South-east
Celebes, who had come from South Celebes, and who tried to make the population believe that tax
would be reduced to 1.10 guilders per person per year for those who joined the PSII, and that
municipal and vassal services would only have to be carried out at up to a distance of up to 5
kilometres from the place where one lived. This was not true, although Islamic officials did enjoy
various privileges, among them in certain cases exemption from municipal and vassal services, as
for instance during the month of fasting.795 Although these propagandists were jailed for three
years, they did in some places manage to create an interest in the population in Islam and the
PSII.796
Caron reacted kindly to Gouweloos’ letter and intimated that he shared his concerns, but the
government continued the usual strict supervision of the tax collection with undiminished intensity,
as “compromise of any kind was unacceptable.” Of course there was compromise, even on a big
scale, particularly by the government assistants and tax collector-heads, those who went into the
villages and had to confiscate goods or impose punishments in case of default. Some heads were
sacked or suspended because of “misappropriation of funds”, the term often used when a head did
791
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 21/2/1924, ARRZ 2026; Bouman, “Memorie”, 52; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 50.
792
Taatgen, “Memorie”, 11.
793
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 42-46; Taatgen, “Memorie”, 9.
794
ARRZ 2020.
795
796

not succeed in collecting enough tax. This happened in 1934 to both the mokole of the mountain
districts of Konawe’eha and Tawanga in the subdivision of Kolaka.797
4.17.3. After the depression

Although the export of rice started to increase again in 1932, a real improvement of the economic
situation in South-east Celebes was only noticeable from the mid 1930s. Coolie wages, paid in dui
manu or haantjescenten (“rooster cents”)798 or company cents,799 went up from 6 cents a day in the
early 1930s to as much as 20 cents in some places in 1940. The basis for this improvement lay,
apart from the picking up of world trade, in a series of government measures with respect to
agriculture. These benefited those who had paid 50% or more of their taxes for the year 1934,
which amounted to 60 to 70% of the population.800 These measures encompassed the combining of
separate gardens to larger units and the expansion of the number of plants cultivated, for which
seedlings were made available. It was also the intention to improve the efficiency of the tillage of
the soil and to introduce regular surveillance of the gardens. The time for various jobs in the
gardens was also set down for each district, although by no means everyone stuck to these
instructions. In part through these measures the series of failed harvests became a thing of the past
by the mid 1930s, and in some places they even led to a surplus. The Tolaki and the Tomoronene
resumed their feasts, danced their choral dances, brewed lots of pongasi, slaughtered their water
buffaloes and incurred huge debts.801
However, soon after, new problems threatened, not least because in 1937 the tax burden was
increased and taxes were collected earlier. Because the population sold its rice mostly to wholesale
buyers, it sometimes happened that in certain regions not a single grain of rice was to be found in
the last three or four months before the harvest. In a few places the ladangs were even neglected
because resin, rattan and copra had again become more profitable. The authorities were obliged to
place restrictions on the export of rice. In some areas the rice harvest failed almost completely in
1938 because of excessive rainfall, and rice once again had to be imported. Moreover, the initial
recovery of the world market for forest products did not continue in the late 1930s. Once again
poverty prevailed and many men moved to other regions or became employees of the East-Borneo
Company in Kolaka, and again a beriberi epidemic broke out among those who stayed behind,
although this one claimed fewer victims than that of some years previously.802
4.17.4. During the Japanese occupation and afterwards

The population became even more impoverished during the Japanese occupation. The export of
forest products, rice, copra and water buffalo hides ceased completely. In its stead came
compulsory supplies to the army of vegetables, oil of the jarak (Ricinus communis, castor oil tree)
and cotton. After the Japanese period the export of forest products picked up a little, but it was still
797
798
There were 36 “haantjescenten” per 10-cent piece.
799
There were twelve small cents in a 10-cent piece, and six large cents in a 10-cent piece.
800
801
J. Schuurmans, “Jaarverslag Lambuya 1935”, 10/1/1936, ARRZ 2133.
802

severely impeded by the poor state of roads and bridges and the lack of means of transport. Poor
harvests in 1946 and 1947, caused by heavy and long-lasting rainfall, contributed to the explosive
rise in the price of the first necessities of life: 60 cents for a kilogram of rice, 10 cents for an egg
and 20 guilders for a chicken were no exception, while imported kain, needed for clothing and
mosquito nets against malaria, were “completely out of reach”.803
Moreover, many of the goods intended for distribution by the government disappeared into the
black market or were even sold outside South-east Celebes, sometimes as far as Borneo and Java.
The Tolaki and Tomoronene population suffered an existence of slavery in dire poverty, with
children dying in huge numbers of pneumonia and malaria, but the middlemen benefited greatly.
One of the biggest traders of the west coast, both before and after the war, was Pu’uwatu Raeyati,
who from 1947 was bokeo of Mekongga. In the kampong of Wanggudu (Lasampara) north of
Kendari, “seven affluent Chinese” were resident in 1948. These paid a good price for rattan and
resin, although the heyday of such products was past, because of the rise of synthetic resins. A
number of former victims of forced labour of the Japanese, who had remained in South-east
Celebes, also applied themselves to trade, as, for instance, a certain Mappaduang, who had settled
in Ranteangin (Kondeha). His business contact on Java was his father, a trader and shopkeeper in
Surabaya. Mappaduang regularly travelled between South-east Celebes and Surabaya. Because of
rumours about an imminent landing of republican troops in South-east Celebes his movements were
closely watched by various Dutch intelligence services.804
Apart from the distributive traders and other middlemen, the poverty also passed many migrants by.
Whoever had invested in gardens and plantations before the war, reaped the rewards of this after the
war. An inventory from 1948, conducted to assist the programme of kampong concentration,
indicates the number of fruit-bearing plants owned at that time by five villages with a population of
1390 (190 families) in the southern coastal district of Palangga: 1553 coconut palms, 13,907 coffee
bushes, 11,989 banana palms, 1223 nangka trees, 9437 areca or betel nut bushes, 210 large bamboo
groves, 297 orange trees, 201 durian trees and 2926 sago palms – not exactly an image of a
poverty-stricken population, but then the owners were Bugis.805
4.18. Peanuts, rubber, coffee, tobacco and other crops

The state of the population’s health was closely linked to the supply of food, since poor harvests
soon led to malnutrition and famine. In combination with the measures referred to earlier, the
government in the early 1930s tried to combat the beriberi epidemic by improvement of nutrition,
in particular by means of the distribution of vitamin B tablets and the compulsory cultivation of
kacang tanah (peanuts).806 The authorities also tried to improve the food situation of the population,
and diminish the chance of famine, by means of renewed attention to the construction of sawahs, a
programme which had been started soon after pacification, but which had been abandoned in 1924.
803
L. Boer, E. Boer-Maarleveld to Dir. SZC, 24/6/1947, ARRZ 2022.
804
AR Buton-Laiwoi, “Politiek verslag van de afdeling Boeton en Laiwoei over de 2de helft December 1948”, 2;
Hogendorp, “Relaas”.
805
“Daftar nama² tanaman”.
806
Cf. the work of Christiaan Eijkman, who demonstrated that beriberi was caused by malnutrition. In 1929 he
received the Nobel Price for medicine.

Although missionary Schuurmans in Lambuya predicted that the population’s indolence would
prevent the programme of forced cultivation of peanuts from achieving results,807 he did participate
in it. In 1934 and 1935 he established various youth clubs, which he exhorted to construct new,
efficiently set-up and well-maintained gardens. In Lambuya in 1935 he opened a training
programme for 20 boys, with agriculture and cattle farming prominently on the curriculum. He also
supplied peanuts and other seeds and young plants to Christian parishes.808
The peanut programme worked well, which is shown amongst other things by the fact that after this
in the bigger markets in the region increasingly various species cultivated in South-east Celebes
were sold.809 But a lot of effort and time went into achieving this before the population was used to
it, and for the time being malnutrition was not yet a thing of the past. But it was not just concern
about the well being of the population which led the authorities to take action. The semi-
autonomous regions of South-east Celebes experienced mounting financial problems because of a
decrease in tax revenue, since even just the feeding of beriberi patients in the hospitals of Kendari,
Kolaka and Wawotobi cost thousands of guilders every year. For instance, in Kolaka in 1933 100 to
150 patients were treated per day, of whom 95% suffered from beriberi.810
No rubber plantations existed in South-east Celebes during the Dutch period. Only in Bone in South
Celebes, and in the environs of the kampong of Bayondo in Malili there were a few small
demonstration gardens.811 Neither was there commercially operating resin or rattan cultivation,
although this was considered in the 1930s because of the threat of exhaustion of the forests. The
indigenous population did cultivate ubi (tubers), tobacco, corn, sugar cane and coffee, but for them
these were relatively new crops, introduced by the authorities or by the Bugis, and the harvests
were intended for their own use, not for export. This also applied to the few clove and pepper
gardens which the government caused to be established near Wawotobi.812
The cultivation of crops for export was completely in the hands of migrants. From the end of the
nineteenth century people from the Minahassa and South Celebes operated coffee and tobacco
plantations in Palangga, Rompu-Rompu, Tari-Tari, Soppe and Soppe-Wajo and on a few small
islands off the coast. For instance, the name Pulau Tembaco (Tobacco Island), off the coast near
Doala in Rumbia, is evidence of this. The Bugis established big corn gardens along the coast of
Mekongga and in Palangga in the 1930s.813 These gardens were aimed exclusively at the market,
with exports to Makassar, Palopo, Bone and Buton. Following this example some Tomoronene and
Tolaki also applied themselves to the cultivation of these lucrative crops, but they formed a small
minority.814
4.19. Rice and Ritual
807
808
809
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 27, 33-34; Taatgen, “Memorie”, 5.
810
811
Heijting, “Memorie”, 94-95; De Man, “Vervolgmemorie”, 27.
812
813
Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 13.
814

4.19.1. The ladang cultivation.

Although South-east Celebes had no lack of extensive lowlands, well crisscrossed by rivers, the
Tolaki and Tomoronene traditionally planted their rice only on more highly situated, dryer
agricultural land, the dry ladang cultivation. The success or failure of the harvest was entirely
dependent on rainfall. Too much or too little rain, or a wrong assessment of the start of the rainy
season, meant crop failure. Until the arrival of the Dutch only the Bugis and other migrants
cultivated wet rice along the coasts.815 The indigenous inhabitants of South-east Celebes did not
know it, and wanted nothing to do with it. According to Kruyt this attitude was not related to the
quality of the soil or with the degree of cultural or technical development: the most ancient
inhabitants of Celebes, from the Minahassa to Kendari, only cultivated rice in the manner of their
ancestors, who had moved into the region in times long gone.816
The small rice paddies lay spread out over mountain slopes, usually separate, but occasionally in
bigger aggregates. The small dwellings and huts on stilts, where the population spent a big part of
the year, were of simple construction and made of bilik (bamboo stems beaten flat and plaited) and
tauba (the veins of the leaves of the sago palm), and stood hidden in between bushes and trees or on
burnt and blackened mountain slopes, in some places visible from the sea.817 On the ladangs there
stood as well a laka landa or ala (Tol.), a little hut on stilts made of leaves and bamboo, which
served as a temporary storage area for rice, corn and other crops, and other small hovels, built for
the period that the piece of land was in use. Everywhere there were petanda (Tol.), places of
sacrifice to the spirits of the ancestors, and sometimes there were graves nearby. After a ladang had
been in use for a year (in some regions more years in succession was mombado, forbidden), a
period of lying fallow followed, which varied in length from one year to a few years, after which
the original cultivator or someone else returned to it and resumed cultivation.818
The initial development and cultivation of their ladangs and fields the Tolaki and Tomoronene did
almost entirely by hand, which was different from the Bugis, who ploughed their wet rice paddies
with water buffaloes. Before iron tools became prevalent in the twentieth century, a wooden hoe
and the shoulder blade of a water buffalo were the only tools used for agriculture.819
The preparation of a ladang happened during the dry months, from September to November or
December; planting the rice grains followed in December and January, the first months of the rainy
period. The harvest took place between April and July, dependent on the region and the rainfall.
After this some ladangs were once again prepared and planted, this time to obtain seed, which was
then harvested in July or August.820 In between these crops other plants were sown, for which the
government made seed available, particularly in times of shortages and lack of adequate supplies of
food.821
815
Van Vuuren, Het Gouvernement Celebes, I, 342; Wieland, “Memorie”, [10]; Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in
Celebes”, 482; Kruyt, De Rijstbouw in Balantak, 5; Grubauer, Unter Kopfjägern in Central-Celebes, 24.
816
A.C. Kruyt to R.A. Kern, 5/12/1924, ARRZ 1335.
817
818
Pingak, Dokumenta Kolaka, 78; Bouman, “Memorie”, 18.
819
820
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 50; Bouman, “Memorie”, 18.
821
Taatgen, “Memorie”, 6; Storm, “Opstel over de rijstbouw bij de Moronene”.

4.19.2. Ritual and division of labour

4.19.2.1. Hierarchy of plants
According to several inhabitants of Kasiputih, a village on the east coast of Rumbia, who were
interviewed in 1992, the most elaborate ritual connected with agriculture in South-east Celebes both
in the Dutch period – and probably also before – and in the first decades after World War II, was
linked with the cultivation of dry rice. This is suggestive of the existence of a hierarchy of
agricultural plants, in which dry rice was at the top of the list. For instance, special customs
connected with the cultivation of corn and other crops did exist, but by no means everywhere, and
as a rule these were limited to a simple meal after the harvest, called the mohedoi by the
Tomoronene, the “touching” of the new produce from garden or field.822 That rice was the most
important staple is also evident from it being considered to have, in contrast to other plants, its own
spirit, the sanggoleo mbae (Tol.) or sangkoleo mpae (Tom.), as well as from the fact that with some
mountain tribes rice was the only plant to have a symbolic role in funeral rites.823 According to
tradition the first grain of rice originated from the most intimate female organ. Pingak recorded the
following story about this in Pu’unggaluku (Palangga) in 1949:824
On a sacred rope Sangia Mbu’u lowered sacred earth [tanah sakti] to the world [dunia]. When the
dragon saw this he became very angry, for he understood that from this earth the world [bumi] would be
created, with the inevitable consequence that his freedom would be threatened by the future inhabitants
of the world. Thereupon he tried to eat the earth, but because it was sacred it got stuck in his throat, so
that he could no longer breathe. He then tried to spit out the earth with all the force he could muster.
Part of it came out, but not much. Because the dragon could not breathe he died. The small bits of earth
he had spat out became the small islands; the bigger the pieces, the bigger the islands, such as Buton,
Muna, Kabaena, Wawoni and Selayar. The small pieces became the islands of Tiworo, Wakatobiu,
Padamarang, Lambaina, Maniang and the islands of Banggai in Central Celebes and all other islands
along the coasts of Celebes, both in the north and in the west. The earth in the dragon’s throat melted
and because this earth was sacred it went through the whole body of the dragon, which in its entirety
changed into earth. The earth assumed the shape of the dragon. The Gulf of Bone was the dragon’s
mouth, Central Celebes was its body, the northern peninsula the tail, and the eastern peninsula the legs.
The spot where the sacred earth had got stuck in the dragon’s throat was Ware and became the centre of
the old principality of Luwuq.
Subsequently the supreme deity Sangia Mbu’u sent down chickens and pigs, which had the assignment
of making the earth flat. They did not succeed in completing this task before the rains came, which
caused all sorts of plants to shoot up. Then Sangia Mbu’u sent seven tomanurung to the world. The
seventh did not marry, but asked Sangia Mbu’u to cut her body into pieces. This happened, and from
her head grew the coconut palm, her breasts became oranges and lemons, and her clitoris became rice.
Rice is worshipped by the people, because enclosed in the rice is the sanggoleo mbae. People who are
possessed by this spirit are called pewurake. All rituals performed after the harvest have the purpose of
venerating the sanggoleo mbae.
822
Interview with several inhabitants of Kasiputih (20/7/1992) B1.
823
Gouweloos, “Het doodenritueel bij de To Wiaoe”, 37-38.
824
Pingak, Dokumenta Kolaka, 24-28. Translated from Indonesian by the author.

4.19.2.2. A new ladang

All phases of the cultivation of rice, from the search for, and then fencing in and burning off of a
suitable piece of land, to the cutting and storing of the harvest, were accompanied by ritual actions,
prohibitions, commandments and special codes of conduct for all those involved. Although there
were regional variations in details, there was a recognisable core pattern.825
The Tolaki called the preparatory phase of the rice-year the monahu ndau, or “the boiling of the
year”.826 The first step was the selection of place and time for the construction of a ladang, the
mo’o’onto wita, as the Tomoronene called it, the “inspection of the ground”.827 This was the task of
a priest or elder; in Poleang and Rumbia this was the tumpu koo, the rice priest,828 in Konawe the
tusa wuta, which means “the pillar of the ground”, someone who had all the necessary knowledge
and authority. Potentially this task could also be performed by the future user of the ladang. The
choice was made in accordance with the adat regulations and knowledge of plagues and diseases of
plants, the nature of the growth in the spot of the future ladang, the advent of the rains, winds and
seasons, a dream, the presence of snakes – a python was considered a favourable sign because it
kept away mice and monkeys – or the position of a constellation. According to Simon Galukupi
(Pu’undidaha) in Konawe the preparations for the development of a piece of forest started when the
Pleiades, called Pesuri Monunu, appeared above the eastern horizon. This was in October. A month
later, when Orion, called Wotika, was visible for the first time, the time had come to plant the grains
of rice. Once the constellation Bintang Ayam (Ursa Major) appeared one had to stop at once. These
times had to be carefully observed in order to prevent the rice being affected by disease.829
K. Bartimeus (Lambuya) named birdsongs and the presence of certain animals as important factors
in the selection of the location for a new ladang, or the use or abandonment of an old one. Some
birds betrayed the presence of water buffaloes, mice, monkeys, pigs and other threats to a good
harvest. If all this was in order, the centre of the new ladang was indicated by incisions in a few
branches and leaves. After three days had passed, the priest or village elder came back to check if
the branches and leaves had dropped off. If this was the case the gods and spirits objected to the
development and additional sacrifices were required. If not, the ladang could be constructed and he
was the first person to start the labour required.830
Subsequently Sangia Wuta Aha, the “High Lord of the Earth” (Mekongga, Konawe), was invoked
and, while offering eggs, chickens, betel nut and tobacco the people implored him to provide a good
harvest. To show his sincerity the future user of the ladang then performed the mosehe kulindiolu,
during which the machetes were rubbed with powdered eggshells. The purpose of this was that the
825
See e.g. Vonk, “Voorstel”, 43.
826
Monahu - cook, boil (Tol.); ndau - year, from tau, tao - year (Tol., Tom.). see H. van der Klift to Hb NZV,
5/11/1918, ARRZ 2025; Van der Klift, “Het monahoe ndao”; Bergink, “Mosehe”, 285; interview with K.
Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 1-2.
827
Interview with several inhabitants of Kasiputih (20/7/1992) A8.
828
Koo, koko’o - 1. tie; 2. a bunch of rice; the tumpu koo was in charge of the cultivation of the rice. Storm,
“Woordenlijst”, s.v.,
829
Interview with S. Galukupi e.a. (Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992) 36-37. Interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya,
9/7/1992) 2, 6. Vgl. Kruyt, “Een en ander over de To Laki van Mekongga (Zuidoost-Selebes)”, 452.
830
Interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 1, 2. Vgl. Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 30. Interview with Parenda
(Lambuya, 9/7/1992.

spirit of the iron (of the knife), the sanggoleo lawu, would ensure that the knife stayed sharp. This
second stage the Tomoronene called the mooli wita, the “buying of the soil”, the Tolaki called it
mooli wuta, with the same meaning.831 A meal also formed part of this event, sometimes
accompanied by dancing, the molulo.832
Generally the necessary rituals were held on or near the future ladang, but sometimes there were
certain other places for this purpose, which derived their significance from mythological events. In
Mekongga the inhabitants of a number of villages came together in the village of Lalolai on the
river Woime’eto at the beginning of the rice-year, while the population of the region between
Mowewe and Tawanga assembled near the Ulu Mowewe, the source of the Mowewe River, their
place of origin before the obligatory formation of kampongs. In 1920 the houses of the priests were
still standing on the Ulu Mowewe.833 At times the graves of the most important ancestors and rulers
were visited on this occasion, such as the grave of Laduma Sangia Nibandera in Wundulako.834
Once the planting of the grains of rice had been started, visiting of burial caves or graves was
generally prohibited.835
The instruction to proceed with the ritual part of the preparations was given by Pasa’eno, the son of
I Wesande, the daughter of a head, and Sangia. In 1918 the following story was recorded on the Ulu
Mowewe.836
I Wesande was wandering in the mountains with the things she needed for sleeping. Carrying these
made her thirsty and she looked for water. She could not find it. Then she saw a leaf of the toho tree
filled with water and drank it. After this she took the things needed for sleeping to her house. After she
had put these down she had a bitter taste in her mouth. She was pregnant. Her parents were surprised.
They said: “You have a man”. I Wesande said: “I am not married; I do not have a man!” She was
pregnant. When her time had come she took a wooden stick, and cut a point at one end. She planted the
stick in the ground upside down and said: “If it is Sangia’s child this stick will be the other way up
when I come back tomorrow to look. If it is not Sangia’s, it will stay as it is.” In the morning she saw
the stick had turned upside down. Quickly the house of her father was made ready. I Wesande entered
and was delivered of Pasa’eno. At once the small child walked to the ni’i nggandi.837 Pasa’eno said:
“Before the bushes of rice are cut sacrifices must be made here, to make sure the plants prosper and I
am healthy. After the cutting of the rice, make sacrifices with entreaties in order for me to stay healthy.
831
According to Storm’s “Woordenlijst”, s.v., mooli means “being cured”; according to Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 29,
mo + oli means “to buy”. In: interview with several inhabitants of Kasiputih (20/7/1992) A4, mooli is
described as “to buy” in the sense of: “maksudnya membeli berarti kita datang untuk membawakan sajian,
kemudian membacakan mantera-mantera meminta supaya daerah yang kita akan pergunakan tebang kebun
hutannya mereka memberikan dengan ihlas oleh nitu wonua kepada kita.” (“to buy means to bring sacrifices,
followed by reading old sayings to ask the spirits of the land to give us with a sincere heart the stretch of wood
which we will clear in order to use it as a garden”.
832
See par. 8.1.
833
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 5/11/1918, ARRZ 2025; Lindenborn, “Reisverslag april-mei 1921”, (ARRZ 1827)
9.
834
835
836
Dutch version in: H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 5/11/1918, ARRZ 2025. Also in: Pingak, Dokumenta Kolaka,
110-111. A slightly different version of this legend in Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, App. I, nr. 4.
837
A kind of palm tree.

When I don’t want to have children I make sacrifices, but equally I make sacrifices with entreaties when
I desire children. If I desire a son, [then I] sacrifice seven chickens; this is when I wish to have a child.”
When Pasa’eno had become old he ascended to his father in the sky.838 His father called him:
Moliwowo.
Once the required ritual had been completed people could start the actual preparation of the
gardens. It was the task of the priest or village elder to make a start with the cutting down of the
relevant area of forest, after which others took over the work. All undergrowth and branches were
removed and burnt together with the tree trunks and other superfluous wood. Stones and weeds
were also removed and the plot of land surrounded by a pagar (fence) of branches and stones.839 If
the rains came before the burning off was finished, as happened in 1933 and 1934, the ladang was
not ready in time and famine threatened, something that could only be kept off by a meagre diet of
sago porridge and tubers.
It was the same priest who planted the first grain of rice, the porehuka tamono. This first grain of
rice, which symbolised all rice to be planted, was placed in a kalo,840 which usually consisted of a
ring plaited from three strands of bamboo or rattan stalks, and was planted during the motonao in
the middle of the ladang. Sometimes this first grain of rice was steeped in the blood of a water
buffalo sacrificed to Ombu Mbu’u, in the hope of a plentiful harvest. After the men had
subsequently made the other holes for planting, it was the task of the women and children to plant
the remainder of the rice, to keep weeding the plot, to chase away the birds and constantly to
protect the garden against pigs, monkeys and water buffaloes.841 Until harvest time peace and quiet
reigned in the gardens, for the growing rice was not to be disturbed. In Mori, Bungku and in certain
regions of South-east Celebes it was said that then the sanggoleo of the rice entered the field,
sometimes in the shape of an old woman, to place grains in the ears.842
4.19.2.3. The rice harvest

The last, and perhaps the most important phase of the rice cycle, was the cutting of the rice, which
the Tolaki called mosowi. All other work had to be stopped and no weddings or funerals could be
held, no feuds could be fought out, sexual intercourse and travel were prohibited, schools were
temporarily closed and the kampongs were abandoned. In May 1929 a traveller wrote about
Tinondo: “All people are in their rice gardens, engaged in the harvest. The villages are deserted,
they are all in the rice gardens situated in the wilderness.”843
The same priest or elder who had opened the ladang indicated the beginning of the harvest with a
sacrifice and the cutting of the first paddy. In the whole of South-east Celebes the gardens of the
838
Litt.: in the air.
839
Van der Klift, “Het monahoe ndao”. Likewise in: Interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 1-2.
840
See App. “Kalo” .
841
“Gegevens nopens Zuidoost-Selebes (1917-1919)”; Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [45]-[46]; the situation on Muna,
which was similar, in: Bouman, “Memorie” 11 ff..
842
Called alemba - which is carried, i.e. bushes of rice; Kruyt, “De rijstgodin op Midden-Celebes, en de
maangodin”, 109.
843
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 8/5/1929, ARRZ 2018; “Een brief van Br. v.d. Klift”, Zendingsblad, nr. 23 (1
maart 1918) 1.

heads came first, with the whole population obliged to assist. Besides, the most important heads
never created gardens or themselves harvested their rice or other crops. They merely waited until
their subjects did so for them. Only after this had been done these people were allowed to establish
their own gardens and harvests. This was, all things considered, pure kindness, a gift from the
anakia, for in fact everything, subjects, land and harvest, was his property. Therefore they were also
entitled to part of the harvest of their inferiors, on top of the seed-rice and seeds these had possibly
borrowed from their storehouses, and which they had to repay with sizeable interest, sometimes as
much as 100% or more.844 On the one hand no one experienced this as a problem – there was, after
all, enough jungle – on the other hand this was an effective tool for the elite to remind their
inferiors of their place in society. No indications of rebellion against the elite for this reason have
been found. On the contrary, everyone gladly performed his duty, in the words of an anakia,
speaking about the 1950s,
tanpa dikomando. Kalau sudah lihat itu anakia mau buka kebun, ramai-ramai satu itu pigi. Tidak usah
pikir gaji tetapi rasa gembira kalau sudah ikut mengerjakan di situ. – – – Tidak ada paksaan sehingga
anakia itu kedudukan sosialnya dia terjamin dari masyarakat itu. – – – Habis panen membawa kepada
anakia, itu meskipun anakia itu tidak minta.845
Translation: without having been given orders to do so. When the people saw that an anakia wanted to
establish a garden, everyone went there. No one mentioned his wages, everyone was happy to be
allowed to join the labour there. – – – There was no coercion, the social position of an anakia was
recognised by the population. – – – When the harvest had been brought in, it was taken to the anakia,
although the anakia did not ask for this.846
In some regions the cutters went to the beach in order to prepare for the rice harvest,847 where they
collected water, stones, lobsters and water plants at the highest point of high tide. To this they
added the leaf of an ever-fresh mountain plant, the tawooha, a symbol of growth.848 All these
objects were placed in a basket woven from bamboo and taken to the ladang. In Poleang and
Rumbia this short ritual was called the belaiho, the “medicating” of the rice before the harvest, and
was executed by the tumpu koo. This was the preparation for the most important harvest ritual of
the Tomoronene, the mewuwusoi. This consisted of several components, and was in essence a thank
you to the spirits who had helped, and to ensure a good harvest in the next year. For this purpose the
priest plunged part of the contents of the bamboo basket into half a coconut and rubbed this onto
the open hands of the cutters, the motampe. As part of the ritual the cutters swore on oath that they
would observe certain rules. These included that no noise was to be made during the cutting of the
rice, that the rice of this ladang which was left over from a meal was not to be thrown out, and that
844
845
846
Translated by the author.
847
Interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 2-3. His father went twice a year on foot from his village to
the coast, a distance of 2 x 17 km.
848
Interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 3.

the pounded rice was not to be transferred directly from the rice-mortar to the winnow. Whoever
broke his oath would be punished the next year by getting a rice harvest which was as black as
charcoal. But who kept the oath could look forward to the next year getting a more plentiful harvest
than ever before. Subsequently rice was placed in the bamboo basket mentioned above, into which
the cutters had to stick their hands while they were still wet. From the amount of rice which stuck to
their hands, which was a sign from the spirits, the priest could tell whether next year’s harvest was
going to be good or bad.849
Other rules which were in force were that during the harvest no weapons could be worn and certain
words were not to be uttered.850 Harvesting should not be done hastily, since otherwise the spirit of
the rice would become angry about so much greed. Only the cutters were allowed to enter the
ladang and they had to work without a break from dawn till dusk. They were prohibited from
leaving the ladang during the harvest, and outsiders were not allowed to enter it. Whoever broke
these rules was fined. Heads slaughtered a water buffalo. Its blood was sprinkled on the ladang to
prevent the next harvest from failing. Others donated a sarong. Moreover, offenders were never
allowed to participate in any harvest again.851
Once the rice had been harvested and tied up into bundles sacrifices were conducted and a meal
held.852 At the conclusion of the meal four people dedicated the rice-mortar (nohu) to the Supreme
Being by simultaneously hitting it rhythmically with a pestle, in Poleang and Rumbia called the
mododo nohu. In this way the rice spirit and other spirits who had assisted were thanked and sent
away and it was indicated that the rice-year was finished, the mompokolako ntau, the “sending
away of the year”, or mompokolako sangkoleo mpae, the “sending away of the rice spirit”.853 After
this, normal life resumed and there was time for weddings, headhunting raids and festivals for the
dead until the construction of new ladangs.854
4.19.2.4. Other rice rituals

As early as at the beginning of the nineteenth century a special ritual was held in the catchment area
of the Konawe River as a defence against diseases and mishaps, or when the rice harvest had failed.
Called the mosehe dahu, it involved the sacrifice and eating of white dogs – white was the colour of
purity – with a preference for bitches, or the sacrifice of a headhunted head.855 With the
849
Interview with several inhabitants of Kasiputih (20/7/1992) A9-A11.
850
Interview with several inhabitants of Kasiputih (20/7/1992) A9; Interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya,
9/7/1992) 3.
851
Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 205; Interview with several inhabitants of Kasiputih, 20/7/1992.
According to Bartimeus in Konawe the harvesters were not allowed to drink water. Cucumbers were allowed
though as well as the juice of the Enau (Arenga pinnata); interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 3-
5.
852
Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 81, provides the following modern rituals which accompany the rice cycle:
monahu ndau at the beginning of the rice year; merondu at the clearance of a stretch of wood; mombotudu at
the planting of the rice; mombewulanako at the beginning of the harvest; molonggo when determining the
volume of the harvest; and finally mowiso i ala at the storing of the rice in the barn.
853
854
Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [46]; Gouweloos, “Het doodenritueel bij de To Wiaoe”, 30; interview with Parenda
(Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 7.
855
Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 52; Kruyt, “Een en ander over de To Laki van Mekongga (Zuidoost-Selebes)”,
453; Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 4; voor M.-Celebes, zie Kruyt, “De hond als magisch dier”.

Tomoronene, who themselves stated that they never had a dog sacrifice,856 Napalawe, the spirit
invoked when the rains stayed away, demanded as peace offering a headhunted head. The skin was
divided among those present, who then buried their piece in their garden.857
The rhythmical threshing of the rice took place in special rice-mortars, the shape of which differed
according to region or village. For example, in Woisinggote on the Konawe’eha River, a very
isolated region until long after the arrival of the Dutch, the rice-mortar stood on four legs on a
round disc. In more southern regions it had the shape of a beer glass, and did not have legs.858
4.19.2.5. Division of labour between men and women

The division of labour on the land between men and women was the result of the rise in the trade in
forest products and was later intensified by the introduction of the poll tax, for which the men,
insofar as they were the head of a family, were assessed.859 The trekking for months on end in the
mountains and through forests was considered a typically male occupation, with the result that the
women were left with the work on the ladang and the care of the children. Although after 1900
missionaries and civil servants blamed the adat, stupidity, ignorance and poor hygiene as the most
significant causes for the low birth rate and high child mortality rate – in some kampongs 30-40%
of children died before the age of 14860 – this division of labour was at the very least an equally
important cause. In the case of the sedentary Bajos the women did not join in with the hunting and
fishing and they did not labour in the gardens and on the coconut plantations, but stayed at home.
Because of these factors they had a significantly lower infant mortality than the Tolaki and the
Tomoronene.861
But the consequences of the division of labour went further. In South-east Celebes, as in South and
Central Celebes, having more than one wife was a sign of affluence, and a way of assuring for
oneself the availability of cheap labour. A mokole or anakia took care to marry a noblewoman as
his first wife, so that his eldest son remained an anakia, but anyone who could at all afford it had
other wives besides this one, mostly of a lower social status and thus cheaper, for the work on the
land.862
During the Dutch period a subsequent phase of the division of labour became obvious, which was
made possible by the increasing affluence of the anakia. This phase consisted of the fact that
women in their turn outsourced the work in the gardens to hired labour and “[thought] it much more
distinguished to stay in their houses asleep than to go and weed their gardens themselves.” This
phenomenon increased exponentially, both among the Tolaki and the Tomoronene. Gradually this
led to the development of a new class: the agrarian proletariat.863
856
Once a dog sacrifice was held in Rumbia and Poleang. This happened on the occasion of a plague of mice.
857
858
H. van der Klift, “Mekongga (Kolaka)”, 146; H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van
24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, (ARRZ 2025) 14.
859
In time this division of labour was “mythologised”, Bergink, “Mosehe”, 297.
860
Schuurmans, “Uit een medisch oogpunt gezien, van geen waarde?”.
861
Vosmaer, “Gegevens over Kendari en over de Badjo,s (1835)”, 143.
862
Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 34-35, 119.
863

5. The government and Community Development 1910-1942
5.1. Markets
Not always and not everywhere were the harvests as abundant as at one time in Taubonto. A
combination of the (limited) transition to the cultivation of more profitable crops for export, such as
tobacco and coffee, a changeover which at times occurred from agriculture to the collection of
forest products, and the supply of better types of rice from South Celebes, Thailand and India, in
the second half of the nineteenth century caused a decline of the domestic ladang production of rice.
The surplus of production disappeared and until 1915 little or no export occurred any more. The
Bugis and other coast dwellers had to import the rice for their sawahs and for their daily
consumption. In some parts of South-east Celebes the amount of paddy harvested was not even
enough until the next harvest. This situation was aggravated both by the semi-nomadic way of life
of the population and the headhunting. The lack of adequate supplies of cash in the form of coins
and the problems related to travel also hampered the development of trade.864
To promote trade, and with it the prosperity of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene, the colonial
authorities tried to introduce markets. Initially only a few bigger settlements had government
pasars. The big annual market, or pasar malam, in Kolaka was well-known. At the same time this
was a popular festival and was held in the first week of November. From far and wide people
flocked here to make purchases and exchange news.865 At this annual market, as well as at the one
held in Kendari in August or September on the occasion of the Queen’s Birthday, there was music,
dancing, and people ate and drank and all social groups, merchants and craftsmen presented
themselves.866 In the interior, markets, usually weekly ones, only appeared in the 1920s and 1930s.
However, in the somewhat longer term these markets were not particularly successful. This was in
the first place because everything people needed and much more besides was available from
itinerant salesmen and in the bazars and shops run by migrants, in the second place because the
population itself had little to offer for sale except rice, water buffalo meat, dried fish and some
vegetables, in the third place because cash was scarce, and in the fourth place because many
villages were deserted during the larger part of the year.867
5.2. Kampong formation

In the eyes of the government the economic and social development of the Tolaki and Tomoronene
was totally dependent on the concentration of the population in larger administrative units, the
kampong formation. Before the arrival of the government the Tolaki and the Tomoronene lived,
like many other peoples in the Big East, large parts of the year in clans on their fields and gardens,
spread out in a vast and very inaccessible jungle.868
864
865
866
867
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 6/101937, ARRZ 2022.
868
Bigalke, A social history of “Tana Toraja” 1870-1965, 9-28.

Right from the start the colonial authorities tried to restrict the nomadic existence of the population,
starting from the idea that a sedentary, agricultural population was on the whole more prosperous
than a nomadic one, and easier to educate and to govern. Policing and prevention of sedition and
political unrest would be made much easier. They intended to bring the people together in villages
which were located in easy to reach places and were connected by gravelled roads and paths. New
gardens, ladangs and corn and sago gardens were to be laid out within walking distance of the new
places of residence. In order to supervise this programme soldiers’ bivouacs and other simple
accommodation were built in some of the new villages, such as the bantea or kantarri (Tom.) and
the laika walanda or laika kompeni, “Netherlands houses”, as the Tolaki called the pasanggrahan.
These were available for government employees and other travellers. It was the expectation that,
now that headhunting and piracy were disappearing, living in inaccessible places in the mountains
and forests would lose its usefulness and appeal. Moreover, where headhunting and piracy still
occasionally occurred, these could more easily be suppressed in this way. In addition the
government wanted to counteract the deforestation, which was taking on dangerous proportions,
and in some places led to landslides and flooding. A system of elected kampong and district heads
and registration of personal data was to enable an adequate administration and efficient collection
of taxes, and make it possible to counteract the slave trade more successfully. It would also benefit
gun control, education, health care and the performance of municipal and vassal services. Finally,
the size and composition of the population could be determined in this way. In other words, as had
happened in the Netherlands on a large scale, particularly in the nineteenth century, after 1910 the
authorities tried to change the way of life of the population by changes in the physical and
administrative scene, in combination with other measures.869
In this way a new infrastructure came into being. New villages were created, and existing ones
enlarged or joined, and they were connected with each other by new or improved roads.870 At the
same time an administrative infrastructure was set up at village and district level. However, the
Tolaki and the Tomoronene hardly ever took up residence in existing migrant kampongs, but went
to live in separate villages or suburbs, which were clearly identifiable as such by their names.871
The progress of this programme was not plain sailing. In some places there were riots, the
population offered passive resistance or left the region to settle in a remote area, beyond the control
of the government. To give some examples:
In 1909 Elbert had travelled through the region of the Toairi clan. These people lived in and around
the Mendoke mountain range, in the area bordered by Kolaka, Kendari and Rumbia and Poleang.
Elbert reported not only on the beautiful house of the head of Lambandia,872 but also on their
gardens and ladangs and the scattered huts he had seen on the mountain slopes. In the years after
1910 the government ordered them to leave the jungle and settle in a number of lower and more
accessible places, such as Roraya in the district of Ando’olo,873 in Tokae, Rate-Rate, Poli-Polia,
869
Mailrapporten 1911, 704, 851; Broersma, “De beteekenis van Selebes, oostkust voor den handel”, 1039-1041.
870
That is why on Dutch maps some villages are shown twice, such as Tongauna and Epe.
871
See note 679.
872
873
Which was a different village from the Roraya in neighbouring Ando’olo.

Ladongi and Andowengga in Mambulu, and in several kampongs in Rumbia, Poleang and
Mekongga. In Mambulu this forced removal led to open resistance in the years 1919-1922, during
which a few pasangggrahan and mission schools were torched and one person died. Even if the
unrest could be brought under control, the authorities did not succeed in getting these people to
work on roads and bridges and to construct sawahs.874 Coercion also created Gambere, Tari-Tari,
Matabundu and a few other coastal villages in Poleang. But as was the case elsewhere, this meant
little, because these villages were as a rule deserted, and the people only emerged from their
gardens in the jungle when a military patrol was in the area – at least if they had paid their taxes in
time, for otherwise they stayed away and, chased by the soldiers, moved from refuge to refuge in
the empty hinterland.875
Sometimes an increase in the pressure of population was clearly noticeable. Sanggona, a village on
the Sanggona River, a branch of the Konawe’eha, in the 1920s consisted of a few houses built from
wood, bamboo, woven mats and a atap roof, which stood in a row on one side of a footpath. Only
the house of missionary Gouweloos stood on the other side of the path, solitary and hidden in the
midst of vast fields of alang-alang, at some hundreds of metres from the river. When he returned
from leave in 1932 he found that during his absence the tall grass had largely disappeared and that
his house was now surrounded by new houses on all sides. The inhabitants had constructed new
gardens and yards in which they had planted kacang, wikoro (ubi hutan, tubers, root vegetables)
and banana trees, whose large leaves took away all light from his house.876 But the sawahs, which
had been constructed there under his guidance a decade before, had disappeared.877
The programme of kampong formation was in danger of an early demise, because the execution of
another, related plan had largely failed: the introduction of a new system of rice cultivation. This
was no longer based on the constant changing of ladang fields (shifting cultivation), cutting down
and burning new woods as soon as the soil became exhausted. The authorities tried to introduce
sawahs, which were owned by those who worked them. As well, stronger and faster growing strains
of rice were introduced and modern, Western soil and agricultural techniques, green manuring,
man-made fertiliser and pesticides were used.878
Just as the Forestry Department, a government department charged with the care of government
lands, responsibly administered and utilised the forests, the opinion was that the people’s
agriculture had to be placed on a similar, economically responsible footing. It was hoped that tying
the farmer to his land would lead to the replacement of subsistence farming by production for the
market. This would end the recurrent shortages of rice and other foods and lessen the dependence
on rainfall, while the circulation of money, and with it the general prosperity would be enhanced.
The times of Vosmaer, when in some places rice was cultivated in abundance, would return.879 This
would also create a labour reserve of farmers’ sons and labourers without land, who could be
874
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 7/2/1922, ARRZ 1937; J. Schuurmans to Hb NZV, 25/5/1925, ARRZ 2029;
875
876
877
878
879

employed where needed, which would lead to an increase in the profits from gardens and sawahs.
Moreover, the expectation was that these measures would make the population less dependent on
the Bugis who, because, together with a number of heads, they controlled the import and export of
rice, held the people in their economic and political-religious grip.
Using the water of the abundant marshes and rivers, sawahs were constructed in a number of places,
and reticulated water, drainage and irrigation systems built, while the population, by means of
information campaigns and at times persuasion, was encouraged to build new kampongs in the
designated areas. One of the first projects, which was proudly pointed to as early as 1915,was a
simple irrigation construct in the vicinity of Kolaka, which had been built under the authority of M.
Mulder.880
To enhance the kampong formation and hygiene the authorities also intervened in marriage customs
and the division of labour between men and women. They tried to bring to an end the practice of
young married couples cohabiting with the parents of the man or the woman. This was done by
assigning a piece of land to a married couple immediately after the wedding and to get them settled
in their own house. With the same emancipatory and disciplinary aim in mind the authorities tried
to turn women and girls into sound mothers and housewives, by discouraging them working the
land or being used as “mules” for the carrying of rattan, as sometimes happened.881
5.3. Public education (volksonderwijs)

After 1906 South-east Celebes was confronted with a colonial master which considered it as its
prerogative and duty to reshape not only the physical but also the inner world of the indigenous
population, which task, at least nominally, centred on prosperity, emancipation, social discipline en
education. As to the latter, schools could not exist without permanent kampongs. The government’s
policy was that there should be a public school (volksschool) for every 1000 people. This meant that
the subdivision of Kolaka should get 24 schools, i.e. ten in the Kolaka district, two (three) in
Singgere, one (two), in Tawanga, one in Lapai, one in Watumendonga, five in Kondeha and one
(two) Mambulu.882 The subdivision of Kendari reached a significantly lower number because of its
lower population density. However, the implementation of the plans for education progressed
slowly, both because of a lack of suitable teaching personnel and because the policy was constantly
subject to change and shift in priorities. In the 1920s regional public schools were opened in the
kampongs of Kolaka, Mala-Mala and Sua-Sua along the west coast, all of them offering four-year
programmes and attended chiefly by Bugis children, and with Bugis teachers, as well as in the
subdivision of Kendari in the kampongs of Kendari, Palangga and Wawotobi. There was also a
government technical school (ambachtsschool) in Kendari. In 1927 the plans included (three-year)
public schools in Watunoho (Batunong), Wundulako and Tangketada, but then the depression
intervened. In 1935 Kolaka had as yet only six regional public schools and one continuation school
(vervolgschool). In the south-west there were public schools in Buapinang, Taubonto (which was
880
881
Nouwens, “Nota”, [3].
882
The numbers in brackets indicate the number of schools the mission was allowed to open above the number
which was warranted on the basis of the size of the population. Notulen CvZ 15-16/1/1926, ARRZ 2015.

taken over by the Dutch mission in 1923) and on Pulau Magenti (Tiworo), intended for the children
of labourers on the plantations.883 Two-year schools (standaardscholen) were erected in Kota
Kendari and Wawotobi. In 1926 Kota Kolaka got a Teachers’ Training College for the training of
teachers of Bugis descent. A regional continuation school was also set up here. In the 1920s this
had been established as a two-year school, but in March 1934 this was transformed into a cheaper
two-year continuation school.884
As the government schools were to be found mostly on the coast, the mission built its schools
among the Tolaki and Tomoronene in the interior. On the eve of World War II the number of
mission and other private schools was somewhat larger than the number of non-denominational
schools, i.e. seventeen against fourteen. In total there were 27 public schools (volksscholen) in the
subdivisions of Kolaka and Kendari and four in Rumbia and Poleang; as well there were three non-
denominational continuation schools (neutrale vervolgscholen). After the 1934 closure of the
mission’s Teachers’ Training College in Mowewe and of the government one in Kolaka, South-east
Celebes no longer had a training course for school teachers. The seventeen mission public schools,
of which six were in the subdivision of Kolaka, at the end of 1940 together had 994 registered
pupils. The percentage of absentees was between 10 and 40, depending on the season and the
location. At the start of 1931 school fees were fixed at 10 cent per child per month (until then
schools and educational tools were financed from general revenue by means of a surcharge on
taxes), but the actual amount paid per child in the following years was on average one cent at the
fifteen subsidised mission schools, and five cent at the two unsubsidised ones. Only in 1940
payments were no longer in arrears.
5.4. 1910-1942. The plans largely a failure

Both the high percentage of absentees among the Tolaki and Tomoronene school-going youth and
the low number of registered pupils (end 1940: 994 pupils from a population of around 120,000) are
an important indication that the programme of concentration of the population and public
education, and the construction of gardens and irrigated rice paddies in the vicinity of the new
villages had not been successful.885 In those places where a start was made in spite of opposition
and resistance, the newly constructed irrigated rice paddies looked “pitiful” after some time had
passed.886 There were a number of causes for this failure, which are to be looked for both in South-
east Celebes and in Makassar.
The instructions issued by the government lacked clarity and in some cases were even
contradictory. As early as in 1916 civil servants had warned that the concentration of mountain
dwellers in kampongs was often carried out in the wrong way. Inevitably the new kampongs were
located far from the old ladangs, gardens, sago palms and plantations of fruit trees in the
wilderness. This caused dissatisfaction, and led to overt protest and resistance, and sometimes to
883
Bouwman, “Memorie”, 47.
884
885
“Een brief van Br. v.d. Klift”, Zendingsblad, nr. 25 (1 mei 1918) 1. Similar failures occurred in Poso, Malili,
Mori, South Bungku and Banggai, Nouwens, “Nota”, [4]; De Man, “Vervolgmemorie”, 13-16, 23-27.
886
“Een brief van Br. v.d. Klift”, Zendingsblad. nr. 25 (1 mei 1918) 1.

mass escapes.887 To accommodate these objections it was decreed that from then on kampong
formation should happen in the vicinity of the old ladangs, and, for “reasons of hygiene” close to
rivers – a decree that was retracted again a decade later. According to Governor Frijling in 1916,
civil servants should keep in mind that “we have to govern the population in their places of
residence, and that we must organise our administrative methods according to those conditions, and
not the reverse, that the population must come to us to be governed by us,” which was a remarkable
liberal point of view. Force was no longer allowed to be used, merely information, and persuasion
not to stay continually in the ladangs and gardens.888
Another cause was that all land was communal property; it was the heads who determined the rights
to harvests and use, and assigned land and gardens for cultivation. Sometimes the condition of the
soil was unsuitable, as in the plain of Tongauna, located on the Iwoi Mokoseya, one of the source
rivers of the Konawe’eha in Lapai, where the calcareous soil was too porous to hold water.889
Sometimes the plans failed because living in lower areas was too dangerous because of flooding in
the rainy period. Sometimes lack of supervision by the authorities was the cause of failure, as
during World War I and afterwards, when the military occupation of South-east Celebes was
strongly decreased in numbers.890 Sometimes the cause was the fact that Bugis and other migrants
increasingly occupied the best plots of land and left the Tolaki and Tomoronene missing out.
Sometimes the cause was the rapid rotation of civil servants, whose view of the desirability and
urgency of such programmes differed, and who, for instance, prioritised the construction of roads
over sawahs.891 A significant factor was also that the Bugis and other rattan wholesale buyers had
every reason to keep the population supplying them.
A further barrier to the introduction of sawahs was the fact that sago was plentiful and could be
harvested without much effort. Therefore the labour intensive and time consuming cultivation of
wet rice was of little appeal to the population. Moreover, South-east Celebes as early as 1915
enjoyed relative prosperity and the production of ladang rice was showing signs of growth after
years of stagnancy. Years of disappointing harvests were few in number after this (1926 and 1932-
1934 were such years, although not everywhere892). According to connoisseurs, the quality of
ladang rice was generally even better than that of the wet rice from South Celebes. After the
depression the demand for ladang rice increased again and in Kendari the market price of dry rice
was higher in 1935 than it had been for a long time (6 cents per kilogram, whereas before 3 to 4
cents per kilogram was the norm), which made it the most profitable export product at that time.
The fact that favourable prices were paid on market contributed in a significant way to scarcity of
rice still occurring in South-east Celebes in spite of very reasonable harvests in 1935 and later
years: people sold too much. Another factor which caused scarcity in these years was the fact that
887
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 45, 54.
888
Frijling, “Circulaire no. 10”; Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 6.
889
890
891
892

much rice was reserved for costly feasts for the dead, at least for the anakia, civil servants and other
dignitaries who attended such a feast.893
Conversely, because of the semi-nomadic way of life and inadequate registration of the population,
it was virtually impossible to set up a well-functioning system of municipal and vassal services,
which was essential for the construction and maintenance of roads, wet rice paddies, and irrigation
systems. The construction of roads and bridges took years. Malaria also often ruined progress. The
forced move from the mountains to lower lying, humid regions sometimes had disastrous
consequences for the health of the population. The latter was a particular reason for Governor
Couvreur (1924-1929) to discourage the construction of sawahs and kampongs in the vicinity of
rivers and marshes.894 Couvreur’s concern was understandable: there were new kampongs where
90% of the population or more had an enlarged spleen, an indication of malaria.895 In the spirit of
the reform of government inspired by Van Vollenhoven, which was implemented during these
years, and which was to undo to a significant extent the substantial interference in the life of the
population which had occurred in the first 20 years of military rule after 1906, Couvreur was of the
opinion that force was not to be used and that the authorities should meet the wishes of the
population in the matter of agriculture and other matters. The result was that in practice the sawah
programme came to an end. Under Couvreur’s governorship and that of his successor Caron all
sawah supervisors, who assisted and supervised the population, were even sacked. The population
massively returned to ladang cultivation, insofar as it had ever left it. These measures aggravated
the consequences of the economic depression of 1929, in the sense that, had the sawah programme
continued, the famine and the beriberi epidemic of the years 1931-1933 would probably not have
occurred, or in any case would have been less severe.
Now that the population became (more) nomadic again, the existing kampongs disintegrated, and
other results too, which had been achieved by then were completely or partially undone. Not that
these results amounted to much. In 1927 a controleur in Kolaka stated that permanently inhabited
kampongs were “an unattainable ideal for most civil servants”, in spite of all threats, punishments
and rewards. The people could only be found in their kampongs when the government employee
visited. As soon as he had left they disappeared to their gardens in the jungle. A few years later
another controleur reported that in some places even this “comedy” was no longer performed and
visiting civil servants and military patrols found kampongs completely deserted, apart from a head
or a sarea.896 In 1934 missionary Gouweloos indignantly wrote about Ameroro in Singgere that “the
people there are really still a sort of forest people, who are difficult to assemble in kampongs and on
top of this are rude enough very calmly to ignore the orders from the government’s civil servant.”897
Such a situation existed in many places, both among the Tolaki and the Tomoronene.898 Sometimes
it took weeks for the head of a kampong to visit all his “villagers”; these often knew how to duck
893
Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [47]; Taatgen, “Memorie”, 9, mentions market prices (1935) at Kendari: ƒ 2,50 per
pikol “wet” rice from Bone, and ƒ 3,50 per pikol dry rice from Kendari.
894
Couvreur, “Notitie”; vgl. Frijling, “Circulaire no. 10”; vgl. J. Schuurmans to Hb NZV, 12/4/1933, ARRZ 2020.
895
Nouwens, “Nota”, [5]; Bouman, “Memorie”, 17, 41; De Man, “Vervolgmemorie”, 35.
896
Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [5], [45]; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 7; Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 9-10.
897
M.J. Gouweloos, “Jaarverslag Mowewe 1933”, -/2/1934, ARRZ 2133.
898
Storm in De Soendanees, nov. 1930.

the grasp of the authorities successfully, paid no taxes, had no travel and kampong passes, did not
perform municipal and vassal services and did not get their children to attend school; there was no
health care for them and infant mortality was high. The power of the anakia among them remained
virtually unaffected.899
In the 1930s there were in many places only “traces” left of sawahs which had once been
constructed,900 in all an “unpleasant” situation, which “could only be rectified by firm action”,
according to a worried civil servant. Most probably he would have looked back with some nostalgia
to the first years of colonial government, when the authorities ordered that houses which were built
outside new kampongs ignoring governmental rules were to be burnt down.901
In the mid 1930s the agricultural consultant of the government in Makassar came to the conclusion
that it was more useful to improve existing forms of agriculture and horticulture and the
management of ladangs, than to stick to the construction of new sawahs. In order not to form too
much of a hindrance to the programme of kampong concentration and to preserve forests, the
authorities tried to get the population to bring their ladangs and sago plantations together in the
vicinity of the villages.902
5.5. The adat versus the construction of sawahs

Apart from all the practical and technical problems which the introduction of wet rice cultivation
using sawahs encountered, there was the adat. Couvreur had already realised that the population of
South-east Celebes was hostile to the programme of the concentration of kampongs, the
construction of sawahs and other government measures. Add to this that the modernising of society
was at odds with the adat, and that it was therefore in conflict with the official neutrality of the
government with respect to religion. The plans therefore meant a revolution on an unprecedented
scale and of extreme seriousness, for the sense of the natural and the supernatural, the living and the
dead, the moral and the physical world of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene were too much
intertwined for them. Settlement in the lowlands meant that they were separated from the tombs of
their ancestors and from other sacred sites in the mountains and foothills. As well, sawah
construction was mombado (Tol.), the digging of irrigated terraces and irrigation systems was in
conflict with the adat, because these were unknown to the ancestors. Whoever was to deviate from
old customs and rituals upset the cosmic order and called down misfortune upon the people.903
Obviously there were in South-east Celebes no generally accepted protocols, rules and traditions for
the construction of irrigated sawahs, nor for the division and cultivation of the fields, nor for the
planting, caring for and harvesting of the wet rice itself. For this reason the population refused to
eat sawah rice and to use it during feasts and ceremonies.904 Because the Tolaki and the
Tomoronene in time returned to the ladang cultivation of rice, such protocols and rules with respect
899
HPB Kendari to AR Buton and Laiwoi, 13/12/1948, ANRI Mak., NIT Archive 89/20; Hartsteen, “Memorie”,
7.
900
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 22; Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 6-10.
901
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 45, 54; Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 6.
902
903
904
“Gegevens nopens Zuidoost-Selebes (1917-1919)”, 186.

to sawah cultivation were not developed either. In places where the transition from ladang to sawah
cultivation and kampong formation was wholly or partially successful, as in the south of the
subdivision of Kolaka, in the vicinity of Wawotobi, in Lambuya and in the subdivision of
Singgere,905 this led to the disappearance of, or decrease in, the adat which was linked to the ladang
cultivation.
5.6. The mission and agriculture

Most missionaries in South-east Celebes strongly supported this government programme of
modernisation and assisted it according to their capacity. Without population centres of a
reasonable size with permanent residents neither religious life nor education were possible.
Moreover, the mission would profit from the erosion of the adat and the traditional religion, which
would be an expected result of this programme. The view of the missionaries was that the plans
failed because of the poor work ethic of the population – it was too ”lazy” for them. Missionary
Van der Klift also looked for a cause in the fact that “a conservative society such as an animist one
– – – rejects anything new”.906 According to his colleague Storm hard work was the pre-eminent
solution for all societal problems and individual vices, and Schuurmans too thought “these people
incredibly lazy and unconcerned”, both in daily and in spiritual affairs. This did not alter the fact
that he felt great compassion for them. For instance, after a 1933 visit to Roraya he wrote: “The
misery overwhelmed me. For the hunger brought all sorts of other misery with it. And yet nowhere
is there a more beautiful opportunity to establish gardens than there. The people could have ample
food”, after which he drafted a plan, with the assistance of a few heads, to enhance the harvests.907
Schuurmans, in all respects a stern man who, other than, for instance, the generous Van der Klift,
never lent or advanced a cent to anyone, expected more benefit from force and hard work than from
lower taxes, as Gouweloos had suggested to Governor Caron. From 1933 he participated in the
government’s agricultural programme. In some places within his resort of Lambuya he established
collective rice storage barns, where farmers could cheaply borrow seeds and seedlings. He and his
colleague Mollema also introduced Christian harvest festivals in Sanggona, where special
collections were held. The proceeds of these, which usually consisted of bundles of rice or other
crops, were sold, and the money reserved for all kinds of work for the church. Within a few years
virtually all (chiefly) Christian villages in the resorts of Schuurmans and Mollema had such a rice
barn which people could borrow from, which together formed a reasonably well-functioning
cooperative network, which was managed by Mollema from Sanggona, and which anyone who
wanted to could make use of. Where Christians were in the minority in a kampong all sorts of
practical problems arose, but in these cases the government programme mentioned sometimes
resolved them.908
905
Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 14; M.J. Gouweloos to Hb NZV, 14/11/1934, ARRZ 2020.
906
“Een brief van Br. v.d. Klift”, Zendingsblad, nr. 24 (1 april 1918) 1; H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 12/11/1920,
ARRZ 2025.
907
J. Schuurmans to Hb NZV, 12/4/1933, ARRZ 2020; vgl. “Zorgeloosheid”.
908

In an attempt to break the trade monopoly of the Bugis and Chinese Mollema in 1939 established a
cooperative meant especially for Christians, which bought goods not available in South-east
Celebes. Half the profit was deposited in the funds of the mission.909 On top of this Schuurmans
sought to ensure that every family had a minimum of two or three ladangs for rice and a number of
smaller gardens for corn, cassava and peanuts. Making use of the gradually expanding
infrastructure of the church he drew up, in the regular consultations with the congregations, a plan
of duties, in which he noted in detail the required size of the gardens and what work was to be done
on which days, and by whom. That he restricted himself to the Christians, was because, as he
himself said, he had no influence on others.910
This consultation with the congregations, which in hindsight was an important step on the road to
independence of the indigenous Christians, also had another consequence. Until that time the
church donations and collections were spent on the collective rice barn and feast days in the parish
itself. In 1917 Schuurmans, as the first to do so in South-east Celebes, succeeded in setting up a
general fund intended for evangelisation work. Even though it involved only small amounts of
money, he was himself surprised that this succeeded, because “the concept of charity was totally
alien” to the Tolaki.911 And, according to a later observer, Pieter R. Lawole, if they were prepared to
give something, this happened chiefly with the aim of receiving more in return than they had
given.912 The church funds in Lambuya and Sanggona were filled with the proceeds of part of the
rice donated for the harvest festival and from a special collection during Holy Supper (which was
held once or twice a year). Management of this fund was in the hands of the board of punggawa,
the parish elders. The war put an end to all of this.
5.7. During and after World War II

After the war the programme of kampong concentration and sawah construction was re-instated.913
Little was left of whatever had been constructed before 1942, as a result of mismanagement and
neglect both before and during the Japanese occupation. In the years 1942-1945 the population had
again withdrawn to their ladangs in the mountains and forests far from their kampongs. This was
due to hunger, and from fear of the heavy forced labour and the barbaric behaviour of the
occupying forces.914 A new programme of kampong concentration and sawah construction started at
the beginning of 1948. Although the moment was unfavourable because of the relatively low prices
for rice,915 the expansion of the Amonggedo complex with 300 hectares of new, irrigated rice
paddies was begun, under the direction of H. Konggoasa, a civil servant in Kendari,916 born in 1920,
and trained at the OSVIA in Makassar. Education in agriculture was also given there. The whole
909
G.W. Mollema, “Jaarverslag 1939”, [begin 1940], ARRZ 2133.
910
911
912
Interview with P.R. Lawole (Kendari, -/1/1986) 10.
913
Van Bodegom, “Bestuursmemorie”, 12.
914
HPB Laiwoi and Buton to Head Agricultural Dept. at Makassar, 3/8/1948, ANRI Mak., NIT Archive 217/32.
915
Because of a rich harvest and the resumption of transport in Makassar the price of rice was 20 cents per
kilogram by the end of 1948, against 80 cents a year before (but five or six times the pre-war price), Van
Bodegom, “Bestuursmemorie”, 16.
916

project was under the direction of Javanese. In the same year an irrigation project nearby of 600
hectares with three dams was completed. As well, a large project of construction of dams and pipes
for 1800 hectares of sawah was at different stages of development. In August 1948 in the district of
Lambuya six spread-out kampongs were united, which led to a wholly new village of 600 families
beside the old Lambuya kampong. In June 1948 H. Konggoasa was put in charge of the sawah
construction in the whole of Lawoi. In those times of political uncertainty and simmering, and at
times erupting, civil war, this was an extremely thankless position, since it brought with it a
prohibition to establish ladangs near the headwaters of rivers and on mountain slopes, the closure of
forests and concentration of kampongs in the new sawah areas. Although the authorities in
Makassar implored the civil servants and heads of agencies responsible not to pursue political ends
and not to apply any form of coercion or pressure, it could not be denied that this concentration of
kampongs was a potent weapon in the struggle against the anti-Dutch resistance.917
The semi-autonomous government of Mekongga could not, or did not dare, to lead this action of
massive rehousing, a hesitation which stemmed on the one hand from lack of money, and on the
other from the approaching handover of sovereignty and the uncertainty about its own position
within the new Indonesia after December 1949. Moreover, it was feared that the population would
beat a hasty retreat to the forests and the mountains as a consequence of the handover of
sovereignty (freedom meant to the people that one no longer needed to obey anyone, it was feared)
and the falling apart of those kampongs which had already been formed.
In the whole region of Laiwoi Konggoasa had in various places appointed commissions charged
with the preparation for, and execution of, the kampong concentration. According to L. Fontijne,
Kendari controleur, this programme was completed in August 1948, at least the first phase. This
was accomplished in a period of 1 to 2 months and was due to the energy and organisational skill of
Konggoasa. In his view it also showed the great support of the population for this programme.
Nowhere had force been used, but merely propaganda and persuasion, the controleur reassured his
superiors in Makassar.918 Because by no means all new kampongs had the promised land for
agriculture and sawahs at their disposal, in 1949 and 1950 preparations were made for the opening
up of another 30,000-40,000 hectares of land for sawahs and agriculture in the central river region
of Konawe, a multimillion guilder project, in which Unilever was also involved, which wanted to
cultivate particular plants there.919
The initial fear that the sawah actions would suffer setbacks after 1949 was in hindsight not without
foundation; the cause, however, was not the supposed rampant lawlessness of the population, but
changed political conditions. Even if it would have been possible to continue implementing this
policy under Sukarno’s Republik Indonesia, of which the region of the autonomous State of East
Indonesia formed part from August 1950, the Darul Islam / Tentara Islam Indonesia insurgency
(DI/TII) would have made this impossible in the short term.
When one considers the whole situation one inevitably reaches the conclusion that the programme
of sawah construction in South-east Celebes had only very limited success. In many places where
917
AR t.b. to AR Laiwoi and Buton, 28/8/1948, ANRI Mak., NIT Archive 217/32.
918
AR Laiwoi and Buton, L. Fontijne, to Res. of Z.-Celebes, 26/9/1948, ANRI Mak., NIT Archive 217/32.
919
G.W. Mollema to Dir. SZC, 2/8/1949, ARRZ 2022.

sawahs existed in the second half of the twentieth century, as in the coastal plain north of Kasiputih
in Rumbia, in the southern districts of Ando’olo and Palangga in Kendari and in the vicinity of
Wolasi, Tinondo and Mowewe, it was primarily Javanese, Balinese, Bugis and other migrants, and
to a much lesser extent Tolaki and Tomoronene who applied themselves to these.920
920
Informasi dan Data, 17; Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 82.

6. Social cohesion the administration of justice
6.1. Control of the rule of law and hierarchy

In order to control the cohesion, and in particular the hierarchical structure of clan society, various
tools existed which could be applied if the informal social control proved inadequate. In the first
place there was the traditional indigenous administration of justice. The fact that the anakia were
descendants of mythical ancestors legitimised their position as adat heads, priests and judges. The
principles of law were of supernatural or mythical origin and were in the first place directed at the
maintenance of the adat and the legal status quo and balance of power. In practice this meant
compensation for damage, restoration of a person’s good reputation, and prevention of a repeat of a
minor or major criminal offence. If the matter was a civil case, the plaintiff and the accused in the
first instance had to try to reach agreement. If this did not succeed the families of both or the adat
community were involved, after which the matter could be brought before an adat head, a
tonomotuo or a pabicara – the latter often an ad hoc functionary, an older man. If guilt had been
proved, a fine or other punishment was imposed, in the correct proportion to the damage suffered or
the injustice caused, and according to the principle of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. If the
matter could be not resolved, it was possible to bring it before the sara (hadat), but it was also
possible to seek refuge in a trial by ordeal, on the assumption that the ancestors would reveal the
truth.921
Before 1906 and sometimes even afterwards, the Tolaki could punish adultery and abduction (both
called umoapi – incorrect relationship) with a death sentence. Marriage (more about this below) had
all the characteristics of a contract. Not adhering to the agreed-on conditions could have serious
consequences, both for those directly involved and for the clan, something which was aggravated if
the adultery and abduction crossed the dividing line between ata and anakia, for the latter meant an
assault on the social hierarchy of society. The injured party had the right to kill the culprits to
restore his or her own honour and reputation. But the death penalty or worse, an armed conflict,
within or between clans could usually be prevented. Most of the time this happened by means of
extra payments and the mowea (wea – fine), a ritual the duration and extent of which reflected the
status of the person concerned within the clan and the seriousness and size of the matter. As a rule a
part of this consisted of a water buffalo wrapped in a white shroud being killed instead of the
culprit(s) and sacrificed to Ombu Mbu’u. If the man was the guilty party, an additional fine was
imposed; if a married woman was concerned, then her husband could send her away, in which case
the bride price payments were claimed back. In this case she was not allowed to take anything with
her except the clothes she was wearing. To quell the unrest which had been generated among the
population, a mowea was concluded with a mosehe, a reconciliation ritual, and sometimes a
communal meal.922
A related form was the moweani. For this the mother or a female relative of the woman whose
honour had been injured or who had been deserted took the initiative. The most common cases
921
There existed several different forms of this ritual, Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [54]-[55]; Mazee, “Over heksen-
moord”.
922
Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 24-26.

involved grass widows, wives whose husbands remained for years on end in the jungle without any
sign of life, and who at times had even established a new family there. To resolve these matters the
mother of the injured woman went to the house of her son-in-law, taking with her an egg and a
plate. When she had arrived at the bottom of the stairs she broke the egg, poured the contents onto
the plate and declared her daughter’s marriage annulled and that she was available for a subsequent
marriage. If her son-in-law was present, she broke the egg at his feet, thereby giving him a chance
to reconcile with his (first) wife. A short ceremony existed for this purpose, led by a tolea, the
mowindahako. If the wife and her family refused the requested reconciliation, which they made
known by demanding a compensation which the man would never be able to afford, this could lead
to family feuds which could run high and drag on for years. After 1950 the resolution of such
matters belonged to the duties of the village council, specifically to those of the sudo, the treasurer,
since the material component of such matters was often the stumbling block preventing a solution.
If he could not find a solution either, the marriage was declared annulled. From ancient times the
kalo923 played an important role in this: this confirmed that, despite the broken marriage, peace and
harmony between the families were restored, as if there had never been any rows.924
Before and after 1906 the same taboo applied to “vertical” alliances and marriages, that is to say
between members of different social strata. These brought disaster, and were discouraged by means
of a complicated system of social codes, severe rules of adat law, high financial demands and fines,
although the punishments for offending became less rigorous after 1906. But the attempt to ensure
that women did not marry below their social class, or that men obtained entry to the elite via
marriage, and in this way “membeli darah kedudukan”, “bought the blood of a (higher) status”
remained unchanged.925 Inferiors and slaves who impregnated women from the highest nobility
were sometimes stabbed or hacked to death. A man from higher social circles could take someone
from a lower social class as second or third wife, but the reverse was only very exceptionally
possible. Even a marriage between a female member from the higher nobility and a male member
of the lower elite was attended by taboos and made difficult by compulsory high payments. The
general rule was that children from an alliance between members of a different class were counted
as belonging to the lower of these two classes, or at best formed a separate in-between class,
although after the introduction of Dutch governance this could sometimes be prevented by means of
an extra payment. One of the consequences of the reform of the administration of justice in South-
east Celebes after 1906 was that marriages within the family or clan (endogamy), insofar as these
still occurred, decreased. This also tended to cause differences of class to become less pronounced.
Because of this heads of less “pure blood” gradually became more acceptable as administrators in
government employment.
If the Tolaki rituals contained elements of adat justice, at any rate in the authoritative resolution of a
conflict, in Poleang and Rumbia existed, beside the administration of justice controlled by the
923
Cf. Appendix.
924
According to Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 26-28; according to Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 148, 151, 155,
mowindahako was the handing over of the marriage payments.
925
Interview with S. Galukupi e.a. (Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992) 17; interview with Rasami (Kasiputih, 20/7/1992)
14-15.

government, an older form of administering justice, which took place without approval and usually
even unbeknownst to the European authorities. The revival of the old adat administration of justice,
which first appeared to raise its head in the late 1920s, was fuelled in part by unhappiness about the
presence of people from outside South-east Celebes, both Dutch and Bugis, as well as other
foreigners, and their growing influence on daily life.926 To a certain extent this was a form of
Tomoronene nationalism. Another sign of this was that various anakia maintained the traditional
head cloth, or resumed wearing it instead of the songkok (skull-cap) of the Bugis. Some members of
the families of heads of Rumbia took the lead in this, especially Munara, the wakil mokole, his
brother-in-law Ferdinand Bawea Rahia Powatu, a teacher at the mission school in Taubonto, and his
assistant teacher Wa’ate. Powatu also attempted to persuade the school-going youth to change from
the songkok to the head cloth.927
The authorities were basically only interested in matters such as the maintenance of law and order,
collection of taxes, and criminal matters. Moreover, the population feared that the government’s
administration of justice, just as the compulsory kampong formation and education, only served the
interests of the government and was primarily intended to facilitate press ganging soldiers for the
army. Indeed it did occur that people were sentenced to entering the Royal Dutch Indies Army.928
As part of the informal adat justice in Poleang and Rumbia heads who had no official position
whatever in the colonial administrative machinery played a role. They dealt with minor civil
disputes, such as slander and insult, adultery, size of bride price, divorce and such like. They
administered justice in public sessions. All those present could participate in the discussions, which
meant that these often proceeded somewhat chaotically. However, some aspects of the old
administration of justice were gradually omitted, such as (the assistance in) the settlement of the
question of guilt by the consultation of an oracle and the request of a trial by ordeal.929
For Munara both his dislike of the Bugis and their economic power, and his aversion to the “Break-
Ties-with-Buton” movement mentioned above, were reasons to strengthen the old ties with Buton.
In the spirit of the Self-Government Regulations (Zelfbestuursregelen) introduced in 1938, he
restored a number of old customs which then had long since disappeared. When the sultan or his
representatives visited Rumbia, old marks of respect were re-introduced or expanded, such as the
payment of a (symbolic) tribute in the form of rice and the holding of dance festivals, the same
honour which was paid to visiting Dutch government officials.930
6.2. The government and the administration of justice

A first step on the road to the introduction of formal government administration of justice in South-
east Celebes was the regulation in the 1885 contract with the council of the realm of Laiwoi that all
Europeans and those placed on the same footing, Oriental foreigners and all those who were
Christians and did not belong to the indigenous population, would come under the jurisdiction of
926
G.C. Storm to Hb NZV, 2/2/1933, ARRZ 2020. Interview with P.R. Lawole (Kendari, -/1/1986) 9.
927
928
Rookmaker, “Oude en nieuwe toestanden”, 415.
929
930
Cf. Van den Berg, “Mededelingen”, 180-182; T.S. Houtsma to Dir. SZC, 26/5/1947, ARRZ 2022.

the colonial government, and were to be turned over to the authorities in case of a criminal act. All
other criminals were to be punished according to the laws of the country, but mutilating
punishments and torture were no longer allowed.931 After pacification the indigenous courts of
justice and the Islamic councils of priests, which consisted of a few imams and a caliph (sara
agama or syarat agama), in the autonomous regions lost much of their jurisdiction. On the one
hand the government considered these councils of priests a necessary evil, on the other hand
various governors, in the spirit of Van Vollenhoven, warned against the introduction of too much
Western justice, morals and regulations, and against exaggerated sticking to formalities: the
colonial views of justice and morals should leave the sense of justice among the population
intact.932
With this the tone was set for the reform of the administration of justice in the sense of
“emancipation legislation”. There was no tampering with the prevailing principle, i.e. that
government and the administration of justice were united in one hand. The administration of justice
in the district was conducted by a hierarchy of courts of justice, the highest being the Court of
Justice in Makassar. Trials by ordeal and trials of witches were prohibited – although in the first
years after 1906 they were still held in secret – and uniform codes of conduct were drafted for the
magistrates of the autonomous regions. The number of indigenous courts of justice was reduced,
and the size of fines, tariffs, taxes and payments to the magistracy, heads and Islamic functionaries
was fixed centrally.933
In the first years after pacification the administration of justice for subjects of the autonomous
regions in South-east Celebes was in the hands of a court of justice chaired by a European
government official. This court was qualified to deal with both small civil cases and with offences
and minor crimes. It existed on the level of subdivision and, if the defendant was a Bugis, it was
composed of at least three Bugis. If it concerned a Tolaki or Tomoronene the court of justice
consisted of at least three Tolaki or Tomornene respectively, at least that was the way it ought to be.
The members were appointed by the government, but as a rule members of the sara (council of the
realm) acted as judges.934
By means of the (Regulations regarding the judicial system of Celebes under Self-rule 1919/1923
(Zelfbestuursregeling Rechtswezen Selebes 1919/1923) and supplementary decisions and
amendments of 1926 and 1927 which formed part of the East Indies government reform, and which
saw the expansion of the judicial powers of the indigenous courts of justice, the administration of
justice for the subjects of autonomous regions for minor matters (punishable by fines of less than
100 guilders) came into the hands of the “sole judge”, i.e. the (European) head of the subdivision.
In practice this meant that the administration of justice remained delegated to those in charge of
self-rule, village and district heads, with the head of the subdivision in the background as a
931
“Contract met Laiwoei”, art. 12.
932
933
For the reorganisation of the legislation in the autonomous regions, see the instructions of Frijling, “Circulaire
no. 6, Uitoefening magistratuur”, 7/8/1916; Frijling, “Rondschrijven no. 31", 5/7/1920; Vorstman,
“Rondschrijven no. 46, 7/9/1923, in: ANRI Mak., Bantaeng Archive 2; “Gewestelijke regelingen nopens de
inheemsche rechtspraak (1923)”.
934
Wieland, “Memorie”, [9].

supervising authority. This carried with it that, because of the predominant position of Islam among
the circles of heads, many cases were settled in accordance with Islamic law. To give an example:
whoever had not been married by the imam or guru, but only by a village priest, something that
applied to the vast majority of the kampong population, could not lodge a case of adultery against
his or her partner. After all, in Islamic eyes he or she was not married, and was therefore without
legal rights. In such cases adat rituals such as mosehe, mowea and moweani sometimes brought a
solution, but not always. Elsewhere the tragic case of Johannes Ladito and Tië has been mentioned,
which was closely related to this Islamisation of the administration of justice.935
In the first instance virtually all criminal and civil cases thus came before indigenous courts, which
used as guiding principles the Criminal Code (Wetbroek van Strafrecht), the Regulations for
Outlying Provinces (Reglement Buitengewesten) and the adat. On Buton the chairmanship could be
assigned to the sapati or another self-rule authority member (except for the sultan), with as
members a few heads who were not members of the self-rule authority, plus one or more
indigenous public prosecutors (jaksa). For the judicial district of the barata Muna, which also
included Poleang, Rumbia and Kabaena, this was the lakina Muna (chairman of the hadat, and, like
the Sultan of Buton, the head of Islamic functionaries), assisted by the mokole of Poleang, Rumbia
and Kabaena and at least two district heads. Special cases required a special court of law: in 1950
the deposed district head of Kulisusu (north Buton) was tried by a hadat istimewa (“extraordinary
hadat”).936 Although in 1928 the old rule of Muna (in fact a system of three councils: the sarano
Wuna, the fato ghoerano and the fato lindono with different composition and tasks) was reinstated
as a self-rule agency, in practice the administration of justice remained in the hands of the European
controleur and the lakina Muna.937 The same system existed in Kendari, where the indigenous court
was chaired by the self-rule authority. In Kolaka at first the bokeo was the chairman, but from 1933
the sulewatang or a jaksa. Everywhere these courts were supplemented with heads of kampongs
and districts who were not members of the self-rule authority.938 Because of the lack of experience
of many heads, leadership of the sessions in Kolaka and Kendari was often in the hands of the head
of the subdivision, especially in the early years. On Buton and Muna, including Poleang-Rumbia,
on the other hand, this official hardly ever intervened in the indigenous administration of law.
Heavier punishments, which involved the controleur, always needed to be submitted to the
assistant-resident, and after this to the governor and the Court of Justice (Landraad) in Makassar,
before they could be executed.939
In 1888 the colonial government and the sara of Laiwoi came to an agreement that certain offences
committed by subjects of the heads came under the jurisdiction of government courts of law. This
applied in particular to the theft of, or damage to, government property such as buildings, telegraph
935
Van der Klift-Snijder, “Geroepen”, 99-101. Vgl. Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 52; Bouman, “Memorie”, 52; Vonk,
“Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 122; De Man, “Vervolgmemorie”, 43.
936
M. Madlener to Min. BZ NIT te Makassar, 1/3/1950, ANRI Mak., NIT Archive 169/29.
937
Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 111; Van der Wolk, “Overdracht
bestuursbevoegdheden aan Landschap Boeton”; Bouman, “Memorie”, 52-53.
938
939

poles and cables.940 After 1906 this governmental prerogative was extended, and in 1912 the
government assumed the right to hold public auctions via supplementary contracts.941 Like
elsewhere on Celebes, very serious offences and matters concerning “subjects of the state (=
colony)”: government officials, Europeans, Chinese, Japanese, Arabs and other Foreign Orientals,
as well as all offences against the opium and fire arms legislation, came under the jurisdiction of the
government administration of law. Dealing with these matters in court was placed in the hands of
the heads of subdivisions (“the magistrate court”), and the Courts of Justice (Landraden) in Palopo
and Bau-Bau, chaired by the assistant-residents.942
According to official accounts, the indigenous courts of law were not particularly busy, not so much
because, as has been argued, theft, murder, manslaughter, gambling and cockfights, illegal
slaughter, assaults, slander and abuse of power did not occur, far from it, but more because of the
hesitation of the population to bring such matters to the attention of the authorities, particularly
where it concerned an anakia. For instance, in 1934 not a single civil case was brought before the
court in Kolaka, and only one in the first half of 1935. For criminal cases the numbers were eleven
and one respectively. In the “peak” year of 1937 there were 24 criminal cases in Kolaka, varying
from tax avoidance and avoidance of the duty of registration to the carrying of knives and murder
and manslaughter. The majority of civil cases concerned claims from the Chinese and Bugis against
the Tolaki because of gambling debts and the failure to fulfil obligations to deliver forest products
and rice.943 In 1935 controleur Hartsteen from Kolaka noted that, although the Kolaka prison was
generally full beyond capacity, criminality among the indigenous population was not high, and that
theft and fraud were chiefly committed by the Bugis.944
During the 1920s and 1930s Muslim preachers and functionaries945 managed to seize a variety of
legal powers, at the expense of the traditional heads. Although it appears that there were objections
to this among the population, it was virtually inevitable that the law-abiding position of many heads
offered Islam, however moderate, the opportunity to present itself as anti-colonial and anti-
imperialist.946 The European authorities, who had absolutely no confidence in councils of priests
and would have preferred to abolish them, took action against them and attempted to restrict their
number and powers.947 In spite of this, marriage ceremonies of non-Muslims were increasingly
performed according to Islamic rites and conditions, with the imam of Kolaka fixing the amount of
the sompa or sunrang (marriage payments) – and with it the size of his own remuneration, the ihi
940
941
“Overeenkomsten” (1914), 1379.
942
943
Taatgen, “Memorie”, 11; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 54; Smit, “Vervolg-memorie”, 27.
944
945
Among the Islamic officials were the imams in Kolaka and Pu’undidaha and the kalif of Kendari; the imam of
Pu’undidaha was subordinate to the kalif Kendari, the imam of Kolaka to the kalif of Palopo.[Frijling],
“Rondschrijven”, (12/3/1919); “Politiek Politioneel Verslag Afd. Makassar 1-15 Aug. 1948”, 3; “Politiek
Politioneel Verslag Afd. Makassar 16-30 Sept. 1948”, 15-16.
946
Resident Celebes and Dependencies, “Bestuursorganisatie in Kolaka. De hadats”; vgl. Adatrechtsbundels,
XXIX, 75 (Kolaka, 1920).
947
Governor Frijling limited the authority of the councils of priests to cover the marriage and inheritance law of
the islamic part of the population only. Their verdict was not binding. Frijling, “Rondschrijven no. 32”
(10/7/1920).

kawi, which was fixed at 10% of these payments. In the 1930s Sultan Laode Muh. Hamidi
Kaimuddin VIII of Buton (1928-1937) could without any hindrance place an imam in Buapinang,
as well as gurus in Lagori, Poea and other villages along the south coast of Rumbia and Poleang,
and on the small island of Massaloka Kadatua in the Strait of Tiworo, especially with a view to the
performance of marriage ceremonies. Only intervention by the government could prevent that in
Poleang the Islamic conditions for marriages became obligatory for everyone, Muslim or not.948
The disappearance of Dutch government in 1942 led to an accelerated expansion of Islam in South-
east Celebes. More than before the war some anakia used their influence to increase the powers of
Islamic officials. However, from the second half of the 1930s a counter movement against Islam
and the anakia also manifested itself. This meant that the putobu and the tonomotuo, the erstwhile,
non-aristocratic adat judges and adat heads, at one stage deposed by the anakia, together with the
pabicara and a few others, formed the sara kampong, which was charged with the settlement of
adat matters. With this they took over duties of the Islamic functionaries at village level. This semi-
democratic, semi-public mediation and advisory body at village level has been mentioned before.949
948
According to Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 188, the full name of the sultan
was (in new spelling) Mohammad Hamidi Kaimuddin (Oputa Moilana I Malige).
949
See par. ?

7. Ownership of land, classes, material culture
7.1. Ownership of land

In the nineteenth century the families of heads of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene found themselves
in a position which in the main was the same as that which existed on Buton and other islands off
the coast. Apart from the rights and claims of the anakia to the bodies and possessions of their
inferiors, anyone was at liberty to use the land; private ownership of land did not exist and for this
reason land was never part of, for instance, marriage payments. Fertile land was available in
abundance, the pressure of population was low and everyone had gathering and harvesting rights in
a relatively large area. Whoever wanted to establish a new ladang or garden was at liberty to do so,
and even in the Dutch period the new kampongs had their own land, where the residents were free
to go fishing, hunting, gathering, and to set up their own gardens. Poles, gates, or boundary stones
(usually) indicated that a certain piece of land was being used, and others then stayed away from it
– although everyone always had the right to make use of the crop growing on it in case of
emergency, as determined by the adat. Whoever wanted to establish his field or rice paddy in the
territory of another clan, was free to do so, as long as he had the permission from those involved.950
In such an relatively egalitarian, communal society ruled by family ties, the principle of reciprocity
was paramount: no one could with impunity ignore or harm the interests and rights of others, but
neither did he need to fear that his interests and rights would be overlooked, unless the adat had
been violated, for then the community could take control of the goods and chattels of the offender.
This system, supplemented by elements such as status, generosity and aspiration to power and
prestige, was also paramount in the exchange of goods (the “trade”) within and between clans.
Above the thesis has been advanced that the present social dichotomy of the Tolaki goes back to the
discrepancy between early and late migrants; the late migrants in South-east Celebes formed the
milieu from which, in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, sprang the new elite of “sons of
gods” who had grown rich through trade, and who at any rate increasingly created this image of
themselves. The growing trade contacts with the largely Bugis-Butonese outside world led to the
increase in social differentiation and complexity of the clan society and encouraged the
development of a separate class of slaves.
Tolaki of lowly birth who did not belong to the class of slaves, are up to today known as the
tonome‘ombu, “servants of the lord”.951 In all probability they are descended from the lowest groups
of Tolaki society, which existed before the rise of a separate class of slaves. Members of this group
– beside members of the middle groups or even members from the families of heads undergoing
punishment or designated for some other reason – were the persons who before 1900 were handed
over to Luwuq or Bone as homage or tribute (pasolo, Tom.), although this was often a symbolic
gesture. It concerned limited numbers of people, who moreover usually were intended for special
purposes (as concubines, for the building of palaces or for warfare). In the retinue of the wife of
Abu Bakung, a princess from Tiworo, such courtiers were also present.
950
951

This situation changed at the end of the nineteenth century. The growing demand for forest
products and the export of rice gave rise to the need for a larger workforce of “casual”, cheap
labour, a phenomenon observable in the whole archipelago. And once the existence of a separate
class of people more or less without any rights was a fact, these people could also be used to pay
the bill for imported goods. During Vosmaer’s visit to Kendari the slave trade appeared to be still
tied to all sorts of conventions. They were not to be sold to foreigners or to be exported.952 But
three-quarters of a century later Sao-Sao, the lakina (ruler) of Lepo-Lepo (Ranome’eto), supplied
his subjects, in particular those who took little notice of his authority, to Bugis colonists and
passing traders. Similar things happened on Muna, an island with few natural resources, where the
elite sold slaves and their children to finance their luxury imports. In 1896 Buton was even forced
to engage in military action on Muna to put a stop to riots which had been caused by disagreements
between the lakina Muna and the sayarat Muna about the division of the proceeds of the sale of
slaves from Muna and Tiworo.953 After 1900 the Munanese pawned their children to be able to pay
their taxes.954
Within the larger framework of the growing social differentiation, the composition of the various
status groups was based on birth and descent. The higher the status the more privileges: apart from
the fact that the elite could lay claim to the possessions and services of their social inferiors, the
anakia could impose fines (the non-payment of these had serious consequences) and had a right to
taxes, levies and tithes. During sewing and harvest times the people had to spend part of their time
in their ladangs and gardens, while everyone had to assist in the building of their houses and other
odd jobs. By means of contributions of their own harvests and a part of the gathered forest products,
subjects and slaves ensured that there were no shortages in the house of an anakia, and as early as
in Vosmaer’s time the elite profited more and more from the labour of their inferiors and pocketed
the profits from the export of rice, rattan and water buffaloes.955
7.2. Commercialisation; material culture

Families of heads could in this manner enlarge their areas of cultivated land, creating a situation
which resembled landownership on a large scale. The increase in the number of foreign traders and
wholesale buyers of forest products aided this process, particularly because they managed to control
the heads by their habit of providing credit. This meant that these were forced to organise their
clan’s gathering labour on a professional basis to pay off their debts. In this way heads became
entrepreneurs and the mutual internal relations of the Tolaki and Tomoronene became
commercialised.
Although the Bugis, and later the Arabs and Chinese, in part also because of their marital ties with
the Tolaki and Tomoronene elite, profited most from the natural riches of South-east Celebes –
according to a concerned government official in 1935 the price they paid in Kolaka for their rice
952
953
954
Sutherland, “Power, Trade and Islam”, 161; Bouman, “Memorie”, 12.
955
Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [9]-[10]; Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 93.

was approximately 10% of the market price in Palopo or Makassar956 – the affluence among the
Tolaki also grew, albeit in a very uneven manner. The first stage was the fact that growing
affluence made the existing class differences not just more visible, but also enlarged them. The
introduction of cotton clothing along the coast, the emergence of a separate, costly funeral ritual for
the elite, as well as Lakidenda’s attempt, mentioned above, to build a salassa in Konawe, i.e. a
complex of palace with attached mosque, are characteristic of this stage.
The last quarter of the nineteenth century saw the beginning of the second stage, in which imported
goods, tastes, styles and ideas began to penetrate among wider circles of the Tolaki and the
Tomoronene. This became evident from the more and more refined building styles and decorations
and the increasing size of houses and graves of the elite, their clothes and red-stained gold
ornaments, which followed Bugis or Butonese patterns, different foodstuffs among which was
powdered milk for anakia infants, works of art, Persian carpets on the floor of the houses of heads,
and Chinese ceramics, Dutch oil lamps and artfully wrought silver and mother-of-pearl sirih (betel
nut) boxes in the cupboard: symbols both of their newly acquired status as traders and their cultural
and material identification.957
Within a few generations a profound change of the material culture took place in South-east
Celebes. Around 1900 imported goods had penetrated into the most isolated and remote parts of the
peninsula and many of the old, commonly used implements had been replaced. When Grubauer
visited an old cemetery in Wiwirano in 1911, he found there, apart from earthenware vessels and
jars of all shapes and sizes, which were also known in Central Celebes, richly decorated hats for the
dead, very ancient shields, artfully tooled drums and gongs, fuya clothing, brass objects, plates and
dishes and many other objects which, according to him, had belonged to the extinct and almost
forgotten Latambatu culture. The population alive at that time did not know their provenance nor
their significance, since their world had changed so much since then.958
The houses of heads drew attention because of their large size, external characteristics, their
furniture and decorations, for which the inspiration was increasingly borrowed from the Bugis and
Butonese, and later the European, fashion and styles of building. The triangle, which formed the
upper part of the façade, in some places betrayed the status of the inhabitants, while the houses
themselves were no longer built of alang-alang, tree bark or leaf stalks and leaves, but of planks
sawn from rather expensive types of wood and split bamboo: in the 1930s the house of the head of
Rarongkowu (Poleang) had a large, ornately decorated and broad gallery at the back, which was
used for the reception of guests;959 around the turn of the turn of the twentieth century the house of
the head of Lambuya was 21.5 metres long, and 11 metres wide, although it did not contain much
of luxury.960 One of the houses of Pombili, in Sanggona, built around 1895, was “gigantic”. In order
to be able to accommodate his many wives, who were said to be always quarrelling, it had been
956
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 25; Van der Crab, De Moluksche Eilanden, 92-95.
957
Andi Halu, the female mokole of Matano at Soroako, smoked cigars “gleich jedem Manne”, Grubauer, Unter
Kopfjägern in Central-Celebes, 18 (cf. 70 ff).
958
959
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 12/12/1939, ARRZ 2022
960
Sarasin, Reisen, I, 351, 361-362.

extended on all sides with wings, rooms and galleries.961 The poles on which all this was built, and
the staircases, were made of a type of wood, locally called kuli papo, which was as hard as iron, and
they were richly decorated with incisions.962 The head of Benua in the south of the Lambuya district
also was rich. He had horses, water buffaloes, ten wives, and a mouth full of gold teeth and molars;
not only was his house big, in 1922 he also owned several water buffalo pens and rice barns.963 The
house of the district head of Konda, which stood halfway between the villages of Konda and
Pu’uosu, was built in the same way as his ancestors had built theirs. It was large, built on many
poles, and its walls and roof consisted of the leaves of sago palms. Inside there was just one room, a
big space.964 The house of I Ntera, the rich apua of Rumbia, which stood in the kampong of
Tampoa – his “real” house was in his garden in the hills north of Tampoa – in 1923 was in the
possession of reticulated water pipes of hollow bamboo, a unique feature in the region, which he
boasted about. Like most houses nearby it had a graceful, horizontal crescent moon on the ridge of
the roof, a decoration lacking on the houses of the Bugis. It was bigger than the other houses in the
village and was divided into a living room and a number of small bedrooms for his anamea
(princesses), his daughters. Moreover, this household owned a treadle sewing machine. The walls
of the living room were decorated with a map and illustrations from a French magazine, and on the
landa (gallery) stood a original Dutch rocking chair.965 A visitor described I Ntera as follows:
His hearty laugh never leaves his face. He is certainly not an idiot one can easily fob off. He knows
what he is doing and at times tries to trick you, if he sees an opportunity for doing so. But he does not
do it slyly; it is immediately apparent and he himself laughs heartily when his trick does not succeed.966
The houses of the lower nobility and the rest of the population were constructed and furnished more
simply. They were also built on poles, and had walls of woven mats and the veins of bamboo
leaves. These walls stood at an angle in older dwellings, against thieves, and the door was a
trapdoor in the floor. The roof was made from alang-alang, and later from palm leaves. In older
houses the interior was a large space, with a fireplace in a corner; in the twentieth century this space
was as a rule divided by a partition into two spaces, one of which was used as a communal
bedroom, while in the other there was the area for cooking: three or four stones in a wooden tub, on
which stood pots, copper and brass kettles and other cooking utensils.967 However simple these
houses were, items of everyday use and ornaments imported from elsewhere, including photographs
of Queen Wilhelmina and Princess Juliana, were found with increasing frequency even in the most
impenetrable regions. A long time before the population, in the context of the kampong
concentration, started to install a drainage pipe for waste water in their houses, some houses in
961
Galukupi told that Pombili “kept the record” regarding the number of wives. Pombili had another equally large
house in Pu’undidaha; interview with S. Galukupi e.a. (Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992) 31.
962
963
964
Ibidem, 9.
965
966
H. van der Klift, “Onderzoekingsreis naar Roembia, Polea en Boeton”, 3/7/1923, ARRZ 2025.
967

Kolaka and Kendari were equipped with a water closet obtained from Makassar. The traditional tree
trunk fitted with deep grooves, which led from the ground to the veranda, was replaced by a
staircase with steps. The custom to indicate the status of the inhabitants by means of decoration of
this tree trunk or stairs – the number of grooves or steps of an anakia was seven, a serf had five and
a liberated serf or slave four – began to disappear over time. But what did not disappear was the
ritual which accompanied the building of a house, from the selection of a piece of land and felling
of the first tree, to the moment when the inhabitants moved in.968
The opening up of the interior after 1900 ushered in the third stage. Trade created the opportunity
for the lower classes of society also to acquire status and influence, however unhappy the elite felt
about this happening. Moreover, in the context of the kampong concentration, the government
encouraged private land ownership. A new era dawned, a time of disintegration and tensions, in
which alongside the old norms and value systems of the clan society, a new morality arose, i.e. that
of the nouveau riche “aristocracy”.969
The growing flood of foreigners who were usually wealthy and very skilled in trade practices,
turned out, totally unsuspectedly and against all initial expectations, to be in the longer term an
inexhaustible source of tensions and often bloody conflicts. The relatively poor and illiterate
indigenous population saw itself, in spite of the low population density, reduced to being virtual
strangers in their own country and had to look on while the newcomers occupied their best
agricultural land, had the largest gardens and plantations, could afford the best agricultural
techniques and appropriated the natural riches and minerals of the country, of which most of the
Tolaki and Tomoronene benefited only as coolies and day labourers. After independence (1949)
they were no less victimised than before, but then it was primarily Java’s economic elite which
made them pay, because they saw a good investment in the rich forests, nickel and iron ore mines
and djamboe gardens of South-east Celebes. Cheap labour was available in abundance and the ever-
present Indonesian army provided an adequate guarantee that their new “kemerdekaan” would not
be disturbed.
In spite of all this there were also Tolaki and Tomoronene, and not only the anakia, who became
rich. Smiths and makers of weapons from Sanggona and Asera went to other areas to ply their trade
and came home rich, where they invested their earnings in water buffaloes and big, new houses and
well-kept gardens or rented them out against securities. This gave them a new self-confidence
which was noticed by others. In 1935 an observer formulated this as follows:
Our impression is that the inhabitants of Sanggona are different from most other people in this region.
We appear to notice this most when people visit us. People come to us from near and far, but these are
always different from the average Sanggonese. When he arrives he stands up straight and looks you
straight into the eye. He is not afraid to stand in front of the window or in the door opening, and observe
everything from these positions. If we ask him what is his wish, he either says nothing at all, or erupts
in an almost frightening flood of words. Other people, for instance, speak with two words. But the
968
Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 157, 238 ff, 254-255, 260; Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [43]. Interview with
several inhabitants of Kasiputih, (20/7/1992) A5-A6.
969

people here don’t know about that. If medicines are handed out, the Sanggonese remains standing
where he was and has it delivered to him, while the others come and get it. Their expression in the
language is also different. I would call it coarser. Perhaps the cause is that these people are used to
travelling around a great deal and to be humoured by other kampongs. That they inspire fear became
clear to me two weeks ago when I talked to the ruler of the Moronene. When – – – I told him that I
came from Sanggona he told me that they were afraid of the Sanggonese.970
Even before 1900 some saw their power and authority strengthened by their function as
intermediaries between their own population and the liege lords in Bone and Luwuq and by the
right linked to this to collect taxes and tributes, and to impose fines (more about this below). After
the turn of the twentieth century indigenous members of the autonomous government, government
assistants, public prosecutors, district and kampong heads occupied central positions in the
country’s government. They were under obligation to act in the interests of the government as if
these were their own, but were only of use to the government insofar as they were able to guarantee
the loyalty of the population. It is true that this provided some political freedom of action for the
elite, but until the Japanese period there was little or no question of resistance against the Dutch
inspired by these circles, although some heads did join the Partai Sarekat Islam Indonesia in the
1930s.971 In the years 1946-1950 most heads in South-east Celebes supported the Negara Indonesia
Timur of Van Mook, whose draft for a federal republic, the Federated States of Indonesia, included
an administrative redivision of the Big East, which included the autonomy of the separate daerah,
and with it the strengthening of the position of authority of those having self-rule vis a vis the
central governments in Makassar and Jakarta. Apart from political motives economic factors also
played a role. After the war the loss of demand for forest products on the world market and the
related sharp decline of the income from exports as well as the levies on these, combined with
galloping inflation, plunged the self-rule authorities in South-east Celebes (and elsewhere) into
financial crisis, which meant that they were totally dependent on financial support from the central
federal government in Makassar. In this respect people expected nothing from Sukarno’s Republic.
7.3. Family ties and politics

Most of the families of heads of the Tolaki and Tomoronene were mutually related, although for a
long time animosity appears to have existed between the Tomoronene of Rumbia and those from
Poleang. According to legend this went back to the hostility which existed between the two sons of
Haluoleo, Marorimpu and Tewaleka.
The “confederation” of Laiwoi, led by Konawe, and later by Ranome’eto, was organised internally
in accordance with the pattern of family ties, according to which the right to hold honourable
administrative functions such as those of sapati and mokole was determined by descent. After the
expulsion of Lakidenda and the collapse of Konawe around the middle of the nineteenth century the
970
G.W. Mollema, Jaarverslag Sanggona 1934, 31/1/1935, ARRZ 2133.
971
Until 1929 its name was Sarekat Islam, afterwards Partai Sarekat Islam Indonesia. In the 1920s in several
places in East Celebes branches of Sarekat Islam were founded, first in Bungku, Mori and Banggai, later also
in South-east Celebes, cf. Kruyt, “Het Mohammedanisme op Midden-Celebes”, 74, 2-11.

only aspect of the political unity that remained was the family ties of the heads. However, there
were also clans which had no family or marital ties with other ones, such as the Tolaiwoi and
Towoiesi along the upper reaches of the Konawe’eha River. Until the arrival of the Dutch these
clans lived in virtually complete isolation; most of them did not even know anything about
neighbouring villages, for fear of both their living and dead neighbours.
Mutual relations of the anakia families, but also the aspirations of lower groups, were expressed in
their marriage policies. Marriages nearly always had political consequences and could lead to
territorial claims and conflicts. The strategy of the kapitang of Konawe, Lasandara, an upstart in the
eyes of the elite and the authorities, presents an imposing example. His position was virtually
unassailable because of the marriages he managed to organise for his children and for those of his
brother Aresunggu: his daughter Fatima married Sekko, the putobu of Bonea-Lambuya (appointed
by Lasandara himself), his son Saido married Suruga Tatie, the daughter of the punggawa of
Tongauna, his daughter Andi Bese married Rasido, son and successor of the sahbandar of Latoma,
and his daughter Kartini married Andre, son of the female head of the subdistrict of Uepai, called
Bungu Harum, “Fragrant Flower”. But the most important marriage he arranged in 1943 for his son
Baso. He married Tina, a daughter of mokole Tekaka of Kendari. A son of Lasandara’s brother
Aresunggu, Mahadini, married a daughter of Pu’uwatu Raeyati, the last bokeo of Mekongga.972
The influence of the Tolaki of Konawe outside their own boundaries, as in the Epe mountain range,
in Lasolo and on the island of Wawoni, territories which for a long time formally belonged to
Bungku, was based on family ties of the ruling families of heads. In the case of Lasolo and Wawoni
it was this influence which, beside the economic interest of the population of Lasolo with regard to
the region alongside the Lasolo, led to the amalgamation with Laiwoi.973 From 1870 Hadji Tata,
already mentioned above, was the ruler in Lasolo. He was a muslim and a descendant of the
powerful anakia of Wanggudu (Lasolo district). Goedhart (1908) called him a wakil (deputy) of
Sao-Sao, but in fact Hadji Tata, who controlled trade and shipping in a wide area of the Bay of
Lasolo, and whose power and wealth were so substantial that every year he visited the pasar malam
in Kendari with an enormous fleet, was politically the superior of Sao-Sao. Hadji Tata’s son
Iburahimu, who succeeded his father as district head of Lasolo, continued this policy.974 Hadji
Tata’s younger half-brother was Puwana Lasongko, ruler of the island of Wawoni off the coast of
Kendari, so that Hadji Tata’s power and influence were felt too.975
A circumstance which accentuated the relatively isolated existence of the peoples of the mainland
of South-east Celebes was the fact that until recent times no family ties existed between the
dynasties of Ranome’eto and Konawe on the one side and those of Mori, Bungku and Moronene on
the other. Nor were relations maintained at the level of the regional council or self-rule
972
Baso died shortly after his marriage when travelling to Makassar his ship was attacked and sunk by Allied
forces, Van Oosten, “Voorlopige schets”, 4-5. Mahadini was killed early 1946 by insurgents.
973
Treffers, “Enkele kantteekeningen”, 226; Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 491-492.
974
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 491-492, 504; Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 204; H. van der
Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, (ARRZ 2025) 14-15.
975
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 491-493; Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 18. According to Van der
Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, (ARRZ 2025) 13, Hadji Tata
hailed from Wawoni. That island was governed by Konawe anakia.

authorities.976 That in spite of all treaties and contracts with the government there was no question
of any influence of Bungku, Ternate and Buton in Laiwoi was because these did not manage to
translate their vassal relations with this region into family ties; this was the more important because
these powers had no permanent representatives in Kendari or Una’aha, as for instance Ternate had
in Bungku from around 1850, nor were they directly involved in the appointment of the ruler or of
the principal governing authorities.977
As early as in the eighteenth and nineteenth century the Bugis understood the great significance of
marital ties with the indigenous elite for their commercial and political survival. Marriages to
daughters of heads were of great strategic importance to both parties. They provided the families of
magnates not just with added prestige in the eyes of their own population, but also meant for them,
given the rapidly changing world in which social status was increasingly linked to economic power,
access to a world of international political, religious and commercial relations. They adopted the
languages and religion related to these, i.e. Malay and/or Bugis and Islam, and through these means
these people were able to establish new contacts, which went far beyond the boundaries of their
own clan. Vosmaer in 1831 and Van der Hart in 1850 spoke Bugis with their Tolaki hosts in
Kendari978 and after 1900 regional schools taught the Bugis lontara’ script, while new regalia, such
as the Bugis flag of bokeo Laduma in Wundulako,979 also visibly bore witness to these wider
horizons even before 1850. Although many observers judged the trade practices of the Bugis
negatively,980 their presence protected the local population against pirates; new, prosperous trade
settlements could develop around Tomoronene and Tolaki heads, who, because of their ties with the
rulers of the sea, could ensure a stable environment, something which vice versa discouraged
foreign and far liege lords and neighbouring clans from forcefully imposing their will. After 1900
such connections provided the Tomoronene and Tolaki elite with added prestige and political clout
in their contacts with Dutch government officials, who stood in awe of the Bugis.
In their turn the Bugis had at their disposal a safe port of refuge in a highly fragmented and
politically erratic world, as well as a guaranteed supply of potable water and food, and a monopoly
position in the trade in forest products in the region concerned. Apart from the fact that the Bugis in
this manner obtained the economic and, in part, the political power in South-east Celebes, this also
created one of the first channels enabling Islam to penetrate the world of traditional religion and the
adat, in particular the world of the anakia.981
976
977
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 496, 446-449; Clercq, Bijdragen, 103.
978
979
Laduma Sangia Nibandera had several names. As a child his name was Ponggokori (“he who unites”); as a
young adult Lelemala (“he who is always carried”); after converting to Islam Laduma and after his death his
name was Sangia Nibandera. Pingak, Dokumenta Kolaka, 9.
980
Van der Crab, De Moluksche Eilanden, 70-73; Van Geuns, “Memorie”, 19.
981
Treffers, “Enkele kantteekeningen”, 226; Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 196.

8. Adat, religion and folk art
8.1. Stories, songs and dances

Unlike, for instance, the Bugis, the Tolaki and Tomoronene never wrote down their legends and
folk tales until World War II.982 They had no script of their own, and illiteracy was virtually
universal. Only through the education of the indigenous people in the twentieth century Malay
started to get more acceptance in wider circles of the population. Until then, anecdotes, events from
the past and the actions in battle and other deeds of gods and ancestors were passed on orally in the
form of stories and songs. In the case of the latter the singers of the Tolaki were sometimes
accompanied by instruments made of bamboo or a kabosi, a violin with two brass strings. This was
the tainanggo (or tainango).983 The anggo (or ango) was a form of story telling which was half
sung, half spoken, and which in structure was similar to the Javanese tembang.984 In so far as a story
or an anggo had a historical bias, this was often explanatory, anecdotal or moralistic in nature, or it
passed on experiences, examples and instructions of the gods and ancestors, as is apparent from the
tales included in this book.985 The Tomoronene too knew such stories and songs, such as the kada,
suengene, kunini and handende.986
The traditional round dance, the lulo, was performed as the final piece of all sorts of adat rituals, at
funerals, headhunting expeditions and weddings, or just for entertainment.987 Only girls and women
participated in one dance, while only men danced in another. In yet another everyone participated to
their heart’s content. Even the dead were considered to dance, the lulo tonuana (dance of the
spirits). Various forms and variants existed, of which with the Tolaki the best known were the quiet
molulo monani and molulo mosusua, which did not have an accompaniment of drum or gong, but
which was accompanied by singing, and the faster molulo dimba, in which the dancers were
whipped up by various kinds of drums, which ranged from holes in the ground covered with animal
hides to bamboo drums and copper and brass gongs.988 The occasion determined which dances were
to be performed, by whom and when, and by which and how many instruments they were to be
accompanied. The dances of the Tomoronene resembled those of the Tolaki, except for the
tinundoki. This was more peaceful and slower and was not accompanied by copper, but by wood or
982
After the war they did however, though limited. See the work of for instance Riasa, Pingak, Tarimana and
Lode.
983
Or Taenango according to Noorduyn, A critical survey, 114. When living at Alangga in south Kendari, Storm
in 1922 wrote down six songs from the mouth of La Duri, who hailed from Singgere. G.C. Storm to Hb NZV,
30/10/1922, ARRZ 2030.
984
Tembang: poetry in varying metre.
985
Cf. what E.J. van den Berg notes about Buton island, in: Van den Berg, “Mededelingen”, 154-184.
986
Mohandende (Tom.) - to sing. K. Bartimeus, Vertaling en toelichting, Uepai, 29/3/1993. Collection G.C.
Storm, Or. 585, KITLV-inventory 77, nrs. 6, 8, 18, 19, 20; Riasa, Perkembangan, 8-11.
987
Bergink, “Mosehe”, 289; Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 16; Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 246, 258.
988
A description in Van den Berg, “Mededelingen”, 180-182; Van der Klift, “Het monahoe ndao”, 71-72; Kruyt,
“Een en ander over de To Laki van Mekongga (Zuidoost-Selebes)”, 451; and G.C. Storm to Hb NZV,
25/2/1923, 2019 2030.

bamboo percussion instruments The tinundoki was part of the agriculture as well as the wedding
and funeral rituals.989
8.2. Traditional religion

A survey of the sources and the (scarce) literature provides a varied image of the traditional religion
of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene. However, it is virtually impossible to sketch a consistent picture
of the historical development on the basis of this. What emerges are a number of snapshots in time,
parts of a religious reality which constantly evolved and adapted to new circumstances, which
moreover differed by region; in spite of the “conservatism” of the population so often cursed by
missionaries, one single, all-encompassing religious system for the whole peninsula never existed at
any point in time in the past. At best there was a recognisable, continuously developing underlying
pattern. Our knowledge does not stretch further back than at most two centuries, with the odd
glimpse of more ancient times.
One of the oldest historical facts is that the Tolaki along the Bay of Kendari had their own “all
powerful house”, a laika’aha, an imposing structure, which, according to Vosmaer, “filled the
observer with wonder and astonishment”. It rested on two metre tall poles and was as much as” 60-
70 feet” high.990 It was situated in Lepo-Lepo and had been built around 1810 by the then head,
Tobouw. Judging from Vosmaer’s description this building was what in Central Celebes was called
a lobo or howa, a village temple characteristic of headhunters, which served as the storage place for
headhunted skulls. The building was the centre of the festivities and rituals related to headhunting.
According to information supplied by Adriani and others, in the lobo of Central and East Celebes
(Poso, Mori), where up to the beginning of the twentieth century each village of any significance
had one, the nitu, the gods of battle, the spirits of the most important and bravest ancestors, to
whom the skulls were dedicated, lived there.991 It was in such a temple in Lepo-Lepo that Tobouw
asked for an explanation of his dreams and received his inspirations.992
Vosmaer did not see any “religious institutions” in the surroundings of the Bay of Kendari, other
than Tobouw’s laika’aha. It is unknown if there still were others in the interior at that time, though
it is not impossible. Three quarters of a century later (1914), government official Treffers saw one
in the kampong of Watu, not far from the boundary with Bungku, where skull sacrifices were made
after the harvest.993 Michielsen, a young government employee, encountered a few lobo in Central
Celebes in 1869. At the beginning of the twentieth century A.C. Kruyt, Grubauer, Adriani and
989
Tradition has it that in Moronene molulo and momaani, choral dances, were for the first time performed at the
coronation of Ririsao, Riasa, Perkembangan, 11.
990
991
In 1916 Van der Klift visited a lobo in Central Celebes, see H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 12/8/1916, ARRZ
2025.
992
Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 80-81; Adriani, “Inheemsche beschrijvingen”; Adriani, Verzamelde
geschriften, II, 16-17; voor M.-Celebes, Adriani, “De reis van den heer W.J.M. Michielsen naar het Posso-
Meer, 12-17 Juli 1869", 1616; Kaudern, Structures and Settlements in Central Celebes, 330-341, 362-364.
993
"Gegevens nopens Zuidoost-Selebes (1917-1919)”, 185; Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 207.

others in Central Celebes also described them,994 and as late as 1918 Kruyt was worried that the
indecisive attitude of some government employees might lead to lobo being built in new
settlements, and that elsewhere old ones would be restored, for which a head would have to be
hunted to fully do justice again to the lobo service.995 In Parigi there were two in 1912, which,
according to an observer, received more care than the langgar.996 In Sausu (Gulf of Tomini)
pictures of crocodiles had been carved in the lobo, in some others also those of people.997 In South-
east Celebes however, no lobo with the accompanying festivities was present after 1900; that is,
there is no trace of them to be found in the sources.
8.3. The pantheon of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene

Data about the most ancient religious ideas of the Tolaki and Tomoronene are equally scarce.
Around 1916 Kruyt came to the conclusion that in the religion of the Topamona in Central Celebes,
among whom he lived, there existed a “pre-animist layer”, which he called “dynamism”, following
F.D.E. van Ossenbruggen, the publisher of the work of the evolutionary anthropologist G.A.
Wilken (1847-1891).998 Kruyt considered a religion which consisted merely of magic actions for the
purpose of deflecting evil powers as dynamic, while he classified as animism the rituals related to a
belief in the soul and animated nature. Finally he described belief in individual gods as “belief in
gods breaking new ground”, the highest phase in the development of religion preceding
monotheistic Christianity.999 Around 1830 the Tolaki in the east of South-east Celebes would have
met the description of dynamism:
The Supreme Being is not venerated in any way by this population, it worships neither sun nor moon;
they do not bend their knees for sacred trees, stones or sites, nor for any being created by the Almighty:
they only consult for all their plans and enterprises certain birds, which, when they wish to proceed to
execution of their plans, they call upon by means of a small bamboo whistle made for this purpose, and
it is from the sound and also the flight of these birds that they calculate if the enterprise which they are
engrossed in, will have a good or bad outcome, and as a consequence of which they then make their
arrangements.
Thus wrote Vosmaer.1000 The spiritual and political centre of this region then was Tobouw’s
laika’aha in Lepo-Lepo. Vosmaer does not mention the existence of Ombu Mbu’u, explicit
994
Adriani, “De reis van den heer W.J.M. Michielsen naar het Posso-Meer, 12-17 Juli 1869”, 1616; Adriani, De
Bare,e-sprekende Toradja,s, II, 399; Siebelhoff, “De verovering van de rotsvesting Oesoendau in het rijk Mori
op Celebes”, 235-236; Kaudern, Structures and Settlements in Central Celebes, 334 ff; Grubauer, Unter
Kopfjägern in Central-Celebes; Van Vuuren, “Unter Kopfjägern in Central-Celebes” criticizes Grubauer,s
work.
995
A.C. Kruyt to J. Kruyt sr., Letter nr. 45, 20/5/1918, ARRZ 1335.
996
Adriani, “Van Posso naar Mori”, 207.
997
Kaudern, Structures and Settlements in Central Celebes, 321 ff, 330.
998
G.A. Wilken was a son of missionary N.P. Wilken (1813-1878; 1840-1878 missionary at Tanawangko and
Tomohon (Minahassa)).
999
Kruyt, ‘Measa’, 1918 (74), 235; cf. Noort, De weg, 178.
1000
Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 82; vgl. Adriani, “De reis van den heer W.J.M. Michielsen naar het Posso-
Meer, 12-17 Juli 1869", 1616.

consultation of, and fear of ancestors, spirits and gods. On the basis of Kruyt’s description it is
probable that a number of clans in the isolated mountain district of Wiwirano, among them the
Towiau, can also be classified in this way. At any rate they had no Supreme Being or Sangia.
Schuurmans describes their religion as “dynamistic”, but unfortunately does not expand on this.1001
It is questionable whether Vosmaer’s observations were complete. Probably not. In 1929, a century
after Vosmaer, V.O. Plas, the military detachment commander of Kendari, noted the existence of
three gods: “Omboesamena”, the god who resided above in the upper world, “Omboeilosoanoöleo”,
god of the east, and “Omboeitepoelianoöleo”, god of the west.1002 They match, in name and
characteristics, the gods which people remembered in Pu’undidaha, Konawe, in 1992. In the period
of the (not defined more precisely) nenek moyang, the ancestors, there existed in the hierarchy
below Ombu Mbu’u or Ombu Samena four gods, or lords, who each, on his behalf, guarded over
and ruled over a part of creation. All four had the same status, and two by two formed each other’s
counterparts.1003 The first was Ombu I Losoano Oleo, Lord of the East.1004 He was associated with
life, the living, and good spirits. His counterpart was the feared Ombu I Tepuliano Oleo, Lord of the
West.1005 He was associated with death, the dead, and evil spirits. The third was Ombu I Lahuene,
lord of the Skies,1006 who ruled over rain, wind, dew, clouds and thunderstorms. His counterpart was
Ombu I Puri Wuta,1007 Lord of the Earth, of the Fundament.1008
Below this foursome there were other gods. One of them was Ombu I Puri Tahi, also called Sangia
I Puri Tahi or Ombu I Landoa, Lord of the Water, of the Bottom of the Sea.1009 He ruled over rivers
and seas and everything that lived on or in the water. He lived above the sea, but the entrance to his
residence was under water. People made sacrifices to him before going on board ship. He also acted
as the saviour of the poor, the humble and the tormented, as is obvious from the following story:1010
Once there was a young man. During a walk he met a captain, who was sailing past. The young man
said: “may I come on board?” The captain said: “you may.” He went on board the ship to sail in her.
Once the crew were chiselling1011 while the captain was asleep. The young man went down to join in the
1001
1002
1003
Cf. the work of De Josselin de Jong who in 1936 presented a theory on tribal societies, spec. De Josselin de
Jong, “The Malay Archipelago as a field of ethnological study”, 171-173.
1004
Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 8. The name derives from loso - to rise, and (mata) oleo - day, sun, –> east, day.
Pingak, Data-Data, 24, 81-82; Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 12 ; idem, Kepertjajaan suku Tolaki, 6.
1005
Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 8. The name derives from tepuli - to set, and (mata) oleo - day, sun, –> west, night.
1006
Lahuene - skies, heaven.
1007
Puri - bottom, foundation,, wuta - earth.
1008
Interview with S. Galukupi e.a. (Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992) 39-40. Another participant in the discussion
mentioned seven jin: 1. Onitu Wuta, a jin of the Earth (“yang tinggal di tanah; penguasa tanah”, “who lives in
the Earth; who rules the Earth”); 2. Onitu I Nekapu, a jin who lives in a Waringing tree; 3. Ombu I Losoano
Oleo, Lord of the East; 4. Ombu I Tepuliano, Lord of the West; 5. Ombu I Puri Wuta, Lord of what is beneath
the Earth; 6. Umarmotabul (unknown); 7. Ombu Samena, who was the most important an the highest of the
pantheon: “yang menguasai semua ini; yang paling berkuasa”. Cf. Bergink, “Mosehe”, 294-295; 303, noot 69,
which mentions the in Pu’undidaha unknown Bara,ali as god of the underworld (nambara-ikia, Tol.).
1009
Tahi(r) - see; la’andoa, from la’a + andoa - water (Tol.). Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 205, calls him
Koïta Sangian Wawo’ndaha, from koïta - squid and wawo’ndaha - above water.
1010
Put down and translated by D. Kok in Sanggona, 1921, ARRZ 2028.
1011
I.e. the cleaning of the hull of the ship.

chiselling, and his chisel fell into the water. The captain got up. Downstairs he asked the people who
were chiselling there: “Where is my chisel?” The young man said: “it fell into the water, went down and
sank to the bottom of the sea.” The young man asked: “what should I do?” The captain then said:
“dive!”[The young man] lowered himself to his knees [in the water]. He said: “I will die if I dive.” The
captain said: “Dive straight down!” The young man went down up to his throat and said: “I will surely
die; if possible, don’t let me dive, for then I will surely die.” The captain said: “Dive straight down!
Fetch my property, for I want to chisel, come back quickly, but not while the wet chisel is not yet dry.”
Hereupon the young man dived by sliding [down] along a rope. He ended up near a tall coconut palm
tree. He stepped across to the thick coconut palm and descended onto a rice mortar. He saw the chisel in
the rice husks of the rice mortar of Sangia of the bottom of the sea. Down there were Sangia’s children,
seven in number, and when they looked down they said: “who is that below on the rice mortar?” They
went to their father and asked: “who is it, sitting on the rice mortar; if it is a human, who is it?”
Hereupon their father said: “tell him to climb up and come closer, then I will ask him where he comes
from.” They went down and told him to climb up. The young man said: “no, I will not climb up, my
possessions [i.e. clothes] are poor.” They went to their father a second time and said: “he won’t climb
up, for what he is wearing is torn.” They went to fetch him a jacket, trousers and a skull cap. Down
below they gave these to the boy; after he had dressed in the jacket and pants, and put on the skull cap,
he climbed up and sat down in the middle of the house. Down below he was asked: “Where do you
come from, boy?” The young man said: “I come from the surface of the water; the captain has ordered
me to go down to fetch his chisel.” Sangia of the bottom of the sea said: “What would you like to eat,
fish?” The young man said: “I don’t eat fish.” Sangia of the bottom of the sea said: “What would you
like to eat instead, water buffalo meat?” The young man said: “I don’t eat water buffalo meat.” Sangia
of the bottom of the sea said: “What would you like to eat instead, heron?” The young man said: “I
don’t eat heron.” Sangia said: “But what do you eat, [have you] ever eaten eggs?” The young man said:
“I have eaten those.” Sangia of the bottom of the sea said: “Go down and cook something for the young
man to eat.” They went down below to cook something for the young man. After something had been
cooked down below they had a meal. When the meal was finished they spread out a very spacious mat
for sleeping on. He summoned his children, there were seven children of Sangia: “go down below and
sleep near the young man and tell me if he does something to you, then tell me.” They went down to
sleep. While asleep it was his habit during the night to turn over from lying on his back to lie on his
side, but the others lay on their side and they turned him over to his side, but he turned further to lie on
his stomach. After some time they went to their father. He asked them: “What has he done to you?”
They said: “Nothing.” They went to fetch him a suit of pure gold. Sangia said: “go up and give it to the
young man.” He had his servants called from over there. They stood before Sangia of the bottom of the
sea. Sangia said: “go up and take the young man up. You are not allowed to eat him, you are not
allowed to do anything to him, you are not allowed to eat him!” Then the white crocodile came. The
white crocodile said: “come, sit on my back.” The young man came. The crocodile said: “don’t be
afraid, I won’t bite you.” He sat down on the back of the crocodile; then they went straight up to the
side of the captain’s ship. The white crocodile said: “Do not sit down on me another time; I am not
allowed to take you up a second time.” “Stand up.” He stood up. When he stood up he was on the
captain’s ship. The young man said: “fetching your chisel has taken a long time.” The captain said:
“where did you find the chisel?” The young man said: “down there at the bottom of the sea in the rice
waste of the lord.” The captain said: “who has given you that beautiful suit?” The young man said:
“down there Sangia of the bottom of the sea gave it to me.” The captain said: “stay here, young man, I
am also going down.” When he was going down he said: “how did you slide down?” The young man

said: “I slid down along [the rope] with which the boat is tied up.” Hereupon the captain let himself
slide down along the rope of the ship. After having slid down he ended up down and saw below him a
coconut palm. He crossed over to the tall coconut palm, and then slid down to the ground. He landed on
the rice mortar of Sangia of the bottom of the sea. As soon as they saw the captain they ate him; the
white crocodile ate him. The young man waited, after a long wait the young man started to worry:
“what is keeping the captain? Perhaps the white crocodile has eaten him and he is not coming, he has
been gone for such a long time.” The young man kept watch. He did not see the captain again. He was
already dead. The young man took the captain’s possessions. The young man took them to sell them
elsewhere. He sold them and returned to his mother. The mother of the young man was dead. He
immediately sprinkled earth on her. After he had buried her the young man killed himself.
At the start of the twentieth century the name Ombu Alla ta Alla (from Allah ala ta’ala) the
Lord/Possessor Allah the Omnipotent, occurs in stories and legends, who, despite his (apparently)
Islamic origin had the characteristics and distinguishing features of the Tolaki Supreme Being.1012
In Mekongga the Lord of the Earth and the Lord of the Skies resided on the Mekongga, a high
mountain peak, an image which reminds of the mythology of the Makassarese, whose Bawakaraeng
mountain fulfils the same role. This also applied to Lasolo in the northeast of South-east Celebes,
where there was a special mountain, the Pariame, near the village of Hialu on the Lalindu. The peak
was not Sangia’s residence, but formed the entrance to his palace. Its interior differed little from the
houses of the heads, except that it was more luxurious. Sometimes mortals obtained direct access to
Sangia to seek advice or assistance, or to request favours. Then it became clear that, as with the
gods of the Greeks, nothing human was alien to Sangia. The following story about this was
recorded in 1922:1013
Once, a very long time ago, Ana-Wai (daughter of Sangia) descended from the upper world to bathe.
She was called Ana-Wai-ngguluri because she dressed in the skin of the Kuluri bird and flew up or
landed with it, as she pleased. However, during bathing she took off the bird skin. A man, called Oheo,
saw this. Quickly he took away the bird skin and took it to his house. When she had finished bathing
Ana-Wai-ngguluri noticed to her dismay that her bird skin had disappeared. Oheo told her that he had
taken it to his house. She followed him there. Oheo asked her to marry him. She consented, on
condition that she would never have to change her children into clean clothes.
When they had a child it happened that it needed changing. She called her husband who was busy
repairing the roof. He refused to come and told her to do it herself. She did it for once, but then she took
her bird skin and flew back to Sangia. She flew over the head of her husband and drew his attention by
beating him with her wing. The man jumped up and wanted to stop her, but he did not succeed in doing
this. Then he was very sad and he pondered and beat his brain to think of an opportunity to find her
again. But it was all in vain. One day he had climbed the high Pariame and looked up from the tall peak,
where his wife had disappeared. He was overcome by sadness and he complained: “Oh, my Ana-Wai-
ngguluri, how can I find you again?” Suddenly he heard a voice nearby. “Why is Oheo so sad?”
1012
Kok, “Polando”, ARRZ 2028.
1013
H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling Kendari van 24 juni-25 juli [1922]”, (ARRZ 2025) 17-19.
Put down on 11 July 1922 in Sambandete, a neighbouring village of Hialu, on the Lalindu river. No Tolaki-
version is known to exist. The spelling is original. See also Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, Appendix I, nr. 1.

Startled, he looked up, but did not see anything. Again he heard the voice and the same words. They
came from the Uwe-Wai. Oheo said: “How could I not be sad now that my wife is gone?” Uwe-Wai
said: “Go, make and bring me many gold rings. I will help you.”
Oheo did as asked and took them to Uwe-Wai. Uwe-Wai said: “Close your eyes. When you hear
rustling for the first time, you may not open your eyes, but when you hear rustling for the second time
open your eyes.
Oheo closed his eyes. Not much later he heard rustling noises, but he kept his eyes closed. After some
time he again heard rustling and then he quickly opened his eyes. He had already arrived in Sangia’s
residence. Sangia asked him: “What brings you here?” Oheo replied that he was searching for his wife.
Sangia said: “I will set out a number of plates. I will put food in one of them. Then I will have them all
covered. If you know which plate contains the food you can go and fetch your wife.” Oheo said: “That
is fine.” But internally he was afraid he would not know. When everything had been made ready, Oheo
was called into the room. His fear was great. What was he to do? Which plate was he to choose? Then a
fly settled on his shoulder and it said: “Don’t be afraid, Oheo, look at me. Where I next sit down, that is
the plate with food.” Oheo followed the fly with his eyes and saw where it sat down. Without hesitation
he went there, lifted the covering cloth and took the plate with food. But now Sangia said: “You can
fetch your wife if you know under which mosquito net she sleeps. I will get seven mosquito nets hung
in the room. Then you can search. But you get only one guess.” Oheo said: “If it has to be that way, OK
then.”
When it had been dark for quite a while he was called. His fear was no less than the first time. Which
mosquito net was he to choose? And moreover, it was pitch dark. Then a firefly settled on his shoulder
and whispered: “Don’t be afraid, I will help you. Look where I sit down, that is your wife’s mosquito
net.” Again Oheo watched and when he saw the firefly was no longer moving, he went towards it and
found his wife’s mosquito net.
Sangia was furious. “Your test is not yet finished,” he said. He took Oheo outside. There he pointed at a
huge boulder and said: “You only get your wife back if you can knock over that rock.” Then Oheo
despaired of ever being able to take his wife back with him, for the rock was so enormous. Nevertheless
he set to work.
He had not been busy for long when he heard rustling in the wood. A lot of pigs appeared. “What are
you doing?” they asked Oheo. “I have to knock down this rock,” he said, “otherwise I am not allowed
to take my wife back to my house.” “Don’t be afraid”, said the pigs, “we will help you.” Then all of
them started rooting, and before dawn broke the heavy rock fell over. Now Sangia could not refuse any
longer. Oheo and his wife were both placed in a large sago basket and lowered down along a long rattan
stem. But Ana-Wai-ngguluri knew what Sangia planned to do. While they were going down she
whetted her knife. She said to her husband: “Once we are still a short distance from the ground you
must cut the rattan stem. For Sangia is only waiting for the basket to touch the ground to throw the
boulder after us and kill us underneath it.” When they were still a short distance from the ground Oheo
cut the rattan. They tumbled down and quickly walked away. They only just escaped from the terrible
boulder which Sangia had thrown down. That is the boulder we still even now see on the top of the
mountain of Pariame. Oheo lived with his wife in Hialu for a long time. There are said to be
descendants of theirs living there today and there also the knife and whetting stone of Ana-Wai-
ngguluri are preserved.
Oheo was in the habit of bathing in the Lake of Hiuka. There is so much mud there because Sangia
caused him to sink down in the soil. In the centre of the lake where he sank down, there is a large hole.

In Rumbia and Poleang Sangia Olaro, who lived at the bottom of the sea,1014 and Sangia Lamoa,
who resided between the upper world and earth, were worshipped.1015 Probably Sangia Lamoa was
the same as the one who was also called Sangia Langi’.1016 He watched over the fertility of all that
lived and was invoked during rice feasts by throwing rice up into the air, the mongkamburako. For
him and for other gods and spirits there were shrines scattered throughout the landscape. Later
Sangia Lamoa was sometimes called Apu Allah, Oputo Allah ita Allah and Tuhan Allah, names
which betray Islamic and possibly Christian influence.
8.4. Priests and Rituals

8.4.1. Tobouw
According to government official Treffers there existed in Kendari around 1900 no narrowly
defined class of priests.1017 But there certainly were priests at that time, each with his own skills and
powers. A century before Treffers Vosmaer wrote about Tobouw and his laika‘aha in Lepo-Lepo:
there he asks for an explanation of his dreams, there he consults, as in earlier times the Greeks did, the
oracle, and he receives inspirations which reveal the secrets of the future to him, and show him the
difficult road he must follow to rule his country in the most effective way, there he learns how to
prevent accidents from happening, to cure diseases, etc.; and as a rule it can be ascribed to this fact that
the superstitious population attributes greater than human power to this Ruler.1018
The central idea that the heads derived their authority from their mythical descent and the spiritual
qualities connected with this lives on in old legends. According to one of these Latuanda, together
with a pack of hounds, had liberated Konawe from the scourge of the contagious diseases by killing
the two-headed water buffalo and the giant iguana (uti owose) which were considered to be the
causes of them. Apart from Latuanda and his daughter, Elu was the only one who had survived
those dark days. Elu was the daughter of Wekoila, a daughter of the gods. According to Tarimana
her full name was: Elu Kambuko Sioropo Korembutano.1019 Latuanda had taken her in, and she
married the giant Onggabo, whose ship had landed in the delta of the Lasampara and who had
entered Konawe from there. The seven later dynasties of rulers of Konawe descended from Elu and
Onggabo, while the non-aristocratic population of Konawe descended from Latuanda’s own
daughter.1020
In Mekongga Larumpalangi played a similar role. With the assistance of Luwuq he killed the
gigantic harrier, the kongga owose or konggaha,1021 which devoured humans and cattle. He became
1014
From laro - a.o. heart, innermost, depth.
1015
lamoa - air, skies.
1016
langi, - heaven (cf. Mal./Indon.: langit).
1017
Treffers, “Landschap Laiwoei”, 206.
1018
1019
Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, Appendix I, nr 3.
1020
See also cf. Suwondo, Sejarah, 29 ff, for additional stories and legend.
1021
“Mekongga” - “to be with a harrier”, “to have a harrier”.

the first ruler there, and divided the land into administrative units and appointed heads over
them.1022
8.4.2. First among equals: the mbu’akoi

According to Wilken and the “young” Kruyt many peoples in the East Indies differentiated between
two souls. Although the distinction between the two was vague where Wilken is concerned, and the
two merged into each other, Kruyt saw a clear difference. The first soul, which Kruyt also described
as “soul matter”, was omni-present and permeated man, plants, animals and inanimate nature. It
was characteristic of a society where people are totally immersed in their environment. In the
Malay-speaking world this soul was referred to as sumangat in the case of people, the spirit or life
force. The second soul, the nyawa, the breath, the spiritual being, figures at and after death. But a
human being had only one soul at the same time.1023 Pingak argued that the Tolaki also made this
distinction. According to him, they knew the sanggoleo, a human being’s spirit, and the penao, his
soul. Both were entirely spiritual and resided in the wotolu, the body. Dying meant the departure of
both the spirit and the soul from the body. After death the spirit, the sanggoleo, which formed the
essence of a person’s being, could be addressed, and could return, or be called back to his or her
body, or could perhaps reside somewhere else. The penao never returned.1024
It is not clear to what extent Pingak is right, and the Tolaki distinguished the soul from the spirit.
Missionary Van der Klift, who published on Tolaki culture and religion, did not know about the
difference and translated sanggoleo with “soul”,1025 whereas Tarimana, an anthropologist of Tolaki
descent, who wrote 50 years later, confines his information to the observation that at death Tuhan
reclaims the spirit of the deceased, which he designates as roh.1026
To be in touch with the deceased was the territory of a priest, the mbu‘akoi. Consulting Ombu
Mbu’u and the sangia was also included in this. By means of the akoi ritual he asked them for help,
advice and protection for their descendants in this world. This advice he received in dreams and via
meditation, in which, however, it was not always clear with which ancestor or spirit he had contact.
In recent times the office of mbu‘akoi, which was considered the most important of all priestly
offices because of its relatively high age,1027 was generally performed by prominent older men.
According to this description Tobouw was, apart from being head, also mbu’akoi.
The fact that the mbu’akoi kept up the contacts with the ancestors, did not prevent him from
enhancing the welfare of the community in other ways and thus encroaching on the territory of
other priests. He warded off diseases and other misfortunes with magic means, as during the
Spanish flu in 1918.1028 He also conducted the monahu ndau, the ritual held at the start of the rice
1022
Pingak, Dokumenta Kolaka, 167; Tarimana, Kebudayaan Tolaki, 52, 181 ff; cf. Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [34],
repeated in Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 12.
1023
Kruyt, Het Animisme, 1-8, 117. In Central Celebes the soul was also called nitu.
1024
Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 32. According Plas sanggoleo was located in a person’s head, Plas, “Militaire
memorie”, 9. The penao was located in the belly button, Bergink, “Mosehe”, 288.
1025
H. van der Klift, Jaarverslag Mowewe apr. 1923 - jan. 1924, ARRZ 2025.
1026
1027
1028
H. van der Klift to Hb NZG, 15/12/1918, ARRZ 2025.

year, he indicated the beginning of the harvesting season, he restored a violation of the adat, he
buried the dead and sometimes assisted a childless couple.1029
8.4.3. His colleagues

Apart from the mbu’akoi there were other priests in South-east Celebes, such as the mbusehe, tadu,
mbuowai, tolea, lebe, sangia, sanro, tumpuro koo and mbumetoranga. As stated, it is impossible to
make a clear distinction with the mbu’akoi, but with these the emphasis was more on the
performance of adat rituals such as the mowea, mosehe and mooli wuta, than on the direct
consultation of the ancestors, even if the latter were never far away. This is the reason that these
days in South-east Celebes (and elsewhere) they are referred to with an Indonesian term as the
pemangku adat, the “guardians of the adat”.1030 That did not take away from the fact that exorcising
of the myriad of nitu, jin or jini (dini), wali, tonuana, kandoli, sanggoleo mosa’a and other spirits,
which brought diseases, caused accidents, started fires and created other misfortune, and which
were present everywhere in nature, also belonged to their spheres of activity. There were priests
who could talk to animals, at least understand them, and comprehend and interpret their
movements, who could predict the future or the date of someone’s death from the position of the
stars or because of a dream or a premonition, and by magic means could make a woman pregnant or
infertile. There were some who were “married” to a dini or to the sanggoleo of the rice, others
could address or spit on a klewang in such a manner that this became extremely dangerous and
proved fatal at the slightest touch.1031
Most of these functions were open to those who felt the call and took the trouble to become the
apprentice of an experienced priest. Sometimes these functions were reserved for certain families or
a certain class, such as the tusa wuta, a leader of the dry rice cycle in Konawe.1032 Some priests
followed their profession from an early age, others suddenly got the spirit at a later age, such as the
wife of an Islamic assistant guru in Sanggona in the 1920s and 1930s, who, in spite of a prohibition
from the authorities, had a flourishing “medical” practice.1033 Another interesting person was Lode,
a relative of I Ntera, the apua of Rumbia, and the father of Petrus Saleh Lode, who in the 1930s was
the headmaster of a mission school in Rompu-Rompu in Poleang. On the seventh day after his
funeral Lode, the father, left his grave – “sudah tidak ada mayatnya” (“his corpse was no longer
there”) – and ever since he was known as Lode Sangia Limba, “Lode, the Lord who Moves”. He
was afterwards worshipped as wali (sage) and usually resided on a hill called Pusu Wewe Ua near
Taubonto, where he was visited because of his medical skills. The first time that he achieved
prominence was during a smallpox epidemic: whoever listened well could hear his voice in the
1029
Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 5, 32-36; Bergink, “Mosehe”, 290-296.
1030
For instance in Pingak, Sekapur sirih, passim.
1031
Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 4; Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 50-51.
1032
Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 270; interview with Parenda, (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 7. Every village had a tusa
wuta; at present a civil servant is appointed.
1033

forest and be cured in this way.1034 Further north, just outside the kampong of Lambuya, there was a
female tolea in the early 1930s. “Thousands upon thousands” of people travelled to her to buy the
means to prevent the earthquakes and floods she had predicted – until the authorities put her in jail
because of disturbance of the peace.1035
In Poleang and Rumbia there were different priests around 1900, such as the lebe, a priest charged
with burying the dead and all the accompanying rituals, while the pu’ungkeu, wolia, sangia and
tumpu koo conducted the rituals associated with agriculture as well as the making of sacrifices.1036
The last one mentioned was also both a peacemaker and mediator in conflicts and a healer of the
sick, but could also kill someone by means of magic, the tintinio. In the 1920s and 1930s a
pu’ungkeu in Laate, a village in Rumbia on the border of Ando’olo, was well-known. From far and
near people came to consult him and to ask for a secret formula, which he very willingly supplied,
for a fee of 3 or 4 guilders. For instance, if someone wished for eternal life, he had a special secret
for it. If you wanted someone dead, he tapped on a water-filled bowl with a knife to entice the
sangkoleo of the victim to leave. This had the shape of a butterfly. If there was a butterfly that was
close by he grabbed it, removed its eyes, uttered a formula, and then released the butterfly. Because
of this action the sangkoleo could never find back the body where it belonged, which caused the
person involved to die. Whoever asked for it, the priest instructed in the use of such tino’ori (magic
formulas).1037
That Storm knew Kruyt’s work is clear from his remark about the priests of the Tomoronene: “Also
related to this [i.e. the resistance against Christianity] is the situation of the pagan priest, the
poe’oengkoe. Truly dynamically people think of this man as possessed, charged with magic powers,
which may be of benefit to the sick, but may cause others to perish. These priests are very
conscious of their place in society and loudly proclaim their powers.” He mentioned the pu’ungkeu
Lamote in Taubonto and a priest in Taate in Rumbia as examples. These were able to charge with
magic powers coconuts, pieces of textile and other articles people brought with them.1038
There were creatures of flesh and blood, male and female, who were permanently possessed by an
evil spirit. The Tolaki called them paraka. Witches were also feared, the popoka (Tol.), who were
indistinguishable from other people. They were supposed to be able to fly or transform themselves
into a cat, dog or basket; they could cause diseases, death, drought, fires and famine, and could get
people completely in their power and eat their sanggoleo or liver.1039 Whoever was suspected of this
was subjected to an ordeal and, if found guilty, executed. This happened, for instance, in the second
half of the nineteenth century to Hani, a head of the Toepe people, who lived in Wiwirano on the
border of Laiwoi and Bungku. The victim bewitched by him was a member of his extended family,
the sister of Ta’i, the mokole of these people. On the orders of a family council and with approval of
1034
The date of Lode’s death is unknown, but several people indicated that he died in the days of the nenek moyang
(ancestors), some of whom they remembered. His son P.S. Lode was teacher in Rompu-Rompu from 1930 to
1935 and from 1938 to 1942; interview with several inhabitants of Kasiputih, (20/7/1992) A8.
1035
J. Schuurmans to Hb NZV, 20/7/1937, ARRZ 2022
1036
1037
G.C. Storm to Hb NZV, 3/7/1936, ARRZ 2021; Storm, “Tekst van twee tino’ori met uitleg”.
1038
1039
Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 8-9.

the state council (kumis ampat) of Bungku, Hani, considered a warlock, was executed. Around 1890
the sister of Ta’i died of natural causes, however, without the spell having been broken. Hani’s
death was bloodily revenged by La Patiku, the mokole of Wiwirano, with the result that the Toepe
people disappeared from this area.1040
8.5. Diseases, dangers and defences

Sickness and death were ever present. People died at all ages, from infants to the aged, rich and
poor, male and female. People were familiar with death and feared it at the same time. The
unexpected death of cattle and people could have a variety of causes. In the sense of the population
epidemics were caused by demons such as Tengu and others, which pursued them in large numbers
and in the strangest guises and with rolling eyes and wild hair. It is unnecessary to state that
elaborate countermeasures were taken. As well as the more or less institutionalised rituals such as
the mosehe and the moakoi, these measures varied from the wearing of amulets and mass flight into
the mountains, by means of the relocation of houses and at times whole villages, to the placing of
magic little white fuya flags and the construction of sacrificial shrines, poles and tables (patande,
Tol.; pepasolea, Tomekongga) at the entrance of kampongs. In 1932, at the height of the beriberi
epidemic, a traveller wrote that he had already seen such pepasolea “hundreds of times” in South-
east Celebes. The pepasolea in the Tinondo plain consisted of erected high bamboo stakes, from
which little flags streamed and beside which open young coconuts had been deposited. Leaves were
inserted into the top of the bamboo.1041 Sirih leaf, betel nuts, tobacco, rice and eggs was placed
there, and everyone had to pass under it to protect him- or herself against disease. Legends even
speak of human sacrifices to exorcise demons.1042 It was not uncommon to use human flesh in the
preparation of certain medicines to improve the efficacy.1043 One of the last known cases was that of
a female Bugis dukun in Soreantiworo, a kampong adjacent to Buapinang in Poleang. She was
arrested in 1931 because she had flayed a living eight year old girl and partly eaten her, in order to,
as she said, make her potions more efficacious. The syarat of Buton punished her and her daughter
who was her accomplice, to 12 years imprisonment, which the Court of Justice in Makassar later
reduced to 10 years.1044
Against thieves of flesh and blood the Tolaki used uro, i.e., magically charged and frightening
objects, which kept a watchful eye over someone’s possessions and could be compared to the
matakau in the Moluccas.1045 Dependent on the shape and the material used for the uro a thief got,
for instance, nose bleeds, boils, yaws, or he would be bitten by a snake or even drop dead while
carrying out his evil intentions.1046
1040
Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 505; cf. Adriani, Verzamelde geschriften, I, 407-408.
1041
Van der Klift, “Photo’s”, 77-78.
1042
De Braconier, “Twee sproken van de zee”, 1377.
1043
Storm in: De Soendanees, april 1932.
1044
G.C. Storm to Hb NZV, 14/1/1932, 17/8/1932, ARRZ 2019.
1045
Van der Klift, “De Pepasoloa”; H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 8/7/1932, ARRZ 2019; vgl. H. van der Klift,
“Onze onderzoekingsreis door een deel van Mekongga”, 15/7/1920, ARRZ 2025; “Een brief van Br. v.d.
Klift”, Zendingsblad, nr. 25 (1 mei 1918) 2.
1046
Van der Klift-Snijder, “Geroepen”, 60; Nederlandsch Zendingsblad, 1932.

The Tomoronene called the use of magic objects to avert disaster the medumpi-dumpi. Among these
objects were the bilangari, a cross made of the ribs of a water buffalo which had been butchered at
a feast for the dead, the mepuaro, made from a chicken wing and plant fibre, which was smeared
with chalk several times and was not allowed to be wrinkled, and the kilala, the same as the
previous one, but over which different spells were spoken. The mekotika, to “menentukan maunya
dewa-dewa atau roh” (“determine the will of gods or spirits”) on the basis of tables or figures
betrayed Bugis or Makassarese influence.1047 Thus it was possible to predict the future, cure the
sick, stop lunar eclipses,1048 determine the most appropriate date for a journey, or alienate a man and
a woman from each other, so that someone else got the chance to appropriate the divorced man or
woman.1049
8.6. Rituals
After the moakoi one of the most important rituals was the mosehe, which probably dated from the
nineteenth century.1050 In fact the mosehe was a collection of reconciliation rituals or “cooling off
rituals”, which were, generally speaking, aimed at restoring the cosmic order, which had been
disturbed by a conscious or unconscious violation of certain agreements between the first human
beings and the god of creation or other gods.1051 The most elaborate form was the mosehe wonua,
which affected the whole community and lasted seven days and seven nights and during which
seven dances were performed (molulo).1052 Some mosehe ceremonies have lived on in the collective
memory. For instance the mosehe which was held on the occasion of the official opening of the
Kolaki-Kendari road in 1930, the construction of which was said to have cost “tidak sedikit” (“not
few”) human lives. This was a mosehe wonua which lasted a week. Then there was the mosehe held
in Wundulako on the occasion of the second marriage of the bokeo of Mekongga, I Nduma, in
1937. This was a mosehe beli, which lasted a day.1053 Two other significant mosehe were those held
after the Japanese capitulation and at the outbreak of the actions of the republican Gerakan Merah
Putih in South-east Celebes at the end of 1945. On these two occasions mosehe wonua were
organised.1054
Among the Toairi in Mambulu there existed the metoranga, a ritual conducted by a mbumetoranga,
or head of the adat, which already existed in the nineteenth century, then disappeared for a while,
but revived after 1910. It was held in crises, like a failed harvest, a mouse plague, extraordinary
1047
Interview with several inhabitans of Kasiputih, (20/7/1992) A7-A8. Vgl. Matthes, “De Makassaarsche en
Boegineesche Kotika,s”.
1048
In Mekongga folktale a lunar eclipse was caused by Naga (snake), who ate the moon. Kruyt, “Een en ander
over de To Laki van Mekongga (Zuidoost-Selebes)”, 470.
1049
Interview with several inhabitans of Kasiputih (20/7/1992) A7-A8; vgl. Vonk, “Voorstel”, 42-43.
1050
The Tolaki-word mosehe has three syllables: se - one, he - not, disappeared, mo- indicates a verb -> to
disagree, to quarrel. Both Bergink, “Mosehe”, and Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 11-17, provide a description of a
modern mosehe ritual, the first from 1979, the second from 1986.
1051
Complete recovery was impossible though. H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 5/11/1918, ARRZ 2025. Cf. H. van
der Klift, “Heiden-kinderen op Z.O. Celebes”.
1052
Pingak tells that in a mosehe wonua seven tonomotuo participated, which each governed seven kampongs.
Every day a water buffalo was slaughtered.
1053
Beli - bloed. Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 8, 17.
1054

mortality among the population or some other misfortune. During the colonial period it was
particularly held to avert disaster which might be the consequence of measures by the authorities
which contravened the adat, or of infringements of Islam on the life of the community. This had
made the community mokosisi, i.e. dirty, unclean. This situation could be cleansed, moroha or
mosola, by the sacrifice of a water buffalo to Ombu Mbu’u. Because magic powers were ascribed to
the blood of this water buffalo, every participant tried to get some of it on his hands, head or
clothes, and also to drench his rice and vegetable seeds in it.1055
8.7. Headhunting (mbongae, Tol.)

Until the arrival of the Dutch a great deal of headhunting took place in South-east Celebes.1056
Although not all people practised it – the Tolawoi on the upper reaches of the Konawe’eha,1057 the
Torete1058 and the Tokapontori1059 did not – the population was still widely known as extremely
dangerous headhunters. Heads were hunted during wars and as part of revenge actions, but also for
more sacral purposes, such as the death of a head, the remarriage of a widow or another emergency
situation. The hunting of a human head which, according to Adriani, was “the seat of as much
material of the soul as one can imagine”, for the peoples of Central Celebes was dominated by the
preservation of the tribe. A hunted head was a medication, a “piece of human life which one
captures for one’s tribe”.1060 The blood of the victim was drunk and the brains eaten. Kruyt
considered the headhunting with religious objectives a kind of human sacrifice.1061 Vosmaer,
Schuurmans and Gouweloos mentioned as the most important purpose of the Tolaki’s headhunting
the lifting of a ban (mombado), in which a clan found itself because of one or more deaths. In such
a case the clan or family involved was subject to various commandments and prohibitions. The
harmonious existence of the clan had been upset and had to be restored. One or more heads were
required for this.1062
Possibly the custom to organise headhunting raids for a feast for the dead immediately after the rice
harvest, when the people had the time for it, caused some government officials to form the opinion
that headhunting expeditions were also held on the occasion of the rice harvest.1063 But this would
seem not to have been a general custom. In spite of this a Kendari prince, asked about this at the
beginning of the twentieth century, said that he had occasionally gone headhunting when a failed
harvest occurred and he wanted to propitiate the ancestors.1064 A headhunting expedition could also
be part of a strategic plan of war against a neighbouring clan, for instance to settle a conflict. Vonk
1055
1056
A detailed description in Schuurmans, “Het koppensnellen der To Laki”.
1057
1058
Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 197-198, 201, en Bouman, “Memorie”, 10, discuss the Torete, the original
inhabitants of Wawoni, who also lived west and north of Kendari ((Nii, Mata, Sadoha and Lahondopi) and in
South Bungku.
1059
They lived along the Bay of Kendari and on Salabangka, but hailed from northern Buton, Treffers, “Landschap
Laiwoei”, 197.
1060
Adriani, Verzamelde geschriften, II, 289; cf. Kruyt, “Het koppensnellen”.
1061
Kruyt, “De Bewoners”, 596.
1062
Schuurmans, “Het koppensnellen der To Laki”; Gouweloos, “Het doodenritueel bij de To Wiaoe”, 24.
1063
Similar in Adriani,“Van Posso naar Mori”, 162.
1064
Sarasin, Reisen, I, 379.

reported that the Tomoronene headhunted before or during the bedding out of the rice as well as
when the child of a ruler reached the marriageable age: the skull of the hunted head served in that
case as a spittoon for the blood that flowed during the breaking off and then again filing of the teeth
of the crown prince to sharpen them.1065
The blessing of the ancestors rested on a well-prepared headhunting expedition. Every phase was
accompanied by wild war dances and ritual activities which were complicated and time-
consuming.1066 With the Tolaki the preparations were made by the tadu (a term which occurs in
several languages on Celebes), the adat official who was competent in this area. He had this
competence both because of his proven close connections with Sangia Mbongae, Lord of
Headhunting, and because of his consecration by a priest. In a dream, or during a state of ecstasy in
which he met Sangia Mbongae or one or more ancestors of the clan, he received orders to organise
a headhunting expedition, and he was given courage and strength. As a rule he accompanied such
undertakings as counsellor, not as leader. The leader of a headhunting expedition was a tamalaki or
anandamalaki, a “brave one”. The band itself consisted only of men (never women), whose number
could be as many as several dozen.
Usually little courage was required for the hunting of a head, for houses stood alone and spread out
in the jungle – therefore most of the victims therefore were women who were home alone.
Generally little resistance was to be feared either from a lonely traveller or rattan collector. The
region or place where a clan hunted its heads was determined in part by the presence or absence of
family ties, in part by opportunistic considerations such as distance, numerical superiority and the
element of surprise. If the ties between clans were close enough, they had little to fear from each
other and could safely enter each other’s territory. In all probability there were also all sorts of
unwritten rules which can no longer be retrieved, and which in those days were perhaps known only
to a few initiated persons. The Tawanga Tolaiwoi did not hunt heads among the Tokondeha, but by
preference among the Tomekongga, while the Tokonawe headhunted particularly among the
peaceful Tolaiwoi in the mountains. The Towiau usually hunted heads along the coast of Kolaka
and Malili.1067 No Tomekongga ventured north of Sanggona, not even if he wore special popolia,
amulets made of small bamboo figures and boars’ tusks and crocodile teeth.1068 The Toairi in the
Mendoka mountains were prey for both the Tomoronene and the Tolaki from Konawe. Until the
early twentieth century the Tolaki conducted headhunting raids to Poleang and Rumbia, and even to
Muna, Buton and Kabaena, and Bugis and Wajo coastal kampongs were raided from the sea in
prahu rented from other Bugis and Wajos.1069
While Luwuq had exploited the feuds and enmities between the clans in South-east Celebes for its
own purpose, in the east the arrival of Bugis traders, particularly after 1800, led to some reduction
1065
1066
J. Schuurmans, “Het koppensnellen der To Laki”, s.a. ARRZ 2023; Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 16.
1067
1068
Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 199-201; Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [41]; Kruyt, “Een en ander over de To
Laki van Mekongga (Zuidoost-Selebes)”, 461.
1069
Van Braam Morris, “Het Landschap Loehoe”, 513; Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [40]; Koloniaal verslag 1887,
14; idem 1892, 20; Baden, “Rapport”, 3-4; Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 503; Adriani,
“Verhaal”, 862.

in headhunting. The result of this was that in the course of the nineteenth century some festivities
and rituals related to headhunting became simpler or disappeared. But occasionally heads were still
hunted. For instance in March 1911 a press report was circulated that in Kendari “the long-wanted
gang leader and headhunter” La Padi had been arrested, and his followers decimated – a report
which, however, had already circulated in 1908 and was repeated in 1912. It is not known what
became of him.1070 At around the same time Pombili was arrested for the first time and exiled,
because he had decapitated a rival lover.1071 But these were incidents. It did not take long for
headhunting to disappear.1072
8.8. The life cycle of human beings

8.8.1. Birth
In a country with high infant mortality a well-executed birth ritual was a matter of life and death for
the continued existence of the clan. Accounts from the first half of the twentieth century report that
the birth or non-birth of a child depended on the whims of the ancestors and gods. Also those who
did not want (more) children were dependent for this on them. A Tomoronene who did not want
children, begged this favour from Sangia Lamoa and sacrificed a water buffalo head to him.1073 The
period preceding the birth was characterised by the absence of elaborate, at least visible
preparations, for it was thought that these might attract the attention of evil spirits, which could
harm the new baby or abduct it. For this reason a woman was never allowed to sleep alone in a
space during her pregnancy and a special ritual was executed. If in spite of this a child was pestered
by a nitu during the pregnancy, it afterwards showed certain characteristics, such as a deviating
shape of hands or ears. Very soon after the birth mother and child moved house; this never
happened in the morning or at night, but always at 5 pm in the afternoon. In Konawe the newborn
got some pins behind the ears, to prevent him or her being bothered by a nitu. In addition an egg
and four hands full of rice were buried in front of the house. The egg was the symbol both of the
self-contained community (wonua) and of the new life generated by the community. The white
symbolised the sanctity of Ombu Mbu’u, the yellow yolk his loftiness and grandeur. Their symbolic
function eggs derived from the fact that, according to a story, Ombu Mbu’u gave these to the first
human beings during the creation to take with them, together with other items, such as two hens and
a rooster.1074 The four hands full of rice were meant for the four gods below Ombu Mbu’u. They
were meant to be a sign of gratitude and as a gift to obtain their protection during the entire life of
the newborn baby.1075
1070
Mailrapporten 1908,1483; Mailrapporten 1912, 909, 23/7/1912.
1071
D. Kok to Hb NZV 10/7/1920, ARRZ 2028. The customary death penalty for murder and incest was by the
Dutch replaced a prison sentence of banishment.
1072
Plas, “Militaire memorie”, 1 vlg.; Wieland, “Memorie”, [2]-[8].
1073
G.C. Storm to Hb NZV, 15/101930, ARRZ 2018; Interview with Rasami (Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 11.
1074
Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 15. Vgl. Van der Klift, “Heiden-kinderen op Z.O. Celebes”.
1075
Pingak tells that the numbers three and foer were sacred. The number three indicates Ombu Mbu’u, man and
the community which brought him into the world an where he lived; the number four points either at the four
quarters of the compass, or at the origin of man, his future, the upper world and death. Pingak, Sekapur sirih,
14.

Some Tolaki families in Mekongga had their own birth rituals. The first ritual after the birth was the
moosambakai,1076 a small, sober gathering in a closed family circle. This was an expression of
gratitude towards Ombu Mbu’u, during which the wish was expressed that the child might be
happy, courageous and strong during his life, and an example to his surroundings. The
moosambakai was only held for the first child, preferably when it was four days old, and it was
followed by other rituals, which accompanied next phases and highlights in the young life. The joy
of acquiring an extra member of the workforce was also expressed. At the birth of the next children
of the same parents the moosambakai was omitted. They organised a feast attended by the whole
clan or village, the motandangguni or moririu. The baby, its mother and all those present were
sprinkled four times by a mbu’akoi with magic water from a bamboo into which had been inserted
four leaves of plants which thrived in arid soil. This ritual was intended to ensure that the child
would thrive while growing up, and that during his life all difficulties and adversities would slide
off him like water off a duck’s back. After this the child was passed around to all women present.
To lend support to this ritual the mbu’akoi offered Ombu Mbu’u betel nut in a woven bowl and
spoke with palms turned up four times the prescribed formulas, aimed at the four gods below Ombu
Mbu’u. As was usual at this kind of festivity, there was much dancing and feasting.1077 According to
one source1078 the moosambakai went back to a story about a descendant of the legendary
Larumpalangi, whose name was Melange.1079 Something exceptional was the matter with him. At
his birth his body lacked a skeleton of bones. He was merely a heap of flesh, probably a sign of his
supernatural descent. In a dream a mbu’akoi received instructions for a ceremony which he was to
organise for little Melange. Then he would get all bones and his fontanelle would close over. This
happened and he became a normal human being. After his death he was known as Sangia Lombo-
Lombo, the Lord with the Fontanelle.1080 Only his descendants performed these rituals.
In some villages the placenta, the “older brother” of the newborn child, was placed in an empty
coconut shell with various herbs and spices. This was wrapped in fuya and kept in a corner of the
house or in the kitchen. It was hoped that the evil spirits would mistake the placenta for the child, so
that it was left alone. If the child nevertheless became ill or cried a lot, the coconut shell was
opened and the placenta was inspected. If there were maggots and ants inside it, it was cleaned and
new herbs added. All attention was therefore aimed at the placenta, and the child itself was not
examined. Once the child had grown up, the placenta was discarded. In Rumbia and Poleang the
placenta was pickled in brine and subsequently placed in a coconut shell and kept next to the child
for three days after the birth. Afterwards it was put in a basket or jar and preserved outside in the
1076
Mo- indicates a verb, o - an exhortation which expresses hope, samba (Indon.: cabang) - branch, section, part;
kai (Indon.: kait, sangkut) - closely connected. Pingak translates moosambakai with: “itu menunjuk pada suatu
pernyataan yang erat keterkaitannya di masa depan, yang penuh pengharapan dalam kehidupan dan
penghidupan ini”, Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 18.
1077
1078
Pingak, Sekapur sirih, 18-23.
1079
See footnote 212.
1080
Lombo (Tol.) - fontanel.

yard or placed on a bamboo stake. On the day of the birth a coconut palm was planted in order to be
able to assess the age of the growing child.1081
It is not known whether in South-east Celebes the young mother was kept in seclusion for some
time after the birth, as, according to an 1856 report by Wallace, happened with the Makassarese in
South Celebes, the Dayaks in Borneo and other peoples in the archipelago.1082 The birth was
followed by various rituals. In Rumbia a special meal was held some 40 days after the birth for
which a water buffalo was slaughtered. If a child had become ill during this phase of his life a ritual
was held, the mowea nganga. For this a water buffalo was slaughtered and the head sacrificed to
Sangia Lamoa or another spirit, who was held responsible for the illness.1083
8.8.2. Name-giving
Name-giving was an important event. Among the descendants of Melange Sangia Lombo-Lombo in
Mekongga this took place as the last part of the moosambakai, or otherwise the motandangguni,
when also for the first time the hair was cut, the mosere owu. Elsewhere name-giving happened as
soon as the child was able to sit up. The name, usually derived from an ancestor, expressed both the
continuity of the generations such as courage and readiness for battle and served as an example for
the person himself and his environment.1084 If there was sickness in the surroundings the name-
giving was postponed or the child received a pseudonym. If evil spirits which caused the sickness
got to know the real name of a child they could cause it to become ill. A name with a “bad”
meaning, such as “pig”, “snake”, “dog”, “frog” or “toad” was a deterrent for the spirits and they
also passed by a child which looked neglected. Particularly the latter led to a lack of care for
babies.1085
8.8.3. Circumcision
Since time immemorial circumcision belongs to the traditional and sacred actions in the whole of
South-east Celebes, which every boy between 6 and 10 years of age underwent as a sign of
acceptance in the community. It consisted of a slight incision and in its origin was totally unrelated
to the Muslim practice of circumcision. All boys irrespective of their religious background
underwent this circumcision, but Muslim boys subsequently also received the sunat Islam. A lebe
performed the traditional circumcision with the Tomoronene, with the Tolaki it usually was a
mbu’akoi or mbuwaka. While performing the task he uttered incantations against bleeding. Unlike
the Bugis practice, the sunat Islam was with the Tolaki and Tomoronene usually not followed by a
feast. Circumcision was like headhunting in times past: whoever was not circumcised did not count.
1081
G.C. Storm to Hb NZV, 24/8/1927, ARRZ 2032. Interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 7;
interview with Rasami (Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 10.
1082
Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, I, 217.
1083
1084
1085

Pressure from the environment was intense. A non-circumcised man was not highly regarded by
those around him, and had trouble finding a bride.1086
8.8.4. Adulthood
On reaching adulthood the teeth of the children of rulers, sons and daughters, were broken off and
smoothed off with a file. The teeth of the girls were completely filed off, those of the boys partly.
Afterwards what remained was blackened, called mengisi molori by the Tomoronene. This was
done by catching the smoke of a burning coconut shell on a klewang and smearing the deposited
carbon on the remaining bits of tooth. Subsequently the person concerned rinsed his mouth with
coconut milk, which was reserved for this purpose in a head which had been specially hunted for
this occasion. This ceremony was concluded with a dance festival. After this he or she was allowed
to get married.1087
8.8.5. Marriage
8.8.5.1. Endogamy and exogamy; patriarchy and matriarchy
The inhabitants of Peleng, an island in the Banggai archipelago, a neighbouring people by descent
related to the Tolaki, at the end of the nineteenth century did not know marriage as the
monogamous and lasting union between a man and a woman.1088 From this one may conclude that
the situation was probably the same with the Tolaki and the Tomoronene. The woman belonged at
times to the one man, and at another time to another man, and vice versa the man belonged at some
stage to one and then to another woman. Although promiscuity has not disappeared, the individual,
both monogamous and polygamous, forms of marriage developed from this, but how this happened
in detail it is impossible to ascertain for lack of data.
In all probability the Tolaki clans in South-east Celebes were originally endogamous, but some
adopted the exogamous system at some point in their history, which means that marriage partners
had to belong to different clans or villages. This situation of exogamy first became apparent in, and
south of, the central river area and may have been encouraged by the migration from the mountains,
or may even have started in this manner.1089 The clans which lived in greater isolation in the
mountains remained endogamous longest, as their distant relatives in the Minahassa also still were
at the end of the nineteenth century.1090 The parents of Taokowie, the first government appointed
mokole of the kampongs of Lapai, Tongauna and Toaha in the former district of Watunuhu, were
brother and sister (1925),1091 and even as late as the 1960s some mountain clans, such as the
Tosanggona, had the “perkawinan tertutup, maksudnya bahwa kalau mau kawin hanya di
lingkungan sendiri-sendiri” – the reserved marriage, which is to say that one is only allowed to
1086
Interview with S. Galukupi e.a. (Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992) 40; interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya,
9/7/1992) 14; interview with Rasami (Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 12.
1087
Interview with several inhabitants of Kasiputih (20/7/1992) A6-A7.
1088
Wilken, “Over de verwantschap”, 416.
1089
See par. 2.5.4. The colonisation of South-east Celebes.
1090
Wilken, “Over de verwantschap”, 440.
1091
Baden, “Rapport”, 9; Kruyt, “Een en ander over de To Laki van Mekongga (Zuidoost-Selebes)”, 429, 442.

marry in one’s own circle”.1092 In other areas it is likely that a transitional situation or a hybrid form
existed, in the sense that certain clans maintained specific marriage arrangements with certain other
clans. This reminds one of the “inter-clan connubium”, so called by De Josselin de Jong.1093 In 1925
a controleur reported that the Tomekongga had good relations with the Tolatoma, the Tokondeha
and the Tokonawe because of marital ties. No headhunting took place between these clans.
However, they had no such ties with the Towoiesi in the mountains, and they therefore did not
venture into their territory, except for a headhunting expedition. But the Tokondeha maintained
good relations with the Tolaiwoi.1094
To the question whether the clans in South-east Celebes were organised along patrilineal or
matrilineal lines, or if patriarchy or matriarchy reigned supreme or was prevalent, Kantan
Bartimeus, a Tomoronene man born in Taubonto (Rumbia) in 1944, answered as follows in 1992:
Kalau di kampung saya [Taubonto] itu terbalik dengan di sini [Lambuya]. Kalau di sini, laki-laki yang
ke perempuan, kalau di tempat saya, perempuan ke tempat laki-laki. Pindah? Ya, artinya kalau saya
umpamanya yang kawin saya tinggal di rumah saya, perempuan yang datang, kalau di sini musti laki-
laki yang dibawa ke tempat perempuan.1095
Translation: In the kampong where I come from [Taubonto] the situation is the opposite of the one
which exists here [Lambuya]. Here the man goes to the woman, in my kampong the woman goes to the
man. Must he relocate? Indeed. For example, when I got married I stayed in my house and the woman
came to me. But here [Lambuya] the man has to be taken to the woman’s house.1096
This seems to imply that in contrast to the patrilineal Tomoronene, for their neighbours to the north
matriarchy or maternal rights played an important role, at least in Mekongga and Konawe. When
Latambaga, the bokeo of Mekongga, died in 1933, he was succeeded by I Nduma, his half-Bugis
nephew, on government orders.1097 But in order to preserve the office of bokeo for his children, I
Nduma was forced to marry Latambaga’s eldest daughter, Wendelaki, before his appointment. If he
had married outside the family of Latambaga, his children would have had no right to the throne.1098
When his first marriage remained childless, I Nduma took the second daughter of Latambaga as his
second wife, for the same reason.1099 Something similar was the case with the Torouta, a clan in the
north of Laiwoi. Around 1900 this was governed by the mokole of Wiwirano, La Patiku, “an old but
strong man, with a long grey beard”,1100 but who did this in the name of his wife, mokole Wou, the
1092
Interview with S. Galukupi e.a. (Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992) 25. Translated by the author.
1093
This indicates the fixed hierarchical relations between clans, as far as they are exogamous, relating to the
supply and acceptance of brides and grooms. De Josselin de Jong, “The Malay Archipelago as a field of
ethnological study”, 169-170. Wilken called this the “jus connubii”, Wilken, “Over de verwantschap”, 420.
1094
1095
Interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 9.
1096
Translated by the author.
1097
Latambaga had five wives, four of whom were of low birth. Most of them were childless. Two sons were
sufficiently qualified to succeed him as bokeo but both were turned down by the government as being unfit for
the job, see footnotes 212, 431.
1098
1099
Pingak, Sekapur Sirih, 8.
1100
N. Ardiani to Hb NZG (P.D. Chantepie de la Saussaye?), 10/1/1912, ARRZ 1322.

rightful princess.1101 Both Van der Klift and Kruyt could appreciate this matriarchy (these maternal
rights) to some extent, although neither could justify the underlying principle, “that the child was
there for the parents”. More about this below.1102
Measured according to Wilken’s hierarchy, the Tolaki and the Tomoronene were evidently in
different stages of development.1103 The system of marital relations regulated by the adat within and
between clans, and that of hereditary succession, which in itself led to a mixed clan composition,
came under pressure and had to give way for considerations of a more pragmatic nature because of
the opening up of the interior, the arrival of migrants who married the daughters of heads, the
increasing division of labour between men and women, the ongoing migration of clans and, after
1906, by governmental measures. However, as shown by the words of Bartimeus quoted above,
both forms had not yet disappeared after World War II.1104
8.8.5.2. Preparations for marriage

Around 1900 marriage had all the characteristics of a contractual agreement between two families,
judging by the extensive negotiations preceding it. The preparatory negotiations and the marriage
itself on the one hand served the interests of the maintenance of societal hierarchy and social
stability, but on the other hand strongly resembled a trade in members of the workforce.1105 Much of
the preparations was actually only a game, because the parents of both parties had already come to
an agreement when their children were still young. Such parental planning did not, however, always
proceed as wished-for. If a girl was abducted by a young man, the plans were thwarted, something
that could lead to the death of the young man, or even both. That was not necessarily so, certainly
not after 1906, although it did still occur even then. Usually a priest or another mediator was able to
find a solution, especially after the first grandchild had been born.1106
The marriage preparations began with a visit of the young man and/or a close member of his family
to the house of the girl, called metiro by the Tomoronene, when the marriage proposal was made.
With the Tomoronene it was sometimes a lebe and with the Tolaki a tolea who acted as mediator.
During this exploratory visit betel nut was presented as a gift, as with many peoples in the Big
East.1107 If this visit proceeded successfully, and both families had reached an agreement about the
marriage payments and other matters, then in Central and South Moronene (Poleang and Rumbia)
the woman moved in with her husband, although not until the man had worked for some time for
his future in-laws. This could take 10 years or more, and was primarily intended to be
1101
1102
A.C. Kruyt to J. Kruyt, Letters nrs 38 (17/1/1918), 41 (8/3/1918), ARRZ 1339; Kruyt, “Een en ander over de
To Laki van Mekongga (Zuidoost-Selebes)”, 468.
1103
Wilken, “Over de verwantschap”.
1104
The future residence of the recently married couple was not only determined by the patri- or matrilineal
organisation of the clan, but also by the relative social position of the respective parents. This was important
especially among the anakia. Wilken, “Over de verwantschap”, 418, 422-423.
1105
Kruyt, “Een en ander over de To Laki van Mekongga (Zuidoost-Selebes)”, 443; Van der Klift, “Het huwelijk
bij de bewoners van Mekongga (Kolaka) op Z.-O. Celebes”.
1106
If a solution could not be reached the boy and the girl left the area and started a new life else where. After a
while they introduced their child to the wife’s parents, after which in most cases peace was restored, interview
with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 9-12.
1107
Wilken, “Plechtigheden”, 507-510.

compensation for the loss of a member of the workforce.1108 In Konawe the young man moved in
with his future in-laws to work for them. This period of forced labour was much shorter there than
in Poleang and Rumbia and restricted to one year or slightly over. Around 1900 in parts of
Mekongga and in the north of Rumbia and Poleang this probationary period did not occur at all.
Instead of this, the young couple after the wedding had to live in the house of her parents for a year,
sometimes longer.
The wedding itself was performed by a priest or elder in a simple, rather unstructured ceremony.
During this ceremony the marriage payments were handed over, and both parties offered betel nut
to each other. The Tomoronene had no, or only a very simple, wedding feast, but most Tolaki clans
did celebrate in a big way. This included eating, drinking pongasi and dancing, uttering wishes for
happiness and arranging games, such as cock-fighting and playing at dice.1109
In more modern times the young married couple immediately moved into their own house, urged to
do so by the colonial authorities. This led to the woman being carried to her new home among loud
cheering, seated on a litter or chair, after which she entered her new abode accompanied by
promises, advice and symbolic actions against disease, hunger, miscarriage, failed harvests and
misfortune. For this she walked over scattered rice and, with the Tomoronene, also over a large axe,
which had been deposited in front of the door.1110 If the distance was too great she walked the first
part under a canopy, and was carried for the last part of the way. The last phase of this wedding
ceremonial was that the young couple, after having spent three days in their new house, returned to
the house of her parents for a visit.1111
The existence of numerous unwritten laws, rules and conditions, did not mean that there was no
haggling or bickering during the preparations for a marriage. Sometimes it resembled more of a
struggle for power and possessions than a marriage. Sometimes this struggle was so fierce that
outsiders wondered if marriages of the Tolaki and Tomoronene had any chance of being successful,
the more so since some men after some time took a second or at times even a third wife. Sometimes
they did this with the approval of their “first” wife, but if that was not the case, the new wives
remained living on their own and the men were obliged to support several households at once.1112
The higher the status of the parties, the costlier were the marriage payments, and the more complex
and richer the ceremonies, and the stricter the demands of the candidates. For the marriage of
Wendelaki, the eldest daughter of Latambaga, with I Nduma, at the end of 1935, the dowry had to
be raised by the population: each kampong had to contribute one water buffalo, although the
1108
Storm in De Soendanees, jan. 1932; interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 9-10; interview with
Rasami (Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 12.
1109
Interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 9-10; interview with Rasami (Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 12;
Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 272-273; Storm in De Soendanees, jan. 1932.
1110
The axe symbolized the wife’s ear and expressed the wish that she would not get involved in the affairs of her
husband which had come to her knowledge by accident. The rice symbolized the wish for fertility, wealth, luck
etc., interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 9-10.
1111
Interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 9-10. See also Kruyt, “Een en ander over de To Laki van
Mekongga (Zuidoost-Selebes)”, 443-447 about the marriage adat in South-east Celebes; the Tomoronene are
discussed in Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 118-119; interview with Rasami
(Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 12-15.
1112

districts of Konawe’eha, Singgere and Tawanga, which (at that time) were ruled by Konawe
anakia, refused to participate.1113
In places where the priest had been ousted by an imam or Muslim guru, the Koran (Sura 4, verses
19-28) replaced the adat as the basis of the marriage law, although some exceptions were made, for
example with regard to the prohibition to marry the daughter of a brother (verse 23). In some cases
the bride was not present during the wedding ceremony, and only saw her new husband when he
was led into her room when it was finished.1114 This happened with the Tosanggona, where both
with a Islamic marriage and an adat marriage the bride sat under a mosquito net in her house during
the whole ceremony.1115
The value of the marriage payments, including the labour to be performed by the young man for his
future in-laws, was a reflection of the social milieu of the bride and groom. Originally these
payments were expressed in a number of “things” or “pieces”, always in a multiple of ten. For the
common man 20 to 40 “pieces” were required, sometimes with a water buffalo among them, but for
an anakia it was twice that number. In affluent Sanggona there was even a report of 140 “pieces”, a
bodice, spoons, copper and brass plates, everything counted. On top of this there was a small
reward of a few “pieces” for the tolea.1116
With the increase of the inflow of migrants from South Celebes the somba or sunrang made its
appearance, in which the payments were expressed in currency, or were converted into it. The
amounts could increase from 20 guilders for the ata, to 300 guilders or more for the anakia. To
prevent the population getting too deeply into debt, the authorities in 1920 fixed the sunrang for the
ata at an amount of no more than 11.25 guilders, for a head of a kampong at no more than 20
guilders and for the nobility at no more than 40 guilders. In 1935 the sunrang was fixed at 20
guilders for the ata, and for the aristocracy at no more than 70 guilders. These measures were not
particularly successful. The head of the kampong where the woman lived also got his share of such
marriage payments, the pallawawuta.1117
8.8.5.3. Monogamy and polygamy

The development of bigamy and polygamy is probably in part related to the custom that a widow
automatically became the wife of a male relative of her deceased husband, irrespective of the
question whether he already had one or more wives. Less bigamy and polygamy occurred among
the Wajos, possibly because of the limited space on board their ships. The arrival of Islam in the
sphere of monogamy and polygamy did not lead to a breach with the existing situation. However,
gradually having more than one wife became associated with Islam.1118
According to both the adat and Islam a man was at liberty to cast off his wife or wives, on condition
that he notified a priest, a mosque functionary or a guru, and paid a small amount of compensation.
1113
1114
Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [22]-[24].
1115
1116
Kruyt, “Een en ander over de To Laki van Mekongga (Zuidoost-Selebes)”, 443.
1117
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 17, 48; Kruyt, “Een en ander over de To Laki van Mekongga (Zuidoost-Selebes)”, 444;
1118
Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 99 vlg..

With the Tomoronene it was the bonto who looked after the material side of the casting off process.
The woman was allowed to keep her possessions when she was sent away, unless she had
committed adultery, for in that case she or her family had to pay back to the man and his family, if
not all, still a substantial part of the marriage payments. Until this had been settled the woman could
not get married again. A woman could not cast off her husband, though she could demand a
divorce, but only in certain circumstances, for example if her husband had taken a second wife
against her wish or if he had physically abused her. Sometimes this demand was granted, but
sometimes it was not, particularly if dynastic interests were involved. A cast-off wife had to wait
for a certain number of days before she remarried, in connection with a possible pregnancy from
her just dissolved marriage.1119
To what extent Islam was the religion of the elite, was evident from the fact that for a very long
time during the Dutch period the nobility married according to Islamic rites, but the rest of the
population hardly ever did so. For these groups there was only the adat marriage, something that
caused a government official to conclude that 90% of the population was “not legally” married.1120
The mission was immediately confronted with this situation. In 1917 Van der Klift found an
indigenous couple in Kolaka, which from his point of view had already lived together for four years
and had three children, but was “unmarried”. They converted to Christianity, and were then once
again married by Van der Klift, but now according to Reformed rites.1121 This became the common
practice for the mission, following the practice of other missionary regions. The adat marriage was
tolerated by the mission as a civil marriage, on condition that all those elements were omitted which
were in conflict with Reformed Christianity. The church wedding was considered the confirmation
of the marriage conducted within the adat community, and in doing so the Christians recognised the
importance and dignity of the individuals and bodies given authority in the adat community. The
solemnisation of a marriage between two Christians could as far as the mission was concerned be
preceded by such a “purified” adat wedding.1122
With the opening up of the interior and the arrival of migrants came, apart from trade, exploitation
of indigenous labourers and theft, also prostitution. Someone reported about a village girl called
Magdalena, that “passing Bugis traders visited her as far as the far-off rice gardens”.1123 Dutch men
too, among whom were a government official and a missionary, knew how to find the Magdalenas.
There were so many Magdalenas that it worried even the self-rule authorities of Kendari. When it
came to a choice between the hiring of (expensive) Manadonese and Sangirese carpenters on the
one hand, or (cheap) Bugis carpenters on the other, for the building of schools and houses, the
conference of missionaries followed the heads of Kendari, who had on several occasions requested
that “no Bugis carpenters would be taken on with an eye to the safety of their wives and unmarried
daughters.”1124 Because of his escapades the missionary was summarily dismissed.
1119
Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 99; Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, 204-205.
1120
Bouman, “Memorie”, 32-33.
1121
1122
Mollema, “Verblijdende verschijnselen”.
1123
A. van der Klift-Snijder to Hb NZV, 10/5/1926, ARRZ 2026.
1124
Notulen CvZ, 4/2/1927, ARRZ 2025.

Because of the alliance between Islamic traders and missionaries and the elite and foreign powers,
such behaviour could easily lead to an aversion to strangers and the changes they had brought
among the kampong population. In 1926 a kampong inhabitant put this into words as follows:
For 23 years now I have followed Islam because I saw others also do this, but I have never experienced
anything but misery because of it. We always had to pay pitrah [tax], gifts for this or that occasion and
this just went on and on. Those Bugis gurus bullied us appallingly, but we always obeyed, mindful of
the salvation of the souls of our family members. What has however struck me as well, is this, that these
days there are hardly any old people. In the old days you heard of a death now and then, and then it was
always an old person, usually toothless, with grey hair and bent over, for in earlier times people became
old, but nowadays: many children die, youths, or, if they ever get to a marriage they only have one or
two children and then they die, leaving the children as orphans. All that is the result of letting go of the
customs of our fathers. Just look at the Islamic gurus here: the one from Amokuni1125 comes here to
cause our wives to be unfaithful to us. Therefore he was killed. The other one, from Watu Mendonga1126
was here not long ago, still a young man, also dead, the one from Tongauna1127 first burned down his
house last year, and now he is also dead. That cannot be a good religion.
Every year the burdens are increased, while our priests did get a reward for the performance of
ceremonies, [it was] by no means as much as the Muslim gurus, and besides, they did not demand it. If
we were unable to give it, they did it for free, but if we tried this now, then these gentlemen say to us:
“In that case, go and borrow money somewhere, otherwise it will not happen.” I no longer want to
participate in this.1128
8.8.5.4. Mixed marriages

Because of the relatively small number of Christians among the indigenous population, marriages
between Christians and Muslims occurred fairly often. Within the Dutch mission generally there
existed two points of view. The first was that the mission could not tolerate mixed marriages. The
second, which was adopted in South-east Celebes, was based more on the demands of reality. It
meant that weddings of mixed marriages, if both parties agreed, were conducted by a pastor of the
religion of the young man, but that the woman would not be forced to adopt the religion of her
husband. The fundamental belief that both marriage partners must have the same religion thus had
to yield to an approach which did not put too much unnecessary strain on the coexistence of the
different religions, or, as missionary Schuurmans put it, kept “the Christians as much as possible
within the community and adat context”, at least were not unnecessarily alienated from it.1129 The
imam of Kendari and a number of Islamic gurus had, to the amazement of friend and foe, agreed to
this, and in this context the mission in the 1930s also introduced the ihi kawi, the remuneration
received by those who conducted weddings, as a rule 10% of the marriage payments, so that
Christians, Muslims and others were no different in this respect. To encourage the indigenous civil
authorities to take an equal interest in weddings conducted according to Christian and Islamic rites,
1125
In Tawanga district.
1126
In Konaweha district.
1127
In Tongauna district.
1128
1129
J. Schuurmans, Conferentie, -/2/1938, ARRZ 2016.

the village head, who usually played a part as witness, shared in the Christian ihi kawi. In the matter
of mixed marriages mutual relations, particularly in the 1930s, between Islam and Christianity were
very co-operative1130 – at any rate in Kendari, where self-rule authority Tekaka strongly promoted a
harmonious coexistence of the different sections of the population; in Kolaka and among the
Tomoronene in Rumbia and Poleang relations were much less cordial, under the influence of,
respectively, Luwuq and Buton, and such arrangements were not possible.
The existence of a good relationship between religious leaders did not mean that there were no
problems in individual cases. This was experienced by Jonathan Lakebo (born 1924). He had been
trained as a community preacher at the “Sekolah Agama” (Religious School) of missionaries
Schuurmans and Mollema, and in 1941 was appointed as young assistant guru in Uepai in Konawe.
There in 1943 he married his cousin, who was fanatic islam. He refused to get married according to
Islamic rites, and they only had an adat wedding. In 1947 they got married in the church, which
caused an ongoing distance from part of their family: “benci sekali”, “they hated us terribly”.1131
8.8.5.5. Funerals
Little is known about the historical development of the manner in which the dead were buried and
the attendant rituals and customs of the Tolaki and Tomoronene. According to old tradition the
Tolaki once preserved all dead persons, without distinction of class or birth, at first in temporary
coffins, which they called soronga, in a small mortuary (pasara), specially built on stilts and
sometimes artistically decorated, and subsequently entombed them with burial gifts and provisions
in a cave or crevice or under overhanging rocks. If there were no caverns, or if it was preferred to
bury the dead person near a settlement or garden, then the corpse was placed in a coffin in a grave,
above which earth was piled up high. This interment usually occurred some time, sometimes a few
years, after the death, and on such occasions as a rule several dead persons were buried at the same
time. This happened during a great ceremony in which the whole community participated. Members
of the clan who had left the area at some stage were then also present.
Once the day of the entombment had arrived, the coffins were opened, the bones washed and
wrapped in fuya and placed in new coffins or laid on biers. The skulls of heads hunted in honour of
the dead were hung in the lobo, if there was one, or decorated the roofs of the graves. The hair of
the hunted heads was attached to the coffins and also to the klewangs and shields of the
headhunters.1132 Around 1900 – and probably much earlier – some final stage coffins of the Towiau,
which were made off hollowed-out tree trunks, were decorated with beautiful painting and carving,
such as a swarm of bees, the symbol of power. Some had the shape of decorated prahu or canoes.
When the coffins were carried the rolling of a ship at sea was imitated, possibly an expression of
the thought that a ship took the dead to another world, or perhaps a forgotten reference to the
voyage once made by the ancestors.1133
1130
Notulen CvZ Kendari 9-10/2/1938, ARRZ 2016.
1131
Interview with J. Lakebo (Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992) 2.
1132
Kruyt, “Een en ander over de To Laki van Mekongga (Zuidoost-Selebes)”, 465; cf. Kruyt, “De Bewoners”,
597; Kaudern, Structures and Settlements in Central Celebes, 372; Adriani, “De reis van den heer W.J.M.
Michielsen naar het Posso-Meer, 12-17 Juli 1869", 1616.
1133
Gouweloos, “Het doodenritueel bij de To Wiaoe”, 29, 34, 36.

This was followed by the sending off of the souls of the dead to the “land of souls”, called mowai
by the Tolaki1134 – which, as is obvious from another ritual, did not mean that they really went
away. Gouweloos reports the following formula (in translation), spoken by a priest, from which it is
clear how the Towiau visualised this:
Walk over the rainbow. Split the fire asunder. Go through the roaring of the flames. Go up, tearing apart
the bellowing. Split the heavens asunder. Then continue. Then go through the middle and go to the land
of souls. Then sit down, stretching both legs to one side. Then open up the real life. Wait for us there.
Point with your middle finger. Look down upon us. Make us live together. Cause us to make rice
gardens. Make us cool. Make us healthy.1135
A correctly conducted ritual for the dead ensured the surviving relatives harmony and peace, a good
rice harvest, fertile water buffaloes and women, and good health.1136 After the ceremonies, which
lasted several days and during which there was much celebrating, eating, dancing and drinking, the
graves and platforms were left to the elements. The population had a holy fear of cemeteries, and
would never enter these without good reason, leave alone vandalise them. After the passing of time
the coffins disintegrated and the mortal remains perished. In 1911 a visitor to an old cemetery in
Wiwirano remarked that he and his bearers “fortwährend auf Knochen treten mußten” (constantly
had to step on bones).1137
While this manner of entombment of the dead by clans like the Towiau, the Tolaiwoi, and the
Tolamoare in the northern mountain region was preserved in more or less unchanged manner until
World War II, with class differences of the dead persons only evident in the ritual to a limited
extent, in the lowlands changes had already occurred from as far back as the nineteenth century. On
the one hand the influence of Islam made itself felt, on the other the increasing economic and social
differentiation led to large and costly feasts for the dead of the rich and notables. The first heads of
Mekongga were still buried in a relatively simple manner. For the washed bones of Melange Sangia
Lombo-Lombo and Teporambe Sangia Nilulo (early nineteenth century) pots and urns were used
for their final resting place, which were entombed in a cave in the vicinity of the royal kampong of
Wundulako.1138 But during the nineteenth century the rituals became more elaborate and the graves
more complex. For an anakia a bier was used, which was sometimes carried by dozens of men.
Earth was piled up over a grave, which led to the development of burial mounds. These were
strengthened with wooden planks and woven bamboo, and decorated with painting and carvings,
and had a roof over them. This was the case, for instance, with the grave of Lakidenda in Una’aha
and that of an unknown anakia in Woisinggote, which was found there in 1919.1139 The graves in
the “village of the dead” in Meraka near Lambuya, which the Sarasins crossed during their travels,
1134
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 16, 17, geeft mowae.
1135
Gouweloos “Het doodenritueel bij de To Wiaoe”, 35. The wish to be “cool” (i.e. being in harmony with the
material and immaterial environment) in Bergink, “Mosehe”.
1136
Cf. Treffers, “Het Landschap Laiwoei”, 208; the death ritual of the Tolambatu in Rauta is discussed by
Grubauer, Unter Kopfjägern in Central-Celebes, 125 ff.
1137
Grubauer, Unter Kopfjägern in Central-Celebes, 127-129, 132, picture IV.
1138
Baden, “Rapport”, Appendix I. See footnote ?.
1139
Van der Klift, “Mekongga (Kolaka)”, 151.

also looked like this.1140 A traveller described a grave which he came across in the vicinity of Rate-
Rate (Mambulu) in 1918 as follows:
The grave (and all graves of the To Megongka are like this) was square. Above ground level 4 poles,
which were decorated at the top with carved decoration, had been placed at the four corners. The entire
square grave was covered with planks up to 1 Metre above ground level. Up to that height the interior
was also filled up with earth. I saw that on the grave had been placed: 2 stones, a small basket, and
some halves of coconut shells. Something had been burnt in these coconut shells. I assume the
ingredients for betel nut chewing.1141
In Rumbia it was the custom that, as long as the body of a prince in a coffin was above the earth, a
woman armed with a knife and a man armed with a klewang kept watch, the woman at the head, the
man at the foot. Both had to be of the same class as the dead man, but younger. When the prince
was buried both were buried together with him, alive, the pompuriti koburo or pompuriti bolo. After
this their souls went ahead of the soul of the prince, as they had done during their lives.1142
Even if a rich person needed to enter the land of souls as a rich person, a poor person needed less.
Dead persons of low birth were placed in a simple coffin, the hollowed-out trunk of a sago palm,
which was carried on shoulders to the open grave, accompanied by much shouting and via a detour.
Sometimes this was given a small burial mound, while the very poorest were given a decorated hole
in the ground, or nothing special at all. A corpse was sometimes even wrapped in rags, in order not
to lose good clothes. Those who had been killed by a sudden illness or violence, which was
attributed to a curse or a malevolent spirit, were buried with great haste.1143
In the north the graves and caverns of the dead were often spread out among the ladangs and
gardens in the jungle, close to the world of the living, who after all spent the larger part of the year
in their gardens, but south of the Konawe’eha river the graves sometimes also lay in the middle of
the settlements. The living and the dead lived together, until the government put an end to this and
had separate fields constructed for the dead. However, the old situation could still be seen in
Moholeleo and Woi’iha in 1922. Woi’iha, in the district of Mambulu, was once a large settlement,
which was (temporarily) deserted after 1910. The dead were left behind, and the village
automatically came to look like a necropolis.1144
With the Tomoronene the graves also often lay among the dwellings. Entombment in caverns or
caves did not occur here, but the bones were sometimes thrown into the sea.1145 Here too there were
two kind of graves. The first, the smaller kind of the common people, did not differ from those
found with the Tolaki. The other kind, used for the elite, was also square, but much larger and
1140
Vosmaer, “Korte beschrijving”, 96; Sarasin, Reisen, I, 352-354.
1141
“Een brief van Br. v.d. Klift”, Zendingsblad, nr. 24 (1 april 1918) 1.
1142
Interview with several inhabitants of Kasiputih, (20/7/1992) A6.
1143
Sarasin, Reisen, I, 351-353; Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 270-271, Tafel XXV; Treffers, “Enkele
kantteekeningen”, 224-225. Grubauer, Unter Kopfjägern in Central-Celebes, 125 ff.
1144
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 19/7/1916, ARRZ 2025; H. van der Klift, “Mijne reis door de onderafdeeling
Kendari van 24 juni - 25 juli [1922]”, ARRZ 2025.
1145
Interview with several inhabitants of Kasiputih (20/7/1992) 3.

provided with a roof, a reflection of the status and the standing of the deceased person.1146 In this
context one can refer to the three old, highly built up tombs in the kampong of Wonuaea in
Poleang, which still existed around 1980, and which, according to the local population, belonged to
the first ruler of the Tomoronene and his wife, Dendeangi and Manuasa, and their eldest son
Nungkulangi. The latter was killed in a conflict with Luwuq about the payment of tribute. From the
moment that Nungkulangi’s only son, Ririsao Elu’utentoluwu – whose second name reminds of the
surprise attack by Luwuq on his father1147 – heard from his mother Lelewula what had happened to
his father, he heard his deceased father near his grave speak to him about the manner in which he
had met his death. With this event the first kada of the Tomoronene was born.1148
In ancient times the Tomoronene placed the corpse on its back and in an east-west direction, with
the face turned to the south, in the direction of the sea. Further north the corpse lay north-south,
with the face turned eastwards, also in the direction of the sea. According to Kruyt, who also knew
of this custom in Poso (Central Celebes), this was intended to prevent that which had destroyed life
and was still present in the corpse to come out and cause harm to others. Especially peoples whose
ideas about ghosts, gods, the hereafter and the continued existence of the soul were vague, would
bury their dead like this.1149
At the start of the 1990s it was remembered that in Rumbia “dulu sebelum ada agama” (“in the old
days before there was religion”), namely before the arrival of Islam and Christianity, the dead were
buried with the face directed to either the mountains or the sea. One was free to choose in this
respect; it was only Islam, which came “from Ternate”,1150 which gave a clear direction. The dead
person could be spoken to at his grave. By annually cleaning the grave the evil spirits, the kandoli
(Tom.) were kept away, and other, good spirits were present, in particular the spirit of the person
whose grave it was: “roh sang raja itu sering diminta timbulnya untuk menolong” (“the spirit of the
ruler was often asked for help”).1151 If this was done correctly a visit to a regular doctor or a health
clinic (Puskesmas) was considered unnecessary. If someone nevertheless became ill, this could
have been caused by other spirits, for instance by a forest spirit or the spirit of a punished
malefactor. For this one consulted (and consults) a priest, usually an older man, who made
sacrifices, blew on the patient – “orang tua yang tiup-tiup” – gave him a drink of pongasi, and
attempted to prompt the spirit to go away by means of one or more texts from the Koran and
formulas in a secret language, “bahasa setan” (“language of the devil”).1152 If the cause of the
disease was a water spirit, a sangia laa or roh laa, one had to take a platter made of resin with on it
rice, betel nut, lime and an egg as a sacrifice, and make this float away in the water at the source of
the river or on a spot along the coast in order to facilitate the departure of the spirit.1153
1146
H. van der Klift to Hb NZV, 19/7/1916 (ARRZ 2025) 27.
1147
Elu - half orphan (caused by the murderous hand of Luwuq).
1148
Riasa, Perkembangan, 8-9.
1149
Sarasin, Reisen, I, 363; Kruyt, “De Bewoners”, 598.
1150
Interview with several inhabitants of Kasiputih (20/7/1992) A2. Some said that Islam came to Kendari from
Ternate by way of Buton and Muna, interview with H. Konggoasa, Kendari 6/7/1992; interview with Rasami
(Kasiputih, 20/7/1992) 7.
1151
1152
Ibidem A3.
1153
Ibidem A3-A5.

8.9. Islamic and Christian influences

The extent to which old customs in South-east Celebes were affected or changed by the arrival of
Islam and Christianity varied greatly and depended on local conditions. It involved a complicated
process of adaptation of the people’s religiosity to the changing circumstances, during which on the
one hand new elements were integrated in the existing religious and cultural consciousness and on
the other hand new forms of rituals developed. Where Islam made its presence felt, sometimes
alcohol, the keeping of dogs and pigs – although before this few people ate pork1154 – and other
things which were haram (prohibited) were outlawed, even though they seldom disappeared
completely. Phrases from the Koran have been incorporated in the language and texts from the
Koran included in existing ritual and formulas.1155 Probably the belief in evil powers was
strengthened by texts such as Sura 72 Al-Jin, in which it is said that the spirits (jin) are subordinate
to Allah, at least do not spread lies about him. Some gurus proclaimed that Allah would unleash all
devils and evil spirits on whoever did not come to the mosque. This was so effective that briefly
one missionary considered adopting a similar approach.1156 Although the Reformed Protestantism of
the missionaries did not have any restrictions of foods, alcohol was banned in Christian villages,
while the consumption of pork was propagated as an essential supplement to the diet of rice, tubers
and sago. On the other hand both new religions adopted local customs, rituals, moral views and
religious visualisations or adapted to them – one of the missionaries had devised a special ritual for
the construction of new ladangs, with which he chased away the devils.
In time all kinds of adat rituals and other elements disappeared or were secularised. They lost their
old religious content and references to the supernatural world of the Tolaki and Tomoronene, and
remained in existence as conventions. These changes could not be exclusively attributed to the
influence of Islam and Christianity, but were also promoted by all sorts of government measures
which encouraged secularisation, or more generally, by the opening up of the interior.1157 Van der
Klift noted in 1923 that in Kendari, different from Kolaka, the mbu’akoi was “no longer the
representative of pure animism”.1158 Another example is the change in hair style of adult men.
Between 1910 and 1920 the long hair usually worn in a bun disappeared and was replaced by
shortly cut hair, after the example of the migrants and Europeans.1159
Until after World War II the Islamic and European civilisations had hardly any impact on the
Tolaiwoi, the Tolamoare, the Towiau and other clans in the northern mountain region, “a real kind
of forest people”, according to an observer.1160 For decades they offered resistance against the
advance of Islam and in Latoma in 1923 even organised a “pig slamatan” as a sign of protest. They
1154
1155
1156
J. Schuurmans to Hb NZV, 6/7/1924, ARRZ 2029; G.C. Storm to Hb NZV, 19/7/1928, ARRZ 2018.
1157
Pingak, Dokumenta Kolaka, 99-100; Bouman, “Memorie”, 11; Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 270; Wieland,
“Memorie”, [11]; Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [26]-[28], [33].
1158
CvZ, notulen 20/3/1923, ARRZ 2015.
1159
G.C. Storm, Reisverslag 1922, 18/4/1922, ARRZ 2031.
1160
M.J. Gouweloos, Jaarverslag Mowewe 1933, -/2/1934, ARRZ 2133.

did not object to becoming Christians, but only if the rituals for the dead were preserved. However,
this was unacceptable to the mission.1161
Apart from the laws with regard to food, circumcision, the month of fasting, certain festivities, the
ritual cutting of the hair of children, clothing, especially the fez or topi, the discrimination against
women in the laws of inheritance, and the building of langgar and mosques, the influence of Islam
could also be seen in the changing funeral rituals. This does not alter the fact that the manner of
burial, a whole range of concepts and rituals which reflected particularly the societal reality of the
living, had already been subject to continual change before this.
In some places where Islam or Christianity made their influence felt, the elaborate ritual for the
dead became more restrained or disappeared entirely. The caverns with their platforms and highly
piled-up and artistically crafted graves were replaced by simple graves in a cemetery. Muslim dead
were first ritually washed, then wrapped in white cloth, and buried without coffin within one or two
days in a separate cemetery. The festival for the dead was replaced by a meal for the dead, watering
the grave and reading of the Koran on the third and the seventh day after the death, and the offering
of flowers and foodstuffs on the grave on the 40th, the 100th, and the 120th day after the death. The
purpose of this was to say farewell to the spirit of the dead person, so that it would not cause further
harm or frighten those who had stayed behind. Until the third day it remained in its old house, until
the seventh it still visited, after which the frequency of the visits diminished and ultimately
ceased.1162
It took a long time however for the old ritual for the dead to disappear, and moreover, not by any
means everything disappeared. The ritual for the funeral of a son of the mokole of Lambuya, in
March 1923, and that of a daughter of I Ntera, the ruler of Rumbia, in April 1932, contained
elements both of traditional religion and of Islam. In Lambuya the mokole and his two wives were
carried around the grave of his newly buried son four times, on a litter made of branches, while an
Islamic guru conducted the proceedings. I Lulu, the Islamic guru from Poea, who had also washed
the corpse, was in charge of the funeral of a daughter of I Ntera. Here the deceased person was not
carried out through the door of the mokole house. For this purpose part of a wall was removed, as
was customary from time immemorial. Above the still open grave cloths were waved to prevent the
souls of other people ending up in this grave. The dead person here got some dirt in the mouth to
imitate a wad. After the burial the entire mokole family placed itself near the grave, where I Lulu
recited from the Koran.1163
Both as a result of Islamic influence and because of the prohibition by the authorities to leave
corpses more than 48 hours above ground, after 1906 larger cemeteries were created in the
immediate vicinity of the new kampongs.1164 With the prohibition, proclaimed for reasons of public
1161
M.J. Gouweloos, Verslag Sanggona 1926, ARRZ 2023.
1162
Elbert, Die Sunda-Expedition, I, 267-270; Vonk, “Nota betreffende het zelfbesturend landschap Boeton”, 49,
120; Slabbekoorn, “Memorie”, [16]-[17]; Goedhart, “Drie Landschappen in Celebes”, 540.
1163
1164
Cf. “Ordonnantie Gouvernement Ned.-Indië”, 15/12/1896 (Staatsblad 1864, no. 196), “Bepalingen omtrent het
begraven van lijken van Europeanen en Inlanders en met hen gelijkgestelde personen in Nederlandsch-Indië,
Gewijzigd bij Staatsblad 1896, no. 185”, determined that the members of each nation were to have their own
graveyard. In addition private graveyards were allowed.

health, to dig up once buried corpses in order to wash the bones and rebury them ceremonially, the
government also tried to destroy the last vestiges of the old ritual for the dead.
The mission attempted to replace the festivals for the dead by an annual ritual on Good Friday.
After celebrating Holy Communion with the local Christian community people went to their own
cemetery to clean the graves. This new ritual was intended to be a simple commemoration of the
dead, but could not prevent the old commemoration meals after the death from continuing to
exist.1165 The grave gifts also continued to exist: the certificate of christening sometimes went into
the coffin as a pas jalan (travel document) which the apostle Peter would ask for at the Heavenly
Gates.1166 In 1933 and 1934 mission teacher Petrus Saleh Lode in Rompu-Rompu (Poleang) in turn
lost his wife, a child and a half-brother. Because he was related to the mokole family of Rumbia and
his wife also belonged to the aristocracy, the adat required him to hold a feast for the dead for them.
But he found missionary Storm standing in his way. He confiscated the whole supply of 100 bottles
of arak which Lode has bought for the feast. Storm impressed upon him that a Christian did not
hold a feast for the dead, did not consume alcohol and did not give this to others or trade in it. Lode
did not take the slightest notice of this and held his feast for the dead, which cost him a (temporary)
dismissal.1167
Other old rituals and other traditional certainties also stayed alive within the mission. Storm’s
replacement in Rumbia, Gouweloos, was in 1937 surprised about the fact that “many Christians in
Rumbia still use the old pagan customs in agriculture without any objection”.1168 Some teachers of
the mission used magic formulas which protected against misfortune. According to Galukupi, in
1992 the tonomotuo of Pu’indidaha, in the 1930s the evangelist Marcus Sembahjang and the above-
mentioned Lode were held in high esteem because of their knowledge of, and use of, such formulas,
even though not one of their colleagues was totally uninformed in this area. It was said about
Sembahjang that he “dengan ilmu hipnotis” could cause a pigeon to fly into the church during a
church service. He got the bird to land on his lectern and presented it to the assembled worshippers
as the Holy Spirit. Guru Boonde, who was killed by a spear during the Darul Islam/Tentara Islam
Indonesia rebellion, was said to once again be alive and kicking after one day.1169
8.10. Muhammadiyah
The reformist Muhammadiyah movement came to South-east Celebes from South Celebes.
Muhammadiyah first established branches in a few coastal villages, as in Kendari, where it was
brought by a school teacher from Makassar called A. Makarausu in 1928, and in Wawotobi. In
1931 a branch of Muhammadiyah with an accompanying branch of scouts was established on Buton
and this happened in Raha (Muna) in 1932.1170 Those who joined were mostly Bugis migrants. By
1165
In Central Celebes Easter Monday was designated for this ritual. Kruyt in Ons Posso-blad, Aug. 1915 and Okt.
1924; A.C. Kruyt to J. Kruyt sr., Letter nr. 43, 15/4/1918, ARRZ 1335.
1166
Interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya, 9/7/1992) 13-14.
1167
1168
H. van der Klift, Samenvattend overzicht 1937, -/3/1938, ARRZ 2133.
1169
Interview with S. Galukupi e.a. (Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992) 35; Interview with K. Bartimeus (Lambuya,
9/7/1992) 8.
1170

means of personal contacts and the distribution of reading material members were also recruited in
the interior, almost exclusively among Muslims. Some of the people who joined no longer wanted
to be called Toislamu, but Tomuhammadiyah. In the 1930s Muhammadiyah opened branches along
the Gulf of Bone, viz. in Kolaka, Wawo, and Lanipa in Kondeha, not far from the boundary with
Malili, and in Tolala in Lelewau.1171
The reformist and educational nature of this movement showed itself in the simplification of
religious rituals and customs and in the opposition to the belief in ghosts and the veneration of the
ancestors, which had continued to exist within orthodox Islam. The funeral ritual was, where
possible, restricted to the burial of the corpse with a simple ceremony. People had their own graves
and cemeteries, but they did not go so far as to erect their own shrines or appoint their own
preachers, something that was done by some tarekats and radical Islamic movements in South-east
Celebes after World War II.1172 The Islamic community was also encouraged to build langgar and
mosques and to open schools. The latter happened in some places, as in Kendari, where in the mid-
1930s there existed a training course for preachers, called the “Arabic School”, and in Alaha, a
remote kampong on the upper reaches of the Konawe’eha, inhabited by Bugis, where an indigenous
primary school was set up.1173
From the fact that Muhammadiyah was able to open some indigenous primary schools, as well as a
Dutch-Indigenous School (HIS) in Kendari, in a short time and with relatively little effort, it
became apparent that the demand for indigenous education which had sprung up in the 1930s also
offered Islam new opportunities. It was not an easy process, however, for in this field it
significantly lagged behind the government and the mission. Because Muhammadiyah was a reform
movement which in the first instance tried to purify the existing traditional orthodox Islam from
elements absorbed from the local adat, it met with resistance from many of the heads.1174 These
were concerned that it would spread discord. According to information dating from 1935 the small
number of members of Muhammadiyah in the subdivision of Kolaka were not very active, which
was attributed to the negative attitude of the self-rule authorities. In the years following it did not
develop many initiatives either.1175 Muhammadiyah in Kendari offered a similar picture.1176
Although it was in its foundation a religious organisation, at its meetings political issues sometimes
arose also, which was the reason why the authorities kept a close eye on this organisation. In
Poleang government assistant Mohammad Ali was about the only person who actively dedicated
himself to it (1931-1932). He found little response and at the urgent request of the mission he was
removed from the region by the authorities.1177 According to former government employee H.
Konggoasa, Muhammadiyah developed virtually no activities in South-east Celebes after the
1171
J. Schuurmans to Hb NZV, 17/10/1938, ARRZ 2022; Interview with H. Konggoasa, Kendari, 6/7/1992.
1172
Interview with J. Karamasa, Kolaka, 12/7/1992; Interview with J.C.H.A. Bermuli (Raha, Muna, 14/7/1992) 11.
1173
Hartsteen, “Memorie”, 32; G.W. Mollema to Hb NZV, 2/7/1936, ARRZ 2021.
1174
1175
1176
Taatgen, “Memorie”, 2; Ass. Res., “Nota”, 21.
1177
Bouman, “Memorie” 15.

departure of Makarausu at the end of the 1930s, but was revived after 1950 by Hadji Moh. Amin, a
Bugis.1178
8.11. Utopia in South-east Celebes: the arrival of the mission

The first missionary of the Dutch Mission Society (NZV),1179 Hendrik van der Klift, arrived in
South-east Celebes in May 1916. He took up residence in the kampong of Mowewe in the
subdivision of Kolaka. Five other missionaries worked in South-east Celebes in addition to him
until World War II. They were spread out over the middle and the south of the peninsula, each one
in his own jurisdiction: Gerard Storm in Taubonto in Rumbia, Michiel Gouweloos in Sanggona, and
after 1930 in Kendari and Taubonto, Jacob Schuurmans in Lambuya and Gerben Mollema after
Gouweloos in Sanggona. The choice of these locations started from the – wrong – premise that
Islam had not yet, or only barely, penetrated there. One of these missionaries, Gouweloos, from the
end of the 1920s applied himself to a systematic study of the Tolaki language. His assignment was
the translation of the profession of faith, hymns, the Ten Commandments, sections of the Bible and
other church texts. Storm too was not inactive in the field of linguistics.
The work of the mission started modestly. In their jurisdictions the missionaries established
schools, gave simple medical care, held services and Sunday school at home and trained indigenous
preachers. Their wives gave courses in hygiene, handicrafts, and child and baby care. Through all
these activities small congregations came into being, which in the 1950s led to the creation of the
Protestant Church of South-east Sulawesi (Gepsultra).1180
The proposed Christianisation of the Tolaki and Tomoronene population was seen as a first step on
the long road to what in the early years perhaps somewhat pompously was called a “renewed
society”.1181 It is not clear how this would look and what form of government the missionaries
preferred, albeit that most missionaries after 1945 embraced Sukarno’s Republic under certain
conditions.1182 It is clear that the mission, whose labour rested on the foundation of the trinity of
school, church and family, arrived in South-east Celebes with a clear notion of what was obligatory,
what was good, and what was superfluous, useless and bad. An overview of all this automatically
leads one to the works of Thomas More and Francis Bacon and the utopianism these engendered.
To a certain extent the endeavours of the mission can be ascribed to this, the more so because in its
cradle, i.e. North-western Europe, many of the ideas of utopianism have been absorbed into the
public domain. But unlike Thomas More’s Utopia,1183 which encompasses the whole population of
his imaginary island, the Utopia in South-east Celebes was perforce restricted to the lower layers of
the population. By cultivating the incongruities between the indigenous Christians and their
environment, the work of the mission assumed the features of forming of an ideologically separate
1178
1179
Cf. Van Randwijck, Handelen en denken, chapt. 3; Van den End, De Nederlandse Zendingvereniging, 3-58. A
history of the Dutch mission in South-east Celebes, in De Jong, Vreemden op de kust.
1180
Aritonang, A History of Christianity in Indonesia, 483-491; a short history of the RC mission in South-east
Celebes in De Jong, Menjadikan Segala-galanya Baik.
1181
Notulen LZR, 15-16/6/1932, ARRZ 2019.
1182
1183
Th. More, De Optimo Republicae Statu deque Nova Insula Utopia, 1516.

group – or rather of the formation of a very small group, for Protestant Christianity never included
more than a few percent of the total population. At the end of 1940 there were 3270 members of the
church among the Tolaki and the Tomoronene, both those who had been baptised and children and
other candidates for baptism, among a population of around 200,000 souls.1184 In spite of these and
all kinds of moral and political differences between the Utopians discovered by More’s explorer
Rafaelo Babbelario and the new society the mission had in mind, the mission in the same spirit
strived after a new, ideal community governed by “sages”, which was based on order, regularity
and social control. The (indigenous) leaders were selected solely on the basis of merit and were
exempted from labour which was obligatory for everyone else, in this case parish and vassal
services.
This model was at odds with customs which were prevalent in the community they lived in. Just as
in Babbelario’s Utopia, where it was particularly criminals who decked themselves out in gold and
silver, there was no room for too big and flamboyant differences in wealth and possessions within
the Christian separate group. What is more, within the Christian group, which provided the terms
and conditions for the thinking and acting of its members, almost everything which was non-
Western needed to be eliminated as unchristian. The moral of the ideologically separate group
served its own preservation. It was kept together by all kinds of regulations, sanctions, symbols and
rules which affected the whole of life. Whoever did not stick to these or ignored them risked being
excluded. Gambling games, such as playing at dice and cockfights were prohibited, as were magic
and polygamy, while bigamy was only allowed very rarely and under special conditions. There
were rules of trade for the heads, for marriage partners within the family and with regard to the
upbringing of the children; one had to work hard and maintain a sober lifestyle; modern medical
care was encouraged, as was education for everyone, and hygiene and baby care. Separate
cemeteries were established and the traditional ritual for the dead abolished, because it was thought
to be incompatible with the struggle against spirits and demons, and with the principle that
everyone is equal before their Maker. Other precepts, rules and measures concerned the
emancipation of women, marrying within the same ideological group as much as possible, special
feast days, special (church) hymns, Sunday rest, the introduction of Western agricultural and
economic insights and techniques, and a new division of labour between man and wife, in which the
wife was given as her most important task the care of home and family. The ideologically separate
group was possibly the most visible in its screening off of the non-Christian surroundings, which
was evident, for instance, in the building of special annexes at the dwellings of the missionaries to
prevent churchgoers from the mountains having to look for lodging with Muslims. Even the
ancestors were replaced. No longer were the Tolaki and Tomoronene descended from Wekoila,
Sawerigading, Wulumeombu or Haluoleo, or whatever other mythological figure, whose life and
works formed an example and a source of inspiration, but the most important ancestor became
Ombu Jesu, about whom the Bible spoke. The right of the ancestors was replaced by the Protestant-
Christian divine right.
1184
H. van der Klift, Terrein-verslag 1940, -/1941, ARRZ 2133.

Finally censorship must be mentioned as an important feature of the Protestant-Christian

ideological group in South-east Celebes, both the expression and the support for the new code of
this group. Not just the news coverage in the Netherlands about the work of the mission, but also
the internal news coverage in the mission area, had to comply with strict rules and its sole purpose
was to serve the common goal, the advancement of a Protestant-Christian community in South-east
Celebes. The first guru regulations of the mission (1924) contained the explicit provision that
everything an indigenous employee of the mission wanted to publish in newspapers or magazines
first had to be presented for scrutiny by the missionary in his jurisdiction, exactly as in the
Netherlands the editors of journals of the mission and the board of the NZV supervised the
contributions and other public utterances by the missionaries and if necessary, guided, rewrote or
prohibited them.1185
Just like Babbelario’s Utopia – and the ideologically separate groups in the Netherlands – the
Christian group in South-east Celebes was a mixture of modernity and conservatism. The
governance by sages exempted from labour reminds of Plato’s Republic, as does the hierarchical
organisation, with as “elite” the Dutch missionaries, supported and controlled by the mission
bureaucracy in Oegstgeest in The Netherlands and the body of indigenous teachers, preachers,
evangelists and other staff members and assistants. The base was formed by the parishes and groups
of Christians, in whose circles social status did not count, or was not allowed to count, “Karena
semua sama di hadapan Allah”.1186
While the imaginary Babbelario discovered an imaginary world, in South-east Celebes a concrete
attempt was made to realise a Utopia. The question arises what the result of this was. On the one
hand the ideology of the Christian group, like Islam, offered something to hold on to in a rapidly
changing world, but on the other hand many members of the ideologically separate group acted
against the new frameworks and conditions by developing their own strategies for dealing with the
problems which were inevitably connected with belonging to such a group. Although a silent
community of simple souls was not intended, it soon became clear that the original ideal of a
renewed society in the sense of a society organised from above on Protestant-Christian principles
was aiming too high. For this the size and consequently the influence of indigenous Christendom
was too slight, its social status too low, Islam too influential and the feudal structure and mentality
of the population as a whole too strong, while the government reforms of the 1920s in some places
ended up acting to the detriment of Christianity and to the advantage of Islam and traditional
religion. But the mission also encountered problems within the Christian ideological group. The
education and instruction of the new Christians proceeded with difficulty, the complete expulsion
of magic and other elements of the adat and traditional religion proved impossible to achieve,
which forced the mission into all sorts of compromises, adaptations and transitional forms. To give
an example, the mosehe continued to exist among Christians (and Muslims), although the tonao of
1185
Art. 11 van “Reglement voor de Onderwijzers aan de Zendingsscholen, in beheer bij de Zendelingen der
Nederlandsche Zendings Vereeniging op Z.O.-Selebes” [1924], ARRZ 2033. The first who fell victim to this
new regulation was Lelemboto, a guru who in Pangkal Setia, a Malay language weekly (Minahassa), published
an article critical of the mission. He was dismissed as a result. Notulen CvZ 26-27/7/1927, ARRZ 2015.
1186

the mbusehe were usually no longer taken to be incantations aimed at spirits or the Sangia or Ombu,
but as prayers to God, Allah or Tuhan Yang Maha Esa.1187
It seems a justifiable conclusion to say that the Christian ideological group and its provisions,
structures and ways of giving meaning, in practice had more of the characteristics of a range of
offered possibilities and opportunities than a mechanism to steer, to quote a word from the French
historian and philosopher De Certeau.1188 Before World War II the Christian ideological group was
a form of emancipation which the mission management strived for, and not isolation, whether
imposed or not, as has sometimes been stated.1189 There were often complaints that within the
Christian parishes the most bizarre views and the largest measure of ignorance and superficiality
remained in existence. But this is a far too negative approach, nor was there any, or hardly any,
question in South-east Celebes of any “desperation”, which J.G. Held, who in 1935 was sent by the
Dutch Bible Society (NBG) to New Guinea, thought he detected among the Papuan Christians.1190
Rather the opposite was true. The new Christians interacted creatively with their religion, and to a
large extent themselves determined what was valuable and what was not. They did not let
themselves be deprived of the initiative in shaping their new religious world and cultural identity.
Under pressure of the rapid changes which the world around them was undergoing, they used every
opportunity to combine old and new and integrate them in optimal fashion. Insofar as the original
message and the structure of the ideological group offered inadequate possibilities they created new
ones. The result was that the actual Utopia looked quite different from the one intended by the
mission. For instance, for many people the intended restrictions of the political and economic
power of the heads, and the consequent changes, were important motives to open their minds to
Christianity, and as long as their expectations were met, people were “Christian”. Particularly in the
early years there appears to have been a link between the number of conversions and resignations
and the extent to which in ata circles the fear for the great and powerful of the earth and forms of
slavery (whether concealed or not) and clientelism continued to exist.1191
1187
1188
On Michel-Jean-Emmanuel de La Barge de Certeau cf. Dosse, Michel de Certeau.
1189
Among others by Van den End, “Twee honderd jaar Nederlandse zending: een overzicht”, 14.
1190
Swellengrebel, In Leijdeckers voetspoor, II, chapt. VI; De Josselin de Jong, “Herdenking van Gerrit Jan Held”.
1191

9. Conclusion
Thus far regarding the influences of a century of Islamic and of half a century of Christian
civilization in South-east Celebes. With respect to the question what has been the result expressed
in terms of the experience of faith by the individual it is useful to turn to Storm’s words. In his
annual report for 1933 he wrote: “Sometimes it is frightening to see how easily an indigenous
person changes his religion for the sake of appearances. Because of this even I myself read my own
statistics with great caution, aware that it is not an imaginary danger that what is today called
Christian may perhaps be Muslim tomorrow.”1192 In other words, statistics must be used with the
utmost caution. In modern terms: the keyakinan kuno of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene with its
roh-roh existed side by side with the agama with its God and Allah, in which the numerical
relationships could only be expressed with the strongest reservations. Developments in the field of
the work of conversion were more qualitative than quantitative in nature. What this meant in every
day practice is, for example, clear from the opinion of a woman in Rumbia (1928), who thought
that Islam and Christianity were religions for a limited period of the year, or for certain occasions,
which, according to her, was true also of the traditional religion. The specific situation determined
whether one turned to the sangia or pu’ungkeu, the preacher or the imam. One paid them for their
services or made an offering during the collection, but one had no need of them beyond that.1193
The ease with which many people in their mind and in their actions went back and forth between
Islam, Christianity and traditional religion confirms the suspicion that for most people the transition
to one of the big religions of the world did not mean a radical breach with their surroundings or
their past, and that the boundaries were fluid. With respect to religion the people were not very
stable; they easily adapted to changing circumstances. Generally a permanent conversion was a
lengthy process which spanned more than one generation and which involved adjustment,
reflection, reconsideration, lapse, return, and an assessment of interests, and only very rarely was it
an abrupt event settled once and for all.
As far as the influence of nationalism and the Panca Sila after 1950 are concerned, the publications,
seminars and other expressions of the culture of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene were closely
monitored by the central authorities. These expressions unmistakably bear the stamp of a certain
pride in the newly acquired independence. The fact that the Tolaki and Tomoronene finally formed
part of the “Bangsa Indonesia”, a phenomenon which usually was considerably antedated without
any further explanation, filled the intellectual and political elite with satisfaction. The study of their
own history and adat from then on were for the benefit of the “pembinaan and pembangunan
nasional” (“national instruction and development”). The views with respect to the history and
culture of the Tolaki and Tomoronene which emanated from this are often of limited significance
for the modern historian, and if so, it is primarily if he or she is interested in the efforts of the
central authorities to turn the gigantic cultural and religious patchwork which was (and is) the Big
East into an ideological unity, which guaranteed the continued existence of the national state, or at
1192
G.C. Storm, Jaarverslag 1933, 5/2/1934, ARRZ 2133.
1193

least did not endanger it. The hierarchically structured polytheism of the Tolaki and the
Tomoronene narrowed into a vague monotheism. In the consciousness of many people the various
Ombu described in paragraph 8.3 merged into the one Tuhan Yang Maha Esa on whom they,
Muslims, Christians and others, could project their own Supreme Being at will. Rituals charged
with magic powers, which involved life and death, nether world and upper world, faded away into
expressions of art and culture, or at best were transformed into manifestations of a new ethos of
national pride and solidarity.

Appendix
The Tolaki’s kalo

The kalo or kalo sara was usually a circle plaited from three strings of bamboo or rattan tendrils,
which had sometimes been split lengthwise. The material the kalo had been made of, its size, colour
and execution depended on the occasion for which it was used, and on the person for whom and by
whom it was used. The kalo was (and is) used by the Tolaki to convey messages and for rites of
passage. It could symbolise the head of a person, and, because the soul was thought to reside in it,
his soul, and with this also the virtue of sincerity. It could symbolise the nuclear family, the
extended family, the clan or suku as a whole. It protected new-born babies against evil spirits,
symbolised the acceptance of a recently circumcised youth in the community, and was also used as
a sign of reconciliation in cases of adultery and elopement. As a symbol of the unity of the clan it
was used in the musyawarah, the meeting of princes, heads and elders, which was held to resolve
problems or to discuss other important matters. The use of the kalo was prominent in rituals which
accompanied the various phases of the agricultural cycle, in which it could symbolise divergent
matters, such as the piece of land to be developed for a new ladang. (For the relatively new sawah
rice cultivation the kalo was not used, or only to a very limited extent.) In some places a kalo was
used which had gold incorporated in it at the harvest festival, just as (with other matters such as
water buffaloes, copper gongs etc.) with the ransom of some forms of slavery. It was also thought
to protect growing plants against plagues and disease, in which case the kalo was made of bamboo.
In the hands of priests the kalo symbolised their close contact with spirits and gods, particularly the
soul of the rice.
The size of this ring, its colour, and the way in which both ends were tied together, pointed to the
nature of a ceremony or of the problem or task which faced a clan or head. The largest ring size was
used in rituals for Sangia, Allah or God. There were smaller kalo for the mokole, anakia, putobu
and others. A kalo which amply fitted around the shoulders symbolised the dignity of princes and
was used for matters which involved all subjects. When Watanambe appointed the princes of
Konawe, he is supposed to have given each a kalo which matched his status, as a sign of his dignity.
A ring which fitted freely around the ears concerned matters of the gentry and functionaries of the
courts; a ring the size of someone’s crown or a bent knee concerned matters of the free kampong
population; a ring which fitted around a bent elbow signified a slave. A kalo the size of a finger ring
pointed to the fact that someone who had killed, begged for mercy.
In a similar way the kalo was used in marriage preparations, in the offering to someone of a water
buffalo which had not yet been caught, for a reconciliation ritual between a slave who had run away
and his master, for the reception of important guests, as an invitation to attend a village meeting,
ceremony or festivity, for the offering of apologies and in settlement of those (minor) disputes for
which no village meeting needed to be called. When it was used to announce a death, a piece of
white cloth was attached to it. The kalo was also used in the mowea ritual, which was held in cases
of elopement and adultery. The kalo served as a hallmark of authenticity and legitimisation and in a
way took the place of an orally transmitted message, the decision taken, or the apology or
compensation offered. Rejection of such a kalo was only permitted in exceptional circumstances.

The supposition seems justified that an older form was the basis of these forms of the kalo.
Probably it concerned a custom dating from the nineteenth century, the nature of which was much
less ritualistic and symbolic: the simple transmission of messages, for which for and by the anakia
large, and for and by the ata small rings were used. Elbert relates that at the time of his visit to
Rumbia and Mekongga (1909) heads often exchanged slaves or sold them to each other, the heads
of whom were then hunted on certain occasions. For this they used a braided ball with wide
coloured strips and certain patterns which incorporated secret signs. These they sent with the slave
and from it the recipient could determine for what purpose the slave had been sent to him.

10. Glossarium
adat custom, tradition

akoi certain adat ritual
ala barn, shed
alang-alang high grass, kunai grass (Imperata arundinacea)
anakia (members of the) nobility
anakia songo pure nobility
anakia putobu noble head of a tobu
anakia motaha pure nobility
anakia mbatua less pure nobility
anakia ndina’asi less pure nobility
anandamalaki leader of a headhunting expedition
Andolaki (a-to-laki) “brave people of the river”, i.e. Tolaki
anggalo valley; part of a napo, adat-community, consisting of less
then ten houses
anggo (of ango) story
apu(a) prince, lord, ruler
arak arrack
aru(ng) prince, ruler
assistant-resident (European) head of a division
ata mbotuula inherited slave
ata 1. slave, serve; 2. commonors, free non-noble part of the
population
ata mepotudu a free man who became a slave
ata mbinetawa enslaved prisoner of war
ata i,a laika’aha palace slave
ata inoli purchased slave
atap roofing
bambu duri, b. lemang different kinds of bamboo

bantea pasanggrahan (simple accommodation for travelers)
barata indirectly governed territory in the sultanate of Buton
belaiho “medicating” of the rice before the harvest
beli blood
bite sirih
bokeo crocodile; head; chairman of the hadat of Mekongga
bonto low head in the sultanate of Buton; old, rotten
buleka carrying basket with roofing
buruh labourer
bu,u alang-alang

ca’di small, little; replacement, substitute

cempedak bread tree (Artocarpus champeden M.)
controleur head of a subdivision
daerah semi-autonomous area (1946-1950)

dahu dog
datu prince, ruler
dimba drum
diseteri head of a district
djamboe (jambu) djamboe tree (Eugenia L.)
dukun priest; healer
duni stretcher
epe marsh
fitrah prescribed gift (at the end of the ramadan)

fuya clothing made of the bark of a tree
gaba-gaba veins of the leaves of the sago palm

gallarrang head, prince, ruler
gambir shrub (Uncaria gambir)
gerakan movement
hadat council
haj pilgrimage to Mecca
hakim judge; member of village council
handende; mohandende song; legend; poem; to sing
hutan forest
ihi kawi (isi kawin) payment for the official who conducts a marriage
inoa head, chief
iwoi water, river
jaksa attorney; member of village council lid
kacang tanah peanut

kada legend
kain cloth
kalo plaited ring of grass with several symbolic functions (cf.
App.)
kampiri rice barn

kantarri see: pasanggrahan

kaoe water buffalo
kapita(ng) adat official responsible for defence, public safety
karet see turtle (Chelonia imbricata)
karoro see: fuya
kasu wood
kati 0,61 kg
kaum high nobility in the sultanate of Buton
kebudayaan culture
kewedanaan district
kelong quatrains of eight, eight, five, eight syllables per line
keyakinan kuno litt.: “ancient certainty”, “ancient conviction” i.e. traditional
religion
kinawo see: fuya
kioki no, not
Kompania short for the Dutch East Indies Government
kongkosa meeting
konio (kio) no, not
kotika, mekotika finding a suitable time for an undertaking, e.g. a trip or
mariage
kunini legend
kura, mongura low, young; being less, smaller
la(a) water, river

laa ee, laa e’e, la’a e’e river
ladang field, garden
laika walanda see: pasanggrahan (walanda = Nederland)
laika house, building, barn
laika kompeni see: pasanggrahan
laika’aha large house, palace
landa veranda
langgar Islamic prayer house; elementary Koranic school
langgar village prayer house; Koran school
langsat fruit (Lansium domesticum)
lau(t) see
lebe priest
limba, melimba movement, to move
limbo-limbo middle class
lobo village temple
lolo young; vice-, acting; (member of) lower Macassarese
nobility Wajo-vorst

lulo, molulo different kinds of dances, to dance
Majelis Agama Islam Islamic council

mangga, mango fruit(tree) (Mangifera indica)
mantri besar sukanago/matanago member of the Council of State (rijksraad) of Buton
representing the walaka
mantri nurse indigenous medical assistant
mas kawin Marriage gold, gifts
mato(w)a lower head
maulud celebration for the birth of Mohammed
mbongae headhunting
mbu’akoi priest
mbu’u lord
mbumetoranga priest
mbuowai rice priest
mbusehe priest
mbuwaka who performs the circumcision
me’eto black
meboto game
mena true
menani to sing
mengisi molori blackening of the teeth
merah red
merdeka free, independent
metoranga (to perform a) ritual
mewuwusoi (to perform a) ritual for rice harvest
miano medohoi middle group
mo oli, mo’oli, mooli to buy
mo’o’onto, mooonto to look at, to watch
mo’o’onto (mooonto) wita to look at the land, to watch the land
moakoi (to perform a) ritual
mododo ngani (to perform a) fertility ritual
mokole head (short for mo-ko-i-le-le = turun-temurun = hereditary,
see Lode, Jawaban, 3.)
mokosisi dirty, unclean
mombado taboo; forbidden by the adat
mompakani to guard cattle; supervise a ritual
mompokolako ntau (ndau) to send away of the year (a ritual)
mompokolako sangkoleo mpae to send away of the rice spirit (a ritual)
monahu ndau to cook of the year (a ritual)
monani to sing

moosambakai (to perform a) birth ritual

moririu (to perform a) birth ritual
moroha clean
moronene fern
mosa’a angry, evil
mosehe several rituals
mosola to clean
mosowi to harvest rice
mosusua to sing
motandangguni (to perform a) birth ritual
motonao to pronounce a magic formula
mowaka to circumcise
mowea(ni) (wea - fine) (to perform a) ritual penance
mowindahako (to perform a) ritual penance
mowindehako to hand over marriage payments
mowiso i ala to store rice in a barn
musyawarah meeting
nangka fruit(tree) (Artocarpus integra)

napo bottom of a valley; adat unit comprising several anggalo
Ndudu who descended from the upperworld, cf tomanurung
nenek moyang ancestors
nitu spirit
-no possessive suffix (e.g. osuno = his mountain )
nohu wooden rice-mortar
oleo sun; day

olo between; in between of
Ombu Mbu’u Highset Being
onggabo giant (also proper name)
osu maountain; peek
owose big
pabicara spokesman; go-between; member village council; adat judge

padewakang, palari ships
pagar fence
pallawawuta share of marriage payments due to the village head
Panca Sila Five Pillars, foundation of the Republic of Indonesia (1945)
papolia amulet
pasanggrahan simple accommodation for travellers
pasar malam evening market

pasar market
pasara morgue
patande magical instruments
pau head, ruler
pejuang fighter
pemangku adat keeper of the adat
pemuda youth
penao soul
pepasolea magical instruments
persatuan unit
petanda place of offering
pikol ca. 61,7 kg
pinohu cut through; pierced
pinonto forced labour
pohon tree
pohuku adat
pongasi fermented rice water, arak
popoka witch
pu’u o o kasu tree, wood, log -> lord, ancestor, protector
pu’ungkeu priest
puasa fasting (period of; act of)
pulau island
punggawa commander of an army; tax collector e.a.
punggawa ca,di acting punggawa
putih white
putobu head of a tobu; later: chairman of a village council
raja king
ramadan month of fasting
rano swamp, lake
roh ghost, spirit
romang wood, forest
sahbandar harbour master

salassa palace
salat, shalat prayer (Isl.)
sampan, soppek div. ships
sanggoleo mbae rice spirit
sanggoleo spirit
Sangia Mbu’u see: Ombu Mbu’u
sangia priest; spirit; god

sangkinano kidnapped or bought slave

sangkoleo spirit
sangkoleo mpae rice spirit
sanro priest
sapati (of: sudo) administrative official, member of the village council
sara, syarat hadat, adat, council of state; council of priests
sara agama, syarat agama council of priests
sara wonua village council
sarano Konawe, Mekongga village council of K., M.
sarea (from: sergeant) acting district head
sembahyang prayer; worship
sinomiti see: fuya
sirih betelnut (Piper Betle L.)
sompa, somba showing of respect; payment marriag dues
songkok hat, bonnet
suengene legend
sulemandara adat functionary
sulewatang (ngapa) head of the Bugis
sunat circumcision
sunrang mariage payments
suro representative
sussung pasara’ market tax
sussung tax
syarat council of priests; indigenous government
tadu priest
tahi see
tamalaki leader of a headhunting party
tambako tobacco
tau year
tinggi high
tino’ori magical formula
tinondo dam, dike
to... prefix indicating a person, tribe
tobu area, region; unit comprising several kampongs
tohalianga who descended from the upperworld, cf tomanurung
Tokea litt.: friend
tolea priest
tomanurung who descended from the upper world
tonao magical formula
tonga field; forrest

tonodadio commoner (of low birth)

tonome’ombu commoner (of low birth)
tonomotuo head of low birth
tononggapa commoner (of low birth)
tonotoka itono commoner (of low birth)
tonowonua commoner (of low birth)
tonuana ghost; dead
trepang see cumcumber (Holothuria edutis)
tumpu koo rice priest
tumpuro priest
tusa wuta litt.: “pilar of the ground”; rice priest
ubi tuber
umoapi improper relationship; elopement
una alang-alang; grass
una’aha high alang-alang; high grass
undang law
Undang-Undang Dasar 1945 Republican Constitution of Indonesia 1945
uro magical objects
uti (owose) (giant) iguana
wakil deputy; representative; vice-

walaka lower nobility (Buton)
wali sage; holy man; spirit
Wawo Ombu Place of the Lord
wawo surface; above; place
wita ground
wiwi shore
woi water; river
Woime’eto Black River
wolia priest
wonua (wanua) village; community
wua fruit of the pinang
wule chalk
wuta earth; ground

11. Abbreviations
AGPI Arsip Gereja Protestan Indonesia, ANRI Jakarta

ANRI Mak. Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia, Makassar
ANRI Jakarta Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia, Jakarta
AR assistant-resident
ARRZ De Archieven van de Rechtsvoorgangers van de Raad voor de Zending,
1797-1950, HUA, Utrecht (Archives of the Legal Predecessors of the
Mission Board of the NHK)
B.Z. Binnenlandse Zaken (Home Affairs)
Bug. Buginees (Bugis)
CvZ Conferentie van Zendelingen (Conference of Missionaries)
Dept. Departement (Department)
Dir. Directie (Directorate)
DPR-D Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat - Daerah (regional parliament)
DPRD-D Dewan Perwakilan Rahyat-Daerah (Regional Parliament)
DVG Dienst Volksgezondheid (Health Department)
Gepsultra Gereja Protestan di Sulawesi Tenggara (Prot. Kerk in Zuidoost-Sulawesi;
Prot. Church of South-east Sulawesi)
HB Hoofdbestuur (Board)
HBA Hulp Bestuursassistent, Lower Government Official
HIS Hollands-Inlandse School (Dutch-Indigenous School )
HPB Hoofd Plaatselijk Bestuur (Head of Local Government)
HUA Het Utrechts Archief (Utrecht Archive)
isl. islamitisch (Islamic)
KIT Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, Amsterdam (Royal Tropical
Institute)
KNIL Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger (Royal Dutch Indies Army)
KOPKI Panitia Korban Perjuangan Kemerdekaan Indonesia (Comittee for the
Victims of the Struggle for Indonesian Freedom)
KPM Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (Royal Packet Navigation
Company)
Mak. Makassar; Makassarese (language)
Mal. Malay (language)
Masyumi Majlis Syuro Muslimin Indonesia
Min. van B.Z. Minister van Binnenlandse Zaken, NIT (Department of Interior Affairs,
NIT)
MMK Memories van overgave van ambtenaren van het Binnenlands Bestuur in
Ned.-Indië 1849-1962. Collection Department of Colonial Affairs
NASAKOM Nasionalis Agama Komunis (Sukarno)
NBG Nederlands Bijbel Genootschap (Dutch Bible Society)

NHK Nederlandse Hervormde Kerk (Dutch Reformed Church)

NICA Netherlands Indies Civil Administration
NIT Negara Indonesia Timur (State of East Indonesia, 1946-1950)
NZG Nederlands Zendelinggenootschap (Dutch Missionary Society)
NZV Nederlandse Zendingsvereniging (Dutch Mission Society)
OBM East Borneo Company
OSVIA School for Training Indigenous Civil Servants
PARBI Partai Buruh Indonesia (Indonesian Labour Party)
Parkindo Partai Kristen Indonesia (Indonesian Christian Party)
PKR Partai Kedaulatan Rakyat (Independence Party)
PNI Partai Nasional Indonesia (Indonesian National Party)
PSII Partai Serikat Islam Indonesia (Indonesian United Islamic Party)
Puskesmas Pusat Kesehatan Masyarakat (hospice, small medical facility)
Sultra Sulawesi Tenggara (South-east Sulawesi/Celebes)
SZC Co-operation of Mission Societies
TNI Tentara Nasional Indonesia (Indonesian Armed Forces)
Tol. Tolaki (language)
Tom. Tomoronene (language)
UZV Utrechtse Zendingsvereniging (Utrecht Mission Society)
VNZVerenigde Nederlandse Zendingsgenootschappen (United Dutch Mission Societies,
Oegstgeest)
VOCVerenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (United East India Company)
WW World War

12. Interviews taken by author

K. Bartimeus, Lambuya, 9/7/1992
K. Bartimeus, Vertaling en toelichting, Uepai, 29/3/1993
J.C.H.A. Bermuli, Raha, Muna, 14/7/1992
div. inwoners van Kasiputih, 20/7/1992
S. Galukupi e.a., Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992
J. Karamasa, Kolaka, 12/7/1992
H. Konggoasa, Kendari, 6/7/1992
Laode Mandati, Bau-Bau, Buton, 15/7/1992
J. Lakebo, Pu’undidaha, 12/7/1992
P.R. Lawole, Kendari, -/1/1986
A.B. Mandeno, Raha, Muna, 14/7/1992
I.M. Ohyver, Kolaka, 10/7/1992
Parenda, Lambuya, 9/7/1992
Rasami, Kasiputih, 20/7/1992
A. Tarimana, Kendari, 21/7/1992
V. Sidupa, J. Karamasa, F. Buke, N. Lakasa, Aser, Kolaka, 10/7/1992
R. Sinsoru, Rusiala, L. Zamrud, S. Zamrud, Luther, Kasiputih, 19/7/1992

13. Archivalia
Assistent-Resident van Boeton en Laiwoei, “Politiek Verslag van de afdeling Boeton en Laiwoei
over de 2de helft December 1948”, 1/1/1949, ANRI Mak., Archief NIT 108/24
Baden, P.J.M., “Rapport betreffende het vormen van hadatgemeenschappen in de onderafdeeling
Kolaka”, [15/7/1925], ANRI Mak., Archief Celebes 6/1
“Berita Politik 1-15 Djuli 1950”, 19/7/1950, ANRI Mak., Archief NIT 107/24
Detachement te Kendari, “Bijzonderheden betreffende het patrouillegebied. Verslagperiode 1
Januari 1930 - 31 December 1930”, 25/4/1931, KIT 1166
Bodegom, J. van, “Memorie van Overgave der Onderafd. Saleier”, 22/6/1947, ANRI Mak., Archief
NIT 58/15
Bodegom, J. van, Controleur-Adviseur Gowa, “Bestuursmemorie van Overdracht, Juni 1947-Juni
1948”, ANRI Mak., Archief NIT 60/15
Bouman, E.P., “Memorie van overgave van de afdeling Boeton en Laiwoei”, 25/10/1933, KIT 1167
Caron, L.J.J., “Memorie van Overgave van het gouvernement Celebes”, 1933, MMK 286
Caudri, G.W., “Memorie van overgave (aanvullende) van de onderafdeling Boeton”, 7/7/1939, KIT
1171
Couvreur, A.J.L., “Notitie”, 14/5/1929, ANRI Mak., Archief Bantaeng 2
Couvreur, A.J.L., “Circulaire no. 2, Het instituut der Soelewatangs of bestuursassistenten”,
14/5/1929, ANRI Mak., Archief Bantaeng 2
Couvreur, J., “Ethnografisch overzicht van Moena”, gestencilde uitgave; Raha, 1935
“Daftar nama² tanaman dan banyaknya dan satoe² kampoeng dan djiwa”, [1948], ANRI Mak.,
Archief NIT 89/20
Dirks, A., “Memorie van Overgave van het bestuur over de afdeeling Loewoe”, 8/11/1938, KIT
1162
Documents in ARRZ
Fontijne, L., “Memorie van overgave van Buton en Konawe”, 25/5/1949, ANRI Mak., Archief NIT
233/33
Frijling, W., “Circulaire no. 6, Uitoefening magistratuur”, 7/8/1916, ANRI Mak., Archief Bantaeng
2
Frijling, W., “Circulaire no. 10, Kampongverplaatsing en kampongconcentratie”, 8/12/1916, ANRI
Mak., Archief Bantaeng 2
Frijling, W., “Circulaire no. 22, Aanslag enz. in de Algemeene belasting op de bedrijfs- en andere
inkomsten en in de Sima Assaparang Atoewang”, 27/12/1918, ANRI Mak., Archief Bantaeng 2
Frijling, W., “Circulaire no. 23, Priesterraden direct bestuurd gebied”, 18/3/1919, ANRI Mak.,
Archief Bantaeng 2
Frijling, W., “Rondschrijven no. 31, Verbod uitoefening magistraatsfunctien door onbevoegden”,
5/7/1920, ANRI Mak., Archief Bantaeng 2
Frijling, W., “Rondschrijven no. 32, Priesterraden Zelfbesturende gebieden”, 10/7/1920, ANRI
Mak., Archief Bantaeng 2
Frijling, W., “Vaststelling van den minimum-aanslag”, 3/12/1919, ANRI Mak., Archief Bantaeng 2
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NEW CHIEFS, NEW BELIEFS

A history of the Tolaki and the Tomoronene,

Dr. Christiaan G.F. de Jong

Translated by Truus Daalder-Broekman.

2. The land and its inhabitants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

3. Political and administrative history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

4. Trade and the economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

5. The government and Community Development 1910-1942 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

6. Social cohesion the administration of justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

7. Ownership of land, classes, material culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

8. Adat, religion and folk art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

10. Glossarium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

11. Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

13. Archivalia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

14. Literature: articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

15. Literature: monographs, collections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

1.1. Aim, and scene of the action

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1.3. A few preliminary remarks

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2. The land and its inhabitants

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2.2. Climate, natural conditions and population

2.2.2. Natural conditions

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wrote a traveller who was overwhelmed.28

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2.2.5. Transport, roads and paths

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2.2.6. Traffic by water

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2.4. The inhabitants: language, prehistory, myth and hierarchy

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2.5.2. The “Stone Cutters”

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2.5.3. The Potters

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2.5.4. The colonisation of South-east Celebes

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2.6. Summary of prehistory

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2.7. Modern Times; continuing migration

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