Minahasans



Numbering around 40,000 in 1977, the Minahasans (Minahasa, Minahasser, Minhasa, Tombalu, Tombula, Toumbulu) inhabit the mountainous terrain of the extreme northeastern section of Sulawesi's northern peninsula in Indonesia. Rather than a single group, the Minahasans are a confederation of groups including the Tontemboan, Toulour, Tondano, Tombalu, Tonsea, Tonsawang, Bentenan, Ponosokan, Belang, and Bantik. The purpose of confederation was conflict with the neighboring Bolaang Mongondow. Minahasan is classified in the Northern Sulawesi Group of the Austronesian Language Family. Single-family houses on low piles, each with a hedged yard, are organized into rows. Wet and dry rice are the staples, supplemented by maize, sago, goats, pigs, and chickens. Tobacco, coffee, coconuts, and cloves are grown commercially. Since the late 1600s, the Minahasans have been in regular contact with the Dutch, which over time has led to the Christianization of most of the population (except for the Ponosokan, who are Muslim), the formation of a large Eurasian population, and the virtual disappearance of the traditional culture.

See also Bolaang Mongondow


Bibliography

Kennedy, Raymond (1935). "The Ethnology of the Greater Sunda Islands." Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University.

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