Kulawi people

Last updated
Kulawi
To Kulawi
Total population
50,000 (2024) [1]
Regions with significant populations
Indonesia (Central Sulawesi)
Languages
Kulawi, Lindu, Indonesian
Religion
Christianity (predominantly)
Islam and Folk religion
Related ethnic groups
Pamona   Lindu   Lore

Kulawi people (Kulawi: To Kulawi) [2] is an ethnic groups who inhabit in the province of Central Sulawesi, mainly in Sigi Regency and Donggala Regency. The area includes Lake Kulawi, Lake Lindu, Gimpu Plains, and the area around the Koro River which has been inhabited by their ancestors since prehistoric times. [3] This is a minority ethnic group in Central Sulawesi who communicate using the Moma language and most of them have been Christians since 1913. [4] The evidence that the area they inhabit has been occupied since prehistoric times is the discovery of archaeological objects from the megalithic tradition which are more than 3000 years old. [5] Ancient objects that can still be found in Kulawi are dakon stone, footprints, mortar stone, and others. [6]

Contents

Origin

According to old ethnography experts, the Kulawi people is classified as part of the West Torajan ethnic group. In 2024, the estimated population of the Kulawi people is around 50,000 people. [1] According to the legend of the Kulawi people, they originate from Sigi and Bora which are located in the Palu Valley, Central Sulawesi province. Once upon a time, there was a figure from the Bora area and his followers who were hunting with their group until they reached the forest area on Mount Momi. After being tired from hunting, they finally rested under a tree which they called the kulawi tree. After seeing that the area where the kulawi trees grew was fertile, they finally decided to settle there and named the place and their own community, namely "Kulawi". [4]

History

Dutch colonial era

In 1905, under the command of a hero from the Kulawi people named Towualangi, also known as Taentorengke, he led a war against the Dutch colonialists. After losing the war, the Dutch colonialists finally came to power and made the Kulawi area into a kingdom called the Kulawi Kingdom in 1906. After establishing the kingdom, the Dutch colonialists also appointed Towualangi or Taentorengke as the first king and included the Lindu plains into the administration of the Kulawi Kingdom. The "king" in the Kulawi people is called magau or sangkala. [4] The king and his family live in a traditional house called sourja. [4] In addition, in 1908 the Dutch colonial authorities reset it into three residential areas, namely: [7]

After arranging the resettlement, the Dutch colonial authorities then appointed Lakese as village head for the three settlement areas, with the main task of opening up Langko rice fields and building houses as residences for residents in the new settlement. The village head in the Kulawi people is called to tua ngata, while the descendants of the king are called maradika. [4]

Culture

The Kulawi people has a distinctive and unique culture, distinguishing it from surrounding ethnic groups. However, in general they are still related to Austronesian descent and share a nearly similar culture.

Rakeho and Ratompo

The Rakeho ritual is one of the most famous extreme rituals of the Kulawi people. Rakeho is a ritual to straighten the upper and lower teeth to be level with the gums in welcoming the growth from childhood to adulthood in Kulawi men. [8] On the other hand, the Ratompo ritual is a ritual to align the upper and lower teeth to be flush with the gums in welcoming growth from childhood to adulthood in Kulawi women. [9] In the process of both rituals, the Ntodea language (a sacred language) is used and aims to prevent unwanted things from happening.

Raego

The Raego dance is a traditional dance of the Kulawi people. The accompanying songs for the Raego dance are usually sung in Presto, de Marcia, Forte, and Con Brio tempos which suit the patriotic and heroic theme. The accompanying vocals are called manoulia, while the lyrics are called oila. There are many types of Raego dance, including the following:

Pmemua

The wedding tradition of the Kulawi people is called Pmemua which usually lasts for two days. When undergoing the ritual, the bride and groom wear traditional clothes made from banyan tree bark fibers which are still processed in a traditional way, which is called Kumpe. [11] The series of Pmemua includes the following:

Customary zones

There are four divisions of the Kulawi people's customary zones, consisting of:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Asal Mula Suku Kulawi". channelsulawesi.id (in Indonesian). Channel Sulawesi. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  2. Ari, Robertus (2017-12-02). "Mengenal Adat Pernikahan Unik Milik Suku Kulawi di Sulawesi Tengah. Indonesia Memang Kaya!". Yukepo.com (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2019-03-22. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  3. Yani, Muchammad (2017-04-06). "Suku Kulawi, Pemegang Tradisi dari Zaman Prasejarah". MerahPutih (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Hidayah, Zulyani (2015). Ensiklopedi Suku Bangsa di Indonesia (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia. p. 194. ISBN   9789794619292.
  5. 1 2 Andrianto, Fitra. "Pmemua, Tradisi Pernikahan Adat Suku Kulawi". Kumparan (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  6. antaranews.com. "Yang menarik dari kekayaan budaya Kulawi di Sigi". Antara News (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  7. 1 2 "Badan Registrasi Wilayah Adat (BRWA)". brwa.or.id (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  8. "Mengenal Upacara Adat Rakeho Suku Kulawi, Sulawesi Tengah | Swara Papua Official" (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  9. "Ratompo » Perpustakaan Digital Budaya Indonesia". budaya-indonesia.org (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  10. "Raego, Tarian Tradisonal Bangsa Kulawi Sulawesi Tengah". Sportourism.id (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2019-03-22.[ permanent dead link ]
  11. Sumolang, Steven (2018-09-18). "Kumpe, Pakaian Tradisonal Etnik Kulawi". Balai Pelestarian Nilai Budaya Sulawesi Utara (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2019-03-22.
  12. "Suku Kulawi, Suku "Minoritas" di Sulteng". Negerisatu (in Indonesian). 2019-01-18. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-03-22.