(from top: left to right) Bada people bark clothes are displayed at the Textile Museum, two Behoa women wearing their traditional clothes, Napu women play a bamboo flute-type musical instrument, and Sedoa girls attended the launch event of the Sedoa language translation of the Bible.
The Lore peoples are a group of ethnic groups living in the Greater Lore region, consisting of Central Lore, East Lore, West Lore, North Lore, South Lore, and Lore Peore districts, which are located in Poso Regency in the province of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.[4] In the past, the area where the Lore peoples lived was a remote area that was difficult to reach.[5] The only way to reach the region from the outside world is by foot or horseback. During the Dutch colonial era until the present era, the remoteness of the Greater Lore region is increasingly open with the availability of air transportation, with Cessna planes belonging to missionaries on duty in the region and the opening of the Palu–Wuasa Main Road which was completed in 1981.[6]
The living environment of the Lore peoples is a forest environment with trees such as black wood, ebony, rattan, resin, sugar palm, bamboo, and cinnamon growing well. The society also cultivates coffee and cloves. The fauna is characterized by animals such as deer, wild boar, anoa, jungle fowl, snakes, and various bird species. They also raises pigs, cattle, buffalo, and horses. The Lore peoples live in valleys in the Greater Lore region, namely the Bada Valley, Behoa Valley, Napu Valley, and a small valley which is part of Napu Valley, namely Sedoa Valley.[6][7][8]
The Lore peoples were not listed in the 1930 population census which recorded the population of Dutch East Indies taking into account ethnic background. While others estimate the number of Lore people in 1980 was around 12,000, consisting of four ethnic groups, namely Bada, Behoa, Napu, and Sedoa. Population data for North Lore district and South Lore district (before being divided into six districts) in 1988 was 15,965 people, divided into 8,280 people in North Lore district and 6,815 people in South Lore district. Among this number, the number of immigrants such as Bugis, Pamona, Kulawi, and others in the Greater Lore region is unknown. Geographically, the residential area of the Lore peoples is adjacent to the residential areas of the Pamona, Kulawi, and Toraja peoples, as well as with the Lindu people whose area is still included in the Lore Lindu National Park.[9] After the last period, transportation facilities became better, this fertile the Greater Lore region certainly attracted people to new business locations, for example in agriculture.[6]
Social stratification
The Lore peoples recognize social stratification with four layers, the first layer or top layer is called tuana, namely the king and his family, the second layer is the noble family (kabilaha) and traditional chiefs (pabisara), the third layer is the common people, especially the good ones (tuana maroa), and the fourth layer is the slaves (hawik), which consists of prisoners of war, people who violate customs, people who betray the kingdom, murderers, robbers, rapists, and people who always disturb order.[6]
The social stratification system of the Lore peoples has gradually undergone changes. The changes began with the arrival of Christian religious preachers, and continued with the arrival of Dutch East Indies rule, Japanese Empire rule, and ended after Indonesian independence. The government changed from a monarchy system to sub-districts (onderdistrict),[5] self-governing bodies (swapraja), and finally districts (kecamatan) with their villages (desa).[6]
Religion
The belief system of the Lore peoples in the past. They knew the gods who created humans and believed in spirits that resided in the awang-awang. Nowadays, the majority of Lore peoples are Protestant Christians, there is also a small number of Muslims.[10] However, ceremonies such as life cycle ceremonies, agricultural ceremonies, house building ceremonies, and other traditional ceremonies are still influenced by old beliefs.[6][11]
Linguistics and ethnic groups
From a linguistic perspective, the Lore peoples appear to be divided into several ethnic groups. The Sedoa people who speak the Tawailia (Sedoa) dialect of Kaili live in the northern part of North Lore district, the Napu people who speak Napu live in the North Lore district, the Bada people who speak Bada live in the southern part of the North Lore district and the South Lore district.[4][3] Apart from that, there are still several other languages used by other ethnic groups among the Behoa people, namely those who speak Behoa (Besoa) and those who speak Rampi, namely Rampi people, who migrated here.[6][12]
Settlement
The Lore peoples live in densely clustered villages in fertile valleys.[4] In the past, they lived on hillsides to avoid enemies. Between one village and another, wars often occur between them. They live in houses called tambi, which always have a barn (buho) nearby.[13] The building called duhunga is a place for holding deliberations or traditional ceremonies for the people of a village.[6]
Family relationships
The Lore peoples live in nuclear and extended family groups. The extended family consists of the senior nuclear family and the children's nuclear families, which trace their descent through the patrilineal line. This extended family usually lives in one big house, if it is a nuclear family the children will build their own house, usually the house is not far from the senior nuclear family's house. The relationship between extended family members in the neighborhood is very close and they carry out activities together in farming and other work.[6]
In family life, parents are highly respected by their children. In senior families, the father and mother lead all members of the extended family. They are familiar with the teknonimi custom, which means that a person changes his name to be called and addressed by referring to the name of his eldest child, for example Umana Kunio meaning 'Father Kunio'. That is why often a child never knows his father's name. Indeed, custom suggests that calling or addressing parents by their own names is considered impolite. In a series of wedding ceremonies, there is a special part introducing the names of the parents and in-laws to the bride and groom. That's just for your information of course, it won't be used to greet him.[6]
The Lore peoples, through their traditions, gradually strive for a peaceful and happy family or household. This hope is symbolized through traditional wedding ceremonies. In an event called pohuhu au iba, the groom gives a dowry to the bride in the form of four kinds of objects. A large axe blade (pohuda) that is flawless as a symbol that the groom will work hard to ensure the life of his wife, a kelewang (peluni) is a symbol that the husband will protect his wife's safety from all kinds of disturbances, a sarong (waru) as a statement of the groom's ability to fulfill his wife's clothing needs, and a female piglet (poboengi) as a symbol of fulfilling the wife's food needs. The entire dowry also means the groom's willingness to replace the breast milk of the bride who has raised her child until the stage of marriage.[6]
↑Saro, Ahmad; Sulaiman, Hanafi; Rahim, Abdillah A.; Kuruda, Sudarmin (1991). Struktur Bahasa Besoa(PDF) (in Indonesian). Jakarta: Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan. pp.1–85. ISBN979-459-165-3.
↑Arif, Ahmad; Harahap, Aswin Rizal; Sodikin, Amir; Saputra, Laksana Agung (2 October 2018). "Kehidupan dan Kematian di Lembah Besoa". jelajah.kompas.id (in Indonesian). Kompas. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
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