O'Hongana Manyawa | |
---|---|
![]() A Togutil man at Halmahera island. | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Indonesia (Halmahera) | |
Languages | |
Togutil, other North Halmahera languages (mainly Tobelo), Indonesian | |
Religion | |
Animism, Christianity, Islam | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Tobelo people |
Togutil, also known as Inner Tobelo, [1] is an indigenous group with a semi-nomadic lifestyle living in the jungles of Totodoku, Tukur-Tukur, Lolobata, Kobekulo, and Buli in the Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park, North Halmahera Regency, North Maluku, Indonesia. [2]
Their communities are often categorized as a uncontacted people living in the inner jungle area compared to the Tobelo people living in the coastal area.
Their physical appearances, especially their facial features and skin tone have a stronger resemblance to the Malay people than of the Tobelo people. [3]
The external ethnonym Togutil is equivalent to the native designations o fongana ma nyawa and o hongana ma nyawa (literally "the forest people"). [4] [5]
The Indonesian name Togutil was popularised by Dutch ethnographer J. Platenkamp, who studied the ethnic groups in the island. The word is from the Tobelo word O’Tau Gutili which means "medicine house". They prefer to call themselves the O'Hongana Manyawa (people that live inside of the forest), this is in contrast to the coastal Tobelo which call themselves the O’Hoberera Manyawa (people that live outside of the forest). [6]
Their settlements are usually in groups of community along river banks. There are about 42 households of Togutil communities that settled along the Dodaga river, while about 500 lived along the Akelamo river. [7] Their houses are made of wood and bamboo with Pelem leaves (a type of Livistona ) as roofing. Generally their houses do not have walls or wooden flooring.
The Togutils are categorized as a separate group of people living in the interiors of north and central Halmahera.
From 300 to 500 live in isolation in the Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park. The others live near coastal villages where they come to exchange their products. Some settled in houses built by the Indonesian authorities as part of social integration programs, such as in the village of Dodaga, Maba. [8] In some parts of the island, the Togutil sometimes have to deal with logging and mining.
The Togutil people use the Togutil language (ISO 639-3:Tuj), which some classify as dialect of the Tobelo language used by the Tobelo population that live in the coastal area.
According to local legend, the Togutil descend from coastal dwellers who moved to the jungles in order to avoid taxes. In 1915 during rule of the Dutch East Indies, there was an effort to settle them in the countryside of Kusuri and Tobelamo. But because they refused to pay taxes, they returned to the jungles and the settlement effort became a failure. However, there is no evidence to support this account of the Togutil's origins. [9] [10]
Ethnos360 (formally New Tribes Mission) evangelical Christian missionaries planted a church and established a village at Tanjung Lili in eastern North Maluku in 1982. Proselytisation has been largely successful with the mission's converted Togutil leaders continuing the work of the missionary organisation by spreading the Gospel in more remote interior jungle areas. "Today almost all of the people who formerly lived along the Waisango, Lili, and Afu Rivers have converted to Christianity. Virtually all beliefs and practices connected with their previous indigenous cosmology, such as ancestor worship, have been discarded as incompatible with Christianity. Members of the community strongly discourage any attempt to reinitiate these practices, which are now considered to be misguided beliefs that they followed while under the influence of Satan." [11]
The number of Togutils is estimated between 1500 and 3000 people according to various studies carried out by Indonesian and foreign ethnologists since 2001. [12] ' [13] From 300 to 500, and this is also an estimate, live in isolation in the forest. [14]
Their lifestyle is very much dependent on the surroundings of the jungle. Sago is a staple food. Some Togutil continue to wear traditional loincloths, although most of them have adopted modern clothing. [15] They are traditionally nomadic hunter-gatherers, hunting wild boar, deer and other animals, as well as fishing and relying on sago palms as their main source of carbohydrates. [16] [15] They also harvest megapode eggs, resins, and antlers to sell to people from the coastal area. There is some horticulture, with bananas, cassava, sweet potatoes, papayas and sugar cane being common crops that can be found in their gardens. However, these gardens are not cultivated intensively owing to the Togutils' semi-nomadic lifestyle. [10] They are sometimes accused of being violent or even unsociable, which ethnologists from Ternate refute [17]
Those living in isolation are often small groups identified by authorities, living in the unspoilt Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park. Small videos show some of them speaking out vehemently against people approaching their territory. At the same time, many Togutil already mixed with the populations living in the coastal villages. The regional authorities of East Hamahera have opened a single office dedicated to them in order to facilitate their integration. [18] Regularly donations are brought to them by the police. [19]
The forests in which the uncontacted Togutil live are under threat from nickel mining for the production of electric car batteries. [16] [20]
The Togutil have made the subject of programs on Indonesian national TV presenting their habits and customs. [21] A Tik Tok account even regularly publishes videos allowing to better know these inhabitants of the forest. [22]
Halmahera, formerly known as Jilolo, Gilolo, or Jailolo, is the largest island in the Maluku Islands. It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia, and Sofifi, the capital of the province, is located on the west coast of the island.
The Nuaulu, Naulu or Nunuhai are an ethnic group located in Seram, Maluku, Indonesia.
Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, and Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the island of New Guinea, formerly Dutch and granted to Indonesia in 1962. Given the island is alternatively named Papua, the region is also called West Papua.
The Penan are a nomadic indigenous people living in Sarawak and Brunei, although there is only one small community in Brunei; among those in Brunei half have been converted to Islam, even if only superficially. Penan are one of the last such peoples remaining as hunters and gatherers. The Penan are noted for their practice of 'molong' which means never taking more than necessary. Most Penan were nomadic hunter-gatherers until the post-World War II missionaries settled many of the Penan, mainly in the Ulu-Baram district but also in the Limbang district. They eat plants, which are also used as medicines, and animals and use the hides, skin, fur, and other parts for clothing and shelter.
Uncontacted peoples are groups of Indigenous peoples living without sustained contact with neighbouring communities and the world community. Groups who decide to remain uncontacted are referred to as indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. Legal protections make estimating the total number of uncontacted peoples challenging, but estimates from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the UN and the nonprofit group Survival International point to between 100 and 200 uncontacted tribes numbering up to 10,000 individuals total. A majority of uncontacted peoples live in South America, particularly northern Brazil, where the Brazilian government and National Geographic estimate between 77 and 84 tribes reside.
Mentawai people are the native people of the Mentawai Islands about 100 miles from West Sumatra province, Indonesia. They live a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle in the coastal and rainforest environments of the islands and are also one of the oldest tribes in Indonesia. The Mentawai population is estimated to be about 64,000. The Mentawai tribe is documented to have migrated from Nias – a northern island – to the Mentawai islands, living in an isolated life for centuries until they encountered the Dutch in 1621. The ancestors of the indigenous Mentawai people are believed to have first migrated to the region somewhere between 2000 and 500 BCE. The Mentawai language belongs to the Austronesian language family. They follow their own animist belief system called Arat Sabulungan, that links the supernatural powers of ancestral spirits to the ecology of the rainforest. When the spirits are not treated well or forgotten, they might bring bad luck like illnesses and haunt those who forgot them. Mentawai also have very strong belief towards objects they think are holy. The people are characterized by their heavy spirituality, body art and their tendency to sharpen their teeth, a cultural practice tied to Mentawai beauty ideals. Mentawai tend to live in unison and peace with the nature around them because they believe that all things in nature have a form of spiritual essence.
The Kombai are a Papuan people living in the Indonesian province of South Papua, more specifically in Mappi Regency. Their total population is about 5,650.
Tobelo is a town and a district on the eastern Indonesian island of Halmahera. It is the capital of the regency (kabupaten) of North Halmahera, part of the province of North Maluku. The town was formalised as the capital of North Halmahera in the district elections held in 2004. It had a population of 34,150 at the 2020 Census. A palm tree lined coastal road connects Tobelo to Galela. The town is predominantly Muslim with a large Christian minority and a Protestant Church has existed in Tobelo since at least 1924.
The Arfak Mountains is a mountain range found on the Bird's Head Peninsula in the Province of West Papua, Indonesia.
Butet Manurung or Saur Marlina Manurung is a pioneer for alternative education for indigenous people in isolated and remote areas in Indonesia. Like other young Batak girls, she was called "Butet". Therefore, she is well known as Butet Manurung.
The Birhor language is a highly endangered Munda language spoken by the Birhor people in Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, and Maharashtra states in India.
The Halmahera rain forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Indonesia. The ecoregion includes the island of Halmahera and neighboring islands, including Bacan, Morotai, the Obi Islands, Ternate, Tidore, Gebe, and many smaller islands.
Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park is a national park on Halmahera, the biggest island in the North Maluku province of Indonesia. The park is considered by BirdLife International to be vital for the survival of at least 23 endemic bird species. Aketajawe-Lolobata, which has an area of 167,300 hectares, was declared a national park in 2004.
Wakatobi National Park is a marine national park in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. The name of Wakatobi is a portmanteau of the four main Tukangbesi Islands: Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, and Binongko. Since 2005 the park is listed as a tentative World Heritage Site.
North Halmahera Regency is a regency of North Maluku Province, Indonesia. It was declared a separate Regency on 25 February 2003, formed from part of the former North Maluku Regency. The capital town of the regency lies at the port of Tobelo. The Regency, which was considerably reduced by the separation of Morotai Island to form a separate regency on 26 November 2008, now covers an area of 3,404.27 square kilometres (1,314.40 sq mi) and had a population of 161,847 people at the 2010 Census, 179,783 at the 2015 Intermediate Census. and 197,640 at the 2020 Census. The official estimate as at mid 2023 was 203,213. The principal settlements are Tobelo, Kao and Galela. The area is noted for its white beaches and coral reefs.
Buru people is an ethnic group mostly living on Indonesian island Buru, as well as on some other Maluku Islands. They also call themselves Gebfuka or Gebemliar, which literally means "people of the world" or "people of the land". Buru people are related to the eastern Indonesian anthropological group and from an ethnographic point of view are similar to other indigenous peoples of the island Buru. They speak the Buru language.
The Ambelau people are an ethnic group who form the majority of the population of the Indonesian island of Ambalau. They also live on nearby island Buru and other islands. By ethnography, Ambelau are close to most indigenous peoples of Buru island. They number about 8,260, and speak the Ambelau language.
Tana Toa is a village in the Kajang district, Bulukumba Regency in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The village is located in the east coast of South Sulawesi, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from town of Kajang, about 56 kilometres (35 mi) north of Bulukumba and 210 kilometres (130 mi) southeast of Makassar. The village is inhabited majority by the Kajang tribe. The village is famous throughout Makassar territory as the place of great mystical power.
The Tobelo people are one of the northern Halmahera peoples living in eastern Indonesia, in the northern part of the Maluku Islands and in the eastern side of North Halmahera Regency.
Southwest Papua is the 38th province of Indonesia to be created, and was split off from West Papua on 8 December 2022. Despite being named southwest, it is a misnomer and this province is actually located in the northwest edge of Papua. The province comprises the Greater Sorong area which consists of Sorong City, Sorong Regency, South Sorong Regency, Maybrat Regency, Tambrauw Regency, and Raja Ampat Regency. The Bill (RUU) on the Establishment of the Southwest Papua Province was passed into law and therefore it became the 38th province in Indonesia with effect from 8 December 2022.