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| GENERAL INFORMATION OF NORTH SULAWESI |
A beautiful piece of land in the Northeastern part of Sulawesi formerly known as Celebes, an orchid shaped island of pearl chain of Indonesian Archipelago. North Celebes as well known as the “Nyiur Melambai” or waving coconut and also known as the land of smiling people, covers an area of 27,515 acre lies between 0030’ – 4030’ NL and 1210 -1270 EL. Consists of region: Manado, Minahasa, North Minahasa, South Minahasa, Tomohon, Bitung, Bolaang Mongondow, Sangihe and Talaud. All of those counties have each own unique culture. North Sulawesi also famous for its fertile soil made it home of varieties of plants and animals life both terrestrial and aquatic. Covered by green leaves of coconut and clove trees the land also provides a large variety of fruits vegetables & rice farm. North Sulawesi is one of the Indonesia’s richest coconut producers while the cloves and nutmegs are part of its natural wealth. The animals live among the others rare animals such as: Maleo Bird, Wild Pig, Cuscus, Anoa and smallest monkey in the world called “Tangkasi” (Tarsius) spectrum, the saucer eyed. To protect these species from extinction, Nature reserve has been established. From the sea, the most beautiful sea garden Bunaken provides an unforgettable & excellent under water exotic. Lembeh strait, Gangga island, Bangka Island is the most experience in diving. Most adventure from the rivers rafting to see the bio-diversity life live inner of the jungle. North Sulawesi people are missed from ethnic but life together with motto “TORANG SAMUA BASUDARA” (We are one family).
North Sulawesi are riches with attraction which some still remote in the area. Dance of Maengket and Maramba, farmer dance to thanks God & way rice's cutting. Performance in the crescent season, harvest rice by cutting stalk with knife. Kabasaran dance is a war dance of Minahasan tribe. In the past some years this dance appearance with was real attacking with war weapon to another. Tapikong is not a kind of dance, it’s a way of spiritual respect with they have to suffer them self with a sword & hit the body with sword & to embed or to prick their face shoots & tongue with iron stick, this is performance once in a year, in ordinary beginning of the coming year. This culture came from Chinese blended background society in the North Sulawesi area.
NORTH SULAWESI - MANADO
The capital of North Sulawesi is Manado.The indigenous people of this province are the Manado and Minahasa people. The province has a vast amount of coconut plantations fringed along the coastline. For that reason, North Sulawesi is called "Bumi Nyiur Melambai" or "The Land of Waving Coconut Palms. There are many places that can be explored and enjoyed in North Sulawesi, such as diving and snorkeling in Bunaken Sea Garden, climbing to the top of mount Klabat in Airmadidi, and seeing the "Waruga," ancient stone graves in Sawangan Village. The Islands of Talaud and Sangihe are part of this province. People of North Sulawesi love music and they are famed throughout the country for their vocal skills, displayed to best advantage during their rituals, celebrations and gatherings. The Kolintang music instrument originated from Minahasa. It is similar to a wooden xylophone and is popular nationwide. One version of local folklore states that the name
Kolintang came from its sounds: TING (high pitch note), TANG (moderate pitch note) and TONG (low pitch note). In the local language, the invitation "Let us do some TING TANG TONG" is:"mangemo kumolintang", hence the name of the instrument, Kolintang.In its early days, Kolintang originally consisted of only a series of wooden bars placed side by side in a row on the legs of the players who would sit on the floor with both of their legs stretched out in front of them. Later on, the function of
the legs was replaced either by two poles of banana trunk or by a rope which hung them up to a wooden plank. Story says that resonance box was beginning to be attached to this instrument after Diponegoro, a prince from Java who was exiled to Minahasa, brought along the Javanese instrument Gamelan with its resonance box, Gambang. Kolintang had a close relationship with the traditional belief of Minahasan natives. It was usually played in ancestor worshipping rituals. That might explain the reason why Kolintang was nearly totally left behind when Christianity came to North Sulawesi. It was so rarely played that it was nearly extinct for about a 100 year since then. It only reappeared after the World War II, pioneered by the blind musician Nelwan Katuuk,who reconstructed it according to universal musical scales. Initially, there was only one kind of Kolintang instrument which was a 2 octave diatonically melody instrument. It was usually played with other string instruments such as guitar, ukulele or string bass as accompaniment. Bamboo Music: Bamboo trumpets were made and played for hundreds of years in North Sulawesi, particularly in Sangihe Talaud. High-quality, very old bamboo is shaped into elegant trumpets which produce a melodious sound. To ensure the trumpet will be durable and of good quality, the bamboo poles are steeped in flowing water, usually a river, for about three months. They are then dried by being placed on a board above a small flame for about four months. It is only then that the bamboo is ready to be made into trumpets. There are various models of bamboo instruments. A bamboo saxophone, for example, is called sesuho, while a bamboo trumpet is known as pepato. If all of the instruments in an orchestra are made entirely from bamboo, the group is called a bambu melulu music group. If some additional elements are brought to the instruments like brass or tin then it is called a bambu clarinet or bambu seng music group, respectively.
Maengket is a dance drama from Minahasa. The dance is often performed on important occasions welcoming prominent visitors, as a prelude to competitions, or during local festivals. Maengket is accompanied by spirited harmonic songs in the form of Minahasan communal work. It is actually a variety of modernized and secularized dances consisting of three parts, Makamberu depicting the harvest time and in some parts of its choreography tell about romantic love poems; Marambak celebrating the building of a new house and passing on traditional values; Mah'laya is usually humorous and is generally full of merriment.Kabasaran or Cakalele Minahasa: A war dance, effecting patriotism, heroic and courage. Usually performed by men wearing red war costumes with swords and shields, uttering cries to frighten the enemies. Cakalele is also popular in the Moluccas where it probably has its roots. However, there are also similarities with war dances in Portugal.
Tari Lengso is a dance derived from Maengket where the dancers use handkerchiefs in the dance routine. It slightly resembles dances from the Vietnamese and Kampuchean cultures, where Toar and Lumimuut, the descendants of the Minahasans came from.
Kabala is a traditional welcome dance performance in Bolaang Mongondow.
Tempurung is the local name for coconut shell. Many decorations are made from tempurung and it is very useful in more remote places where the farmers use it as bowls, plates, cups and even musical instruments, as shown in this dance. The dance reflects the appreciation of the farmer's family for the harvest of kopra (copra). It is usually performed by pairs of men and women.
Katrili is an imported dance introduced by the Spaniards in the time of colonialism. The dance is performed by pairs of men and women and a leader. The commands are given in Spanish. The costumes are similar to those of the flamenco dance.
Polineis is a modification of the Polonaise. Like Katrili, Polineis is an imported dance originally introduced by the Dutch people in the colonial era. It is very popular among the older generation and is still seen in Minahasa, especially in the recreation part of a wedding party where it is usually followed by a waltz.
Pisok is the local name for sparrow, also known as Burung Gereja (church bird). This bird is considered holy in Minahasa.The Minahasan people believe that the Pisok bird always brings good luck. The Pisok dance is performed by an odd number of girls.
The indigenous dance repertoire of Sangihe Talaud includes the Gunde (worship dance), Salo (war dances), Bengko (war dance using spears) and Upase (to accompany the Saalo dance, perfumed by the king's guards). Others are Alabadiri (illustrating the cooperative spirit in work between the government and the people), and Ransa Sahabe (similar to the Alabadiri dance). Relatively new dances are Kakalumpan(illustrating cooperation among the people during the coconut harvest), the fisherman's dance Madunde (dance of the nine goddesses), Empat Wayer (youth dance), Toumatiti and Petik Pala (nutmeg picking dance).
MANADO
This provincial capital is situated on the bay of Manado, Physically the land structure shows a morphologi of wavy slopes and hills in the northern and central part of the city. The southern part may be said to be made up of mountain foot of volcanoes in central Minahasa and other plateaus. Generally, the slant of land varies between 0-40%.In accordance to the location,Manado may be said a tropical area with the average temperature 25,7°C.and humidity of average 80%.Manado is estimated to have been resided since XVI century and was called "Wenang". Later, in 1623 the name was changed into "Manado". Influenced by the foreign occupation, the culture of the people has been a mixed one. Urbanization of people from sangihe Talaud. Gorontalo, Bolaang Mongondow and Minahasa has resulted mixed population and culture. Manado at the present time covers an area of 157,58 Ha. or an average of 0,57% of the entire North Sulawesi province. The total population is 325.122 people (1992).There are several places of tourist interest around this city.
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