Stone tombs witness to Minahasan past

Stone tombs witness to Minahasan past

WARUGA, Air Madidi, North Sulawesi (JP): How were burials
conducted in the early days of North Sulawesi?

On the outskirts of Manado, one can trace pre-Christian
Minahasan culture from 10 centuries ago. Spread across a small
area of land in Air Madidi district, Sawangan village, about 20
kilometers to the east of Manado, are some 150 stone tombs or
coffins.

Unlike the cave tombs in Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi, the
bodies here were put inside these one-and-a-half-meter-high stone
tombs. The tombs, or coffins, were made from solid stone which
was hollowed out to enable the bodies to be placed therein.

The rectangular-shaped stones have a removable top, also made
from a thick piece of solid stone, that resembles the roof of a
house. Each tomb may contain more than one deceased member of a
family, and the top was opened when someone died.

This practice is said to have come from an ancient belief that
bodies buried in the earth would spoil the land and enrage the
gods.

Waruga, meaning to boil, apparently refers to the process the
bodies underwent in the tombs after being wrapped with local woka
leaves before they shrank and melted away.

The bodies were believed to be placed in a squatting position
before they were put in the tombs -- some say in the position of
a baby in its womb.

On the toppings are reliefs of men, animals, plants and
traditional motifs said to be linked to the job of the deceased.

It was not unusual to insert daily utensils like spoons,
glasses or knives into the tombs. Some of these ancient utensils
are on display at a wooden museum in front of the graveyard.

A trip to Waruga can be combined with a day trip to Tomohon
and Tondano, two well-known Minahasan highlands near Manado.
(hbk)