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)