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Confederated Communes of Minahasa

Confederated Communes of Minahasa
Konfederasi Wanua-Wanua Minahasa


Flag


Emblem


Motto

"Si Tou Timou Tumou Tou"
"The purpose of life is to help others"


Anthems

Link"Internasionale"
"The Internationale"

Link"Mars Minahasa"
"March of Minahasa"


Link

Capital

Manado
1°29′N 124°51′E

Official languages

Manado Malay
Kawanua Sign Language

Regional languages

Bajaw
Bantik
Ponosakan
Ratahan
Tombulu
Tondano
Tonsawang
Tonsea
Tontemboan

Demonym

Kawanua

Government

Confederated revolutionary
council democracy

Speaker of the
Confederal
Congress of
Councils

Nadia Konstantina Karuntu

Establishment

2 March 1957

Area

4,728.52 km²
(1,825.69 sq mi)

Currency

abolished
(past: Kawanua Gulden)

Time zone

UTC+8

Date format

dd/mm/yyyy

Driving side

left

Minahasa, officially the Confederated Communes of Minahasa (Manado Malay: Konfederasi Wanua-Wanua Minahasa) is a country located on the northern peninsula of the island of Sulawesi. Its capital is Manado.

Minahasa is a confederation consisting of nine communes; Bajo, Bantik, Bentenan, Ponosakan, Tombulu, Tonsawang, Tondano, Tonsea, and Tontemboan. The majority of the population of Minahasa is ethnically Minahasan, with sizable Mongondow, Sangirese, Chinese, and Dutch minorities.


Etymology

The name Minahasa (or Minahassa) is etymologically derived from the words Minaesa or Maesa which can be translated as "being one" or "uniting". The word Minahasa appeared in written sources for the first time in 1789. The land is also referred to as Malesung.

The standard way to refer to a citizen of Minahasa is as a "Kawanua."


History


Origins

Archaeological research has revealed signs of human life in the northern Sulawesi since 30,000 years ago, based on evidence in the Liang Sarru cave on the island of Salibabu. Other evidence shows life about 6,000 years ago on the Passo Hillside Site in Kakas District and 4,000 years ago to early CE at the Liang Tuo Mane'e cave in Arangkaa on Karakelang Island.


Waruga, a type of sarcophagus
traditionally used by the Minahasans

Minahasa was the location of one of the first southward Austronesian migrations patterns in the late third and second millennia BCE. The generally-accepted hypothesis is that the Austronesian people originally inhabited Taiwan, before migrating and colonising areas in the northern Philippines, the southern Philippines, Borneo, and Sulawesi before splitting into separate groups, with one heading west to Java, Sumatra, and Malaya, while the other moved east towards Oceania.

According to Minahasan mythology, the first people in Minahasa were descendants of Toar and Lumimuut. Initially, they were divided into 3 groups: Makatelu-pitu (three times seven), Makarua-siouw (two times nine) and Pasiowan-telu (nine times three). They multiplied quickly, but soon there were clashes among them. Their tonaas (leaders) then decided to meet in Awuan (north of Tonderukan hill) and held a meeting to settle the disputes. That meeting was called Pinawetengan u-nuwu (dividing of language) or Pinawetengan um-posan (dividing of ritual). At that meeting the descendants were divided into three groups named Tonsea, Tombulu, and Tontemboan. At the place where this meeting took place a memorial stone called Watu Pinawetengan (Stone of Dividing) was then built.

The groups Tonsea, Tombulu, and Tontemboan established their main territories which were Niaranan, Mayesu, and Tumaratas respectively. Soon several villages were established outside these territories. These new villages then became a ruling center of a group of villages called puak, later walak (district).

Other groups of people built villages surrounding a large lake in the highlands. They then were called Tondano, Toudano or Toulour (water people). Tonsawang people established villages around Tombatu and Touluaan.

In the following times, more groups came to Minahasa:

  • Bantik people who came to the area around Malalayang.

  • Pasan and Ratahan (Bentenan) people in southeastern part of Minahasa.

  • Ponosakan people from Bolaang-Mongondow.

  • Babontehu (Bajo) people, who settled in Lembeh, Talisei, Manado Tua, Bunaken and Mantehage. They landed in Sindulang then established a kingdom called Manado which ended in 1670 and became walak Manado.


Colonial Period

Members of the Minahasaraad, 1925

At the end of the 16th century, the Portuguese and the Spanish arrived in Minahasa. The Spanish had already set themselves up in the Philippines and Minahasan lands was used to plant coffee that came from South America. Manado was further developed by the Spanish to become the center of commerce for Chinese traders. With the help of Minahasan allies the Spanish took over the Portuguese fortress in Amurang in the 1550s, and Spanish settlers established a fort in Manado.

By the early 17th century the Dutch had toppled the Ternate sultanate, and then set about eclipsing the Spanish and Portuguese. In 1677 the Dutch occupied Sangir and, two years later, the Dutch governor of Maluku visited Manado. Out of this visit came a treaty with the local Minahasan chiefs, which led to domination by the Dutch for the next 3 centuries. Relations with the Dutch were often less than cordial. A war was fought around Tondano between 1807 and 1809, and the region did not actually come under direct Dutch rule until 1870.

The colonial administration and Dutch missionaries undertook various policies which resulted in consolidation of the region and the increased use of the Manado Malay language. The missionary schools in Manado in 1881 were one of the first attempts of mass education in the Netherlands Indies, providing an opportunity for graduates to find employment as civil servants, army, and other positions in the colonial government.

The Minahasaraad (Council of Minahasa) was established in 1919, replacing the Council of Walak Leaders. The Council was limited in its legislative powers, chaired by a Dutch official, and subject to veto by the resident-general. Nonetheless it achieved some successes such as the abolition of corvée labor and initiations of public health and education programs.

The Japanese occupation of 1942–45 was a period of deprivation, and the Allies bombed Manado heavily in 1945. Dutch control was reinstated after the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II. As Minahasa lurched from crisis to crisis, there were increasing calls for decolonization and a growing resentment toward Dutch economic monopoly.


Revolution

Conflict between the colonial government and the Minahasaraad increased as the Dutch resident-general vetoed measures aimed at reforming the government that was voted upon by the Council. By the mid-1950s, the economic conditions in Minahasa had deteriorated further and the colonial government had become the target for popular anger.


The March Insurrection, 1957
In early May 1956, a coalition of militias and urban working people stormed and seized control of Fort Nieuw Amsterdam, a Dutch fortress, prison and armory in Manado. The fort contained political prisoners at the time of its storming and was seen by the revolutionaries as a symbol of colonial power. The news of the successful insurrection in Manado spread throughout Minahasa. In accord with principles of popular sovereignty and with complete disregard for claims of colonial authority, the people established parallel structures of communes for civic government and militias for civic protection.

On 2 March 1957, the Minahasaraad issued the Charter of Universal Struggle (Piagam Perjuangan Semesta, or Permesta) and declared the establishment of an independent Minahasa. By dawn of the following day, a crowd of several thousand people was massing outside the seat of the Manado Residency. The Council sent an ultimatum demanding the dissolution of the colonial government. A skirmish followed and the resident-general sought refuge in the chamber of the Minahasaraad. The March Insurrection effectively brought Dutch colonialism to a close in Minahasa.

During the early years of the Revolution, the Council of Minahasa was divided between two factions: The Mountain (Temboan), those who occupied the higher benches in the Council and were generally more radical in their ideology and their policies, and the Plain (Pataran), those who sat further down and were usually more moderate. The Mountain was composed mainly of left-wing deputies and labor union representatives. As such, the Mountain was sensitive to the motivations of the communes and responded strongly to demands from the working class. The Plain was a faction of political elites that had dominated the Minahasaraad since the colonial period. They were the political opponents of the more radical representatives within the Mountain.

The Council of Minahasa was expected to deliver a new constitution to replace the Provisional Constitution of 1957. However, by 1965, the Council was instead dealing with economic difficulties and crises. While the inability of the Plain to fend off those crises became evident, the Mountain, in their determination to save the Revolution, was gradually adopting political programs proposed by popular radicals. Authority was passing into the hands of Temboan-aligned deputies in the communes. The Plain saw its influence decline in the interior, and the number of anti-Pataran petitions increased by July 1965.

The political tension came to a head in September 1965 when delegates of councils representing the communes declared themselves in a state of insurrection against the Plain. The Mountain, under pressure from the People's Militia and the working class, expelled Pataran deputies from the Council of Minahasa. This changed the course of the Revolution from a bourgeois event to a radical, working class movement.

Following the September Movement, the Mountain drafted a new constitution alongside the Declaration of the Rights of the Working People and of the Citizen. The Declaration and Constitution were ratified for use by a public referendum employing universal suffrage. The Constitution of 1965, also known as the Temboan Constitution, formally abolished all classes and class privileges in Minahasa, called for a system of councils to exercise governmental authority, declared a series of economic and social rights, identified certain political rights, such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion, and as well as a set of duties of all citizens.


Geography

Lake Tondano
Most of Minahasa consists of mountains and hills interspersed by valleys. The Minahasa highlands are located around Tondano Caldera, a 20 × 30 km wide caldera which was formed in the Late Miocene or Early Pliocene by a massive eruption. Some of the most prominent volcanoes in Minahasa are Mount Klabat (1,995 m) and Mount Tangkoko (1,149 m) in Tonsea; Mount Soputan (1,789 m) in Tontemboan; Mount Lokon-Empung (1,579 m) and Mount Mahawu (1,331 m) in Tombulu.

The rivers in Minahasa are Tondano River (40 km), Poigar River (54.2 km), Ranoyapo River (51.9 km), and Talawaan River (34.8 km). Lake Tondano is the largest lake in Minahasa.

Along the coast of Minahasa there are several headlands (Manado Malay: Tanjung) and bays (Manado Malay: Teluk). Some of the prominent headlands are Tanjung Atep, Tanjung Pulisan, and Tanjung Kelapa. The notable bays include Amurang Bay, Belang Bay, Manado Bay, and Kema Bay.


Climate

The climate of Minahasa is tropical rainforest (Köppen: Af). The west winds bring rain on the north coast in November to April, whereas dry winds blow from the south in May to October. The annual rate of rainfall is ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 mm (79 to 118 in), and the number of rainy days varies between 90 and 139 days. The average annual temperature is 25 °C (77 °F). The average maximum air temperature is recorded at 30 °C (86 °F) and the minimum average air temperature is 22.1 °C (71.8 °F).


Biodiversity

Bunaken Marine Park

In general, the varieties of flora and fauna in Minahasa are similar to those in other parts of Wallacea. Some animals that could be found are Manguni, Maleo, Taong, Babirusa, Spectral Tarsier in Bitung Nature Reserve and Coelacanth (Latimeria menadoensis, Manado Malay: raja laut) off the coast of Manado. Bunaken Marine Park provides habitat to 390 species of coral as well as many fish, mollusk, reptile and marine mammal species.

Minahasa is partly dominated by forest. Forest cover ranges from 300 metres from sea level to mountain tops with various types of timber, including ebony (wooden) iron wood, linggua wood, cempaka wood, wooden nantu, gopasa wood, meranti wood, There are also rattan, and various types of Dammar. In addition, there are many plantation crops such as coconut, nutmeg, cloves, and coffee.


Government

The masses of Minahasa wields sovereignty both through direct participation and by means of Councils and other societal organs derived from them. The constituency of a Council is summoned for consultation at least once a fortnight. The ultimate authority within the jurisdiction of a Council lies in the consultation of its constituency.

Councils are designed to represent directly the productive life of the country. In the cities the basis of representation is mainly occupational, with the exception that persons in unorganized occupations vote in geographic units. In the rural districts, where the productive life is homogeneous, the basis of representation is geographical. Ordinarily, sessions of a Council are held in the morning, but evening sessions also occur frequently, often extending late into the night. In special circumstances, a Council may declare itself in permanent session and sat for several days without interruption.

Deputies to a Council of Masses' Deputies are directly elected and dismissed by its constituency. Citizens in unorganized occupations vote for deputies of Local Council. Workers in an organized occupation form their Labor Council, which is the central organ of proletarian power of a workplace. Local Councils and Labor Councils form their own executive commissions to exercise authority in all matters relating to the management of worker-owned economy and the administration of their jurisdictions.


The seat of the Confederal Congress of Councils
Councils assign delegates to their Congress of Councils. Local Councils in a district send delegates to their Walak Congress of Council. A Wanua Congress of Councils is composed of delegates from all Walak Congresses of Councils and Labor Councils within a commune. In this fashion, from the original local or occupational unit, the Councils pyramid up to the Congresses of Councils representing the larger administrative areas, the constituent communes, and the entire Confederation.

The legislative, executive, and administrative organ of the Confederation is the Confederal Congress of Councils, formerly the Council of Minahasa. This is composed of representatives of Wanua Congresses of Councils from the nine constituent communes. The Temboan Constitution do not provide for a formal head of the Confederation. According to its own ruling, the Confederal Congress of Councils elects its Speaker every fortnight, and the outgoing Speaker is eligible for re-election after the lapse of a fortnight.

Congresses of Councils form their executive commissions for both executive and administrative purposes, with powers regulated by successive laws. They exercise authority in matters relating to the cooperation and coordination of their jurisdictions, viz., public safety, transport, political security, and communications. They exercise supervision to secure coordination in policies affecting economic matters, labor and the general well-being of their constituencies.


Demography


Ethnicity

The Minahasan people are the dominant ethnic group in the country. They mostly live in Manado, Tonsea, Tombulu, Tondano, Tontemboan and Tonsawang. Other ethnic groups are the Mongondow people (Ponosakan) and Sangirese people (Bantik and Bentenan).

The Bajo people are seafaring nomads who migrated from the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines. They inhabits the northern part of Minahasa.

There is a significant Chinese population in Minahasa, especially around the city of Manado. Most of the Chinese population in Minahasa are Hakka, while a small number of Hokkien and Cantonese population also exist.

A small number of Europeans remain in the country. They are descended mostly from 19th-century Dutch immigrants, and to a lesser degree other European groups, such as Portuguese.

Other ethnic groups such as the Javanese and the Sundanese also exist. They migrated to Minahasa mostly due to the transmigration program enacted by the Dutch during the colonial era. They generally live in urban areas, such as Manado and Bitung.


Language

Manado Malay is an official language of the country. Official documents released by the government as well as road signs are all written in Manado Malay. This language resembles Standard Malay but with a distinct accent and dialect. Some of the vocabulary are derived from Dutch, Portuguese and other foreign languages. Manado Malay is used for day-to-day communication between different ethnic groups.

Kawanua Sign Language, the main language of the deaf community in Minahasa, is an official language by statute. It is legal to use it and have access to it in legal proceedings and government services.

Minahasan languages, a branch of the Philippine languages, are spoken by the Minahasan people. They are spread around the central and northern part of the country. In Minahasa, 5 distinct languages are spoken: Tonsawang, Tontemboan, Toulour, Tonsea and Tombulu.

Ponosakan language belongs to the Gorontalo–Mongondow group. This language is spoken by the Ponosakan people in and around Ratatotok.

South Sangiric languages are spoken in scattered locations in Minahasa. Bantik is spoken in the Manado region, while Ratahan is spoken just south of Lake Tondano.

Bajaw language is used by the Bajo people in various coastal settlements in Minahasa.

Other language spoken are Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese. Hakka is also spoken by some Chinese people. Other Chinese dialects are also spoken, such as Hokkien and Cantonese. Dutch and Portuguese are used by the descendants of Europeans.


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