Welcome: Pesantren, A Muslim Boarding School, at Kinilow

WELCOME to Tomohon, the land with centuries of cultural history.
Tomohon
is that one city that will leave you in an awe for the people’s warmth and the story that
they reenact on their lives. It is a well-known fact that Indonesia is an ethnically diverse
country and the cultural diversity in Tomohon reflects so. The heterogenous
demography consists of different race, ethnicity, religion, and languages. That is why to
know Tomohon better, you will need to also know the people and the culture better.
The name Tomohon came from the term Tou mu’ung from the Tombulu
language. History records said that Tomohon is one of the areas that includes the
Tombulu tribe. The development of civilization and the dynamics from year to year have
made Tomohon one of the sub-district capitals in Minahasa regency. With a total
population of 106,917 people per 2019, most Tomohonese are from the Tombulu tribe,
one of the Minahasan tribe alongside of Toutemboan, Tonsea, Toulour, and
Tonsawang. The Tombulu people are mainly living in Tinoor, the Northest part of
Tomohon. There are also some other ethnics living in Tomohon aside of the
Minahasans.
In their daily lives, the people in Tomohon communicates in Manadonese,
Indonesian, and even Minahasan for some conversations. The Minahasan language
itself consists of 8 different dialects from the 8 existing tribes, such as Toutemboan,
Toulour, Tombulu, and so on. The most used dialect is Tombulu, because most
Tomohonese Minahasans come from the Tombulu tribe. Alongside of the mentioned
conversational languages, it turns out that there are some people, in specific elders,
who speaks Dutch because of the Dutch invasion and the schools during the invasion
era tends to use Dutch as the main language. Nowadays, the Dutch-speaking people
tend to decrease by numbers due to the decreasing numbers of elders, respectively.
Indonesia is a religiously diverse place, and so is Tomohon. The majority of
Tomohonese are Christians (96,52% with 72,83 being Protestants and 23,69% being
Catholics) because Tomohon is Protestant Christianity center in Minahasa. The Head
Office of the Evangelical Christian Church Synod in Minahasa (GMIM), which is the
largest church assembly in North Sulawesi, is located in this city. Likewise, The Roman
Catholic Church also has a long history with the believers in Tomohon. In Tomohon,
there are some Buddhists who come to the vihara at Kakaskasen III to worship and
pray. Most Muslim Tomohonese are living at the Kampung Jawa area. There is also a
pesantren, a Muslim boarding school, at Kinilow.
As most of the people are Minahasans, the Tomohon culture shares the common
roots with the Minahasan culture as well. One of the most popular dances from
Minahasa is Tari Kabasaran. Tari Kabasaran is the traditional war dance where a group
of men wear the Minahasan traditional war clothes and hold the traditional weapon as
they perform the dance. Most of the time, the clothes are in red. The Minahasan
performs Kabasaran during special events like parades and events to welcome
important people. Tari Maengket is also another traditional dance from Minahasa,
usually performed during the harvesting thanksgiving events back then, but as the
civilization and cultural function changed, Tari Maengket is mostly perfomed in cultural
shows or activities. Tari Maengket compiles a lot of artistic aspects together, blending
dancing, choir, music, singing, and lyrics into one single performance. These days,
some people has even started to inculturize the church liturgy and Maengket.
On other hand, Tomohon with the Minahasan roots has the world-famous wood
instrument, Kolintang. Kolintang is a traditional instrument composed on a row of gongs
arranged horizontally that function to provide melodies to the music ensemble. name
kolintang itself derived from the sound that the instrument creates, which are tong (low
notes), tang (medium notes), and ting (high notes), therefore the people started to call
the instrument as kolintang. The wood used to assemble a kolintang is from the woods
likely found in Minahasa, North Sulawesi. Kolintang usually requires a group of 5-6 with
individual kolintangs to perform. Kolintang functions as a musical accompaniment or
even a standalone performance.
Aside of the art cultural heritage, Tomohonese has a traditional legacy that hints
how the people work hand in hand to help one another: Mapalus. The word “mapalus”
came from the Minahasan word “ma” which stands for an active verb prefix and “palus”
which stands for “to be shared”. As a work practice, mapalus means to work together or
work in turns, formerly in agriculture. Mapalus is a moral and cultural value that the
Tomohonese believe in until now. On certain occassions like wedding, funeral, or
disasters, people will be helping with manpower or money to support their peers. This
philosophy highlights the ethical value that the Minahasans hold such as responsibility,
solidarity, leadership, trust, and even equality.
This culture has been there for eras and one of the results is the architectural
heritage of Rumah Wale or Rumah Panggung. Rumah Wale or Rumah Panggung is a
traditional architectural style from Minahasa, North Sulawesi, that comes in a shape like
a stage. Rumah wale identifies as a log house with the frame support structure system
using wooden beams and columns. The tall figure is to avoid flood and wild creatures
attacking the humans. A village at Tomohon, Desa Woloan, is one of the places that
you can visit to see the rumah wale in person. The people from Desa Woloan are skillful
carpenters and their log houses are built firmly and durable.
The cultural heritage and story of Tomohon deserves tons of appreciation. The
legacy of their philosophy and moral values represents well through the present-day
society. Although it will not take a short time to wholly explore and learn about the
cultures of Tomohon, but there are lots of thing that tourists and even the Tomohonese
themselves can get from revisiting the culture. As you know the culture closer, then you
can finally see how Tomohon’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.

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WELCOME to Tomohon, the land with centuries of cultural history.

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