Ternate - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

TERNATE 92 TOPOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL DESCRIPTIONS
altar, called a pilogot, after which an island has also been named. 10 It has created the
mistaken idea that these spirits will only roam over there.
They consider the killing of animals, such as dogs, pigs, chickens, and goats, to be an
opportune occasion for predicting the future from the position of the entrails and the course
of veins and tendons. 11 This is done especially during illness, even though they are aware
of the healing powers of many plants.
The allegation (Tijdschrift, p. 98) that the bodies of the deceased are discarded
without any care is incorrect. Actually they bury their dead either near their houses or in
the forest; if in the forest, after they have asked the sick person first if he has perhaps
already chosen a good spot, since close attention is paid to such things.
They believe, among other things, that the world rests on the back of a buffalo, and
they explain earthquakes (which they call manombol) as the sting of a mosquito, or as a
punishment from the evil spirits for illicit love.
Bajorese live only in Kalumbatan on the east coast of Peleng and are under their
own headman or Punggawa. For the right to fish in the Banggai waters they pay a
contribution of f 4.- annually to the Sultan. Their number varies from three to four
hundred inhabitants and their journeys extend all along the coast of Celebes as far as the
Togian Islands. [p. 133]
The area on that coast which falls under the Rajah of Banggai consists of eleven
districts or kampongs, with Tanjong Api forming the northern boundary and Togong Teong
the southern one. They have the following names: Sinoran, Batui, Tangkiang, Kentong,
Mandono, Lontiok, Nambo, Luuk with Biak, Basama, Lamala, and Pokomondolong, the last
three known under the common name of Balanta, while of the villages on the north coast of
this peninsula, Pati-Pati and Saluan come under Mandono and Boalemo under Mandono,
Kentong, and Tangkiang.
Only at Mandono is there an Utusan in name of the Sultan. The heads of the
kampongs are Sangaji, with lower headmen who bear the titles of Kapita and Dakanyo.
The coastal population is Moslem except at Kentong, where a number of Alfurus live.
There are more than three thousand inhabitants, but the number of mountain dwellers
cannot even approximately be determined.
The most important trading place is Pokomondolong or Balanta 12 from where a lot of
paddy, at the average price of f 4.- per picul, is sold to Gorontalo. Balanta is known for its
10 [p. 132, n. 1] See Bosscher and Matthijsen, TBG, p. 98, in which this word is corrupted to
piluku.
11 [p. 132, n. 2] Telling the future from the sounds of birds, a very popular activity in Minahasa
for instance, is only found in these regions at Balanta on the coast of Celebes.
12 [p. 133, n. 1] I completely disagree with van Musschenbroek’s claim (TAG, p. 96) that Mandono
is a prosperous area with a lot of industry. He makes this claim only because cotton is grown, there
and at Nambo, which is used to weave sarongs. European threads, however, are better for this
purpose. Native trading vessels rarely go there; they all go to Pokomondolong instead. (See also
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