I remember my first flight in Manado in 2011. From the window of the plane of the sea sparkled under the sun, with a vast carpet of coconut before it gradually turned into an urban concrete jungle. "That's why the nickname is Minahasa Bumi Nyiur Melambai-Land of the Coconut Trees Waving" said my friend, as he has the volcano Manado Tua and Bunaken off.
The journey to Manado at the nearby hill town of Tomohon was picturesque. It was too early for roadside restaurants to open, many of them with views of Manado Bay and Cape Tongkeina on green fields in coconut groves.
It was harvest time for carrots and squash as we drove through the hill plantations vegetable Tomohon.
volcanic soil made the Minahasa Highlands a fertile hinterland for Eastern Indonesia. Perpetual bounty made the Minahasa people in the jovial party and religious donors thank you
This culture is reflected in the pervasiveness of "retirement homes." - villas rented for Christian prayer gatherings - throughout the Mahawu mountain.
I was told that our first destination, the lookout on Mount Mahawu, boasted a magnificent view of Manado on one side and the other Tondano. Unfortunately the weather was not good for tourism. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the hazy outlook was in fact the edge of a volcanic crater full of sulfur yellow, moss green, and the natural contours carved by hundreds and thousands of years of tectonic movements, wind and rain.
There is a long nice bush path through the forests around the crater rim. It is the natural habitat of Sulawesi black crested macaques, but spotting these days it is a rare event.
It was noon when we went down. Seeing a lizard crossing the road, Enar said: "This is a wonderful animal," as he recalled having lizard stew on a drunken night out with his friends. He drove us to exotic butchers Pasar Tomohon.
Toar and Lumimuut, ancestors of the Minahasa people
Nestled behind stalls of bright flowers and colorful vendors of vegetables was a nightmarish spectacle roast dog, grilled rats and chopped bats. It evokes memories of a traumatic meals offered me on a previous visit to a restaurant on Lake Tondano. (Customers were disappointed that the restaurant lacked monkey.)
I opted for a healthier lunch renga (snail curry) and sayur paku (fried fern) by rice fields near the border Tondano, while Enar indulged in chili ducks. " Bumbu ERWE ," he noted, which means that the duck was cooked in dog normally used for cooking spices.
After lunch, we paid a visit to Kampung Jawa Tondano. The Javanese Muslim enclave was created in the late 1830s when the Dutch colonial government exiled prince Diponegoro and his royal entourage. Prince Diponegoro was famous for leading the war of Java, one of the bloodiest wars in the history of Indonesia. Kampung Jawa Tondano has since been the home of the descendants of royal subjects Diponegoro, and the tomb of Kyai Mojo-religious leader of the group.
Being the descendants of Javanese male noble ancestors and Minahasa women farmers, the Jawa Tondano community now live in an interesting hybrid culture. Many Javanese Tondano are bilingual in Javanese and Malay Manado. They have surnames like Minahasa, but their names are such as Javanese Ponggawa (commander) and Pulukadang (ten brothers, the name of a servant of Kyai Mojo). They cook Minahasa Javanese-influenced dishes such as jenang (riceflour- or milk puddings sweet coconut tapioca) and ketupat (shaped rice cakes served with a diamond light coconut curry).
missing Tondano lake because of the heavy rain, we ended the day at Bukit Kasih Kanonang, emblematic place of pan-religious pilgrimage Minahasa. This draft centerpiece of a network of the dominant Church in Minahasa was opened in 02 as a symbol of religious tolerance in Minahasa.
Minahasa Faces ancestors Toar and Lumimuut are engraved on a cliff on Bukit Kasih, somewhat in the style of Mount Rushmore (but not quite). According Minahasa chronic Toar Genghis Khan was the warlord who led the army of the Mongol Empire to unite the colonies in Eurasia. Toar Lumimuut fell in love with a royal servant whose beauty and character was comparable to the goddesses in heaven. But Toar was not alone - his rival being the own son of Genghis Khan Ogedei, who plotted to banish Toar into oblivion
Aware of evil regime Ogedei, Toar planned an escape .. He sent Lumimuut off in a boat and promised to meet her at their destination after fighting the battle. Toar hid as a fugitive in northern China for two years before leaving in search of Lumimuut. He arrived at the island of Bangka (one off the northern tip of Sulawesi) and heard the inhabitants of the beautiful Mongolian woman living with Karema, an elderly woman in the neighboring island of Likupang. He found Lumimuut Karema and officiated their marriage. Thus was the genesis of the Minahasa people.
The colored crater Bukit Kasih Kanonang where houses of worship five religions were placed side by side
Every now and then I read whiney articles about less-than-heroic servicing Bukit Kasih. Now I know why: Bukit Kasih is actually a large volcanic crater. Fourteen years of tectonic activity is more than enough to destroy the beautiful alleys, prayer stations and what is supposed to look like five mini houses of worship on the hill. There were landslides everywhere. Poor maintenance is not the problem, but rather the fact that this landscape was not made to support the construction of human origin.
While I appreciate the beauty of nature makes some people want to give extravagant praise to this higher power they believe created this, I did not Bukit Kasih. Instead of experiencing a place glorifying God for universal worship, the message I seemed to be more about insane mission of an institution to tame nature and sing his own praises in the name of religious tolerance.
Whereas, without this dangerous construction, Bukit Kanonang is beautiful in its own right: green forests that meet profiled white orange-tinted limestone, full of sulfur and hot springs misty, overlooking the particular topography of the Minahasa homeland. Yet this natural wonder working God is what people talk about when they talk about Bukit Kasih. Seeing the wreck Bukit Kasih is today as the universe to make a statement at the end of the day, nature wins. For me, seeing nature victory was what made my visit worthwhile.
The return trip to Manado after dark was long and cold. We stopped for dinner in Kawangkoan on char siu fried rice in a Cantonese restaurant and a pleasant conversation from the land of volcanoes and ancient heroes
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In short
Country: Indonesia
province Sulawesi Utara (North Sulawesi)
ground: Minahasa regency - 1.115 km 2
the largest city: Manado
population 309 876 - 2010 estimate of Minahasa
Getting there: daily flights from most major cities to Manado
What to bring: hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, photo, waterproof camera, hiking shoes, warm
and windproof clothing
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