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It was raining heavily at Menado when I alighted the bus to Tomohon., a town in the heartland of the Minahasa Highland. Tomohon is an important missionary town situated between two plateaus of active volcanoes, Lukon and Gunong Mahawu . The journey reminded me of similar trip to Kundasan Sabah with winding road along the green mountain side and picturesque villages dotting the mountain slopes. The topography is the same except in the case of Kundasang the backdrop is dominated by the mighty Kinabalu, but in Minahasa, the skyline is dotted by cone shaped volcanic peaks, sulphuric volcanic fissures, thermal springs , lakes, and deep valleys. Being at high altitude and greener, the air is cool and refreshing.
The Minahasan themselves are of similar resemblance to the people of Kundasang. They are fair skinned, agrarian, rural, of Christian faith and friendly disposition. At Tomohon I stopped at a shop while waiting for the rain to subside, and just in front of the shop was a church where a wedding ceremony was held. The wedding reminded me of a similar Christian Sabah, with the bride and the groom in coat and gown and the family and well wishers dressed western attire.
When the rain abated, I hit the road again .looking for a place to stay, As I walked along the main road of the deserted street, a van stopped by and I hopped in to be taken to a lake near Desa Lielem with the hope of getting an accommodation besides the crater lake.As there was no accommodation, I proceeded to Desa Lielem and met a man who was willing to accommodate me in his house and enjoyed the hospitality of my host.
The Minahasan at Lielem may look like rural folk, but they are open to outsiders and their world view is more global. They have worked abroad in places like Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong and the many Christian churches in Desa Lielem must have educate them well to understand the world beyond . They maintain a strong Minahasan culture and tradition with strong family and community bond. through social celebration and congressional mass. The first morning I was there I saw a gotong royong involving about 40 men constructing a kampung road, in the afternoor I listened a practising church koir and late afternoon I attended a birthday party of my host' s friend.
The Minahasan are hardworking country folk earning a living from traditional economy based on their land , the jungle and their woodwork craft. The small market in Lielem is abundant with agricultural produce and forest products.Cottage industry is making woodcarving and handmade furniture, which is an art and craft vocation..The Minahasan are aesthetic people enjoying artistic craft and beautiful things and the womenfolk are clean complexioned and well dressed. They are proud of their wooden houses which they keep clean and adorned by well maintained flower garden.They like music and drink a kind of alcohol,similar to tapai, but brewed from palm sugar. It is easy to strike a conversation with them. I was at a coffee shop at the morning market, they came to talk to me as they can identify strangers amongst them and are curious.
After two days at Lielem , as travelled along the winding country road to the airport, passing through scenic Danau Tandano , the padi fields and the clean kampungs of the Minahasan, I decided that this is the place I would like to come again to escape the hustle bustle and immerse into the life style so different from that of a big city.
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