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Sulawesi island has a uniqueness that is very different from other regions. Besides having natural beauty and culture, also has a tribal community that there is only one in the world. Local people call it : Tribe “Tobalo“.

Tobalo Tribe
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Tobalo tribe is, a tribal community living in the village of Bulo-Bulo (Bulo-Bulo is a village in the district Pujananting, Barru regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia) and by the Ministry of Social Affairs in 1995 been recorded as one of the tribes (communities) alienated from the nine existing tribes in South Sulawesi.

Name of Tobalo is derived from Bugis language, “to” means human and “balo” means striped. Tobalo is Striped Human community which has unique look of their skin especially in the part of feet, hands and body which is filled with white patches and also seen on the forehead in the shape of a triangle.

ToBalo Tribe
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Tobalo tribe is proved to have and maintain their own language as a symbol of community identity that they respect and they use everyday. However they also know and be able to use the language of Buginese, Makassar and Konjo to communicate with other tribes.

Because they have own language which is called Bentong language, blend between language Makassar, Buginese and Konjo, so because of that some researchers of Tobalo tribe are also mentions this tribe as a Bentong tribe.

Tobalo abnormality is not a disease but rather from gene abnormalities. In other words blotches or striped on their bodies are passed down from ancestors who had a dominant gene. At the time male and female descendants Tobalo married and both are community of Tobalo, then a gene passed on to their descendants.

According to other communities in the district Barru, tribal ToBalo went into seclusion, due to differences in their skin. At first these ethnic tried to live and blend in to other people, but difference of skin making them often became mockery and hurt their feelings.

Because they are often treated like this, then they choose to look for a place away from other people. They did this since the time of Majapahit kingdom.

They entered the deep forest and finally decided to settle down and build a settlement on the barren mountains in Barru district, about 3 km from the center of the village of Bulo-Bulo in which the two sides of the village are flanked by rows of barren hills with dry soil  textured brown. There are many cliffs decorated by granite rocks, like abstract carvings that are deliberately created. At its peak stretched savannah plains.

During this tribe ToBalo did the marriage only among their own society, so that their descendants also have the same skin. If they did intermarry with other people, not from their tribe, most likely their descendants will have a normal skin like humans in general (not striped) and the fact has been proved, many tribal ToBalo who are married to outsiders produce descendants with normal skin.

Like other tribes in Indonesia, Tribe Tobalo also has own culture, respect to their culture and have the arts identity as a marker of ethnicity. Famous art in this tribe is Sere Api dance (dance on fire).

Sere Api, Dance of gratitude to God

Video: news.liputan6.com/read/311586/sere-api-tarian-syukur-pada-tuhan

Sere Api Dance
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Actually Sere Fire dance is a part of ToBalo cultural ritual which is expressed  gratitude to the gods for the birth of a son or daughter Tobalo Headman, there is also that state that the dance is an expression of their joy over the success of the harvest and shape it in form of harvest festival. Based on those reasons, “Sere fire” dance often collaborated with the harvest festival that they called Mappadendang.

To do Sere Fire Dance, first of all making a big campfire. Accompanied by the rhythm of “Padendang” (mortar hit many times by pestle) performed ​​by some male and female dancers), the fire that is lit increasingly smolder and will eventually fade into embers. By the time the fire has become coals then start Sere Fire dancers in action. With the movement to Padendang rhythm they alternately or together jump into the fire and dance on hot coals.

As they begin to dance, their movements are not regular anymore like in possessed condition and they will be more severe in action such as entering embers into clothes, into the body by mouth or pouring burning coals. Amazing, the dancers did not hurt or burn at all. They continued to dance and do it many times.

Sere Dance become cultural charm, Pride of Barru Regency in tourism. In La Galigo International Festival that was held in 2002 in Pancana Barru, Sere Dance is much appreciated among observers of art and culture from abroad.

Tobalo population is now diminishing because they made their own traditions. They have the confidence to make a limit the number of person in one family only 10 people. If more than that, it must be removed or disposed to a certain place which they believe the person in number 11 in the end will be died.

Because of their isolation makes them increasingly left behind, especially in the field of education. Their children are not getting a good education, so many of those who can not read. Local governments seem only interested to make To Balo tribe become a tourist attraction, though it’s hurting their feelings in the midst of suffering that they have experienced over the years. Local governments should pay more attention to them in terms of quality of life as well as their health, rather than making them as merchandise.

Community Tobalo life from gardening, farming and making palm sugar. They make a living from nature on the mountain slopes and sell their crops.

The Legend of ToBalo Tribe

In the era of small kingdoms, there is the kingdom that has a king who liked to hunt wild horses. At one time according to local people, the king and his bodyguard hunting in a forest. In the hunt the guards managed to catch a wild horse with colored striped. The horse was then led into the king’s palace.

On the way to the palace, the horse was never calm and always raged. What is nearby, kicked even after in the palace, many flower pots in the courtyard broken. This horse behavior making the king uneasy, until one day the king made ​​a contest to make the horse docile.

He announced to the people, whoever that can tame the horse, it will be mated with his daughter. Then many youth came to the kingdom to join the competition and not even one succeeded. In the midst of failure, there came a brave young man. Be told, just been approach, the horse is silent and docile.

For his success, He was married to the princess. In every war to face the kingdoms around the King Palace, that young man always be included and accompanied the king on the front lines. It is said that He has an immune science to sharp weapons and fire. By the local community he was known by the nickname The Brave.

After a long time live with his wife in the palace, They still have no children. Once when he begged to God to give him the child, in his prayer he said: “O God, grant me children although similar to this horse (zebra)”. Unexpectedly God grant his request, a child born  accordance with the request, balo (striped).

There is another version about striped skin. Reputedly there is one family are witnessed pair of male and female zebra that are wanted to mate. Not just watching, the family was also disturbing that pair of horses. God angry and cursed them : skinned striped or Balo.
Embarrassed by their skin condition that striped, they chose to live on the slopes of the mountain, away from the crowds.