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CELEBES
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CELEBES ,' one of the four See also:Great Sunda Islands in the Dutch See also:East Indies. Its See also:general outline is extremely irregular, and has been compared to that of a See also:starfish with the rays torn off from one See also:side, corresponding to the See also:west side of the See also:island. It consists of four great peninsulas, extending from a comparatively small See also:nucleus towards the See also:north-east, east, See also:south-east and south, and separated by the three large gulfs of Tomini or Gorontalo, Tolo or Tomaiki, and See also:Boni. Of these gulfs the first is by far the largest, the other two having much wider entrances and not extending so far inwards. Most important among the smaller inlets are the bays of Amurang, Kwandang and Tontoli on the ' The second syllable is accented. north See also:coast, Palos and See also:Pare-Pare on the west, and Kendari or See also:Vosmaer on the east. Of the numerous considerable islands which See also:lie north-east, east and south of Celebes (those off the west coast are few and small), the See also:chief are prolongations of the four great peninsulas—the Sangir and Talaut islands off the north-east, the Banggai and Sula off the east, Wuna and Buton off the south-east, and See also:Saleyer off the south. Including the adjacent islands, the See also:area of Celebes is estimated at 77,855 sq. m., and the See also:population at 2,000,000; without them the area is 69,255 sq. m. and the population 1,250,000. The scenery in Celebes is most varied and picturesque. " No-where in the See also:archipelago," wrote A. R. See also:Wallace, " have I seen such See also:gorges, chasms and precipices as abound in the See also:district of Maros " (in the See also:southern See also:peninsula) ; " in many parts there are See also:vertical or even overhanging precipices five or six See also:hundred feet high, yet completely clothed with a See also:tapestry of vegetation." Much of the See also:country, especially See also:round the Gulf of Tolo, is covered with primeval forests and thickets, traversed by scarcely perceptible paths, or broken with a few clearings and villages. A considerable See also:part of the island has been little explored, but the general See also:character seems to be mountainous. Well-defined ranges prolong themselves through each of the peninsulas, rising in many places to a considerable See also:elevation. Naturally there are no great See also:river-basins or extensive plains, but one of the features of the island is the frequent occurrence, not only along the coasts, but at various heights inland, of beautiful stretches of level ground often covered with the richest pastures. Minahassa, the north-eastern extremity, consists of a See also:plateau divided into sections by volcanoes (Klabat, 662o ft., being the highest). See also:Sulphur springs occur here. In the west of the See also:northern peninsula the interior consists in part of plateaus of considerable extent enclosed by the coast ranges. Near See also:Lake Posso, in the centre of the island, the mountains are higher; the Tampiko See also:massif has a height of nearly 5000 ft., the chains south and west of the lake have a general See also:altitude of about 5450 ft., with peaks still loftier. In the southern peninsula two chains stretch parallel with the west and east coasts; the former is the higher, with a general altitude of 3200 ft. In the south it joins the See also:Peak of Bonthain, or Lompo-battang, a great volcanic See also:mass ro,o88 ft. high. In the east central part of the island the See also:mountain Koruve exceeds lo,000 ft., and is supposed to be the highest in the island. An alluvial coast See also:plain, 7 to 9 M. wide, stretches along the See also:foot of the western See also:chain, and between the two chains is the See also:basin of the Walannae river, draining northward into Lake See also:Tempe. Little is known of the See also:orography of the eastern peninsula. At the See also:base of the south-eastern there is another large lake, Tovieti. In this peninsula there are parallel ranges on the east and west flanks. The See also:trench between them is partly occupied by the vast swamp of Lake Opa.
The See also:rivers of the narrow mountainous peninsulas See also:form many rapids and cataracts; as the Tondano, draining the lake of the same name to the north-west coast of Minahassa at Menado; the Rano-i-Apo, flowing over the plateau of Mongondo to the Gulf of Amurang; the Poigar, issuing from a little-known lake of that plateau; the Lombagin, traversing narrow canons; and the river of Boni, which has its outfall in the plain of Gorontalo, near the mouth of the Bolango or Tapa, the latter connected by a See also:canal with the Lake of Limbotto. All these rivers are navigable by praus or rafts for only a few See also:miles above the mouth. In central Celebes, the Kodina flows into Lake Posso, and the Kalaena discharges to the Gulf of Boni; the Posso, navigable by blottos (canoes formed of hollowed See also:tree-trunks), is the only river flowing from the lake to the Gulf of Tomini. The rivers of the southern peninsula, owing to the See also:relief of the See also:surface, are navigable to a somewhat greater extent. The Walannae flows into Lake Tempe, and, continued by the Jenrana (Tienrana), which discharges into the Gulf of Boni, is navigable for small boats; the Sadang, with many affluents, flows to the west coast, and is navigable by sanpans. The Jenemaja is a broad river, navigable far from the mouth. The coasts of Celebes are often fertile and well populated; but, as shown by the marine charts, many See also:sand, mud and See also: These are overlaid by conglomerates, limestones and See also:clay slates of very doubtful See also:age, the most interesting being a radiolarian clay which occurs on the south side of the Matinang Mountains, at the north end of Lake Posso, &c. ; it may correspond with the radiolarian cherts of See also:Borneo. See also:Tertiary beds are found, especially near the coast. The See also:Eocene includes a See also:series of sandstones and marls with See also:lignite, and these are overlaid by See also:nummulite limestones. The See also:Miocene contains an Orbitoides See also:limestone. Intrusive and volcanic rocks of great variety and of various ages occur. See also:Peridotite and See also:gabbro form much of the eastern peninsula (Banggai). See also:Leucite and See also:nepheline rocks have been found in various parts of the island, especially in the south-west. In Minahassa, at the northern extremity, there is a large area of tuffs and agglomerates consisting chiefly of See also:augite See also:andesite, and in this area there are many See also:recent volcanic cones. Eruptions still take See also:place at intervals, but the volcanoes for the most part seem to have reached the solfataric See also:stage. See also:Climate.—The climate of the island, everywhere accessible to the See also:influence of the See also:sea, is maritime-tropical, the temperature ranging generally between 770 and So° F., the extremes being about 9o° and 700 F., only on the higher mountains falling during the See also:night to 540 or 55° F. The rainfall in the northern peninsula (north of the See also:equator) differs from that of the southern; the former has rains (not caused by the See also:monsoon), and of smaller amount, 102 in. annually; the latter has a greater rainfall, 157 in., brought by the north-western monsoon, and of which the west coast receives a much larger See also:share than the east. See also:Fauna and See also:Flora.—In spite of its situation in the centre of the archipelago, Celebes possesses a fauna of a very distinctive See also:kind. The number of See also:species is small, but in many cases they are See also:peculiar to the island. Of See also:land birds, for example, about 16o species are known, and of these not less than about 90 are peculiar, the See also:majority of the See also:remainder being See also:Asiatic in distinction from Australian. Mammals are few in species, but remarkable, especially Macacus See also:niger, an See also:ape found nowhere else but in See also:Bachian; See also:Anoa depressicornis, a small ox-like quadruped which inhabits the mountainous districts; and the See also:babirusa or See also:pig-See also:deer of the See also:Malays. Some of the animals are probably descendants of specimens introduced by See also:man; others are allied in species, but not identical, with mammals of See also:Java and Borneo; others again, including the three just mentioned, are wholly or practically confined to Celebes. There are no large beasts of See also:prey, and neither the See also:elephant, the See also:rhinoceros nor the See also:tapir is represented. See also:Wild-buffaloes, See also:swine and goats are See also:pretty See also:common; and most of the usual domestic animals are kept. The horses are in high repute in the archipelago; formerly about 700 were yearly exported to Java, but the See also:supply has considerably diminished. The same peculiarity of species holds in regard to the See also:insects of the Celebes (so far as they are known) as to the mammals and birds. Out of 118 species of butterflies, belonging to four important classes, no fewer than 86 are peculiar; while among the See also:rose-chafers or Cetoniinae the same is the See also:case in 19 out of 30. Equally remarkable with this presence of peculiar species is the See also:absence of many kinds that are common in the See also:rest of the archipelago; and these facts have been considered to indicate connexion with a larger land-mass at a very distant geological See also:epoch, and the subsequent continuous See also:isolation of Celebes. This view, however, has been controverted. It is held that in the Miocene and See also:Pliocene periods there were land connexions with the Philippines, Java and the See also:Moluccas, and through the last with Australasian lands to the east and south-east. See also:Migration of species took place along these lines in both directions. Those immigrants which remained in what is now Celebes may have See also:developed new species. Moreover, while Celebes has species which are peculiar to itself and one other of the islands just mentioned, it has none which it shares exclusively with Borneo, and thus the importance of the See also:Macassar Strait as a biological See also:division is indicated. Vegetation is extremely See also:rich; but there are fewer large trees than in the other islands of the archipelago. Of See also:plants that furnish See also:food for man the most important are See also:rice, See also:maize and See also:millet, See also:coffee, the coco-See also:nut tree, See also:sago-See also:palm, the obi or native See also:potato, the See also:bread-See also:fruit and the See also:tamarind; with lemons, oranges, mangosteens, wild-plums, See also:Spanish See also:pepper, beans, melons and See also:sugar-See also:cane. The See also:shaddock is to be found only in the See also:lower plains. See also:Indigo, See also:cotton and See also:tobacco are grown; the See also:bamboo and the ratan-palm are common in the See also:woods; and among the larger trees are See also:sandal-See also:wood, See also:ebony, sapan and See also:teak. The palm, Arenga saccharifera, furnishes gemuti See also:fibres for See also:ropes; its juice is manufactured into sugar and a beverage called sagueir; and intoxicating drinks are prepared from several other palms. Products.—As in natural vegetation and fauna, so in cultivated products, Celebes, apart from its peculiarities, presents the transitional See also:link between the Asiatic and the Australian regions of the Malayan See also:province. For example, rice is produced here in smaller quantity and of inferior quality to that in the western part of the archipelago, but See also:superior to that in the eastern See also:section, where sago and See also:sorghum form the See also:staple articles of food. The products of the forests supply about See also:half the See also:total exports. The See also:fisheries include trepang, turtle and See also:pearl oysters. See also:Gold is worked under See also:European direction in the district of Gorontalo, but with only partial success; the See also:search for See also:coal in the southern peninsula has yielded no satisfactory results; See also:tin, See also:iron and See also:copper, found in the eastern peninsula and elsewhere, are utilized only for native See also:industries.
Natives.—The native population of the island is all of Malayan stock. The three most important peoples are the See also:Bugis (q.v.) the Macassars and the Mandars. The medley of other Malayan tribes, of a more or less See also:savage type, living in the island, are known under the collective name of See also:Alfuros (q.v.). The Macassars are well-built and See also:muscular, and have in general a dark-See also: The See also:weaving of cotton See also:cloth is principally carried on by women; and the See also:process, at least for the finer description, is tedious in the extreme. The houses are built of wood and bamboo; and as the use of See also:diagonal struts is not practised, the walls soon lean over from the force of the winds. The Macassar See also:language, which belongs to the Malayo-Javanese See also:group, is spoken in many parts of the southern peninsula; but it has a much smaller area than the Buginese, which is the language of Boni. It is deficient in generalizations; thus, for example, it has words for the See also:idea of carrying in the See also:hand, carrying on the See also:head, carrying on the See also:shoulder, and so on, but has no word for carrying simply. It has adopted a certain number of vocables from See also:Sanskrit, See also:Malay, Javanese and Portuguese, but on the whole is remark-ably pure, and has undergone comparatively few recent changes. It is written in a peculiar character, which has displaced, and probably been corrupted from, an old form employed as See also:late as the 17th See also:century. Neither bears any trace of derivation from the Sanskrit See also:alphabet.. The priests affect the use of the Arabic letters. The literature is poor, and consists largely of romantic stories from the Malay, and religious See also:treatises from the Arabic. Of the few See also:original pieces the most important are the See also:early histories of See also:Goa, Tello and some other states of Celebes, andthe Rapang, or collection of the decrees and See also:maxims of the old princes and sages. The more See also:modern productions are letters, See also:laws and poems, many of the last of considerable beauty. Divisions, Towns, Population.—Celebes is divided by the Dutch, for administrative purposes, into the See also:government of Celebes with dependencies (south-eastern and southern peninsulas and all west coast), and the residency of Menado (north-eastern peninsula and coast of Gulf of Tomini). The eastern peninsula and coast of the Gulf of Tolo belong politically to the residency of See also:Ternate (q.v.). The following table shows approximately the See also:distribution and See also:composition of the population: The Government of Celebes and Dependencies is subdivided into the government territory, the See also:vassal states (Boni, q.v., and Ternate), and the federal countries. The See also:density of population for the whole government is estimated as 3.7 or 4 per sq. m., varying from 2.2 in the vassal and federated states to 14.7 to 18.4 for Macassar and the districts directly governed by the Dutch. The density of population in districts outside the influence of European government sinks to and less per sq. m. As in the case of Minahassa, the difference must be explained by See also:physical and moral conditions. Two-thirds of the natives live by agriculture, and one-third by See also:trade, See also:navigation, See also:shipbuilding and other industries. In agreement with these See also:principal occupations, the centres of population are found in southern Celebes, on the coast (not in the interior plains or on the lake, as in Menado). Palos (3000), with good See also:port; Pare-Pare, connected by road with Lake Tempe; and Macassar (17,925), the seat of the See also:governor and the centre of trade for the eastern part of the archipelago. On the south coast must also be named Bonthain (4000); on the east coast, Balong-Nipa; and Buton and Saleyer, seats of See also:administration and ports of call on the island See also:groups of the same names. The Residency of Menado comprises three districts: Minahassa, the little states along the north coast west of Minahassa, and Gorontalo, including the other states of the northern peninsula lying along the Gulf of Tomini. The density of population being calculated at about 2.7 to 3 per sq. m. for Celebes, is 16.2 for Minahassa, but only 1.5 to 2 for the Residency of Menado. Centres of population in Menado are Amurang (3000), the seat of a Dutch controller, and a calling place for the steamers of the See also:Indian Packet See also:Company; Menado (io,000), the chief See also:town of the residency, the principal station of the Dutch missionaries, with a See also:fair amount of trade, but an unsafe roadstead; Tondano (12,000), near the lake and river of the same name, at an altitude of nearly 2000 ft., and one of the chief centres; Gorontalo, one of the most important towns of Celebes, carrying on See also:direct trade with See also:Singapore and See also:Europe. All the other coast places have some importance as chief villages of the little states and as ports of call for the vessels of the See also:steam packet company, but have only from 500 to moo inhabitants.
See also:History.—Celebes was first discovered by the Portuguese in the early part of the 16th century, the exact date assigned by some authorities being 1512. The name is not used by the natives, and is apparently of See also:foreign origin, but has been variously derived, e.g. from the mountain of Klabat or Kalabat, or from Sell Besi, an iron kris carried by the natives, of whom those who were first asked for the name of the island were conceived, according to this theory, to have misunderstood their questioners. At the See also:time of the Portuguese See also:discovery, the Macassars were the most powerful See also:people in the island, having successfully defended themselves against the See also: Total. See also:Oriental Foreigners. Government of Celebes 1414 3738 554 54 409,739 415,499 ' and Dependencies . Residency of Menado 836 3574 286 16 430.941 436,406 Minahassa Gorontalo 115 505 133 •. In 1683 the north-eastern part of the island was conquered by See also:Robert Paddenburg and placed under the command of the governor of the Moluccas. In 1703 a fort was erected at Menado. The kingdom of Boni was successfully attacked in 1824, and in See also:August of that year the Bonga treaty was renewed in a greatly modified form. Since then the principal military event is the Boni insurrection which was quelled in 1859, but this was far from pacifying the country permanently. A series of revolts of various chiefs in 1905–6 was not arrested without considerable fighting, but after this the whole island was brought under Dutch authority, even where native See also:rule survived. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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