Waruga of Sawangan

The waruga is the traditional burial container of the Minahasa: a box cut from a single block of stone with a separate lid shaped like a small pitched roof, in which the body was placed in a crouched or seated position facing north, with grave goods, and which stood above ground rather than being buried. Family lines used the same waruga across generations. The Dutch administration banned the practice in the nineteenth century on public health grounds after epidemics, and burial in the ground replaced it. At Sawangan around a hundred waruga were collected from the surrounding villages into a single field, so they stand in rows with their carved lids - figures, animals, and in some cases depictions of the occupant's trade - readable together.

What you actually see

• Stone burial boxes - single-block containers with pitched roof lids.
• Carved lids - figures and scenes, some showing the occupant's occupation.
• A gathered collection - around a hundred brought together into one field.
• A banned practice - stopped by the Dutch on public health grounds.

When to go

All year. An hour or two.

Honest expectations

These are graves, gathered from their original sites - the removal is itself part of the story. Interpretation is limited. It is a small site and an hour covers it.

Nearby

Airmadidi is close; Manado and Tomohon are west and south.