Toar and Lumimuut
By Peter J.M. Nas
Published in Reimar Schefold (ed.), Minahasa: Past and Present, CNWS, Leiden, 1995, pp. 58-71.
The mother was very handsome. Her name was Lumimuut and she was descended from the gods. Her beauty was fascinating and eternal youth her portion. And her son, named Toar, who had become a young man, left her to explore the world. At their farewell she presented him with a staff of equal length to hers. And she entreated him not to marry any of his relatives and therefore never to propose to a woman who was in possession of a staff of the same length. After many years and long journeys the son returned. He met a beautiful woman, whom he desired to marry. In her he did not recognize his mother who had indeed remained eternally young, while she did not assume that this full-grown man was her son. Before entering into marriage, mindful of the wish of his mother when he had left her, the son laid his staff alongside that of his bride for comparison. Because of intensive use during his travels, however, his staff had been greatly worn down and was no longer of the same length. So there was nothing to prevent the marriage of the ancestors of the Minahasa people.
One night at a full moonshine, Toar met Lumimuut. According to Karema's instructions they measured each others sticks which turned out not to be of equal length. Thus the wedding ceremony was held with the stars and the moon as witnesses. The peak of the mountain where the ceremony was held glowed like a golden sphere, and the mountain was therefore named Lolombulan.
After the wedding ceremony they went to seek for Karema, but did not succeed to find her. They later stayed at the mountainous area on which many buluh tui (small bamboo stems) grew. There theylived, had their children and their children's children. Generation after generation were semakarua siyouw multiples of nine. Each new generation was welcomed by the cry of the wala bird which was the sign of good blessings