Minahassans

a people living on the northeastern tip of Sulawesi, Indonesia, numbering approximately 650,000 persons (1973, estimate). The language of the Minahassans is related to the Philippine subgroup of the Indonesian group of Malayo-Polynesian languages. More than 90 percent of the Minahassans are Christians and the remainder are Muslims; animistic beliefs have also survived. The chief occupation is farming (corn, vegetables, fruit, rice, coconut palms, spices); and fishing and livestock breeding are also well developed. They live in communities that have preserved traces of clan relations. The Minahassans are among the most culturally advanced peoples of Indonesia.