The Indigenous Women of Kelelondey

Oma Femmy Momongan (65) and Tanta Oli Pangalila (62) are engrossed in their work, maneuvering their shovels to dig the earth in the Kelelondey gardens (kobong). The scorching sun has beaten down on them from morning until evening. These two Minahasan women work the land to sustain their lives.

As she thrusts her shovel into the ground, Oma Oli occasionally wipes the sweat from her wrinkled forehead. She wears a large, wide-brimmed hat that offers some protection from the sun’s burning rays. Tanta Femmy is a cheerful soul; she occasionally teases and jokes with Oma Femmy, her radiant face showing no sign of fatigue.

The labor of these two indigenous Minahasan women might seem ordinary. To some, the work they perform may feel heavy and grueling, but not for them, nor for the majority of women farmers who live off the bounty of Kelelondey.

About one kilometer from Raringis village, Oma Oli and Tanta Femmy work side by side. They are tenant farmers working a plot owned by a local resident, earning their living through daily wage labor (sewa hari). Even though they have their own gardens to tend, they also work for others as hired laborers, earning approximately Rp125,000 per day.

The earth in Kelelondey is a mixture of soil and sand—a terrain perfectly suited for horticulture. Combined with the cool mountain temperatures, Kelelondey is a sanctuary for crops. Most people who manage the land here plant varieties such as chili, tomatoes, spring onions, cabbage, carrots, and Napa cabbage (petsai), as well as corn, pumpkins, eggplants, and cucumbers. These crops are the primary harvest for the nine villages that farm in Kelelondey, and the produce is shipped as far as Jakarta and Papua.

Oma Oli and Tanta Femmy are just like other women farmers in Minahasa. They work exactly as their husbands do, standing as equals—sharing the labor in the gardens and the domestic duties at home.

“If we don’t work, we don’t eat,” says Oma Oli.

Her words are deeply resonant with the philosophy of the Minahasan people (Tou Minahasa): “Ca tumawoi, ca kuman” (Those who do not work, shall not eat). The concept of working to sustain life is a credo for all Minahasans, regardless of gender.

The sight of women working in the fields is found in every village in Minahasa, proving that there is no conflict regarding the position of women and men, especially concerning labor. They are equal. Oma Oli and Tanta Femmy serve as concrete examples that refute the stigma that Minahasan women are “only about looks.”