Mythologies of the Wana (Tau Taa

Wana tribe or Tau Taa–Wana is an ethnic group of the numerous sub-tribes who speak variants from Taa dialect of Pamona language in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Wana people are divided into two groups, they are the Tau Taa, where tau means 'people' and taa means 'not', a group that lives in villages. Meanwhile, To Wana which means 'forest people' is a group that lives nomadically because of their social image as a society that lives in the forest. The people are an indigenous peoples who live in small villages (lipu) around the Bulang and Bongka River. Since the year 2000, the Wana people have implemented rotational farming as a means of maintaining themselves. Before this they lived as a nomadic tribe. The Wana people are currently under threat. This is mainly constituted over land trouble. Since 1994 incursions from the government of Indonesia's transmigration program have affected their traditional ways of life. Yayasan Merah Putih is a non-profit, NGO in Palu that has been a supporter of Wana rights since 1999 and has also introduced sekolah lipu or village schools in order to help the Wana people.

Not that many years ago, the Wana were ordinary tribal people, just learning that the Creator God was greater than all the spirits they tried to appease every moment of their lives. Now, the Creator God is their Savior, and He is the conqueror of all the spirits. That’s something they want all the people of their ethnic group to know. And they are not waiting around for foreigners to come and do the job. It’s their people – it’s their passion. So three young families of the Wana tribe, sent out by their village church, are now missionaries to the remote and isolated “Oak Tree” village in their own people group. Trained by NTM and their local church, these believers will start at the beginning of the story and bring the Good News of the true Creator God. With no promised support, the three families are trusting God for daily sustenance. But the Wana church is behind them. They’ve built functional houses and constructed dugout canoes with outriggers to give them a basic means of transportation. Other fellow believers are taking care of their school-age children. “It is exciting to see the Wana church send their own missionaries to reach this little village with the Gospel,” says helicopter pilot Steffan Pyle. Thanks to you and other donors the helicopter can affordably fly food and supplies to sustain these three families when they request it. Recently, Steffan also flew in a motor for the team’s outrigger canoe. With that, they can make supply runs down the river between helicopter flights. “They are there for the long term -- to see a church functioning on its own,” says Ed Casteel, pioneer missionary to the Wana.

Talking about the Wana Tribe, the first thing that must be known is about an area located in the interior of the Province of East Central Sulawesi. The area referred to refers to the settlement of the Wana Tribe which covers the interior of Poso Regency (especially in Ampana Tete, Ulu Bongka, and the interior of North Bungku Subdistrict), Morowali Regency. Tau Taa Wana which means people who live in forest areas. However, the wana tribe themselves often refer to themselves as Tau taa (without wana) or Taa people. This is adapted to the language they use, namely the Taa language – apart from the fact that in their language the term wana is not known. In building their residential area, the Wana tribe chose not to mix with the majority population. They chose to live in the forest interior of Central Sulawesi by building a kind of village called lipu. In the tradition of the Wana tribe, the name of the community group that occupies Lipu adjusted to the name of the area where Lipu it is located. For example, To Posangke, To Oewaju, To Kajupoli, To Bulang, To Kajumarangke, To Untunue, To Langada, and so on. In building their residential area, the Wana tribe chose not to mix with the majority population. They chose to live in the forest interior of Central Sulawesi by building a kind of village called lipu. In the tradition of the Wana tribe, the name of the community group that occupies Lipu adjusted to the name of the area where Lipu it is located. Based on historical data, the Wana people came from an area in the south-southeast Sulawesi Island, to be precise in the Southwest or Northwest of Malili, in the Southeastern Gulf Bones. They arrived at their current settlement allegedly through a wave of migration in hundreds of years BC. From physical characteristics, material culture and language dialects, the Wana are included in a large tribal group.Koro Toraja” whose migration route starts from the estuary between Kalaena and Maili then down the river Kalaena and continue north through the mountain range Tokolekaju until finally arriving at the southeast coast of Lake Poso. From that place, the ancestors of the Wana tribe then moved to the Northeast, combing the slopes of Mount Kadata towards the plains Walati in the Valley rent flowing by the river La. They continued to move eastward along the river valley Kuse until finally arriving at the Hulu Sungai area Smell. Then continue its migration journey eastward until it reaches the Upper River Bongka (Kaju Marangka). Here they later settled and developed into an ethnic group Tau Taa Waba.