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June 2004: This page is being discontinued.
This people group is no longer on our least reached list.
TOLI-TOLI OF INDONESIA
LOCATION : northwestern peninsular of Sulawesi
POPULATION : 28,000
LANGUAGE : Tolitoli
PEOPLE CLUSTER : Kaili / Tomini
RELIGION : Muslim (Sunni) 99.9%
% OF CHRISTIANITY : <1%
SCRIPTURE : none
RADIO BROADCAST : none
JESUS FILM : none
GOSPEL AUDIO RECORDING : none
MISSION AGENCY / CHURCH PLANTING WORKING AMONG THEM: 2
Located on the northwestern peninsular of Sulawesi, the Tolitoli are a sub-group of a much larger cluster of peoples known as the Tomini. Their name is a geographic and linguistic designation, and their close neighbors include the Gorontalo, the Buol, and the Western Toradja.
Long ago, the Tomini (of which the Tolitoli are a sub-group) were governed by a sultanate, with each tribe being headed by a hereditary chief and his council of assistants. Four classes of people emerged: the royal lineage, the nobility, the commoners, and the former slaves. In the late 1950's, movements against the Indonesian government were led by youth groups throughout the island of Sulawesi. In the Tomini region, these revolts reached a peak with the Permesta Rebellion of the 1960's. For several years thereafter, the area produced no marketable items. Since that time, the government has made an effort to improve the economy. Cloves were successfully introduced on plantations and lumber firms were also begun. Today, the coastal Tolitoli are very active in clove production, as well as in copra (dried coconut meat yielding oil) and palm plantations. Many earn their living as merchants, while others work as lumberjacks or sailors. The highland Tolitoli cultivate dry rice, maize, and sago (a type of palm), and gather rattan (a type of wood used in making walking sticks and other wickerwork) for coastal trade. Tolitoli villages, which are located mainly on the coastal strips, are small and consist of houses built on stilts. Marriage ceremonies follow a Muslim pattern and are arranged by a mediator. Marriages between cousins are preferred. Although polygyny (having more than one wife) is permitted, it is rarely practiced among the Tolitoli. Once married, a couple usually lives with his or her family until the first child is born.
The Tolitoli are mainly Sunni (orthodox) Muslim. However, many are less strict in their Islamic practices than are the Muslims in other Arab countries. In isolated areas of Sulawesi, some Tolitoli still follow ancient local religions by mixing ancestor and nature worship with Islam and Christianity. In the inland mountain areas, there are also groups who practice animism. They believe that nature and inanimate objects have spirits. The animists are known as suku terasing, or "foreign tribes," and they have been the object of government programs, including relocation.
Although two missions agencies are currently targeting the Tolitoli of Indonesia, they have very few Christian resources necessary for church growth or evangelism. Prayer and additional missionary efforts are still required for the small Tolitoli Church to be firmly established.
PRAYER POINTS
- Ask the Lord to call full-time missionaries to go to Indonesia and work among the Tolitoli.
- Pray that Christian radio broadcasts, evangelical literature, and the Jesus film will soon be made available to the Tolitoli.
- Ask the Lord to raise up linguists to translate the Bible into the Tolitoli language.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to open the spiritual eyes of the Tolitoli to the Truth of the Gospel.
- Take authority over the spiritual principalities and powers that are keeping the Tolitoli bound.
- Ask God to raise up prayer teams who will begin breaking up the spiritual soil of Indonesia through worship and intercession.
- Ask the Lord to bring forth a triumphant Tolitoli church for the glory of His name!
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