Grand Mirrors in Behoa Valley
A bright blue color adorned the sky above the vast grassland that morning. Birds chirped, welcoming the new day, along with the soft wind that brought people to memories of the past. In Behoa Valley, images of the past were reflected from the various megalithic structures.
The kalamba, standing 190 centimeters tall with a diameter of 160 cm and a depth of 90 cm, welcomed visitors to the Pokekea Megalithic Site. Kalamba, in Lore language, which is the language of people in Behoa Valley, means the vessel of the spirit.
The kalamba is shaped like a drum made from rock. In modern life, Kalamba is identical to a jar to store water. Faces of humans crafted on the kalamba bow in a welcome. The tallest kalamba is accompanied by a lower kalamba. Other kalamba are located in the east side, about 75 meters from the entrance. There are many kalamba, which reach between 50 cm and 150 cm in height.
The Pokekea Megalithic Site — located in Hangira village, Lore Tengah district, Poso regency, Central Sulawesi — is home to 27 kalamba out of a total of 113 ancient structures. The other structures are human sculptures and rock pieces.
The site is one of around 50 locations with megaliths found in Behoa Valley, Napu Valley and Bada valley in Poso regency.
In total, there are around 300 megalithic items in about 40 sites scattered in Lore Tengah district in Katu, Rompo, Torire, Bariri, Doda, Hangira and Lempe villages. Based on the research by North Sulawesi’s Manado Archeology Agency, the structures have been there since 2,500 BC, and they are mostly in the form of kalamba and human-faced sculptures.
Megaliths are part of a stage of human cultures from 2,500 BC to 100 BC. The word megalith comes from Greek, meaning rock (lithos) and big (mega). In that era, humans created various items from rock, both as equipment for cultivation, for funerals or for praying.
In Indonesia, aside from Poso, megaliths are also found in Sumatra, such as Balige in North Sumatra, Pasemah in South Sumatra, across Java (such as Lebak Sibeduk in Banten) and in East Nusa Tenggara, such as Sumba.
Generally, there are two types of kalamba based on their type of carvings. The first type of kalamba is taller and has motifs of human facial features, such as eyes, eyebrows and noses, as well as embossed lines.
High art
The other type of kalamba is smaller and bears no motifs. This type of kalamba has no accessories. Pokekea Megalithic Site preservation officer Sunardi Pokiro said a kalamba is predicted to have two functions.
First, it functions as a second tombstone or storage for bones. “[Researchers] have found the skulls and teeth of more than one individual inside the kalamba. Kalamba with motifs are used as a second tombstone,” he said on Sunday (17/9).
Another possibility, based on a legend in Lore, is that kalamba without motifs were used to store water for daughters of noble families to shower.
In the Tadulako Megalithic Site of Doda village, Padang, some 10 km from the Pokekea Megalithic Site, a sculpture with a human face carving faces the sunset. Local people believe the sculpture represents a war commander from BC, who is believed to be a tadulako (leader).
Doda village community leader Aminadab Soro said the sculpture picture is believed to be a manifestation of a creature honored in that era. The human pictures on the sculpture are almost identical.
“There are eyes, eyebrows and noses. Those three elements are there,” he said.
All the megaliths in Behoa Valley are made from rock. Pieces of carvings are found in two sites in a forest in Hangira village.
“The two sites are believed to be a workshop to produce the megaliths,” said Sunardi, who has maintained the Pokekea Megalithic Site for 10 years.
Those ancient materials have similar characteristics: soft texture and neat carvings. The surface of the kalamba and sculpture is soft. There are no signs of wrong carvings or unfinished carvings. The carvings represent the human face.
Awareness
For Aminadab, the ancient structures show the high quality of human civilization in that era. “Those beautiful materials are surely a product of advanced thinking and skill. Such awareness drives local people to maintain those structures,” he said.
Aminadab said that before research on megalithic sites in Central Sulawesi started in the 1980s, local people did not really care about the presence of the ancient structures; they did not know the high value of the monoliths.
“After the researchers explained their finding, we began to understand the situation,” he said.
In Behoa Valley, the megaliths serve as a grand mirror. These structures unveil the high skills of humans in that era. Humans living in this modern era need to see and reflect on Behoa village in order to produce cultural creations that survive the times.