CH. IX JOUBNEY THBOUGH MINAHASSA 213 



The Tondanese were in olden times true lake-dwellers ; 

 they lived in houses built on piles driven into the shallow 

 waters of the lake. The name Tondano is composed of 

 toil, men, and dano, water, the letter u indicating, accord- 

 ing to Graafland, a form of the genitive. The Tondanese, 

 then, are the ' men of the water.' ^ They are a branch 

 of the great family of Minahassers, who were called 

 Toiiloiirs, or ' men of the lake.' They were brave and 

 warlike people, and, with perhaps the exception of the 

 Bantiks, were the last of the Minahassers to accept the 

 yoke of the Dutch. Unable to attack them on the land, the 

 Dutch, under Commander "Weintre (56), with the help of 

 the natives of other districts, brought praus and corra- 

 corras from Manado and Tanawangko, and met them on 

 the lake. The Tondanese were eventually completely de- 

 feated after a siege which lasted nine months, and their 

 lake-dwellings burned to the water's edge. This was at the 

 beginning of the present century (1809), and ever since then 

 they have, with the exception of a couple of smaller troubles 

 in later times, remained peaceful and quiet subjects of the 

 Dutch Government. The introduction of Christianity and 

 civilisation by the missionary pioneers has reduced them to a 

 condition of obedience and subjection which to colonists in 

 many parts of the world might truly be considered to be 

 ideal. 



What a wonderful change has come over these people 

 within the last century ! As I walked through the town 

 of Tondano on that lovely Sunday morning (April 4, 1886), 

 enjoying the bright sunshine and cool crisp air, I could 

 not but be deeply impressed with the order, peacefulness, 

 and beauty of the place. The rows of pretty little houses, 

 each one — almost a model of neatness and cleanliness — 

 surrounded by a garden of flowers and shrubs, the quiet 



* The old form Toudano or Todano has become changed to Tondano. 



