By Erwin Dwi Kristianto

 “Bung Erwin, wake up, we have arrived,” said Amran, Director of the Merah Putih Foundation, while patting my shoulder.

“Where have we arrived, Bung?” I replied, rubbing my eyes.

“We have just arrived in Luwuk City, let’s take a rest first, tomorrow we will continue the journey to Morowali,” Amran said while taking his black daypack.

I quickly grabbed my daypack from the back cabin of the 4×4 vehicle. The time showed 02.00 AM local time. We departed from Palu City at 09.00 AM local time. This means we have been on the road for 17 hours on the Trans Central Sulawesi road.

“Rest well, Bung, tomorrow we still have to drive for another eight hours to Taronggo,” said Amran as he zipped up his sleeping bag.

***

Taranggo Village is located in the North Bungku District, North Morowali Regency. North Morowali Regency is one of the regencies in Central Sulawesi Province. North Morowali was formed as a result of the division of Morowali Regency which was ratified in a plenary session of the Indonesian Parliament on April 12, 2013.

Taronggo Village has a population of 318 and is situated at the foot of Mount Tokala. This village is one of the dozens of villages in North Bungku District that was hit by flash floods and landslides in 2007. At that time, several residents of this village were still reported missing due to the flash floods.

The group has arrived in Taranggo Village. From here, there are no more roads accessible by car, not even by the 4×4 vehicle we were riding in. We had to cross the river on foot and climb the hill slopes of Mount Tokala. We decided to stay overnight in this village as the day was turning into dusk. Darkness began to take over.

“There is bad news, Bung, I have to return to Palu, my father passed away.”

“Bung Erwin, continue the journey to Mount Tokala.”

The night grew even quieter.

***

It was drizzling in the morning. The fog had not completely lifted as the four of us began tracking. The hill peaks of Mount Tokala were covered in dark clouds. We hurried, fearing that the rain would intensify. If the rain got heavier, the water flow of the Salato River would increase. There were no bridges across the nearly 100-meter wide river. We had to cross the Salato River if we wanted to reach our destination.

We had been walking for several hours. We had crossed the Salato River. Cocoa and coconut plantations. We had started entering a forest with heterogeneous vegetation. In the distance, we could see Posangke Junju or savanna forest. Some houses with coconut leaf roofs were also visible from afar.

That meant we were close to our destination. Yes, our destination was Lipu-lipu in the hills of Mount Tokala. Lipu is the smallest social unit of the Tau Taa Wana community. In a lipu, there are usually several houses clustered together. We stayed overnight at Lipu viatiro. Besides staying overnight, Agus and Murni, staff of the Merah Putih Foundation, taught literacy and numeracy to some children at the Lipu School. The Lipu School is an alternative education for the Tau T