Meeting Bajo Tribe in Torosiaje Village, Gorontalo Province

Surrounded by natural attractions and small islands, Gorontalo Province indeed becomes another attractive region to explore in Sulawesi Island. Adventurers and nature lovers definitely love to spend a vacation there. Is that all? Well, the region somehow has another allure for visitors. It is related to local culture! It is because tourists can meet the famous local tribe called Bajo. For the information, this tribe mostly lives in Torosiaje Village of Popayato Sub-District. Thus, tourists must reach the village if they want to meet those people. In some cases, hiring a local guide is quite helpful for first-timers.

The Nuance
Once arriving at Torosiaje Village, tourists may see lots of traditional houses built by the shore. For the information, most of Bajo people work as a fisherman. No wonder, they live by the sea and built their houses near to it. In fact, they park their boat in front of the house! As for the nuance, it feels peaceful there. The prime reason is that Bajo Tribe lives traditionally and they are quite friendly to outsiders. One thing, visitors won’t find facilities and accommodations there.

More about Bajo Tribe
For tourists, meeting Bajo Tribe would be both challenging and fun. It is because they have the chance to learn about local culture and traditions. However, talking to these people would be a little bit troublesome for outsiders. In order to overcome the difficulty, tourists can hire a local guide for the sake of better communication and information. At least, this service helps them to approach and talk to the locals efficiently. Have no worries. As for the fee, it is quite negotiable.

So, what can tourists do when meeting Bajo Tribe? Well, the prime activity would be to watch and learn all available traditions. In a nutshell, Bajo Tribe is closely related to the sea. No wonder, these people have several distinct methods for sailing. These include Sasakai, Bapongka, and Palilibu. Tourists can find more about these from the locals later. Thus, hiring a local guide is quite recommended to acquire such information. The next common tradition is related to taboos. According to the locals, the sea is quite sacred. They even avoid throwing bad things to the sea in order to avoid catastrophes.

The next allure that tourists can learn from Bajo Tribe is related to the local belief. The majority of Bajo Tribe believe that their ancestors’ spirit remains in corals. This explains why these people keep retaining the sea environment for generations. Damaging those corals mean that they would destroy their ancestors, after all. Next, tourists can simply approach villagers and conduct eating together. As everyone may expect, the most common dishes are seafood.

Nearby Attractions

• Bukit Kembar

How to Get There
From Jakarta City, tourists must take an airplane at Soekarno – Hatta International Airport and head to Jalaluddin Airport in Gorontalo Province. This flight won’t take long, which is about 3 hours during good weather. Next, after arriving at the airport, they should head to Torosiaje Village by taking a land transportation service. The best route to take is Trans Sulawesi Street and the distance is 209 km. Thus, the trip may take about 4 hours and 44 minutes, at least.

Where to Stay

• Arshy Inn
• Yuliyani Hotel