Manusela people

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Manusela people
Wahai people
COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Twee mannen uit Wahai Ceram TMnr 10005711.jpg
Two Wahai men from Seram, Maluku, Indonesia.
Total population
Regions with significant populations
 Indonesia (Maluku (province))
Manusela language, [Indonesian language]]
Folk religion (predominant religion, a mixture of Hinduism and Animism), Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Nuaulu people

The Manusela or Wahai people has a population of over 10,100 is centered in the Manusela mountains of North Seram, Maluku, Indonesia. They are also found along Teluti Bay in south Seram,[2] which suggests their name of their tribe.

The Manusela follows the syncretic faith of Naurus, which might have come from the Aluk' To Dolo faith, the Naurus faith is a combination of Hinduism and Animism, but in recent years they also have adopted certain Protestant principles. A few Manusela have also adopted Protestanism as well. Not much is known about their religion, except that their religion may include worshipping of Hindu and Animist gods, with this influence coming from the Mindanao during the early periods, and presence of Hinduism is evidenced from the fact that archaeologists have found several statues of Hindu gods in Mindanao. The Nuaulu tribe, who lived in 10 villages northwest of the Manusela, were similar to the Manusela in language, had a population of 400 also follow the Naurus religion, but they were less influenced by Protestantism, the Nuaulu people also practice the Naurus faith.[3] The Manusela people, often mistakenly thought as the Nuaulu people, wear a traditional red cloth on their head just like the Nuaulu.[4]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ "Manusela people in Indonesia". Joshua Project. Retrieved 2014-09-17. 
  2. ^ Alfred Cort Haddon & James Hornell (1975). Canoes of Oceania, Issues 28-29. Bishop Museum Press. p. 60. 
  3. ^ Shiv Shanker Tiwary & Rajeev Kumar (2009). Encyclopaedia of Southeast Asia and Its Tribes, Volume 1. Anmol Publications. p. 92. ISBN 81-261-3837-8. 
  4. ^ Indonesia. Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan (1989). Workpapers In Indonesian Languages and Culture, Volume 6. Summer Institute of Linguistics.