Sulawesi (formerly more commonly known as Celebes (a Portuguese-originated form of the name), is one of the four larger Sunda islands of Indonesia.

Geography

It is the world's eleventh-largest island, covering an area of 174,600 km?. The island is surrounded by Borneo to the west, by the Philippines to the north, by Maluku to the east, and by Flores and Timor to the south. The island has a distinctive shape, dominated by four large peninsulas (see Sulawesi peninsulas). The central part of the island is ruggedly mountainous, such that the island's peninsulas have traditionally been remote from each other, with better connections by sea than by road.

The island is subdivided into six provinces: Gorontalo, West Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, and North Sulawesi. West Sulawesi is a new province, created in 2004 from part of South Sulawesi. The largest cities on the island are Makassar, on the southwestern coast of the island, and Manado, on the northern tip.

Flora and fauna

The island of Sulawesi straddles Wallace's Line, meaning that there are a mix of both Asian and Austronesian species. However, the majority of Sulawesi's wildlife belongs to the Australasia region. 2,290 km? of the island is devoted to Lore Lindu National Park.

There are 127 known mammalian species in Sulawesi. A large percentage of these mammals, 62% (79 species) are endemic, meaning that they are found nowhere else in Indonesia or the world. The largest native mammal in Sulawesi is the dwarf buffalo, locally known as the anoa. By contrast, because many birds can fly between islands, Sulawesian bird species tend to be found on other nearby islands as well, such as Borneo; only 34% of Sulawesi's birds are found nowhere else.

Sulawesi also has several endemic species of freshwater fish, such as those in the genus Nomorhamphus, a species flock of livebearing freshwater halfbeaks containing at least 19 distinct species, most of which are only found on Sulawesi.

Arts and culture

The people of Sulawesi are famous for their dedication to their diverse art abilities, which include pottery, weaving, and dancing. Their pottery was originally made specifically for the purpose of storing rice and water, but when the Dutch arrived, the pottery was used for commercial exporting and sale. The pottery is noted for its extensive detail. The Sulawesian people have intricated weaving, and repeat the same pattern at least once in every project they do. Although the women are predominantely weavers, both genders dance. The male dance is rigid, mechanical and robotic, while the female's dances are fluid and smooth. They combine these aspects to tell a story.

Tana Toraja

Tana Toraja (Torajaland, Land of the Toraja or Tator) is a regency (kabupaten) of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, home of Toraja ethnic group people. The local government seat is in Makale, where the center of Toraja culture is in Rantepao.

Tana Toraja boundary was determined by the Dutch East Indies government in 1909. In 1926, Tana Toraja was under the administration of Bugis state, Luwu. The regenschap (or regency) status was given on October 8, 1946, the last regency given by the Dutch. Since 1984, Tana Toraja has been named as the second tourist destination after Bali by the Ministry of Tourism, Indonesia. Since then, hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors have visited this regency. In addition to that, tens of Western anthropologists have come to Tana Toraja to study the indenous culture and people of Toraja.