Culture
Inhabitants of Tobelo are non-Austronesian–speaking people. Tobelo's predominant Christian character is expressed colourfully at Christmas with bamboo poles arching over the side of the roads hung with lights and multi-coloured flags. At Easter, local church congregations hold a competition to see who can create the best Easter garden. The Christians of Tobelo are traditionally said to live a peaceful co-existence with Muslims in surrounding villages, although violence broke out between the two religious groups in December 1999. One festival of note is the annual North Halmahera Cultural Festival, when the Tobelorese wear full traditional ceremonial dress.
Traditional Tobelorese weddings are also said to be among the most colourful and the Christians follow traditions during their wedding ceremonies, with traditional music and dance. A wedding is typically accompanied by traditional Tobelorese music, played with gongs and drums and a Cakalele dance is usually performed in front of the bride as she approaches the groom. Around the time of New Year, Tobelo attracts a number of Yangere groups from all over North Halmahera and perform music and dances.
The main language of Tobelo, the Tobelo language, is spoken across North Halmahera, by approximately 15,000 people.
- Rituals
Each year, in April, after the harvest season there is a practice of offering of plates of rice and certain items of basketry by the married women to the Church, duly observing conventional social norms. The offerings are then sold or auctioned during the Sunday services in the premises of the church. The returns from such sales go to the Church funds (kas gereja), which are used by the church for providing public services. It is more of ritual than an economic transaction.
The other ritual observed in Tobelo is on the first Sunday of January when prayers are offered in the Church for the dead. On this occasion, each family decorates the graves of its deceased with flowers. This is also an occasion when women dressed in military uniform hold a parade through the village and enter houses demanding food and sweets.
The rituals observed conform to both pre-Christian Tobelo customs and the post-Christian era culture conforming to the Gregorian calendar. However, marriages are conducted under the Tobelo customs, rituals and practices. The family units are patrilineal.
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