Country or people · Self-governing peoples of Island Southeast Asia · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Kaili country

The rift valley of Palu and the coast north to Toli-Toli and Buol, with the Parigi neck across to the Gulf of Tomini.

The campaign board's Palu bay is dry, hot and sheltered, the natural stop on the run north from the southern shore; the goods that come out of it are rattan, resin, damar and slaves from the hills. The people are later called Kaili. The narrow neck between Palu bay and the Tomini shore is one of the very few genuine overland routes in the region (board).

Who holds it

Title
No overall chief shown: village and harbour chiefs
Since
not pinned
Born
not known
Family
not known
Confidence
low

Nothing is written about the rulers or headmen of this country for 1200. The structure is read from geography and from ethnography of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

What it holds

  • Bay and valley villages
  • The Parigi carrying place
  • The coast to Toli-Toli

Allies and rivals

The Palu bay and Parigi neck town records (Palu bay and Donggala, Parigi neck).

How things stand that morning

Not described for 1200; the villages are presumed to be farming, fishing and selling what the rivers and forests give.

Wealth

Rattan, resin, damar; slaves (board, as a later pattern); no figures.

Military

Not known; boats, spears, shields and blowpipes in the later record. No numbers.

Threats

  • Feuds and raiding between villages
  • Flood, drought or fire
  • A change in the trade that comes by sea

Places of note

  • Palu: Head of the bay.
  • Donggala: Bay mouth anchorage.
  • Parigi: Tomini end of the neck.

Where the sources disagree

  • The ethnic names used here (Dayak, Kayan, Kenyah, Iban, Ngaju, Banjar and the rest) are later outsiders' or ethnographic names; the ethnic map of 1200 is not known and differs from the modern one.

Evidence: Geography and later ethnography only; no text of the period describes this country.

On the map: A rough outline of the people's country; the real extent of any village group in 1200 is not known, and nothing here is a border.

Sources and studies

  1. Background knowledge of Southeast Asian history (Wolters; Hall; Bellwood; Scott; Junker; Reid), recalled and not re-read in this pass
  2. The OMNIA board (September 2026) note for this place: a lead only, not a source
  3. The isa regional brief (ISA_BRIEF.md) and assignment ise.txt

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.