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

Poso and Morowali

The central highlands of Sulawesi round Lake Poso, the Tomini coast and the Togian islands, and the Morowali coast on the east of the island.

The peoples are later called Pamona, Mori and Bungku. Nothing is dated to 1200 and no board place stands here; the outline closes the map's gap between the Kaili country and the south-east arm.

Who holds it

Title
No overall chief shown: village 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

  • The lake and valley villages
  • The Tomini coast landings

Allies and rivals

Each village group deals with its neighbours by marriage, trade, feud and raid; nothing above them is shown.

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

Rice, forest goods, iron by trade; 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

  • Poso: Lake outlet and coast town (a later name).

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 only; no text of any date describes this country for 1200.

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 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.