Mamarimbing

Mamarimbing, honoured as Opo' Mamarimbing, is the diviner among the divine lords of the Tombulu pantheon of Minahasa, the master of bird omens. J. G. F. Riedel, who documented the Tombulu pantheon in 1894, recorded him as one familiar with birds and practised in hearing and interpreting the voices of the kembaluan and tontobara birds, and in Minahasan tradition he alone understood the meanings of the calls of the wara' or manguni, the small owl whose cries announce good or ill fortune. For this reason the manguni, the most sacred bird of Minahasa, is known in popular speech as ko'ko' ni Opo' Mamarimbing, 'lord Mamarimbing's bird'. Tradition places him at the first great gathering of the ancestors at the stone Watu Pinawetengan, where, as the leaders headed by Muntu-untu divided the land among the descent groups, Mamarimbing served as the appointed listener of the omen-bird whose voice sanctioned the proceedings. The practice he embodies, of hearkening to the manguni and other signs before clearing land or beginning any undertaking, remained central to Minahasan ritual life, and the owl itself passed into the emblem of the Minahasan church and region; his name likewise survives as that of a Minahasan descent group and family.

Domains

• bird omens and augury

Powers

• to hear and interpret the calls of the omen birds

Epithets

• Opo' MamarimbingWenas, Jessy (2007). Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Minahasa. Institut Seni Budaya Sulawesi Utara. (secondary)

Relations

• subordinate to: Muntu-untuAt the great assembly of the ancestors led by Muntu-untu, Mamarimbing served the presiding leader as the appointed listener of the omen-bird, and in the divine order he stands beneath the leader of the gods.Wenas, Jessy (2007). Sejarah dan Kebudayaan Minahasa. Institut Seni Budaya Sulawesi Utara. (secondary); Riedel, J. G. F. (1894). Das Toumbuluhsche Pantheon. Abhandlungen und Berichte des Königlichen Zoologischen und Anthropologisch-Ethnographischen Museums zu Dresden, No. 6. Berlin: R. Friedländer & Sohn. (secondary)

Sources

• Mamarimbing is the augur of the Tombulu pantheon of Minahasa, the deified ancestor-lord who alone heard and interpreted the calls of the omen birds, after whom the sacred manguni owl is called 'the bird of lord Mamarimbing'.: Riedel, J. G. F. (1894). Das Toumbuluhsche Pantheon. Abhandlungen und Berichte des Königlichen Zoologischen und Anthropologisch-Ethnographischen Museums zu Dresden, No. 6. Berlin: R. Friedländer & Sohn. (secondary); Marbun, Rencan C. (2025). 'Ethical perspectives on the Manguni bird: Integrating nature, humanity, and divine connection.' HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 81(1), a10297. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v81i1.10297 (secondary); Pinontoan, Denni H. R. (2020). 'Manguni and Christian Nationalism (in) Minahasa.' Kawanua International Journal of Multicultural Studies 1(2). Manado: IAIN Manado. (secondary)