Sulawesi (formerly more commonly known as Celebes, a Portuguese-originated form of the name) is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and Maluku Islands

Etymology
The Portuguese were the first to refer to Sulawesi as 'Celebes' however the origins of this name are unclear. One suggestion is the Bugis word si-lebih for 'more islands' - a reference to its shape suggesting it was more than one island. The modern name 'Sulawesi' possibly comes from the words sula ('island') and besi ('iron') thought to be reference to the rich Lake Matano, Iron deposits. Other suggestion is that it comes from the Portuguese word "celebres" or "famous ones", as these islands were famous for their spices throughout Asia and even Europe, this being the reason that attracted them to these islands.

History
The settlement of South Sulawesi by modern humans is dated to c. 1500 BC. Following Bellwood's model of a southward migration of Austronesian-speaking farmers (AN), radiocarbon dates from caves in Maros suggest a date in the mid-second millennium B.C. for the arrival of an AN group from east Borneo speaking a Proto-South Sulawesi language (PSS). Initial settlement was probably around the mouth of the Sa'dan river, on the northwest coast of the peninsula, although the south coast has also been suggested. Subsequent migrations across the mountainous landscape resulted in the geographical isolation of PSS speakers and the evolution of their languages into the eight families of the South Sulawesi language group. If each group can be said to have a homeland, that of the Bugis – today the most numerous group – was around lake Tempe and Sidenreng in the Walennaé depression. Here for some 2,000 years lived the linguistic group that would become the modern Bugis; the archaic name, which is preserved in the languages of other Indonesian groups, was Ugiq. Despite the fact that today they are closely linked with the Makasar, their closest linguistic neighbors are the Toraja.

Pre-1200 CE Bugis society would have been organized into petty chiefdoms, which would have both warred and, in times of peace, exchanged wives with each other. Personal security would have been negligible, head-hunting an established cultural practice, and crocodiles and malaria a common source of mortality. The political economy would have been a mixture of hunting and gathering and swidden or shifting agriculture. Speculative planting of wet rice would have taken place along the margins of the lakes.

Starting in the 13th century, access to prestige trade goods and to sources of iron started to alter long-standing cultural patterns, and to permit ambitious individuals to build larger political units. It is not known why these two ingredients appeared together; one was perhaps the product of the other. By 1400, a number of nascent agricultural principalities had arisen in the western Cenrana valley, as well as on the south coast and on the east coast near modern Parepare

The first Europeans to visit the island (which they believed an archipelago due to its contorted shape) were Portuguese sailors in 1525, sent from the Moluccas in search of gold, which the islands had the reputation of producing. From 1669, the Dutch East India Company had a presence at Makassar, and in 1905 the entire island became part of the Dutch state colony of the Netherland East Indies until Japanese Occupation in World War II. Sulawesi was incorporated in the independent 'Republic of Indonesia' during the Indonesia National Revolution from 1945 to 1950.

Geography Sulawesi is the world's elevent largest island, covering an area of 174,600 km². The island is surrounded by Borneo to the west, by the Philippines to the north, by Maluku to the east, and by Flores to the south. It has a distinctive shape, dominated by four large peninsulas: the Semenanjung Minahassa, the east Peninsula, the south Peninsula and the south east peninsula. 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, Central Sulawesi, South East Sulawesi, 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
Sulawesi straddles Wallace's Line meaning that it has a mix of both Asian and Australasian species. However, the majority of Sulawesi's wildlife belongs to the Australasia region. 2,290 km² 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. The most important among these last is the Maleo a bird that spends most of its time on the ground. It has undergone an observed very rapid decline. An international partnership of conservationists, donors, and local people have formed the Alliance for Tompotika Conservation, in an effort to raise awareness and protect the nesting grounds of these birds on the central-eastern arm of the island.

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

The island was recently the subject of an Ecoregional Conservation Assessment, coordinated by the Nature Conservancy. Detailed reports about the vegetation of the island are available. The assessment produced a detailed and annotated list of 'conservation portfolio' sites . This information was widely distributed to local government agencies and nongovernmental organizations. Detailed conservation priorities have also been outlined in a recent publication.

The lowland forests on the island are, unfortunately, almost gone. Because of the relative geological youth of the island and its dramatic and sharp topography, the lowland areas are naturally limited in their extent. The past decade has seen dramatic conversion of this rare and endangered habitat. The island also possesses one of the largest outcrops of Serpentine soil in the world, which support an unusual and large community of specialized plant species. Overall, the flora and fauna of this unique center of global biodiversity is very poorly documented and understood and remains critically threatened.

Population
The 2000 census population of the provinces of Sulawesi was 14,946,488, about 7.25% of Indonesia's total population. The largest city is Makassar of south Sulawesi.

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, it became useful for commercial exporting and sale, and was noted for its extensive detail. The Sulawesian people also excel at intricate weaving, and repeat the same pattern at least once in every project they do. Although the women are predominantly 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.

Religious faiths
Islam is the majority religion in Sulawesi. The conversion of the lowlands of the south western peninsula (South Sulawesi) to Islam occurred in the early 17th century. The kingdom of Luwu in the Gulf of Bone was the first to accept Islam in February 1605; the Makasar kingdom of Goa-Talloq, centered on the modern-day city of Makassar, followed suit in September. However, the Gorontalo and the Mondondow peoples of the northern peninsula largely converted to Islam only in the 19th century. Most Muslims are Sunnis. Muslims can be found in all parts of Sulawesi.

Though Islam is the religion of the majority of Sulawesi's people, large regions of the island observe other religions as well.

Christians are form a substantial minority. According to the demographer Toby Alice Volkman, 17% of Sulawesi's population is Protestant and 2% is Roman Catholic. Christians are concentrated on the tip of the northern peninsula around the city of Manado, which is inhabited by the Minahasa, a predominantly Protestant people, and the northernmost Sangihe and Talaud islands. The famous Toraja people of Tana Toraja in Central Sulawesi have largely converted to Christianity since Indonesia's independence. There are also substantial numbers of Christians around Lake Poso in Central Sulawesi and among the Pamona speaking peoples of Central Sulawesi. There has also been growth in the Christian population of the Banggai Islands and the Eastern Peninsula in Central Sulawesi, traditionally thought of as Muslim areas (which in the past were controlled by Muslim sultanates in Tidore and Ternate). Christians can be found in every major Sulawesi city.

Though most people identify themselves as Muslims or Christians, they often subscribe to local beliefs and deities as well. It is not unusual (and fully accepted) for Christians to make offerings to local gods, goddesses, and spirits.

Smaller communities of Buddhist and Hindus are also found on Sulawesi, usually among the Chinese, Balinese and Indian communities.

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