VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

There are many ways that people find their life partners. Nowadays, many people use social media to find their soulmate. But in the past, some indigenous people in Indonesia held various arts and traditions to find a life partner, such as the indigenous people in Central Buton Regency, Southeast Sulawesi. They held a Kamomose dance to find a life partner.

In the Buton language, 'Kamomose' comes from the words 'komomo' and 'poose ose'. 'Komomo' means a flower, which is about to bloom, while 'poose-ose' means lined up in an orderly fashion. So, the 'Kamomose' dance is a traditional dance where teenage girls sit in an orderly row, then young men come and look at the girls. If one of the young men is interested in one of the girls, then the young man will fill the tray, which is prepared in front of the girl with fried peanuts.

This unique tradition begins with a traditional Linda dance performed by a number of girls accompanied by traditional music. After the dance performance, a number of young men queue in an orderly line around dozens of the girls, who are already waiting with a container in front of them to collect the peanuts thrown by the young men. Apart from fried peanuts, young men may throw other objects, such as gold or silver coins. However, if a young man is not interested in any of the girls, he may not fill the tray.

Actually, the fried peanuts used in the Kamomose tradition are just a substitute. In the past, in this tradition, young men would put coins into a basin. The parents of the girl who already know the code will then follow up in a traditional manner.

Usually, the family would immediately communicate with the girl's family to hold a proposal, followed by marriage. Now, this local wisdom of the Central Buton community is being developed by the Central Buton Regency government so that it continues to be sustainable and becomes an interesting cultural attraction for tourists visiting there.