The ancient Minahasa writing system is Ideogramatical* and the date of its origin is not known. The writing is horizontal from left to right. (Ideogramatical: Image or symbol that represents a being, an object or an idea, but with fixed nonwords or phrases. For example, Chinese writing is ideogramatical.).
"Minahasa" is a word that stands for "confederation" or also "country that has formed through the union of several territories". The Minahasas are an ethnic group that live in the northeastern part of Celebes and consists of 8 tribes.
Contrary to other ethnic groups of Celebes, which are Muslim, the Minahasas are Christian. Although very few are illiterate, the Minahasas are called "tolfuros", which means "half-wild" or "savage". They speak a malay dialect, but they are physically different from the other tribes on the island; according to some they have Japanese characteristics. According to those stories, they immigrated from the north to the island.
Very little is known about the Minhasa writing system. Only two pages (figures above) of a Minahasa manuscript have been published.
