A - MOBILE POPULATIONS (RELATED TO THE TOBELO)
Kusuri (ISHIGE, 1980 : 256) : Togutil sub-group,
Central Halmahera. Hunter-gatherers, they speak a Tobelo dialect, live along
the Tuluo River in the Tobelo sub-district. 1000 to 3000 people (1984, SIL).
Hunting is very important (bows, spears, traps ; the metal
arrowheads are made by heating up the metal from broken machetes) : wild pigs,
deer, birds. Hunting is carried out alone with a dog. Dead animals are left
where they fall and the hunter returns to the village to get help to carry it
back ; he may keep the head, tail and ribs, whereas the entrails are shared
with whoever helped him carry the dead animal ; the rest is distributed between
the other villagers. This will feed a village for 3 days.
Swidden cultivation of manioc, sweet potato, mountain rice, coconut.
Staple foods are manioc, sweet potato and wild sago.