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Located in deep in the middle of a forest
Maarewu Cave was reported in 2015 to the Cultural Property Office in Makassar. It contains images of human figures related to hunting scenes and seafaring, and other rock art.
The cave is located in the deepest part of Muna forest. The visitors must walk for two hours from the nearest car park through a path that contours several hills.
Warrior motif on horseback in Maarewu Cave, Muna (2021-07) by Nur Achmad Hidayatullah and Adhi Agus OktavianaArchaeological, Language and Literature Research Organization
The hunting scene
The image depicts a hunter with hyperbolic hands and a badik in his body, riding a horse to slaughter the pig on the left side of the panel.
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The left panel of the cave
This panel has images of a horse-riding human, anthropomorphic and geometric motifs, and other images made with brown pigment.
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The middle panel of the cave
The panel portrays a hunting scene, an anthropomorphic motif, two boats, and two celestial images. The first human figure is depicted with hyperbolic fingers and a badik as a weapon. The second figure is riding a horse, accompanied by a dog, and is likely hunting a pig.
Double boats in Maarewu cave, Muna (2021) by Adhi Agus OktavianaArchaeological, Language and Literature Research Organization
The image of two boats
These two boats have different types of hulls and are filled with human figures.
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The circles and a human figure
There are small circles and a human figure in the lying position that can be seen on the ceiling on the right side of the cave.
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A rare image of a human riding an elephant
On a panel at the right side of the cave, there is an image of an elephant ridden by a human which is very rare to be found in Indonesia. The same panel also depicts a warrior, an animal, boats, and a geometric motif.
The anoa hunting scene at Kabori Cave, Muna (2015) by Adhi Agus OktavianaArchaeological, Language and Literature Research Organization
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