The Bonerate people are generally Muslims.[3] Some traditional beliefs are still extant among the Bonerate.[4] Sexually provocative behaviour occurs in possession-trance ritual practiced by women only[5] and were carried out in a way by which they smother glowing embers with their bare feet at the climax of the ritual.[6] The Bonerate language is closely related to the language of the Tukang Besi islands off the southeast coast of Buton island.[7][8]
Many Bonerate are agriculturists, utilizing the slash-and-burn technique. Common crops grown include corn, cassava, several fruits like papaya and bananas and some vegetables like beans and peas. Some Bonerate also work as shipbuilders and sailors.[4]
^Jeannette Mageo & Alan Howard (2012). Spirits in Culture, History and Mind. Routledge. ISBN978-1-1367-5852-2.
^"Crazy Women are Performing in Sombali": A Possession-Trance Ritual on Bonerate, Indonesia Author(s): Harald Beyer BrochSource: Ethos, Vol. 13, No. 3 (Autumn, 1985), pp. 262-282