Buton (also Butung, Boeton or Button) is an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

located off the southeast peninsula of

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

. It covers roughly 4,727 square kilometers in area, or about the size of

Madura is an list of islands of Indonesia, Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately (administratively including various smaller islands to the east, southeast and north that are administratively ...

; it is the 129th largest island in the world and Indonesia's 19th largest in area.

History

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Eerste minister van Buton Zuid-Celebes TMnr 10001614

In the precolonial era, the island, then usually known as Butung, was within the sphere of influence of

Ternate Ternate (), also known as the City of Ternate (; ), is the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. It was the ''de facto'' provi ...

. Especially in the sixteenth century, Buton served as an important secondary regional center within the Ternaten empire, controlling regional trade and collecting tribute to be sent to Ternate. The Sultanate of Buton ruled over the island from the 14th until the 20th century. Sultan Murhum, the first Islamic monarch on the island, is remembered in the name of the island's major harbor, Murhum Harbor, in Baubau.

Geography

Its largest town is

Baubau Baubau is a city in Southeast Sulawesi province, Indonesia. The city is located on the southwest coast of Buton island. Baubau attained city status on 21 June 2001 after Law Number 13 of 2001 was passed. It covers an area of , of which about i ...

, where the Wolio and Cia-Cia languages are spoken. Major nearby islands include Wawonii (to the north), Muna and

Kabaena Kabaena or Tokotua is an island in the Flores Sea, Indonesia, off the coast of Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th ...

(to the west) and Siumpu (to the southwest). The

Tukangbesi Islands Tukangbesi Islands, is a group of islands off the coast of Sulawesi immediately east of Buton island in the Banda Sea region, and part of Sulawesi Tenggara. The main islands are Wangiwangi Island, Wangiwangi Island, Kaledupa Island, Tomia Island, ...

lie just to the east where Tukang Besi is spoken, and is separated by the Gulf of Kolowana Watabo (''Teluk Kolowana Watabo''). Batuatas Island is to the south. Also the ''Bouton Passage'' (as it was known in the pre-Independence era) was an important inter-island navigational location of the northern

Flores Sea The Flores Sea covers of water in Indonesia. The sea is bounded on the north by the island of Celebes and on the south by Sunda Islands, the Sunda Islands of Flores and Sumbawa. Geography The seas that border the Flores Sea are the Bali Sea ...

Ecology

The island is largely covered by

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

and is known for its wildlife. It is one of only two habitats of the

anoa Anoa, also known as dwarf buffalo and ''sapiutan'', are two species of the genus ''Bubalus'', placed within the subgenus ''Anoa'' and endemic to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia: the mountain anoa (''Bubalus quarlesi'') and the lowland ano ...

, a type of buffalo.

People

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Portret van een gezantschap van Buton Sulawesi TMnr 10020641

The languages spoken on Buton include Wolio, Cia-Cia, various dialects of Muna, Tukang Besi, Kumbewaha, Lasalimu, Kamaru, Pancana, Busoa, Taloki, Kulisusu and Kioko. The

Indonesian language Indonesian (; ) is the official language, official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standard language, standardized variety (linguistics), variety of Malay language, Malay, an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that has ...

, the national language of Indonesia, is also widely used and taught in schools. In 2009, the Cia-Cia tribe in Baubau city began to use the Korean

Hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

alphabet for their language, based on textbooks created by the Hunminjeongeum Society, a linguistic society in Seoul. While ties with the society were temporarily severed in 2011, efforts to preserve Cia-Cia using Hangul were not abandoned. The language continues to be taught using Hangul in schools, and a Cia-Cia dictionary using Hangul was published in 2021.

Economy

The island has a massive reserve of natural

asphalt Asphalt most often refers to: * Bitumen, also known as "liquid asphalt cement" or simply "asphalt", a viscous form of petroleum mainly used as a binder in asphalt concrete * Asphalt concrete, a mixture of bitumen with coarse and fine aggregates, u ...

and several other minerals. Asphalt from Buton can be utilized as bitumen modifiers as well as a substitute for petroleum asphalt. As a result, natural asphalt can be used to reduce dependency on conventional fossil based resources.

Administration

Buton Island is administratively divided into five second level administrative divisions (''Daerah Tingkat II''):

City,

Buton Regency Buton Regency (''Kabupaten Buton'') is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency of Indonesia's Southeast Sulawesi Province, lying entirely on Buton Island. Until 2014 it had an area of 2,681.22 km2, and a population estimated at 276,944 (for January ...

, (part of)

South Buton Regency South Buton Regency () is a regency located on Buton Island in Southeast Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. This regency was formed from the southern part of Buton Regency, from which it was separated by Act No.16 of 2014, dated 23 July 2014. It cov ...

(which includes several smaller islands to the west and south of Buton),

North Buton Regency North Buton Regency (''Kabupaten Buton Utara'') is a regency of Indonesia's Southeast Sulawesi Province, which was separated from Buton Regency in accordance with Indonesia's Law Number 14 of 2007. The area of the regency, which covers the north p ...

and (part of)

Muna Regency Muna Regency (''Kabupaten Muna'') is a regency of Southeast Sulawesi Province of Indonesia, covering parts of the island of Muna as well as part of the neighbouring Buton Island and smaller islands off its coast. Until 2014 it had an area of 2,94 ...

. However, the eponymous archipelago is administered under an additional four regencies: the rest of

and

, together with

West Muna Regency West Muna Regency () is a regency of Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. It comprises the northwest portion of Muna Island and islands in the Straits of Tiworo. It was established under Act No.14 of 2014, dated 23 July 2014 by separation from the M ...

Wakatobi Regency Wakatobi Regency is a group of ''ca.'' 150 islands forming an administrative regency located in Southeast Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. The four largest islands are Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia and Binongko. The capital of the regency is locate ...

Central Buton Regency Central Buton Regency () is a new regency of Southeast Sulawesi established by separation from Buton Regency under Act No.15 of 2014, dated 23 July 2014. It covers an area of 837.16 km2 comprising the southern parts of Muna Island and Kabaena ...

(which does not include any portion of Buton Island), and (part of)

Bombana Regency Bombana Regency (''Kabupaten Bombana'') is a regency of Southeast Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. It consists of part of the southeast peninsula of Sulawesi, together with most of the substantial offshore island of Kabaena to the south. The regenc ...

Notes

{{reflist Islands of Sulawesi Landforms of Southeast Sulawesi Populated places in Indonesia