Tana Toraja: Learning the Importance of Life Through Death
I arrived to Makassar from Jakarta early morning and went straight to the bus station to catch the day bus to Rantepao, a small town in the middle of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and the central point of Tana Toraja.
Although I knew a bit about Toraja from a quick study on the plane over to Indonesia, I had no idea how to experience it. Arriving to Rantepao and settling in for the night in Pison Hotel, I was still wondering what I would do. The next morning coming to the hotel’s reception, very unexpectedly and luckily I met Lina. She was there for Seek Sophie travel company and was about to head-off on a two-day trip around the region with a local guide by the name of Markus. I enquired if I could join them, she kindly accepted and the three of us hit the road.
You said Toraja?
We started by visiting the buffalo market. Here Markus began telling us about the local culture and traditions. The Torajan people live most of their lives in anticipation of a very beautiful burial ceremony. For them the celebration of the life and highest form of love for the deceased is expressed through an elaborate ceremony. The event is centred around the sacrifice of animals, which are believed to help the dead to reach heaven. Mostly they kill buffalos and pigs. Certain buffalos (the black and white ones) have more value than others and cost tens of millions of rupees.
Once a week at this market, the best buffalo specimens are purchased in planning of the upcoming burial ceremonies. The Torajan attach so much importance to the buffalos that the animals are not allowed to work in rice fields and are raised like pets — massaged and showered every day.
Burial ceremony:
Then the real thing: the burial ceremony. In order for families to save up enough money to pay for the celebrations, the body is often kept in the house for months, sometimes years. At this point the deceased is treated as if he is “sick” not dead. Every day the body is served meals and visited by family and close friends.
Once enough money has been saved and the location has been prepared, the ceremony starts with an elaborate procession of people carrying and following the casket from the home to the venue where hundreds of guests file in.
The main event begins shortly after arrival. If you are a vegan, a PETA activist, or just a sensitive person, this ceremony might not be for you. The family selects and slaughters the animals by cutting its throat and then into parts right in the middle of the “arena” so everyone can see. I personally could not stand watching it. I saw it from a distance and that was way enough.
All the attending guests bring gifts. It can be food, animals to sacrifice, money or cigarettes…. And every gift has to be recorded by a government official. Because, yes, they pay tax on the gifts. We were greeted by a couple of government officials in uniforms, checking the animals and assessing their value, recording it in a book used to recover tax. A copy is also provided to the family for reference of which guest brought which gift. This is a convenient way to know how to reciprocate when a guest invites you to a funeral in their family.
Seeing this obsession with death had me thinking about life. In many ways the elaborate funeral ceremony is a reflection of one’s life. According to tradition the family has a responsibility to properly reflect the standing of the deceased loved one in the community through this last rite of passage — sacrificing bulls, arranging the best possible venue. Each of these elements reflect not only the standing of the family in the community but also the commitment of the family and friends to the deceased. This makes it critical that one lives life in a way that would compel loved ones to go out of their ways to honour one. This is no different in how most of us go about building legacy, although its expression is not as tangible and evident. Having buffaloes sacrificed in your honour certainly concentrates the mind.
Exploring the surroundings:
After this delightful morning experience, we took the scooters into the country side visiting traditional villages and riding down winding roads with breath-taking views of lush rice fields.
The villages are still very traditional. They are organised with the boat shaped residential houses on one side and rice barns on the other. This leaves a thin strip of land in the middle where the daily life takes place. It was a pleasure to see that the design of the houses and the organisation of the villages are still respected even when new buildings are erected. The feeling of continuity between the past and the present can be felt throughout Toraja. This must be one of the main reasons why the strong culture and traditions has been preserved until today.
Modernity has not passed the Torajans by. They are fully aware of the outside world, and co-exists with it. This makes it even more impressive that they continue to maintain their traditions. In a way they are also master is leaving a communal legacy of their culture to the world.
