Sulawesi
(Summer 1972): Toraja funeral ceremony
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The Torajas
are one of the main ethnic groups in Sulawesi. They live in the highlands round
Mamasa, Rantepao and Makale, and until recently have been mostly rice
cultivators. They have complex rituals, among which the most famous to
outsiders is their funeral ceremony. This ceremony is an expensive event held
over several days and attended by many people. Several dozens of water buffalo
and many pigs are slaughtered near the coffin of the deceased. I followed one
such ceremony during my 1972 trip, where I was the only outsider. I attended another
one, much smaller, in 2009 (see here),
also attended by a number of outsiders, including TV crews from Jakarta. The
general atmosphere was very different.
Coffin of the deceased, exposed in front of a traditional house.
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Musician in the house.
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Slaughter of water buffalos.
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Boys collecting buffalo blood in bamboo stems.
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Buffalo carcasses are then pulled under the coffin and cut into pieces that
are later shared among guests.
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On the last day of the ceremony, the coffin is taken down and carried to
the burial site located a long distance away.
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Funeral
cortege between rice fields.
On the way to the burial site people play some complex combination of
dance and simulated fight.
Finally the cortege reaches the burial
site, a huge boulder with large tomb cavities. The deceased is put to rest into
one of them.
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There are many burial sites around Rantepao. The most famous are those of Londa
and Lemo. In those two sites statues (called Tau-Taus) are effigies of the deceased. Unfortunately, in
recent years, many Tau-Taus have been stolen and sold
away to tourists and collectors.
Burial site
of Londa.
Burial site of Lemo.
Links to:
- Mamasa to Palopo via Rantepao