Traveling in the land of the Torajas

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Sulawesi is a 'K' shapped Indonesian Island situated between Borneo and Maluku / Papua. The island is the eleventh largest island in the world, and is inhabited by a large variety of Indonesian minorities.

This album outlines a trip made in october 2012 to the southern part of the island, to meet the muslim - makassarese, the Bugis - sailors, and, of course, the infamous Torajas and their unique funeral ceremonies.

WARNING

This trip involves disturbing pictures of Animal-killing

1) The Trip

Singapore - Jakarta - Makassar (departure midnight friday, arrival at 7am saturday morning) with LionAir. The airline operates brand new 737-900ER on the route, offering amazing new cabin experience (ceiling space, LED blue / green lights, larger windows and very esthetic sharklets)

The trip started by a 7-hour drive north to Rantepao on the coastline. A total of 4 days were spent in Toraja, one to tour the main sights, and three, spent hiking in amazing scenary of alternate jungles, valleys and rice terraces, sleeping in locak villages and enjoying warm welcomes everywhere. After the 4 days around Rantepao, we drove south to Sengkang and went on Tempe lake to see the floating village and the hundreds of birds. The last destination was Bira, at the southernest tip of the island, to enjoy great beaches and snorkle amongst beautiful corals!,

Sulawesi is quite a remote place were getting the right bus when you want it, and having it to drop you at the correct place, at the expected time, can probably be hasardous. This 9-days trip was done all along with Marcus, our driver, who made sure we got at the right place, and ensured we got our plane back!

2) The Torajas

Traveling to this part of Indonesia is especially rewarding for people who stay in Asia and have a good knowledge of the Asian culture. It is a fascinating thing to travel in some parts of Asia (such as Angkor, Ayutthala, Bagan or Borobudur), where complex ruins & landmarks let any visitor in awe of the glorious past of the place, dreaming, and imagining how life might have been hundred of years ago.

The Torajas offer a totally different perspective. When entering Tana Toraja, one is not left to imagin how things used to be, but instead, gets to understand how things work, and how a complex and ancient culture -where human lives used to be sacrified during ceremonies-, adapted to the present world in a unique way!

Here is a brief description of the Torajas, and why it is so fascinating!

The daily life of all Torajas is very closely linked to funeral ceremonies, which are an essential part of the Toraja Culture. Altough most of them are either Catholic or Protestant, they believe that the soul of the deceased will not depart to heaven until a proper ceremony is held, in which very specific protocol must be followed:

1) As long as the family is gathering the huge sum of money necessary for the ceremony, the body of the deceased is kept in the parent's bedroom (while the parents sleep in the main room), and meticulously maintained by Formol injections. (Which used to be done by some local herbs) While 'in the house' the deceased is not considered as dead, as such, tea is poored and rice is served at all meals to the deceased. The body can be kept in such maner for months and even years!

2) When enough money is saved, the ceremony can be held and the deceased' family, friends, collegues and pretty much anybody who wants to attend all gather in the specially prepared ceremony grounds. Each ceremony is held at a 'new place' and specific bamboo houses are constructed for the occasion to accomodate the hundreds of people that attend the ceremony. It is not uncommon for people to come from very far for the ceremony, and some ceremonies have seen thousands of people attending. It usually lasts from 2-3 days to a week.

3) Each 'group' (close family, cousins, close friends, friends, collegues etc) is called in turn to a temporary 'hut' where women serve tea and biscuits, while a master of ceremony presents everyone and praises the deceased in loudspeakers. The coffin is paraded by a dozen of people, and thrown energetically in the air "to help the spirit reach the sky", and finally mounted in a specific decorated and elevated boat-roofed wooden hut. It is an occasion for everyone to remember the deceased, and meet each other.

4) Gifts are brought. Depending on the relation to the deceased, it can go from packs of sugar and cigarettes to pigs (brought making inhuman high-pitch sounds, tightly wrapped on bamboo sticks; either carried by two to 4 people, or by motobike) and buffaloes. Buffalos are the most important part of the ceremony as their quality will reflect the respect and relationship that the person offering it has with the deceased. The price of a Buffalo ranges from 30 000 000 IDR (3800SGD) to 80 000 000 IDR (10 200SGD) depending on the size / health. The most sought-after buffaloes are the Albinos, for which prices can soar up to 300 000 000IDR (38 000SGD). A normal ceremony should have 24 buffaloes, but rich & influent families might have hundreds.

5) Buffalos are brought in the center of the ceremony grounds and paraded. Everybody (grannies, adults in specific funeral clothes, heaps of kids, dogs) then turn his attention to the buffalo who's rear leg is being tied to a post. A specially dressed man is handling the beast with care (it is not uncommon to have aggressive buffaloes injure people in the crowd), and after having unsheathed a ceremonial knife, violently and accuratly wacks-it in the throat of the buffalo, opening a gashing and oozing wound. The buffalo can take a while to die, its blood spraying the ceremonial grounds whith all eyes on him in muted expressions. As soon as the beast is dead, people join in, each with a knife, to remove the skin (which will be kept / sold) and cut pieces. It looks like an army of ants disintegrate a grass-hoper, except that the process involves a certain amount of slimy blood, hundreds of flies, disturbing odors, all under the constant distressing sounds of the pigs.

6) Pigs are brought further-out and discretly killed by a knife thrust under the arm to the heart. Dozens at the time are left agonizing, and making truly disturbing sounds. Once dead, there skin is burned to remove the hair, and the cutting starts. All the meat is either cooked during the ceremony, or given away to different people for their usage, or to be sold to the market/restaurants. Buffalos are only killed during ceremonies and these occasions are the only time when people may get buffalo meat. The rest of the ceremony which lasts several days involves singing, dancing, spear-dance, alot of come-and-goes, greetings and farewells. The killing part is quite gruesome for anybody who is not used to see blood, and the mixture of agonizaing and wailing sounds, odors and bloody sights is quite an experience!

7) Once the ceremony over, the coffin is brought either to specially made wooden-burial huts, or the coffins are attached, hanging on a rocky face of a cliff, or, placed in specially dugged caves in the rock of some cliffs over-viewing the rice terraces. The infamous TaoTao statues are crafted, and placed near the deceased's final resting place. The TaoTao are extremly precise and carfully crafted wooden statues, representing the deceased. Wooden "balconies" unite the deceased in hanging structures on the wall of the cliffs. A truly interesting sight to behold!!

Here is a map of the trek: