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Published: March 19th 2007
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We had an early start for the second part of our Torajan adventure; there was a lot to pack into one day. The traditions surrounding funeral rites are a fascinating and rich part of Torajan culture. The emergence of christianity as a major faith in the area has introduced new values, but the more traditional animistic beliefs surrounding death and ritual are still in place today. The result is an interesting fusion of faiths.
Funeral ceremonies here are a huge affair. Important for both spiritual and social reasons, a family’s funeral plans are a direct reflection of their position and wealth. As such, the expense requires the family to save a great deal of money, with which they must purchase an appropriate number of buffalo. They hold a funeral immediately after the death and then the embalmed body continues to live in the family home. This period can last more than a year! It often reflects the time taken for the buffalo money to be acquired by the relatives.
The second, more elaborate ceremony, usually takes place in the dry summer months, and can last for several days, with hundreds of guests. During this funeral, the buffalo, and many
pigs are killed and eaten by the guests - the buffalo are to accompany the deceased into the afterlife; an important aspect of Torajan belief structure. Without a proper send-off in this manner, the soul of the deceased is believed to cause misfortune to the family.
Cruising along on the back of motorbikes, again, we observed countless trucks packed with darkly dressed individuals, clearly on their way to the funeral. Family and friends are expected to bring a pig to the ceremony; we settled for a bag of sugar (this would be used on the day for the huge quantities of coffee served to the guests).
Upon arrival, we were ushered into a sheltered area, and made to feel like guests of honour. The excited relatives swarmed around us, asking questions, taking photos, and showering us with coffee and cakes. They couldn’t thank us enough for coming (despite us never having known the deceased!) and made us feel quite embarrassed. We learned from Taba that the photographs taken of us at the funeral would later adorn the walls of the family home, to remind them of the guests they had from England!
The house and roadside had
been decked out with canopies and flooring to house the hoardes of invitees. The booming voice of the compere, announcing arriving guests and aiding proceedings, filled the venue, making communication even more difficult than usual. A convoy of men, toting sqealing pigs, strung from wooden poles, streamed past. Brightly decorated close relatives, in their traditional Torajan costumes, welcomed the guests. Moments later, we were invited to pay our respects to the body. Hesitantly, we peered into the coffin. There she was; an alarming sight to say the
very least. We had never seen a dead body before, and we were unable to find words for the expectant family members watching over us. We grimly declined to take a photograph, despite the offer, and instead trooped back downstairs for something more light-hearted; the slaughtering of the pigs.
At the entrance to this area, a cabin full of government officials carried out their tax-collecting duties. Every pig brought for the funeral carried a levy. This was intended to curb the number of animals killed, and to make money (of course!).
After a quick lunch in town - buffalo meatball soup (naturally!) - we continued our cultural program by visiting one
of the local cave-grave sites. An additional aspect of the funeral tradition is the burial process. Torajans believe that the body should not be buried in the ground where it will decay, and feed the very fruits of the land, thus meaning they, in a sense, are eating the deceased. They carve, from stone cliffs, cuboid chambers, in which families can be laid to rest together. Wooden puppets are sometimes made to represent the dead, and placed on balconies at the openings of these graves. Historically, the faces of these effigies (known locally as tau tau) were generic in appearance. However, with the advent of photography, it is now more common to carve the face in near-exact replica, making the doll all the more lifelike.
At the next site, we saw some variations, such as a huge concrete capsule housed within a traditional Torajan building. Flowers, and photos of relatives decorated the scene.
As we had gotten to know Taba, we had heard all about his modest abode, which he proudly described to us. He was happy to take us to see his home, and to meet his family. When we arrived, Taba’s wife presented us with coffee
and plate after plate of banana fritters, specially prepared for our arrival. Taba showed us his simple, but neat and comfortable home, and his pond and vegetable garden. It was then time to say goodbye. We were lucky to have had such a good guide, and we would not forget our experience.
We finished off the day with a traditional meal of pa’piong, which had been ordered in advance, as it takes two hours to prepare. This was an important part of our introduction to Torajan funerals, as it was the same meal that would have been eaten by the guests at the ceremony we had attended. The gifts of pig and buffalo are slaughtered, the meat is chopped, mixed with vegetables and spices, and compacted into bamboo stalks to be slow-cooked.
We had ordered the pork variety. Our anticipation soon turned to disappointment though, when a plate-load of fat and offal, in thick, black, strange-tasting gloop was put before us. Leaving half a plate unfinished, and wishing that we had ordered some chips instead, we boarded the night-bus back to Makassar to catch the plane to Maluku.
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Alex
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This place sounds fascinating... fancy being guests of honour at a funeral?! Can you imagine the reaction if a couple of Indonesian tourists turned up at a strangers funeral in England? Great photos too, and the grave cave-graves look very eerie.