As Ritha was already committed to a different client for the first day, she asked her associate Anto to take me around. Our itinerary today took us on a circuit south of Rantepao. After a good breakfast, I met Anto, climbed onto the back of his motorbike, and off we went. Anto turned out to be a fun and engaging guy.
Our first stop today was the village of Lemo. At this village, we explored some limestone cliffs where the dead are buried in holes dug into the stone. At the front of the dug out holes were tau tau, which are wooden effigies of the dead. Anto explained that the tau tau with upturned hands are seeking blessings for their descendants, while hands that are turned sideways signal protection for descendants. It was odd to see bottles of water and packets of cigarettes at the graves. Anto explained that these were offerings.
At this village, there were also a few preserved traditional houses called tongkonan. These were old school tongkonan, as evidenced by their bamboo (as opposed to be more aluminum) roofs, and vegetation growing from the roofs.
IndonesiaLemo3°2’44” S 119°52’45” E
IndonesiaLemo3°2’44” S 119°52’45” E