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  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 5

    The Funeral - Viewing the Procession

    July 8, 2019 in Indonesia

    After eating lunch, everybody gathered around a hillside as the parade began.

    The parade comprised of some relatives carrying a long red cloth, the coffins of the two siblings (each housed in a small custom built funeral house; the first coffin was tied to the red cloth), and finally the widow of the dead man and another woman who were both carried on sedan chairs. Whoever built the burial house did not account for their height and so the procession had to double back and go down another slope when it could not go under a gantry.

    The tau tau of the two deceased were moved to a vantage point to view the procession.

    The procession came back not long after. The women at the front of the procession seemed to be engaged in a water fight.

    After the procession, the first buffalo was sacrificed at the megalith circle. Anto told me we needed to be a respectful distance from this sacrifice as it was the most significant sacrifice; this was the point in time at which the deceased is officially considered dead.

    After the sacrifice, the deceased persons’ genealogy and life achievements were read out. The coffins, the lower platform of the funeral house, and the tau tau were hoisted up a shaky bamboo bridge onto the main ceremonial tower. As each coffin got into the structure, the bearers jumped up and down. It was a little scary to see the floor of the temporary structure sag under their weight.

    My YouTube video of the funeral highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBXUIJC97CQ&amp…

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…    Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 5

    The Funeral - Buffalo Sacrifice

    July 8, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    The Torajans believe that sacrificed buffalo transport the deceased to puya, the next stage of existence. Two additional buffalo were sacrificed after the coffins were hoisted onto the ceremonial tower. I was close to this sacrifice. They took an agonizingly long time to die. Apart from buffalo, a number of pigs were also sacrificed. Pigs are intelligent animals and they knew what was going on. Their screams were heartbreaking.

    According to Anto, a minimum of 24 buffalo would be sacrificed for a deceased of noble birth, the main sacrifice would take place on Day Two of the funeral.

    Many people have criticized Torajan culture for unnecessary cruelty to animals. I don’t disagree, but I also don’t think that we have a right to criticize another culture’s practices. Besides, for those who eat meat, where do you think it comes from?

    My YouTube video of the funeral highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBXUIJC97CQ&amp…;

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…    Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 5

    The Funeral - Reception of Guests

    July 8, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Various guests then formed several processions, divided by family. The first clan was preceded by three men doing a war dance. They paraded their gifts of two buffalo (one a highly prized albino with a suspicious blond mop on top; I called him the Trump buffalo). The second family sang a mournful tune with flutes. A third group came, formed a circle, and performed a chant called ma’badong while moving slowly anti clockwise. The circular movement represents the circle of life, and the chant memorializes the dead.

    Throughout the procession, the sacrificed buffalo were efficiently skinned and sliced up in the background.

    We left while the third group was performing their chant.

    My YouTube video of the funeral highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBXUIJC97CQ&amp…;

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…    Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 5

    The Funeral - Random Thoughts

    July 8, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    I don’t think I’m gifted enough of a writer to adequately describe what I saw and learned, much less what I internalized, but suffice it to say this was a life changing experience that challenged my western-centric views on death.

    Words fail me when I try to describe what I saw. It is, obviously, hard to watch any sentient being die, especially one that is culled while in its prime. As westerners, we are far removed from this as our meat comes in sanitized little packages that discourage us from thinking about where it really came from. Apart from the three buffalo, a number of pigs were killed and then immolated. I wasn’t anywhere close to where that happened, but I could hear their screams. It was stomach churning.

    Anto provided me with the following information about funeral rites:

    1. Physical death isn’t viewed as an abrupt event. Rather, it is one step in a journey.

    2. Before the funeral, the deceased’s spirit is still wandering. After the funeral, (s)he reaches puya, and watches over their descendants and over their harvests.

    3. Funerals are multi day affairs. This one was in its first day; it most likely ran for five days. More buffalo would be sacrificed later. For a noble family like this one, at least 24 are sacrificed.

    4. It takes years to save for a funeral. When someone dies, the body is often kept in the house - sometimes for years - until enough money is saved. At this funeral, the man had been dead for over a year, while his sister died a few months ago.

    5. A white flag is hoisted at the front of the house while a dead relative is kept there. During their time there, they are considered sick, not dead. People actually continue to interact with the deceased as if they were still alive.

    6. Many of the structures were temporary, built for the funeral. After the funeral, they are demolished.

    7. Each buffalo costs upwards of US$3,000; albino buffalo (like the Trump buffalo) cost much more. People sell land, beg, borrow, or live frugally until they have enough for the funeral. To our western-oriented minds, this is hard to fathom. I wouldn’t be surprised if some kid’s college fund disappeared with one strike of a machete at a buffalo’s throat.

    8. Relatives are obligated to provide sacrificial animals and other gifts, and the horns that decorate the front of the traditional houses are testament to that. It takes years to pay off the debt, sometimes never. Anto’s own family had to sell land to cover the cost of a funeral.

    9. But, this is all adat. Adat, which loosely translates into “custom”, is easily the most incomprehensible word to a non-Indonesian. The western equivalent would probably be “it is what it is”. Adat is rarely questioned. Every act in Indonesian culture has meaning, and adat is infused into everything. The Torajans believe that by observing these rituals, their ancestors will watch over them. Failing to observe the rituals could lead to bad harvests, etc.

    My YouTube video of the funeral highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBXUIJC97CQ&amp…;

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…    Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 5

    Kete Kesu

    July 8, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Our next stop after the funeral was a scenic spot to view some rice fields. After that, our last stop was Kete Kesu, which features some preserved tongkonan and another hanging grave. This was the only touristy spot I visited in the area.

    Anto deposited me back at my hotel around 5pm. My butt was sore from riding his bike on the poorly maintained roads. My mind was spinning from all I learned and saw. But, this was easily one of my best travel days ever.

    ============

    A Side Note About The Roads

    The roads were in poor condition, Anto's bike was a little on the decrepit side, and I’m not exactly in the lightweight category. This meant we had many bumps, which in turn led Anto to adlib “Bumpy roads, take me home”. At one point, after a particularly nasty bump, his rear tire got a little flat and things got a little dicey when he had trouble controlling it. I winced every time we bounced as it felt like the rim was hitting the road. We looked around for a repair shop, found one, he pumped the tire back up, and things were fine for a while. But, by the end of the day, it was pretty flat again. Rather hilariously, my Fitbit recorded many of those bumps as steps; I clocked 19,000 steps that day.

    In hindsight, I also should have been a little more alarmed that Anto had a plastic soda bottle filled with translucent tuak (a local moonshine), and that he took swigs from it throughout the day. But, I was in Indonesia, I was going with the flow, and tuak just seemed like a natural part of the landscape.

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…    Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 6

    Bolu

    July 9, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    My guide today was Ritha. We hired a driver - oddly named Minggu (Sunday) - for the day. My sore butt thanked her for doing this. The roads in the area north of Rantepao were in even worse shape than those I encountered yesterday.

    Our itinerary today was to do a circuit north of Rantepao. Our first stop was Bolu, a town just north of Rantepao famous for its twice weekly buffalo market. Ritha led me into a market with hundreds of the beasts. She explained to me what factors contributed to the asking price of a buffalo - size, coloration, length and shape of horns, etc. The more prized ones can fetch tens of thousands. Albinos are the most prized. They should have white patches, whitish-bluish eyes, and blondish hair on top. Long horns are also highly prized because they look impressive when displayed after sacrifice. Ritha said that many of the buffalo come from other islands, notably Sumba. She said that Torajans could tell the difference between those raised in Toraja and those that are imported from elsewhere.

    Apart from the buffalo market, we also walked through the pig section, the rooster section, and then we walked around the labyrinthine market looking at produce. One interesting thing she pointed out me was that palm leaves placed in front of a warung (food stall) is code for dog meat. I recall in other parts of Indonesia that the code is “RW” or “rintuk wuk” on the menu.

    During our walk around the market, and during our after lunch hike through rice terraces and villages, Ritha regaled me with information about how buffalo are treated. Here are some key snippets:

    1. Male buffalo are treated very well as they are the ones that are sacrificed and bring prestige. They are taken from the fields at the end of each day, washed, and then housed in special barns for the night. Ritha called them one star hotels. The owners don’t want their precious male buffalo to get dirty.

    2. Many farmers don’t plant rice on part of their fields, choosing instead to dedicate that area to growing special elephant grass to feed their male buffalo. Many people hand feed this special treat to their buffalo.

    3. Oil is massaged into the hides of the most valuable ones. Their teeth may also be brushed.

    4. Female buffalo, by contrast, are only as good as the (male) calves they produce. Little value is placed on them and they’re just left in the fields to graze and get as dirty as they like.

    5. So, basically, male buffalo are pampered and they live a good life, until it is time to sacrifice them.

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…    Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 6

    Bori

    July 9, 2019 in Indonesia

    Our next stop was Bori, which featured a large circle of megalithic stones, and a large rock with graves carved in it. Megalithic stones are apparently more common north of Rantepao because the rocks are more easily available there.

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…    Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 6

    Batumonga

    July 9, 2019 in Indonesia

    Our next stop was Batumonga, where I had lunch at a scenic spot. Ritha recommended I try buffalo meat. I’m not much of a meat eater, but I reluctantly agreed. Buffalo turned out to be chewy, and just a little gamey. It wasn’t that bad actually.

    After lunch, we went for a short one hour hike through some rice fields and villages. Here, I got to see the abovementioned buffalo care in action, along with real, lived in villages, and graves. Graves in Toraja are scattered everywhere. The padi fields are littered with large boulders, so there were carved out graves everywhere, as well as modern house graves.

    North of Rantepao, stone tau tau were common. We saw a few modern concrete graves with stone tau tau.

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…    Read more

  • TravelerTana Toraja & Bali
    Day 6

    Tana Toraja - Parting Thoughts

    July 9, 2019 in Indonesia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Tana Toraja exceeded all my expectations. This place is an anthropologist’s wet dream. Ritha suggested that I return in the future to observe the following: a ceremony to inter the coffin in the grave, visit a house with a “sick” relative who hasn’t yet had their funeral, and, finally, visit in August when various villages bring out their deceased from their graves, clean them up, give them a fresh change of clothes, and conduct other rites. I am certainly interested in doing this someday.

    What was more significant about this place, though, was that pretty much nothing is put up for tourists. What you see is death - and through that, life as well - laid bare. Unadulterated. Uncurated. Not bundled into palatable little packages like our meat at home.

    It is rare for me to hire a guide, but they’re practically indispensable in this situation because they have inside knowledge about what is going on. Ritha and Anto are both highly recommended. Ritha can be contacted via email at rithabalik86@gmail.com.

    Ritha's Trip Advisor profile: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g…

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Indonesia/Sulaw…    Read more

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