I have seen so much in this wonderful world. Toraja is a place that is not only truly unique, but also deeply impressed and touched me. The Tana Toraja area is located in Sulawesi/Indonesia and is particularly known for its traditions and rituals surrounding death. For the people here, it is not life that is important but the path to the afterlife, which they call “Puya”. For this reason, the funeral of a deceased relative is extremely important and involves a lot of effort.
To be honest, I didn’t know much about it beforehand. I had seen a documentary about this culture years ago. It said that people here live with the dead. I had to see it. However, that wasn’t exactly easy. But more on that later.
The funeral as a social spectacle
Reaching “Puya” is the goal. To pave the way there, the living have to perform a number of rituals. This requires an immense amount of money, which the relatives have to spend first. They need time for this. During this time, the deceased is first laid out in the house. The body fluids are replaced with formalin using an infusion. The body tissue becomes solid again and the decomposition process is slowed down. The deceased is officially ill until the funeral. It can take up to two years before the funeral can take place. Until then, the deceased is still part of family life. He is even brought food.
A funeral takes several days. On the first day, the coffin is placed high above the visitors in a kind of bamboo bungalow. For deceased persons of a higher status, this alone becomes an elaborate ritual with a drive through the city beforehand and then the coffin is lifted up on the grounds, accompanied by relatives, dancers, buffaloes and pigs with combined manpower.
The many relatives from all over Indonesia and probably from further away are welcomed by close relatives and the first buffalo or pigs are sacrificed to provide food for everyone. Tuak is served to drink. A slightly alcoholic drink that each community brews differently and is traditionally drunk from bamboo.
Everyone wears black, but the children and grandchildren are dressed more eye-catchingly. They walk in front of the procession and stand guard like little sentinels when the relatives take their places.
The buffalo fight
Buffalo fights are held in honour of the deceased before the actual ceremonies. This is a great and exciting experience. There are even fan clubs for certain buffaloes. Of course, every buffalo is replaceable. For example, “Dalle” is already the fourth. Bets play an equally important role in these fights. During the fight, helpers position themselves close to the two buffaloes and clap their hands constantly to encourage the giants to fight, which is not always successful. But when they do fight, it is fascinating and exciting to see these heavy creatures clash their heads over and over again, thrusting their front legs deep into the sand and standing their ground against their opponents.
The winner is allowed to survive for the next fight. The loser is sacrificed and allowed to accompany the deceased to Puya, which is no less respectful, as only the strongest buffaloes are needed for this strenuous journey over 1.000 mountains.
The sacrifice
Buffaloes and pigs are sacrificed to ensure that the deceased arrive safe and well at Puya. The more the better. The more valuable the better, as this shows even greater respect for the deceased. A simple black/grey buffalo costs 5 million rupiah (approx. 300 euros). A rarer black and white spotted buffalo is more valuable and an albino buffalo is almost priceless. For comparison: building a house in Toraja in the traditional style costs 1.5 million rupiah.
The ritual of sacrifice is very bloody and probably a barbaric process for some animal rights activists. However, it is part of the Toraja culture and every buffalo had a good life in the green expanse of Sulawesi until its last day. They have their own “carer” who lovingly looks after the buffalo. Only men carry out the killing and slaughtering. The man who kills the animal is paid 200,000 rupiah a day. The equivalent of about 12 euros. The butchers have to share their money.
Both the pigs and the buffaloes are donations to the family of the deceased. Everything, really everything, is utilised from the animal. Both the buffalo and the pigs were previously auctioned off. The proceeds go to the family of the deceased and they also decide whether a buffalo is sacrificed or donated to the community, as well as to whom the meat is donated.
A skilful blow to the buffalo’s carotid artery and the animal bleeds to death within a few minutes. The pigs receive a powerful thrust of the knife deep into their bodies. The blood bubbles out of the wound to the sound of deafening squeals until the animal falls silent and the butchers first burn the skin and then cut it into small pieces, which are then cooked in a bamboo tube together with vegetables and herbs over the fire to be eaten together later. If several pigs have been sacrificed, the pieces of meat are distributed to the highest bidder and the highest members of the community. The best pieces go to the elders.
At this point, a note on my video on this subject. I deliberately filmed and photographed everything of the sacrifice. It is a very bloody affair and, as already mentioned, for some people it is like torturing the animal. But in the end it is a ritual and part of the Toraja culture. And a very important one at that. If the animals are not sacrificed, the deceased cannot reach Puya, which means the worst for the Torajans, so we cannot imagine it. I recommend that you don’t judge it, but look, because I am giving you an insight into this unique world.
The graves and their Tau Tau
After days of rituals, the coffin is ceremoniously brought to its final resting place. The traditional graves are embedded in rocks. Only people from the highest class are given a grave in the rock and a Tau Tau, and only if 24 buffaloes have been sacrificed. Hundreds of deceased people from several generations of a family can lie in a rock. Locked by a padlock on a door about 60 cm high, the Tau Tau watch over the bones. Tau Tau are life-size wooden figures modelled on the deceased. They are supposed to be a likeness of the deceased and sometimes even wear their clothes. They are carved by hand from jackfruit wood. This wood is said to have a long life.
The Ma’Nene ceremony
This event is really very special and probably unique in the world. To be able to witness a Ma’Nene ceremony at all, you have to know that this event only takes place in an area north-west of Rantepao/Toraja. And then only during the rice harvest, which describes a period of 3-4 weeks.
The graves are usually only opened after 2-3 years. All family members of the deceased come together, as well as the villagers. Everyone gathers and the food (like at a funeral, pork with herbs in bamboo) is prepared over the fire. Everyone goes to the grave together. In my case, it was a modern one called a patane. A small hut on stilts made of wood. But they can also be made of concrete.
The lock to the patane is opened and one by one the deceased are carried out. Some are still in coffins, others are wrapped in colourful sheets.
The process is as simple as it is fascinating. Every single deceased person is “unwrapped”. Their clothes are taken off and after they have been cleaned a little, they are dressed in new clothes. Photos are then taken together. The family members who cannot be there in person are also brought in by video call.
The mood is a little depressing at first and the sadness has its moment. But then it quickly changes to a relaxed get-together, like a family reunion, and the deceased are right there among them.
There is a mixture of musty and sweet decomposition smell in the air. Perfume is supposed to soften the smell a little, but for some it is too much and they keep their distance.
I look at this scene and have the feeling that I am hovering between reality and a movie. What is happening before my eyes is so surreal and yet an important ritual and a matter of course for the locals here. I have never seen a corpse before and here there were several in various stages of decomposition. Most of the deceased are in surprisingly good condition, considering that some of them have been dead for over 20 years.
Once all the deceased family members have been re-dressed and all the photos have been taken, they are returned to their resting place well wrapped. The last hammer stroke on the lock on the door has fallen, the old clothes and coffins have been cleared away. “So, now we’re going to eat,” said the mother of the recently deceased son to me. And with that, the Ma’Nene ceremony is over.
On the way back to Rantepao, I became reflective. What had just happened? I tried to sort out and define my feelings and thoughts. These people deal with their deceased in a very different way to many other cultures in this world and somehow I didn’t find it scary at all but actually a beautiful way of dealing with death. Suddenly the father, granddaughter, grandma or uncle were back among them. Only for a short moment, but I’m sure this recurring moment is exactly the opposite of saying goodbye forever to a loved one.
An extraordinary article
The culture of Toraja is not only unique but also incredibly diverse, so much so that thick books could be filled with it. That’s why this article took so much time. My collection of information was larger than ever before. Notes, audio recordings, interviews, books and, last but not least, all the video and photo material had to be sifted through and sorted. What do I absolutely have to include and what can I leave out? What do I need to comment on and what can I just leave alone?
This time I hope even more than usual that I have created a good, informative and not least entertaining article, because that was a matter close to my heart after my visit to Toraja. I am not asking you to understand or like this culture. I’m just asking you not to judge it, because that’s the way the world is. Full of differently designed places whose existence is hard to believe and yet every place is just normal everyday life for the people who live there.
Enjoy the insight into this place and experience the lives of its inhabitants. Because you’ve certainly never seen anything like it.
For the people of Toraja – thank you for allowing me to be among you and for taking me into your world so warmly and openly. And special thanks to Ayub. The best guide for Toraja.