Elaborate Funeral Ceremonies of Torajan Heritage

 

Elaborate Funeral Ceremonies of Torajan Heritage

    


HOME > South Sulawesi  > Toraja Highland > Funeral Ceremonies


When approximate amounts of funds have been pledged by members of the family of the deceased Don or patriarch to ascertain that a funeral ceremony can be held, a meeting is gathered in the village attended by all family members, traditional aluk leaders and village heads to discuss details of the funeral ceremony, funds required, the minimum number of buffaloes to be slaughtered, -  for guests may run into the thousands, - and most importantly, the actual date of the funeral.
All know that funerals may take place only after the harvest and before the first sowing of the rice seeds, which normally falls between July and September.     
Toraja Funeral Ceremonies are not only sad events, but are occasions for entire families to gather from around the globe, and for villagers to participate in communal events, renewing relationships and reconfirming beliefs and traditions in the way of the ancestors.
In preparation of the Funeral Ceremony, villagers and family members build a tower on the designated ceremonial site where the meat of slaughtered cattle will be distributed during the event. In the centre of the ground is planted a stake where the sacrificial buffalo will be tied to and stabbed. Around the large site are built temporary shelters forming balconies where people can watch proceedings below.
The next day the coffin of the deceased is moved down from the Tongkonan to the floor of the rice barn where decorations are made around the bier.
Before the actual public ceremony begins, a priest or pastor will hold a Catholic mass or Protestant service for the family.
Then the public funeral starts. The day before, guests from all over Toraja, and relatives and descendents of the deceased arrive from many parts of Indonesia or even from overseas, to gather and attend this most important ceremony.
The first official day is dedicated to the seemingly endless formal procession called Ma’passa Tedong where persons, families, groups, bring with them their gifts and contributions ranging from water buffaloes to pigs, rice or alcoholic drinks. All gifts are meticulously registered and announced while donors will show off their gifts by walking around the ceremonial area. Everyone watches who gives what, so that the occasion is not only to confirm one’s status and wealth in society, but also to express former debts repaid, or even new ones made.  In the evening, the coffin is brought by hundreds of people to the ceremonial site - called Rante and placed on the high house. After the procession, start the exciting and rowdy buffalo fights, where a lot of betting goes on.  
The next day the committee tallies all gifts, and the family then decides how many buffaloes and pigs will be slaughtered and distributed to guests, and how many given to charity to neighbouring poor villages. Most expensive are the prized pied buffaloes.
The following day comes the actual slaughtering of the cattle for their meat to be distributed for meals to the thousands  attending the ceremony that lasts for over  a week. The slaughter of the sacrificial buffalo is done in public. This happens very fast and sure, where the buffalo is stabbed directly into its heart and collapses immediately. The buffalo is then hacked and its meat distributed from here, where each part is allocated to a specified person or group whose name is called out, with prime cuts given to the most important in status.
Foreigners and tourists may also be given a cut, which gives this ceremony a universal status drawing prestigious people from afar.
Finally on the actual day of burial, called :  Ma’Kaburu’  will  the coffin be carried in ceremonial procession by the thousands of villagers to the grave site passing green rice fields to its last resting place in  the caves or the crypts high up in the rock faces of the hanging graves.  (Source:” Periplus: Sulawesi, The Celebes” and other information)

Please Click "Email"  For Making Reservation !

ADVINDO SULAWESI~EAST INDONESIA 
Makassar - South Sulawesi
Indonesia

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fort Rotterdam: History of South Sulawesi

Image
Fort Rotterdam: History of South Sulawesi HOME  >  South Sulawesi  >  Fort Rotterdam: History of South Sulawesi Standing majestically at the western coast of  Makassar , Fort Rotterdam is recognized as the city’s most iconic landmark. With historical traces dating back to the Kingom of Gowa from the 16 th th century to colonization by the Dutch, this Fort has silently witnessed many episodes in Makassar’s history, playing a most essential role in its development. Its magnificence and authenticity has always captivated those who set eyes on it. A journalist from New York Times, Barbara Crossette even described it as “the best preserved Dutch Fort in Asia”. Originally called  Benteng  or Fort Jumpandang or Ujung Pandang, the huge complex was first built in 1545 in the era of Imanrigau Daeng Bonto Karaeng Lakiung or Karaeng Tunipalangga Ulaweng, the tenth King of Gowa. Initially, the fort was made from a mixture of Stone and burnt clay, and took the...
Read more

Labuan Bajo

Image
  Labuan Bajo    HOME   > Indonesia > Flores >  Labuan Bajo On the westernmost tip of the  Island of Flores , the town of  Labuan Bajo ,  or also spelled  Labuhan Bajo  sits peacefully: a small fishing site with surprisingly comprehensive tourist facilities. The central logic for its wide range of amenities is the extraordinary interest of travelers to the existence of the  Komodo dragon , locally called  ora , if not for its superb national park that encompasses some 80 islands. Facing two important islands –  Rinca  and  Komodo  – the only habitat in the world for the mythical and endangered species, the  Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) , the town of  Labuan Bajo  acts as a transit port and a destination to Flores’s  newly  discovered interior. The town at the most western end of Flores provides a place to stock up on groceries and other necessities for those traveling...
Read more

Makassar: Historic Port for Spices and Sailing Ships

Image
  Makassar: Historic Port for Spices and Sailing Ships   HOME   >    South Sulawesi   >   Makassar: Historic Port for Spices and Sailing Ships Formerly called Ujung Pandang, the city of Makassar is the largest city in east Indonesia. Capital of South Sulawesi, Makassar enjoys a central location in the Indonesian archipelago and today Makassar is Indonesia’s busy air hub, connecting Sumatra, Java, Bali and Kalimantan in the west with Sulawesi, the Moluccas and Papua in the east.    In fact,  ever since the 14th. century Makassar was already known as a thriving sea port where merchant vessels from far away China, India and Cambodia called regularly to trade in silks, tea and porcelain in exchange for cloves, nutmeg and pearls from the Moluccas and gold and forest products from Makassar and its hinterland.  And when in the 16th century the Europeans discovered the sailing route to the coveted Spice Islands, the Spanish and Portug...
Read more