Tana Toraja is undoubtedly Sulawesi’s biggest tourist draw. The Toraja are famous for their unusual funeral practices. Many tourists come just to see a funeral, which, conveniently for us, largely take place in the dry season — July and August. Now you’re wondering — how is it that people only die in the dry season? Well, for the Toraja the most important part of their life is death. Families spend a long time saving money to pay for elaborate funeral ceremonies, and during this waiting time they don’t have a problem keeping the body (to them the person is sick, not dead) in the house with them while they procure the necessary resources which may take months or even years.
The path to paradise is arduous so the Toraja need many pigs (to guide them) and buffalo (to carry stuff), sacrificed at their funeral. And I think maybe it’s these gory sacrifices that many tourists come to see. Ferda and I did happen upon funerals two different days: once in Sa’dan where they were really more in the preparation phase and once in Bori where we saw a dead buffalo being hacked into pieces, a dead pig being roasted with a blowtorch, and what looked like a tug-of-war match with the casket.
What most disturbed Ferda was that the first buffalo were slaughtered right in front of the other buffalo that were to be slaughtered later — no blindfolds, no sheet or tarp or wall or any sort of separation. We met a British tourist who came to witness a funeral ceremony because he’s sure this tradition won’t exist 10 years from now. Good riddance, according to Ferda.
Ferda and I came to Toraja to enjoy the good views — terraced rice paddies, mixed in with the oddly shaped Toraja houses, and mountain backdrops.
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