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Tana Toraja, Between The Cliff and The Dead

Between the mountainous terrain of southern Sulawesi, you’ll be welcomed by religious spectacle and the hospitality of the Torajan’s [not Trojans! ^_^] people. With majestic panoramas, captivating villages and dramatic ceremonies, Tana Toraja is the undisputed highlight of any journey to Sulawesi.



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As the development of the tourism activity on this region, you’ll get no difficulties to find several star-rated hotels, tourism center, internet service, and other upgraded infrastructures which opened Tana Toraja highland to visitors of all interests. About 60 cheap lodgings are also available for backpackers, so you don’t have to worry about where to spend the bedtime. The main attraction of Tana Toraja is their beliefs and the way of life, which you can experience easily around the sites in the town of Rantepao (district capital), 328 kilometres north of Makassar. A gate built in traditional boat-shaped architecture, marked the spot as the entry of Tana Toraja (Toraja Land). Various of handicrafts and unique shops can be easily found in the traditional village called Kete. It’s another unique memorabilia beside the photographs you could take around your journey in Tana Toraja.

The Torajans believe that their forefathers descended from heaven onto a mountain some twenty generations ago. A traditional cult called “Aluk Todolo” governs all traditional ceremonies which is still follows by the majority people of Tana Toraja. Their colorful culture is especially rich in elaborate sacrificial, post mortuary, and cave burial sites. Between the magnificent cliff graves, Lemo and Londa are the easiest sites to reach. These graves are filled with the effigies of the dead called Tau Tau which depict their nobility. You can hire young village guides to guide you up to the graves so you can see skeletons and old coffins.




But not only the graves will amaze your curiosity. The festival before the dead is buried along the cliff is also an event that shall not be missed. People will hold a party called Rambu Solo in order to respect the spirit of the deceased. Rambu Solo is divided into four levels which is described upon the social status of the dead. The higher the status, the longer the party will took. The corpse is placed inside “Tongkonan”, the traditional house of Tana Toraja, while people performs bull fight, music plays, dances, and bull slaughter. According to the belief, the more bulls and pigs are sacrified, the better status of the deceased will have in the afterlife.

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posted by Daniy @ 6:20 PM,

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