Indonesia. Toraja Funeral | Tribes & Ethnic Groups
A lot of buffalo have to be sacrificed if you are to live happily and be respected in paradise. The souls of the dead can only go to puya when the death ritual is completed.
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The status of a spirit in the world beyond is the same as that of the person in this life, and so the souls of his animals must follow him into the other life. With this sacrifice the deceased will be accompanied to heaven by the souls of buffalos and pigs. The journey to puya requires strong animals because it is difficult and mountains and valleys must be crossed.
The buffalo has traditionally been the symbol of wealth and power, used even to pay for land. But the fact that so many are sacrificed in honour of the dead, in order to impress the living, has led the Indonesian government to impose limits and taxes for each animal sacrificed, as these ostentatious ceremonies end up by ruining the families.
The tensest moment in any celebration is the sharing out of the meat, and there are always disputes and even fights. What each guest receives depends on many factors. For example, if they are owed a debt, they will receive a good portion as part of the payment, the noble families that are descended directly form heaven have the right to the head, the most highly prized part, and the children receive the legs.
On the last day, in the village of Kete the atmosphere is completely different from the revelry of the first days. After three intense days of celebration, the pain and tiredness begin to show in the faces of the closest relatives.
The funeral is drawing to an end, and in just a few hours Mayanna will rest in peace, along with his ancestors, in the sacred rocks of Rantepao.
An hour later, Mayanna is taken on his final journey across the rice fields.
Mayanna’s family has reached the sacred rocks.
Right at the foot of the niche, the officiating priest says the final farewell to the dead man, reading a few paragraphs from the Bible. The majority of the Toraja are Christians, though like the Bajau, they combine their new religion with animist beliefs based on a large, complicated mythology that divides all of creation into three worlds, each one with its own god.
Mayanna has come to the end of his journey.
The coffin has been placed inside the rock, along with his most beloved belongings. Then, they seal forever the door to his new home ...and that is a funeral in the highlands of Sulawesi, the island in the shape of an orchid.
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Indonesia. Toraja Funeral | Tribes & Ethnic Groups
In this documentary we travel to Indonesia, the Sulawesi island, there we know the Toraja and Bajau, two ethnic groups who have a very particular culture and traditions. There, we attended a Toraja funeral, an event that they have become an amazing ritual of several days. We dive into the wonderful world that lies behind the coral reef that runs through large part of the Indonesian archipelago. And finally we boarded on the Bajau houseboats who live in even closer contact with the sea. In fact, they could not conceive of life without it.
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▶ Documentary. Indonesia.The Ghosts of Sulawesi
It’s been three months since Mayanna died, and finally everything is ready for the funeral ceremony. During this time, the body has been preserved, having been injected with a concoction made from special flowers and grasses. On occasions, they preserve the body for up to twenty years, until the family has been able to raise the money needed for the burial.
Officially, the funeral cannot begin until the coffin leaves the family home and is placed in a small sanctuary on the “rante”, the terrace where the ceremony will take place.
Once the coffin has been carried in and placed on the catafalque, it begins its journey through the jungle, preceded by the women closest to the deceased, who hold a long red cloth as a symbol of the road that must be followed in order to reach “puya”, heaven.
This short journey to the “rante” is also the occasion for the neighbours who have not been invited to the burial to express their condolences to the family of the deceased.
Meanwhile, Batto, the carpenter of Kete, is hurrying to complete a sculpture of the deceased Mayanna.
These figures are called tau tau, and are a symbol of the Toraja culture. They are life-size, and though traditionally they only depicted the gender of the person, now they try to make them resemble the deceased.
The tau tau are paid for by the entire community in appreciation of the generosity of the deceased, and are almost exclusively the privilege of the upper classes.
In the rock crevices around the region of Tana Toraja, dozens of these human figures stare out from their wooden balconies on the cliff face, watching over the spirits. The figures are dressed and decorated with clothes and jewellery which belonged to the deceased, and even on occasions, the wigs are made from their real hair. It is a relatively recent custom, which began in the nineteenth century, and the type of wood used is indicative of the social position of the dead person.
But after so many years of funerals, there remain few rocks and escarpments in which to bury the bodies, and though the aim is that the family should remain united even after death, the lack of space means coffins often have to be placed in bamboo structures in the open air. In time, the wood has rotted, converting these sacred rocks into macabre, sinister places.
Children who die before their teeth appear are buried in the trunks of these trees, because for the Toraja they still belong to mother nature, and as such should remain with her. The soul will travel to heaven up the trunk.
In the sacred rocks of Rantepao, the workers excavate new spaces in which to bury Mayanna alongside his ancestors.
Here, there are no mechanical excavators or pneumatic drills, everything is done with hammer blows, so the construction of a family pantheon can take several months, determining the date on which the funeral can be held. The Toraja prefer to hold the ceremony during the dry season, that is, between June and September, which is when they have most time, as the rice fields require very little care.
For this work, Mayanna’s family will have to pay five buffalos. On the island of Sulawesi it is customary to use these animals as currency.
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Funeral ceremony Tana Toraja, Sulawesi Indonesia
Funeral ceremony Tana Toraja, Sulawesi
INDONESIA Rantepao and surroundings (Sulawesi)
Londa, Ketekesu, Bori and Palawa.
Villages from round Rantepao, Sulawesi (Celebes).
These Tana Toraja places are of famous for their rock graves and tongkonan houses. Londa has hanging graves.
(re-upload because of music copyright claim)
Toraja - Danau Limbong Rantepao
Toraja Funerals | Culture - Planet Doc Full Documentaries
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These are the Sulawesi highlands, in Indonesia, home of the former head-hunters known as toraja, which means “mountain men”.
In the village of Kete, the funeral of a nobleman celebrated. The deceased Mayanna was a pung, a wealthy local. The burial ceremony will be so sumptuous, though, that his family will be ruined economically. the extravagance of the ceremony will guaranty that the dead man will rejoin his ancestors in paradise. This funeral dance is called Mabadong. The men dance as they hold onto each other’s little fingers, singing together in an intense lamentation.
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Indonesia. Funeral Toraja (El Ritual de la Muerte) | Tribus y Etnias
El tercer día es el más importante, hay que sacrificar muchos búfalos. Solo cuando se complete el ritual de la muerte, las almas de los muertos podrán ir a puya
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El estatus de un espíritu en el mas allá es el mismo que el de su propietario en el de la vida presente, por eso las almas de sus animales deben seguirle a la otra vida. Con su sacrificio el difunto irá acompañado hasta el cielo junto a las almas de búfalos y cerdos. El viaje a puya requiere un animal fuerte porque es un viaje difícil en el que hay que cruzar montañas y valles.
El búfalo ha sido tradicionalmente símbolo de riqueza y poder, incluso la tierra se puede pagar en búfalos. Pero esto de sacrificar tantas cabezas en honor de los muertos para impresionar a los vivos ha provocado que el gobierno indonesio establezca unas limitaciones y tasas por cada ejemplar sacrificado, ya que estas ceremonias y sus grandes ostentaciones terminan por arruinar a las familias.
El momento más delicado de toda la celebración es el reparto de la carne y siempre se producen disputas e incluso agresiones. Lo que recibe cada invitado depende de muchas circunstancias; por ejemplo si hay una deuda, este recibirá una buena porción como parte del pago; las familias nobles que descienden directamente del cielo tienen derecho a la cabeza, la parte mas preciada y los niños reciben las patas.
El último día, en la aldea de Kete se respira otro ambiente que nada tiene que ver con el jolgorio de los primeros días. Después de tres intensas jornadas de celebraciones, el dolor y el cansancio comienza a reflejarse en los rostros de los familiares más cercanos.
Los funerales están llegando a su fin y en pocas horas Mayanna descansará en paz, junto a sus antepasados, en las piedras sagradas de Rantepao.
Una hora mas tarde Mayanna es transportado en su último viaje a través de los campos de arroz.
La familia de Mayanna en poco menos de dos horas alcanzan las rocas sagradas.
Al pie mismo del nicho, el oficiante despide al difunto leyendo unos párrafos de la Biblia. La mayoría de los Toraja son cristianos, aunque al igual que los Bajau, mezclan su nueva religión con creencias animistas basadas en una larga y complicada mitología que divide todo lo creado en tres mundos, cada uno con su propio dios.
El viaje de Mayanna ha llegado a su fin.
Una vez que el féretro ha sido introducido en el interior de la roca, solo queda depositar sus pertenencias mas queridas y luego sellar para siempre la puerta de su nuevo hogar ...así son los funerales en las tierras altas de Sulawesi, la isla con forma de orquídea.
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INDONESIA TORAJA VILLAGES SULAWESI
The Toraja villages in Sulawei Island keep all their traditions...
Rantepao Town - Tana Toraja - Wisata Tana Toraja - South Sulawesi - Indonesia Travel Guide (Tourism)
Indonesia | Funeral Ceremony in Toraja | ICS Travel Group
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TORAJA VILLAGE - In Sulawesi
Walking through a Torajan Village, we notice that the houses resemble somewhat the Sumatran houses. Cultivating the padi fields was still primitive using the cangkul or at best the buffalo ploughs. Singing our way through the fields was rather invigorating for us or for our local guide.
Funeral in Indonesia
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These are the Sulawesi highlands, home of the former head-hunters known as toroja, which means “mountain men”.
In the village of Kete on the funeral day of a distinguished noble. Three months after his body was embalmed, everything is ready.
The deceased Mayanna was a pung, a wealthy local. The burial ceremony will be so sumptuous, though, that his family will be ruined economically. In order to pay for the over-the-top funeral they’ve had to sell good rice land and farm animals.
Nevertheless, the extravagance of the ceremony will guaranty that the dead man will rejoin his ancestors in paradise.
The goal is to “satisfy the deceased”, and if Mayanna is indeed content with his funeral, he will protect his family and bring them luck.
At first the attendees don’t cry for the dead. It seems more like a party, and what a great time they’re having! Amidst the tumult the coffin is excitedly lifted up high. But at the sound of a gong the mood suddenly changes.
Now no one is hiding their sorrow. On the contrary, they are openly grief-stricken. I don’t know if this is due to the loss of Mayanna or the economic ruin that has befallen them.
Later the main event starts: The buffalo fight.
This funeral dance is called Mabadong. The men dance as they hold onto each other’s little fingers, singing together in an intense lamentation.
As at any good wake, there must be plenty of food. They all must fortify themselves for the hardest part of the burial, which is yet to come. The full coffin will be carried on the shoulders of the mourners into the forest and to the sacred stones of Rantepao.
They’ve finally arrived. This mountain man has returned to the mountain in death. While his coffin is slid into its rocky niche, the officiator reads a Biblical prayer for the dead.
A local artisan has produced a wooden sculpture called a tau-tau of the deceased Mayanna. For a family of such high prestige, the effigy will cost a fortune, five buffalos.
Once the figure is ready, it is added to the other effigies on the balcony of statuary, from which numerous wooden figures of the deceased observe the scene
TORAJALAND - RANTEPAO (1)
Rantepao, Tana Toraja, Indonesia
INDONESIA walking near Rantepao (Sulawesi)
There are wonderful ricefields to explore near Rantepao. We started our walk at Batutumonga.
Toraja, Indonesia. - Ollon village to Rantepao, off road - KLX250
Wisata Alam Ollon
Indonesia, Rantepao, Toraja funeral ceremony
Toraja Funeral Ceremony in Rantepao Sulawesi
Toraja Funeral Ceremony in Rantepao Sulawesi, Indonesia
Toraja: life and death
Toraja culture (Indonesia) 2006
Tana Toraja traditional funeral Rantepao Sulawesi excerpt
Source: Uploaded on Jan 30, 2012. Video footage from a funeral ceremony on 23rd of March 2011 among a Toraja community in Sulawesi, Indonesia. More information: Website:
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Sulawesi, Island on the Equator - Part 3.Tana Toraja, Land of Immortality (2013.12.24)
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