Toraja

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Carved wooden Torajan art - each panel is a stylised representation of a wish for goodwill of some form. The center bottom panel, for example, represents buffalo, the wealth of the Torajeans, and the wish that the family should possess buffaloes in plenty. The center panel represents a knot, and a basket, or box. It's meaning is the hope that all of one's offspring are happy, and live in harmony, like goods kept safe and tidy in a box. The top left and top right squares represents an aquatic animal that moves on the surface of the water, and indicates the need for hard and fast work to obtain results, and the need for skill of application in work to produce results. On the bottom row, either side of the center panel, are the Paqsepuq Torong Kong', which resembles the embroidary of the betel bags of the Rongkong people, who are thought to be of one family with the Toraja people. It indicates that the two people share a common culture, and aspirations of peace between them.

The Toraja ethnic group is indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The total population numbers about 600,000 people. Much of the population is Christian, with a Muslim minority, although many local animist traditions and beliefs remain strongly held. The Sa'dan Toraja claimed their religion, Aluk To Dolo, as part of the Hindu religion in order to defend themselves against the conversion to christianity.

Torajans are famous for their elaborate funeral rites. Funerals are major social events, often attended by hundreds of people and running for several days. Especially at the funeral of a more prosperous person, many buffaloes and pigs are slaughtered. Caves and cavities carved in cliffs are often used as burial sites; coffins may also be hung on cliff faces.

It is very common to see the remains of slaughtered animals, usually buffalo, after a ritualised burial has taken place. Their horns often are fixed to dwellings; large ones at the bottom, smaller ones at the top. Pig jaws hang from the ceilings inside, and the humid hot air is alive with the sounds of flies buzzing around the dead carcases.

Traditional Torajan dwellings are called Tongkonan. They have massive peaked roofs, sometimes described as the shape of a bull's horns, with large overhangs. The outside of these houses are often decorated with detailed wooden carvings.

References

• Toraja in carvings - Dr J. S. Sande

See also

• Tana Toraja

External links

• [Toraja.solata.net Toraja on the Net] - news and commentary in Indonesian
• [batusura.de] - A personal website containing photography and recorded music from Toraja
• [Life and Death in Torajaland] - Liz Price, Wild Asia

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