08/03/2014 - Brutal Torajan funeral ceremony.

 

Being the most cultural experience I have seen in Indonesia the Torajan funeral ceremony just outside of Rantepao, South Sulawesi was intense.
The tomate (funeral) is the most important ritual for the people here and without proper funeral rites it's believed that the soul of the dead would cause misfortune to its family.
It may take some time for the family to accumulate money after the death of family member during which the deceased will be exposed to the elements within the home, rotting away for up to a year.
This excessive amount of time is necessary because the whole ceremony was incredibly intricate and extravagant involving many people, food and decorations including temporary structures for the guests and without doubt, definitely would have set the family of the deceased back quite a lot of dough.
 
My decision to attend this event came at the last minute as I was preparing to leave on my bicycle back to Makassar, I was told that the one who recently deceased was in the upperclass of this society and the events of the day would be worthwhile.
The inclusion of photos in this post show off this occasion, but be warned - there are some gruesome photos of the sacrifice of a water buffalo.

$8000 dollar albino water buffalo

Tongkonan - traditional houses and the body in a casket to be carried around the village

Buffaloes are a status symbol for the Toraja and traditionally been a symbol of wealth and power.

Torajans believe that the souls of the animals should follow their masters into the next life - although the sacrifice of the buffalo was brutal there was only one, I was told the previous year there was a sacrificial massacre of 147 buffaloes!? Dear reader I hope your not squeamish.

Portions of the buffalo meat is spread out amongst and consumed by the village folk however the family close to the one deceased are forbidden to eat the sacrificed meat.

Hundreds gathered for the very unentertaining buffalo fight...

The dozen buffaloes that entered the fighting grounds barely made contact, however I had seen enough bloodshed today

 

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Many if the people attending the event.

Oh, and we started off the morning by going to a baby grave where the infants that were deceased were placed within a cut hole in a special tree that over several years would encapsulate the body within it. The babies were placed on the opposite side of the tree to which the family lived.