#toraja

[artofmaquenda]

Here is the cover of Alukta's first album "Merok" drawn by me and finally published! :)

It is a tribute to the Toraja's death rituals where buffalos are sacrificed to carry the dead in the afterlife.

[a-typical]

In Toraja, during the period of time between death and the funeral, the body is kept in the home. That might not sound particularly shocking, until I tell you that period can last from several months to several years. During that time, the family cares for and mummifies the body, bringing the corpse food, changing its clothes, and speaking to the body.

The first time Paul ever visited Toraja, he asked Agus if it was unusual for a family to keep a dead relative in the home. Agus laughed at the question. “When I was a child, we had my grandfather in the home for seven years. My brother and I, we slept with him in the same bed. In the morning we put his clothes on and stood him against the wall. At night he came back to bed.”

Paul describes death in Toraja, as he’s witnessed it, not as a “hard border,” an impenetrable wall between the living and the dead, but a border that can be transgressed. According to their animistic belief system, there is also no barrier between the human and nonhuman aspects of the natural world: animals, mountains, and even the dead. Speaking to your grandfather’s corpse is a way to build a connection to the person’s spirit.

— From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death, Caitlin Doughty

[thegalacticidiot]

its tthe the creature

[agastyarajasya]

Toraja tribe house "tongkonan" in Center Point Indonesia (CPI), Makassar, Indonesia.

[naomiknight-17]

I thought I was very open to different cultures' ways of dealing with death and funerary rituals and that the book I'm reading, From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty, would be enlightening but certainly not shocking

Certainly, I would not be appalled or gasp aloud by anything any culture practiced! I've heard it all - funerary cannibalism, sacrifices, mummification - what could possibly shock me?

Welp

I got as far as page 56 before I was absolutely repulsed by a culture's death ritual, and I am now working through my feelings on that and trying to further expand my cultural understanding. I admit it though, I am not so enlightened as I thought. I got the heebie jeebies

There's like 200 pages left of this book. Who knows what else I'll encounter

[folkfashion]

Toraja women, Indonesia, by Bertrand DEVIMEUX

[reyolivier]

Toraja , groupe ethnique d’origine aborigène. Ils vivent dans les régions montagneuses du sud de Sulawesi. En 1919, ils décident de réunir leurs habitats sur les hautes terres centrales, afin de faciliter la cohésion de groupe et de se prémunir contre les Bugis. Ces derniers habitent dans la région sud-ouest de Sulawesi et tentaient à cette époque de les envahir. Selon les légendes, les ancêtres Toraja seraient arrivés sur l’île par voie maritime, en provenance du sud de la Chine et en passant par le reste de l’Indochine. C’est d’ailleurs pour cela que le toit de leurs maisons possède une forme de bateau. Si autrefois ce peuple vivait dans les montagnes, ils sont désormais regroupés à Tana Toraja, situé à 300 km au nord de Makassar, au sud de Sulawesi. . Toraja, ethnic group of aboriginal origin. They live in the mountainous regions of South Sulawesi. In 1919, they decided to unite their habitats in the central highlands, in order to facilitate group cohesion and to guard against the Bugis. The latter live in the southwestern region of Sulawesi and were trying to invade them at that time. According to legends, the Toraja ancestors arrived on the island by sea, coming from southern China and passing through the rest of Indochina. This is also why the roof of their houses has a boat shape. If once this people lived in the mountains, they are now grouped in Tana Toraja, located 300 km north of Makassar, south of Sulawesi. . #indonesia #indonesie #indonesian #toraja #torajasuperculture #tribute #traveltheworld #travelphotography #travel #travelgram #travelblogger #traveler #traveladdict #voyage #voyageursdumonde #nationalgeographic #naturerey #asie #asia #makassar #sulawesi #world #island #architecture #house #architecturephotography #archi #maison #maisondumonde #culture (à Toraja,Sulawesi Selatan,Indonesia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpFMyUNsLhm/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[papasmistakeria]

I’m currently watching some Rambu Solo (Toraja death rituals) videos and the comments are so painful to read. A bunch of Americans or Europeans calling the culture “wrong” and how it should be left behind and changed

Basic explanation of Rambu Solo; It’s a ritual held by the families of the dead in Toraja. The people of Toraja believes that there is life beyond death and that the dead are simply people who are alive but are asleep. For their spirits to be able to pass into the afterlife, they have to go through the Rambu Solo ceremony. The ceremony is big and expensive and festive with lots of people and animal sacrifice. Because it’s so expensive, some people couldn’t afford it and they can’t bury the body yet without the ritual so they keep the body in the family’s house and the dead is deemed “sick” and they’re treated as such; the family gives them food, drinks, their favourite things, etc. 

Anyway, back to Rambu Solo. The celebration goes as follow; It's a mix of different emotions but one thing certain; it's loud. It's when the family experiences true grief as it was the time to finally let the spirit travel to the afterlife, it's also a happy occassion in some cases. The casket is carried by the male family members and shaken while they walk around to wake the body for their journey.

Then there were the animal sacrifices with pigs and mainly buffalos. These animals can cost up to billions of rupiahs depending on circumstances (which is like $300.000) and are believed to be the ones to accompany the spirit in their journey to heaven. The sacrifice is done in the middle of the audience where a live buffalo is tied to a post and its neck is stabbed and slitted, and then onto another buffalo and another and another as nearly every family members will bring a buffalo.

Now before you go on a rant saying how it's "animal abuse" or "pointless animal death", the buffalo isn't just thrown away, in fact, the meat is equally shared to everyone attending no matter if you're long distance family or just complete strangers, you will get parts of the meat to cook and eat. Same with the pigs but they just feed you on the spot and they make sure there's not a scrap left behind

It may look pointless or otherwise cruel from an outsider's perspective, but it's an ancient tradition of respecting the dead and remembering the family. Just because something looks weird or doesn't fit in your Western perspective and standards for some countries, it doesn't change the fact that it's a tradition that these people have the rights to do without being judged by someone who's never even been there

Now the question is; Why the fuck are so many Westerners mad about it and are trying so hard to say how it's a "bad and cruel tradition that needs to be left behind"? Like why are you trying to tell an entire ancient culture what’s right and wrong y’all don’t even go here 😐