TORAJA CULTURE Death Ceremony

TORAJA CULTURE
Death Ceremony

Culture [ Page 1 ] [ Page 2] [ Page 3 ] [ Page 4 ] [ Page 5 ]

Introduction

In Toraja, death ceremony calling rambu solo' or rampe matampu' that mean rites for the death of Tana Toraja. Toraja funeral are remarkable, what is often overlooked is that funerals from only part of a ritual cycle that extends throughout the year. The article mentions a cycle of "smoke descending" rituals associated with death; that call rambu solo'

Everyone dies eventually, and funeral rites are held the world over. The funeral of Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi, however, are special enough to merit attention, and various graveyards, particularly those of the villages of Lemo, Londa, Kete Kesu, have become major tourist attractions. The graveyards of these areas each has its own distinguishing characteristic. In Lemo, graves are chiseled into the side of a sheer, vertical rock face. Corpses are then placed into these horizontal shaft. Carving the shafts into the sides of the sheer cliffs requires exeptional dedication and courage, and even placing the body of the deceased into the grave is extremely perilous work. However, relatives of the deceased can rest assured that the body will not be devoured by wild animals. No other culture in the world seems prepared to go to the lengths to protect its dead.

Tau ~ Tau

The death of an Aluk noble occasions the creations of effigy, or tau-tau (meaning "small person" or "person like"). Such effigies are of two kinds : tau-tau nangka , carved of the durable gold-toned wood of the jackfruit( nangka ) tree, and tau-tau lampa , ephemeral effigies of bamboo and cloth.

The tau-tau are thought to be the receptacle of the ghost ( bombo ) of the deceased. Males are clad in a fine batik sarong with a Eropean-style shirt and oversized sport jacket. Around his neck are hung tubes of incides gold and invulnerabity charms fashioned of boar's teeth. For the headdress, row of old silver coins are threated between buffalo horns and crowed with clusters of red and yellow parakeet feathers or a bird-of-paradise plume.
Females are more modestly attired in a sarong with lacy blouse or kebaya , a betel pouch, a wide cummerbund of silver coins, gold and shell beads and bracelets, and a black cloth tied behind the head to form a bun. On the head is placed a tiny white porcelain plate, reminder of hear connection to the kitchen. The faces of both male and female effigies are wrapped in vivid red cloth to which are added white paper or wooden eyes.
When the effigy is complete, the to mebalun (who is also responsible for wrapping the corpse) kneels before it and spins the figure around to "awaken" it. All that remains on the ritual field is a green bamboo skeleton: the body has gone to it's "house without smoke," the gost has gone south to Puya, and the living have gone home.

These effigies are expensive and time-consuming to produce, and their carving is fraught with many taboos. Although in frequently made this days, both because of the expense and the decline in aluk , such figures are still treated by the Toraja - aluk and Christian alike - with reverence. But only aluk Toraja may participate in a ceremony held every few years to honor the ancestors.
Defined as "art" by the international market, hundreds of tau-tau were stolen from their graves during the 1980s. Today the figures have found (and continue to find) their way into museums, galleries and living rooms in Jakarta, Europe and America. The Toraja, Christian and aluk alike, have reacted with shock, anger, bitterness and dismay. In despiration, many families have reclaimed their ancestors' effigies and hid them in caves and other secret places.

Londa

In Londa, the bodies of the dead are entombed in a cave. Coffins are placed among the stalactites and stalagmites of the cave. When the coffin falls apart, the skeleton is allowed to fall onto the floor and remain there. Visitors to the cave have been known to stumble over these skeletons. The graveyard at Kese Kesu is probably famous because of its proximity to the famous traditional Torajan houses of the area, which are a tourist attraction in their own right. However, the graves have their own special distingushing characteristics. Each grave is marked with a tau-tau, a wooden statue representing the deceased, and often carved and dressed to resemble him or her.

[Note : This material taken from several books and other resources. The copyright hold by them.]