Death Ceremony and Unique Cemetery in Tana Toraja

Death ceremony is a ritual most important for society in Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. They opinion the death is a process of trip to puya (world of spirits). So it’s important to accompany the deceased to go to puya by performing certain ritual and bury the deceased to the special place. The death ceremony is called Rambu Solo.

The death ceremony can be performed later after months or years from death. Mean to give more time for the family preparing cost of ceremony that expensive. More richer or more higher social status of deceased, more bigger the ceremony. The tradition looks like a big party.

For waiting time to commit the death ceremony, the corpse is not buried, but put at home. The deceased must be assumed still alive. He must be assumed as someone weak and sick.

One of most important things in the death ceremony is buffalo. The Toraja people believe that buffalo will take the spirit to go to puya. Much more buffalo, much faster the spirit arrives to puya. That’s why needed many buffalos. Even it can achieve 100 buffalos if the deceased is an aristocrat or a rich. The buffalos will be matched and slaughtered.

After that, the deceased is brought on the special place that high. The cemetery is very unique. It’s a cave or stone wall. The deceased on coffin will be put into cave or stone wall that holed. Then a tau tau, a wood statue that describing the deceased, put in front of hole stone.

Tau tau, wood statue decribing the deceased

The stone cemetery that famous is Batu Lemo cemetery, in Batu Lemo. The funeral is holes on stone wall. It’s an ancient creation. It has existed since 16th century. There are 75 holes on stone.  There are many cemeteries on the stone with tau-tau.

Cemetery and tau tau in Batu Lemo

The famous cave cemetery is Londa cave cemetery, in Londa.

cemetery Londa

(Images from Google)