Toraja

Bali Flores Irian Jaya Java Komodo Moluka Moluka islands Selayar Sulawesi Palopo, Sulawesi Sumatra Surabaya Tingall, Java Toraja Yogyakarta

Funeral Customs

of the

Toraja

in

Sulawesi, Indonesia

 

tombs cut into the rock

 

view of the cliffs from the green valley

 

the Tau-Tau effigies on the cliff rooms

 

closer view

 

many effigies

 

detail of more recent Tau-tau effigies

horizontal rule

Burials

 

old coffins

 

more recent elaborate grave house

 

also with Christian theme

 

ancestor bones

 

skulls in a crevice

horizontal rule

The Funeral Ceremony

the ceremony of death remembrance may be a year or more after the person dies

 

large temporary structures are built for the ceremony

 

many water buffalo may be slaughtered for the feast
depending on the wealth of the deceased

 

where the body is held during the ceremony

 

detail

these structures shown, survived the feast, but will never be used again

 

Funeral dances viewed by the people in these stands may be solemn among the Toraja of Sulawesi,


structures starting to decay

horizontal rule

Bali Flores Irian Jaya Java Komodo Moluka Moluka islands Selayar Sulawesi Palopo, Sulawesi Sumatra Surabaya Tingall, Java Toraja Yogyakarta

Return to Sulawesi page

American Samoa Cook Islands Easter Island Fiji Guam Hawaiian Islands Indonesia Kiribati Marquesas Marshall Islands Midway Atoll Nauru New Caledonia New Zealand Norfolk Island Palau Papua New Guinea Pohnpei  - Micronesia Rapa Nui Saipan Samoa Solomon Islands Tahiti Timor-Leste Tinian island Tonga Truk  -  Micronesia Tuvalu Vanuatu Yap

Return to Indonesia page

Return to Pacific Islands page

World Heritage Mosaics Roman World Africa Antarctica Asia Atlantic Islands Australia Caribbean Central America Europe Indian Ocean Middle East North America Pacific Islands South America The Traveler Recent Adventures Adventure Travel

 

Return to People and Places

horizontal rule