South
Sulawesi
The strange orchid-shaped island of Sulawesi, can be recognised at
first glance on any map of Indonesia. No other island is quite like it. The result of
ancient geological upheavals, Sulawesi's twisted, elongated limbs have given rise to
unique landscapes and an abundance of nature. Home to diverse and fascinating cultures, it
is a land of exciting travel experiences.
The scenic seacoasts, rugged mountains
and verdant rice-growing plains of South Sulawesi have their own unique fascination. With
few sites of historical or artistic importance, the charm of the region lies in well-kept
towns, and the extensive seacoasts where master shipbuilders construct massive wooden
schooners, essentially Portuguese galleons, using only simple hand-tools and designs
passed down by rote through the centuries.
The area around Ujung Pandang holds
several sites of interest, from a spectacular coral reef and blinding white beaches
offshore, to colorful highland market towns and the evocative ruins of vanished kingdoms.
The road leading up the west coast from
Ujung Pandang to Pare-Pare is filled with awe-inspiring scenery and
glimpses of Sulawesi's venerable traditions. A limestone range dominates this area, marked
by intricate patterns of ridges and sheer cliffs honeycombed with caves.
The South Coast is the homeland of the
Makassarese, the proud, indefatigable master seafarers who once regarded piracy as an
honourable profession. The beaches are a forest of masts from the hundreds of fishing
boats drawn up on the sand. The fortunate may witness exciting boat races and festivals to
mark the departure of the fishing fleet. The sense of lost time is still felt in the rows
of sturdy pinisi hulls being erected on the beaches.
Remnants of the great Bugis kingdoms
of the pre-European era are found in Sulawesi's central fertile plain. Scattered
throughout the region are reconstructed wooden palaces and gravesites, but the greatest
attraction is the area itself, with verdant fields, attractive, colorful towns and
glimpses of net fishing, buffalo-powered field preparation, hand threshing and other
ageless activities of rural life.
Hanging like a teardrop off the southern
tip of the peninsula, Selayar Island offers fine beaches and a glimpse of
colonial life in the preserved Dutch architecture and general preindustrial ambiance of
the towns and villages. A splendid 2000-year-old Vietnamese DongSon drum, perhaps
washed up from a nearby shipwreck, is kept in a wooden shed near a former royal palace.
Luwu, the horseshoe-shaped region
capping the Gulf of Bone, is at once the most ancient and most modern region in
South Sulawesi. Believed the site of the first Bugis kingdom, Luwu became an open
frontier. with Javanese and Balinese transmigrants mixing with long-isolated local tribes
to generate _ fascinating mixture of peoples and cultures. The most incongruous addition
to the region is a relocated Canadian mining town at Soroako, built for expatriate
mining experts but now populated mostly by Indonesian managers and professionals. The
nickel mine and associated facilities have brought good roads and other modern facilities
to Luwu, but the air of an untamed land, reinforced by the looming presence of the Central
Sulawesi mountain range, remains.
UJUNG PANDANG
The gateway to Sulawesi is the historic port of
Ujung Pandang. Long known as Makassar, Ujung Pandang is one of the few Indonesian cities
to embrace the sea. The focus of the town is a long esplanade curling along the bay, with
swaying palms, wide sidewalks and colourful shophouses their second-storey terraces
offering a commanding view of the beach, bay and tropical sunsets. While this growing city
has sprawled into the surrounding hills during recent decades, commercial and social
activity remains centered within a few blocks of the waterfront. In the late afternoon and
early evening hours most of the population seems to gather along the esplanade, strolling
and chatting, snacking at any of the scores of teashops and roving food stalls, or simply
enjoying the fresh sea breeze as the setting sun touches the horizon, silhouetting the
masts and billowing sails of the schooners cruising the bay.
In modern
Indonesia, Ujung Pandang has become the primary port and airline hub of the eastern
archipelago, the thousands of remote islands being developed and incorporated into the
mainstream of Indonesian society and economy. As in previous centuries, when Makassar was
the commercial heart of Southeast Asian trade, Indonesians, other Asians and Europeans rub
shoulders in the narrow alleys and jostle in the shops and markets. A trained ear will
pick out dozens of languages on the streets, and a casual browse through the shops on Jalan
Sumba Opu will reveal goods, handicrafts and antiques from all corners of the
archipelago. More than any other Indonesian city, Ujung Pandang evokes the great age of
maritime discovery, trade and adventure.
Makassar was for centuries the
main port of call for spice carrying ships. This harbour town most famous in the 15th
century, has lost none of its allure. Today renamed as Ujung Pandang, this colourful now
modern city is the capital of the Province of South Sulawesi, has first class hotels and
is the entrance to many attractions in its hinterland.
For centuries the
name Makassar has conjured up images of all that is exotic, of sailing ships and spice
traders, and fortunes made and lost, of gold and bloody wars. It is home to the
buccaneering Bugis, master shipbuilders whose elegant pinisi schooners can be seen
in many harbours of Indonesia. These navigators and fearless sailors roamed as far as
Australia and Madagascar long before their history was recorded.
TORAJA
Hidden away in
verdant mountains is the fabled Tana Toraja, or Torajaland, where phenomenal
funeral ceremonies draw visitors from around the world. While further south. where the
hospitable and staunch Muslim Bugis are the largest population group, older pre-lslamic
Hindu traditions surface in elaborate wedding rituals and their customs. Around the Bugis heartland of Bone,
Soppeng and Sengkang, women sit at handlooms fashioning
hand-processed silk into dramatic checked textiles of iridescent pinks, luminous greens,
golds, yellows startling combination that seems to work magnificently well together.
The long drive from the lowlands to the
mountain stronghold of Tana Toraja opens up a breath-taking new world. The rugged
mountains and verdant valleys are home to a people whose love of religious spectacle is
equaled only by their hospitality. With majestic panoramas, captivating villages and
dramatic ceremonies, Tana Toraja is the undisputed highlight of any journey to Sulawesi.
Upgraded roads, an airport and several
star-rated hotels have opened the Toraja highlands to visitors of all interests, budgets
and schedules. The essence of the Toraja beliefs and way of life can be experienced
without undue effort, as many interesting sites are clustered around the town of Rantepao,
easily accessible by road.
A few minutes from Rantepao,
artisans at Kete Kusu, a model Toraja settlement, produce bamboo carvings and
other traditional handicrafts. The village itself has several well maintained tongkonan
houses and rice barns.
Visitors unsure about the propriety of
tramping around someone's village will be relieved to know that Kete Kusu has been
converted into a living museum with the express purpose of displaying Toraja architecture
and daily life. Other villages within sight of the roads, often sitting in an emerald sea
of ricefields, display the Toraja penchant for baroque architectural adornment.
If the Toraja way of life is
interesting, the way of death is a fascinating mix of ritual custom and spectacle. For the
Toraja, the dead are as much a part of society as the living. At Lemo, cliffs rise
precipitously from the ricefields like stonework condominiums. Crypts carved with
prodigious manual labor high into the solid rock house the mortal remains of Toraja
nobility. Set amongst the crypts, the striking tau-tau, wooden effigies
representing the deceased, look impassively on the world below.
At Londa, a
network of coffin-filled caves reaches deep into the limestone hills. Visitors expecting a
solemn, well-kept grotto are often shocked and disturbed by skeletons tumbling out of
rotten coffins, skulls and bones arranged, to Western eyes, according to some gruesome
aesthetic. But the Toraja feel that since their ancestor's souls are residing in heaven,
ensuring continued fertility in farm and field, it is appropriate that their earthly
remains be on display for the pleasure of honored foreign guests.
While the valley between Rantepao and Makale
provides a glimpse of Toraja life, the real Toraja lies in the surrounding mountains,
accessible only on foot. In treks ranging from an easy day to a strenuous week, those with
a moderate capacity for adventure can experience authentic Toraja village life in charming
mountain hamlets. Even in the most remote mountain villages, visitors are welcomed openly.
Long accustomed to foreigners stumbling unannounced into their settlements, village
leaders will generally arrange overnight accommodation with a local family for a modest
contribution.
South Sulawesi's
natural beauty is a paradise of white sand beaches and undisturbed coral reefs, cool
highlands and rushing waterfalls flecked with the technicolour yellows and shimmering
blues of wild butterflies. The upland lush forests, filled with endemic species are made
for trekking and thrilling white water rafting expeditions along the Sa'dan or the Lore
Lindu rivers. Deep in the interior of the island are mist-swathed primeval mountains where
clear and placid lakes are concealed within majestic highland forests
South Sulawesi is
part of a huge island with so much to discover While two or three days is enough to see
some amazing sights, here, more time is definitely advised.
Please select your destination:
South Sulawesi
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