SEE TORAJA'S SCENIC BEAUTY
A short flight or a scenic and interesting
eight-hour drive through Bugis villages, coastal fishing villages and the
Toraja foothills brings visitors up to the verdant Toraja highlands or Tana
Toraja where the almost flourescent green of the rice fields are dotted with
distinctive saddle backed houses. Known as Tongkonan, these houses are
said to echo the horns of the buffalo, that are an inseparable part of the
Torajans
Toraja people enjoy great longevity-surely
something to do with the cool climate and active lifestyle from infancy to old
age. They spend their lives growing excellent fragrant rice, raising
magnificent buffalo, especially the highly valued pink albino strains. Their
work is interspersed with dramatic ceremonies. Harvest festivals and house
warming festivals, are times for feasting and a gathering of the clan, times to
wear their best costumes and jewellery, bring out the tuak (a local brew) and
party for days on end, times for singing and dancing and, of course, eating.
These are also times for neighbours and clan members to pay their respects and
to pay back obligations that may date back generations.
While funeral ceremonies occur all year
round, the best time to see them is in the drier months of August and
September. Some of the big ceremonies are so large that over 100 buffaloes are
killed. Although it may seem to visitors an abundance of buffaloes are
sacrificed, few Torajans eat meat every day, and festivals are one of the rare
chances to enjoy the opportunity.
The Torajans believe that aristocrats must
be buried between heaven and earth - hence their spectacular grave sites. High
up in the limestone cliffs are set tombs, carved out of solid rock, and guarded
by human effigies called tau taut Watching sightlessly over the rice fields,
they guard the souls of the deceased.
Some of the most impressive grave sites
are accessible from RANTEPAO, most of the sites are easily accessible.
LONDA: The best-known site is Londa (4 km
from Rantepao), where a balcony of tau tau guard the entrance to two
impressive caves filled with brightly decorated coffins, while all around them
skulls and bones lie on the rocks.
LEMO: At Lemo (12 km from Rantepao), the
towering cliff face is filled with graves and tau tau of high-ranking
aristocrats, best viewed very early in the morning before the sun gets too
high.
KE'TE KUSU: The village of Ke'te Kesu (14
km from Rantepao) has become a living museum. Here a whole tongkonan, or
village of traditional houses, and their distinctive rice barns, looks out over
a sea of rice fields. At the back of the village are some beautiful tau tau and
intricate old coffins.
BATU TUMONGA: One of the most scenic
sights in the whole of Toraja is Batu Tumonga, high on the slopes of Mt.
Sisean. The village overlooks Rantepao far below, and quite often the whole
valley fills with mist. It is especially pleasant to spend the night there in one
of the simple but adequate accommodations, and then, in the early morning walk
the eight kilometres or so down to Tikale where your transport can pick you up.
FORT ROTTERDAM: Built in 1545 by the
rulers of the powerful Gowa kingdom, this impressively solid fort was later
taken over by the Dutch and rebuilt in 1667. Within the solid walls is the
dungeon where one of Indonesia's national heroes, Prince Diponegoro was
imprisoned for 27 years until his death in 1855. To-day the fort serves as a
museum and cultural offices.
THE ISLANDS: Offshore, dozens of tropical
islands come complete with white sand and the ubiquitous shady palms. Pulau
Samalona is the most popular for swimming and snorkelling, while the friendly
fishing islands of Lai Lai and Barrang Lompo are great to visit for a day or
two and you can even stay overnight. Several of the islands are surrounded by
spectacular coral reefs just made for diving and snorkelling.
PAOTERE HARBOUR: Walk along the roads and
see sharkfins drying in the sun, and boxes of dried black trepang, salted fish
and squid awaiting shipment to the markets of Hong Kong and Taiwan. In the
small but busy harbour, Bugis pinisi lie at anchor, their unfurled black sails
drying in the sun as they await cargoes of electronics and provisions for far
flung ports of the archipelago.
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South Sulawesi
North Sulawesi
SHOPPING AND SEAFOOD
SEE TORAJA'S SCENIC BEAUTY
