Terrible Tour in Indonesia - The Saving Tradition of the Bodies in Tana Toraja

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Terrible Tour in Indonesia - The Saving Tradition of the Bodies in Tana Toraja

The event of death has always been a mystery and raises a question in the human mind. One of the questions that often arise in this mind is: what does life after death look like? Death will not be frightening when we believe that there is life after death. People in Tana Toraja believe that death is not the end of this journey of life. Death is something sacred and the Toraja people celebrate it festively. The festivity and uniqueness also make the party of death a tourist attraction Tana Toraja, even attract foreign tourists.

There are three ways Toraja funeral. They are:

First, the coffin is stored in the cave. 

Second, the coffins are stored in carved stone tombs. 

Third, the coffin is stored on the cliff.

Usually, the rich people are buried in the carved stone grave. The Toraja people did not bury the corpse in the ground. They also believe that the higher the mortuary is placed, the sooner it will be its spirit to heaven. With the passage of time, the coffin will become obsolete. Not strange if there is a crate that fell. The fallen crates are biased to be left because to move it needs to hold a ceremony first. Well, if you are interested, you can visit the Lemo Stone Cemetery and the Lemo Stone Cemetery.

Tana Toraja regency is a district in South Sulawesi Province, with Bernama regent Ir. Nico Biringkanae. The capital of this district is Makale. Prior to the division, the district had an area of 3,203 km² and a population of 221,081 people (2010).

The Toraja tribe that inhabits the mountains and maintains a distinctive lifestyle and still shows the Austronesian lifestyle that is original and similar to the Nias culture. This area is one tourist attraction in South Sulawesi.

Tourism site

Tana Toraja is one of Indonesia's tourist attractions, inhabited by Torajans who inhabit the mountainous regions and maintain a distinctive lifestyle and still show an authentic Austronesian lifestyle similar to Nias culture. This area is one tourist attraction in South Sulawesi.

Buntu Kalando

Tongkonan / house where Puang Sangalla '(Raja Sangalla') dwells. As the resting place of Puang Sangala 'and also the palace where the Sangalla royal government was organized at that time, Tongkonan Buntu Kalando titled "tando tananan langi' lantangna Kaero tongkonan layuk". This time Tongkonan Buntu Kalando made Museum of Places save the prehistoric objects and relics of Sangalla 'kingdom.

Kambira

Grave of baby that has not grown his teeth (age 6 months and under) placed in a live tree that is hollowed out.

Pallawa

Tongkonan Pallawa is one of tongkonan or custom house which is very interesting and is among the bamboo trees at the top of the hill. Tongkonan is decorated with a number of buffalo horns plugged in the front of the custom house. Located about 12 km to the north from Rantepao.

Lemo

This place is often referred to as the home of the spirits. At the Lemo cemetery we can see bodies stored in the open air, in the middle of steep rocks. This burial complex is a blend of death, art and ritual. At certain times the clothing of the corpses will be replaced by the Ma 'Nene ceremony.

Statue of Jesus Bless

Located on Burake Hill, Tana Toraja. Claimed as the highest statue of Jesus in the world.

The Tradition of Saving the Bodies

On the steep wall of a hill, a coffin was piled in the crevice. Human wooden statues complete with clothing neatly lined the cliff wall is carved like a window of a house. Not far from this hanging grave, hidden a grave cave that was hundreds of years old. This is a place that has amazed many travelers from all over the world. Make sure you enter Londa in the list of destinations that need to be visited. Not to Londa then you do not know Toraja!

One of the leading tourist destinations in South Sulawesi is Tana Toraja because, in addition to its location in the mountains, Tana Toraja is also rich in various traditions and cultures. One tourist attraction in Tana Toraja is often visited by tourists is Goa Londa. The Londa cave burial site is located on the border between Makale and Rantepao areas. To get to the location, it takes about 6 hours by road overland from the city of Makassar.

Londa is located in Sendan Uai village, Sanggalangi Subdistrict, which is 7 kilometers south of Makale city, the capital of Tana Toraja district with an altitude of 826 meters above sea level with coordinate position S 03 ° 00'53.4 "and E 119 ° 52'33.1".

Londa is one of the attractions that must be visited by tourists. Inside this cave there are hundreds of skulls and thousands of bones that some are hundreds of years old. There are also new coffins.

However, the air inside the cave was cool and odorless.

Goa Londa is a grave on the side of a cliff, one side of the cemetery is located at the altitude of the hill has a deep cave where the coffins / erong arranged and grouped by family line. On the other hand, tens of tau-tau lined up in front of the grave.

Entering the area will be greeted by a classical gate, on its sides filled with Toraja's distinctive carvings, and at its central part, there is a buffalo head statue with its dangling horns. Londa is a burial ground of a stone grave or a cemetery reserved for the ancestors of Toraja and its descendants. It is said long before the introduction of Islam and Christianity, in Tana Toraja already contain the beliefs of ancestral heritage called Aluk Todolo or Alukta. This belief that later became the foundation of various custom rituals and traditions of Toraja community.

Alukta basically does not require the storage of corpses, but rather the obligation to immediately perform the funeral ceremony as the implementation of aluk to mate (treating the dead). As soon as the corpse is buried, more chances will be given to other blessing ceremonies.

However, there are many reasons and backgrounds why the bodies should be stored first in caves and holes. These reasons include waiting for the arrival of relatives who are wandering, to provide an opportunity for their family to show affection to the corpse, or to wait for the cost and many animal victims in advance in order to carry out the ceremony Rambu Solok (delivering the body to nature called puya), And various other reasons. Until finally save the corpse into a tradition among indigenous peoples Tana Toraja.

Londa's natural grave cave has a depth of up to 1000 meters. In searching the cave grave whose contours are filled with stalactites and stalagmites, you need to be careful. In some parts of the cave, the height of the cave is only approximately 1 meter, so you need to walk bowed.

The dark cave condition is likely to add to the mystical aura of this cave. However, the journey through the Londa cemetery cave is certainly an experience you will not get anywhere else. Make sure you do not move let alone intend to take bones, skulls, or other objects in the tomb area because this is one of the ethics that should be obeyed when entering the grave location of Toraja community ancestors. One more thing to note when you visit Londa: You must apply for prior permission by bringing betel nut or flowers.

The story of Romeo-Juliet

Londa Cave has romantic story Romeo-Juliet Toraja version. Narrated, there is a pair of lovers who are prohibited from further contact and then committed suicide. The story of their suicide is two versions. The first version says they jumped off a cliff, but some say they hang themselves. In the Londa cave, the bones of these lovers are placed close together.

Ticket

Entrance ticket for local tourists Rp. 10,000 and Rp. 20,000 for foreign tourists

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