Green rice paddies and limestone karst rocks form the landscape of the Toraja plateaus, the lands of the People of Toraja, an ethnic group which, although converted to Christianity by the Dutch missionaries, continues to practice the ancestral animist rites. Intense Toraja funerary rituals are the manifestation of an ancestral cultural heritage of an ethnic entity that is defined around the animistic beliefs of the Aluk To Dolo (Way of the Ancestors). Isolated for centuries by the impervious nature of the region and by the lack of roads, the Toraja have kept their traditions intact. This is a tour in Tana Toraja with the perfect mix of culture and adventure: dramatic rites and sacrifices, green landscapes with cool temperatures, and great cups of coffee.
The People of Toraja Tour
Toraja cultural tour & trekking in scenic countryside of Tana Toraja
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Toraja countryside landscape with peaked-roof traditional houses -
More important the families are, the more buffaloes are sacrificed -
Deceased is buried in a hanging coffin placed on cliff -
The Tau Tau wears the clothes that belonged to the dead person -
Deceased is buried in a cave or in a space dug into rock wall -
Toraja monolith: represents a dead person -
: Deceased is buried in a hanging coffin placed on cliff -
Toraja baby's coffin is placed inside a living tree -
Toraja tau tau: carved wooden figures of buried people -
Group of Torajan girls getting ready for the funeral -
Group of Torajan women attending to the funeral -
sacrifices of buffalo and pigs in Toraja funeral -
Attendees to Toraja funeral -
Toraja countryside surrounded by scenic ricefields -
Toraja countryside: water buffalo bathing in the mud -
Toraja ricefield terraces -
Toraja countryside: buffalo and calf -
Toraja countryside -
Toraja highlands -
Wood carving with symbolic ethnic designs
The Funerals of the Toraja
The Toraja are known for their elaborate and unique funerals. Before the ceredivmony the body of the deceased can be kept in the house for years, until the family can have enough money for the ceremony. The funeral begins with ritual dances, sacrifices of buffalo and pigs, killed so that they can accompany the soul of the deceased in new life. The richer and more important the families are, the more buffaloes are sacrificed. Later the body of the deceased is buried in a cave or in a space dug into rock wall or in a hanging coffin placed on cliff. A baby's coffin is placed inside a living tree, which is called a "baby tree." Outside the rock wall there are carved wooden figures, the tau tau, with the features of the buried person. These figures also wear the clothes that belonged to the dead person.
Tongkonan, the traditional houses and class affiliation of the Toraja
The typical houses called Tongkonan, are built of wood, raised from the ground by poles, with a straw roof, shaped like a saddle. The Toraja landscape is therefore characterised by these houses, and from the cliffs with the tombs and tau tau hanging outside, in the middle of the rice fields.
The house is very important because it is the residence of the clan, the extended family, often, especially in the case of wealthy families, the front is decorated with the horns of buffaloes sacrificed in funerals and beautiful ethnic designs. The Toraja society was originally formed of three castes: nobles, people and slaves, the class was inherited from the mother.
The tour in Tana Toraja
Lavish terraced rice fields, rushing rivers that are excellent for rafting, mountains that form a picturesque and relaxing environment, landscapes of vibrant vegetation, small towns, colorful markets and friendly people; these are the lands of Toraja.
Things to do & see in Tana Toraja: hiking tour to visit the villages
Attending a Toraja funeral
Meet the Toraja People
Trekking & rafting in the countryside of Tana Toraja
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