A Sacred Thing in Toraja

By Eben Kalemben, 1906297024

Indonesian culture is heavily influenced by the many traditional rituals and traditions.
One of the most famous in Indonesia is about death and the afterlife. It is widely believed that
the deceased may influence the living in various ways, and funerals serve to ensure the proper
passage of the spirit to the afterworld, though cemeteries are still considered potentially
dangerous dwellings for ghosts. Funeral customs vary, but the burial is most common.
However in Toraja those who are passed away, are not directly buried. They usually have to
undergo several traditional process and custom before being buried. For them, since death
doesn’t mean a final farewall. There are some reasons why Torajans did the traditional
funeral.

First reasons is hereditary. For Torajans, their culture is a sacred thing, because the
funeral traditions have already hold for more than 200 years. According to the local myths,
the real Toraja Ancestral is directly descended from heaven by used stairs. The stairs is a
‘communication media’ with God, called Puang Matua. Torajan Adheres to custom which is
a belief, rules, and traditional rituals. All of that is determined by their ancestral. Although
the majority of the Toraja people embrace protestant and catholic, ancestral taditions and
funeral ceremonies are still carried out, even to hereditary.

The next reasons why Torajans still did the traditional funeral is a rite. According to
the culture history, Toraja has two types of popular traditional ceremonies named Rambu
Solo’ and Rambu Tuka’. Rambu Solo’ is a funeral ceremony, while Rambu Tuka’ is a
ceremony for a newly renovated traditional house. Funeral ceremony for Rambu Solo is a
series of activities that are complicated by customary ties and require no small amount of
money. The preparation was for months. While waiting for the ceremony to be ready, the
body of deceased is wrapped in cloth and kept in the ancestral home called Tongkonan.
Especially for Rambu Solo, Torajans Believe that without the burial ceremony, the spirits of
the deceased will bring misfortune to the people they leave behind. People who die are only
considered as sick people, so they still need to be treated as if they were still alive by
providing food, drinks, cigarettes, betal, or various other offerings. A low-castle Torajan
often pays $50.000 for a funeral, while a higher-castle family can spend as much as
$500.000. The higher-castle family can sacrifices buffaloes about 24 to 100. This rituals
called Ma’ Tinggoto Tedong. One of them is even a famous buffalo striped that is very
expansive. Today, Toraja still alive with their funeral culture because of this rite.
 The last reason, Torajan did the traditional funeral is for the culture to be preserved.
They still uphold the beliefs and customs they have. This make Toraja as one of the world
cultural heritage sites listed on UNESCO. The funeral rituals held by Toraja People as a form
of preserving traditions and honoring their ancestors. The climax of The Rambu Solo
ceremony, usually takes place in July and August. At the time, Torajans who migrated
throughout Indonesia, will return home to take part in the series of events. The arrival of the
Torajans was followed by foreign tourists. The culture should be preserve, because this ritual
only exists in Toraja, only owned by Indonesia. Torajans still do That, because they don’t
want if this culture goes extinct. They assume, this ritual is a legacy of ancestors that should
not stop.

As a traditions, the funeral ceremony of The Rambu Solo belonging to The Torajans
does indeed teach a variety of things. Tradition is full of meaning and teaches humans to
share, work together, love family, and of course want to sacrifice. In addition to being a way
to avenge parents and ancestors, according to ancestrals beliefs, the funeral ceremony for
Rambu Solo is one way to save the lives of family members who have died. So, as not to
falter and can get to the afterlife easily. Unfortunately, organizing the funeral ceremony for
Rambu Solo cost a lot of money. Although in fact, if it refers to the beliefs of the ancestors,
Rambu Solo should be done according to the ability of self and family.