The Message Behind the Funeral, Togetherness, and Pluralism in Toraja

"Why are we buried in a rock cliff, or in a cave?" Said Layuk Sarallo, whose teeth were partially toothless. "If we are buried in the ground, we cannot live because we cannot farm, we cannot farm, we cannot have livestock."

While cross-legged under the granary of ancestral remains, Layuk revealed that Toraja is a plateau consisting of rock hills and most of it is non-productive land.

It was this understanding of the Toraja natural condition that made the ancestors of Layuk set an example for their successors to bury their dead on rock cliffs - a tradition that continues to this day.

Also read: Unusual Funeral Procession, Body Buried in a Position Like a Living Person

Layuk is the Customary Head of Tongkonan from Kete'Kesu in North Toraja Regency. That morning he and his extended family were celebrating a thanksgiving for the baptism of one of their family members, as well as celebrating the warmth of Christmas.

Although aluk todolo - or the religion of the ancestors - is no longer popular in the Toraja community, their example and philosophy of life continue to this day. Today, the majority of Torajans are Protestant Christians.

Layuk Tongkonan ancestral heritage is one of the oldest in the Toraja community and is now a leading tourist destination in North Toraja Regency. In the Toraja tradition, the tongkonan house is a traditional house complex, along with a granary - a symbol of an agrarian society. 'Kesu' Tongkonan Kete has six traditional houses and twelve rice barns. Everything lined up neatly facing north-south.

Around the inheritance complex there are menhirs used for death ceremonies. While behind it towering karst cliffs used as family funerals since hundreds of years ago. The higher the location of the burrow, the higher the social status of the family. Meanwhile, at the foot of the cliff there are several roofed buildings whose inner space is used for funerals, called patane.

Looks like a wise person. He realized that around five percent of its citizens were Muslim. Then he made one of the tomb buildings in which there was a plot that was not laid with cement. "Let my Muslim family be in the same place with Christians, without having to violate adat funerals."

    "Let my Muslim family be in the same place with Christians, without having to violate adat funerals."

"That's what we emphasize," Worthy said. "We maintain a very strong family relationship. If we are separated, our emotional connection for life will be in vain. Why are we fighting? We are one!"

Then a brother with a hat approached us. A fellow traveler asked Layuk whether the brother was a Muslim. Leaning against one of the barns, Layuk said, "We interpret, here the cap is a national hat."


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