Tana Toraje

Day 1 – Cultural Trip

Today we were starting our trip to Tana Toraja, so after an early breakfast we were met by Yanni (Our Guide) and Amir (Our Driver) for the start of a four day trip.  The first day was going to be a bit tough as we were told it would be an 8 hour drive.

We started off driving out of town and after ½ hour we stopped to get some pictures of people working in the paddy fields, although we had seen this before on numerous occasions we got out and took some pictures to keep our guide happy.

A short drive further up the road and we pulled over again, this time it was to stop at a café which made a very local cake.  Yanni bought some for us and which from memory consisted of coconut and  palm sugar and was very sticky but pretty tasty.  Whilst we were there the owners a lady and her daughter were very interested in talking to us (well Shelley) and they were soon rabbiting away in their respective languages with Yanni translating for them.  Once again the locals are very surprised that we do not have any children (seems to be the no. 1 interest in Asia).

One of the ladies was very proud of her new house that was just behind the café and she invited us to go up and have a look around, which we did.  It was a basic house on stilts with large pretty unfurnished rooms, however the kitchen area had a fantastic view across all the paddy fields and Shelley’s new friend insisted that we took photo’s of her pretending to cook.  After a quick photo shoot on her house stairs we were back in the car and off again.

Driving on for another few hours admiring the scenery we then stopped in a small town for some lunch, which we were surprised to find out that it was a 3 course affair, with a grilled fish for the main course.

After lunch we were back on the road again, but a short drive out of town Yanni got very excited as he spotted a marquee in the middle of the road, which he told us was a traditional Sulawesi wedding.  So he asked us to get out and ushered us towards the tent telling us it was OK and they would no doubt be very pleased to see us and invite us in.

At the entrance Yanni said this was very rare as it was a double wedding with two couples sitting at a stage at the rear of the marquee.  As Yanni predicted we were invited in and taken to seats right in front of the wedding couples.

We were a massive source of interest with the wedding photographer taking lots of photo’s of us and the guest also getting the odd sneaky photo’s. 

Yanni explained to us that it is tradition that the couple sit for most of the afternoon (boiling in their full wedding get-up) whilst their guests arrive and are presented to them throughout the day.  So we were asked to go up on the stage and shake hands with all the close family and the wedding couples, which also included the wedding photographer taking pictures of us alongside the happy?? Couples.  You are also expected to make a monetary donation to the couple, which we did.

(Shell says to tell you here extended waist in above pic is due to a travel belt and not noodles and beer)

Getting down from the stage we were then invited to go and get some food from the buffet, as we had eaten we tried to politely refuse but they insisted on that we at least had some of their special cakes (only normally made at celebration), which turned out to be some green egg custard type of thing.  I liked it but I could tell Shelley was not keen, so I quite enjoyed her trying to be polite by eating it before palming off onto me when they were not looking.

We were then bought some local tea to drink, all the way numerous camera phones were trained on us which made us feel slightly uncomfortable as it felt like we were upstaging the wedding couples, but no one seemed to mind.  The other guests were becoming more bold and soon we were getting asked for selfie after selfie with practically a queue forming to get a shot with us.

Whilst we sat (a bit further back) there was some live singing and a compare doing his thing (he was a very funny local celeb according to Yanni) and then he was trying to get me to sing a song, I briefly considered belting out ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’ but didn’t think it was very fitting so politely declined.  Unfortunately I did not get off that lightly as the compare then dragged me up to dance with him whilst he sung, much to Shelley’s and the local’s amusement.

From the brief start to this trip we could see that the locals were really warm and friendly and that we were going to enjoy Sulawesi.  We eventually said our goodbyes and after a few more selfies we were back in the car and driving into the mountains (we did see about 4 more wedding tents along the way).

A couple of hours later and we were stopping again for refreshment’s at a mountainside café which had a spectacular view over a large valley.  We stopped off for about 20 minutes and had a couple of local coffee’s whilst admiring the view before heading off again.

The rest of the journey took about 2 to 3 hours (I recon about 9 hours in total) with just a brief stop when the guide got caught short and dived into a friend’s house along the way.  As we approached Toraja  we started to see the typical Torajan houses, which are pretty unique as the roof’s look like the hull of a boat and they are designed this way to remind the people of their ancestors who arrived in Sulawesi in boats.

When we finally arrived at Tana Toraja in was around 7pm and the guide said we would stop at a restaurant for dinner before going to our hotel.  Once again we were given a three course meal the only problem was the number of mosquito’s joining us for dinner.

After dinner we were then taken to our hotel for the night and when we got there I had a nice welcome message on a board in reception.  The hotel was a pretty big complex in nice gardens with a number of Torajan building dotted around inside.

As it had been a long day we headed straight to our room for  an early night.

Day 2 – Buffalo’s & Funeral

After a very comprehensive buffet breakfast we were met around 8.30 in reception by Yanni and Amir as we were going to the local animal market.

Getting out of the car Yanni took us past some market stalls before leading us to a large field where there were hundreds of buffalo’s for sale.  After my cow attack we were a bit nervous walking among these beasts, however Yanni kept our minds off of it by being very informative explaining that the ’Ferrari’ of the Buffalo world was the pink spotted variety which could sell for up to £ 15,000 and they were a status symbol for rich people. Some just offers the keys to their cars in exchange.

Next up we were taken along to where the pigs were being sold and there were rows and rows of them trusted up on their sides that had either been sold or were waiting to be sold.  Occasionally you would see one that had been sold and was strapped on the back of a scooter and whisked away.  I must say all the squealing was a bit distressing and reminded us of silence of the lambs.

We then headed back through the general food and clothes market until we got back to the car at which point Yanni told us that he had found out about a local funeral that was taking place and we should head straight there!!

Stopping along the way to get directions off a few locals we were soon parking up again and walking up a hill to where the funeral was taking place.

The Funeral was for a retired teacher so a 3 day middle class affair. On arriving it was a very surreal experience as there were hundreds of people sat in viewing galleries around a central piece of ground, where buffalo’s and pigs were getting slaughtered.  Fortunately we had just missed some buffalo’s going under the knife but it did not stop us seeing the spectacle of 4 severed buffalo heads on the ground with the remains of the bodies (guts and intestines) along with a number of pigs being butchered.

Standing around for a while we were then introduced to the deceased’s son in law who promptly found some seats for us and then got someone to  provide us with tea and cakes (as I said before they are very hospitable and make you feel very welcome, not intruding).

Whilst we were sat there we saw live pigs being carted out the back to be killed, then blow-torched to take the hairs off of them before being bought back to the centre to be butchered in front of us, all at 11am in the morning while we sat there and had tea and cake!!!  To be fair we both found it much easier than we thought, most probably because Yanni had explained it all to us.

Basically, all the village and relatives turn out for a funeral which can last between 3 – 7 days depending on the dead person’s wealth/status. The more buffalo and Pigs slaughtered, the closer/faster to heaven they will go.  The main guests will bring livestock as a gift to be butchered as part of the celebrations.  The meat is then used to feed all the guest and given away to villages. The buffalo heads are given to various village elders as they are prized. So no killing for the hell of it and all very humanly done.  Whatever gifts have been given then are mentally noted by the master of ceremonies how calls them out over a mic. The gifts then have to be reciprocated when a relative of the person giving the gift has died.  In higher status funerals they have bull fights  and will bring pink spotted baffalo’s (apparently they taste the same as normal ones) to be butchered, so it can become quite an expensive affair, so you must live in dread of a relatives family member dying!!

Saying the above you do get some interlopers such as ourselves but also a hobo looking character who came over and helped himself to our cakes.  Apparently a serial funeral goer there to get some food, Yanni says he sees him at most of the funerals!!

It may seem a bit horrific to our western sensibilities (as you can see from the photo’s), however it was an incredible unique cultural experience that we felt humbled by to be invited into.  Once it all gets explained to you it makes perfect sense and it feels special to be celebrating the end of a life in this way.

We then headed off for an early lunch which was in a restaurant with a panoramic view over some paddy fields.  Our lunch had been pre-booked by Yanni as he said we should try traditional Torajan food (3 course again) which had to be ordered the day before.  When it turned up it was really good and stand-outs were a spicy/herby chicken cooked within a section of bamboo and a tasty black pork dish.

The next stop was a special place where they buried dead babies (It’s a laugh a minute this tour!!).  Honestly though it was a very special place as you go down a path to an ancient tree where they cut a hole in the trunk and place young dead babies inside and the seal them up (tradition not done anymore).  The thinking is that as these are innocents they are placed in somewhere natural where their spirits will be taken up in the trunk and quicker to heaven (or wherever).  When autumn comes and the leave fall people come to the tree to remember them, or something like that!

Onto the next stop on our death tour and we were then taken to an ancient cave where the dead were put into coffins and put on ledges in the caves with carved effigies of the dead person next to them.  As this was an ancient site a lot of the coffins had rotted and fallen on the floor of the cave with loads of bones and sculls scattered all over the place.  Another slightly immoral thing is that a lot of the carved effigies have been stolen by antique hunters and have been replaced with modern replacements, which is a shame.

The final stop for the day was at another burial site but this time it was the famous Torajan graves whereby a hole is carved into a rock face and the coffin in placed inside and then sealed with a wooden door.  Again on some of the entrances there are carved wooden effigies of the deceased and these graves go all the way up the cliff face. Unfortunately shortly as we arrived there the 4pm rain started so we took some quick photos before heading back to the car.

We then returned to the hotel around 5 and Yanni/Amir took us to a local laundry so we could get some stuff washed and then we had a couple of beers before being picked up again in the evening to be taken to a restaurant for dinner.

The restaurant was a typical Torajan restaurant decorated with buffalo horns and after what we had witnessed today we thought we would have to have a buffalo steak (Shelley) and a sizzling pork dish (Glenn) which were both pretty nice before returning to the hotel for the night.

Day 3 – We see more dead people!!

Up early again and once we had breakfast we were met by Yanni and Amir and were driven to a quintessentially Torajan village where all the buildings were built it traditional style.  Whilst it was very beautiful they were busy setting up for an upcoming massive funeral so there was a lot of scaffolding and building work being done to put up the seating area’s for all the guests.  So we wandered around there for 20 minutes taking pictures of all the buildings decorated with buffalo horns and jaw bones.

We then headed up the mountain stopping off at various points to take some nice pictures of the scenic paddy field plateaus along the way.

At the top, we stopped at a large rock where there were some more impressive rock graves.  Amongst the graves there were some empty holes that were awaiting their inhabitants, it’s a bit like buying a grave plot back home.  As well as the carved effigies, here some of the graves had photos of the deceased outside the grave.

Next up we stopped at a restaurant with a beautiful vista over the paddy fields and valley’s below, where we had some nice ginger tea (Shelley) and coffee.

Once refreshed Yanni wanted to take us on a village trek (not on the itinerary) and we head downhill through small local villages all with the traditional houses.  We had to stop a number of times as Yanni seemed to know everyone here, also I think he has designs on buying a pink spotted buffalo!!

Along the way he stopped and headed into the jungle as he wanted to take us to the oldest graves in Toraja and ones that most tourists do not get to see.  When we got there it was a stunning place (very Tomb Raider) and not many of the graves were in tact with a lot of them falling from the cliff onto the floor below which was full of broken coffins and bones.  A couple of graves were still in place whilst other coffins were hanging on by their fingertips.  Yanni got speaking to a villager that told him a few days previously there had been a massive python caught here.

We carried on through the villages watching local life go on before we stopped at a small shop, which happened to be run by Yanni’s niece, where we had a cold beer to cool down.

From there we headed across some paddy fields and through some more villages before meeting back up with Amir on the road.  It was getting late now so we headed to go and have a bit of a late lunch.

We drove to a restaurant which was situated in the middle of some paddy fields and once again we were given another 3 course meal.  Whilst we sat there it had clouded over once again and the 4pm downfall began, you could set your watch by it.

Our final place we were going to visit were the famous (if you watch documentaries) hanging graves.  After a short drive we parked up and walked through another village which was completely made up of traditional Torajan houses before climbing up to the grave site.

These graves were slightly different to the other rock graves we had seen as this time the coffins were just placed of wooden shelves on the side of a rock face, again however over time quite a number had fallen and there was broken coffins and contents at the base of the cliff face.  Again it all sounds morbid but it is completely fascinating.

Returning back to the hotel we relaxed for a while before Amir turned up to pick us up for dinner and he had our fresh laundry with him to boot.  Our evening meal was in the same restaurant as the previous night but we had pre-ordered some lovely Tarajen food that we had had previously.

After dinner we returned to the hotel and had a couple of beers before turning in for the night.

Day 4 – The long road home

We had and early breakfast as we were due to be picked up at 8am for our nice 9 hour drive back to Makassar.

It appeared to be a bit of a shopping trip as the guide first stopped off at his friend’s house to pick up some papaya’s and further along the drive the driver stopped off in a village to pick up some local cakes of which he let us try.

Again we stopped for a coffee break a different café at the mountain viewpoint before driving on for another few hours before stopping for lunch.

Lunch was taken at a hotel in a town which had a lovely elevated view of the sea but we were the only ones sitting there.  Also to be honest it was the worst food that we had had in Sulaweisi, which up until then had been really excellent and different to a lot of the food we had eaten in Indonesia.

After lunch we had a long drive back to Makassar and arrived back at our hotel around 7pm.  We were given ½ hour to get refreshed before being picked up to go for dinner.

For dinner we were taken to a very busy local fish restaurant and allowed to order anything we wanted, once again the food was really good.

Instead of going back to the hotel we asked Yanni and Amir if they could drop us off at the bar we had gone to the first night we were in Makassar, Kafe Kariba, so we could have a few beers to celebrate our last night in Indonesia. 

As we were pretty tired after the long drive and the bar was pretty quiet we only stayed for a couple of beers before going home for the night.

In summary this was one of the best trips we had been on and Yanni our guide was fantastic.  Although a lot of it seems a bit strange and morbid it gave us a real insight into the culture of Sulawesi and was again different to anything else we had seen in Indonesia.  As Shelley said it was almost like you were witnessing a BBC documentary, we loved it.

Again just to give you an idea where we are now, we are currently our third day into Australia, holed up in our Air BnB apartment in Cairns.  As we are here for another week I am hoping to blast through the Malaysia/Singapore blogs and get us bang up to date before we leave this town.