Travel | Tana Toraja
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© Mark Eveleigh ;
5 Senses – Sound BUFFALO MARKET
The road trip includes some of the most spectacular landscapes I ’ ve seen in all of Indonesia : in this area , so famous for its rich culture and colourful traditions , the landscape is merely an unexpected bonus .
This is the first of five big funerals we come across in the next few days . We walk across the valley and , although I am reticent about gatecrashing a family ’ s private day , we are warmly welcomed by a man called Pak Santium , who instantly invites us to be guests at the funeral of his 80-year-old father .
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Catch the dawn chorus of buffalo grunts and excited haggling at Bolu buffalo market . This open-air market – which takes place on Tuesdays and Saturdays – is surely one of Indonesia ’ s most fascinating animal shows , yet it remains very much a local event with few visitors . Be sure to visit the fruit and vegetable market too for an insight into the incredibly varied and healthy local produce .
Dengarkan paduan suara kerbau melenguh di pasar kerbau Bolu . Pasar terbuka yang diadakan setiap Selasa dan Sabtu ini adalah salah satu pasar hewan paling menarik di Indonesia , namun masih berskala lokal dengan sedikit pengunjung . Pastikan juga Anda mengunjungi pasar buah dan sayur untuk melihat produk-produk lokal yang sangat bervariasi dan sehat .
Even by Torajan standards , this funeral is a large one . We climb the hill to where an entire temporary village of bamboo structures has been built as basic guesthouses to accommodate more than a thousand guests and family who have travelled from as far away as West Papua and Kalimantan . These people need to be fed , and Pak Santium says that more than 130 animals will be slaughtered during the four days that the ceremony lasts . For an upper-class funeral , a bare minimum of 24 buffalo must be sacrificed . The most important aspect of the entire ceremony – the ‘ main event ’ – will be the slaughter of the 30 precious buffalo that will transport the spirit of Pak Santium ’ s father on his way to Puya , as heaven is known to the Torajans . In Tana Toraja , families are judged on the lavishness of their funeral ceremonies , and that judgement hinges not only on the number of buffalo sacrificed but also on the quality of those buffalo .
“ Buffaloes like these are the Mercedes of Tana Toraja ,” an old man called Pak Rante tells us later
when we stop to admire the impressive animal he is washing by the side of the road . “ Mottled black-and-white buffalo are called bonga here and it is the most prized kind .” In fact , it ’ s more than just the colour that constitutes a prize buffalo , and this specimen has all the necessary qualities including the blue eyes , the long tail that almost touches the ground and , of course , the size and bulk of an animal that has been nurtured all its life . One of the most important factors is the location of what ’ s known as the palisu – the swirl , like a little whirlwind of fur , where the hair parts on the buffalo ’ s head .
1 Tongkonan is the traditional ancestral house , or rumah adat , of the Torajan people .
2 An elderly lady attending a funeral near Lomo in Tana Toraja .
3 The cliff graves of Lemo village are said to date from the 17 th century and only high-class families are allowed to mount the life-sized statues known as tau tau .
4 A coffin is carried to a typical high-class funeral in Makale town in which 30 buffaloes and 100 pigs will be sacrificed .
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“ It ’ s part of the local ‘ beliefness ’,” Ullah explains , “ that if the palisu is on the throat it can deflect the executioner ’ s knife at the most crucial moment in the entire ceremony .” Pak Rante estimates that his buffalo would sell for about US $ 15,000 . “ I think he was being modest ,” says Ullah as we get back into the car . “ It ’ s not unusual to find buffalo that fetch twice that price .”
Early one morning , Ullah collects me at Rantepao ’ s historic Misiliana Hotel for the short drive to the buffalo market at Bolu . In a wide clearing beyond the covered market , more than 200 buffalo are being paraded , stroked , coaxed and fed by doting owners . It is a beauty pageant for some of the most honoured animals in the world , yet every single one is destined to be a funeral sacrifice ( other – less prized – animals are used at wedding and birth ceremonies ). The sacred buffalo of Tana Toraja are treated almost like kings among animals , and it would be considered sacrilege ever to expect them to work .