Travel | Tana Toraja
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© Mark Eveleigh
1 Only noble families were allowed the privilege of having effigies of their loved ones in the sacred ‘ death balconies ’.
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5 Senses – Taste TORAJA COFFEE
Tana Toraja ’ s Arabica coffee ( unusual in a country that produces mostly Robusta ) is considered one of the best in the world – highly respected , especially in Japan , where it is famous for its flavour , which varies through hints of raisins , chocolate , cinnamon and berries . The variation in flavour is due to different altitudes in the areas where the beans are harvested . At The House Bistro in Rantepao , the menu lists the coffee according to village and altitude .
Kopi Arabika Tana Toraja ( unik karena varietas terbesar di Indonesia adalah kopi Robusta ) adalah salah satu yang terbaik di dunia dan sangat digemari , terutama di Jepang . Kopi ini terkenal karena rasanya yang bervariasi , ada yang seperti kismis , cokelat , kayu manis dan buah beri . Variasi rasa ini disebabkan perbedaan ketinggian tanam kopi . Di The House Bistro di Rantepao , daftar menu kopi disusun berdasarkan desa dan ketinggian tanam .
Even by Torajan standards , this funeral is a large one . An entire temporary village has been built to accommodate more than a thousand guests and family … The extensive preparations , which can cost as much as US $ 150,000 , developed from unique ceremonies that date back well over a thousand years .
Today , more than half of all Torajans work in other areas to send money home , often to cover the expense of funerals that could cost as much as US $ 150,000 . The extensive funeral preparations have developed from unique ceremonies that date back well over a thousand years .
In the little village of Kambira , Ibu Windi introduces us to her parents . Her father , Johannes Lantong , died two months earlier and his wife , Alfreda , has been dead already for five years . In all that time Alfreda has lain , embalmed in her coffin , in the main room of the family home . As is tradition in Toraja , both Johannes and Alfreda are referred to as ‘ sick people ’; it is only once the first buffalo is sacrificed and their spirits depart for Puya that Torajan people will say they have died .
As the ceremony may be some time after the person ’ s death , the body of the loved one will be kept in the home until then , even if that is a period of years . The Torajans see death as a gradual process towards Puya , rather than the sudden event it is treated as in other societies . Bowing slightly towards the coffin , I greet the old couple as I would have done if they were alive . “ I still talk to my parents as I always did before they got ill ,” Ibu Windi tells me . “ It ’ s just that now they don ’ t answer anymore .”
Through the carved timber walls of the boat-roofed house , I hear hammering . More than 500 people have been at work during the last month creating a temporary village for the funeral . It looks like they are preparing a movie stage-set for Seven Years in Tibet . If it is true that Johannes and Alfreda are not yet dead , then their daughter is determined to make sure that the funeral will be ‘ the best day of their lives ’.