Explorer's Notebook: Lavish Funerals on Indonesian Island Spur Tourism, Debate

Jennifer Hile
National Geographic Today

January 23, 2002

The lavish funeral traditions of the Torajan people in Sulawesi are both
a blessing and a curse. They have attracted many visitors to this
otherwise remote valley in Indonesia.But the struggle to fund ever more
elaborate funeral rites is also bankrupting the Torajans.

Some
people say the living are being smothered by the demands of the dead.

Why so much emphasis on death in Toraja? To understand that, it's important to understand the vast amount of power that ancestors wield over daily life.

Ancestors are thought to confer good crops, health, and fertility to their descendents. To dishonor or displease an ancestor at a funeral therefore jeopardizes everything—crops could fail, wives and daughters could be subject to miscarriages.

Unfortunately, it is becoming harder for Torajans to show proper honor for the dead. As international markets for coffee and rice bring prosperity to this region, pressure is escalating to show ever more extravagant honor to the ancestors who bequeathed such prosperity in the first place.

Cornerstone of the Culture

There are also more immediate things at stake in Torajan funerals. Inheritance is determined by how much children contribute to the ceremony, which means siblings try to outdo each other in providing money and supplies.

The death rituals also give families a chance to flaunt their social status, much like weddings often do in the western world.

Funerals are really the cornerstone of Toraja's social fabric, bringing together far-flung families and communities.

A typical ceremony for a farmer's family may have as many as 1,000 guests. Hosting them can saddle the descendents of the deceased with staggering debt that may take as long as 15 years to repay.

Because planning a Torajan funeral requires a huge amount of time and resources, the event may not be held for several months or even years after a person has died. Until the funeral, the body of the deceased is treated with chemicals and kept in the family's house. The dead relative is considered "sick" during this period and is offered food every day. The smell of gradual decay is accepted as part of life in Toraja.

Crippling Financial Burden

When it's finally time for the big event, entire villages of people from the surrounding valleys arrive at the deceased's home in long, colorful processions.

Temporary houses are built for the guests, who live at the expense of the grieving family for as long as a week. During this period, the family holds feasts, prayer and chanting rituals, and entertainment such as cock fights and buffalo fights for the guests.

The centerpiece of the funeral is the sacrifice of buffalo. To reach puaya, or heaven, a person's soul must ride on the back of a buffalo, making these animals very sacred and important in Toraja.

The status of a family and the success of a funeral are determined by the number of buffalo sacrificed. Sixteen or so is the norm, but as many as 100 buffalo may be killed for the funeral of someone from a noble family.

A single buffalo costs between U.S. $500 and $3,500 at the local market—well over a year's income for many families. Buying the required buffalo for a funeral ceremony often occurs at the expense of basic family needs such as medicine, housing, and the children's education.

For centuries, the traditions of the Torajans existed mostly in isolation. But is change coming?

Modern transportation has made it possible for young Torajans to travel across the archipelago of Indonesia in search of jobs. More and more, Torajans head to Java and other urbanized islands to find work.

This new mobility and the exposure to the larger world that it brings has raised new questions. When young Torajans return home, many challenge the crippling financial burden their culture's lavish funeral ceremonies put on their families.

Whether the elaborate funerals will survive the disparagement of young, modern Torajans is in question. But whether the Torajan culture will survive at all without significant changes is just as uncertain.

Jennifer Hile is a freelance photojournalist and videographer based in Irvine, California. She recently traveled for six months in Borneo and Sulawesi.

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