We were lucky enough to visit Komodo Island in Indonesia to see the legendary Komodo Dragon, the largest living lizard species in the world. The lizard grows to 3 metres (10 feet) in total length and attains a weight of about 135 kg (about 300 pounds). It occurs on Komodo Island and a few neighbouring islands of Indonesia's Lesser Sunda Islands.
Indonesia: Sulawesi – Death rituals and tongkonan houses
This morning, we had a very early start as we had an 8:00 am flight to the coastal town of Palopo which is about halfway up the island of Sulawesi.
The flight was short and smooth as we landed on a cloudy day in the small city of Sulawesi. It was a tiny airport, so you could watch the ground crew unload the bags and see your bag coming off the plane. The baggage reclaim was essentially a hole in the wall.
We collected our bags and headed outside of the terminal building. I had been corresponding regularly with Budi, who was the manager of the Local Guides operation and expected there would be someone waiting for us – but there was not. All the time we were waiting we were getting badgered by local taxi drivers, and we kept explaining we were waiting for someone to pick us up. The longer we waited the less plausible our reasoning was. Luckily, I had the contact information for the local representative of the Local Guides tour company, Budi. So, we made contact, and he explained that the driver he’d sent had taken the wrong route, which had recently been blocked by a landslide. This sounded like a poor excuse. Anyway, he asked to be put on the phone with one of the taxi drivers who was standing by us. After a bit of discussion, we were put back on with Budi who explained that the driver would take us to Rantepao and that he’d settle the bill with them.
With the main route blocked to Rantepao, we had to take the secondary route, which wound its way initially up through the mountains. This road was narrow and had many sharp curves, and there was a steep drop off the sides of the roads with no barriers to stop you. In places, there were sections of the road that had disappeared in landslides. Karen was not very happy with this. The good news was that the mountains were covered in clouds so you couldn’t see how far you might fall, and our driver was happy to drive slowly.
After about two and a half hours, much to Karen’s relief, we reached Rantepao. Here we were met by Luther, who was going to be our guide for the next few days.
Luther and our driver took us out of the town towards the numerous villages that fill the valleys and hills around Rantepao. We stopped at one such village and jumped out of the van.
For the next thirty minutes, we wandered through the village with Luther, who explained to us more about the culture of the people who lived in this area.
Indonesia is one of the most populous countries in the world, in fact in 2023 it is ranked as having the fourth highest population – 277 million people. Of this, 87% identify as Muslim. In the area of Toraja, where we were, the religious majority is Christian many people continue to follow some animist practices. It was going to be interesting to find out more.
We walked around the outsides of people’s houses and through their yards. If we’d done this in the United States, we’d almost certainly been shouted at and more than likely shot dead. At one point we visited what would best be described as a building site. A new house was being built here in the Tongkonan style. These traditional houses are famous for their unique shape. The curved shape of the roof which resembles a boat along with the use of materials such as bamboo makes this house stand out as a national emblem of Indonesia. No nails or screws are used to build these, everything is held together by wooden joints and rope lashing. The layouts of these houses are very simple; there are three rooms, one large central communal room and a room at either end for sleeping in. The significance of the Tongkonan goes beyond their use as a place to live. These houses act as symbolic anchors that served as focal points of the congregation over the years for various traditional rituals such as the celebration of birth, death, and harvest. These Toraja houses also serve as rice storehouses and reception platforms for their traditional ceremonies. The rice stores are smaller versions of the Tongkonan and are often highly decorated signifying the importance of rice as a source of food and wealth. They are usually sited opposite the family Tongkonan.
So, when a new Tongkonan house is completed, it is a big thing for the family and the village, so a ceremony is held to celebrate where hundreds of people turn out to party for several days and animals are slaughtered to feed the congregation.
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From this village, we went off to visit another village where we were to learn more about the rituals around death. When someone dies in a family it is a big event. The body will be kept, wrapped in a shroud, often with the face exposed, in the family home for months or even years. Today, formaldehyde is used to preserve the body. At some point, there is a big ceremony to celebrate the passing of this person. Like the Tongkonan completion ceremony, hundreds of people turn out and spend two or three days celebrating before the body is finally buried. In times past these bodies would be buried in caves, and that is what had brought us to this village.
The driver parked the van, and we followed Luther down a tiny trail that led us to an area of rice fields. Rice is the staple diet for the Indonesians, and everywhere you look there is a rice field squeezed in. These rice fields create beautiful landscapes. We found ourselves in one of these idyllic settings. Along the way, we encountered some boys pulling along a very muddy bull buffalo. These bulls are highly valued and revered beasts kept by families as a social currency and symbol of wealth. In this society when a man wishes to marry, he must present the bride’s family with buffalo. The higher the status of the bride the more buffalo will be required. Buffalos are also an important symbol in the celebrations of house building, birth, marriage, and death and several will be slaughtered at the ceremonies to feed those attending.
The buffalo spend most of their lives lounging around in the muddy rice fields, which keeps their hides free of pests but also means they get very dirty. The young boys of the family must wash their families buffalo each day. We stopped to watch this cleaning process. This buffalo was not interested in getting into the pool of water for his bath, so the boys were yanking and pushing it to get it to go in. As we watched, fascinated by these antics, we were joined by a young girl and her baby brother. The girl instantly latched on to Karen and held her hand.
From the buffalo washing, it was a short distance to the cave Luther had brought us to see. Inside the cave were the remains of coffins and many skeletal remains. The young girl, who was still holding Karen’s hand, and her brother had followed us into the did not seem bothered at all but the skulls and other body parts that were lying around.
After a few minutes soaking in the sights of the cave, we started back towards the van. The boys were still there with the buffalo, who they had managed to get into the water. We reached the van and Karen said goodbye to the girls before we set off through the narrow roads of Toraja.
We headed for another village called Lemo, which is famous for its graves cut into the face of cliffs. We found this place very spiritual. The effort to scale these cliffs and cut into them sufficiently to inter multiple familial bodies is impressive. A total of 75 tombs have been cut into the 20-metre-high cliff. Each of these tombs has a balcony in front on which have been placed colourful wooden effigies of the dead called Tau-tau. The Tau-tau are a symbol of wealth and have been carved to resemble the deceased in a high level of detail. Jack fruit wood has traditionally been used to create these effigies because as it ages it takes on a tone close to the colour of flesh. Most of the older Tau-tau date back to the 20th century as the older ones have deteriorated with exposure to the elements or have been stolen and sold to collectors.
After getting a close-up view of the cliff tombs, Luther led us down a path towards the rice fields. Here there were local craft shops selling replicas of the Tau-tau, ranging from a few feet in height to a couple of inches tall. We bought a small one to take back to Mum to add to her collection. On the way back to the van we stopped at a craftsman’s shop to watch him make Tau-tau as they are still used to decorate tombs to this day.
It was now time to head to our homestay.
We had already told Luther that we were vegetarian, so en route, he asked whether we’d be interested in visiting a factory where they made tofu and tempeh. We jumped at the idea. When we got there, it was hard to describe this as a factory, or at least our interpretation of a factory. This small family business was being operated in a tiny building with a tin roof behind the family home. It was a very hot and industrious setting, with people boiling chickpeas, draining them, and leaving them to set. Large trays of pulp were everywhere in various stages of preparation. We are big eaters of tofu, so it was fascinating to see it made. The people here were so friendly and welcoming. As we were leaving the lady who ran the business asked if we’d like some tofu and tempeh to take away. We said yes and were given two large plastic bags full of tempeh and tofu. Of course, we expected to pay, but they would not take any money from us. Giving a gift to strangers is supposed to bring good luck.
After this, we were dropped at our homestay, which would be our home for only one night. We had a beautiful large room that had large patio doors that led out onto a balcony with an incredible view across the valley towards the green mountains and endless rice fields.
Our room included dinner. Unfortunately, the message about our vegetarian diet got lost somewhere so a plate with meat was presented to us. After explaining things, the food was taken away without any fuss and about twenty minutes later feast of wonderfully tasty vegetarian dishes appeared. The lady owner was amazing, as was her mother who must have been well into her eighties, they could not have been more friendly and helpful.
On our last day in Rantepao, there were a couple of places that Luther still wanted to take us to. Both places were cemeteries. The first one was a lovely, formal cemetery with generational family tombs. We hadn’t come here to see these tombs, but to visit a very different burial site behind this. These are the tree graves of Tana Toraja where dead babies are ‘buried’ inside the trunks of living plants so they can be ‘absorbed’ by nature. Villagers hollow out holes in huge tree trunks before wrapping the deceased child in cloth and then placing the infant inside in a sitting position facing outwards. The hole is then sealed over with palm fibre and, as the tree heals over time, the body is believed to be absorbed. Dozens of babies are interred in each tree. The concept is foreign to people like us coming from the West, but I for one thought it was beautiful.
The last place on our tour of Tana Toraja was another burial site. This was a cave like the one we’d visited on our first day, and much older than the tree graves. The trailhead for the path leading to the cave was hidden in a small village, and without local knowledge, you would never find it. From the village, it was about a 200m walk. The cave is large and there are a couple of dozen coffins in various states of disrepair, most have fallen apart and their contents, yes skeletons had spilt onto the ground and remain there untouched. We needed to be careful with our footing as the cave floor was wet and slippery, so we didn’t venture in very far. Also, going in and rummaging around would have felt disrespectful. In our travels, we have experienced many customs that would be outside our comfort levels or seem downright weird in the eyes of some people, but we have learned to accept and respect the traditions and practices of the locals in places we are visiting. The key is that we are just visiting and not there to judge.
The best time to visit Tana Toraja
Average temperatures in Rantepao vary very little. Considering humidity, temperatures feel hot for most of the year with a chance of rain throughout most of the year. The area is far less temperate than some — in the 6th percentile for pleasant weather — compared to tourist destinations worldwide. Weeks with ideal weather are listed above. If you’re looking for the very warmest time to visit Rantepao, the hottest months are June, August, and then July. See average monthly temperatures below. The warmest time of year is generally early June where highs are regularly around 91.6°F (33.1°C) with temperatures rarely dropping below 72.6°F (22.6°C) at night.
Getting to Tana Toraja
Tana Toraja, Indonesia can be reached by air, bus, or private car.
You can find more info on each option below. Flying to Toraja is the easiest, but bus is the cheapest. Driving there in a car may be best for groups
By Air
All flights to Toraja have to transit first in Makassar (UPG), and then you can fly directly to the new Tana Toraja airport (TRT) which was just completed in 2020. The flight from Makassar to Toraja takes 1 hour.
You can shop for flights to Makassar and Tana Toraja at Skyscanner. Lion Air operates this flight daily.
Once you reach the airport, it’s a 1-hour drive into town, and a taxi will cost about 250k Rupiah.
By Bus
There’s a daily morning or night bus to Tana Toraja from the bus terminal in Makassar.
The bus ride from Makassar to Rantepao takes about 9 or 10 hours and there are several stops along the way. The bus departure times from both Makassar and Toraja are 9 AM for the morning bus or 9 PM for the night bus.
This is a very long journey, but it could make sense for solo travellers on a strict budget. It costs around 200k Rupiah per person (one way).
By Car
A car + driver can be hired to take you from Makassar to Tanah Toraja for about 750k to 1 million Rupiah ($50-70). This is the most cost-effective option if you’re travelling in a group with several people. The drive takes 8+ hours and the road is in good condition.
Alternatively, you can rent a car to self-drive from Makassar for about 600k Rupiah.
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