![]() It is an all-pervading presence in day-to-day life, inscribed into the landscape in eerie wooden tau-tau statues, commissioned by the bereaved to remember the dead, and into the social calendar, which revolves heavily around funerals.ĭeath is even central to the economy: Families often save for years so they can afford the elaborate exchanges of gifts, money and freshly slaughtered meat that take place during the events, which are seen as a key means of redistributing wealth in Torajan society.ĭeath provides livelihoods for thousands of people here, both in the tourism sector and in funeral-related businesses. Here, death is not something to shy away from. Not so in Tana Toraja, the land where the Torajans live. When anthropomorphized in popular culture, death is often depicted as a malevolent entity, the sinister black-cloaked figure clutching a scythe. Even if one believes in an afterlife, the immediate severing of the connection between the dead and the living is absolute. It marks the sudden and irreversible rupture of a person from their loved ones. Throughout most of the world, death is a topic that generally inspires dread. It is an enclave of Christianity in a predominantly Muslim country, although traditional beliefs remain prevalent. Toraja country stretches for hundreds of miles across the mountainous interior of Sulawesi, a land of verdant hills and scattered villages connected by a network of dirt tracks that wind their way through lush rice paddies and patches of thick forest. "The community would not respect us if we did a small funeral. "We need more time to save," says Mesak, whose family belongs to what he calls the "noble" class in the stratified Torajan caste system. ![]()
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