A Funeral in Tana Toraja

Tana Toraja (Toraja land) lies the northern pasrt of the South Sulawesi. It is known for its uniqueculture and ancient tradition. For many people a funeral is a sad time, but not for Tana Toraja people. For them , a funeral is an important event. It is also a time for celebration The Toraja people have their own religion. They believe that after the person dies, there must be a special funeral ceremonies for the dead. If they don’t ferform any special funeral ceremonies, The soul of the dead person will be angry and brings them bad luck.

Sometimes they don’t bury the person immediately after his death. They preserve the dead body in a special way in a coffin. They keep it in the corner of the house until the family is ready to perform the funeral ceremony. This may be two or three years after the person’s death. Until the time of the funeral ceremony, the toraja people think of adeath as a sick person.

When the time come for the funeral, people take the coffin out of the house. They wrap it beautifully in cloth and place it inside a special construction to carry the coffin to the burial place. The burial place is often in a hole high up in the side of a cliff. Now the Toraja people dance and sing ancient Toraja funeral song. When the coffin reaches the burial place there are many more dances and ceremonies. The ceremonies often last several days

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