Makassar Travel

Posts Tagged ‘Tana Toraja’

Take the decision to take a plane to Makassar (capital of Sulawesi) and from here a bus to Rantepao, not wanting perdeme Tana Toraja, the land of the Toraja.

Tana Toraja is famous for the Toraja culture, for the construction of their houses, the traditional way to give their land but not stone dead … but if anything have become famous for their traditions has been funerias and mostly because water buffaloes are sacrificed. But Tana Toraja is not only that, for me it was more. Toraja Land is located in the mountains of southern Sulawesi in a stunning natural setting of forest, water and rice. The Toraja are people worthy of admiration for his smile his kindness and hospitality. So I will not hang the pictures or the dead and the sacrifice of buffaloes, who wants to see you pass by my page flicker.

Six days in Rantepao which also coincided with great people, both as passengers and Toraja which I hope to someday return to run into in the short path of life. For me a place if you visit imprenscindible Sulawesi (but of course this is as always I like but not like you)

One of the most interesting things about travel is certainly see how in each region, area or country means the world and everything in it happens in a way that can be completely opposite to yours, which requires you to have an open mind, away from prejudice and never position yourself not as easy and as wrong as ethnocentrism. Often, if not in most instances, Manichaeism resulting from those traveling to the Western mind and prejudices can be certainly sad and desolate. That “good and bad, we do things right and they are barbarians, uncultured and poor, we have come to save them from their ignorance, they swim by having nothing else to cling to. They live in shacks in this country is an absolute mess, dirty and poor, while in my country people live in flats and houses, the city is clean, there are good cars, movie theaters, television … poor things, I am see them (like a zoo, I would add) but really comes to judge …. ” Good. Whoever travels to a country of those not considered the first world (even some exotic themselves are the first world but with a culture totally alien to our own) and think such a thing falls into the ignorant traveler’s own ethnocentrism: that moving hoping to find in India, Bolivia, Tanzania and Indonesia which have their own country. Nen, think again. If you travel with your mind totally clean, ready to make the effort to try to understand behavior, culture and even the beliefs of those who live there, then you better stay home, look at a documentary on exotic cultures 2 and do the ridiculous.

And all this preface, for what?, You may ask. Good, because if you have an open mind and you can not see through this humble blog without judging, rather than stop reading this entry. Like there are times when you regret. I try to describe what I saw, being sterile and purpose in the narrative of the facts and away from harmful stereotypes. And try not to fall into the sickness free, simply describe, explain …

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Tana Toraja is a region of central Sulawesi especially known for their elaborate funeral rites. Sulawesi is mostly Muslim but a Christian Toraja area, but are very different from ours to hold a funeral. For them death is normal, even see it as something joyful … a funeral is like a party where you get sadistic enough to meet several people off the area, and usually lasts about 3 days.

For the deceased’s family organize a funeral is very expensive … so much that there are families that can take several years to collect enough money and get to bring the whole family may be scattered across Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia … and you will wonder “and what the heck do with the corpse in the meantime? “… well … I will shoot very easy to doses of formaldehyde and leave it lying in a room of the house …. and Toraja traditional houses have 3 bedrooms: one is the lounge The other is the bedroom of the family and guests and the third bedroom of the dead … that is, if you feel like sleeping with a local family is likely to finish wall to wall with a family luncheon …

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Sulawesi is one of the islands in the archipelago of Indonesia, is the most unique in how the world is like the petals of orchids caused geological work of two ancient continents, Laurasia and Gondawana land that unifies the other over millions of years ago.

Sulawesi was known as Celebes, derived from the Portuguese language means pirates because of the inhabitants of the southern part of the island attacked the Portuguese spice traders when it passes through the sea of the island of Maluku.

Sulawesi today is divided into six segments, each segment is a province with its own capital and their own government led by a sub-chairman. There are from 23 ethnic groups living on the island have their own culture and beliefs.
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And we come to Makassar, the capital of Sulawesi Island

Happy because for once we had been sighted and hotel booked, so we drink and we avoided the depletion of starting the search. And glad of hotel, despite its sinister characters and be the chestnut that was when we saw the city. Chaos, dirt and nothing. Although it is true that not everything was bad. The smell of the sea that flooded the city heralded the feast that we were going to take before bedtime. Three succulent fish, fish that were only an hour before, a serving of fresh shrimp facts such as fish, grilled, plenty of rice and various sauces. The most amazing thing is that once again we were without a camera, but the ridiculous price we paid.

The next day around town looking for his only point of interest, a Dutch fort not found, and a walk in the hot sun along the boardwalk. Everything to make time to catch the bus on the way to Rantepao.

8 hours a night bus with wide seats, air conditioning, three people sleeping on the floor and one in the trunk. A long night. At 7 o’clock we reached our destination. Rantepao is the ideal city to travel around Tana Toraja, a mountainous region with a magical landscapes and huge and beautiful buffalo.
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