Toraja, Sulawesi: _Bunte Pune_

Elizabeth, the Granddaughter of the last Raj of Toraja took me to the village of her birthplace, a traditional Torajan village. Here I met the local residents who honoured us not only in our own right, but because we were accompanied by Elizabeth, a person who is held in very high esteem.

The coffee was special, and the opportunity to see both the details of the village and the details of the burial caves and burial houses of those of high status, and to climb to the lookout were all privileges for me. The lookout gave an extra special view over Rantepao and across the padi fields to the cliffed karst mountains that surrounded Tanatoraja.

Above the village we heard the stories of the local resistance to the Dutch in 1945, and of heroes of the Toraja people. For long centuries they have resisted and defended themselves from raids by the Bugis people from the south.

However, the privilege and the richness of the culture and its stories made all the more special by the beauty of the landscape were not the dominant preoccupations of my mind. I was overawed by the similarity of Torajan culture with all that I had experienced and knew of the Batak culture of North Sumatra. When and how did the culture of the Batak that live in the highlands around Lake Toba migrate to Sulawesi and establish itself in these interior highlands?

I wondered without anyone answering me, if Toraja is really derived from Toba Raja, and is simply the name for this Toba Kingdom that was planted here long ago.

To visit here is one of the richest cultural experiences of my entire life!

Thank you, Ian, for this very special narrative as well as for the photo. What a privilege!

Marilyn

Your active listening to such stories is valued - no, more than that - treasured, Marilyn.

Ian

A wonderful story Ian you had the privilege to live and we thank you for sharing. Those buildings? (siles?) are awesome indeed, they seem as strange animals... Beautiful! best wishes, Edmundo

The residences are of similar design, only larger. Each residence is lined up facing its corresponding rice barn.

As yet I do not understand the origins of each element of the architecture, but some elements are clear. There are functional elements and some that I would define as spiritual.

The rain falls vertically here being on the Equator so the entrances to the rice barn and the house is sheltered by the overhanging roof. The area beneath the house housed the buffalo, the area beneath the barn accommodated guests and provided for hospitality space especially during the funeral celebrations and rituals. The apex of the roof at each end is very pointed in Batak culture and it ensures that evil spirits do not come to rest on the house - the fact that here in Toraja the apex is more rounded raises questions for me, but perhaps it had the same purpose. The thatch is either foliage or bamboo tubes or both. In many villages the house and the barn are highly ornate dressed in carved and painted designs, and displaying the wealth and status and history of the family.

Once again Edmundo our friendship and correspondence has me inquiring into the architecture, and Marilyn's engagement stimulates my investigation of the cultural and spiritual complex that underlies such a distinctive culture.

Appreciatively, Ian