Fig.1 A skull among bones at the hanging graves of Londa, Tana Toraja, Sulawesi |
Aluk Todolo: ‘The ways of the
ancestors’
Though Christianity has undoubtedly influenced
the way in which the old religion is practiced today, it does remain largely
intact if not in full practice, at least in the minds of the people. Originally
called Aluk Pitung Sa’Bu Pita Ratu’Pitung
Pulo Pitu or the 7777 belief or ways of life (Achsin 1991, p29), it was not only a religious
system but entailed the entire custom of the people, indicating everything from
religious cosmology and the observance of ritual down to house building and
societal values. For this article, I will only focus on cosmology and ritual.
Like many religions the world over,
the cosmology of Aluk Todolo is based
on a three tiered system: The upper world (sky), the earth and the underworld
(centre of the earth). Inhabiting these divisions are three classes of deity,
some with their own sub-divisions. The highest power is the creator god known
as Puang Matua who inhabits the highest
sphere of the upper world and must be appeased by the living to ensure safe
passage of their loved ones to the afterlife or Puya. The second group are the Deata,
essentially containing the animist spirits who inhabit every living and
non-living object. They are sub-divided into Deata Tangngana Langi’ (sky gods), Deata Kapadangana (earth gods) and Deata Tangngana Padang (gods of the centre of the earth). The third
group, the focus of the article, are the Todolo
(ancestors) who, if given the correct burial rituals, can become demi-gods
called Tomembali Puang or ‘those who
become gods’. In addition to the ‘Four Principles’ which instruct on the
observance of certain rituals, the treatment of flora and fauna and the usage
of living space, this represents the first ‘seven’ in the 7777 belief system.
Dualism (light-dark, happy-sad, life –death etc.) and the cardinal directions
also play a strong part in life and ritual as does, to a certain extent, belief
in black magic. However, it is in the rituals and practices associated with the
dead ancestors, Tomembali Puang, that
the religion seems to have most endured and is given its greatest expression.
Treatment of the dead
When a person dies in Tana Toraja,
it begins a long and expensive process for the family to send them to the
afterlife where they will hopefully achieve demi-god status. No expense is
spared as to have an ancestor as a demi-god is seen to be of great benefit to
the living descendants. In this position, the ancestor can guide and protect
their descendants and bestow blessings on them throughout their remaining
lives. Even better, is to have a long line of ancestors to lay claim to and
revere, therefore increasing the amount of these blessings. Given the prospect
of such ancestral protection, it comes as little surprise that their dead
bodies are given the utmost respect and care leading up to and during the
extensive rituals and for a long time after. To ensure the safe journey of the
spirit and its access to demi-god status (becoming Tomembali Puang) in the afterlife, the creator god Puang Matua must be properly appeased.
Depending on the social caste of the person (there is a four caste system,
similar to India), this largely
involves animal sacrifice, particularly that of the sacred water buffalo.
Fig.2 A rare (and highly prized) white headed buffalo |
Since a full perfect ritual ceremony
(reserved and required for the high caste people) can involve the sacrifice of
up to a hundred buffalo, these events are considerably expensive, but necessary
for a family. Even lower caste people have high pressure on them to provide the
adequate amount of animal sacrifice for their ancestor to pass on correctly.
For this reason, the dead person can remain unburied for a long time as money
(and particularly buffalo which embody wealth itself) is needed before the
ceremony can be performed. In light of this and in accordance with the belief
system, the dead person is merely seen as ‘sick’ until the proper offerings can
be made. Sometimes taking as long as a year, the dead body is kept in the
family house or Tongkonan until the
day of the ceremony. During this time, the body is treated as if it were still
alive, being lain in the east-west direction (as the living lay in sleep) and
even spoken to. One must ask permission of the dead person to enter or leave
the house and the body is often seated in an upright position being dressed and
fed as a sick person would be. Although they are embalmed, there is of course
often an odour of decay but no one can comment on this for fear of insulting
the body. Once the ceremony has been performed (which can take up to two weeks itself), the body is then laid in a
north-south orientation, thereby signifying they have now passed on and can be
formally considered dead. At this point they are carried to the family tomb.
Fig.3 Skulls stacked neatly in a cave burial north of Rantepao, Tana Toraja, Sulawesi |
The journey of the spirit
to Puya (the place they achieve
demi-god status) involves a lot of waiting and status assertion. Puya is thought to be situated far to
the southern horizon and it’s entrance gate is on top of a mountain called
Bambapuang. When spirits reach the gate, “...they are instructed to call out
their social position and personal disposition...The souls are asked if the
funeral ceremony has been carried out and the type that was celebrated” (Achsin 1991, p46). No
entrance to Puya is permitted until
the correct ceremony (including the follow up ceremonies) for their social
caste has been performed.
Conclusion
Bibliography
Adams,
K.M. (1997) ‘Ethnic Tourism and the Renegotiation of Tradition in Tana Toraja
(Sulawesi, Indonesia)’ in Ethnology, vol.
36, no. 4 (pp309-30), University of Pittsburgh of the Commonwealth System
of Higher Education.
Waterson, R. (1995) 'Houses, Graves and the Limits of Kinship Groupings among the Sa'dan Toraja' in Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (pp 194-217), Deel 151, KITLV, Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Carribbean Studies.
Waterson, R. (1995) 'Houses, Graves and the Limits of Kinship Groupings among the Sa'dan Toraja' in Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (pp 194-217), Deel 151, KITLV, Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Carribbean Studies.