Arts and funeral rites

Our expert Indonesia

Arts and funeral rites

The worship of the dead, Sulawesi, Indonesia A Toraja tomb with tau tau statues. These sort of scarecrows representing the deceased are usually placed before the door of tombs dug into the rock. P.de Franqueville

At Sulawesi, funeral rites are spectacular and sophisticated. They are marked by their length (several days), magnitude (over a hundred guests) and the festive mood, as the celebration of a deceased involves several meals, dances, singing and other ceremonies, such as the sacrifice of buffalos. There is also very elaborate funeral art (wood sculpture). Toraja funerals have no specific timetables. They are frequently organised in the summer months, when the Toraja migrants living and working in other parts of Indonesia find time return home. Western tourists, in annualy increasing numbers, take time out to watch these ceremonies.