Stocking up on livestock

It was a Saturday, and the big livestock market at Bolu, near Rantepao in Sulawesi's Toraja highlands, was in full swing.

The main events were the pig and buffalo auctions. These are big deals indeed in Toraja Land. The region gets through an enormous number of pigs and buffaloes. They are shipped in from far and near to satisfy the local funeral ceremony demand, and the prices are high. There was talk of buffaloes being worth more than houses, and they were mostly not going to be used in the fields.
Those pigs above were 'hog-tied', very much alive, and possibly resigned to their nasty fate to come.





It's cruel, but not nearly as cruel as what was to follow when they arrived at the funeral site.

Albino buffaloes feature prominently. They are 'sacred buffaloes', and fetch much greater prices still. If you're a high status Torajan, you really ought to have a sacred buffalo or two included in the sacrificial mix at your funeral.

Traditional tongkonan of Toraja Land

The tongkonan are the traditional houses of the Toraja people of South Sulawesi. They are a lot like those of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra (see my piece here from last year: Minangkabau housing ). But the latter were said to be modelled on buffalo horns. The Torajan style, I was told, was about the traditional boats on which the ancestors had arrived, probably from West Sumatra.

They still build a lot of their houses in this style, though the new ones tend to have steel roofs. The older ones are thatched, and maybe have green vegetation growing on them.

A village will generally have one or more houses with a huge collection of buffalo horns, representing all the buffalo sacrifices made at funerals, and thus the status of the place.

Sometimes I saw a funny mixture of old and new building styles in a village. A lot of Torajans have travelled to other parts of Indonesia, earned good money, and come back wanting to live in greater comfort than the older style probably afforded. They would still keep the traditional house for ceremonial purposes though.

Lake Maninjau

The road down to West Sumatra's Lake Maninjau is quite an attraction in itself, with its 44 hairpin bends. Here we are, approaching bend 21.

It's a huge and scenic lake, formed 52,000 years ago in a volcanic explosion. Travellers often spend a few days here while exploring Sumatra.



One of the things you do is swim in the lake, usually in one of its 'hot springs' areas. I had a swim, and revelled in the perfect warm water conditions. I swam around and tried to locate the edges of the warm area, but couldn't find them. I was a bit hindered by my fear of the buffalo that was sharing the water with me. Saw later that it was in fact tethered to the shore, so I needn't have worried!

Minangkabau houses: the Disney and the derelict

The Minang, or Minangkabau, people of West Sumatra are very proud of their traditional architecture. Lots of pointy spires, modelled on buffalo (kerbau) horns. Last time I was there they told me it was all incredibly important to them.

Tour guide Erik took me to the Sultan's royal palace, or rather, the latest rebuild of it - they keep on burning down.

It's open to the public, and it's quite a tourist attraction. Almost like being in Disneyland. There are comic book characters to meet and greet you, and many of the visitors get to play dress-ups, as royal family members or traditional brides and grooms. It's all fabulous fun during the big post-Ramadan holiday period.

Meanwhile, in nearby villages, you come across traditional houses that are in a slightly lesser condition. I was told that the families live in modern houses they've built next door, but they keep the old places for ceremonial purposes. Do they really hold weddings and funerals and things in these crumbling old buildings?  "Yes", said Erik.