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.