Toraja's indigenous belief system is polytheistic animism, called Aluk, or
"the way" (sometimes translated as "the law"). In the
Toraja myth, the ancestors of Torajan people came down from heaven using
stairs, which were then used by the Torajans as a communication medium with
Puang Matua, the Creator. The cosmos, according to Aluk, is divided into the
upper world (heaven), the world of man (earth), and the underworld. At first,
heaven and earth were married, then there was a darkness, a separation, and
finally the light. Animals live in the underworld, which is represented by
rectangular space enclosed by pillars, the earth is for mankind, and the heaven
world is located above, covered with a saddle-shaped roof. Other Toraja Gods
include Pong Banggai di Rante (god of Earth), Indo' Ongon-Ongon (a goddess who
can cause earthquakes), Pong Lalondong (god of death), and Indo' Belo Tumbang
(goddess of medicine); there are many more.
The earthly authority, whose words and actions should be cleaved to both in
life (agriculture) and death (funerals), is called To Minaa (an aluk priest).
Aluk is not just a belief system; it is a combination of law, religion, and
habit. Aluk governs social life, agricultural practices, and ancestral rituals.
The details of aluk may vary from one village to another. One common law is the
requirement that death and life rituals be separated. Torajans believe that
performing death rituals might ruin their corpses if combined with life
rituals. The two rituals are equally important. During the time of the Dutch
missionaries, Christian Torajans were prohibited from attending or performing
life rituals, but were allowed to perform death rituals. Consequently, Toraja's
death rituals are still practiced today, while life rituals have diminished.
Toraja people enjoy great longevity-surely something to do with the cool
climate and active lifestyle from infancy to old age. They spend their lives
growing excellent fragrant rice, raising magnificent buffalo, especially the
highly valued pink albino strains. Their work is interspersed with dramatic
ceremonies. Harvest festivals and house warming festivals, are times for
feasting and a gathering of the clan, times to wear their best costumes and
jewellery, bring out the tuak (a local brew) and party for days on end, times
for singing and dancing and, of course, eating. These are also times for
neighbours and clan members to pay their respects and to pay back obligations
that may date back generations.Family affiliation
Family is the primary social and political grouping in Torajan society. Each
village is one extended family, the seat of which is the Tongkonan, a
traditional Torajan house. Each Tongkonan has a name, which becomes the name of
the village. The familial dons maintain village unity. Marriage between distant
cousins (fourth cousins and beyond) is a common practice that strengthens
kinship. Toraja society prohibits marriage between close cousins (up to and
including the third cousin)-except for nobles, to prevent the dispersal of
property. Kinship is actively reciprocal, meaning that the extended family
helps each other farm, share buffalo rituals, and pay off debts.
Each person belongs to both the mother's and the father's families, the only
bilateral family line in Indonesia. Children, therefore, inherit household
affiliation from both mother and father, including land and even family debts.
Children's names are given on the basis of kinship, and are usually chosen
after dead relatives. Names of aunts, uncles and cousins are commonly referred
to in the names of mothers, fathers and siblings.
Before the start of the formal administration of Toraja villages by the Tana
Toraja Regency, each Toraja village was autonomous. In a more complex
situation, in which one Toraja family could not handle their problems alone,
several villages formed a group; sometimes, villages would unite against other
villages. Relationship between families was expressed through blood, marriage,
and shared ancestral houses (Tongkonan), practically signed by the exchange of
buffalo and pigs on ritual occasions. Such exchanges not only built political
and cultural ties between families but defined each person's place in a social
hierarchy: who poured palm wine, who wrapped a corpse and prepared offerings,
where each person could or could not sit, what dishes should be used or
avoided, and even what piece of meat constituted one's share.Class affiliation
In early Toraja society, family relationships were tied closely to social
class. The structure of the caste of Torajan people according to Aluk are:
- Tana Bulaan (Tana = caste, Bulaan = gold) Nobles never marry lower class people. Moreover, if someone divorces his/her spouse, then he/she has to pay 24 buffaloes to the divorced his/her spouse.
- Tana Bassi(Tana = caste, Bassi = iron) Lower than Tana Bulaan. A person has to pay 10 buffaloes to his/her divorced spouse.
- Tana Karurung (common people) a person has to pay 2 buffaloes to his/her divorced spouse.
- Tana Kuakua (slaves) there are still some people in certain areas having slaves to take care of their rice farm. The slaves are paid and given adequate food. In the past, slaves were not paid.
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