KULTUR: MENJAGA TRADISI NENEK MOYANG TORAJA

Toraja is a place in South Sulawesi where the tradition and traditions of the ancestors are still very thick in the Bugis language. Toraja is called Toriaja which means a person who is silent in the upper country. The Toraja community has a tradition of death to send souls to the spirit realm and honor their ancestors who have long been dead.

Culture with CityLink will discuss the land of the King and the tradition of Aluk Tadolo on YouTube CXO Media. The death ceremony is very close to the religious and religious system, especially in this King's land. Whatever religion they hold, they are still holding on to the teachings of the ancestors of Aluk Tadolo.

Right now I'm at Mr. Israel's house and I want to meet Mr. Arno. They will introduce me to one of his brothers who is resting. Hello, Mr. Arno? Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello.

Because our beloved grandmother, Ibu Agustin Aleksa Lempang, or often called Nenek Dharma, is lying in this house in the house of the King, called Komak Dula. Nenek, I know that you are a good person, but you are not a good person. I'm not playing with you. I'm telling you, don't be surprised if there are guests who want to come and see you.

Then, when it's time to eat, we still feed and drink for grandma. Does this food still be given every day? Yes, every day. If it's not time to feed, when we want to eat, we invite her. We say, "Grandma, let's eat."

So, it means that he is still resting? Yes, for us, even though this grandmother is no longer like when she was alive for one year and three months, for us, because of our love for grandmother, we still consider her as a tomahawk. That's the term Bahasa Toraja for our parents or relatives who died biologically.

So for us, people of Toraja, they died twice. First, they died biologically when they had died. We think they didn't die officially, they were still sick. So as long as they are sick, we take care of them. We keep them safe. If they want to be married, they will be called tomate. They died completely, physically and in a ritual way. The people of Toraja are very firm in their traditions and teachings.

even though they no longer worship Aluk Tadolo they also dare to spend billions of rupiah only for a funeral and sending his family to eternity is it true that the royal community lives and works hard only to prepare for their death

Because my grandmother held a certain position in our community, when my grandmother died, she was called "Mendiotedong". "Mendiotedong" means that my grandmother was bathed with the guidance of a "kerbau" . She was sacrificed when she was bathed. One "kerbau". After that, she was formally inspected to be immortal. In the past, she was left to rot in a bag of corpses. Then when it was dry,

in a balloon, wrapped but now in the modern era we use formalin

The next treatment is to put the grandmother in the bed, along with her clothes and decorations, along with the children in the room. This is according to the social status. And we keep taking care of her. Sometimes she is in the shower when there are mushrooms that appear on her body. And like this, we still give her food and drink every day. In Toraja, there are various religions.

But you still follow the teachings of the ancestors, Alukta Dolo, right? Yes, Alukta Dolo. So how is that actually? Alukta Dolo, okay. So before we follow Christianity or Islam and others, our ancient religion is called Alukta Dolo or Alukta, which regulates all aspects of human life or kingship. The most important thing to be regulated is the way

how to treat the body of the victim until the trial of his execution. So, because this grandmother is still called Tomakula, yes, she sleeps as usual, considered as an ordinary person, but her head is a little different in the direction of her sleep.

facing west, because this is west here north east south west when humans are still alive in the teachings of Alukhtar Dolo must face north, the head or east the symbol of the sun is the sun and the source of the river flow, the source of the water but in this case, this grandmother will be celebrated in the level of rapture that is the highest level of burial the number of sacrifices of the kerbau is at least 12

24 or more. The next stage for the adults, starting from the name of the breastfeeding, for those who are very unable to, there is no sacrifice, so we only breastfeed the place to eat the pig as a sign that there is really nothing. I'm also curious about the baby, which

- You buried it in a tree? - In a tarra tree. - Can we see it? - Yes, we can. - Can we? - Yes, we can. - Do you want to see it? - Yes, sure. - But it's quite far. - It's okay. - What's the name of the area? - Sengelak. - Okay. - It's called Kote. - Okay, after that we'll go to Londa. - To Londa? - Yes, Londa. - Okay, it's okay. But I'll change my clothes first. - Okay. Pasiliran.

An unusual tradition that the Toraja people did to bury their children According to the belief of Aluk Todolo, children who have not yet grown teeth were buried in the tarra tree so that they can reach the firewood Is this Mr. Arno? That's the tarra tree, sir Yes, the tarra tree Is that the hole that is closed? Serabut Ijuk Serabut Ijuk is the place

- For the burial? - Yes. When the tarah tree was planted to bury the dead baby,

This burial was done on the Tardak trees, it is called Pasiliran. Because the children who died, the children who died were buried on the Tardak trees, it is called Todisili. It means that they were buried in a tree branch that was still alive or growing.

Why can't we bury it somewhere else? Why do we have to plant it in a tree like this? This practice is still in the teachings of Alukthodolo. It is inspired by the teachings of Alukthodolo. So in Alukthodolo, it is forbidden to bury a body in the ground. The theological reason is that this land, where we live, should not be polluted. But the logical reason is

Toraja is a mountainous area. The land for agriculture is very limited because of the soil condition. So the people of Toraja from the past had a local caravan to bury their bodies in wood.

or in the natural caves or to dig up unproductive stones instead of spreading the soil or small houses are made called Batutu wooden houses in the modern era, a tomb was built from concrete like a house with various models called Patane but that's for the early age of the tomb

especially for children who have not yet grown teeth and died when they were born, buried by pruning on the still alive tarrak tree. So this tree is cut down, right? Yes, it's cut down or cut down. Until it's about fit, put it in there, then it's closed, right? Is it still done until now, sir? If in my area, pruning is no longer practiced for children, but maybe in this area,

still practice it so after entering the baby is cleaned the deceased is bathed wrapped with what is the name of the sholom sholom is the pillar of the pillar of the pillar wrapped with its roots when he was just born and died it was buried with its roots then put it in and cover it with

a green fur coat, then it is pinned or locked using four pieces made of wood. The wood is a hard part of the green stem. Oh, that's it. Yes, four of them. Then tied

with a green cloth that has been tied before to become a rope so that it doesn't smell and is not disturbed by animals that can damage this passage. I also read that, sir. Yes. It is said that there is a mother who cannot visit again or after the funeral, is that true, sir? In practice, in general in Toraja, except for babies,

While the elderly who died, usually their partner was not allowed to follow the process of burial. Oh, so he just lives at home? At home. So, like this, the mother of the deceased, especially when she was just born and her child died, was not allowed to come along to bury her child. This is because there are two aspects. First, the psychological aspect. First, he was just born.

then his physical condition is not yet able to walk. The first thing to consider is his psyche. The second factor is that when his mother comes and visits continuously, he will experience reproduction disorders the next day because of stress. So he is not reminded because he will keep the bitter roots.

There are actually a lot of trees here. Why do we need tarra trees? Why did the Toraja people choose tarra trees? In Indonesian, tarra trees are like cempedak trees. So, cempedak trees are chosen because according to the ancient teachings, tarra trees are suitable for burying the dead baby. Because the dead baby has not yet been able to suck on his mother.

Or maybe he had time to suck his mother, but in a short time. Then he died. So he was buried in a living tree so that when the tree grows and covers the hole where the baby is buried, the prayer of the baby is expected to grow.

along with this tree and also given ash from the tarra tree. So that's the hope, prayers from the ancestors so that they can buy tarra trees. What about the adults? For the adults, as I explained earlier, they can be put in a hut or a natural cave, they can be put in a barn, which is made by hand, they can be put in a house made of wood,

or Patane in the modern era now. A tombstone building. To see all of that, we will visit London. First, I want to explain from the oldest first.

This one? Yes, this is called erong. It's commonly called erong. In some parts of West Toraja, it's called duni. Duni? Duni. In Mamasah, they call it bangka-bangka. So there are three names in some different regions. So this is a peti, not a dead peti for one person. But every erong is a mass grave for a family member. So, a funeral that has been...

the bones were collected in the ponds. They were still a group. A family farm in the eastern part of Indonesia. Before they had the tools to make the pahat,

They are put in a box. The series is collected in a box. If the bricks are like this, those are modern court bricks. One brick for one person. So they are stacked, some are hung, made a rack like above.

Sometimes the fence is higher, sometimes it's lower, sometimes it's lower, sometimes it's higher. It depends on the safety factor. Usually those with higher status are made to have higher graves so that it is difficult to reach. Why? Because the people of the Toraja period, when they were wrapped, the treasure was also included in the inside.

Gold, gold bags, or any other decorations they have are put in. Even the funeral envelope or balloon is decorated with gold bars. It's called didaman or roto. Decorated with gold bars in the shape of a carving. That's one of the factors why it's kept in a difficult place to access. So that it's not taken by people. Yes, to avoid imprisonment. Where? I've been curious about that.

What is that? / This is a statue. In the King's language, it's called Tau-Tau. Tau-Tau means people. / Okay. But, you mean, it's made as similar as the deceased? / The deceased. There was no photo before. So, the deceased was made into Tau-Tau as a representation of the deceased. But not all the deceased can be made into Tau-Tau.

They can be made into taus-taus if they are in the level of the rafasan, as I explained earlier. The number of sacrifices. Then you can make taus-taus. There are three types of taus-taus. What are the differences? The first one is called batilepong. Batilepong is like a person who is a farmer. Bamboo is used by the deceased. The second one is called taus-taus lampa. The body is made of bamboo, but the head is made of wood.

Taotau in ancient times, like the one above, is not too similar to the one that is left behind. The important thing is that it can differentiate the gender, whether he is a man or a woman. The one in front of this is Taotau modern. The unique thing is that this Taotau must be made of wood. Must be wood. Must be wood. Why is that wood wood, bro?

The Toraja chose the use of Nangka wood for the Tau-Tau because for the Toraja there are two types of wood that are considered as gods of wood. Nangka wood and cendana. If cendana is considered a ma'raratau wood because the thread is red. It is considered a wood that has blood like humans. While Nangka wood is a representation of holiness or purity of descent because the thread is white. The Toraja called

Rara nama lite bumbungan. It means the blood is like the smell of the milk that is white and clean. Symbol of its origin. Interesting, sir. Yes. Now we're starting to enter. Yes, we want to enter the cave. Be careful, it's a bit slippery. This stone here, is there anything carved like this or is it from there, sir?

So this cave is a natural cave, not a cave in Pahat. So if the cave is natural like this for the cemetery, the people of Toraja call it loko. If in Pahat it is called liang. Yes, liang pa. Since this was opened, because this is an asset of 10 tons in the Londa area, cheese. When we enter here with bad intentions, sometimes there are things

strange things happen. Is he having a stomachache? Or maybe his head is usually dizzy or other things. Oh, it's hard, sir. Be careful. Yes, it's not bad. Well, like this, what I explained earlier, whether it's a gift from the family or things that were buried previously with a funeral,

If it's dirty like this, it won't be cleaned up. Okay. There will be a special ceremony later. Whether it's with grandma or whether there are other graves that can be buried, then it can be tidied up. Wow, what is this, bro? This is a story similar to Romeo and Juliet. So they are both lovers. But not married. Oh, why, bro?

They were not arrested because they still had a close relationship. Oh, they were dating but close? Because they were not arrested, they took an illegal route. They both committed suicide. One unique thing I want to add is that when something like this happens, suicide, in our culture and custom of the Toraja people, the court proceedings are carried out as soon as possible.

Because of that, it is considered as an indecent act and it is a family crime. So it is not done like a general execution. It is carried out as simply as possible and as quickly as possible. Mr. Arno, I want to ask you about the stigma of the people outside Toraja, who consider that the people of Toraja only work hard

to prepare for death? So, on one hand it's not wrong, but on the other hand it's a bit confusing. The Toraja did not prepare themselves for death, but the Toraja appreciated life and the transition of life in the world of Faana to a permanent life. Both according to the teachings of Aluk Todolo, or the teachings of, for example, I have been following the Christian religion, we still live by those values.

So we perform rituals for our ancestors or our parents who have passed away as a way of respecting God. Respecting God who has given us life. Has given us grandparents and parents who love us and we love them. So what we do is considered a waste for some people who do not understand and do not live our culture.

What we do in the Rambus Solo ceremony or the funeral, it's all done with levels according to the social strata, according to the economic ability. There is no compulsion. Because there are people who are financially capable, but in the society's order, they cannot hold a ceremony at a certain level.

There are also social strata that allow for major events, but the economic capability is not enough to do that. So there are minimum and maximum limits in our culture to hold events. So don't force yourself. Because we are celebrating the transition from a phony world to a permanent life.

through the "Tematia" . Now, one more thing. Now, we are entering the modern era. Why do the Torah people still perform rituals like this? Okay, first let's look at the "peti" and "erong" behind you. This is a product of culture that we have lived since we were little, down and down. We do all this as a way of love to God.

and also love for our ancestors. We do all this because we live our culture, we love our culture, and we respect our ancestors as well as God who created us and our culture.