The Funeral Rites of Torajaland
Eerie cemeteries carved into the side of cliffs.
Category Rites and Rituals
Carved in the cliffs of Torarjaland are the eerie cliff cemeteries of the Toraja. The funeral rites of the Toraja are some of the most elaborate in the world. After a death in the Toraja Society, an enormous feast is held, in which water buffalo are ritually slaughtered and served. The deceased are then put into a stone grave carved out of the cliffside. A wooden effigy or "tau tau" is put up near the grave to look out over the land. The effigies are tightly packed together, with generations of wooden replicas of deceased villagers standing shoulder to shoulder looking down upon trespassers for all eternity.
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- Address Torajaland, Sulawesi, Indonesia
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