Visit the Land of Heaven

According to myth and legend, the single ancestor of the Toraja people originated from heaven. This myth passed into legend as it was told from generation to generation. Today the people of Toraja continue telling the myth that the first ancestor of the Toraja used "stairway to go down from heaven", the functioned of this stairway was as a media to communicate with Puang Matua (The Only One God).

The name of Toraja was given by the Bugis Sidendereng tribe and the people of Luwu. The Sidendereng people named the population of this region "Riaja" ("The first people inhabiting the upper part of country or mountainous area"). In the meantime, the people of Luwu called these people "Riajang" ("People inhabiting in the west"). Another version is the word 'Toraya' coined from To (Tau = people), and Raya (coined from the word Maraya = great). The two words together mean "great people", or noble man. Eventually, the term morphed into Toraja. The word "Tana" means country. The Toraja inhabitants were eventually known as Tana Toraja.

Tanah Toraja is a fascinating tourist destination known for its many cultures. This regency, situated about 350 km to the north of Makassar, is known for its traditional house style. The traditional house is called "Tongkonan". The roof is made of palm or coconut leaves and has a life expectancy of about 50 years before needing replacement. This Tongkonan also has a stratum in line with its community nobility hierarchy categorized as gold, bronze, iron and brass. Another attraction in Tanah Toraja is rambu solo, the traditional burial ceremony which is note worthy primarily because of the children's graves being within living trees. The children are buried in Tarra tree trunks at Kambira Kampong, Sangalla village, about 20 kilometers from Rantepao. These graves were prepared for children of 0-7 years. This children's burial right has not been performed in tens of years. However, the trees in which the children are buried are still growing and visited by many tourists. The fruit of the Tarra tree is similar to breadfruit and consumed by the locals, primarily in a vegetable soup.

These trees have an average 3.5 meter diameter trunk that still stores tens children's bodies. Before a corpse is put in the tree trunk, the trunk is hollowed and the hole is covered with black coconut tree fibers. After tens of years, the child's body becomes one with the tree. This melding of the tree and the child's remains has an attractive power for visitors, and the Tanah Toraja community still considers this a holy place with the same esteem as the children contained in the trees. The Placement of children's bodies within the tree trunk is also adjusted to their social stratum. The higher the family's social stratum, the higher the burial place in the Tarra tree trunk is. Even the orientation of the child when placed in the tree is based on the direction of the family house. If the house is situated in the west part of the tree, the child's body will be positioned on the west part of the tree.

In addition, visitors will also see ceremonies to express gratitude to God (locally called Rambu Tuka) as permanent events every year. Visitors may also see other sites of interest are burial sites similar to mausoleums three meters wide and ten meters high.

Domestic flights by small aircraft of 8 passenger capacity can be used to travel from Hasanuddin Airport Makassar to Tanah Toraja once a week, and the flight takes 45 minutes. Travel by land is quite tiresome and takes 7 hours.

The trip from Makassar to Toraja can also be taken by the coastal rail line along 130 km that climbs into the mountains. Once entering Tana Toraja, the natural panorama is appears full of grandeur.
You will see graphite and other rocks as you pass by the blue range of mountains in the far distance. After passing the market at Mebali village, you will see the local community herding sheep contrasting with the green and fertile grass fields and an abundance of foods in beauty tropical lands.