A mixture of tears and laughter at Tana Toraja funeral

Text and photos by Mulkan Salmona

TANA TORAJA, South Sulawesi (JP): The ceremony to bless the body of Maria Laik Andi, who died in November 1995, was held one solemn afternoon earlier this month in the Catholic Church of St. Mary in Kampong Buntulambu.

It was quiet for a moment. Then, the priest's words broke the silence and the choir was heard. The church was crowded by people from Sillanan village of Mengkendek subdistrict in the town of Makale, Toraja regency. Some of them sat on the floor in the church. Those who did not get any space inside the church sat on the ground in the yard. A grave and dignified air filled the room.

Soon after the ceremony, however, the atmosphere changed drastically. It became very noisy. The keranda (coffin) was seized and put on a tandu (carrier) which was carved in the shape of a tongkonan (traditional Torajan house). Dozens of people helped tie the coffin to the tandu. The members of Maria's family handed out cigarettes and tuak (local liquor).

As they got ready to go, a red cloth was spread over the tandu. Clad in black, the dead's family members held the cloth. and then, they started to move. The procession included tens of beautifully-adorned male buffaloes.

Then they went to a field to perform the ceremony called Ma'palao or Ma'pasongko. It was not an easy trip. On the way to the field, it rained. The road was slippery and some participants fell to the ground. But none of them seemed to be tired or sad. Everyone, including the family, laughed and looked happy.

"It does not seem like a funeral to me. It looks like a circumcision ceremony in Java," an Indonesian tourist commented, referring to the joyous procession after a boy is circumcised.

Another thing that seemed unusual to the tourist was the way they carried the tandu. Instead of carrying it carefully, they swung it right and left, occasionally hitting the ground, yelling and singing the Ma'badong, the song of death.

It took them an hour to get to the place where the ceremony was to take place. When they got there, the people took the coffin from the carrier and put it on the Lakkian, a building specially built for the dead. They slowly walked up a bamboo ladder. The corpse's head and legs must be in the right position. If they were in the wrong position, a disaster could happen, according to Mbe Kaba', a member of the family versed in Torajan traditions. When the people stepped onto the bamboo ladder, the legs of the dead must face the front and the head the back. When they put the coffin on the Lakkian, the head of the dead should be facing East and the legs West.

After the coffin was put in the Lakkian, people turned to the buffaloes. It was time for the buffalo contest. Dozens of buffaloes took part.

The buffalo jockeys caressed the animals and chanted a mantra to make sure their buffalo would win.

One by one, the buffaloes entered the field, which was wet and muddy. All of a sudden, two buffaloes were led in by their jockeys, all running into the field. As the jockeys approached each other, they released the buffaloes. The big buffaloes sniffed and stared at each other. Then they started banging their horns together. They pushed and grunted until one was defeated and scampered off.

People cheered. They clapped and laughed heartily.

Another ritual followed this contest. People who had watched the game from a distance flooded into the field to see the buffalo-slaughtering ceremony. The buffaloes about to be slaughtered had not been allowed to take part in the contest.

A middle-aged man appeared in the center of the field with a machete tied to his waist. He slowly caressed the head of a buffalo. He deftly whipped out his machete and hacked at the head, severing it. The buffalo reared up and collapsed, and the crowd cheered. Suddenly rain cracked down, and people ran for shelter in the temporary bamboo structures specially erected for the ceremony.

After about an hour, the rain started to stop. In a corner of the field, the crowds formed a circle. They moved their bodies and sang the Ma-badong song. In another corner of the field, cooks were busy slaughtering pigs and grilling them. The guests sat in the bamboo structures, served hot coffee and tea, and given snacks. The guests kept coming. No matter who they were, whether they were relatives of the dead, local tourists or foreigners, they were welcomed warmly. The guests would bring cigarettes, sugar, tuak or pigs.

Darkness fell, blanketing the scene. The Ma'badong song was not heard anymore. People who were in the field entered the bamboo shacks to avoid the chill of the night. The noise had gone. It was quiet again.

The buffalo contest and slaughtering continued into the following day. A total of 24 buffaloes were slaughtered. On the third day, the body was carried to the grave in the last ritual called Rambu Solo. Gone were the happy faces as the body was laid down in the grave. They started to cry. Tears rolled down their faces.

"They cry at this moment because they won't be able to see her anymore. Before, even though she was dead, they could still see her corpse. Now they will miss her," Mbe Kaba' said with sad eyes.

Maria Laik Andi, who died at 78, now rests in peace.