Tana Toraja out to win UNESCO award, and visitors

Tana Toraja out to win UNESCO award, and visitors

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Tana Toraja, South Sulawesi

The rainy season comes early in Tana Toraja, but it does not
dampen the generous beauty of the mountain panoramas, or its
exotic culture, blessed with traditional burial sites and
architecture.

The face of Tana Toraja regent JA Situru beamed with hope as he
explained the area's attractions for both domestic and foreign
tourists compared to other parts of the country.

"Tana Toraja has all of the potential to become a global
tourist destination because of its unique culture and sites. The
international community has recognized our sites from many years
ago," Situru told The Jakarta Post.

It was not the empty exaggeration of an official selling his
area; tourism sites abound in this area nestled in the mountains
of South Sulawesi, from burial places carved out of cliffs and
rocky crags, traditional houses, megalithic tombs and fantastic
mountain views.

Although there are hundreds of potential tourism sites in Tana
Toraja, only about 30 tourism sites are accessible to tourists
because of infrastructure and transportation problems.

The Toraja Festival, a cultural celebration on Dec. 28-Dec.
29, is expected to help bring attention to the unique culture and
customs.

Getting around Toraja is not difficult as there are plenty of
tour operators. But getting there is not so easy; visitors have
no option but to take overland transportation from Makassar as
flights from the provincial capital were closed in 2001 due to
the decreasing numbers of passengers and high operational costs.

But that long overland drive, taking about seven to eight
hours, offers spectacular views of mountains, steep terraced
slopes and tall bamboo forests along the way.

Upon first entering Tana Toraja, visitors pass through Makale,
the regency capital. There are several hotels and motels here if
tourists prefer to stay in the administrative and commercial hub.

Those wishing to be closer to the sites should head 15
kilometers north to Rantepao, the cultural center of Tana Toraja.

There are two four-star hotels in Rantepao: Marante Hotel
provides excellent services in traditional building, fantastic
views and swimming pool located along the main road, while the
remoter Toraja Heritage Hotel has views of mountains and rice
fields.

Many other hotels of three and two stars and motels are easily
located around Rantepao.

On the way from Makale to Rantepao, there is Lemo, one of the
most popular traditional graveyards in the area. Here is a
balcony full of local wooden or bamboo statues called tau-tau,
mixed up together in the steep coral stone museum in the open
air. Most of the graves are hundreds of years old.

Halfway on the trip to Rantepao, Londa, another famous grave
site, is found. Here, visitors are greeted by a wide balcony
filled with tau-tau at the entrance to the cave. Ancient as well
as more recent graves are inside a long, big cave in the side of
a mountain.

It is divided into three parts: Laymen and common people are
buried on the lowest level of the mountain while middle-class
people are buried on the second. The top part of the mountain,
accessed by climbing up bamboo ladders, is reserved for nobles.

Visitors need to rent a strong flashlight or a kerosene lamp
to venture inside the cave, where coffins, bones and skulls are
scattered. Many locals provide the service at the entrance of the
cave for Rp 10,000 (a little over US$1).

Moving north, two different but culturally connected sites are
found in Buntu Pune and Karassik. Buntu Pune is a traditional
village consisting of Tongkonan, the Torajan traditional house,
and several rice storage barns of a similar size and shape of the
houses.

About two kilometers away in Karassik is a yard filled with
menhir (megalithic stones) to commemorate the dead members of
Buntu Pune family. The higher the stone, the greater the status
of the deceased.

Similar grave sites and a menhir yard are also found in Bori'
Parinding on the northern side of Rantepao.

Two native Torajans were busy carving rock with iron chisels
to create a grave for someone who had died recently.

"It belongs to the member of a noble, wealthy family. It has
taken almost two years to complete the grave. We charge Rp 12
million for each grave," one of the craftsmen told the Post.

Eli Bernard of the Tana Toraja Tourism Agency explained that
the family would fill the grave with jewelry, gold and other
personal belongings to enable the dead to enjoy the same
amenities they had during life.

"Torajans believe that dead people still need those precious
belongings to enjoy their journey in the after life," he said.

Kete' Kesu, a similar site but more extensive, is located at
the southeastern side of Rantepao. Here, all aspects of Torajan
ceremonies and daily life, including architecture, bamboo
forests, traditional rice fields and burials, can be found.

Two other traditional housings compounds are found in Pallawa
and Rante Kande Api. Pallawa, which is one of the oldest original
traditional housing sites in the area, consists of Tangkonan and
14 rice storage barns located in front of the traditional houses,
which all face north, the place where heaven, according to
Torajan folklore, is located.

There are seven traditional houses at the site of Rante Kande
Api. The traditional houses are constructed with wooden
components full of ornaments. There are also 10 rice storage
barns at the site.

All of the traditional complexes have beautiful, picture-
postcard views.

There are many more fascinating places in Toraja, including
the baby cemetery in Sangalla, the traditional houses in Marante,
the King of Suaya grave in Suaya and the megaliths of
Batutumongga.

As Situru said, the beauty and extant cultural heritage are
internationally recognized. Since 2001, UNESCO has nominated Tana
Toraja as a designated cultural heritage site, to join the ranks
of Borobudur temple in Central Java and the Great Wall of China.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik said that Toraja
held a good chance of winning the designation -- which would make
it more attractive to foreign visitors.

"However, it depends on us to preserve and take care of the
heritage if we want UNESCO to soon announce Tana Toraja as a
world cultural heritage site. We have to work hard to meet
UNESCO's requirements and thus convince them that the land is
worthy of the award," he said recently in Jakarta.

Despite its venerated beauty and recognition, the number of
visitors to Tana Toraja has shown a sharp downturn in recent
years. In 2001, about 72,000 tourists came to the area, but the
number plummeted to 43,000 in 2003. As of September 2004, the
number of visitors for the year was only 20,000.

Situru complained that the decreasing trend was partly caused
by the discontinuation of the flight from Makassar to Toraja.

"The long overland journey makes many tourists reluctant to
come. All local and international tourists said to me that Toraja
has among the most unique and beautiful attractions in the world,
but it is useless because of the long and tiring journey. A
tourist once told me that he needed to visit Toraja only once
because of the tiring journey."

He hoped the government would renovate Pongtiku Airport to
enable larger aircraft to land in Toraja, and shorten the journey
to the area.