Rambu Solo Ritual, Special Tana Toraja Funeral Ceremony

Another traditional tourist destinations that are popular in Tana Toraja are Rambu Solo Ritual or Ceremony. If the Ma’nene tradition is a ritual “cleansing” the remains of the ancestors, Rambu Solo Ceremony is different. It is a special burial ritual for people who have died. Well, tana toraja funeral is bit unique.

Tana Toraja is well-known as one of the regions in Indonesia that still has strong belief in mystical and mystical things. Therefore, the Tana Toraja people have many cultures and traditions related to corpses, spirits, or other mystical things. This is what becomes an attraction for both local and foreign tourists to visit Tana Toraja. One of many interestin thing is unique Tana Toraja funeral ceremony.

For the Tana Toraja people, people who have died are considered to be like people who are sick. On the basis of these beliefs, those who have died still continue to be treated and treated like people who live one of them by providing food and drinks, cigarettes, betel, and various other offerings.

Rambu Solo Ritual, Tana Toraja Funeral Ceremony via @irfaanrf

The Tana Toraja community has the belief that the deceased must be given a proper burial ceremony with certain rules. Without carrying out the funeral ceremony for Solo Signs, it is said that the soul of the deceased person will give disaster and misfortune to the person or relative he left behind.

Rambu Solo ceremony is a unique Tana Toraja funeral ceremony consisting of a series of activities that are quite a lot, requires a large cost, and months of preparation. While waiting for the preparation of this ceremony, the bodies of the deceased were not buried but were kept in the ancestral house (Tongkonan) wrapped in cloth first.

One characteristic of this Tana Toraja funeral ceremony is the existence of compulsory activities to cut buffaloes and pigs with a specified amount of indigenous elders. Usually, the richer and higher a person is in Toraja, the cost of Tana Toraja funeral ceremonies issued will be more expensive.

You have to visit this place at the right time, to see Rambu Solo ritual, special Tana Toraja funeral ceremony! via @_arotz

If the deceased is from the nobility, the noble family must hold a Rambu Solo ceremony by cutting buffalo and pigs around 24 to 100. One of the number of buffaloes must be famous striped buffalo with very fantastic prices of around 500 million to 1 billion.

The unique and tense thing about this Tana Toraja funeral ceremony was that the sacrificial buffaloes were not cut off like cattle, but were cut with one slash of a sharp machete on its neck. The buffalo will immediately die lying shortly after the machete’s slash.
Why do you have buffalo? The Tana Toraja community has a belief that the spirits of deceased people need buffaloes to travel to Puya or the afterlife. The more buffalo slaughtered, the faster the spirit will reach Puya.

Rambu Solo Tana Toraja funeral ceremonies usually last for days around 2-3 days and begin during the day. For the nobility, usually this ceremony lasts almost 2 weeks. Other activities in this ceremony besides cutting buffalo are preparing graves for the bodies to be buried.

There will be so many buffalos too in this Rambu Solo ceremony! via @_arotz

The tomb was made at the top of a high rock cliff. The Tana Toraja community believes that the higher the body is placed, the faster the soul of the corpse will go to heaven or nirvana.

This Tana Toraja funeral ceremony is also complemented by musical accompaniment, singing, songs, poetry, and so on. During the ceremony, the remains of the deceased remain in the ancestral house (Tongkonan). The dead body is believed to be still in the village or around its residence until the ceremony is finished. After the ceremony is over, the new body will be buried in the prepared grave. It was then that the Tana Toraja people believed that the spirit of the body would begin its journey towards Puya.

So many people will be joining this Rambu Solo ceremony! via @_arotz

For those of you who want to watch this Tana Toraja funeral ceremony directly, you are advised to contact a travel agent who provides tours to Toraja with a list of Rambu Solo Ceremonies as one of the destinations. The reason is, this Tana Toraja funeral ceremony did not take place in a routine period, but was only held when there was one Toraja resident who died. Usually, travel agents have a special link that will provide information when the Rambu Solo ceremony in Tana Toraja is held.

If you don’t want to use a travel agent, please travel with backpacker-style to Tana Toraja. Your instinct is needed here. If you are lucky, you will get to Tana Toraja right at the Rambu Solo Tana Toraja funeral ceremony. Good luck!