Traveling to the world of ancestors: a glimpse of Torajans' complex death rituals
This is a series I submitted for the World Nomads Scholarships 2019.
The challenge was to share a story about a place we've been to, in 5 pictures with a 300-word caption each.
I selected pictures from my trip to Sulawesi, Indonesia, where I had the opportunity to learn more about the islanders' fascinating funeral traditions.
Although I didn't win the final prize, I made it to the top 100 (out of more than 7.000 applications)!
You can find my submission here.
When someone dies, the body is embalmed and kept at home until the ceremony, which requires months of preparation and savings. After the funeral, sacrificed buffalos' horns are placed on the mast of the family's house as a sign of social prestige.
Two relatives share a moment of complicity during the funeral procession. For Torajans, death is a rite of passage, an access to the world of their ancestors. Family and friends come from all around the world for the ceremony to parade and bring offerings.
Two men use bamboo sticks to carry a pig about to be sacrificed. During the ceremony, dozens of pigs or buffalos (depending on the family's status) are sacrificed to help the dead travel to the sacred world beyond and bring fertility to the village.
Kids wearing a traditional costume and makeup play in their lodge during the ceremony. They actively participate in the offerings but will not be allowed to escort the dead to his grave when the time of the burial comes, nor are women.
A man carves a 'tau-tau' representing the dead. After the ceremony, the body is carried in a coffin and buried in a cave dug in cliffs next to his ancestors. This sacred effigy is placed on a balcony built against the cliff and is believed to protect the living.