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| Tana Toraja |
Toraja Tribe is the tribe that settled in the mountainous northern part of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The majority of the Toraja embraced Christianity, while some embraced Islam and animist beliefs known as Aluk To Dolo. The Indonesian government has recognized this belief as part of Hindu Dharma.
The word TORAJA comes from the Bugis, to Riaja, which means "one who dwells in the land above. " The Dutch colonial government named this tribe Toraja in 1909. Toraja tribe famous for its funeral rituals, traditional house tongkonan and carving wood. Toraja funeral rituals are important social events, usually attended by hundreds of people and lasted for several days.
Before the 20th century, the Toraja live in autonomous villages. They still embrace animism and untouched by the outside world. In the early 1900s, Dutch missionaries came and spread Christianity. After more open to the outside world in the 1970s, Tana Toraja district became a symbol of Indonesia's tourism. Tana Toraja exploited by tourism developers and studied by anthropologists. Toraja society since the 1990's transformed the culture, from traditional berkepercayaan and agrarian society, a society that relies predominantly Christian and a growing tourism sector.
