Tana Toraja ( 'Toraja Land' in
Toraja language) is a landlocked regency (''
kabupaten'') of
South Sulawesi
South Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Selatan) is a province in the southern peninsula of Sulawesi. The Selayar Islands archipelago to the south of Sulawesi is also part of the province. The capital is Makassar. The province is bordered by Central Sula ...
Province of
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, and home to the
Toraja
The Torajans are an ethnic group indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their population is approximately 1,100,000, of whom 450,000 live in the regency of Tana Toraja ("Land of Toraja"). Most of the population is Chri ...
ethnic group. It covers an area of and had a population of 221,081 at the 2010 census and 280,794 at the 2020 census.
[Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021.] The local government seat is in
Makale, while the center of Toraja culture is in
Rantepao
Rantepao is a town and capital of North Toraja Regency, which is known for the cultural center of Toraja ethnic group. National and regional tourism offices have developed the city as the starting point for visiting Tana Toraja, since the area ...
. Formerly, the Tana Toraja area covered a larger area, but in 2008 this was divided into two regencies, consisting of Tana Toraja with its capital at Makale and
Toraja Utara (North Toraja) with its capital at Rantepao.
The Tana Toraja boundary was determined by the
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
government in 1909. In 1926, Tana Toraja was under the administration of
Bugis
The Bugis people (pronounced ), also known as Buginese, are an ethnicity—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassar and Toraja), in the south-western province of Sulawe ...
state,
Luwu
The Kingdom of Luwu (also Luwuq or Wareq) was a polity located in northern part of South Sulawesi. province of Indonesia, on Sulawesi island. It is considered one of the earliest known Bugis kingdom in Sulawesi, founded between 10th and 14th cen ...
. The ''regentschap'' (or regency) status was given on 8 October 1946, the last regency given by the Dutch. Since 1984, Tana Toraja has been named as the second
tourist destination
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that Tourism, tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of ...
after
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
by the Ministry of Tourism, Indonesia. Since then, hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors have visited this regency. In addition, numerous Western
anthropologists
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and v ...
have come to Tana Toraja to study the indigenous culture and people of Toraja.
History
The government in Toraja has been started since the government
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
. Based on the Emergency Law No. 3 of 1957, the District Level II Tana Toraja was formed which was inaugurated on 31 August 1957 with the first Regent of the Regional Head named Lakitta.
Decree of the Governor of the First Level Region of South Sulawesi Number 954/XI/1998 dated 14 December 1998, the district of Tana Toraja consists of 9 definitive sub-districts, 6 sub-district representatives, 22 sub-districts, and 63 villages. Then Law No. 22/1999 on Regional Government was issued, and followed up by issuing Regional Regulation No. 18 of 2000 dated 29 December 2000, 6 sub-district representatives were changed to definitive sub-districts, bringing the total number of sub-districts to 15 sub-districts, 22 sub-districts and 63 villages.
In 2001, the regional regulation no. 2 of 2001 dated 11 April 2001, where the entire name of the existing "village" changed its name to "lembang". After the stipulation of Regional Regulation No. 2 of 2001 concerning the First Amendment to Regional Regulation No. 18 of 2000, the Regional Regulation of Tana-Toraja Regency Number 8 of 2004 concerning the second amendment to the Regional Regulation Number 18 of 2000, as well as the regional regulation number 6 of 2005 concerning the amendment of the Third Regional Regulation Number 18 of 2000, the Tana Toraja Regency area developed into 40 sub-districts, 87 kelurahan and 223 lembang (villages).
Next came the discourse of regional expansion, namely
North Toraja Regency
North Toraja (or Toraja Utara) is a landlocked regency (''kabupaten'') of South Sulawesi Province of Indonesia, and the home of the Toraja ethnic group. The local government seat is in Rantepao which is also the center of Toraja culture. Formerly t ...
. The discourse of the expansion has created pros and cons among the Toraja people themselves. The formation of North Toraja Regency was finally determined through the plenary session of the People's Representative Council on 24 June 2008. However, the inauguration of North Toraja Regency was carried out two months later, which was coupled with the commemoration of the 51st anniversary of Tana Toraja Regency, namely on 31 August 2008.
Geography
Tana Toraja is centrally placed in the island of
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
, 300 km north of
Makassar
Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Med ...
, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi. It lies between latitude of 2°-3° South and longitude 119°-120° East (center: ). The total area (since the separation of the new regency of North Toraja) is 2,054.30 km
2, about 4.4% of the total area of South Sulawesi province. The topography of Tana Toraja is mountainous; its minimum elevation is 150 m, while the maximum is 3,083 above the sea level.
[
]
Administrative Districts
Tana Toraja Regency in 2020 comprised nineteen administrative
Districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
(''Kecamatan''), tabulated below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 census and the 2020 census.
The table also includes the administrative centre of the district, the numbers of administrative villages (''kelurahan'' and ''desa'') within that district, and its post code.
Demographics
Ethnicity
The original tribe that inhabits Tana Toraja is the
Toraja
The Torajans are an ethnic group indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their population is approximately 1,100,000, of whom 450,000 live in the regency of Tana Toraja ("Land of Toraja"). Most of the population is Chri ...
tribe. The Toraja people are a tribe who live in the mountainous region of the northern part of the province of
South Sulawesi
South Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Selatan) is a province in the southern peninsula of Sulawesi. The Selayar Islands archipelago to the south of Sulawesi is also part of the province. The capital is Makassar. The province is bordered by Central Sula ...
, Indonesia. The population of the Toraja people is estimated at around 1 million people, and 500,000 of them are in Tana Toraja Regency,
North Toraja Regency
North Toraja (or Toraja Utara) is a landlocked regency (''kabupaten'') of South Sulawesi Province of Indonesia, and the home of the Toraja ethnic group. The local government seat is in Rantepao which is also the center of Toraja culture. Formerly t ...
, and
Mamasa Regency
Mamasa Regency ( id, Kabupaten Mamasa) is one of the six regencies that make up the West Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, on the island of Sulawesi. It covers a land area of 3,005.88 km2. The population was 140,082 at the 2010 Census and 163,3 ...
. Most of the Toraja people embrace
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, while some adhere to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
and an animist belief known as Aluk Todolo. The Indonesian government has recognized this belief as part of the Hindu religion.
The word Toraja itself comes from the
Bugis language, namely "to riaja" which means "people who live in the land above". In 1909, the Dutch colonial government called this tribe the Toraja. The Toraja tribe is famous for its funeral rituals,
Tongkonan
Tongkonan is the traditional ancestral house, or ''rumah adat'' of the Torajan people, in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. ''Tongkonan'' have a distinguishing boat-shaped and oversized saddleback roof. Like most of Indonesia's Austronesian-based trad ...
traditional houses and also various types of wood carvings typical of Toraja. Toraja funeral rituals are important social events, usually attended by hundreds of people and lasting for several days.
Before the 20th century, the Toraja tribe still lived in autonomous villages. They previously still adhered to
animism
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...
, and had not been touched by the outside world. In the early 1900s, Dutch
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
arrived and began to spread Christianity. Then, around the 1970s, Toraja people began to open up to the outside world, and Tana Toraja district (before it was expanded) became a symbol of Indonesian tourism. Then there was the development of Tana Toraja tourism, and it was studied by
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
. So that in 1990-1s, the Toraja people underwent a cultural transformation, from a society with traditional and agrarian beliefs, to a society that was predominantly Christian, and the tourism sector in the Tana Toraja area continued to increase.
Religion
Based on data from the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2021, it is noted that the majority of Tana Toraja's population adheres to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, namely 85.94%, of which
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
is 69.49% and
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
is 16.45%. Most of the others are
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, namely 12.17%, then
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
1.71%,
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
0.17% and others 0.01%.
Tourism
Tourist attractions
Tana Toraja is one of the tourist destinations or tourist destinations with a cultural background in Indonesia, especially in the province of South Sulawesi. The life of the indigenous people, namely the
Toraja
The Torajans are an ethnic group indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their population is approximately 1,100,000, of whom 450,000 live in the regency of Tana Toraja ("Land of Toraja"). Most of the population is Chri ...
people, as well as a unique culture, makes this highland area in South Sulawesi chosen by tourists to see and learn Toraja culture.
In 1974, Tongkonan Siguntu' dirara (traditional ceremony / Rambu Tuka') was attended by delegates from 60 foreign countries who attended the PATA conference in Jakarta in 1974. Since then Toraja has become known as a cultural tourism destination in Indonesia.
Buntu Kalando
Tongkonan/house where Puang Sangalla' (king of Sangalla') lives. As the resting place of Puang Sangala' and also the palace where the government of the Sangalla' kingdom was managed at that time, Tongkonan Buntu Kalando had the title "tando tananan langi' lantangna Kaero tongkonan layuk". Currently Tongkonan Buntu Kalando is used as a museum to store prehistoric objects and relics of the Sangalla kingdom.
Kambira
The graves of babies whose teeth have not yet grown (aged 6 months and under) are placed in a living tree that is hollowed out.
Pallawa
Tongkonan Pallawa is one of the tongkonan or traditional house that is very interesting and is located among the bamboo trees at the top of the hill. The tongkonan is decorated with a number of buffalo horns that are plugged in the front of the traditional house. Located about 12 km to the north of Rantepao.
[ ]
Text was copied from this source, which is available under
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 (CC BY 3.0)
license.
Lemo
The place is often referred to as the home of the spirits. At the Lemo cemetery, we can see corpses kept in the open air, in the middle of steep rocks. This burial complex is a blend of death, art and ritual. At certain times the clothes of the corpses will be changed through the Ma' Nene ceremony.
Located on Burake Hill, Tana Toraja has built the
Statue of Jesus Christ Blessing which is claimed to be the tallest
Jesus statue in the world. This means that the location of the statue is at an altitude of 1100 meters above sea level or the location of the tallest statue in the world, while the size of the statue itself is not the highest in the world.
Conservation efforts
Tana Toraja is one of the conservation sites for the PROTO MELAYU AUSTRONESIAN cultural civilization which is still well-maintained today. Traditional culture, music, dance, oral literary arts, language, houses, carvings, weaving and culinary which are still very traditional, have made the Indonesian government strive for Tana Toraja to be known internationally, one of which is to nominate Tana Toraja to
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
for became a UNESCO
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
since 2009.
This is supported by Japan to make Tana Toraja a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Japan itself will participate in the conservation efforts, especially related to
traditional houses in the area.
This support was conveyed in a meeting between the Indonesian and Japanese delegations in Poznan, Poland, Saturday 11 November 2010. September 10 in Poznan attended by representatives from about 40 countries in Asia and Europe.
See also
*
List of regencies and cities of Indonesia
Regencies (''kabupaten'') and cities (''kota'') are the second-level administrative subdivision in Indonesia, immediately below the provinces, and above the districts. Regencies are roughly equivalent to American counties, although most citi ...
References
External links
Toraja Treasures.com- Toraja online information.
*
*
{{Authority control
Regencies of South Sulawesi