The Landscape
Sulawesi is one of the four greater islands of Indonesia. The big four are Java (the most people - overseas visitors in the past often started at the city of Jakarta), Sumatra (the biggest land area), Borneo (divided between Indonesia and Malaysia) and the last of the big four is interesting Sulawesi.
Makassa is the largest city in Sulawesi.
People and Religion
The majority of the people are mostly nominally Christian, with some Muslims, but animistic belief and rituals are prevalent. The result is interesting architecture and festivals.
Architecture & Building Method
The distinctive rooftops are described as being boat shaped or saddle backed.
Bamboo is used in the construction. The roofs are cantilevered (like an overhanging tray on a table with a weight on the tray on the table keeping it place). The roof is additionaly supported by vertical poles or supports from the ground, like tree trunks, at both ends of the house or hotel.
Orientation and Decoration
The front of the house faces north-east, east for the rising sun which grows the rice and other crops. The back of the house faces south-west.
The roofs and fronts of houses are decorated with panels of red which contrast with the green scenery of rice fields. The traditional colours are black and white, red and yellow. Red for life, on the front of the house. Another colour for death on the back of the house. Another symbol is the buffalo, for strength, power, wealth.
Language
Tana Toraja means Toraja land. Jalan is Indonesian for street.
Indonesian - English
aluk - the way
aluk to dolo - the way of the ancestors
to - of (like do in Italian)
Jalan - street
sula - island
tana - land
English - Indonesian
island - sula
land - tana
street - jalan
The mountainous area is fertile.
Tourism
The big tourist attraction is the week-long funerals of ancestors. (The bodies are preserved until that time.) The funerals take place after the autumn harvest.
This three-star hotel is in typical Toraja style.
Indonesia has more than a thousand islands. Other well-known isalnds and popular places to visit in Indonesia are the traditional capital, Jakarta, and the islands of Bali, Batam, Bintan, and Lombok. I have other posts on other areas.
I am not a fan of komodo dragons. I saw enough large lizards looming, wandering freely in Singapore, where I lived, on and off, for thirty years, even in the Botanical gardens. But admiring ingenious and colourful, lovely architecture, in Indonesia, that's my thing.
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