Aluk Todolo (Torajans)

The Torajans are an ethnic group indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Most contemporary Torajans are Christians or Muslims, but a minority maintain local polytheistic/animist beliefs known as aluk, or the way. The Indonesian government has recognised these beliefs as Aluk To Dolo, or Way of the Ancestors. In Toraja mythology, the ancestors of Torajan people came down from heaven upon stairs which were afterward used by the Torajans as a communication medium with Puang Matua, the Creator. The cosmos is divided into the upper world (heaven), the world of man (earth), and the underworld. Animals live in the underworld. The earthly authority, whose words and actions should be cleaved to both in life (agriculture) and death (funerals), are alik priests, the minaa. Aluk is not just a belief system; it is a combination of law, religion, and tradition. Aluk governs social life, agricultural practices, and ancestral rituals. The details of aluk may vary from one village to another but a common law is the requirement that the two equally important death and life rituals be separated. The decline of the Toraja religion began with its Christianization under Dutch rule. Christian Torajans were prohibited from attending or performing life rituals, but were still allowed to perform death rituals. Consequently, Toraja's death rituals are still practised to this day, but life rituals have diminished and are imperfectly remembered. In Toraja society, funeral death rituals are elaborate and expensive. The ceremony is often held weeks, months, or years after a death so that the deceased's family can raise the significant funds needed to cover funeral expenses. The soul of the deceased is thought to linger about the village until the funeral ceremony is completed, after which it begins its journey to Puya, the afterlife.