Sulawesi is a place where we have been a close witness to all aspects of death. From the sacrificing, slaughtering and butchering of animals to the unusual and lengthy funerary arrangements and the frankly weird burial and post-burial practices.
Sulawesi was not even on my radar and before this trip and I would not have been able to place it on a world map. It is a large tentacled island east of Borneo, north of Bali and a popular tourist destination in Indonesia.
We visited north and south Sulawesi only and the contrasts between the different parts were fairly marked. Sulawesi (then known as Celebes) was also one of the places Wallace visited in his development of his version of the theory of evolution. Wallace's background is in stark contrast to the privileged background of Darwin. Darwin received an expensive education studying at the University of Edinburgh and at Cambridge. This was followed by a Daddy-funded five year trip around the world. Wallace's education in Wales was cut short due to financial hardship and he was sent to London on an apprenticeship as a land surveyor. He self-financed his first trip to the Amazon. He then sold some of his species collection from his travels to further fund his research in the Malay archipelago.
We flew into Manado in northern Sulawesi, a region home to the Minahasan people formerly headhunters and animists converted by the Dutch to Protestant Christians. Wallace had called Manado one of the prettiest places in South East Asia, nowadays it is a concrete mess with mall after mall and an ugly harbour. If you squint your eyes, however, you can often see how the green hills and volcanoes bordering the town and the volcano islands off-shore once gave this town its charms. We stayed at the new and bustling Istanaku guesthouse, where the staff were great and so helpful with directions. After a couple of days leisure and several meals at an excellent Chinese restaurant called Noodle House, we got a bus to a town called Tomohon. We just avoided a downpour getting onto the bus but then the driver asked us to change buses just as the equatorial thunderstorm reached its peak. We were soaked and sardined onto the back seat. It was an old local bus so no aircon, a leaky roof and packed to the rafters. We did only pay 10,000 IDR each or 50p for an hour long journey, though.
Tomohon was in the hills so a bit cooler (27/19 degrees). We were staying north of the town in a new hotel called Jhoanie, it was like a 4 star and had amazing views of nearby active volcano Gunung Lokon. There was so much to do here. We wanted to climb Lokon and did a reccie, but banners close to the mountain gave a level 3 warning (whatever that was). A local told us Lokon was just too dangerous at present, it had erupted 3 months ago. We settled for Gunung Mehawu a short walk from our hotel. After a tarmac road through the settlements at the bottom, there was a steep stone path, then a stairway with handrail. It was a shaded path through the trees and we got an occasional glimpse of views across the green volcanic landscape. It only took us 1 hour 50 mins to climb up to the crater rim. At the top, the rotten eggs sulphur smell was bad. We climbed up a wooden viewpoint with views back to Tomohon and of Lokon across the valley. The crater had a turquoise lake and we circled the crater rim to get better views of it. On another day, we hired a motorbike via the hotel for 150,000 IDR (£7.50) and drove south of town to Linau Lake. A restaurant on the edge of the lake charges 25,000 IDR each for a lake side seat, including a free tea or coffee. The lake bubbles with volcanic gasses and the colour of the water changes with its chemical composition. This day was cloudy but we got an occasional break in the clouds and the light gave us flashes of green and turquoise. The banks of the lake were lined with sulphur deposits and steaming gas holes. It was really pleasant to sit there so we stayed for lunch and another drink and then sat out a rain shower. On the way to the lake we had spotted signs for a waterfall. It appeared to be in the direction of a break in the clouds so we headed towards it. This part of town was more Muslim (Indonesia's official religion) with small mosques sounding the call to prayer. Using our basic Bahasa we asked directions along the way. Pinaras waterfall was around 25 metres high, one steep drop cascade falling over lush vegetation, really pretty see photos.
On Easter Sunday we took a walk out to another waterfall Kali north of town. A tripadvisor review said it was an hour long walk from Mountain View hotel, which was a 45 minute walk from our hotel. On the way we saw people arriving for the Easter service at a church on the outskirts of Tomohon, everyone was in their Sunday best. Seating was being placed outside as the place was packed. We walked in to take a look and were invited to sit at the front, we politely declined. Our walk path soon turned from road to rocky track and it was all a steep downhill. Lots of "Hello Mister" from the kids and also "Buleh". Buleh could be described as a rascist term for westerners, it apparently means albino. It got us thinking about being on the receiving end of racism. When you have been brought up in a white supremacist state like the UK, you have the resilience to laugh off being called a whitey. It was a strange feeling to be indignant about it, though. After an hour of skidding down the rocky path we were looking for signs for the waterfall. We passed through the gate of someone's house to ask if we were on the right track. The guy invited us to take photos of his view - wow! We were still high up enough (1600m) to see out to Manado and the northern coast as well as the southern coast. In Indonesian Bahasa the guy explained that we had another hour of walking to go - uh oh! We were pretty much on the equator so there was no shade from the sun, Paul was threatening to go back but we went on. After an hour we reached a small village and were directed towards the waterfall path after we got a much needed drink. It was another kilometre into the jungle. Thankfully, it was worth the walk (Paul might disagree). There were two seperate cascades about 20 metres high. In front was a moss covered stone bridge, so atmospheric. Paul was determined that we should return via the Manado-Tomohon road rather than go back the way we came, but every time we asked for directions people said Tomohon was back the way we came. The town was decorated for Easter with coke bottles and plastic cups painted red and formed into red crosses hung along the roadside. Back in Tomohon they have wooden crosses adorned with purple saches. Everyone in town said "Hello" and one group offered us a sugar cane drink. After a short break we headed back up the steep rocky road, thankfully the afternoon clouds had gathered to provide us with a bit of shade. It was pretty knackering though.
Other places of interest in Tomohon were the market which is covered in a special blog by Paul, coming soon - it comes with a warning so watch out. We also visited a Buddhist Pagoda Vihara Buddhayana with great views across to Lokon volcano. It really is a small world, you know. At the pagoda, I was reading their notice board and saw an article (in Indonesian Bahasa) about the Waterloo Pub in Runcorn being converted into a Buddhist temple - how weird is that?
We had lots of lovely food in Tomohon, eating at our hotel and at Green Garden restaurant most days for Cap Cay (stir fried veg) and sweet and sour chicken. We also dined at a fish farm restaurant in town called Rumah Sineleyan. Great service everywhere too.
We returned to Manado for our flight to Makassar in South Sulawesi and had one day left to find the Waruga, these are stone sarcophagi dating from 1600s. We got a microlet (mini van) to a town called Airmadidi and followed Google maps to a small collection of Waruga. They were ornately carved, upright stone tombs that encase the deceased. As we were heading back, we were stopped by a local called Jefry, he asked us if we had seen the Sawangan Waruga. He was a photographer and was looking to take photos of tourists for an Indonesian Tourist board photo comp. He offered to take us to see the Sawangan Waruga in exchange for Paul posing for him - the Anderson luck!! We drove out for 20 minutes to the site. This set of Waruga was much larger, in a nicer setting and with a museum (which was a bit bare). We were told that people made their own sarcophagi and that they were interred in an upright foetal position with a plate beneath them and a plate on their head. No one could tell me why! Jefry got his fish-eye shots of Paul in action, see photos.
We took a second flight with Lion Air and were delayed again. We got into Makassar after dark, our hotel was in quite a dodgy looking part of the docklands (a bit like the Dock Road in Liverpool). Makassar in South Sulawesi is south of the equator. It is a port city, unlike Manado it is mainly Muslim, with many beautiful mosques around. Compared to northern Sulawesi, people were friendlier and more respectful to us - no-one called us "Buleh". Despite being a major city, Makassar still has a mix of modern and traditional businesses. Makassar Mall was a collection of independent market stalls. Most eateries are roadside stalls. We found a restaurant in Tripadvisor called Kios Lombok. I ordered my usual Cap Cay, but instead of stir fried veg with a bit of chicken it was full of weird unrecognisable animal body parts. More like an alien autopsy than a dining experience, we guessed at pig's lung, heart and liver and a spinal column type part - delicious!
We bought our bus tickets (150,000 IDR with Litha Bus Co.) at Daya terminal for our next destination Tana Toraja. It was an eight and a half hour journey along the coast then inland and up into the hills passing rice fields and karsts jutting up from the plains. The mountains were beautiful and it was a bit cooler too. Tana Toraja is predominantly a Christian area but it still retains some elements of its former animist/ancestor worshipping culture. We were greeted off the bus in the town of Rantepao by several touts hoping to be our guides. They mentioned there would be a traditional funeral on the Monday in the village of Salu. Tana Toraja is known for its traditional funerals and its strange burial sites. The tours were out of our price range, so we hired a scooter and trusted the Anderson luck.
We were told by one tout that the bodies of the deceased are held in the house until enough money could be saved for the funeral, unfortunately this could be for up to 5 years. Usually by the time the funeral takes place the relatives have gone through the grieving process. Other strange practices include re-dressing the corpses. The bodies are regularly removed from the burial site and given a new suit. This practice pretty much goes on until they're a pile of bones. This is all part of the tradition of honouring the ancestors. There are biennial ceremonies for the dead.
We had a map showing the village of Salu, it was about a 30 minute drive west of Rantepao. A group of men directed us up a hill to the funeral. It does seem a bit strange gate-crashing a funeral, I know, but this is very common. The family usually charges 20,000 IDR (£1) per head for tourists. We followed a path which was strewn with pigs either live and being strapped to bamboo poles or in various states of slaughter. At the top of the path was an open area with 3 traditional stilted rice stores (Alang) on one side under which the funeral congregation was seated. Men were drinking palm wine (tuak) from bamboo tubes. 5 water buffalo were standing in the centre and about 20 strung up live pigs were lying on the ground next to them. An MC was on the mic sermonising to the congregation of over a hundred people. Tourists were given ring side plastic seats to watch the proceedings. Most people (except the tourists) were dressed in black, we were too thankfully. The coffin had a photo of the deceased, a woman who looked around 40 but it may have been taken some time ago. There was a lot of parading around the area by the close family and what looked to be official mourners and waiting staff. Government officials dressed in military garb turned up while we were there and tourists were moved out of their seats to accommodate them. The MC announced the names of the benefactors of the animals to be sacrificed. The pigs were stabbed through the heart and left, we didn't stay for the water buffalo sacrifices but the slaughter is apparently preceded by bull bating. These funerals last for several days. Rituals include guests chanting and paying personal tributes by way of stories about the deceased. Apparently the traditional funerals are becoming less common (probably the expense of such animal slaughter). We were surprised, however, at the number of funerals during our 11 day stay. It seemed like every day the touts were telling us of yet another "big ceremony". We were beginning to suspect foul play, maybe Rantepao was Sulawesi's Midsomer County, tourism is a big money-spinner! We hired the scooter on other days to get out and see the strange burial sites. Londa, south of Rantepao was a cave burial site. The caves are piled, haphazardly, with coffins and skulls are placed in nooks and on rock shelves. I was only creeped out by the giant cave spider, bigger than Paul's hand. Above the cave built into the stone cliff are more burial chambers with wooden doors and a gallery of seated Tau-Tau see photos. Tau-Tau are carved wooden effigies dressed in traditional costumes. They are effigies of the deceased and they guard the dead and protect the living. They are another sign of wealth and status. Apparently some Christian preachers now refuse to preside over ceremonies that have Tau-Tau present as this ancestral worship is out of kilter with Christianity - yet another example of the destruction of harmless ancient eastern cultures by meddling westerner religions. We visited several other burial sites along the same lines (Lemo, Marante and Ke'te Kesu) all of them had either cave burials or chambers carved into cliff sides. Coffins were stone or wooden and some boat-shaped. We also visited the baby graves. If a baby dies before it has cut its first tooth then it is buried in a tree. A hole is cut in the tree and the body is placed inside so that the tree grows around it and consumes it. The tree we saw had several baby graves. All of these places had a 20,000 IDR entrance fee (£1).
On another day we took the scenic road up to Batutumongga the nearby mountain. We stopped at Bori which was a ceremonial megalith complex and also a burial site. There were up to 20 stone obelisks that are hundreds of years old. The site also has tombs, these are carved into the side of huge boulders, the mountain is strewn with many of these boulders. As we climbed higher up the mountain we were able to see the vast rice paddies stretched out below. These views could rival southern China and were certainly as good as Sapa in Vietnam. The boulders across the fields add to the beauty of the landscape. Another feature of the landscape is the architectural style of the traditional Tongkonan houses, these are wooden structures with saddle-shaped (some say boat shaped) rooves. Outside the houses are the Alang-alang or grain barns (smaller versions of the Tongkonan houses). These houses are decorated with buffalo skulls, a display of the sacrificed animals from funerals and a symbol of wealth.
We visited Bolu market north of Rantepao where the buffalo and pigs are sold. White buffalo (albinos) are highly prized and expensive. Our hotel owner (Pia Poppies guesthouse) jokingly asked us to buy her a young white buffalo that she could keep in the garden and sell it at great profit when it was fully grown. The market was not particularly a visual feast but Paul took some good shots. We certainly got out and saw some stuff in Toraja during our 11 day stay.
On our return to Makassar we visited the rather lacklustre Dutch built 17th century Rotterdam Fort. We then finished our trip in style dining at the funky and trendy On20 restaurant in the Aston Hotel with sunset views across the port and a very inexpensive Chateaubriand dinner for 2 for 275,000 IDR. (£13.75) A perfect end to an amazing stay in Sulawesi.