Lemo Stone Grave On The Stone Wall Of The Cliff In Tana Toraja Regency

Lemo is one of villages located in Tana Toraja district, famous for its stone grave that has a long history and exposed officially since 1960. The distance from downtown Rantepao to the site is about 12 km.

During the civil war that occurred in the mid-17th century, the village of Lemo was designed as a fortress by Songgi Patalo, a nobleman and customary chief to protect the people in the village of Lemo. When the civil war ended and the peaceful treaty is made, it was turned into a grave on the orders of Songgi Patalo and later called Lemo because it resembles Lemo (pomelo).

Lemo stone grave on the cliff is square where its interior (called Liang) is enough large to accommodate the whole family members. Each grave is carved by two people using simple tools such as hammers, chisels and bamboo as a ladder. Modern tools are not used because they can cause large cracks on the cliff.

The price of each grave can reach 80 million rupiah-depending on the area of the grave's interior and the hardness of the rocks and it carves than two years.

The door of the grave is made by wood or concrete. The wood door indicates there is still space for the next body. It will be closed by concrete if all family members have been buried.

The position of the grave on the cliff has a philosophical meaning where the higher the position the grave on the cliff, the higher the status of the dead in the society and the closer the spirit of the dead to reach Puya (next world).

Grave for noble descents

Lemo stone grave are not intended for the entire population of Lemo village. It only belongs to the noble families. The oldest grave belongs to Songgi Patalo located on top of the cliff. At present, there are around 75 graves on the cliff.  

Tau-Tau in Lemo

Philosophically, Tau-tau is a visual representation of the dead that is believed to have a spirit. In Lemo, the Tau-Tau are clothed in red, yellow and white and placed on the niche of the cliff. Their right hands are facing up and left hands are facing down and describe life and death. In other hand, the spirit of the dead only reaches next world (Puya) if their family holds the funeral ceremony. These spirits will protect and bless them in the life.

To make Tau-tau, the family of the dead must prepare minimum 24 buffaloes for each funeral ceremony. The type of wood used to make Tau-tau varies, one of them is jackfruit wood. It is chosen because it has white sap that symbolises purity. Each Tau-tau is carved by one person using simple tools such as chisels and hammers.

How to get there

If you stay around downtown Rantepao, you could reach it in less than 20 minutes, either by a car or by motorbike.