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.

Toraja Funeral Ceremony: An Ancient Tradition Still Keeps Going In The Modern Era

Funeral ceremony or known as Rambu Solo or Aluk Rampe Matampu is an ancient tradition that comes from Toraja ancestors. It aims to deliver the spirit of the dead reaching next world (called Puya), to transform the spirit becoming a god (called To Membali Puang) and the way to respect for the dead.

Although most of Toraja people already accept Christian religion, it is still held until now. In the past, it was only for noble families - not for people from the lower social status. During that time, social status still played a major role in the life of the Toraja people. Below are four social statuses in the Toraja society.

1. Tana' Bulawan is the highest noble group

2. Tana' Bassi is the middle noble group

3. Tana' Karurung belongs to common people

4. Tana' Karurung is the group of servants

The first and second groups are allowed to hold the funeral ceremony while the other not.

For the fourth social status, it is no longer valid, removed and banned since the Dutch came to Toraja in the colonial period in Indonesia.

Nowadays, funeral ceremony can be held by all families as long as they have enough money. But, there are a few differences between families from noble generation when they make funeral ceremony. For example, wooden effigy of the dead is made only for noble families and the duration of their funeral ceremony can take up 2 weeks and so on. 

How do family take care the dead before the funeral ceremony begins
When one of family member passes away, his body will be immediately injected with formaldehyde to prevent the decay, then wrapped in clothes and kept in the house or traditional house (called Tongkonan). It can take months or even years. During this time, the dead considered as a sick person (called To Makula). Food and drink are still offered every day because it is believed that the spirit of the dead is still around the house. One-way communication still happens between family members and the dead.

Buffalo Slaughtering at Funeral 

The reason why the dead is kept in the house for a certain period. 

1. The cost

Indeed, the funeral ceremony requires a huge cost. It can reach hundreds of millions or even more than billion of rupiah. Therefore, not a few mourning families save money in advance. They will work hard to accomplish their financial target.   

The other things which make the cost higher for it is the social status and the successful career from the deceased's children. In other words: the higher status of family in Torajan society, the higher the cost needs and the richer the children of the dead, the more expensive of the ceremony.           
 
2. It takes a lot of time to gather the whole family members

Although the mourning families come from a wealthy family, it does not mean, will be held as soon as possible. A lot of Toraja people live and work outside of Toraja region. They need to adjust between their work condition and the schedule of funeral. Therefore, mostly take place during long holiday.

Where is the funeral procession held?

The place for funeral processions can take place around traditional houses and rice barns or in large fields (called Rante). For certain reasons, it can be held around the house of the dead. Temporary buildings (called Lantang) will be built around these places to accommodate families, relatives and guests during the procession of the ceremony.

The main offerings at Funeral

1. Buffalo

Buffalo is only prepared for the funeral ceremony. In the animist belief, it is a symbol of the ride for the spirit of the dead to the next world. The more buffaloes the family sacrifices, the faster the spirit of the dead arrives there.

The number of buffalo at the funeral varies, depends on financial ability of the family. The richer the family, the more buffaloes they prepare for it.

On the day of buffalo slaughtering, mostly buffaloes will be slaughtered and the rest will be usually donated to the church and local people of the village. Each buffalo slaughtered, will be taxed by the government. The meat will be distributed according to customary rule.

2. Pig

Pig is mostly slaughtered by the family during the procession. The pig that comes from the guest is a symbol of empathy and debt. The name of the guest will be noted by the family. If the guest later holds the ceremony, the family of the dead will bring the same donation.  

Liukang Loe Island: A Hidden Paradise Opposite Bira Beach

Liukang Loe Island

Liukang Loe Island is located opposite the Bira beach, about 30 minutes to reach it by motor boat. This island is one of the favorite spots for snorkeling and diving in Sulawesi Island where travelers could enjoy the exoticism of coral reefs and various reef fish. Most travelers snorkel around this island because the depth of the snorkeling spot is only about 3-5 meters and the water flow is more calm while the best diving spot are on the Kambing island.

The name of Liukang Loe means surrounded by water. There is also another version where the word Liukang comes from Liu Liukang (Makassarese language with Konjo dialect) which means black wood and Loe means a lot. According to the local story, the island was grown with a lot of black wood in the past. 

The area of the Liukang Loe island is around 5.67 km2 with the length of costal line about 3 km. The territory of the island is mostly composed of coral and hilly. Around the hilly area is exploited by inhabitants for livestock and plantation.

Liukang Loe Island was firstly inhabited in 1940 by 2 people who each inhabited the Ta' Buntuleng village in the north and Pasilohe village in the west. The population of these two villages is around 650 people with 203 family heads where most inhabitants work as fishermen and the rest make sarong weaving and coral crafts. 

Travelers could also dive in the turtle conversation around Liukang Island, sunbathe and relax on the beach or explore Ta' Buntuleng village while seeing activities by locals, children learning in primary and secondary schools and keep walking for about 30 minutes to Pasilohe village through plantation and livestock area.

In the Ta’ Buntuleng village, there are several guest houses for travelers who want to overnight while enjoying the calm and peaceful atmosphere in the Liukang Island Loe. Therefore, you should not forget to include Liukang Loe island in your bucket list when you are in Bira beach. 

Stay on Bira Beach or Bara Beach

Bara Beach

Traveling in South Sulawesi is not enough if you only get to know its Culture and Tradition. In the southern part of South Sulawesi, there is another spot you could explore. It’s Bira or also known as Tanjung Bira. 

Bira

Bira or also known as Tanjung Bira is a village in the Bonto Bahari Sub-District, Bulukumba district (regency), located on the southern tip of the island of Sulawesi. This village is very suitable for lovers of marine tourism or for those who want to get away from the hurly-burly of city life.

The distance from Makassar Hasanuddin airport to Bira is about 200 km or 5 hours by private car and passes several districts which are inhabited by the majority of Makassar ethnic group. Along the way, interesting things can be seen, such as salt processing industry in traditional way, the process of making typical food (sticky rice cooked in bamboo tube), activities by local people in drying seaweed on the side of road, view of rice field and sea and Phinisi boat industry. 

Bira is famous for the exoticism of its white sand beach. No wonder, if many domestic and foreign travelers explore this place every year. This area has two types of beach namely: Bira beach and Bara beach. They look like twin brothers!

Bira Beach

Bira beach is the most visited spot by domestic travelers. During the weekend, long holiday and New Year's Eve, it must be very crowded!!! Activities that are usually carried out by domestic travelers, such as swimming, relaxing on the beach, sailing on a banana boat etc. Sometimes, when the tide is out, the travelers or inhabitants walk along the coastline of Bira beach to reach Bara beach.

Bara Beach

Bara Beach is located in the western part of Bira beach or around 2 kilometer from there. This beach is rather remote and usually called a hidden beach. Around Bara beach, there is a protected forest inhabited by monkeys. This beach also offers the beauty of white sand, not much different from the Bira beach but still has its own advantage. One of them is a very strategic position.

Bara beach is a favorite choice of foreign travelers because its atmosphere is more calm, more peaceful and a few parts of the coastline are overgrown by coconut trees. The position of each bungalow is very close to the coastline of Bara beach and offers sea view. Relax on the beach as if you were on the private beach. In addition, the travelers could be picked up directly in front of the Bungalow if they want to travel to the Liukang island for snorkeling or to Kambing island for diving.  

Most Actual Information about Sulawesi-Indonesia

Map of Indonesia

Sulawesi or formerly known as celebes is the fourth largest island in Indonesia and one of the main destinations for domestic and foreign travelers. Here are a few most actual information
about Sulawesi.

Total Population

The population census in Indonesia is conducted every 5 years by the Central Bureau of Statistics where the statistic data shows, number of population of Sulawesi in 2020 are estimated to increase around 19,934,000. Compared to 2015, Sulawesi's population was around 18,724,000. 

Ethnic Groups 

There are 24 ethnic groups inhabiting the Sulawesi island and followed by several sub-ethnic groups. Among these ethnic groups, Bugis is most dominant group on Sulawesi. 

Province

Sulawesi Island is still divided into 6 provinces, namely North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi and Gorontalo.

South Sulawesi has the largest population, around 8,928,000 inhabitants, followed by Central Sulawesi 3.097.000, North Sulawesi 2.528.000, West Sulawesi 1.405.000 and Gorontalo with the least population 1,219,060. 

Weather and Climate

Indonesia has only 2 seasons, namely: dry season and rainy season. Generally, dry season takes place between March till September and rainy season from October till February. Sometimes, these two seasons are difficult to predict. 

During the dry season period, rain falls only at certain times because of erratic wind movement. The temperature of each region in Sulawesi is absolutely different. In the lowland regions, the average temperature at noon varies between 32-37 °C. While in the highland regions, such as Toraja or Tomohon, the average temperature varies around 28 to 32 °C.   

In the rainy season, predicting the weather in each region in Sulawesi could not be equated because the rain falls erratically. There are some regions hit by rain almost every day and other only rain in the afternoon.  

Time Zone

Indonesia has 3 kinds of time zone, Waktu Indonesia Barat (known as WIB), Waktu Indonesia Bagian Tengah (known as WITA) and Waktu Indonesia Bagian Timur (known as  WIT). In English, WIB means Western Indonesian Time, WITA means Central Indonesian Time and WIT means Eastern Indonesian Time. The following table explains the difference in time based on territory

WIB	WITA	WIT
06.00 am	07.00 am	08.00 am
Sumatera Island	Kalimantan Island	Moluccas Island
Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam	North Kalimantan	Moluccas
North and West Sumatera	East Kalimantan	North Moluccas
Riau	South Kalimantan
Riau Island		Papua Island
Jambi	Bali Island	West Papua
South Sumatera	Bali	Papua
Lampung	West Nusa Tenggara
Bangka Belitung	East Nusa Tenggara
Bengkulu
	Sulawesi Island
Java Island:	North Sulawesi
DKI Jakarta	Gorontalo
West Java	Central Sulawesi
Banten	South Sulawesi
Central Java	South East Sulawesi
Yogyakarta	West Sulawesi
East Java
Kalimantan Island
West and Central Kalimantan

Fauna

Various types of animal can be found in each region on the island of Sulawesi, not only wild animal and endangered animal which live freely in the forest but also other special animals are farmed for business, religious and ritual purposes. 

In the southern part of the island of Sulawesi there are several types of animal whose population are still large, namely cow, goat, horse, pig and buffalo. Among these animals, there are prepared for business purpose, religious activities and ritual.

In the northern part of Sulawesi, several animals have been confirmed as protected animal, namely Tarsier, Macaca Nigra (known as Wolai or Yaki), kuskus and wild pig (known as babi rusa). These animals can be only found in Tangkoko National Park.