Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine October 2014 | Page 129

Travel | Tana Toraja

127

green carpet at the foot of the towering
mountains that loom in the distance.
Reaching the town of Pinrang, we turn
east and begin the ascent that will take us
to 457m above sea level and the fertile
valleys of Tana Toraja.
Misty green valleys, crisscrossed by gin-clear
streams and emerald rice paddies clinging
limpet-like to the side of the mountain
fringed with golden stands of bamboo and
quaint steeple-clad churches, lie far below.
Without warning, a giant gate built in the
style of a typical Toraja house, which
stretches across the road, greets us. We have
arrived in ‘Torajaland’. The regency is divided
into two administrative centres and ‘capitals’,
the southernmost being Makale. However,
it is in its northern neighbour Rantepao,
31km to the north, that our eight-hour
journey will end.
Alighting from the minivan in the last
light of day, the first thing one notices
is the freshness of the air, tinged with
the smell of ginger; it is crisp and cool
in direct contrast to the climate lower
down on the plains.
We are advised to rise early and head
higher into the mountains to see Torajaland
from above and be ‘closer to the stars’.
And so it is, in the pre-dawn light we take
a winding, narrow and badly potholed road
and weave our way past grazing doe-eyed
buffalo to travel ever higher, the drops
either side becoming more precipitous.
On the crest of a mountaintop, as the sun
creeps over the horizon we are able to see
for the first time the breathtaking beauty

Torajan House
The most striking feature, perhaps, of
Toraja is its houses. Most houses have the
typical boat-shaped roofs, which, nowadays,
are predominantly made of iron. The roofs
used to be made of bamboo and other
natural materials. The houses that you will
see in villages are the so-called tongkonan
(from the Toraja word tongkon, which
means ‘to sit down’). These kindred houses
are used for family purposes, and the
construction involves the entire family clan.
Sepertinya, fitur paling mencolok dari
Toraja adalah rumah-rumahnya. Sebagian
besar rumah memiliki atap berbentuk kapal.
Zaman dulu atap terbuat dari bambu dan
bahan alam. Rumah-rumah di desa disebut
tongkonan (dari kata Toraja “tongkon”
yang artinya duduk). Rumah-rumah
keluarga digunakan untuk acara keluarga
dan dalam membangunnya membutuhkan
keterlibatan seluruh anggota keluarga.