Bali
	Terraced padi just north of Ubud.
	Sunset over padi fields.
	An extended family praying at a Hindu temple.

 

Sumatra
	Bukittinggi Small township in the mountainous area of central Sumatra.  Famous for the curved roofs of its buildings representing the horns of a bull.  In fact the ethnic group of people of this region call themselves Minang Kerbau (or winning bull) based on an old legend.
	Medan A Becak (or Trishaw) driver stops for a yawn, to the left an old woman sells boiled peanuts.

 

Kalimantan
	Pontianak A small bird shop.

 

Java
	This is Javanese traditional theatre called wayang orang (or people theatre) in which the characters are replicating the costumes and movements of wayang kulit (or shadow puppets).
	Puncak Pass A woman picking tea leaves.
	Yogyakarta The amazing and unforgettable Borobudur temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the world.
	Yogyakarta Whilst not as large as Borobudur, Prambanan has equally impressive architecture.  Unlike Borobudur, Prambanan is an Hindu temple complex.

 

Sulawesi
	Makassar Formerly named Ujung Pangang by the Dutch it provided a gateway to eastern Indonesia for centuries.  From Makassar, the Dutch controlled much of the shipping that passed between the western and eastern Indonesia, and today, the city is still a thriving port. To the left, the remains of a Dutch fort common throughout Indonesia. The Dutch destroyed practically all their forts as they retreated from the Japanese (and Indonesian allied rebels) during the second world war.
	Dodo's Pen Collection? Dodo guided John and I around Makassar and the surrounding area. Pictured here is Dodo and his proud collection of pens. Mursalim ("Dodo"): 0411 - 863941/443534
	Pelabuhan Paotere (Paotere Harbour), Makassar Bugis sailing ships.  Many employing children to load/unload cargo.
	Relaxing in Makassar John, Sri & I enjoying the sunset on the roof of the Legend Hotel (Jalan Jampea No.5G, 0411-328203/328204/326486).
	Rantepao Rantepao is the largest town and commercial centre of Tana Toraja, and the main travelers' centre on Sulawesi.  The Tana Toraja region is famed for its unspoilt areas of traditional villages, unique architecture and fascinating cultures (see below). The people shown to the left offered by friend, John, shelter when the heavens opened up during a walk.
	Funerals in Tana Toraja (Central Sulawesi) Tomate (funeral) literally means 'dead person', and of all Torajan ceremonies the most important are those concerned with sending a dead person to the afterworld.  Without proper funeral rites the spirit of the deceased will cause misfortune to its family.  The funeral sacrifices, ceremonies and feasts also impress the gods with the importance of the deceased, so that the spirit can intercede effectively on behalf of living relatives.  Funerals are sometimes held at the rante, funeral sites marked by one or more megaliths.  In Tana Toraja, there are several arcs or groups of roughly hewn stone slabs around villages, and each stone possibly represents a member of the noble class who lived and died there.  Some are as high as 4m, symbolising the importance of the deceased.  The efforts to raise even one stone involves scores of men dragging the stone to the designated place with ropes, and a sacrificial slaughter to celebrate the new megalith - part of the complex funeral preparations for nobles. At a funeral, bamboo pavilions for the family and guests are constructed around a field.  The dead person 'presides' over the funeral from the high-roofed tower constructed at one end of the field.  The Toraja generally have two funerals, one immediately after a death and an elaborate second funeral after preparations (ie raise the necessary cash, obtain livestock, gather relatives from afar and so on).  For this reason tomate are usually scheduled during the dry season from July to September, when family members have free time. The corpse remains in the house where the person died.  These days, it's preserved by injection instead of traditional embalming herbs.  Food is cooked and offered to the dead person; those of noble birth have attendants who stay in their immediate presence from the hour of death to the day of their final progress to the tomb.  An invitation to visit the deceased is an honour (but a polite refusal won't cause offence).  If you accept, however, remember to thank the deceased and ask permission of the deceased when you wish to leave - as you would a living host.  You won't be expected to pray, but might be invited to take photos, an indication that the deceased is still an important part of the family. The souls of the dead can only go to puya, the afterworld, when the entire death ritual has been carried out.  A spirit's status in the afterlife is the same as its owner's status in the present life: even the souls of animals follow their masters to the next life - hence the animal s-ac@fices at funerals.  They believe the soul of the deceased will ride the souls of the slaughtered buffaloes and pigs to heaven.  The trip to puya requires a strong buffalo, because the long and difficult journey involves crossing hundreds of mountains and thousands of valleys. Sons and daughters of the deceased have an equal chance to inherit their parents' property, but their share depends on the number of buffaloes they slaughter at the funeral feast.  The buffalo has traditionally been a symbol of wealth and power - even land could be paid for in buffaloes.  The more important the deceased, the more buffaloes must, be sacrificed: one for a commoner, four, eight, 12 or 24 as you move up the social scale.  The age and status of the deceased determines the number of animals slaughtered.  Large ceremonies, where more than 100 buffaloes are slaughtered, are spoken of with awe for- years afterwards.  The type of buffalo is also significant - the most prized is the tedong bonga (spotted buffalo), which may cost many millions Of rupiah per head. The temptation to sacrifice dozens of buffaloes to honour the dead: and impress the living prompted the Indonesian government to levy a tax on each slaughtered animal to limit the destruction of wealthy.  However, funeral ceremonies have lost none of their ostentation and are still a ruinous financial burden on families.  Some now refuse to hold tomate, despite their social obligation to do so. Visitors with strong stomachs can see freshly killed pigs roasted on open fires to scorch the skin before the pig is gutted and the mea, mixed with piles of vegetables and stuffed into bamboo tubes. The bamboo tubes are cooked slowly over low flames to produce tasty pa piong (see Food later in this section).  Cuts of buffalo meat are also distributed - the funeral season is the only time of year families are guaranteed regular supplies of meat. Funerals can be spread out over several days and involve hundreds of guests (and many tourists).  The wooden effigies, known as tau tau (see Graves & Tau Tau later in this section), can cost nearly a years wages for many Indonesians.  Bamboo pavilions are constructed specially for the occasion, with a death tower at one end. After the guests display their presents of pigs and buffaloes, the traditional mabadong song and dance is performed.  This is a ceremonial re-enactment of the cycle of human life and the life story of the deceased. it's a slow-moving circular dance performed by men in black sarongs, who stand shoulder to shoulder and chant for hours.  It also bids farewell to the soul of the deceased, and relays the hope that the soul will arrive in the afterworld safely. Ceremonies may include buffalo fighting, in which the bulls, agitated by the insertion of chilli up their behinds, lock horns and strain against each other.  The winner is the one which makes its opponent slide backwards.  The crowd urges them on with frenzied whoops and yells, but is ready to scatter in case one breaks loose and charges in panic (so don't get too close to the action!).  You might also see sisemba (see Traditional Sports earlier in this section), and maybe cockfights at the end of the ceremony. As well as the mabadong, orchestras of school children often play painted bamboo wind instruments.  The programme might also include dances like the maranding, a war dance performed at the burial service of a patriotic nobleman to remind the people of his heroic deeds, or the makatia, which reminds the people of the deceased's generosity and loyalty.  Songs may also be sung to console the bereaved family, or convey their grief to the other guests at the funeral.
	The Baby Graves Some babies that have died during child-birth or at a young age are buried here.  Small compartments are carved into the tree, the baby placed inside and covered.  Over time the tree closes the compartments entombing the baby.  Only this particular type of tree is used because its sap appears similar to mothers milk.
	Market Day You name it...   ...it is here.
	The Graves of Lemo According to local legend, these graves are for descendants of a Toraja chief who reigned over the surrounding district hundreds of years ago and built his house on top of the cliff into which the graves are now cut.  Because the mountain was part of his property, only his descendants could use it.  The chief himself was buried elsewhere because the art of cutting grave caves had not yet been developed.
	The Londa Burial Caves (6km south of Rantepao) The Toraja believe that you can take possessions with you in the afterlife, and the dead generally go well equipped to their graves.  Since this led to grave plundering, the Toraja started to hide their dead in caves or hew niches out of rock faces. These caves were hollowed out by specialist cave builders who were traditionally paid in buffaloes, and since the building of a cave would cost several buffaloes, only the rich could afford it.  Although the exterior of the cave grave looks small, the interior is large enough to entomb an entire family.  The coffins go deep inside the caves, and sitting in balconies on the rock face in front of the caves are the tau tau - life-size, carved wooden effigies of the dead. Tau tau are carved only for the upper classes; their expense alone rules out their use for poor people.  Traditionally, the statues only showed the gender of the person, not the likeness, but now they attempt to imitate the likeness of the person's face.  The making of tau tau appears to have been a recent innovation, possibly originating in the late 19th century.  The type of wood used reflects the status and wealth of the deceased; nangka (jackfruit) wood is the most expensive.  After the deceased has been entombed and the tau tau placed in front of the grave, offerings are placed in the palm of the tau tau.  You can see the carvers at work at Londa. If there are no rocky outcrops or cliff faces to carve a niche in, wooden house graves are created, in which the coffin is placed.  Most of the hanging graves, where the wooden coffins are hung from high cliffs, have rotted away.  Sometimes the coffins may be placed at the foot of a mountain.  Babies who have died before teething are placed in hollowed-out sections of living trees.  Examples of these graves can be seen at Pana. Most tau tau seem to be in a permanent state of disrepair, but in a ceremony after harvest time the bodies are re-wrapped in new material and the clothes of the tau tau replaced.  Occasionally left lying around the more obscure cave graves is a duba-duba, a platform in the shape of a traditional house which is used to carry the coffin and body of a nobleman to the grave. There are many tau tau at Lemo and a few elsewhere, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to see tau tau in Tana Toraia.  So many have been stolen that the Toraja now keep many of them in their own homes.
	Easy-going Rantepao Some sites in and around Rantepao...  ...a produce market and surround padi fields.
	Manado North Sulawesi is the most developed region on the island, and probably the most egalitarian in Indonesia; its people have a long history of trade and contact with the outside world.  With the Sangir-Talaud island group, North Sulawesi forms a natural bridge to the Philippines, providing a causeway for the movement of peoples and cultures, and as@& result the language and physical features related to the Philippines can be found amor4 the Minahasans. The three largest distinct groups in the province ire the Minahasans, (Gorontalese and Sangirese, but there are many more dialects and subgroups.  The kingdoms of Bolaang Mongondow, sandwiched between Minahasa and Gorontalo were important political players too. The Dutch have had a more enduring influence on this isolated northern peninsula than in the archipelago.  Dutch is still spoken among the older generation, well-to-do families often send their children to study in the Netherlands. To the left is a picture of the a mini-bus station. Manado has one serious rubbish problem...  ...both downtown and the market places are filthy and smelly.
	The Boat to Pulau Bunaken Palau Bunaken (Bunaken Island) is North West of Manado in Northern Sulawesi.  Due to the lack of facilities on the island the diving resorts (collection of bungalows) offer full board and lodging. Picture is the suicide boat that ferries the locals and budget travelers between the island and the mainland. Safety was not an option.
	Lookout over Manado
	Tomohon For an anti-Chinese country Buddhist temple are fairly rare.  This one is located in Tomohon, not far from Manado. Tomohon is just a small town sitting on the door step of one big-ass active volcano called Gunung Lokon.
	Kawangkoan During WWII, the Japanese dug these caves into the hills surrounding Manado to act as air-raid shelters, and as storage space for ammunition, for, weapons and medical supplies.
	Small Fishing Village
	Makassar Esplanade Along the coast adjoining Makassar township is a stretch of road lined hundreds of warungs (street stalls).  The warungs sold everything...    ...from fruit juice and hot drinks to noodles and fried bananas. Many people migrate here in the evenings to meet friends and watch the sunset.
	Luxury! For the final day of out "Sulawesi Experience" John and I checked into a resort hotel called "Hotel Pantai Gapura" (US$20/night).

Sign My Guest Book    View My Guest Book