Indonesia’s natural beauty and cultural richness are precious gifts which have survived to this present day. The Indonesian people must be proud and cherish the cultural heritage passed down from generation to generation, ensuring that Indonesia’s diverse cultures remain preserved and don’t disappear over time.
One region of Indonesia that is especially protective of its culture is Toraja. Toraja is an area on the island of South Sulawesi, currently divided into two regencies: Tana Toraja Regency and North Toraja Regency. The word “Toraja” itself is made up of two syllables, “To” and “Raya”. “To” comes from the word “tau” meaning “person”, while “Raya” comes from the word “marau” meaning “large”. Therefore, Toraja means a noble or great person.
Toraja culture includes various unique customs, from the fantastic thing about nature, cultural tourism, traditional food, Toraja coffee and humanities and crafts, to celebrations and ceremonies. One of the distinctive and unique celebrations and ceremonies of Toraja culture is the tradition of Ma’ Nene’, which continues to be maintained by the Toraja people to this present day. It will be said that this culture is sort of extreme and maybe not present in other cultures.
Ma’ Nene’ is one among many customs in Toraja. This ceremony is a type of respect for deceased ancestors by members of the family. The ceremony includes visiting the graves of deceased ancestors, cleansing the bodies and changing their clothes.
According to Rismayanti Rismayanti and Yosaphat Haris Nusarastriya of their journal titled “Traditional Funeral Ceremonies Remembering Ancestors (Ma’ Nene”) in Toraja, Lembang Bululangkan, Rinding Allo District, North Toraja”, Ma’ Nene is an activity of traditional ceremonies that mixes death rituals, art, and even the love and attachment of the Toraja community to their ancestors.
In the Ma’ Nene’ procession, members of the family clean the bodies and alter their clothes. This procession has meaning and values that illustrate the strong bond between living members of the family and deceased ancestors. In other words, Ma’ Nene’ will be considered a commemoration of spirits or ancestors. This tradition is generally held by the community of Baruppu’ village, North Toraja, every three years.
Before its implementation, several preparations should be made, including prayers and mandatory items for the dead body through the Ma’ Nene’ procession. The purpose of the Ma’ Nene’ procession is to precise gratitude to the ancestors by members of the family.
In addition, the Ma’ Nene’ procession takes place through the rice harvest season, making this tradition also a chance to thank the ancestors for safeguarding members of the family from dangers and ensuring the successful growth and abundant harvest of the harvested crops.
The Ma’ Nene’ procession has change into one among the cultural attractions for tourists visiting Toraja. Although this tradition will be considered something rare in society, it could possibly still be observed at essential times and moments within the Toraja community.
Lucky tourists can witness the Ma’ Nene’ procession directly performed by members of the family. Usually, tourists can watch the Ma’ Nene’ procession, where the body is taken out of the Patane (modern graves of the Toraja people) and the coffin, after which the body is taken out and the costume is modified.
For the Toraja people, especially within the village of Baruppu’, North Toraja, this procession is a sacred event that is an element of the customs and traditions preserved and passed down from generation to generation. However, for visiting tourists, especially foreign tourists, this procession could seem extreme and weird.
This culture is embedded in the worth system of the Toraja community. In the book titled “Toraja Implikasi Budaya dalam Pemekaran Daerah” written by Muh. Idris Patarai, Suaeb Ibrahim and Ibrahim Tasbih, it’s stated that the Toraja cultural value system is a set of inherited and practiced traditions that support one another and create the distinctive characteristics of the Toraja community.
This is what makes Toraja one among the numerous cultures of Indonesia which have survived and been passed down from generation to generation to this present day.
