December 30th, 2008 
Sheila Simkin I promise…no more hanging graves, coffins, skulls, bones after this article but several extremely interesting stops today. The first was a visit to “The Baby Tree” and what secret is buried within. This was a baby grave tree for dead infants between the ages of newborn to two-weeks old. The parents believed that if they buried their baby inside a living tree, the baby would still be alive. The Torajans ceased doing this about 70 years ago and now bury babies in graves.
Odin parked the car and we walked down a shaded forest trail to a big Banyan Tree. This was The Baby Tree with the burial openings covered. Pardon me for being fanciful, but I could imagine bereaved parents bringing their baby to this quiet, peaceful area for burial. And it really felt as if the baby’s spirits were there with us.
Kete Kesu is one of the oldest and most picturesque Torajan villages. Paid the entrance fee and walked around to see see old Tongkonan and rice barns. Kete Kesu is also famous for its traditional woodcarving and tau-taus were being sold in each shop. …View image…
A few of the old houses had pig and buffalo jaws…View image… nailed up to keep away ghosts, along with a profusion of water buffalo horns on the oldest Tongkonan in Kete Kesu.
This last day left me with several indelible Torajan images…
A most unusual immersion into a tribal culture (thanks to all that information from Jo-Jo) that still mixes the ancient with the new. Tana Toraja, Sulawesi is so unique that only around 1,000 tourists visit a year and thrilled that we were two of the 1,000. Wouldn’t you like to visit and see these sights with your own eyes? Goodbye, Tana Toraja. It would be back on the road tomorrow into Central Sulawesi…
To be continued….
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