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Toraja


Indonesia, Sulawesi, to the tau tau Lemo, August 2009

Tana Toraja is a region of the island of Sulawesi. The classic tour of Indonesia does not cover. They usually visit Java, Bali, Lombok and little more. But Sulawesi island is very special and worth all the trouble to reach it and turn it. After a short stay in Makassar (now Ujung Padang) we went by bus to Rantepao. When we arrived there was a man waiting for us. Luter and had introduced himself as a guide. Now, to be honest, we are not accustomed to lead us by the guides, but here, find Luter was a stroke of luck without him we could have done even half of what we did. And so we meet there the next morning to begin our tour of the region. The first goal is
Lemo. A smooth wall and vertical rises in the middle of a potato field. On that rock, so high, opening a small hole, closed by wooden doors. These are the tombs of the Toraja. Were built beside the "balconies" which overlook the statues of wood, the Tau Tau. The Toraja were animists (now Christians are Protestants) and redevano that after life, there would be another, in which the deceased would have had the same needs they had in life: food, beverages, clothing, cigarettes. For this reason, relatives, having buried the dead, make a representation in wood, the Tau Tau, which looks at the tomb. At the Tau Tau are offered food, water, the beloved cigarettes are changed clothes when they tear per le intemperie. E il tau Tau con una mano tesa, benedice i parenti, mentre con l'altra messa in posa di richiesta, accoglie le loro offerte.


Indonesia, Sulawesi, i tau tau di Lemo, agosto 2009

Le tombe sono scolpite nella roccia ed accolgono tutta la famiglia. Occorre molto denaro per ricavarle dalla pietra, scavata a mano, e molto tempo. Più la famiglia è ricca e di alta casta, più la tomba è posta in alto. Questa è anche una garanzie contro i ladri, per la difficoltà di raggiungere le sepolture.
Il defunto viene accompagnato nella sepoltura da una grande festa. E' solo con questa festa che lo spirito del morto lascerà il corpo e la family. The ceremony is very important but very expensive. For this reason mrte of a family member to the family requires an enormous effort econimico. And 'why, until the family has put aside the money needed, the body of the deceased will remain in the house. The body itself will be treated with oil or natural substances, but now mostly with formaldehyde, mummified, and so will wait until the time of burial, through a time when there still will be considered dead, because the spirit is still at home. They may spend years, sometimes dozens, before the family has enough money for burial. It is thanks to our guide that there is stato possibile vedere due cerimonie. La prima, una grande cerimonia al secondo giorno in cui i familiari ricevono ospiti e parenti di tutti i villaggi e poi un'altra grande cerimonia al momento della sepoltura vera e propria. Soprattutto questa fase è stata veramente impressionante. Persino Luter non ne vedeva così da tempo. Ma per queste cose, e molte altre... al prossimo post!


Indonesia, Sulawesi, i tau tau di Lemo, agosto 2009

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The first step


Indnesia, Sumatra, Bukit Lawang, agosto 2009

Quando misi il piede fuori di casa, non c'era nulla di strano. Tutto era come al solito. Percorrendo la solita road, went down to the station, as every day. I greeted the crowds, the usual friends. Where are you going? Childbirth. I was making the first small step, but it was equal to a thousand more steps each day. Except that that step would take me away. I do not know how to describe this strange feeling that normality of the gestures contained instead the beauty of departure, the excitement of "who knows where I'll be tonight." And then: Camogli station, chatting as we waited for the train, the friends met by chance. The usual train that departs late, the usual route to Genoa. It 's just that the air entering the airport change, comes the awareness.
And then everything speeds up and so I find myself to write the first frase sul mio quaderno intatto: "Quanto tempo ci vuole fra la stazione di Camogli e la giungla di Sumatra?". Assurdo e azzardato come collegamento, se non fosse che sono sotto una tenda, in mezzo alla giungla, nel buio più profondo, con una ranocchia minuscola a far da guardia contro le zanzare.
E' stato un attimo arrivare a Jakarta già con il programma di viaggio sconvolto dalla decisione di non restare lì, ma di andare a Sumatra. E poi, arrivati lì, andar via di nuovo fino a Bukit Lawang, a nord. Il pullman con la ruota di scorta al posto dei passeggeri e i ragazzi che salgono sopra a vendere cibo mi danno il benvenuto in Asia. Adesso lo so: sono arrivata. Due ragazzi con una pseudo acconciatura rockettara salgono a suonare la chitarra. Humor that only can be found here. A man sits down beside us and starts talking. Then he tells us to be a guide of the natural park of Bukit Lawang. Slowly forward with his real purpose, but then have time to do it quietly, the trip takes 4 hours. In the end I know that there is no way to escape the jungle trip, so I resigned. I'm not particularly fit to face so suddenly: from the desktop to the trails ... Yet the next morning I find myself starting with a backpack that contains very little spare underwear, a Kway, camera and a bottle of water. For seven or eight hours we are left to follow our guide, Sunny, that brings us joy in the midst of the vines, the giant spider webs and and down the paths, but also very off the beaten track, to search for the orangutans. And the orangutan we find them, even very close, large, beautiful, with their intense gaze.
Eventually my legs tremble from the effort. The knees do not hold me anymore. If you do not feel that we come to the camp begin to slip on muddy trails. I can stand the vines and roots of trees until they finally come to the River. Here is ready the camp. In short, it is ready to put down a tent poles. Under the mats, similar to those for exercise, will be our beds. A man has prepared the tea, and dinner is cooking over a fire. As soon as darkness falls, the light of small candles, there in the middle of the anything, we eat rice, vegetables and chicken. Then we tell stories of jungle animals. Sunny imitates them all. When you turn the laughter and the candles started the company more tough: sleeping on the floor!


Indonesia, Sumatra, orangutans in the wild, in August 2009