On the Traditional Dance and Costume in the Toraja

The Torajan people who started to receive increased attention from the 1990 are one of the many ethnic groups of Indonesia. This paper intends to examine Torajan Ceremonies practied today in the modern world, driven by the Torajan people's age-old perspective of life and death (and the world after) that comes from their background on traditional lifestyle and (animated) folk religion/belief. It focuses on the ceremonial Dances, which is one of the most important element in Torajan Ceremonies, and gain deeper insight through its costumes and ornaments which traditionally revealed the social status of hosts and performers. In ceremony, the most important division is the classification of ritual into Aluk rampe matallo(life facing ritual ) and Aluk rampe matampu? death ritual). So Traditional Toraja dances may be classified into two genres: life related ritual dances and death ritual dances. Especially the funeral ceremonies in Toraja has been rather more famous on its spectacle aspect to outsiders however its relationships to the broader theme of Torajan Ceremonies and ceremonial dances are very less known and sources on this topic are also very scarce. Fortunately, I was able to witness one of such an ritual event. I did see one kind of the funeral rituals which is the most dramatic and symbolically rich performances in Toraja. Here, a brief account of its will highlight some dimension of ceremony, personfood, and potency in Torajan thought and action.