Category : History and Culture
Nowadays, 'Aluk Todolo', the ancestral religion, is almost can't be found in the community. They are already adherents of Protestants, Catholics and Moslem. But they are still follow the traditional customs of their ancestors.
Aluk Todolo officially recognised as related to Hinduism, it has a pantheon of gods and the Supreme God is 'Puang Matua' (the Old Lord) who is also the Creator. It is he who unified all gods, created mankind and all other creatures.
According to the Toraja myth of creation, before there were gods, there was heaven and earth. The universe created the gods and Heaven and Earth were the first parents of 'Pong Tulak Padang' (He who supports the Earth), 'Pong Banggai Rante' (He whose plain is large) and 'Gaunti Kembong' (self-expanding cloud). Together they grew up and formed the trinity and created the sun, moon and the stars.
They separated to become Lords of the underworld. 'Gaunti Kembong', the lord of the upperworld, removed a rib who become 'Usuk Sang Bamban' (the one special rib) who grew up and married 'Simbolong Manik' who emerged from stone in the east. From their union, 'Puang Matua' was born.
As in the upperworld, the earth is supposed to have a head (ulu), which faces north (daya, rekke) and a tail (ikko') which faces south (lo', sau'). East (lan, tama) is for sunrise while west (diong, rokko) is linked with sundown. Based on this, North and East are considered the sphere of life and South and West of death. By this same notion, the north and east are the domain of the gods, protectors of plants, domestic animals and human life, while South and West is where the souls of the dead reside until the completion of the funeral ceremonies. Therefore, all offerings to the gods are made by the priest facing northeast and to the ancestors in the direction of southwest.
From the land of the souls Puya, the ancestors after completion of the death rituals, are deified (appelation with 'deata') and enter heaven via a palm tree.
These deified ancestors or 'tomembali puang' are worshipped as they look after their descendants and shower them with blessings.
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