The Thread of Life: Toraja Reflections on the Life Cycle

Notes

209 Notes Chapter 1: Introduction 1. For a discussion of indigenous conceptions of the life cycle among the Ilongot, another insular Southeast Asian group, see Rosaldo (1980, 136–152). 2. Ma’kakarun, a recitation that occurs at certain funerals, also describes the deceased’s “life history.” 3. As Rosaldo (1980, 23) notes, “Although a composite life cycle . . . says nothing about how any particular life was lived, personal biographies are not intelligible without a sense of the expectations, constraints, and hopes that frame any life trajectory as it unfolds.” 4. As Rosaldo suggests (1980, 109), the “typical” life is a product of both structural phases of life and specific historical moments. 5. Sarah LeVine (1979) reports extensive life historical material from seven Gusii respondents, but they are all women. 6. A “person-centered” ethnography focuses on how the world is perceived and experienced from the individual subject’s point of view. As LeVine notes (1982, 293), “standard ethnography produces a cultural description analogous to a map or aerial photograph of a community; personcentered ethnography tells us what it is like to live there—what features are salient to its inhabitants.” 7. However, as we note at the end of this chapter, such directly comparable studies remain quite rare. 8. Our intent here is to provide the reader with some background ethnography for understanding and evaluating contemporary Toraja lives. Because our primary focus in this book is on personal reflections on the life cycle, a full description of the complexity and dynamism of Toraja social life—for example, religion, politics, economics, and other features—is beyond the scope of the present work. 9. The Sa’dan Toraja are one of several related highland groups in South Sulawesi, collectively termed the “South Toraja” by Adriani and Kruyt, Dutch missionaries and linguists who began proselytizing in Central Sula- 210 Notes to Chapter 2 wesi in the late nineteenth century (Bigalke 1981, 15). Adriani and Kruyt originally believed that the South Toraja were closely related to the highland groups of Central Sulawesi, whom they termed the East or Bare’espeaking Toraja and the West Toraja. They later revised their classification, however, stating that linguistic evidence suggested that the South Toraja are more closely related to their South Sulawesi lowland neighbors, the Bugis and Makassar, than to the highland groups of Central Sulawesi (Waterson 1981, 2). A linguistic study by Mills (1975) reaches a similar conclusion. Present-day Sa’dan Toraja are not familiar with the term Sa’dan and simply call themselves Toraja. More precisely, since there is no j in the local language , the Toraja use the terms Toraya and Toraa instead of Toraja when communicating among themselves. 10. According to government statistics, the area of the district is 3,630 square kilometers. 11. There is some disagreement about whether the ma’nene’ should be classified as smoke descending or smoke ascending or whether it is intermediary between the two (see Wellenkamp 1984, 48–49). 12. The main sacrificial animals are water buffalo, which are slaughtered primarily for smoke-descending events; chickens, which are slaughtered primarily for smoke-ascending events; and pigs, which are slaughtered at both types of events. 13. The traditional ritual system is intricate. For more information, see Nooy-Palm (1979, 1986), Volkman (1979, 1985), and Wellenkamp (1984, 1988b, 1991). 14. These are the terms used in the area in which we worked. As mentioned above, terminology varies from region to region in Tana Toraja. 15. For a discussion of political allegiances and ideas about “insiders” and “outsiders,” see Hollan and Wellenkamp (1994, 75–76). 16. Apart from ritual occasions, outside activities generally cease with nightfall. 17. Those who become ritual specialists often are the children of specialists . Sometimes people have dreams presaging their new role. A common dream reported by many to minaa is of striking a gong, an important ritual instrument. A period of tutelage usually precedes the assumption of the title. Chapter 2: Birth, Infancy, and Early Childhood 1. From dadi, “to become” or “to happen.” Levy (1973, 143) notes that Tahitian men also speak of “giving birth to” their children. However, in contrast to the Tahitian language, in Toraja there is another term, kianak, that refers more specifically to the woman’s delivery of a child. 2. Other taboos, such as that against cooking meat from a smokeascending ritual with meat from a smoke-descending one, are more fre- Notes to Chapter 2 211 quently...