0:00:09 > 0:00:10It's the great unspoken.
0:00:10 > 0:00:10A taboo.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Something that I've had to face up to recently myself.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Most of us don't know how to think or talk about
0:00:16 > 0:00:28death.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31But there are some people who do think they know.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34On the Indonesian island of Toraja, centuries-old customs make the dead
0:00:34 > 0:00:50a constant part of day-to-day life.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52I have come here to learn more about these remarkable practices,
0:00:53 > 0:00:58which blur the line between this world and the next.
0:00:58 > 0:00:58A morbid obsession?
0:00:58 > 0:01:02Or a healthier way to deal with the grief of losing a
0:01:02 > 0:01:13loved one?
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Tana Toraja in Indonesia is an extraordinary place.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Here, ancient aminist beliefs intertwine with new religions,
0:01:17 > 0:01:18resulting in unique rituals.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20At this traditional Torajan funeral
0:01:20 > 0:01:21friends and family gather to celebrate the
0:01:22 > 0:01:25life of a local wealthy man called Dengan, who died over two years ago.
0:01:25 > 0:01:38But here is the strange thing.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40As far as his family and everybody else
0:01:40 > 0:01:42here are concerned, Dengan is still alive.
0:01:42 > 0:01:43Torajans have a strong desire to stay connected to
0:01:43 > 0:02:02their dead loved ones.
0:02:02 > 0:02:26In spirit and in body.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30To see what this means in practice, I went to visit a Torajan family.
0:02:30 > 0:02:30Hello.
0:02:38 > 0:02:39Nice to meet you.
0:02:41 > 0:02:58This man is 86 and his family take care of him.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23He died more than two years ago.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Here, it takes months and sometimes years,
0:03:25 > 0:03:32until a funeral actually takes place.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35In the meantime, families keep the deceased in the house and
0:03:35 > 0:03:37care for them on a daily basis.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42They treat them as if they were sick.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Torajans traditionally rub special leaves and herbs over a body
0:04:02 > 0:04:02to preserve it.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05Nowadays, a chemical called formalin is often injected
0:04:05 > 0:04:16into the body to embalm it.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19There is a powerful odour of musk and the
0:04:19 > 0:04:26chemical.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28When my father died, we buried him in two days.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31It was all very sudden, it was all very
0:04:31 > 0:04:40bam, bam.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44And to be honest with you, a few years on, I still feel I
0:04:44 > 0:04:44haven't adjusted.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46It was just too sudden.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48I am still in a bit of a shock.
0:04:48 > 0:04:57Does this help you?
0:05:43 > 0:05:45What's really incredible, none of these
0:05:45 > 0:05:49kids seem to be fazed by the fact that there is a dead person lying
0:05:49 > 0:05:52here.
0:05:52 > 0:06:01Everybody is so calm.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03He will remain here until his family have
0:06:03 > 0:06:12saved enough money for a lavish funeral.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14During their lives, Torajans work hard to accumulate
0:06:14 > 0:06:14wealth.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17But rather than saving for a luxurious life, they save for a
0:06:17 > 0:06:32grand departure from this earth.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34The wealthier they are, the larger and
0:06:34 > 0:06:44more elaborate the funerals.
0:06:44 > 0:06:45Some last for days.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Dengan was a rich man.
0:06:47 > 0:06:48And his funeral lasted seven days.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Animal sacrifice is a fundamental part of
0:06:50 > 0:07:00this tradition.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Buffaloes are a very important element to the Torajan
0:07:03 > 0:07:06funerals, because they are believed to be the carriers of the deceased's
0:07:06 > 0:07:13soul into the afterlife.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16The meat is eaten at the funeral feast, and the buffalo horns
0:07:16 > 0:07:18create create homes and tombs of the deceased.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24A symbol of wealth and status.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27The sacrifice, it's one part of helping your soul to
0:07:27 > 0:07:29reincarnation.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Does it depend on your wealth?
0:07:47 > 0:07:48$50,000 was spent on Dengan's funeral.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Roughly ten times more than the average annual income here.
0:07:51 > 0:08:05They sacrificed 24 buffaloes, more than
0:08:05 > 0:08:0840 pigs, as well as feeding and accommodating hundreds of guests.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11The funeral is one way to make your soul get to reincarnation.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Soon, the soul of the poor people will be
0:08:14 > 0:08:22getting a little bit longer.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Even at this point, Dengan's funeral is not complete.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45Only when his coffin is carried to the top
0:08:45 > 0:08:53of this special platform, is he finally considered dead.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02According to ancient animist beliefs here, this is the
0:09:02 > 0:09:04point where the soul finally ascends to the cosmos.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10From there, it watches over living relatives,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14bringing them good fortune, as long as the families take proper care of
0:09:14 > 0:09:16their dead.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01For centuries, the Torajans have been laying
0:10:01 > 0:10:09their dead to rest in caves like this.
0:10:09 > 0:10:28Yet another place where the afterlife connects with this one.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30This cave winds for two kilometres.
0:10:30 > 0:10:31And it's pretty full.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Even here, friends and families bring
0:10:33 > 0:10:51necessities for their dead relatives.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53In a tradition predating photography, statues of dead
0:10:53 > 0:11:36noblemen and women are carefully carved out of wood.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38Most people here are farmers, and their average
0:11:38 > 0:11:41income is around $5,000 a year.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43It's clear that for Torajans, the
0:11:43 > 0:11:46process of dying and being reincarnated is far smoother if you
0:11:46 > 0:11:53are rich.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15These sculptures are dressed in the clothes, jewellery
0:12:15 > 0:12:23and even the hair of the deceased.
0:12:23 > 0:12:35Silent sentinels looking out over this one from another.
0:12:36 > 0:12:54Here, the physical relationship between the
0:12:54 > 0:12:56dead and the living continues long after death.
0:12:56 > 0:13:05Even after burials.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09People are coming out of the church now, and they are all shaking hands
0:13:09 > 0:13:10in their traditional manner.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12They do this and then they touch their
0:13:12 > 0:13:12chest.
0:13:12 > 0:13:17And they're getting ready for a less usual ceremony.
0:13:17 > 0:13:22The village leader explains that the ritual is called manene,
0:13:22 > 0:13:30also known as the cleansing of the corpses.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Once every couple of years, families bring the coffins of long
0:13:33 > 0:13:35departed relatives out of their graves and
0:13:35 > 0:13:39open them up for a big family reunion.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41These are the close relatives of a woman called Maria,
0:13:41 > 0:13:51and they are here for the cleansing.
0:13:51 > 0:14:00One of the guests is a Torajan professor of sociology.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41The family will bring Maria out of this
0:14:41 > 0:15:03tomb for the first time today.
0:15:03 > 0:15:25CHANTING.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29They're bringing Maria out now.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32We're just waiting for them to open her coffin.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35I'm feeling a bit nervous, to be honest.
0:15:35 > 0:15:40I had to come out to get some distance from it.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43There really was no escaping death.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46I watched as they slaughtered pigs.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48And the final sacrifice.
0:15:48 > 0:15:56A buffalo.
0:15:56 > 0:15:57The coffin is finally opened.
0:15:58 > 0:15:59Once again, that strong odour of musk
0:15:59 > 0:16:01and formalin filled the air.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03Thank you.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07They want me to show what she looked like before and what she
0:16:07 > 0:16:07looks like now.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10She died three years ago and got buried two years ago.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13They kept in the house for one year.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15Maria is covered in her most treasured possessions.
0:16:15 > 0:16:25Relatives touch her as a greeting.
0:16:25 > 0:16:34I'm going to try to touch her hair, just as
0:16:34 > 0:16:36everybody else does, as a sign of respect.
0:16:36 > 0:16:36She feels...
0:16:36 > 0:16:38She feels very hard.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41The hair feels like normal.
0:16:41 > 0:16:48Still very soft.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50I couldn't help but wonder how children feel seeing
0:16:50 > 0:16:53their mother this.
0:16:53 > 0:17:01Her eldest son seemed very calm.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44I don't see any more sign of grief.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47It's just normal.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50It's just the body is here and it's normal.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53When you couldn't see the body, when it was inside the
0:17:53 > 0:17:54coffin, even I was shaking.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58I was a lot more nervous.
0:17:58 > 0:17:59And everybody seemed more upset.
0:17:59 > 0:18:00Well, the relatives.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03But now everybody is content.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Another guest particularly close to Maria is Esther, her
0:18:13 > 0:18:19daughter-in-law.
0:18:19 > 0:18:25How do you think this helps you deal with the grief?
0:18:51 > 0:18:55But for me, I want to remember my relatives, my dad, I want to
0:18:55 > 0:18:57remember him when he was alive.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59I'm worried that if I see him dead, I
0:18:59 > 0:19:04will - his identity will change in my mind.
0:19:41 > 0:19:51Many of these practices are slowly disappearing.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54The majority of them converted from the old
0:19:55 > 0:19:57animist religion to Christianity, after Dutch missionaries arrived
0:19:57 > 0:19:59less than a century ago.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02But as here, the two can and do coexist.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04They're wrapping Maria in this white sheet.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06This is a symbol of changing her clothes.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08In some villages they literally change the
0:20:08 > 0:20:16outfit into a new fashionable one.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19But here, because they are Christians, they don't want to mess
0:20:19 > 0:20:27around too much with the corpse.
0:21:20 > 0:21:29All this is so different to how I've dealt with my father's death.
0:21:29 > 0:21:30Or so I thought.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32What did you do to your father?
0:21:32 > 0:21:33We buried him.
0:21:33 > 0:21:33Buried him, yeah.
0:21:34 > 0:21:35And then until now?
0:21:35 > 0:21:36I visit his grave sometimes.
0:21:36 > 0:21:42You visit his grave sometimes.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44You did it in a different way.
0:21:44 > 0:21:44How?
0:21:44 > 0:21:45Yeah.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48Because you visit the grave of your father, because you
0:21:48 > 0:22:02still remember him as your father.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04And you still have an emotional relationship with him.
0:22:04 > 0:22:05You love your father.
0:22:06 > 0:22:06Right?
0:22:06 > 0:22:08And that is the principle of manene.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10So perhaps the principles behind rituals here are
0:22:11 > 0:22:21not very different from most other cultures.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24Remembering our dead is something most of us try to do.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Torajans don't leave that to chance.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28And for them, there certainly appears to be great
0:22:28 > 0:22:41comfort from their unique rituals around death.