July
Written by Jekonia Tarigan
Across Indonesia’s rich cultural landscape are many unique funeral ceremonies. One of the most famous ones is from Sulawesi, namely Rambu Solo’ that is performed by the Torajan people in Toraja (or Tana Toraja). Rambu Solo’ is a traditional funeral ceremony which aims to respect the spirits as they return to immortality among the ancestors. In addition to Tana Toraja, other areas in Sulawesi such as Mamasa also have rich traditions of funeral ceremonies.[1] This topic was the focus of the Kamisan Daring Forum on June 2022. This forum was organized by the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), the Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS), the Center for Religious and Democratic Studies (PUSAD) Paramadina, the Satunama Foundation, Institute of Sciences Indonesia (LIPI), and several other organizations.
Written by Jekonia Tarigan
People groups around the world have different tradition of funeral ceremonies. Among Indonesia’s hundreds of cultures, there are a variety of funeral ceremony traditions. In conducting funerals, the focus is often on the various traditions and aspects of local belief systems. The June 16, 2022 discussion of funeral rites during the Kamisan Daring Forum centered on Hubula tribe in Papua and the Iban Dayak tribe in Kalimantan and the unique gender roles of these traditions. The forum was organized by the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), the Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies (CRCS), Center for Religious and Democratic Studies (PUSAD), Paramadina, Satunama Foundation, Institute of Sciences Indonesia (LIPI), and several other organizations. The first speaker in this forum was Korneles Siep from the Hubula tribe, one of the indigenous tribes in Papua. This tribe inhabits the mountainous area of central Papua, precisely in the Baliem Valley. The second speaker was Imanuel Febrianto Dagang, of the Iban Dayak indigenous group of Kalimantan.