Society-TORADJA

The Toradja peoples inhabit the high mountain ranges and interior
valleys of Central Celebes Island of Indonesia at approximately lat.
1 1/2 degrees 2 degrees S by long. 120 degrees 122 degrees E. They
are customarily divided into three major branches, Western, Eastern,
and Southern Toradja. According to LeBar (1972: 130), these divisions
reflect differing degrees of exposure to cultural influences stemming
from the old Hindu-Javanese states of southwestern Celebes...and nearby
Borneo." This summary deals only with the Eastern or Bare'e-speaking
Toradja.

The Eastern Toradja are composed of numerous local groups who share
a relatively homogeneous language and culture. These groups form several
regional clusters: (1) the Poso-Todjo groups along the Gulf of Tomini
and the neck of the eastern peninsula; (2) the Poso Lake groups; (3)
those of the upper valley of the Laa, east of Lake Poso; and (4) the
groups of the upper Kaleana, south of Lake Poso. The so-called "tribes"
mentioned by Adriani and Kruyt (1950, 1951A, 1951B) and some other
authors, actually refer in most cases to the local groups composing
these regional clusters.

The Bare'e language, spoken by all of the Eastern Toradja, belongs
to the Toradja group of languages which, along with several other
language groups, is classified by the Voegelins within a Central and
Southern Celebes cluster defined as a geographical rather than a linguistic
unit. The Voegelins suggest that all of these languages may form the
Celebes subgroup of Hesperonesian within the Austronesian language
family (Voegelin & Voegelin 1977: 99-102).

The 1961 population estimate for the Eastern Toradja was 100,000,
compared with a 1935 estimate of 60,000 and a 1930 census figure of
30,000 (LeBar 1972: 132). The people appear to be a mixture of an
indigenous population with immigrants from the south (Hindu-Javanese)
and the north. It was the Hindu-Javanese population that most likely
introduced slavery and the religious litany (Adriani & Kruyt 1950:
3, 5). The Eastern Toradja came under Dutch control in 1905.

The Eastern Toradja are primarily dry rice cultivators. Wet rice was
introduced by the Dutch after 1905, but did not become a significant
crop. Maize is the second most important crop, but it is eaten only
when the rice supply is low. Coix agrestis, millet, and a variety
of fruits and vegetables are also cultivated. All of these crops are
produced by means of swidden agriculture. Hunting and fishing (especially
around Lake Doso) are also of economic importance. Dogs are used for
hunting game. Gathering is mainly for prestige items (e.g., rattan,
damar, and beeswax) and to pay taxes, rather than for foodstuffs.
Domestic animals include buffalo, which are used as draft animals,
fowl, pigs, goats, cats, and dogs. All of these, except the last two
which are not eaten, are slaughtered only on ceremonial occasions.

Pre-contact settlements were found near lakes and rivers, but were
sited on well-fortified hilltops and mountain ridges because of the
danger of headhunting raids. The villages were unoccupied, however,
except during raids. Generally, the people lived on their farms. There
were about 40 to 200 inhabitants per village in about 2 to 10 houses.
Each house usually contained 4 to 6 nuclear families, although cases
of houses with 16 families are mentioned (Downs 1956: 5). Some groups
built single family dwellings (Onda'e and Lage). Each village consisted
of dwellings laid out in no particular pattern, rice barns, and a
temple. The water supply  was usually at the bottom of the hill, which
meant that a siege could not last very long. With Dutch control, the
Eastern Toradja were forced to move their settlements to the valley
floors along the roads.

The basic domestic unit was the extended family, usually headed by
the senior male member. Villages consisted of closely related families,
and the so-called tribes were essentially groups of neighboring villages
whose members were aware of descent from a common mother-village.
Affiliation with a village could be through one's mother, father,
or spouse, although the tendency for postmarital residence was matrilocal.
Descent was bilateral. Village or neighboring village endogamy was
the rule. Bride-price was paid by the extended family of the groom
to that of the bride. Until it was fully paid, the children belonged
to the mother. Polygyny was traditionally rare, but in areas influenced
by Islam, it became more common. Each wife had a separate house. Divorce
was infrequent, the guilty party having to pay a fine and the families
of both individuals working to prevent the separation. Adoption was
frequent, though never of non-kin. Kin terminology was mainly generational,
with no distinction made between the matrilateral and patrilateral
kin (Hawaiian type).

Village chiefs were elected from among the headmen of extended families.
Selection was based on personal characteristics and wealth in buffalo.
They were not powerful except in the areas near the Buginese kingdoms
(Luwu and Mori) where the kings (datus) gave them tax collecting authority.
This situation allowed them to increase their own wealth and power
through trading opportunities and association with the powerful Islamic
sultanates. In most areas, villages were autonomous and tended to
be hostile to almost all others not closely related. There was rarely
any political organization above the village level. Tribes were not
organized into political units. While the outside kingdoms often received
tribute from the villages, they had no control over their internal
affairs.

Traditionally there were two classes consisting of freemen and slaves
(who were debtors and war captives). Near the Buginese kingdoms, the
slave class was hereditary. After establishing control in 1905, the
Dutch abolished slavery.

Fines covered most offenses and the village chief acted as mediator
between families. In intervillage disputes, chiefs served as spokesmen.
Murder required revenge and often resulted in blood feuds.

Eastern Toradja religion was principally concerned with agriculture,
with a secondary but important emphasis on ancestor worship. There
were gods of the upper and under worlds (above and below earth), and
a great variety of spirits who were found throughout the earth in
rocks, trees, water, etc. There were many gods and spirits associated
exclusively with agriculture, and each family had its own agricultural
spirits. Knowledge of, and contact with, the gods and spirits were
mainly confined to shamans, who were women or men choosing to dress
and act like women. The ancestors were of concern to everyone. Shamans
(tadu) were principally curers. They had guardian spirits whom they
could send to the other worlds to retrieve people's souls and cure
illness. Soul loss was believed to be a widespread cause of illness.
There were other religious practitioners with particular skills such
as curing smallpox or rainmaking. Divination and soothsayers (montogoe)
were important for understanding the will and guidance of gods and
spirits.

The traditional religion has now been replaced or fragmented in many
areas, first by Islam spread in the south by the neighboring Bugis
and in the north on Tomini Bay, and later by Christianity, which was
widely propagated by the Dutch and has become numerically more significant.

Until European contact, the Eastern Toradja villages lived in a state
of semi-perpetual hostility with each other. Respect and tribute were
occasionally paid to neighboring kingdoms, but their internal affairs
were their own. Intervillage raiding served to provide the scalps
necessary for many rituals and to pacify spirits (anitu) who would
otherwise feed on the Eastern Toradja. Since the Dutch administration,
the warfare has ended, but even today the Eastern Toradja remain largely
autonomous.

A short summary of the Toradja can be found in LeBar (1972). For a
more complete description of Toradja life and customs, the reader
is advised to consult the works of Adriani.

Culture summary by Martin J. Malone



Adriani, N. De Bare's sprekende Toradjas van Midden-Celebes (de Oost-toradjas) [The Bare'e-speaking Toradja of Central Celebes (the East Toradja)].
 2nd ed., vol.
 1.
 By N. Adriani and Albert C. Kruyt.
 Amsterdam, Noord-Hollandsche Uitgevers Maatschappij, 1950.
 12, 478 p. Adriani, N. De Bare's sprekende Toradjas van Midden-Celebes (de Oost-toradjas).
 Tweede deel [The Bare'e-speaking Toradja of Central Celebes (the East Toradja).
 Second volume].
 2d ed.
 By N. Adriani and Albert C. Kruyt.
 Amsterdam, N. V. Noord-Hollandsche Uitgevers Maatschappij, 1951A.
 8, 577 p. Adriani, N. De Bare's sprekende Toradjas van Midden-Celebes (de Oost-toradjas).
 Derde deel [The Bare'e-speaking Toradja of Central Celebes (the East Toradja).
 Third volume].
 2d ed.
 By N. Adriani and Albert C. Kruyt.
 Amsterdam, Noord-Hollandsche Uitgevers Maatschappij, 1951B.
 8, 484 p. Downs, Richard Erskine.
 The religion of the Bare'e-speaking Toradja of Central Celebes.
 's-Gravenhage, Uitgeverij Excelsior, 1956.
 8, 110 p. LeBar, Frank M., ed.
 Ethnic groups of Insular Southeast Asia, Vol.
 1, pp.
 132-33.
 New Haven, HRAF Press, 1972.
 Voegelin, C. F. and F. M. Voegelin.
 Classification and index of the world's languages.
 New York, Elsevier, 1977.


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