The Influence of Christianity on the traditional Aluk Todolo funeral rituals in the Toraja region, Sulawesi, Indonesia
2016
Abstract
The text discusses the influence of Christianity on the most important Toraja rituals - funerals. Particular attention is given to the analysis of shifts in the form and meaning of some elements of funeral rituals, which have occurred due to the religious and social changes in Toraja society during the course of the 20 th century.
The field research of the author is unique because she is one of the few who deals with what funeral rituals look like at the beginning of the 21st century. She concludes that traditional Toraja rituals in their autochthonous form are all but extinct in the Toraja region; but they were nevertheless replaced by new forms which are derived from these rituals, but include elements of Christianity.