Submission Description
This study focuses on the Toraja people in Indonesia, where indigenous identities intersect with a range of old and new Indonesian religious identities, including Christianity and Islam. This paper explores the Christian communities in Toraja and discusses how indigenous cultures and ways of doing and thinking have shifted since the arrival of Western missionaries and during and after colonial times. I particularly focus on the grand funeral of Toraja that takes place up to a week full of rituals and celebrations. Despite the shift of the majority of the people from their indigenous faith, Aluk Todolo, to Christianity, traces of the old religion have been incorporated into the practice of the new religion. Based on ethnographic research, I explore how Toraja Christians use music to negotiate identities in funeral practices and eventually produced their own unique Christianity where the new and old identities of Torajan intersect.
Presenters
Presenters
Individual Paper Presenters
Ms Danielle Dudung - University of Auckland