Ke'te Kesu' traditional Toraja burial site (Sulawesi Island, Indonesia)

Row of skulls on top of ancient carved erong coffin.

The interesting thing in Toraja burial system is the use of burial containers in the form of a coffin called erong. Erong is made from the wood of uru tree (Elmerilia celebica dandy) which then carved into the desired form. Erong have two parts, the body, and the cover. Its body is a tree trunk that hollowed in a rectangular shape as a place to laid corpse. The size of the hollow is adjusted to the needs, usually smaller than the size of common coffins. This because erong is a container for secondary burial, only the bones put into it. The second part is its cover which made from the same material as its body. The front part of the cover is carved with a buffalo head, pigs, or boat. The exterior part of the cover or body of erong is decorated by various motives such as geometric lines (tumpal, vertical, horizontal or diagonal lines, parallel dots, parallel circles), and buffalo head. Most of erong are already damaged and obsolete, and thus hard to identified. The bones are already scattered around the cave floor and cave mouth. (source)

See more info and photos of Toraja burial sites in the Toraja burial sites photo album.

See more information about the Toraja People in the Tana Toraja photo album.