Rows of life-sized death effigies or tau-tau stare from manmade holes in a rock face.
Welcome to Lemo, Tana Toraja’s most famous burial site.
Tana Toraja is found in the highlands of southern Sulawesi, Indonesia, and a unique culture has evolved there that blends Christianity with ancient animist beliefs.
Torajans believe that nobody really dies.
When a loved one passes away, they aren’t gone – they’ve simply moved to a new stage of life, and continue to watch over their family as a deified ancestor.
Locals create tau-tau to honour those who have passed away, and the statues are eerily-realistic doppelgängers of the dead.
At Lemo, tau-tau are placed in holes that have been painstakingly chiselled into a rock face.
The holes with wooden doors at the front are tombs, which house the bodies of entire families.
Torajans don’t bury their dead beneath the ground, as this is disrespectful in a culture where life never truly ends.
