The Funeral

The Funeral

Sarah Wall

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2009 was my first trip to Indonesia. I landed in Denpasar and spent 10 days in Ubud before venturing on to the island of Sulawesi. I arrived in Makassar and made my way to Tana Toraja; a region in the South and home to the Toraja ethnic group. Torajans live in Tongkonan, the traditional ancestral houses and have a sacred tradition for funerals and for the dead. It's not uncommon to have twelve-day funeral events. Pigs and water buffalo are slaughtered to feed guests amid the processions and music. One of my favourite photos from that trip is the boy holding his coffee. I captured a moment of contemplation; he looked like an old soul in a young boy’s body. It was the funeral for his grandmother that day.