Social status relationship to purchase of tedong bonga for the Community Toraja Tribes

Death ceremony of the Toraja community is not like an actual death event. It really
requires careful planning and enormous costs to implement it. The most important factor in this
ceremony is how many buffaloes and what types they will sacrifice, because it becomes a
benchmark in the assessment of the wealth and social status of the dead in society. For the
noblemen class, a death ceremony will be held for a week by sacrificing hundreds of buffaloes
and thousands of pigs. The selection of buffaloes also uses the best striped buffalo at exorbitant
prices, while the simplest parties are only carried out one day and only cut one buffalo which is
usually done by the lower social strata. Striped buffalo or called with “ tedong bonga” used by
Toraja people consist of two types, buffalo bonga and saleko buffalo. According to Toraja tribe
belief, tedong bonga is considered a sacred animal that will be ridden by the spirit of the dead to the afterlife. The more buffalo, the spirit of the dead will quickly reach nirvana and his sins will be quickly erased. Those who are able to carry out traditional festivities with great fanfare
and sacrifice many buffaloes will have elevated their social status, while those who are not able to carry out large traditional parties will be neglected and even the social status considered going down.