Indonesia is a country that has various traditions and cultures. In several regions in Indonesia, there is the use of animals in the implementation of traditional activities and various other rituals. One of the animals used in the implementation of traditional and traditional rituals is the tedong saleko. tedong saleko is a unique buffalo from Toraja which has a fantastic price. The sale of buffalo is even sold for 1 billion rupiah.
For the people of Tana Toraja in South Sulawesi (Sulsel), they believe that buffalo are a vehicle for spirits to go to Puya (the world of spirits, or the hereafter). Buffaloes also have a unique position for the Toraja people. It is raised as a plow tool, and is considered a sacred animal and a symbol of social status. Yoshafat, a traditional leader from Tana Toraja, said that the buffalo is considered the highest worship for the deceased Toraja indigenous people, through the rambu solo ritual ‘.
Rambu Solo ‘is carried out for days, even weeks, and is attended by thousands of residents. One of the important rituals is buffalo slaughter. In Aluk To Dolo, or ancient Toraja religion, rambu solo ‘is practiced by a noble family. The higher the value of nobility, the bigger and more luxurious the event. Later, this ritual could also be carried out by non-aristocrats, but they had sufficient finances. “Now anyone can, even if it was only royalty.
However, not all areas in Toraja are allowed. In some areas, they still refer to the Aluk To Dolo rule, only nobles are allowed, “he told Mongabay, early December 2013. In this death ritual, the buffalo that is sacrificed really depends on the results of the consensus of the extended family. There are up to slaughtering 1,000 buffalo.
Mandatory requirements are at least 40 and dozens of pigs. In this consultation, it is also customary to determine when the ritual is carried out. As long as the mourning ritual has not been carried out, the body remains in a traditional house called a tongkonan and is wrapped in several pieces of cloth. All necessities of life are still provided, such as clothes, food offerings and even favorite TV shows.
The interesting thing about this ritual is that the types of buffalo sacrificed have various castes, including tedong bonga, tedong pudu ‘and tedong sambao’. Tedong bonga is the highest caste buffalo. Named bonga because it has stripes all over the body. Tedong bonga has several types, based on the type and stripes. There is a bonga sanga’daran, which is a striped buffalo whose mouth is dominated by black.
There is also bonga randan dali ‘if the eye color is black. Also bonga lotong boko ‘if it has black color on the back. The tedong bonga with the highest score is the tedong saleko or the best striped buffalo. The skin is predominantly pale white in color, with black patches or patches all over the body.
According to Yoshafat, this tedong saleko is the highest priced buffalo, from hundreds of millions to billions of rupiah. The price really depends on the buffalo condition, namely from the stripes, the length of the horns, the special marks on the body, to the length of the tail. “The bigger the horn, the longer the tail. If the striped location is where the requirements are, the more expensive it is.
The last time I heard that there was sold Rp1 billion per head. ” There is also tedong pudu ‘, which is black and physically strong. This buffalo usually acts as a fighting buffalo at the end of a solo sign event ‘. The price can be half of tedong bonga. Another caste buffalo is tedong sambao ‘, which is the lowest caste buffalo.
This buffalo skin is gray or brown, almost like cowhide. This is the type of buffalo that is mostly slaughtered when rambu solo ‘. Tedong Saleko, an endemic to Toraja. It is very expensive, maybe because it is used for rituals, and it is difficult to get this buffalo. Compared to other buffaloes, the Saleko breeding process is relatively difficult because the female’s lust period is difficult to know. “It is very lucky and it is considered a blessing if anyone can breed it. It is very difficult to find, “said Yoshafat. However, recently the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) (2002), reported being able to breed through embryo transfer technology.
The need for buffalo in South Sulawesi is high, especially for the ritual of death rambu solo ‘. “It is estimated that every year around 18 thousand buffalo are slaughtered as part of a traditional ceremony in Tana Toraja, or about 70 percent of the buffalo in this area. But this is not accompanied by adequate production, ”said Syamsuddin Hasan, Dean of the Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Hasanuddin University (Unhas), Makassar, at the 2013 Buffalo International Conference in Makassar, early November. He said, if this is not accompanied by efforts to increase livestock production, the buffalo population in South Sulawesi will become increasingly limited. Moreover, the need for buffalo is increasing every year, along with the increase in community welfare.
This phenomenon of decreasing buffalo population also occurs nationally. If in the 1990s, the buffalo population reached 3.5 million heads, now it is estimated to have decreased to 1 million heads. “If there is no immediate technology-based intensive cultivation efforts, it could have an impact on the scarcity of these livestock.” In South Sulawesi, buffalo farms are found in two areas, namely Tana Toraja and North Toraja.
In these two areas, buffalo are the main livestock, as an important element in ritual death. The decline in buffalo population was also caused, the function of agricultural mechanization was changed and the area of grazing land or buffalo cultivation was reduced. “This is because it has changed its function to residential and industrial land.”
In fact, said Syamsuddin, buffalo cultivation is actually very profitable. Because, in addition to meat production, buffalo milk is much healthier than cow’s milk, low in cholesterol and good for diabetics. Come on, get interesting information about Indonesia from Indonesiar.com
Source : Mongabay
