OK, I am gonna level with you right now! Watching a Rambu Solo AKA Buffalo Slaughter in Rantepao is not only brutal, but at times even a wee bit dangerous.
It is though also really fucking cool too, so you see there’s a bit of a duality going. So, how do you actually watch a Rambu Solo in Rantepao Toraja? Well as this is a funeral rite you could say it is a little #Complicated, but also very doable.
Table of Contents
WTF is a Rambu Solo?
Rambu Solo is basically the Toraja version of saying goodbye to a dead relative, except this is Toraja and therefore goodbye comes with a fucking huge ceremony, a load of food, dozens of relatives and, if the family has the cash, a small herd of buffalo. The whole thing is about getting the deceased on their journey to the afterlife, but it is also about family, social standing and showing what you have got.
Buffalo are the ultimate status symbol here, with the number and quality of animals sacrificed telling you quite a lot about the family doing the hosting. In other words, this is not exactly a quiet funeral in the local crematorium followed by a sandwich.
It can be a massive multi day event involving traditional ceremonies, music, food, speeches and enough livestock to make a farmer nervous. The richer and more important the family, the more spectacular the whole thing can become. Basically, Toraja death comes with production values.
Layout and schedule of a Rambu Solo
OK! So, how does one work? Well basically someone dies and depending on how much cash they got to flash is how many bulls get killed. Prior to the bull slaughter the dead body stays with the family for about a week.
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Check out my TikTok about the Biggest Buffalo Market in the World!
Then on the day of the funeral they go to a rante, people are seated in different areas that are numbered, while the host family are elevated. Initially only a few bulls are killed with meat being handed out to local people, or even the church before the mayhem breaks loose. And believe me it is fucking mental.
The Buffalo Slaughter
Remember that I told you about how people were seated in numbered areas? Well I forgot to add that these are very much enclosed and that this is very much for good reason. What is that reason you ask? Well it turns out that buffalo are tough as fuck.
So, to the killing, in which I watched 4. The first one went OK in that one slice to the neck and the buffalo went down. He wasn’t dead you understand and was rolling around for another 15 minutes. This though was nothing compared to 2 and indeed 3.
Basically the buffalo are tied to something by foot, a handler holds the rope connected to its nose and then an “expert” slices its throat. The only problem, they are not that great at timing or aim and with at least 2 of the buffalo all the first hit seemed to do was piss them off. And boy were they pissed. Basically they try with their great strength to get away, run away, save their skin as it were. This was the reason you are supposed to stay in the protected area instead of being a dumb tourist. Of course I was the latter.
After seeing one buffalo sliced and diced, as well as 4 fully executed, or rather tortured to death I decided to call it quits. I could have stayed the whole day, but hey you can only have so much of a good thing eh!
How to get to Rantepao?
Before you can even consider your buffalo killing jollies you will need to get yourself to Makassar regardless of how you want your final route to Rantepao to be like. This is good though as Makassar has a great airport with lots of domestic and a few international destinations.
Major domestic routes to Makassar include:
- Jakarta
- Surabaya
- Denpasar
- Balikpapan
- Banjarmasin
- Kendari
- Manado
- Palu
- Ambon
- Ternate
- Jayapura
- Sorong
- Yogyakarta
- Bandung
Major international routes to Makassar include:
- Singapore
- Kuala Lumpur
- Jeddah
You can then fly to Toraja which takes about an hour. This is option 1.
Flights from Makassar to Toraja:
- Wings Air IW1330
- Makassar to Toraja
- 08:10 to 09:05
- Flight time: 55 minutes
- Wednesday and Friday
The return flight is also worth knowing about if you are doing the route in reverse:
- Wings Air IW1331
- Toraja to Makassar
- 09:30 to 10:25
- Flight time: 55 minutes
- Wednesday and Friday
The other option is overland. For this there are overnight buses, or you can break the journey up using local buses, drivers, or in the right circumstances even Grab. Top choices on the way include Parepare and Enrekang.
Buses from Makassar to Rantepao:
- Standard bus: IDR 150,000 to 250,000 (US$9 to $15)
- Executive/sleeper: IDR 250,000 to 380,000 (US$15 to $23)
- Journey time: around 8 to 10 hours
- Most overnight services leave in the evening and arrive early morning.
Click to read about how to get the 5 year Indonesian Visa.
How to watch a Rambu Solo/Buffalo Slaughter in Toraja?
So, this is the sticky bit because you can’t exactly plan when someone is going to die. This after all is culture and not planned for tourists. Weirdly though there is to a degree a “season”.
- June: Start of the main period
- July: Excellent
- August: Peak
- September: Still good, especially early September
- December: Secondary period
Then it is a case of keeping your ear out and quite literally chasing the fun. Of course another option is to outsource the hard lifting and do a tour, something I am working on for YPT!
And that is the nuts and bolts of Rambu Solo, not for the fainthearted or those in for a quick easy tourist trap. If though you’re in for really gettin weird beard and off the beaten track, then this place has it all.
Click to see my Indonesia Tours with YPT.