In preparation for an upcoming trip to Borneo and Sulawesi I’ve started going through some of my old images from previous visits. I took this photograph a little over ten years ago, in the Tana Toraja region on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. This is Rantepao buffalo market, known as Bolu market. In years gone by, Tana Toraja highlands were known for their trade in slaves, guns and coffee. Fortunately nowadays only the coffee trade remains. The Toraja people are known for their cave cemeteries high on cliff faces. Funerals of wealthy individuals involve the slaughter of numerous buffalo and pigs, buffalo considered essential to assist in the journey to the afterlife. A small buffalo may sell for around 5 million Indonesian Rupiah (~300USD). As in other parts of SE Asia the rarer white buffalo are much prized and will fetch many times this sum. This young lad will probably be in his late teens now. On that day he did not have the best of jobs, shoveling buffalo dung while wearing flipflops. So if you’re having a bad day today, think of him. It’s been ten years last in either Borneo or Sulawesi, it will be interesting to see how much life has changed in the intervening years.
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