Tana Toraja: A Social History of an Indonesian People

Tana Toraja is a highland region in the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi, best known today for its exquisite Arabica coffee and as an exotic destination. Toraja is a place, but more importantly a people who have been shaped by location, and by selective absorption of and resistance to cultural forces from the Islamic lowlands. This ambitious, multifaceted study traces the history of Tana Toraja, from 1870 (40 years before the Dutch took control of the highlands) to the 1990s. It shows ...