Kete Kesu Village

About this place

Toraja's best-known and loveliest village, centuries old, with a row of tongkonan, the traditional Torajan houses with huge curved roofs shaped like boats or buffalo horns, facing a row of ornate rice barns, all carved with red, black and yellow geometric patterns and hung with buffalo horns that show a family's standing. Behind the village a path climbs to a cliff holding old wooden coffins carved in the shape of boats and buffalo, and wooden ancestor effigies, following old Torajan burial traditions. The village has woodcarving workshops and craft shops. The fee is modest. Most Torajans are Christian and local food often includes pork, so look for halal restaurants in Rantepao, and be respectful of any funeral rites you come across. Come in the morning, and use a local guide to explain the carvings' symbols and Torajan traditions. One to two hours is enough.