Let in Those Who Weep - The Toraja of Sulawesi

01/01/1995

There is a special moment in the lives of the that can be described by a single word: Mabadong. Toraja funerals are as they were 500 years ago. The tradition of letting into the inner circle of mourners anyone weeping for the deceased, is a ritual which brings together every rank of society. It is a huge ceremony which reinforces the social hierarchy and keeps alive the spirit of the Toraja culture. But it is also a tradition that threatens to put this people into financial ruin. This is the story of a young man who puts his family in debt, sells his parents' house and gambles the lot on cockfights, to raise the money for his grandmother's funeral and thus preserve his family's rank in the tribe.