PERCEPTION OF THE LOCAL TOURIST ON RAMBU SOLO CEREMONY

Abstract

The Rambu Solo ceremony has its uniqueness. There are various long ritual processes so this uniqueness makes Toraja a tourist destination that is visited by many tourists with many tourists coming. The Toraja people and tourists will mingle and communicate with each other. Yet, when the communication that occurs between the Toraja people and tourists does not go well, it will have an impact. For example, the dispute over the understanding of the meaning that occurred between the Toraja community and local tourists in Kate Kesu Toraja where two tourists who accidentally took a photo stepped on the skull of a corpse in the tourist spot this action made the Toraja people angry. The objective of this study is to determine the perception of local tourists and the Toraja people in the implementation of the rambu solo ceremony in the North Toraja Regency, Rantepao, Kesu District, Panta'nakan Lolo Village. Furthermore, the research method used in this research is qualitative, based on case study research and descriptive research type. Meanwhile, the number of informants in this study was 6 informants, consisting of 3 local tourist informants and 3 other people from the Toraja community while the data collection technique used was in-depth interviews. The results of the study show that the Toraja community's perception of the implementation of the rambu solo ceremony is that the implementation of the rambu solo ceremony is an obligation that must be carried out by the Toraja Tujaan community as a loving service to the bereaved family, especially to both parents, besides that the implementation of the rambu solo ceremony as a place to show off pride and a marker of the social status of the Toraja people because the Toraja people themselves know 4 social statuses, namely tana bulawan (the golden tana caste which in them comes from the king's descendants), the second tana bassi (iron tana caste in which those who come from security), the third tana karurung (the caste in which the free people) and the fourth the tana kua-kua (this caste is for the people of ramba, pesuru). Meanwhile, the perception of local tourists towards the implementation of the rambu solo ceremony shows that the rambu solo ceremony is a unique burial ceremony because the process of carrying out the burial is different in general, in addition to the implementation of the rambu solo there are many processes and unique rituals in it such as uniquely slaughtering animals, burial with 3 places, namely cliff cemetery, wood and patania (house for the dead). The implication of this research is the perception of the implementation of the rambu solo ceremony which if it is carried out will lead to conflict.