Tana Toraja Regency (Torajaland, Land of the Toraja or Tator) is a regency (kabupaten) of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, home of Toraja ethnic group people. The local government seat is in Makale, where the center of Toraja culture is in Rantepao. But now, Tana Toraja has been divided to two regencies that consist of Tana Toraja with capital is Makale and Toraja Utara with capital is Rantepao.
Tana Toraja boundary was determined by the Dutch East Indies government in 1909. In 1926, Tana Toraja was under the administration of Bugis state, Luwu. The regentschap (or regency) status was given on October 8, 1946, the last regency given by the Dutch. Since 1984, Tana Toraja has been named as the second tourist destination after Bali by the Ministry of Tourism, Indonesia. Since then, hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors have visited this regency. In addition, numerous Western anthropologists have come to Tana Toraja to study the indigenous culture and people of Toraja.
[[Image:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM 'Leden van de 'Toradjasche Christelijke Jongelieden Vereeniging 'Boenga Lalan voor de pastorie te Malaboh Toraja Sulawesi.' TMnr 10001356.jpg|thumb|right|375px|Christian mission in Tana Toraja Regency, netherlands colonial period.
picture credits : Tropenmuseum.]]
Contents |
Tana Toraja is located on the Sulawesi island, 300 km north of Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi. Its geographical location is between latitude of 2°-3° South and longitude 119°-120° East (center: ). The total area is 3.205,77 km², about 5% of the South Sulawesi province. The topography of Tana Toraja is mountainous. The minimum elevation is 150 m, while the maximum is 3,083 above the sea level.[1]
|
||||||||||||||||||