Day 161 Around Rantepao

We asked the hotel for a guide so one came as we finished breakfast. After the usual sales technique aimed nowhere near our budget so we took out luxuries and settled on 650,000IDR for a basic car,driver,gift for family of funeral,entrance fees and guide to visit 3 villages and there was also a funeral on which was lucky for us as they are one of the highlights in this area. We left at 10.30 when he came back with the car stopping first at Lemo where we saw some traditional houses with massive boat shaped roofs. One of the stories is their ancestors came by boat up the river & used that boat as a home so the shape was kept as a reminder. At the first village were graves in holes which had been carved in to a big rock face. Each grave was for one family so could have many bodies not in coffins but wrapped in cloth. An effigy is made of some(the more important some) and placed on a balcony also carved from the rock face.
The second village's show piece was coffins in caves, they had two caves which we were shown in to. Many of the coffins were damaged or rotten so we could see the skeleton of some including a number of children. Each family had an area to use but most seem stacked or placed haphazardly and piled high.
Next stop was the highlight the area is famous for, elaborate funerals and just to clarify first this person died a year ago the family spent this time saving and making arrangements for many people to celebrate his life in their special way its not like crashing a western funeral where family & friends are grieving its more of a party.
The first sight that hits us as we get out the car just past the entrance are two pigs with a mans hand inside being cleaned out and the other just finishing bleeding out when two guys with gas torches take to it to burn off all the hair as they do the pig squirms with its last bit of life. This funeral is over 3 days and family and friends numbering thousands will come from everywhere bringing a sacrificial animal either a pig or a buffalo. We had a look about then sat watching the family (who were all dressed traditionally) greet new comers in one of the temporary bamboo structures. Another 10 pigs were killed just while we were there and the head of a buffalo was left on show from earlier in the day. We were offered food and we ate with others fresh pork, veg and rice.
The last village on the tour was a good example of their traditional style, each house with its massive boat roof and it's rice store a 1/3 scale version of the house set 20metres in front of each. This village was preparing for a funeral in July with many temporary bamboo buildings being erected for an estimated 10,000 guests.
Check the background of the two photos showing the guys cutting up the pig, one has caught a blood spurt from the dying pig behind and the other is it being torched moments later.