The tongkonan is the name of the traditional housing in the regency of Tana Toraja, Central Sulawesi. (Indonesia) They are really quite spectacular part of the landscape and a major attraction of the area.The upturned ends of each roof are supposedly representative of the horns of a bull, but also contribute to keeping the house cooler during summer. They hold several rooms upstairs and usually a porch and/or other rooms downstairs.
Tongkonan are made using no nails, they are fitted together using a clever combinations of joints and fittings. Traditionally they also make rice houses for storage in a similar manner. The cow horns represent the wealth of the family.
In many cases, they are being left behind for modern housing, though recently there has been a resurgence of interest in these houses.
Preserved Tourist Village of tongkonan
Preserved Tourist Village of tongkonan
View from Preserved Tourist Village of tongkonan
view from Preserved Tourist Village of tongkonan
- rebuilding a traditional tongkonan
- building a new traditional styled tongkonan
- children looking out from a tongkonan window
- bank using the shape of a tongkonan roof
- preserved village of tongkonan
- mix of old and new
Always Restless Feet 
Reblogged this on Ann Novek–With the Sky as the Ceiling and the Heart Outdoors.
Wow! I’ve never seen tongkonan houses before. Great photos!
Yep, pretty amazing, and really quite large!
Nice pictures..
I heard Toraja residents keep the dead with them until can gather enough money for funeral arrangement…is it true?
Correct, but not in these houses, but I will write a separate post for the funeral arrangements and places for the dead in Tana Toraja because it is really interesting and quite different!
Just curious about how large are the homes on the interior? Thank you fro sharing
The centre of the tongkanan was a large room, often a family room, with walls and a slight step up at either end with small bedrooms. I took a group to stay at one in a home stay (but didnt take any good pictures of teh interior đŸ˜¦
I guess the centre rooms were large enough to sleep about 6-8 adults on the floor (side by side) and the bedrooms were smallish but large enough for a comfortable double sized mattress on the floor.
Thank you for explaining! I was imaging something else :).
That’s ok, glad you found it interesting! When I return I will ensure that I take some pictures of the inside as well!
tongkonan is amazing. great pictures !
Thanks, it is amazing!