Toraja hats

Hats off to Toraja! Celebrating some of the diversity of headwear on show in this very special part of Sulawesi. These faces exude great depth of character, so no further adornment or comment is needed.
John Boyd Macdonald
John Boyd Macdonald

Hats off to Toraja! Celebrating some of the diversity of headwear on show in this very special part of Sulawesi. These faces exude great depth of character, so no further adornment or comment is needed.

Coffee was first brought to Indonesia by the Dutch around 1700, and now Indonesia is the world’s fourth-largest coffee producer. Since we first arrived in Indonesia in 2009, we’ve enjoyed a range of distinctive regional coffees – from Bali, Papua,…

The Toraja region of South Sulawesi is deservedly famous for its buffalo – but Torajans are also proud of their roosters. Brightly coloured, lean and athletic, and (dare I say it) looking rather cocky as they strut around. Here’s a…

Water buffalo generally give the appearance of being placid – slow dull gentle giants. Bovine, even. 500+ kilos of docility. But when they fight, they reveal quite a different dimension. There’s a loud clashing of heads, a locking of horns,…

Toraja men (and boys) with their buffaloes. Torajans greatly value their buffalo, and will pay high (indeed, quite extravagant) sums for a prestigious albino animal with particular auspicious markings.

Mass transit system, Toraja style. Compact trucks like this are the almost ubiquitous means of moving large groups of people (and buffaloes, rocks, timber or whatever) around in Toraja, South Sulawesi. And in fact they are really the only feasible…

More from the series 36 Views of Kalimantan – Random photos 2014-17. Hope you like some of them! 36 Views of Kalimantan is published here in three parts. Click on these links to view Part 1 or Part 2. …

More from the series 36 Views of Kalimantan – Random photos 2014-17. Hope you like some of them! 36 Views of Kalimantan is published here in three parts. Click on these links to view Part 1 or Part 3. …