Dissertation: Tana Toraja, Sulawesi

Toraja, Indonesia - Choosing a location to study Toraja is a highly unique cultural area. Marginalised both by its geography and religion (Adams 1997), the mountainous upland regency has a clearly differentiated identity to that of its lowland Muslim neighbours

I had previously visited the region whilst doing some voluntary work During this time I worked and stayed in a local orphanage This raised questions - I wanted to find out more about what I had experience Reading the literature I disagreed with some of the view points Felt that there was something missing in the research Choosing a Topic to Focus on

The literature on Toraja took a narrow focus on… -The changing ceremonial culture -The staging of culture for tourists -Tourist consumption -And notions of cultural authenticity Reading up on the literature I felt that this approach was outdated and provided a one sided view of Torajan-western relations. I wanted to move away from this and find out more about Toraja as a region which has negotiated western contact for over a century. I wanted to look at this process from their point of view.

Relations between the Global and the Local in Toraja, Indonesia After thinking about this further I came up with the following aims … 1.To explore the ways in which Torajan people understand tourists and imagine the world outside Toraja 2.To examine how interpretations of the west and global awareness shape consumption practices and the idolisation or rejection of western goods 3.Investigate the effects technology on social interactions both globally and locally

Choosing my Methods My previous experiences of Toraja dictated my decisions on method. I also needed to use a method that reflected my aims and data -21 interviews in total -Snowball sampling -A revised set of interview questions half way through - Participant observation

-It was important for me to get my interviews set out before I left the UK -I printed consent forms in advance -I bought a Dictaphone and took a netbook with me to type up my interviews -I contacted the people I had met on my fist trip to Toraja and they helped arrange a local homestay -I found an English, Indonesian and Torajan speaking translator online, who had experience of interviewing Preparing to conduct my research

Carrying out the Research Biggest success Staying with a local family allowed for greater emersion into Torajan life and provided inspiration for my second stage interviews Main difficulties -For Daud to communicate the depth of the information provided by the interviewees -For interviewees to be open with their views, some were very shy -illness

Structuring Findings –Key Themes Coding findings to create a structure -Perceptions of the west -Relationships -Consumption practices -Cultural change Exploring the fundamental shifts in peoples abilities to interact over distance, consume goods produced in a global market place, meet with individuals from other cultures, and view themselves within the global context

Questions