Woman's Coffin Falls On Son During Traditional Indonesian Funeral, Killing Him

A man died of severe head trauma after his mother’s coffin fell on him during the funeral ceremony in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, authorities said Sunday.

Police said Samen Kondorura, 40, a resident of North Toraja district, died after pallbearers lost their balance while carrying the coffin up a bamboo ladder onto a lakkian, a carved tower where the body is placed before a funeral service, on Friday.

Julianto Sirait, chief police commissioner, said, “As the mother’s coffin was being raised to the lakkian, suddenly the ladder shifted and collapsed, the coffin fell and hit the victim,” The Guardian reported.

A video posted on social media shows a group of men carrying the coffin and suddenly tumbling down after losing balance on the bamboo ladder. Horrified onlookers can be seen rushing to help the men.

The accident took place because the ladder was not properly reinforced, Sirait said, ENCA reported. He added that Kondorura’s body is now resting alongside his mother.

As part of their tradition, ethnic Torajans sometimes keep the mummified remains of their deceased relatives in their homes for years. Until the deceased is buried, the body is kept in the family home, and thought of as a "Makula," meaning a sick person. Members of the family visit the body each day, talk to the body and bring it food and drinks up to 4 times a day, The Guardian reported.

Even after the burial, the bodies are regularly exhumed to be cleaned and given new clothes in a ritual known as Ma’nene (care of ancestors). Torajans also put gifts such as a bracelet or a watch in the coffin or even bury a diamond with their loved ones.

Funerals can last up to two weeks and involve music, dance and the sacrifice of water buffalo. A minimum of six water buffaloes are sacrificed in the funeral and as many as 100 buffaloes for those belonging to the noble class. The meat from the animal is then consumed as part of the death feast.

Torajans believe the buffalo helps the deceased reach heaven and many buffaloes will make the journey faster.

The funeral ceremony is held in the dry season between the months of June and September each year and is carried out outside the traditional house or ceremonial site where bamboo structures are erected for people to watch.

The deceased are buried in hollowed-out cliffside graves that sometimes are as high as 30 meters off the ground. It is believed that higher up the body is buried, the higher the status of the deceased is, Make Time To See The World reported. Babies with no teeth at the point of death will be wrapped in cloth and placed into a hollowed-out tree trunk and then covered with a palm fiber door.