Tongkonan

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A Toraja Tongkonan.

Tongkonan is the traditional ancestral house, or rumah adat of the Torajan people, in South
Sulawesi, Indonesia. Tongkonan have a distinguishing boat-shaped and oversized saddleback roof.
Like most of Indonesias Austronesian-based traditional architecture tongkonan are built on piles.
The construction of tongkonan is laborious work and it is usually built with the help of all family
members. In the original Toraja society, only nobles had the right to build tongkonan. Commoners
live in smaller and less decorated homes called banua.

History
According to myth, the first Toraja house was
constructed in heaven by Puang Matua, the Creator (see:
Religion). It was built on four poles, and the roof was
made of Indian cloth. Next, Puang Matuaordered the
construction of another house, on iron poles and a
bamboo roof. When the ancestor of mankind descended to
earth in the southern half of Toraja (in the area bordering
the Regency of Enrekang), he imitated the heavenly
house, and a big house ceremony was held for the
occasion.
The traditional village of Nanggala', in
the North of Toraja

The former village founder of Toraja, an important figure

in Toraja, was called Tangdilino'. Near Mengkendek
(southern Toraja), a house was built that had a roof with
its two ends bending upwards. This particular form is explained in various ways. The first story
stresses resemblance to a boat - since, according to myth, the ancestors of the Toraja people came by
boat from the Mekong Delta in South China - the second story claims that the arch-shaped roof looks
like the sky. This is, indeed, reflected in some prayers by the ancient animistic belief Aluk Todolo.
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Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist Temple inMagelang, Central

Java, Indonesia. The monument consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular,
topped by a central dome. The temple is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.
The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a perforated stupa.[1] It is
the world's largest Buddhist temple,[2][3] as well as one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the
world.[4]
Built in the 9th century during the reign of the Sailendra Dynasty, the temple was designed
in Javanese Buddhist architecture, which blends the Indonesianindigenous cult of ancestor
worship and the Buddhist concept of attaining Nirvana.[4]The temple also demonstrates the
influences of Gupta art that reflects India's influence on the region, yet there are enough indigenous
scenes and elements incorporated to make Borobudur uniquely Indonesian. [5][6] The monument is
both ashrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins
at the base of the monument and follows a path around the monument and ascends to the top
through three levels symbolic of Buddhist cosmology: Kmadhtu (the world of
desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) andArupadhatu (the world of formlessness). The monument
guides pilgrims through an extensive system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief
panels on the walls and the balustrades. Borobudur has the largest and most complete ensemble of
Buddhist reliefs in the world.[4]

Built in the 10th century, this is the largest temple compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia.
Rising above the centre of the last of these concentric squares are three temples decorated with
reliefs illustrating the epic of the Ramayana, dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities (Shiva,
Vishnu and Brahma) and three temples dedicated to the animals who serve them.

Brief synthesis
Prambanan Temple Compounds consist of Prambanan Temple (also called Loro Jonggrang),
Sewu Temple, Bubrah Temple and Lumbung Temple. Prambanan Temple itself is a complex
consisting of 240 temples. All the mentioned temples form the Prambanan Archaeological Park
and were built during the heyday of Sailendras powerful dynasty in Java in the 8th century AD.
These compounds are located on the border between the two provinces of Yogyakarta and
Central Java on Java Island.
While Loro Jonggrang, dating from the 9th century, is a brilliant example of Hindu religious basreliefs, Sewu, with its four pairs of Dwarapala giant statues, is Indonesias largest Buddhist

complex including the temples of Lumbung, Bubrah and Asu (Gana temple). The Hindu temples
are decorated with reliefs illustrating the Indonesian version of the Ramayana epic which are
masterpieces of stone carvings. These are surrounded by hundreds of shrines that have been
arranged in three parts showing high levels of stone building technology and architecture from
the 8th century AD in Java. With over 500 temples, Prambanan Temple Compounds represents
not only an architectural and cultural treasure, but also a standing proof of past religious
peaceful cohabitation.