Papa Batu is the name of the Tongkonan located in Lembang Tumakke in the Rembon sub-district of Tana Toraja. The house was built around seven hundred years ago by a man named Butu Batu. The difference between this Tongkonan from other Tongkonan houses is that its roof is made of andesite and padas stones, lending it a unique and majestic appearance. Stone in Indonesian is Batu. Appropriately, this is the only known Tongkonan remaining with a roof of stone. Due to high building costs for materials and construction, only the most affluent people could have built this one of a kind home.
Papa Batu’s unusual roof is made of square-shaped pieces of stone with two holes cut on top, on the left and right, which are used for tying the tiles onto the frame of the roof using tough rattan. The top of the roof, where the stones laid on the right and left of the roof meet, is covered with bamboo to prevent rain falling into the building.
The people who built this roof did not have access to modern measuring tools such as a ruler. Instead, they used an adult hand to calculate the average width of each stone, equivalent to 40cm to 50cm, a length of 30cm to 60cm and a thickness of 5cm to 7cm centimetres. Each piece of stone allegedly weighs ten (10) kilograms, and with the total number of stones on the roof amounting to about 1000 pieces, the total weight of the roof is about ten (10) tons.
Like other Tongkonan houses, the body of Papa’ Batu Tumakke is built of wood and carved with various traditional patterns in accordance to Aluk Todolo. These patterns include motifs of the sun, buffaloes and other geometric shapes. For further explanation of Torajan carving patterns and motifs, see the menu section labelled Toraja Carving page.
The Papa Batu Tongkonan is considered sacred by the people of the region. No one can enter its doors without permission, other than the founder’s descendants. Guests or visitors must first knock on the door of the Tongkonan three times before entering. However, another interesting aspect to this process is that you must knock three times on the doorframe with your head, instead of with your hands. Local legend claims that if you do not knock thrice with your head, you will experience an accident or fall sick on their way home.
Recently, however, this Tongkonan has been closed to visitors wanting to enter the house. Papa’ Batu Tumakke has undergone a few renovations over the years to keep it safe and standing. The house is no longer a home, but it is a historical object for the descendants of the original owner to maintain and a marvel of human ingenuity to guests. In addition to the Tongkonan, there are craftsmen located nearby who carve traditional Torajan motifs and patterns onto buffalo bones available to bring home as souvenirs.
