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
Choosing a Topic to Focus on
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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
Reading up on the literature
The literature on Toraja took a narrow
focus on…
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The changing ceremonial culture
The staging of culture for tourists
Tourist consumption
And notions of cultural authenticity
I felt that this approach was outdated and provided a one sided view of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
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21 interviews in total
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Snowball sampling
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A revised set of interview
questions half way through
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Participant observation
Preparing to conduct my research
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It was important for me to get my
interviews set out before I left the UK
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I printed consent forms in advance
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I bought a Dictaphone and took a
netbook with me to type up my
interviews
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I contacted the people I had met on
my fist trip to Toraja and they helped
arrange a local homestay
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I found an English, Indonesian and
Torajan speaking translator online,
who had experience of interviewing
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
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Structuring Findings –Key Themes
Coding findings to create a structure
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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