The Government Respects The Legal Process Related To The Execution Of The Toraja Traditional House

JAKARTA - Director General of Cultural and Traditional Protection, Ministry of Culture Restu Gunawan said the government respects the legal process related to the execution of Tongkonan Ka Pun in Tana Toraja Regency, South Sulawesi, which was carried out by the Makale District Court.

Restu said this incident was an important issue related to the sustainability of Toraja's cultural heritage.

According to him, the execution will not only have an impact on physical buildings, but also on cultural values that live in indigenous peoples.

"This incident is not just a land dispute, but also concerns the sustainability of Toraja cultural heritage which has historical, architectural, and social identity values of its people. The state must be present to ensure that the legal process does not have an impact on the loss of traditional values," said Restu as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, December 12.

This execution is a follow-up to the land dispute process that has been going on since 1986 between the Sarra family and the Roreng family.

The land dispute objects include one candid building that is hundreds of years old, two new hangout buildings, six rice barn buildings, and two semi-permanent houses.

The demolition was carried out using the excavator according to a court order. The preliminary search results show that the dismantling Ka Tongkonan does not have a traditional function.

In addition, Tongkonan Ka has not yet had the status of a cultural heritage, even though it was once recorded as a suspected cultural heritage object (ODCB) at the district level in 2017.

This finding serves as a reminder of the need for updating data and thorough identification of Toraja traditional settlements, complexity of land ownership, and patterns of scattered customary settlements.

Restu assessed that strengthening cultural protection must include aspects of regulation, traditional institutions, regional spatial planning, and mechanisms for determining cultural heritage.

As a follow-up step, the Ministry of Culture will strengthen the mapping of Toraja traditional residential areas through collaboration with the Cultural Preservation Center of the XIX Region of South Sulawesi, local governments, academics, BRIN, and local indigenous institutions.

In addition, the government will encourage the improvement of cultural conservation policies at the regional level to ensure that traditional homes and cultural systems are protected in development planning.

The Ministry of Culture will also update and synchronize cultural potential data, including objects suspected of cultural heritage, cultural heritage, and objects of cultural promotion.

Technical assistance for local governments in the process of determining cultural heritage will be a priority, especially for important cultural objects in Tana Toraja and North Toraja.

Through public dialogue and cultural conservation education, the government hopes to increase public awareness about the importance of preserving ancestral cultural heritage.

Restu reiterated the government's commitment to maintaining the sustainability of Toraja culture.

'Tongkonan is not just a building. It is a symbol of lineage, center of social life, and marker of the identity of the Toraja people. The government is committed to strengthening the protection of traditional settlements so that similar incidents can be prevented and cultural values can be inherited in full," he said.