unique funeral ceremony - dead body is not buried

Tana Toraja (Toraja Land), which lies in the north of the province is known for its unique culture and ancient traditions. The center of tourism is Rantepao, 328 km from Ujung Pandang by road. There are several small bungalow hotels at Rantepao, and Makale, the district capital. The entry to Tana Toraja is marked by a gate built in traditional boat-shaped architecture.

Funeral Ceremony in Tana Toraja, in the middle of Sulawesi (Indonesia). 60 bulls and hundreds of pigs are slaughtered during a 5 day lasting funeral, where more than 1000 people meet, drink and eat. Toraja have a Protestant Christian religion, with a lot of native influences. Photo galleries


Be warned, though, some parts of the ceremony are not for the faint-hearted --- the slaughter by single sword stroke of a scared buffalo is common.

Drive through spectacular mountain, steep terraced slopes and tall bamboo forests to arrive in Toraja highland, the "Land of the Heavenly Kings". We will walk across the natural beauties of Toraja highland to experience unique culture of Toraja people which is based on animistic beliefs. Known for their grand burial ceremonies on cliffs or hanging graves Tana Toraja has a specific and unique funeral ceremony which is called Rambu Solo. In Tana Toraja, dead body is not buried, but it is put in Tongkonan for several times, even can be more than ten years until the family have enough money to held the ceremony.

they practice an ancestral cult even today where death and afterlife ceremonies are great feasts when buffaloes are sacrificed in the final death ceremony, after which the deceased's remains are placed in a coffin and interred in caves hollowed out in high cliffs. Tana Toraja has a specific and unique funeral ceremony which is called Rambu Solo. In Tana Toraja, dead body is not buried, but it is put in Tongkonan for several times, even can be more than ten years until the family have enough money to held the ceremony. After ceremony, the dead body is brought to the cave or to the wall of the mountain. The skulls show us that the dead body is not buried but just put on stone or ground, or put in the hole.The funeral festival season begins when the last rice has been harvested, usually in late June or July, and lasts through to September.

The road from Makassar or Ujung Pandand to Toraja runs along the coast for about 130 km's and then hits the mountains. After the entrance to Tana Toraja you enter a majestic landscape with giant gray, granites and stones and blue mountains at a distance after passing the market village of Mebali. They form a sharp contrast with the lively green of the fertile, rain-fed terraces and the rusty read of the tropical laterite soil. This is Tana Toraja, one of the most splendid areas in Indonesia.

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Targeting A Niche Is So Important For Online Marketers

by Tim Whiston

The Web is a big place, and while it can technically never get “full”, the playing field now feels smaller than it did a few years ago. There are literally millions of businesses and individuals selling products and services online, and competition can be extremely fierce in some markets.

While a true abundance mindset rejects the idea of competition and realizes there is more than enough for everyone, it still makes sense to avoid jumping into the fray with thousands of sites that are selling almost identical products to the ones you are offering. You can make a lot more money with much less effort by narrowing your focus to a niche market.

The term “niche marketing” gets used a lot online, but most of the time it’s not used correctly. A niche, in terms of marketing, is a relatively small group of customers who have very specific interests and/or needs.

Targeting a niche makes it easier for you to create profits for a couple of reasons:

1. You are marketing to a group of people with very specific needs. In many cases these folks actively want the solution you are offering.
2. There is almost always less (even minimal) competition when you are targeting a niche because few online businesses will take the time to research these smaller market segments. Most marketers go for the broad markets, leaving many lucrative niches pretty much untapped.

It should be pretty clear how your business could benefit from focusing on niche marketing. But what is less obvious for many entrepreneurs is how to do this; i.e. many people confuse the concept of a niche with that of a specific market.


When asked to list a few niches, many people would come up with answers such as horse training, weight loss, and home improvement. These are sincere responses, but they are not niche markets by any stretch of the imagination.

Each of the above markets is very broadly defined. To find a niche, one must more narrowly refine his or her search into a broad market.

On this premise, horse-training equipment for left-handed children might be a niche worth exploring.

As would safe weight loss strategies for men over 40 who are recovering from alcoholism.

By the same token, another possible niche market would be adding bay windows to second story rooms to enhance both interior lighting and equity value.

Are you beginning to see the difference in a broad market and a tightly focused niche? The examples above are totally made up off the cuff, and may or may not be profitable; but hopefully you see the point I’ve used them to illustrate.

While a broad market may have millions of consumers, it also probably has at least tens of thousands of qualified businesses working hard to sell to these prospects. On the other hand, a good niche with only a few thousand customers may have just one or two merchants currently catering to their needs.

As an online marketer you could earn a substantial living with a few hundred core customers. And if you are among the first to discover the potential of a certain niche, you can position yourself very strongly in the eyes of your target prospects and generate sales without a lot of hard work.

It only takes a little research to find a good niche. By spending a few hours of your time looking for a very focused group of consumers you could literally set yourself up for massive success on a long-term basis.

Niche Marketing: What Exactly Is It?

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What is Niche Marketing?

Niche marketing is a term that gets kicked around a lot, but what does it really mean and how can it put more money into your pocket? Keep reading to find out.

A niche market is a smaller, very focused group of people who share a common set of interests and needs. These people are looking for a very specific product or service.

So niche marketing is about finding these tightly focused groups of people, understanding what they want, and selling it to them. This superb strategy will decrease the amount of competition you encounter and greatly increase your chances of converting cash sales.

Most people, when asked about a niche market will respond with a lot of general topics. For instance many entrepreneurs seem to think horse training, dog grooming, alternative energy, healthcare, and online business are niches.

These areas are all very broad, highly competitive market, not niches. On the other hand, training injured horses to compensate for their bad leg, stylish hair bows made especially for black toy poodles, a guide on the best solar powered flashlight, tips on how to care for men with a particular type of dementia, and software that helps you build a better shopping cart are all examples of possible niche products/services.

I say possible because while these are all very tightly focused concepts, they are not real niche markets until you know for certain a group of people is actively looking to spend money on them. Getting focused in only one part of the niche marketing formula; the second and equally critical piece of the puzzle is in identifying your customers.

In fact the process of finding a niche market actually begins with the search for your potential customers. Most people make the mistake of finding what they believe to be a great product first, and then looking for someone to sell this product to. This is the fast-track to disappointment. You always need to find the people you'll market to first, and then worry about the exact product you'll offer.

You can start with a general idea, like a hobby or a skill you have. But before you begin to build a business around this idea you absolutely must be sure there are ample people online who are interested in your idea.

There are a number of good keyword research utilities online that can help you begin your quest for the right niche market. In essence a keyword research tool will tell you what terms people are searching for on engines like Google and Yahoo, and in many cases you can even find out how frequently the popular terms are being queried!

Once you know what terms are being searched, you'll want to see for yourself what searchers are finding on the major engines when they enter these terms. Are there thousands of sites selling products and services related to these searches, or are there only a handful of sites offering any information related to the keywords you've found?

In the ideal scenario you'll find a group of related keywords that are searched on quite a bit, and then confirm that very few (or no) sites can be found to provide a solution to the searcher's problem. This qualifies as a legitimate niche marketing opportunity.

The research phase is the most important step in the process of launching an online business. And it's the step most people skimp on or avoid altogether.

Sadly, this is why most people flop miserably with their online venture. They never bother to find out if anyone else cares about their idea, and they end up developing a product nobody wants.

Now that you understand the basics of what niche marketing is you can avoid making this costly mistake. Find your tightly focused group of potential customers, find out what it is they want/need, and then get to work figuring out how you'll be the person to offer them what they are looking for!


Why Targeting A Niche Is So Important For Online Marketers


by Tim Whiston

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Save the Children - Child Rights Organization

India has the highest number of labourers in the world under the age of 14 years. The constitution guarantees free and compulsory education to children between the ages of 6 and 14. Although the Constitution of India prohibits employment of children younger than 14 in any hazardous environment, child labour is present in almost all sectors of the Indian economy. Some of the sectors involved in child labour are beedi manufacture, fireworks manufacture, diamond industry, domestic labour, construction, etc.

Child labour is most predominant in the beedi manufacture sector. More than 30% of the total hired workers are children. The United States Customs Service had banned the import of Beedis made in Ganesh Beedi Works of Mangalore. In Surat, which is the hub of the diamond industry in India, 25% of the workforce comprises children. However, in the past few years there has been a significant decrease in the number of child workers especially in Gujarat. This has been possible due to the continuous efforts of many groups and an increase in the awareness among people connected to the diamond industry. The fireworks manufacture sector in some places like Sivakasi, employs children at wages as low as Rs. 20 per day. It is estimated that more than 3,000 children work in this industry. Unfortunately, many of them die in accidents. All across India, we get to see children working as domestic labour and as workers at dhabas, hotels, offices, etc. Children can also be found in the construction of both home and office buildings. In 1982, for the construction of the Asian Games Village, the contractors had employed child labour, for they had to be paid less, making it a giant issue. Another industry where child labour is highly active is silk manufacture. Human Rights Watch estimates that at least 3,50,000 bonded children are employed by the silk industry in India.

There have been many initiatives against child labour by the government and non governmental organizations. In 1979, the government formed the Gurupadswamy Committee to tackle child labour. The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation act was enacted based on the recommendations of the committee in 1986. The act bans employment of children in occupations related to

? Transport of passengers ? Manufacture and selling of crackers and fireworks ? Carpet Weaving ? Manufacture of Beedi, cement, matches, explosives, soap, agate products, agarbatti, etc ? Building and construction industry ? Hazardous processes under the factory act

The violation of the act can result in punishment ranging from imprisonment from one month to two years. Many NGOs including Save the Children have been working to eradicate child labour in India. Save the Children is driven to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives. For this, we have developed various schemes and policies for child protection. It is our mission to eliminate child labour completely from the society and facilitate the development of children enabling them to reach their full potential.

Save the Children is the world's leading independent organisation for children that works to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.

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