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Death and the Sacrifice of Signs: ‘Measuring’ the Dead in Tana Toraja
Author(s) -
Tsintjilonis Dimitri
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1834-4461
pISSN - 0029-8077
DOI - 10.1002/j.1834-4461.2000.tb02720.x
Subject(s) - sacrifice , meaning (existential) , aesthetics , sociology , epistemology , philosophy , theology
Suggesting the existence of an intrinsic connection between sacrifice and embodiment, this article considers the meaning and symbolism of traditional mortuary rituals among the Sa'dan Toraja of Indonesia. Manifesting different ways of being, these rituals engender different ways of dying. Focusing on the sacrificial patterns of their engenderment, I discuss these differences and the way in which they are thought to ‘emerge from the body’.