Archive · 23 Dec 2025
Toraja Tribe's Unique Baby Burial Tradition
The Toraja tribe in Indonesia used to have a special way of burying babies who died before growing teeth.
They would place the baby inside a living jackfruit tree, believing that the tree would act as the baby's new mother.
The community thought that the wind would carry the baby's soul away and that the tree's milk-like sap would nurture the baby.
This practice was done in the village of Kambira, and the graves were carved on the side of the tree opposite the parents' house.
Over time, the tree would grow around the burial site.
However, this tradition was stopped about 50 years ago because fewer babies were dying, likely due to advances in modern science.
The Toraja tribe in Indonesia buried babies who died before teething in living jackfruit trees.
The practice was believed to allow the wind to carry the baby's soul away and the tree to act as a nurturing mother.
The baby was wrapped in ferns and placed in a shallow recess in the tree, covered with palm tree bark.
The graves were carved on the side of the tree opposite the parents' house.
This tradition was discontinued around 50 years ago due to a decrease in infant mortality rates.
- Who
- Toraja tribe in Indonesia
- What
- Burial of babies in trees
- When
- Practice discontinued around 50 years ago
- Where
- Tana Toraja Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
- Why
- Belief in the purity and soft bones of infants, and the tree as a nurturing mother
- Tribe
- Toraja
- Location
- Tana Toraja Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
- Burial Practice
- Burying babies in trees
- Tree Used
- Jackfruit (Tarra) tree
- Reason
- Belief in soft bones and purity of infants
- Current Status
- Practice discontinued around 50 years ago
- Significance
- Belief in tree as new mother and nature's nurturing