North Toraja Regency

North Toraja (or Toraja Utara) is a regency (kabupaten) of South Sulawesi Province of Indonesia, and the home of the Toraja ethnic group. The local government seat is in Rantepao which is also the center of Toraja culture. Formerly this regency was part of Tana Toraja Regency.

North Toraja Regency

Kabupaten Toraja Utara
Regency
Coat of arms
CountryIndonesia
ProvinceSouth Sulawesi
CapitalRantepao
Area
 • Total1,151.47 km2 (444.59 sq mi)
Population
 (2010 Census)
 • Total215,400
 • Density190/km2 (480/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+7 (WIB)

The Tana Toraja boundary was determined by the Dutch East Indies government in 1909. In 1926, Tana Toraja was under the administration of Bugis state, Luwu. The regentschap (or regency) status was given on October 8, 1946, the last regency given by the Dutch. Since 1984, Tana Toraja has been named as the second tourist destination after Bali by the Ministry of Tourism, Indonesia. Since then, hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors have visited this regency. In addition, numerous Western anthropologists have come to Tana Toraja to study the indigenous Torajan people and their culture.

Christian mission in Tana Toraja Regency, Netherlands colonial period.
picture credits : Tropenmuseum.

Geography

Tana Toraja is located on the Sulawesi island, 300 km north of Makassar, the provincial capital of South Sulawesi. Its geographical location is between latitude of 2°-3° South and longitude 119°-120° East (center: 3°S 120°E). The area of the new North Toraja Regency is 1,151.47  km², about 2.5% of the total area of South Sulawesi province. The topography of Tana Toraja is mountainous; its minimum elevation is 150 m, while the maximum is 3,083 above the sea level.[1]

Administration

North Toraja Regency in 2010 comprised 21 administrative Districts (Kecamatan), tabulated below with their 2010 Census population.[2]

NamePopulation
Census 2010
Sopai13,042
Kesu15,504
Sanggalangi11,129
Buntao8,911
Rantebua7,595
Nanggala9,192
Tondon9,465
Tallunglipu18,068
Rantepao25,585
Tikala10,275
Sesean10,893
Balusu6,760
Sa'dan14,923
Bengkelekila5,128
Sesean Suloara6,236
Kapala Pitu6,041
Dende Piongan Napo7,979
Awan Rante Karua5,193
Rindingalo7,255
Buntu Pepasan12,228
Baruppu5,358

See also

References
  1. "Official Tana Toraja website" (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 2005-11-10.
  2. Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011.
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