Rantepao is a town and the capital of

North Toraja Regency North Toraja (or Toraja Utara) is a landlocked 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 ...

, Indonesia, which is the cultural center of the

Toraja The Torajan are an ethnic group indigenous people, indigenous to a mountainous region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Their population is approximately 1,100,000, of whom 450,000 live in the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, regency of T ...

ethnic group. National and regional tourism offices have developed the city as the starting point for visiting

Tana Toraja Tana Toraja ( 'Toraja Land' in Toraja language) is a landlocked regency ('' kabupaten'') of South Sulawesi Province of Indonesia, and home to the Toraja ethnic group. It covers an area of and had a population of 221,081 at the 2010 censusBiro Pu ...

, since the area was opened for tourism in the 1970s. Rantepao has a significant population of Torajan Muslims.

History

In 1961, the government administration in the Tana Toraja underwent a change. This change occurred due to the issuance of the ''Letter of the Governor of the Level I Region of South Sulawesi No. 2067 A''. In this letter,

Tana Toraja Regency Tana Toraja ( 'Toraja Land' in Toraja language) is a landlocked regency ('' kabupaten'') of South Sulawesi Province of Indonesia, and home to the Toraja ethnic group. It covers an area of and had a population of 221,081 at the 2010 censusBiro Pu ...

which originally consisted of 15

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

with a total of 410 villages changed to consist of 9 sub-districts with 135 villages. One of the districts formed was Rantepao District. Then the formation of a new style village was held through the ''Governor's Decree of the Head of the Level I Region of South Sulawesi No. 450/XII/1965''. This decree was issued on December 20, 1965. Based on the decree, the ''Decree of the Head of the Second Level Region of Tana Toraja was stipulated again No. 152/SP/1967''. Issuance of this letter on September 7, 1967 and its contents regarding the formation of the new style village. A total of 65 new style villages were designated in the Tana Toraja Regency Level II Region. These villages are then divided into 186 villages. In this decree, Rantepao District is divided into 4 sub-district and 18

villages A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

. Rantepao District has been part of

since the formation of this district in 2008. Its formation was stipulated by ''Law of the Republic of Indonesia No. 28 of 2008''. Rantepao District before becoming part of North Toraja Regency, including the

. This is because part of the Tana Toraja Regency area was divided into North Toraja Regency. Rantepao District is one of the

in North Toraja Regency which is located in the central part to the south. The dominant altitude in Rantepao District is between 500–1000 meters above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

Geography

Rantepao has 43,123 inhabitants (census 2010). The town is on river Sadang, about 300 km north-east from Makassar.

Climate

Rantepao has an elevation moderated

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

(Af) with heavy to very heavy rainfall year-round.

Notable sites

A monument 10 metres high near the market in the centre of Rantepao dedicated to Pong Tiku . Pong Tiku was a rebel fighting against the Dutch at the beginning of the 20th century. He was condemned to death in Rantepao in 1907. Mount Gunung Singki west of the town centre is 930 metres high.

Surroundings

Ke'te Kesu is a village in the south of Rantepoao which has a cave with several graves, five large ''tongkonans'' and a dozen storehouses (''alang'').Nurul Noe: ''Makassar dan sekitarnya'', p. 60. Jakarta 2014

Notable people

* Eva Stevany Rataba (born 1982), activist and politician

References

External links

{{Coord, 2.969, S, 119.9, E, display=title North Toraja Regency Populated places in South Sulawesi Regency seats of South Sulawesi