From TORAJA With Love

This novel consists of 23 chapters, where the first chapter describes the situation in Toraja in 1884. This era was a time when Toraja was still in a very isolated atmosphere and had not been touched by development from the Dutch Colonial Government. The Toraja people at that time still adhered to their ancestral beliefs, namely Aluk Todolo. This Aluk Todolo is adhered to by Surya, a buffalo herder and his lover Mentari, a Torajan pa'gellu' dancer. Surya proves his love for Mentari by looking for Mataallo even though he has to struggle all the way to Java.

In the middle of the chapter, the atmosphere of Yogyakarta is described which has developed rapidly as the forerunner of a modern city under Dutch colonial rule. In this city, Surya meets a palace dancer named Rembulan. The relationship between Surya and Rembulan becomes close after Surya saves Rembulan when she slips on the peak of Mount Merapi. Rembulan falls in love with Surya and considers Surya as her lover.

Thanks to Rembulan's help, Surya is able to complete his mission to find Mataallo, who is Mentari's younger sibling. Mataallo was kidnapped by the Koteng Jawa gang in Toraja and sold as a slave until Mataallo was taken to the city of Soerakarta. Unwittingly, Surya's heart was increasingly captivated by the kindness and beauty of Rembulan.

In the final chapter, it is told that Surya has succeeded in fulfilling his promise to become a porter for the Juragan Jawa group who went on a journey to the foot of Mount Chomulungma in Nepal and returned with them to Yogyakarta. From Yogyakarta, Surya continued his journey to Toraja. Unfortunately, after arriving in Toraja, Mentari finally found out that Surya had a close relationship with Rembulan, although Surya denied it. Fortunately, Ne' Bua' as a figure who had a lot of life experience, provided a solution for Surya to return to Yogyakarta to speak honestly to Rembulan that he already had a lover in Toraja.