Bori Parinding is a megalithic site near the village of Bori, a few kilometres north of Rantepao. Hundreds of standing stones fill a flat ceremonial ground, each one a marker for a noble who was given the most elaborate form of Torajan burial rite. Some of the stones are centuries old; others were placed within living memory. The site is unlike anything else in Indonesia.
The stones vary enormously in size. Small ones are little more than ankle height; the largest are taller than a person. Each stone was traditionally paid for by the family of the deceased, with the cost of erecting it tied to the scale of the funeral. The current ceremony for placing a new stone — when it happens — attracts hundreds of participants, includes the slaughter of many buffalo, and can last several days. The site is usually quiet; you can walk among the stones freely.