Indan as Non-Formal Cultural Accounting: Ethnomethodological Construction of Social Obligations in Toraja Ritual Ceremonies

ABSTRACT : This study examines how the Toraja community constructs the practice of indan as a system of non-formal cultural accounting through an ethnomethodological approach. Indan is a traditional social debt system embedded in Toraja customary ceremonies, particularly Rambu Solo’ (funeral rituals) and Rambu Tuka’ (thanksgiving rituals), in which contributions of livestock, money, or food carry obligatory moral reciprocity. Using ethnomethodology with indexicality and reflexivity as analytical lenses, this research draws on in-depth interviews with four key informants and participant observation conducted directly in Toraja Utara and Tana Toraja. The findings reveal that indan is not merely an economic debt but a moral obligation, an identity marker, and a non-formal accounting system that encompasses recording, social reporting, accountability, and communal evaluation. The indan practice is collectively constructed and continuously reproduced by the Toraja community through everyday ritual interactions that uphold social order without formal institutional frameworks.

KEYWORDS : cultural accounting, ethnomethodology, indan, moral obligation, Toraja