It is believed that family ties can be extended and strengthened by allowing relatives and friends to adopt one's children. In such cases, the children will often move back and forth between the households of their adoptive and biological parents. The Toala are known for their elaborately carved houses and rice barns, as well as life-size statues of certain wealthy, deceased aristocrats. Among the Toala, the funeral is the most critical event in life. They believe that this ritual allows the deceased to leave the world of the living and proceed to the next.
Funeral ceremonies vary in length and complexity, depending on one's wealth and status.
Among the 37,000 Toala, there are only 318 known believers. The combination of their staunch Islamic beliefs mixed with animism has made them very difficult to penetrate with the Gospel. There is a single missions agency currently targeting the Toala. Unfortunately, they have access to very few Christian resources. The Bible has not yet been printed in their native language, Toala-palili.