Families
in Toraja in South Sulawesi, Indonesia dig up the bodies of their dead relatives
before washing, grooming and dressing them in fancy new clothes. Even
dead children are exhume. Damaged
coffins are fixed or replaced, and the mummies are then walked around
the province by following a path of straight lines. The ritual is called Ma'nene, or The Ceremony of Cleaning Corpses. According to the ancient Torajan belief system, the spirit of a dead person must return to his village of origin.
All photos credit to Paul Koudounaris
What a beautiful custom. I admire them so much for being able to care for their loved ones in that state. We're so far removed from death in the west that we can't handle the actual effects of it. Keep up the great work, I love this blog and your tumblr.
ReplyDelete