a A family on an Indonesian island poses for a photo with an elderly relative who has lost her smile. Another clan is trying to dress one of her oldest ancestors in khakis and shirts. But the oldest generation isn’t stuck in a retirement home or holding a grudge against their younger relatives. they are dead In her two small towns on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, residents celebrate a multi-day ritual called Manene.
Hundreds of corpses have been pulled out and dressed up in the village of Trea as part of rituals to honor and offer offerings to spirits. “When we did the manene, we started by opening the tomb chamber and cleaning it and the area around it,” Sul Tosae, one of the family members, told AFP. Dry under [we] Get dressed,” he said. Coffins containing the bodies of loved ones are pulled from burial caves dug into the hillsides.
This photo shows members of the Toraja ethnic group exhuming the bodies of their relatives from community burial grounds during a series of traditional ceremonies honoring the dead, known as ‘manene’, in Torea village, northern Toraja. (right). South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
A member of the Toraja ethnic group unearths the bodies of relatives from local burial grounds and prepares them for a series of traditional ceremonies honoring the dead, known as ‘manene’, in Torea village, North Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. (left). .
A family performs Manene, a traditional ritual to clean the remains of deceased relatives in Lembang.
“The offerings are a symbol of gratitude from children and grandchildren to the deceased,” Torrea village chief Rahman Badus told AFP. They honored their spirit and “may their lives always be celebrated with security, peace and happiness,” he said. One family presented a freshly-excavated relative with a cigarette, another with stylish sunglasses. Some corpses have remained relatively intact during the mummification process, while others have degraded to remain skeletons.
spirit of the dead
The Torajans are an ethnic group of about 1 million people living in Sulawesi. They worry little when it comes to talking to embalmed corpses, dressing them, combing their hair, and taking pictures with their mummified relatives. Manene usually takes place every few years he in July or August, depending on the village.
A member of the Toraja ethnic group digs up the bodies of relatives from local burial grounds and dresses them up in a series of traditional ceremonies honoring the dead, known as ‘manene’, in the village of Torea, North Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
A family performs a traditional ‘manene’ ritual to clean the preserved remains of deceased relatives in Lembang.
Torajas clean and prepare to change the bodies of relatives unearthed from local burial grounds during a series of traditional ceremonies honoring the dead, known as ‘manene’, in Torea village, North Toraja, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. tribal family.
The Torajas believe that the spirits of the dead remain in the world before the funeral and begin their journey to the spirit realm after the soul becomes immortal. The family will keep the body until they have enough money to hold an elaborate funeral. The deceased had previously been mummified by embalming using natural remedies such as acid vinegar and tea leaves. But now many families take the shortcut of injecting the corpse with formaldehyde solution.
The demolition is a shocking and terrifying scene for Western tourists on the sidelines, while residents clean up the corpses, take pictures and pray for their souls. I say it’s gone too far. “In the Manene ritual, the body must be treated with the utmost respect,” Badus said. “Relatives show respect to their parents and ancestors, and disrespect has consequences.” – AFP
