An Indonesian tribe, Toraja Tribe, follows the fascinating tradition of feeding, cleaning, and dressing up their loved ones’ corpses in a bid to bring “good fortune” months or even years after their deaths.
In the latest celebration of the tradition, the tribe has dug up their loved ones’ corpses and lighting cigarettes for them.
The images show families were holding up the corpses and placing a cigarette in the mouth. The ritual takes place in South Sulawesi where it is common within the Toraja Tribe.
Can be seen in the images, corpses were dressed up with clothes and even wearing a snapback and bandana as they all pose for pictures. Consist of around one million people, the tribe believes after death the soul still lives in the house so the body is treated to food, clothes, water, and cigarettes.
The bodies usually will be kept at home for months and also be fed three to four times a day and are wrapped in blankets for comfiness.
Pictures captured by freelance photojournalist Hariandi Hafid show the “Manene” ritual which occurs every few years around July, August, and September.
“My mother died suddenly, so we aren’t ready yet to let her go,” a Torajan woman, Yohana Palangda, spoke to National Geographic in 2016.
She added: “I can’t accept burying her too quickly.”
Corpses are exhumed and clean and the tribe believes death is just a part of the soul’s journey through the universe. Corpses remain in family homes for decades until the family throw a huge party in their honour.
Villagers assume the corpses as “sick” until they finally find peace after funeral rites known as “Rambu Solo”.
Death ritual of the Torajan people doesn’t believe someone has passed away until they had Rambu Solo – even if they’ve been officially declared dead from the hospital for years. This is because the funeral ritual is so expensive, involving the sacrifice of a buffalo or a cow, it can take many years for a family to save up.
Source: Daily Star