Usually, the dead person is gone forever, we never see them again, we can't spend time with them. After their death, we can see them on photographs or some flashback videos, no one can see them in real life, but this might not work with the residents in Toraja, Indonesia. There is a tradition in Indonesia called Ma'nene They take their deceased loved ones out of graves once in every three years, to celebrate their lives..!!
The Ma'nene Death Ritual
The Ma'nene Death Ritual: Take The Dead Out from the Grave and Hangout With Them.
For more than 900 years, the people of Indonesia practice the Ma'nene death ritual by the Torajan people of Sulawesi island, Lembang Paton Village. The festival is known as Ma'nene, in this feast, they dig out the mummified bodies of their loved ones, out of their coffins, to clean them up, dress them in new clothes, and bury them again. Relatives from far and wide come to celebrate Ma'nene, feasting, swapping stories, and honoring the deceased. During the feast, they offer food, water, and even cigarettes to the dead, because it is believed the spirit remains near the body and craves care.
Manene Ritual, Hangout With the Dead
They believe that death is not the end of a person's life, but rather another step in a long, spiritual life. Hence, the ceremony is performed as a luxury, not only luxurious, it is a complexed one too, tourists from all over the world come to see Ma'nene Ceremony.
A Torajan funeral, called "Rambu Solo" is not cheap as you may guess. In fact, the funeral is highly expensive, which costs a family tens of thousands of dollars. Because of the hefty cost, the family prefers to keep the body of the deceased at home, until they can afford a proper burial is possible, this may last for weeks or even months. They keep the body wrapped like mummification process, once enough money has been raised, they bury the body followed by their tradition.
The mummy is dug up after three years by the respective family members, the brushed and dressed new clothes, repair or replace the damaged parts to prevent decay process using their traditional preservatives, and they are re-buried for another three years.
Even after the death of a loved one, who doesn't want to spend with them, they do believe, it is so much better to visit the dead at least once in three years...
