Dubai Telegraph - Indonesian villagers dress corpses in ritual for the dead

EUR -
AED 3.879454
AFN 71.766172
ALL 98.446538
AMD 408.727287
ANG 1.903424
AOA 962.189651
ARS 1055.136057
AUD 1.630409
AWG 1.901181
AZN 1.789518
BAM 1.961728
BBD 2.132343
BDT 126.201335
BGN 1.9588
BHD 0.398064
BIF 3118.741826
BMD 1.056211
BND 1.421281
BOB 7.297188
BRL 6.105428
BSD 1.056091
BTN 89.136639
BWP 14.496666
BYN 3.456143
BYR 20701.745225
BZD 2.128773
CAD 1.480962
CDF 3026.046048
CHF 0.937129
CLF 0.037557
CLP 1036.439301
CNY 7.636301
CNH 7.645963
COP 4727.78219
CRC 539.429963
CUC 1.056211
CUP 27.989605
CVE 110.599191
CZK 25.276513
DJF 188.054673
DKK 7.458575
DOP 63.873001
DZD 141.196108
EGP 52.131744
ERN 15.843172
ETB 130.910644
FJD 2.402194
FKP 0.833686
GBP 0.831777
GEL 2.883565
GGP 0.833686
GHS 16.976135
GIP 0.833686
GMD 74.991397
GNF 9102.504493
GTQ 8.155953
GYD 220.943428
HKD 8.217753
HNL 26.666577
HRK 7.53423
HTG 138.767993
HUF 406.15981
IDR 16809.289017
ILS 3.948874
IMP 0.833686
INR 89.180057
IQD 1383.48038
IRR 44458.579959
ISK 146.095547
JEP 0.833686
JMD 167.185173
JOD 0.748958
JPY 164.521312
KES 136.515348
KGS 91.231852
KHR 4289.881246
KMF 492.563931
KPW 950.589942
KRW 1479.650439
KWD 0.32489
KYD 0.880043
KZT 523.582077
LAK 23200.543009
LBP 94573.658376
LKR 308.542304
LRD 194.845062
LSL 19.330811
LTL 3.118718
LVL 0.638891
LYD 5.158587
MAD 10.547972
MDL 19.130443
MGA 4948.044906
MKD 61.515768
MMK 3430.533723
MNT 3589.00659
MOP 8.466021
MRU 41.984863
MUR 49.842827
MVR 16.318166
MWK 1831.198548
MXN 21.74186
MYR 4.732353
MZN 67.489547
NAD 19.330811
NGN 1774.287045
NIO 38.86892
NOK 11.740652
NPR 142.624361
NZD 1.797365
OMR 0.406676
PAB 1.056111
PEN 4.024312
PGK 4.184644
PHP 62.056118
PKR 293.325825
PLN 4.325535
PYG 8247.922253
QAR 3.849933
RON 4.976236
RSD 117.044056
RUB 105.092045
RWF 1449.953783
SAR 3.967208
SBD 8.854807
SCR 14.362927
SDG 635.317643
SEK 11.596225
SGD 1.417832
SHP 0.833686
SLE 24.097471
SLL 22148.231865
SOS 603.523631
SRD 37.343937
STD 21861.445383
SVC 9.240923
SYP 2653.762908
SZL 19.339168
THB 36.814269
TJS 11.257603
TMT 3.707302
TND 3.335479
TOP 2.473748
TRY 36.27907
TTD 7.170667
TWD 34.391332
TZS 2809.522312
UAH 43.536853
UGX 3875.711004
USD 1.056211
UYU 44.865568
UZS 13525.870313
VES 47.523829
VND 26827.771874
VUV 125.395551
WST 2.94851
XAF 657.932577
XAG 0.034763
XAU 0.000412
XCD 2.854464
XDR 0.795596
XOF 657.976316
XPF 119.331742
YER 263.843317
ZAR 19.268254
ZMK 9507.174232
ZMW 28.963064
ZWL 340.099669
  • SCS

    -0.0500

    13.32

    -0.38%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    24.755

    +0.1%

  • CMSC

    0.0800

    24.69

    +0.32%

  • BTI

    0.1300

    35.55

    +0.37%

  • GSK

    0.1400

    35.25

    +0.4%

  • AZN

    0.4350

    65.725

    +0.66%

  • BP

    0.3250

    28.895

    +1.12%

  • RBGPF

    -0.9400

    59.25

    -1.59%

  • RIO

    -0.2550

    60.365

    -0.42%

  • NGG

    0.2850

    62.405

    +0.46%

  • VOD

    0.0250

    8.775

    +0.28%

  • RYCEF

    -0.1500

    6.96

    -2.16%

  • JRI

    0.0050

    13.245

    +0.04%

  • BCC

    -1.7400

    140.81

    -1.24%

  • BCE

    0.1400

    27.35

    +0.51%

  • RELX

    0.2000

    46.32

    +0.43%

Indonesian villagers dress corpses in ritual for the dead
Indonesian villagers dress corpses in ritual for the dead / Photo: Hariandi Hafid - Hariandi Hafid/AFP

Indonesian villagers dress corpses in ritual for the dead

A family on an Indonesian island poses with a relative dressed in a school uniform, while an elderly member of the local community stands patiently as loved ones put a sarong and a white shirt around him.

Text size:

But the student is not off to class and their forebear is not going out -- they are both dead.

Residents around Indonesia's North Toraja regency on Sulawesi island have been celebrating a weeks-long ceremony called "the Manene".

Hundreds of corpses including those of babies are brought out in North Toraja's villages -- some from tombs locally known as patane –- as part of a ritual to honour their ancestors.

"All family groups gather, each come to check on parents, grandmothers, relatives who are in the patane," Kapala Pitu villager Yuliana Kombong Palino, 51, told AFP.

"We all gather, work together, clean (the bodies) and then change the clothes."

Coffins holding the preserved bodies of loved ones are pulled from a burial cave carved into the mountainside.

The remains are then put back in their resting place one or two days before their graves are closed again until the next ritual, Yuliana added.

A few of the bodies remain relatively intact because of the mummification process, while others have deteriorated to skeletal remains.

- 'Strong' bond -

The ceremony is carried out by the Torajans, an ethnic group of around a million people on Sulawesi island.

They believe the spirits of the dead will linger in the world before their funeral ceremonies and will begin their journey to the land of the spirits after their souls are immortalised.

"The Torajans will always remember their ancestors, even after they are dead. The bond is strong," said Benteng Mamullu resident Samuel Matasak.

Depending on the village, the Manene is usually held every few years after the rice harvest in August or September, Samuel said.

It is the first time in 40 years that a Manene ritual is being held in the two North Toraja villages of Kapala Pitu and Benteng Mamullu, residents told AFP.

The deceased were previously mummified through an embalming process using natural preservatives such as sour vinegar and tea leaves.

But many families now inject a formaldehyde solution into the corpse.

The corpse's display can be a shocking for onlooking Western tourists.

But for locals, the Manene ritual is an expression of affection to their loved ones.

"When the Manene is carried out, it is a joy for me personally that we can realise or express our love to our parents who had died, to our grandmothers, child, to relatives," Yuliana said.

"Maybe there are some things that we have not had the chance to do in their lifetime. We can realise it right now."

A.El-Nayady--DT