Indonesian Tribe Dig Up Relatives Every Three Years To Clean Them Up

The Ma'nene Festival in Indonesia is the chance for people to pay their respects to their dead family members, but this isn't the usual laying flowers or lighting a candle, because the Torajan people dig up their dead, clean them and put them in new clothes.

Credit: Barcroft

It takes place every three years on the Sulawesi Island and has been happening for over a hundred years. According to the Daily Mail, the Torajan people are big into funerals because they believe it's one of life's most important events, they also believe that death isn't really the end, but just another step on a spiritual journey.

Credit: Barcroft

Once the corpses are tidied up and put into new clothes the family pose for photographs next to them. They also use the opportunity to clean up and repair the coffins to slow down decomposition as much as possible. The whole ritual is a chance for the families to remember and pay respects to their dead relatives.

What do you reckon, lads?

Featured image credit: Barcroft

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Topics: Death, indonesia

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

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