Where: Indonesia, Sulawesi, Tana Toraja, Pangala
People: Toraja
Religion: Christianity (Protestantism and Katolicism) mixed with animism
Ritual: Ma’nene
In some places the Ma’nene ceremony is held every year and in other places every second or third year – and only when the rice has been harvested. The families gather and walk to the family graves where they bring out their dead ancestors, clean them and dress them up nicely in new clothes and dry them in the sun. Before they are put back, the family members are having pictures taken with them.
The people of Toraja explain that the ritual is based in an old myth about a man who was trekking in the area. On his way he found a dead person. He swept the dead in his own clothes and then buried him. After that, happiness smiled upon him.
