Death of a loved one is the most painful thing to bear mentally. The hardest part is not being able to see them again. Once they are buried they are gone. Only photos and memories remain.
It’s the Ma’nene death ritual aka “The ceremony of cleaning corpse”. This ritual was started about 900 years ago. Every 3 years the corpses of their loved ones are being dugged up. So the mummified body is being cleaned, brushed and dressed in new clothes. The coffins are given a touch up too. Polished or replaced with new ones.
The family members will be interacting with the dead body afterwards. Keeping it with them in their dinner table, taking photos with it. So happy to be able to meet them again Whether the dead body is one year old or decades old it doesn’t matter ,what matters to them is the opportunity to see their loved ones again. After the bodies are dressed in their new clothes, they are re-buried for another three years until the next ceremony.
Who wouldn’t want to see and hang out with their dead loved ones. This looks like a good way to keep them with us for a while and also makes us remember the fact that one day we will also be going to the other world.
