Guests are fed at a reburial ceremony in Madagascar

Guests attending a reburial ceremony in Belaveno, Bezanozano Ethnic Area, Madagascar, are served food by the host family. The famadihana, the Madagascan reburial ceremony, is a custom in the highlands of Madagascar. The purpose of the ritual is to induce the ancestors to impart their blessings to their descendants, as without those blessings one cannot have a good life. The famadihana is held during the cooler half of the year, when the dead are said to be freezing in their graves and therefore need new clothing.

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Filename: 5093.jpg
Copyright: Copyright © 2005 Anders Ryman. All rights reserved.
Image Size: 5403x3579 / 12.5MB; Africa African ethnicity Ancestor worship Belaveno Bezanozano ethnicity Death Rite Food Large Group of People Life Cycle Ritual Madagascan ethnicity Madagascar People Rite de Passage Rite of Passage cuisine death ritual diet faith famadihana food and nutrition reburial religion serve serving village scene
Contained in galleries: Reburying the dead, Madagascar

Guests attending a reburial ceremony in Belaveno, Bezanozano Ethnic Area, Madagascar, are served food by the host family. The famadihana, the Madagascan reburial ceremony, is a custom in the highlands of Madagascar. The purpose of the ritual is to induce the ancestors to impart their blessings to their descendants, as without those blessings one cannot have a good life. The famadihana is held during the cooler half of the year, when the dead are said to be freezing in their graves and therefore need new clothing.