Pouring rum on a grave before a reburial ceremony in Madagascar

The day before a reburial ceremony in Belaveno, Bezanozano Ethnic Area, Madagascar, a ritual is held at the tomb to inform the deceased to be ready. Rum is poured on the grave as an offering. 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: 5094f.jpg
Copyright: Copyright © 2005 Anders Ryman. All rights reserved.
Image Size: 5518x3661 / 15.8MB; Africa African ethnicity Ancestor worship Belaveno Bezanozano ethnicity Death Rite Life Cycle Ritual Madagascan ethnicity Madagascar Men Rite de Passage Rite of Passage Two People with Others alcohol death ritual drinking faith famadihana grave hat middle-aged man offering reburial religion rum tomb
Contained in galleries: Reburying the dead, Madagascar

The day before a reburial ceremony in Belaveno, Bezanozano Ethnic Area, Madagascar, a ritual is held at the tomb to inform the deceased to be ready. Rum is poured on the grave as an offering. 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.