Returning the dead to the grave at reburial ceremony in Madagascar

After dancing with the dead at a reburial ceremony in Belaveno, Bezanozano Ethnic Area, Madagascar, the bodies are returned to the family tomb which is then sealed until the next burial or reburial. 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, without which they 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: 5109.jpg
Copyright: Copyright © 2005 Anders Ryman. All rights reserved.
Image Size: 5493x3661 / 17.8MB; Adults Africa African ethnicity Belaveno Life Cycle Ritual Madagascar Men Rite de Passage Rite of Passage corpse dead body death death ritual grave medium group of people reburial tomb
Contained in galleries: Reburying the dead, Madagascar, Rites of Life

After dancing with the dead at a reburial ceremony in Belaveno, Bezanozano Ethnic Area, Madagascar, the bodies are returned to the family tomb which is then sealed until the next burial or reburial. 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, without which they 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.