As we know, all cultures have their own ways of honoring those who have passed away. In Indonesia, particularly in the province of Tana Toraja, funeral rites are quite unique. The Ma’Nene ritual is a festival of ancestor worship. When someone dies, their body is mummified using natural ingredients and buried in rock tombs. This mummification process preserves the corpse, allowing the family to return and exhume it later.
The Torajan people proudly display their deceased relatives after digging them up and dressing them in new clothes, in an ancient ritual meant to show respect for their loved ones. The festival, which does not have a fixed date, usually occurs toward the end of August, allowing families to revisit their loved ones. Every three years, the tribe from Sulawesi Island exhumes their dead, cleans them, dresses them in fresh clothes, and poses for family photographs. This ritual, translating to “The Ceremony of Cleaning Corpses,” has been practiced for over a century.
In this culture, death is understood not as something sad or fearful, but as a connection to the spiritual realm. The exhumation of mummies serves as a way to engage with death and, in some ways, transcend it. Dust and debris are removed from the mummies, and the bodies are dressed again. Personal items, like glasses, are left in place as a sign of respect.
One of the most important events in the lives of the Torajan people is the funeral, with many saving their entire lives to afford a proper burial for themselves or family members. In some cases, a deceased’s funeral may be held weeks or even years after their death to give the family time to save up for a respectful send-off. However, this funeral is never the last time their loved ones are seen. Whenever a villager dies, their body is wrapped in several layers of cloth to prevent decay. Many people are afraid to breathe the dust of corpses and wear protective masks.
Photographs documenting these rites were taken by photographer Paul Koudounaris, who specializes in capturing how different cultures face and celebrate death. While this festival may seem macabre, for the inhabitants of Tana Toraja, it represents a sincere expression of love that even death cannot diminish.
The photographer explains: “For the villagers, it is a sign of the love they still share for those who have died but are still spiritually present. It is a way of showing them respect by letting them know that they are still active members of the family and continue to play an important role in local society.”
Most people in the world might view death as a fearful thing, but for the inhabitants of Tana Toraja, these faces are still those of their beloved relatives. In Torajan belief, death is not a final step, but just one step in an ongoing spiritual life.
Torajan people believe that the spirit of a deceased person should always return to their village of origin, a belief that has deterred many villagers from ever leaving their homes in case they die away from home and cannot return. If a villager dies far from home, family members often venture to retrieve the body. The Ma’Nene festival may seem strange, but it serves to normalize death and assure the deceased a role in society even after their departure.