Cleaning up the dead: an Indonesian tradition of rehabilitating the dead

In Indonesia, Toraja tradition offers a second life to the deceased. A ceremony called Ma'nene, or "care of the ancestors", is held every four years in August. Families dig up the bodies of their ancestors and carefully care for them: they are cleaned, dried in the sun to ensure longevity, then dressed in new clothes. This unique custom is based on the belief that death is not a single event, but a gradual transition of the soul into the afterlife. According to the local population, this ritual originated with a hunter, Pong Rumasek, who took care of an abandoned corpse, bringing him luck and abundance.