Teh One Who Knocks
04-21-2017, 11:20 AM
By Tom Michael - The Sun
VILLAGERS in a remote part of Indonesia have revealed their unique tradition of keeping their dead relatives in their homes for years and treating them as if they were still alive.
The Toraja community on the island of South Sulawesi do not consider their deceased family members to be dead until their funerals – which can be a long time after they die.
http://i.imgur.com/9yjU4nB.jpg
In the meantime, the corpses are lovingly preserved with the chemical formalin and kept in their family home.
People treat them like they are still alive, bringing them food, drink and cigarettes twice a day.
They also wash them and change their clothes regularly, leave the light on at night – and even leave a bowl in the corner of the room for their toilet.
The BBC visited one such family who are still keeping a family member’s body in their home some 12 years after he died.
When other relatives come to visit and ask after her dad, Mamak Lisa tells them he’s still sick.
She brings them into a small room and addresses the body lying in a coffin there, saying: “Father we have some visitors here to see you – I hope this doesn’t make you uncomfortable or angry.”
And when her kids run into the room shouting and asking why their grandfather is always sleeping, she tells them: “Shhh… Stop disturbing granddad.”
http://i.imgur.com/l0xw9Yn.jpg
Toraja people believe the bodies can still hear them and their spirits will be angry if they are not looked after in this way until their funerals.
Mamak Lisa says: “Although we're all Christians, relatives often visit him or call on the phone to see how Dad's doing, because we believe that he can hear us and is still around.”
But it often takes many years to bury the dead as they need to save up for the lavish ceremonies – which can cost up to ten times the average annual salary in the country.
They can last for days as animals are sacrificed and whole communities celebrate the soul of their loved one finally making the journey to the afterlife.
Torajans are interred in caves or tombs rather than buried in the ground, while wooden models of the dead are then dressed up in their clothes as a tribute to them.
But even then, the funeral is not the end of the relationship.
Every couple of years, families dig their dead relatives up and dress them in fresh clothes for ceremonies.
They also bring them fresh food and cigarettes to renew social bonds before placing them back in their graves.
VILLAGERS in a remote part of Indonesia have revealed their unique tradition of keeping their dead relatives in their homes for years and treating them as if they were still alive.
The Toraja community on the island of South Sulawesi do not consider their deceased family members to be dead until their funerals – which can be a long time after they die.
http://i.imgur.com/9yjU4nB.jpg
In the meantime, the corpses are lovingly preserved with the chemical formalin and kept in their family home.
People treat them like they are still alive, bringing them food, drink and cigarettes twice a day.
They also wash them and change their clothes regularly, leave the light on at night – and even leave a bowl in the corner of the room for their toilet.
The BBC visited one such family who are still keeping a family member’s body in their home some 12 years after he died.
When other relatives come to visit and ask after her dad, Mamak Lisa tells them he’s still sick.
She brings them into a small room and addresses the body lying in a coffin there, saying: “Father we have some visitors here to see you – I hope this doesn’t make you uncomfortable or angry.”
And when her kids run into the room shouting and asking why their grandfather is always sleeping, she tells them: “Shhh… Stop disturbing granddad.”
http://i.imgur.com/l0xw9Yn.jpg
Toraja people believe the bodies can still hear them and their spirits will be angry if they are not looked after in this way until their funerals.
Mamak Lisa says: “Although we're all Christians, relatives often visit him or call on the phone to see how Dad's doing, because we believe that he can hear us and is still around.”
But it often takes many years to bury the dead as they need to save up for the lavish ceremonies – which can cost up to ten times the average annual salary in the country.
They can last for days as animals are sacrificed and whole communities celebrate the soul of their loved one finally making the journey to the afterlife.
Torajans are interred in caves or tombs rather than buried in the ground, while wooden models of the dead are then dressed up in their clothes as a tribute to them.
But even then, the funeral is not the end of the relationship.
Every couple of years, families dig their dead relatives up and dress them in fresh clothes for ceremonies.
They also bring them fresh food and cigarettes to renew social bonds before placing them back in their graves.