04:52The Toraja people of Sulawesi, Indonesia were seen honouring their deceased loved ones in a very unique and macabre fashion - by cleaning and dressing up their corpses, as seen in footage from Appang Batu on Wednesday.
"After the tomb was opened, the coffin [of each person] was removed and the residents brought betel (mild stimulant plant) to each of the bodies of their ancestors," explained local leader. Titus Kondo bua
"That's when the residents began drying the body and cleaning and changing their clothes," he continued.
Footage shows the corpses being paraded and dressed up, with some wearing brightly coloured shirts and sunglasses.
"This is a form of affection for our grandmother our ancestor, at this time we are just drying it," said one local man, Sntoni kau.
The bodies are cleaned, dried in the sun, clothed and then returned to the tombs. Up to 65 corpses undergo the practice.
The unorthodox festival, known as Ma’nene - and perhaps mildly disturbing to outsiders - is hundreds of years old. It takes place every four years, according to the locals.
Dead fashionable - Indonesia's Toraja people honour loved ones by cleaning, dressing up corpses *DISTRESSING CONTENT*
The Toraja people of Sulawesi, Indonesia were seen honouring their deceased loved ones in a very unique and macabre fashion - by cleaning and dressing up their corpses, as seen in footage from Appang Batu on Wednesday.
"After the tomb was opened, the coffin [of each person] was removed and the residents brought betel (mild stimulant plant) to each of the bodies of their ancestors," explained local leader. Titus Kondo bua
"That's when the residents began drying the body and cleaning and changing their clothes," he continued.
Footage shows the corpses being paraded and dressed up, with some wearing brightly coloured shirts and sunglasses.
"This is a form of affection for our grandmother our ancestor, at this time we are just drying it," said one local man, Sntoni kau.
The bodies are cleaned, dried in the sun, clothed and then returned to the tombs. Up to 65 corpses undergo the practice.
The unorthodox festival, known as Ma’nene - and perhaps mildly disturbing to outsiders - is hundreds of years old. It takes place every four years, according to the locals.
The Toraja people of Sulawesi, Indonesia were seen honouring their deceased loved ones in a very unique and macabre fashion - by cleaning and dressing up their corpses, as seen in footage from Appang Batu on Wednesday.
"After the tomb was opened, the coffin [of each person] was removed and the residents brought betel (mild stimulant plant) to each of the bodies of their ancestors," explained local leader. Titus Kondo bua
"That's when the residents began drying the body and cleaning and changing their clothes," he continued.
Footage shows the corpses being paraded and dressed up, with some wearing brightly coloured shirts and sunglasses.
"This is a form of affection for our grandmother our ancestor, at this time we are just drying it," said one local man, Sntoni kau.
The bodies are cleaned, dried in the sun, clothed and then returned to the tombs. Up to 65 corpses undergo the practice.
The unorthodox festival, known as Ma’nene - and perhaps mildly disturbing to outsiders - is hundreds of years old. It takes place every four years, according to the locals.