Famadihana
A famadihana is a reburial ceremony. The entire family gathers to celebrate the turning of the dead. Malagasy people believe the body dies but the soul does not. So this way the people still living can celebrate together with those who are dead. The dead are taken out of the tomb and there is a huge party with singing and dancing. There are speeches in which the dead are told what happened in the past years. After more dancing and music the dead are given new shrouds and are laid back in the same tomb. We were lucky to witness this ceremony in a small village not far from Antsirabe. It all started with food, rice with meat. After that we followed the music to the tomb. The dead were already taken out. There were long speeches, of which we didn't understand anything except the word Vazaha (foreigner). And then was dancing and music. After the death were given new shrouds, just winded...
